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Four talking points as Ireland shake up their team to host Fiji
By Liam Heagney
Andy Farrell has rolled the dice with his Ireland team selection to host Fiji this Saturday in Dublin. There are seven changes to the starting XV, including two new caps in the pack, while there is also a first start for Sam Prendergast, the out-half whose debut consisted of 18 minutes off the bench in last weekend’s win over Argentina.
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There has been a strain of impatience in the Irish media about Farrell’s handbrake on approach to moving his team on in this first year of the new Rugby World Cup cycle towards Australia 2027, but those critics have now got some fresh faces to swoon over. Here are the RugbyPass Ireland team announcement talking points:
Farrell’s handbrake
You’d think the winning of 34 of 39 most recent matches coming into the 2024 Autumn Nations Series was a bountiful record capable of cutting head coach Farrell some slack. It wasn’t.
Forget that Ireland had won a second successive Guinness Six Nations title last March. Forget too that they had drawn a two-match Test series away world champions South Africa last July. Instead, as soon as they were beaten 13-23 by New Zealand in their November opener, the critics quickly made themselves known.
Farrell had allegedly erred in sticking with the majority of the match day 23 that had featured in the World Cup quarter-final loss to the All Blacks 13 months earlier. An error, too, was his decision to take a sabbatical from the end of this month to head coach the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour to Australia.
The argument went that in a delicate time of nurture and evolution, Ireland would be best served by having Farrell at the helm for next spring’s Six Nations hat-trick title tilt and also on a summer tour against tier-two opposition instead of scouting rival players and then heading off on a jamboree down under.
This debate about what is best for Irish rugby won’t have a definite answer until next July when the 2024/25 season is all played out. In the meantime, what can be better discussed is Farrell’s slow-paced overhaul.
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A tweet on X earlier this week before this weekend’s team announcements began to trickle through highlighted the difference in the head coach’s approach to other countries. Listed was the number of new caps per country in 2024. Ireland had a meagre four, a dozen fewer than the 16 that both France and Scotland had debuted.
Other countries mentioned were South Africa on 15, New Zealand 12, England 8, Australia 7 and Italy 6. Reading between the lines, the accusation was that Farrell was moving Ireland on much too slowly.
Tighthead Ollie Jager, who is currently injured, and utility back Jamie Osborne were two Irish newcomers earlier this year, a club they were joined in last Friday by out-half Sam Prendergast and Thomas Clarkson, another tighthead.
This stilted overhaul isn’t a case of Farrell being too conservative, however. It’s more the realisation that Ireland doesn’t have a massive strength in depth to suddenly throw in a pile of new Test rookies and continue to be a success.
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The bleed through is a slow process but at least it steps up a notch this Saturday with 21-year-old hooker Gus McCarthy and 24-year-old blindside Cormac Izuchukwu the latest rookies to be given a rare shot. Both were on the recent Emerging Ireland tour headed up by Simon Easterby, the Test team assistant who will become the boss during Farrell’s sabbatical.
McCarthy also skippered Ireland on their run to the 2023 World Rugby U20 Championship final, a tournament that also had the spotlight on Prendergast, who has been named for his first Test start following last weekend’s debut cap as a sub.
This rookie involvement is important, signalling to other youngsters that there can be fast-tracked opportunity despite Farrell’s conservative approach. The Irish enjoyed great success at U20s level with the canny Richie Murphy – now of Ulster – at the helm and the recognition for McCarthy and Prendergast 16 months on from last year’s Cape Town final should spur other promising age-grade graduates to hurry up their development.
Farrell wants selection headaches and the desire is that this emergence of McCarthy and co can make that welcome pain happen in the long run.
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Added onus on captain Doris
There was criticism last week about the optics of veteran Peter O’Mahony delivering a gee-up speech to the team while new skipper Caelan Doris was also present. It was alleged that it undermined Doris and his new responsibility.
No one can tell what impact – if any – it did have. After all, O’Mahony is a legend who has seen and done it all and was the Irish captain as recently as July, so his words will always carry weight.
But the 2017 British and Irish Lions first Test skipper hasn’t been included in this latest match day 23, so the way is definitely clear for Doris to now go and lead without any potential distraction.
Being in charge of a team with seven XV changes and 11 alterations in the match day 23 from the narrow win over the Pumas will be a great test of his leadership credentials, especially as he was touted as a possible Lions skipper simply by virtue of becoming the permanent Ireland captain this November.
It’s time to provide proof that he has real clout in this area, not only in his communication with this week’s referee Hollie Davidson but also in his on-field instructions to an Irish XV that hasn’t the experience it had in recent weeks.
Ten of the 23 have 18 caps or less, up from just four versus New Zealand and Argentina, so the onus on Doris to lead is hugely important, especially if the troubling recent team penalty count is to be reduced. His messages need to be on-point and impactful.
All eyes on Fiji this Saturday! ?#TeamOfUs pic.twitter.com/RI8iHNmRin
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) November 19, 2024
Attack upgrade wanted
Ireland’s attack will want to see an upgrade in performance in their third November outing. They have only scored four tries so far and just one – Joe McCarthy’s effort last week versus Argentina – has materialised when the opposition have had 15 players on the pitch.
Van der Flier’s try against the Kiwis and the early scores from Jack Crowley and Mack Hansen against the Pumas came with a yellow card in play. In other words, the Irish have been slack in executing in 15-on-15 scenarios with Andrew Goodman having succeeded backs and attack coach Mike Catt.
It’s a change from the summer in South Africa when the likes of Bath boss Johann van Graan sung their praises. “I believe a lot of teams are keeping the ball in hand,” he began. “I’ll give you one simple example: look at some tries that Ireland scored against the Springboks, specifically involving Conor Murray at the back. They have run a new shape.”
Similar-type creativity has been in short supply in recent weeks, but the ambition will be that the new starting half-back partnership of Prendergast and Craig Casey can enjoy incision, unlike last week when Ireland were held scoreless during their short time together as subs.
Osborne at full-back should potentially be a boon – he was excellent in South Africa whereas Hugo Keenan was quiet in recent weeks – while the return of Jacob Stockdale for the first time in a while will have fans crossing fingers that he can transfer recent excellent provincial form to the Test arena. Here’s hoping the backline overhaul – five changes in total – will get the attack purring again.
Ireland keep the game ALIVE! ?
Quick hands from the visitors and Conor Murray puts over the try! ??? pic.twitter.com/pMm0SdhRgz
— Sky Sports Rugby Union (@SkySportsRugby) July 6, 2024
Time for O’Toole to deliver
Of all the names on the much-changed Ireland bench, Tom O’Toole is probably the player who most needs to impress. Yes, it is an important fixture for Iain Henderson, O’Toole’s Ulster colleague, to provide a level of accuracy that was totally absent from his cameo versus New Zealand.
Henderson has form for quickly making amends after a gaffe. He wouldn’t have 82 Ireland caps or be a British and Irish Lions tourist if he wasn’t a solid operator. But the clock must surely be ticking on Toole to deliver the evidence that he does have what it takes to demand a more regular selection from Farrell.
It was the summer of 2021 when he debuted at tighthead but he never kicked on in that role and now, at the age of 26, he has been chosen as Ireland’s sub loosehead two weeks after injury in a blink-and-you-missed-it, short-lived appearance as sub tighthead against the All Blacks.
Cian Healy’s achievement in equalling Brian O’Driscoll’s Ireland caps record last weekend was an unbelievable feat, especially as he was told a decade ago he should retire due to a slow-to-heal neck injury.
However, the fact is that Healy has levelled with O’Driscoll without much competition for a number of years now for his place in the squad behind first-choice loosehead Andrew Porter. That has to change, so how O’Toole fares will be significant.
His four URC starts this season at Ulster have been at tighthead but Farrell believes the prop has the ability to pack down on the other side of the scrum at Test level. Concrete verification of this would be useful on Saturday.
Cian Healy comes on for his 133rd cap to equal Brian O'Driscoll's record! ?#AutumnNationsSeries | #IREvARG pic.twitter.com/FbOYIXWWPH
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) November 15, 2024
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