@Decko49:

That is very generous of you Deck :: But you know in your heart of hearts, Hen is the man ::when he came on in the second half things got better !! And that is no disrespect to J K

@Martin Quinn: when kilcoyne came on for Healy the scrum got better Martin, I’d still start healy

@Tim Magner:

Tim because Healy is in the top 4 LH props in the world :: We are so lucky that Kilcoyne has come on in leaps and bounds this last season :: but Healy is still no. 1 :: but we have IMO the best impact Subs in the N H

Croyan and Kilcoyne come on and inject a great bit of energy to the team :: So it works for the team ::J K worked hard but he has not convinced me (but who the hell am I ) that is the reason I would go to Hen ::

@Tim Magner:

I coached for a number of years and as a forward that was my area:: the amount of work James has to do as a LH S/R is not a lot:: it is scrumming one side is a bit different head position and Shoulder positions :: More pressure comes on the T/H SR I will give you that but not as much as some people indicate:: So ( IMO ) having a big man on the tight side helps but it does not make that big a difference (James could play either side ) Now that is my view and please take it from me that I am not taking it from JK :::he is on our team and I will be cheering him on and as I said he is a hard worker but it just I believe Hen is the right man to have with J R ::::.

@Jim Demps: I didn’t think he’d be starting but I wouldn’t be shocked at this stage given the amount of chatter. TH lock is an absolute slog of a position by all accounts and would wear the fittest of players down especially in Japanese conditions. Schmidt might be thinking that rather than having one of Henderson/Ryan wasted doing donkey work for most the game he could start with Kleyn and then with a Henderson/Ryan combo. It might be the best way to conserve their energy over the course of the tournament and if he wanted be he could start them together come the knockouts and they’d have plenty left in the tank.

@Jim Demps: I don’t know Jim, as soon as toner was left out I thought kleyn had a chance. He did ok on sat but whether he did enough I don’t know. I’d actually be leaning towards playing him against Scotland who are nothing special as a defensive line out team. It’s against teams like eng & nz who are excellent at wrecking a teams lineout I’d leave him out. Don’t think sa are that great in the lineout either. Anyway he’s big & heavy but not a bad lineout forward at all. The ball that was lost on Saturday didn’t even reach him. The 2nd lineout alright was a lovely steal by awj against cj

@Eddie Hekenui: yeah that makes sense alright. Donkey work is for Donkeys and no better lad than Kleyn to get it done.

@Eddie Hekenui: all the same I think JS is thinking more around the minutes he can save for Hendo and Ryan vs Japan , definitely Russia and probably Samoa . Kleyn could play 6 vs Russia , because Ireland can coast to a big score but some of the players will need protection,the Russians are big physical lads who’ll want to make a mark . Some players should be in cotton wool that day .

@Jim Demps: personally prefer Toner but that argument is spent. However having someone who understands Afrikaans against the Springboks could prove vital in a most likely quarter final scenario. Plus you’d imagine he would be more acustomed to Japan’s climate than the majority of the squad.

@Jim Demps: I said months ago that he’d travel but I thought it was instead of Bierne.

@Harry O’Callaghan: Jonny grey will tackle all day, great hearted lad, but he’s no threat as a carrier. Gilchrist! Look if we’re worrying about that 2nd row we’re doomed! Watson is a fantastic player and so I think vdf has to play. Mcinally is a terrific player but in fairness he makes our hookers look accurate. We put pom at 2 for their throws, Ryan at 4, get them up in the air, if they want to throw to the back I guarantee you our tail-gunner will get the ball more times than not. Their backs are very good alright but if we put the squeeze on up front I’d be confidant anyway. Loved our defence on Saturday, no messing, hit hard, henshaw was unreal for his 1st game back

@Harry O’Callaghan: what makes Scotland dangerous in my opinion is that Russell can make things happen off bad ball, a super player to watch and though he has flaws he’s very unpredictable & dangerous. Hogg is the same, a class act. D’Arcy Graham looks a serious player, though he’s quite small he’s brave and very classy. Think kinghorn can be got at and I don’t think their centres are as good as Scottish fans think, Harris is no better than solid and I think Taylor has been done by injury. A dangerous enough team but if we can’t beat them we’ve a absolutely no business in the quarters

@Tim Magner: Gray & Gilchrist are both better players than Kleyn…More experienced and more all rounded players

@Tim Magner: Hes also played the last 3 games. Shmidts hardly going to start him after his first few caps, in probably our first probably most important game of the world cup. He’ll have him playing against Russia, Samoa and probably SA.

@Harry O’Callaghan: Harry he isn’t going in there as a play maker. How do you see any of the Scottish 2nd rows as more rounded than him? They’re all bog standard players, Jonny grey maybe a step above the rest. James Ryan is on a different planet to what they have. Kleyn only qualified 4 games ago & Schmidt played him in 3, he left out toner, if you don’t think he’s seriously in Schmidt’s plans well then you must think our coach only does things for the craic

@Tim Magner: Oh sorry he’s a world beaters then. Like I said Gray and Gilchrist have more experience and have had great seasons. They were both fantastic against France as well. I never said he was a play maker, he’s used for mauls, and to hit rucks. But in open play, he’s to slow. Scotland will just simply run around him. Why would he start him ahead of Henderson, who most people agree he’s a much better player than Kleyn, pushing and shoving isn’t enough to win you important world cup matches.

@Harry O’Callaghan: that wasn’t my argument at all, I think we have a world beater in Ryan. So if kleyn does the job of a heavy tighthead lock and it means Ryan is free to play a more loose game then how can that hurt the team? If Ryan & Henderson both play, two fantastic players, then will Ryan have to hit all the rucks? Can you not see what we’d lose then? Murray kinsella has a piece above about it. In the all blacks I’d bet the two best footballing, carrying 2nd rows are retallick & Barrett but all day they will pick whitelock to do the hard graft. I would never say kleyn is a patch on whitelock but he’s the only tighthead lock we have bar Ryan & my original point was why waste Ryan? Sometimes it’s about balance not talent

@Tim Magner: He gave away two school boy errors in penalties, and didn’t do great in the scrum, with all your talk about him. Henderson actually did a better job in the scrum when he came on. And he’s not meant to be a good scrummager apparently. The good thing Kleyn did last week was that choke tackle. The week before Henderson made a choke tackle as well! On top of that he has 48 caps & represented the lions. Henderson hits rucks and scrummages just as much?

@Tim Magner: I see your point, but my point still stands

@Tim Magner:

We will be facing the hardest lineout against Scotland (Johnny Gray and Grant Gilchrist.) that is when Hen would be best used.

@Harry O’Callaghan: ah c’ Mon he gave one penalty away when he jumped the gun in the 1st few minutes of the biggest game of his life, a lot of the time he wouldn’t have been pulled for that but I’d rate that french ref as a good un. Henderson is one of the most talented players we have but all his career he’s blown hot and cold. the one thing I’ll say about Ryan is he brings it every time and in my opinion he does everything better than Henderson, I’d build a pack to make him shine myself. Time will tell what Schmidt will do

@Martin Quinn: Martin if you think Jonny grey & grant Gilchrist is the best lineout we face then we have no worries! They’ll play Cummings cos at least he has a bit of power but if Scotland were offered kleyn now, 6’8″ and 20stone, they’d bite your hand off

@Tim Magner: He gave two penalties away, not sure what game you were looking at…And did nothing else the whole game. Didn’t even jump in the lineout. Henderson on a bad day is still better than Kleyn. I’d even have Tadgh Beirne ahead of Kleyn for what he brings to the team. Also Gilchrist is 6ft 8, 18s 8lbs. Kleyn is 6ft 8, 19s 1lbs. When Henderson came on last weekend, Ryan and Henderson hit the same amount of rucks ad each other. Didn’t see Ryan flourish much more than Henderson really. So not sure what game plan you mean there.

@Harry O’Callaghan: how many tackles did he make? How many rucks did he hit? See by saying he did nothing means ah nothing. As for not jumping in the lineout, did he do any lifting? Or were balls thrown to him where he didn’t bother jump? I’ve been consistent in saying Henderson is a better rugby player than kleyn but that’s not the point I was making. I think Ryan is a superior player to Henderson, Ryan is one of our stars, so if Ryan plays better with kleyn doing the donkey work rather than sharing the load with Henderson surely that’s better for the team? Barcelona built a team around Messi cos he’s class, let others do the heavy lifting, same with Madrid around Ronaldo. Ryan will do all the hard grunt work, but he’s better than that

@Tim Magner: look Harry I’ve been saying it for weeks now, probably banging on a bit in fairness, but I wouldn’t have picked toner, I’d have picked Ryan to call the lineouts and I’d pick kleyn to start with him for the big games. I think it’s the best balanced 2nd row we have mainly because Ryan is so good. I’ll pick my team for Scotland though
Healy
Best
Furlong
Kleyn
Ryan
Pom
Stander
Vdf
Murray
Sexton
Earl’s
Aki
Henshaw
Stockdale
Kearney

Kilcoyne, Cronin, Porter, Henderson, beirne, McGrath, carbery, ringrose
I picked beirne cos he can play 6/8, pom & stander can play 7. Close enough between ringrose and Conway but went for ringrose for covering centre

@Tim Magner: Maybe you’re right, we’ll have to wait and see. Ryan last week and every other week for that matter is literally like a physchotic robot out there. He’s almost too good! Early on in the game there was a ruck, and there was a bit of a scuffle between AWJ on the ground. Ryan put him right in his place. He’s just enormous and will only get bigger. I thought he outplayed him the whole game too. And that’s not easy considering Maro Itoje & Kruis were both outplayed by him the week before

@Harry O’Callaghan: that’s why I’d hate to see Ryan as a full-time tighthead lock, the grunt and the punishment you take there you need to get bigger. Ryan is an athlete, mobile, fast, skilful & aggressive. He’s gonna fill into his frame and is going to be a beast, but I hope he keeps what is making him special. Poc put on weight during his career to play tighthead lock, lost it and was better for it. I honestly think Ryan will light up this world cup, the other countries will be talking about him like Irish people are now cos he’s kinda still under the radar

@Harry O’Callaghan: Think this is where someone like Beirne comes in – he’s strong, agressive and can move. Would prefer to see Kleyn kept in reserve – really depends on how training is going or course and any niggles that players might pick-up.

We have a great panel of players for the first time ever. Last Saturday was a day when the replacements came seamlessly into the game and improved what was already there. In the end whether Sexton or Murray play, great players that they are, their replacements will put in a fine display.

@Con Cussed: I agree, Beirne would be very strong if he came in, I’m sure he’s chomping at the bit to be in, he calls line outs too. But with him and Ryan there. The scrum could be a big weakness. I just feel Kleyn is a liability overall though. But then again it’s only his 3rd cap. And he’s young so he could improve and prove me wrong

@Tim Magner:

Tim my point was that JK does not bring anything to the lineout :: where Jonny Gray is a fine Jumper :: so where do we face a better lineout and I am of course only talking about the pool games not the Q/F when we get there::
HOLD ON ::: I am not using this post to have a go at one of our players because he is on the Irish team we all support him ::if he is picked great :: So let’s leave it at that I believe JOE will pick Hen and JR and if he goes for JK::: GREAT ::OK ::: COYBIG

@James F Davis: Bective Rangers really is the pinnacle of rugby coaching

@James F Davis: in my humble opinion those who win frequently and are successful in general should be listened to because they must be doing something right.

@John Carey: in fairness I’d say Hansen wouldn’t help the dragons win.and Grenoble have done nothing since he left. Jackman mightnt be a great coach but he’s an interesting fella to listen to, knows his sh*t

@Tim Magner:

Right on Tim