ROBIN McBRYDE SAYS he can understand the benefits that would come with moving Leinster and Ireland prop Andrew Porter back across from tighthead to loosehead.
Porter has enjoyed a hugely positive season for both club and country at tighthead, getting more first-team exposure in the absence of Tadhg Furlong, who only recently returned from a long-term injury lay-off.
Following some impressive displays during the autumn internationals, Porter started Ireland’s opening two Six Nations fixtures against Wales and France, before Furlong was restored to the starting team for last weekend’s win over Italy.
And with Furlong quickly finding his feet on the pitch again, it has raised the question of how to best accommodate Porter going forward.
The 25-year-old came through the age grades at loosehead before switching to tighthead during the early days of his senior career with Leinster.
Ireland remain open to the possibility of pushing Porter back across to loosehead, where the current front-runners in Andy Farrell’s squad are 33-year-old Cian Healy and Dave Kilcoyne, 32.
And Leinster scrum coach McBryde says that while Porter has shown real development at tighthead over the past year, he can see the sense in relocating him again.
“I think that’s a three-way conversation, both nationally, regionally or provincially here, and with Andrew,” McBryde says.
First and foremost, the player has to be happy with what opportunities moving across will give him because, at the moment, he is up there with the best tightheads in world rugby because he’s playing regularly and he’s playing well.
“So it’s a tricky one to be perfectly honest with you. Because what you don’t want to do is mess around with somebody like Ports. He’s a great kid… he’s older than a kid, but he’s a great kid to work with because he is so open to anything really.
“So yeah, those conversations, I personally haven’t had those conversations but I can see the merits in it, because you want your best rugby players on the field. So we’ll see how that one develops.”
After a difficult 2020 campaign, Ireland’s scrum has been one of the more encouraging elements of their game in the current Six Nations.
McBryde says the approach at international level isn’t too different to how Leinster are trying to do things.
“I had a discussion with Fogs [John Fogarty, Ireland scrum coach] ahead of the tournament really about what we were doing with Leinster,” he says.
“It was just a back and forth conversation as regards how we saw the scrum going in modern rugby and the way of the world. Because of the number of players involved in both camps, you know, I think both of us have got common sense to realise that there is no point in going too far from what we’re doing at regional level.
“It was a good discussion and it’s just great to see them doing well. They’re scrummaging really well at the moment, it’s a positive for all of them, Andrew Porter, Cian Healy, Ed Byrne is back with us this week, Rónan Kelleher, it is good to see that relationship working.”
With so many players away on international duty, Leinster have been able to use the last few weeks to get more minutes into some of the squad’s younger players.
One example is Dan Sheehan. The hooker, who made his Leinster debut against Zebre in October, has come off the bench in the wins against Dragons and Glasgow Warriors to play his first senior rugby since November.
“He needs more gametime, he needs more minutes. I think that’s what is going to accelerate his development really,” McBryde continues.
“Now whether there is an opportunity to do it and with the quality we have got in that position… Rónan Kelleher is currently away and then you’ve got James Tracy and Seán Cronin here, so the level of competition against him is very high. So unfortunately that means he may not get the playing minutes that he needs.
“However, we are aware of it, and we need to be pushing him a little bit more and more and more. That’s the only way he’s going to get better.”
Sheehan is not the only player who would like to be getting more minutes under his belt, something the province accept is a challenge in the current climate.
“It’s tough at the moment because there’s not a lot of rugby going on anywhere underneath the professional level. I know there’s been a couple of ‘A’ games, but nothing compared to what there would be normally really.
“It’s a bit of a one-off situation currently. However, we are aware that we need to give these guys gametime, so hopefully in the next couple of weeks we’ll see him get a bit more time on the field.
“You’ve got to keep these players hungry, and they’ve got to realise that when they do get their opportunity they’ve got to live up to expectation as well. They’ve got to value the opportunity when it comes along.”
No they’d be terrible. As a Forest fan, I think the team have been, for the most part playing good attacking football and scoring goals. They’ve been inconsistent – a little soft at the back is all. Due to the influx of cash, the standard in the EFL is far more technically proficient and tactically sophisticated league (at the top end at least) than it was when O’Neill and Keane last managed this division. I’ve seen nothing in their recent work to suggest they have the tactical savvy to do a job for Forest. They certainly don’t have tne man-management skills to get the best out of the modern professional footballer.
@Fergal O’ Reilly: yes because they got to the last 16 of the euros and 90 mins from a World Cup without having a clue about tactics. Sick of people churning out this shpeel about o Neil and Keane.
@Lorcan Cunningham: there was a horrible amount of luck and just plain heart and fight by the players to get there though. When the adrenaline of the Euros died, then the will of the players did too. There’s nothing motivating about playing the same aimless football for the following two years when smaller countries with less talent become more proficient and confident.
@Lorcan Cunningham: Nah! You’ve cherrypicked one example of things working out – and there’s probably one or two other properly “impressive” displays e.g. Germany and Serbia. (But even then what exactly was their tactical master stroke? ) And anyway, the last 12-18 months have been abject – deplorable even – with ZERO semblance of a tactical game plan . And on top of that, you need to be even better man-managers in a club environment because of player/agent-power. The two lads are beyond abysmal in that department.
@Fergal O’ Reilly: last 12 months things crumbled due to injuries/retirements. The lads were at the helm for some memorable nights for Irish football over their tenure, nights that had been lacking for a decade. Get off the o Neill’s a dinosaur bandwagon lads it’s embarrassing.
@Fergal O’ Reilly: I don’t think anybody could disagree with you . O’Neill would be absolute disaster for Forest. In fact I think he would be a disaster for any team. If you want to watch dross week in week out, get Big Sam. At least you would have some chance of promotion
In the context of management, to mention Brian Clough and Martin O’Neill in the same sentence is sacrilegious. Brian Clough was one of the greatest football managers who ever lived. Martin O’Neill was at best a journeyman manager.
@Fergal O’ Reilly: The Big Sam thing was a joke by the way. You should also pray the don’t get Big Sam.
@Lorcan Cunningham: I’m not on the “dinosaur bandwagon” apropos of nothing (like I’d never bring it up for the sake of getting a dig in – that’d be puerile, and indeed embarrassing) …I only make the case for his lack of tactical nous in making the case against his being considered for the role
@CrabaRev: Ha! I get you! To be honest, we’ve almost been relegated for the past few seasons, been banned from the transfer market for FPA transgressions, had parts of the stadium closed off etc. I just think that being 4 points off a promotion spot in mid January isn’t a bad place to be, and this manager should have been given more time and resources.
@Lorcan Cunningham: Not as embarrassing as O’Neill himself. From his amazing lack of on-field tactics, to his total lack of regimented training sessions (no practicing of set piece defending?!) to his contemptuous attitude to the Irish media and Tony O’Donoghue in particular.
The man belongs in the dustbin of history, and should be let nowhere near any professional setup.
Let’s see what they can do when they can actually buy in players unlike international football. The ‘we haven’t got the footballers’ excuse would work here
He wasn’t fired!
“RUNNN FORREST RUNNN”
I’d like to see Keane work as a No. 2 for a manager who plays attacking football such as Brendan Rodgers or Roberto Martinez.
1. Karanka was not fired – he resigned, as per the club website.
2. In what parallel universe would either O’Neill or Keane be a good fit for Forest? A generation of Forest fans were brought up on free flowing passing football as practiced by Brian Clough. The younger ones want this to remain as the club ethos – we do not want to watch ‘$hit on a stick’ football with no real tactics as played by O’Neill sides. Clough once famously said “if god had wanted football to be played in the clouds, he’d have put grass up there”. O’Neill has never heeded his mentor’s coaching philosophy as a manager, somewhat ironic given that O’Neill was a cultured playmaker himself.
No, two coaches we definitely do not want to see employed at the City Ground are Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane.
@Colm O’Sullivan: I hope it’s neither of those two. I’ve a feeling it could be Jokanovic
Always liked O’Neill as a manager, gave Leicester a great belief when they were down and out! I don’t think he will be considered though…feel Marinakis will look for someone like Mark Hughes or David Moyes
That is ironic; good last line.
Daryl Murphy will end up there if Roy Keane goes there, Roy Keane and Daryl Murphy go together just as well as Harry Redknapp and Nico Kranjcar
@Eddie Dillon.: Daryl Murphy is already there.
@Eddie Dillon.: Ah jaysus Eddie