ANTHONY DALY HAS withdrawn from the race to be the next Clare senior hurling manager.
And the All-Ireland winning captain’s decision leaves the successful U21 management duo of Donal Moloney and Gerry O’Connor in pole position to be in charge of the Banner senior outfit in 2017.
It is understood that Daly has decided to bow out of the reckoning as he was not keen to enter into a contest for the position.
Clare defensive great Brian Lohan and 2001 Tipperary All-Ireland winning captain Tommy Dunne had been linked with roles in Daly’s prospective backroom team.
It now seems likely that Moloney and O’Connor will be handed the chance to guide the Clare senior hurlers. Scarriff native Moloney and Killanena native O’Connor enjoyed a golden run of success with Clare underage teams.
They steered Clare to the 2010 and 2011 Munster minor hurling titles. At U21 level the pair won three consecutive All-Ireland and Munster crowns between 2012 and 2014.
Work commitments then forced O’Connor to depart his position with Moloney at the helm of the U21 side for the past two seasons.
The pair are highly rated and have worked with the majority of the current Clare senior squad in various underage panels. It is believed that Donal Óg Cusack, who was involved this year with the Clare seniors under Davy Fitzgerald, and Seanie McMahon, a recent U21 selector, could be part of their management setup.
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Would be giving Cave and Fitz a run out against Romania with Henshaw off the bench just to ease him back in.
Payne is a class act. His defence is rock solid. He’s also (sort of) playing out of position. I’d like to see him at 15 versus Romania.
Spot me Bren !
he, along with players like heaslip are the ultimate moneyball kinda players. particular key attributes that they posses slot seemlessly into what is required for the team. all sense of selfishness and ego is given up. you don’t see their efforts in the game but if you look at their stats they contribute hugely to the overall cause. he and henshaw were placed together initially because of how solid they are defensively, which arguably was bod and darcy’s greatest contribution in later years, and the thing that most needed reproducing.
Just read D’Arcy’s article in the IT. http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/international/gordon-d-arcy-surviving-at-centre-not-easy-just-ask-jesse-kriel-1.2362159
“I also think Payne has become the second most important player in Ireland’s backline, possibly even the team. A fullback by nature, he has become a reliable Test centre and that’s down to fundamental skills”
Not impressed by Payne so far. Maybe he does alot of unseen stuff defensively (though not much evidence against Eng recently) but for me he doesn’t offer enough from attacking perspective. Dont understand why he almost seems untouchable as 1st choice 13. I’d prefer any of Madigan, Fitz or Earls starting with Henshaw.
Well he scored a shi’ite load of points for me on Fantasy Rugger and must have been penalised for the kick/turnover .. Second centre is a seriously difficult position to play and he’s doing fine , you may not appreciate the hard work , tackles etc that he’s putting in but I betcha Joe and Les Kiss do ..
97 meters (second to Rob Kearney)
14 tackles, none missed (second to Ian Henderson)
Ex All Black Justin Marshall describes Irish centre partnership as “lack lustre” and sayd they “do not challenge”. Put it this way… Name one of the contenders to win the tournament that would swap their centre partnerships for ours. Not one. Henshaw has time but Payne will never be world class whatever stats say.
Cameras in the gym ????? Wtf