Ireland team: Five takeaways from Andy Farrell’s ‘luxury’ selection calls to face England as he continue to back the 6-2 split
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell, centre Garry Ringrose and fullback Hugo Keenan.
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has kept changes to a minimum as his side chase an unprecedented double Grand Slam when they front up against England at Twickenham on Saturday.
Farrell has made just one tweak to his starting XV from the side that hammered Wales 31-7 in Dublin last time out as Hugo Keenan returns at full-back.
Following the confirmation of the team to face England, here are our five takeaways.
Andy Farrell continues to back the 6-2 split
When the Springboks named a 7-1 split to face Ireland during the pool stages of the World Cup, Farrell and his assistants enthused that they would not be changing tact in a reactionary manner.
Fast forward to the 2024 Six Nations, and Farrell has moved away from the conventional 5-3 split on three occasions out of four as they back more forwards on the bench.
Frankly, it makes perfect sense given that Ireland’s style of play is heavily reliant on their speedy ruck service, which the forward pack provides, and they have benefitted hugely from it in their clashes against France and Wales, and the same is bound to be true against England.
Last year, with an ageing Johnny Sexton at number 10, Ireland did require a back-up fly-half on the bench, but with Jack Crowley taking over the mantle, they have the luxury of dropping a backline replacement and are reaping the benefits.
Ciaran Frawley’s stock rises
With that in mind, the stock of Ciaran Frawley have soared. In 2019, the Boks had the versatile Frans Steyn covering fly-half, full-back and centre off the bench and in 2023, they backed their starters to shift around with Willie le Roux coming off the bench as a full-back/fly-half in the 7-1.
And in Frawley, Farrell and co. have a Swiss Army knife of their own as the Leinsterman showed last time out that he can comfortably fill in at full-back on the Test stage, with his club form showing he is more than capable of playing in the midfield and at fly-half.
Replacing key decision-makers in your backline is not really ideal in the modern game, hence why the 13s, 10s and 15s seldom get hooked in the second half unless it is a roll of the dice in a chase or the team is too far ahead. Even then, making a change isn’t always essential, so refreshing the pack is much more advantageous. But you need that multi-skilled and positional back, and Frawley is just that.
Concern for James Ryan, good news for Garry Ringrose
A mixed bag for Ireland as Keenan’s return to full fitness and return to the starting XV has been paired with the ‘freak injury’ to James Ryan which has ruled him out for the rest of the Six Nations.
Ireland certainly have the depth to cover Ryan’s injury, emphasised by the inclusion of Iain Henderson on the bench in his place, another hugely experienced player and one who has also captained his country before.
“He’s injured; he got injured yesterday in training, just a freak accident really, just a reaction, reaching out for a tackle that was non-contact, and he’s injured his bicep,” Farrell said of Ryan.
Still, England pose a potential banana skin threat for Ireland this weekend, and they would have preferred to have Ryan in the squad despite Henderson’s quality.
Meanwhile, the competition for roles in the matchday 23 continues to grow as Garry Ringrose fails to make the cut despite being fully fit for the fixture.
Farrell confirmed after naming the squad that Ringrose had gone through all the necessary steps and met the fitness requirements to feature against England but was simply not picked. It’s a fantastic situation to be in that Ireland can opt to leave a classy centre like Ringrose out of the side simply down to form and preference.
A word for Cian Healy
A hat-tip to the veteran prop who is set to earn his 128th Test cap for Ireland off the bench, equalling Ronan O’Gara’s tally in green.
It’s a massive achievement for the front-rower who has had his fair share of setbacks and was tempted to hang up his boots back in 2015 when he suffered nerve damage in his right hand.
Fast forward nearly a decade later, and he is still going and is racking up a serious cap tally at the age of 36 years, even after recovering from the heartbreak of missing the World Cup due to a calf injury.
Commenting on his recovery from that injury this weekend, Healy spoke proudly about the work he put in and was actually available in the latter stages of the pool stage matches and knockouts in the case of injury. That call never came but he was ready.
“I know I have the ability to recover from things a little bit quicker than most and then I also know a lot of protocols that I have to put in place when I am doing that,” he said.
“The missus [Laura] was slagging me off a bit and saying she’s never seen me so selfish. But that’s what had to happen at that time, and yeah, weirdly enough, it was a wildly enjoyable period. I got to put in a lot of hard work, and I got a result personally.”
Brian O’Driscoll holds the record for the most caps for Ireland at 133 and if Healy continues in that manner, he will take over the mantle. His resilience and dedication can only be applauded.
