melkdave says...

@Blametheref

You are of course rigbt ,the real crime is that Downey wasnt called up years ago,and even at 33-34 at the next RWC he is still an option imho.Remember there willbe no BOD or i suspect D;Arcy.and while Earls wil be an option at 13 ,the cupboards quite bare in regards to 12.MaybeJ. Halloran will be an option but atm McFadden imo isnt,as a starter ,as an ultility perhaps,but his young and thus has a bit of time to prove himself.The reason ive called for Trimble is quite clear,he started as a centre even in his early internationals ,has partnered BOD at international leval.offers pace and more physicalitiy than Earls or McFaddan.In the 6Ns of 2011 he was the outstanding irish back,consistantly getting over the gain line ,and scoring tries,then what do we see at the RWC him not getting starts as a winger because of Bowe and Earls,and the totaly inept D'Arcy at 12.The back line should have been 9)Reddan 10)Sexton 11)Earls 12)Trimble 13)BOD 14)Bowe and 15)Kearney Ireland can ill afford to have its inform class players not playing ,as shown by recent results

Posted 14:35 22nd June 2012

blametheref says...

@J_HDK

To have flown Downey out for this game would have been madness. But remember Downey at 31 would be only 3 years older than the now indispensible Mike Ross (who was left out in the cold for 3 seasons). Kidney should have brought Downey into the Irish set up 2 years ago, and still should, as he's an option with a different skill set to anything we have at 12 and is a true 12 as against all our other options. Over the past number of years we've seen Downey play excellently in the Premiership and adapting to that style of play with a top team in Northampton who provide many of the English team. If he can adapt like that he can certainly adapt to the Irish style as I believe he will after he gets a few games with Munster under his belt...One thing I can say is that if Wallace gets mowed down by Sonny Bill on Saturday and Ireland get obliterated we'll hear the name of Downey more than we have in a long time...he may not be the "answer" but he is an option who can actually play the position properly...

To other posters, I just don't get the calls for Trimble, Earls and McFadden at 12. None of these can play 12 with any authority. Sexton, Downey and Wallace are better. Earls can play 13 though. In the case of McFadden I just don't get him at all, he has yet to prove at international level that he can play in any position.

Posted 08:18 22nd June 2012

J_HDK says...

Downey was never, even at his peak, an international standard player.

He is now 31.. and people think it would be a brilliant idea to throw him into his first full international test against NZ

How many accounts has Downey's mother created on this website? FFS

Posted 02:32 22nd June 2012

Jcahill1 says...

@Spike19

Because Zebo showed his total ineptitude maybe?

Posted 19:02 21st June 2012

MunsterRedArmy says...

Glad to see Keith Earls playing at wing! What I'd change is Paddy for sub and Trimble at 14, McFadden at 12. Also Murray needs a bit more game time on club level as he's not an international just yet. Or at least play ROG-Murray and Sexton-Reddan couples and not mix them up. Excited about the game, GWAN IRELAND!

Posted 16:02 21st June 2012

melkdave says...

I have to say ,im not optomistic about Irelands chances ,this weekend.Kidneys thinking continues to baffle me ,and id still prefer Trimble and BOD to be the centre pairing,considering Kidney just wont consider J.Downey.Nice to see Earls back in his best position wing,but still no start for Reddan,i echo other posts ,if your playing Wallace for his distribution ect ,then he needs quick ball ,and Reddan is better than Murray in that regard.Overall i just cant see Ireland wining ,even if its an under strength New Zealand ,and Irelands recent pattern of puting in just one good /excellant game per series looks to continue.But hey i was totally wrong last week so there is hope ,however slim it maybe

Posted 15:35 21st June 2012

usrugbyfan says...

While I acknowledge that SOB may be better at 8 than he is at 7, its worth noting that 8 is O'Mahony's main position. Thats where he played all through schoolboys rugby, and he would play there for Munster if is wasn't for Coughlan. I have high hopes that he will do well there.

Posted 14:36 21st June 2012

rockman says...

A Woefully bad call by Kidney. To be fair on Wallace he can play well, i saw him play 10 for an irish XV last August and He was excellent, running the ball from everywhere but i think Kidneys gameplan ruins this and he cannot perform under it. McFadden should be @12. Why not select someone to tour then start him? Ridiculous. SELECT DOWNEY KIDNEY! Him against SBW would be a classic battle. and why does he insist on playing O'Mahony out of position?

www.kidneyclock.net

Posted 13:38 21st June 2012

blametheref says...

It seems to me that Kidney would have liked to play BOD at 12 and Earls at 13 but O' Driscoll was having none of it. And BOD is right, as he knows how good Conrad Smith is and how good he is at setting up the wings, better BOD on the canny Smith than BOD hammering into Sonny Bill all afternoon, leave that to the jet lagged Wallace.

Earls is a big improvement on the wing, his best position, and offers a threat out wide, if having a bet on an Irish try scorer take Earls if the odds are decent.

The backrow is interesting, I hope Ireland will switch Sean O' Brien to 8 if we manage to get any 5 metre scrums or ones close to the line.

With Carter out, Ireland have an advantage and need to put Aaron Smith and the light Cruden under the most intense pressure ever for 80 minutes solid and we have a chance of winning, because their 7, 9 and 10 are relatively slight and young and I believe Ireland can put them on the back foot. If this happens, NZ have little they can do from the bench to counteract it, this is crucially where the game can be won, especially with Ireland having Reddan, ROG and the abrasive Henry on the bench to add an impact that NZ cannot match.

If there is one fly in the ointment, it's the ref Poite, and as to which team's case he gets on at scrum time. In this respect, I'm worried for Ireland...But disregarding this I'm backing Ireland to take their first test against NZ as I believe Ireland believe.....For once!

Posted 12:17 21st June 2012

J_HDK says...

I give up.

Murray starts yet again! Slow ball.

O'Brien and O'Mahony should be switched.

Trimble should start at 14 and McFadden at 12

Wallace wasn't good enough to be brought on tour originally... he should never be anywhere near the matchday 22 never mind the starting XV

Posted 11:03 21st June 2012