PLENTY to PONDER
Farrell makes some big calls but exclusion of Ruddock and McCloskey is mystifying
WHERE do you start? There was much to digest when the IRFU announced the make-up of yesterday’s 35-player squad.
Andy Farrell’s first Six Nations selection had a bit of everything. Some form players were rewarded, others were not. Some old warhorses have returned to the frontline, while others were put out to pasture.
The bookies’ favourite for the captaincy proved to be a safe bet. At 34, Johnny Sexton does not look like a long-term option to lead Ireland, but Farrell will lean on the veteran No10’s experience during his first year in charge. Sexton has previously stated his intention to push on until the next World Cup in France. Sexton will be 38 by the time that tournament rolls around in 2023 and, considering his injury profile, that may prove fanciful.
For now, Sexton will lead Ireland through this new era. There is little doubt that he commands respect in this squad and has been a key driver of standards within this set-up for some time.
The form of Peter O’Mahony since the World Cup and James Ryan’s relative inexperience at this level made it a relatively simple decision for Farrell.
The anointment of Sexton as Rory Best’s successor was well flagged, but the exclusion of Rhys Ruddock raised many an eyebrow yesterday. The Leinster flanker was perhaps the most unlucky member of the travelling party in Japan when he was repeatedly overlooked when that Ireland squad was crying out for a shakeup and an injection of dynamism.
Since returning from the World Cup, Ruddock has continued in a similar vein — consistently delivering in that quietly destructive way of his. Unless the 29-year-old blindside is carrying an injury — which was suspected at the World Cup — his exclusion is a perplexing one.
It’s early days in this new set-up but the feeling is that Farrell and new attack coach Mike Catt are keen to expand Ireland’s horizons and move away from the rigid, possession-based game-plan that defined the Schmidt years.
The presence of Caelan Doris and Max Deegan, Leinster’s fleetfooted rookie backrowers, would lend credence to that theory. Both are athletic and explosive No8s who prefer to run through gaps rather than charge into heavy traffic.
Perhaps Farrell feels Ruddock is too old-school in his approach. Which brings us to O’Mahony and CJ Stander. Neither had good World Cups and neither have set the world alight since they reported back for Munster duty. You get the feeling that both will be put on high alert in the coming months. It could play out that both are competing for the same position now, with Stander looking increasingly likely to line out at blindside in the Six Nations, with Doris and Deegan going head-to-head for the No8 shirt.
There is a sense from this squad selection that Farrell is keen to promote a new generation of players, though he has retained some experienced campaigners like Cian Healy, Devin Toner, O’Mahony and Sexton to maintain a strong spine throughout this operation.
It does not quite feel like a changing of the guard, but there is definitely a sense that Farrell is ready to move on from the incumbent hookers during the previous four-year cycle. Having bided their time behind Best in previous seasons, Niall Scannell and Seán Cronin would have fancied their chances of moving up the pecking order following the Ulster hooker’s retirement. Instead, Farrell, no doubt aided by the input of Simon Easterby and John Fogarty, has opted for a fresh trio of hookers in Rob Herring, Dave Heffernan and Ronan Kelleher. All three have size, power and pace in abundance. Kelleher is uncapped but was the breakout star of the new season, scoring seven tries in six Leinster appearances, before fractured a hand hindered his meteoric rise in recent months. He looks tailormade to fill Cronin’s old role as a second-half impact sub with Herring providing a steady hand as a starter. Heffernan won a cap on the 2017 summer tour of Japan under Schmidt’s watch and still looks raw, but there is much to admire about the Connacht hooker.
So, where does this demotion leave Scannell and Cronin? Maybe Farrell felt that neither pressed their case enough in the past few years. The fact that Schmidt leaned so heavily on an ageing Best for so long was a pretty big indictment on the options in reserve. Like Rob Kearney, this could be the end of the international road for Cronin who, at 33, looks surplus to requirements. Scannell is six years younger but he will need to add an extra dimension to his game to break up this new trio of frontline hookers. Does the Corkman offer the same physical presence and dynamism as Herring, Kelleher and Heffernan? He will need to convince Farrell otherwise.
Stuart McCloskey is a player that lacks none of those traits. You would think Farrell, a hardrunning centre is his playing days, would have wanted to take a closer look at the giant Ulster centre. McCloskey was another notable absentee, however. The quartet of centres that went to the World Cup have been retained en bloc. Bundee Aki, Robbie Henshaw, Garry Ringrose and Chris Farrell is a quality roster of midfielders but there remains a feeling that McCloskey’s storming form should have been recognised.
The inclusion of four ‘development players’ was an interesting move as well. Ryan Baird, Robert Baloucoune, Harry Byrne and Will Connors have big futures ahead of them. That’s the way forward now.
Move from the rigid plan of Schmidt era Kelleher was the breakout star of the new season