@Jim Demps: so Ryan isn’t the best lock in Ireland until he gets lions under his belt? I think Heaslip means Irish number 8.

@LP: ah sound. Doris is class, the whole world in front of him. Let him out and play without anointing him with silly titles like that and heaping pressure on him and giving people a stick to beat him with. Heaslip should know better.

@Axel Beckett: hes got the run of caps that I mentioned though doesn’t he?

@Jim Demps:

Do you not think it was a flippant slip of the tongue to spark debate and keep his name in the press for a few hours or days at least.

Even the dogs in the street know it’s the Ulster number 8 that is possibly the top performer in Ireland over every position just now.

I am equally looking forward to watching Doris at 8 and Stander at 6 as we need cover for the middle of the back row. Stander is an excellent 8 but I alway fear him getting injured as the next in line Conan was a large drop down in ability.
I like Stander at 6 and he never lets the team down and for this reason I would always want to find a place for him. He and Doris give us more ball carrying firepower along with big defence hits.
In the future I think this is the back row with Dan coming back at 7

@Jim Demps: Yeah, what would Heaslip know about playing number 8 at test level

@Jim Demps: if only you reeled your own neck in during your playing days, we wouldn’t have to listen to your concussion-based gibberish.

@Jim Demps: ah Jim you’ve been missed. Your ability to try provoke outrage is without equal. Heaslip is entitled to his opinion just like your are. No need for the confrontational aggressive language.

@Jim Demps: any chance his comment related to Irish qualified player’s only Jim? Nah, you’d never consider that in your fit of anti Heaslip outrage!!

@Jim Demps: welcome back. What a straw man to start with; you have a month’s worth of next built up to throw about now.

@Jim Demps: I agree with stander but lions is a silly point to make.

@Jim Demps: Pretty sure by Ireland he meant qualified for Ireland. And Stander might be in the running for best 6 in Ireland but I wouldn’t put him in the top 3 at 8. Dorris is a far more rounded player than him.

@Jim Demps: I didn’t even realise doris was the best number 8 in leinster for a start

@Jim Demps: I can’t wait for the article on Heaslip’s opinion that Joe Schmidt is Ireland’s greatest ever rugby coach.

Or better yet the piece on “Why Jamie Heaslip is twice the player Donnacha Ryan ever was”.

@Jim Demps: nonsense, if CJ was better than Doris at 8 then he’d be playing 8… he’s a limited 8 and you’d see that if you took your Munster goggles off – he makes hard yards with lots of small carries but has limited speed and limited passing ability. CJ is a better blindside flanker and that’s his best position

@Andy Dwyer: correct Heaslip was twice the player Ryan is.

@BMJF: wouldn’t you be better off waiting to see Doris at international level before proclaiming him as better than cj? I think Doris looks the real deal but cj has done it at the top level for a long time against serious teams. A couple of years ago conan was going to show cj how it’s done at international level, here was the real deal with all the skills and though he did OK he was a few notches below cj at that level. I’d have high hopes for Doris, he looks a terrific player but as Jim rightly said, why proclaim him as the second coming? Give the young lad a chance to play his way in without heaping even more pressure on him

@Umpaloompa: @Jim Demps : Coetzee best 8 in Ireland. Stander best 6 and overall backrow player in Ireland. He’s a great player not an 8. Blindside is where he’s at home and flourishes.
Wouldn’t say he’s under pressure considering he’s just moved back to his better position.
Doris is best Irish qualified number 8 because of great skill set , footwork mixed with physicality but Stander the better of the two.
Always amazes me that Heaslip never praises Stander for his efforts at 6 when they played together for 2 years. Always get the impression Heaslip was a bit jealous of Standers physical ball carrying , tackle counts and quality turnovers and is probably aware of Standers probably aware of CJs popularity among coaches and fans.

@Ger: Stander never was an 8 – in that regard Coetzee , Doris & Deegan are better.
He is however head and shoulders the best 6 and could make a strong argument for best forward with James Ryan for his engine , strength in the carry & breakdown ability

@Jim Demps: That didn’t take long, guess it was nice while it lasted…

@John Carey: how’s he never been an 8 when he’s been nailed on 8 for Ireland for more than the last 2 years?

@Jim Demps: Doris is a better player than Stander RIGHT NOW. It’s not that hard to understand. What Stander has done in the past is irrelevant.

Heaslip is saying Doris is a better player now and it’s hard to disagree with that looking at how both performed in Europe in recent months. Not everything is a dig at Munster.

@Robb Stark: I wouldn’t mind seeing how Doris goes with the pack on the back foot and he’s dealing with sh*t ball before declaring him as ireland best nó. 8

@Kohn Jeenan: He’s played 8 but it doesn’t suit his style of play ( he’s always been nailed on just not in his best position)

@Tim Magner: the answer to every leinster players form is its easy to play in a team going forward, how do you think leinster get this go forward ball?

@Chris Mc: a really good tight 5 Chris, there’s 3 of them playing on sat with another 3 on the bench. Not to mention fardy. But leinster have played no pack this year that’ll come even close to the strength of England, Wales or France. I wasn’t knocking Doris at all, I think he’s a class act. But I’d prefer to see him perform at the top level before I’d make a claim like heaslip did

@Tim Magner: Completely agree Tim. No matter how good a player is, you need to see him on the back foot and against the best. Next week against Moriarty would be a brilliant match up.

@Axel Beckett: I’ve no doubt the lad will make it axel, he’s as well rounded an 8 as we’ve seen in Ireland in a long tíme and I’d nearly put money on him now starting for the lions in 2 yrs time with the injury profile of Billy v & faletau. I still want to see him perform at the highest level though. By the way, great call on the Irish selection

@John Carey: Yup he’s the best 6 in the squad on form. I think POM from 2018 and before was a better all round player but he is not the same player. I actually think that Leavy could end up playing 6 for Ireland when he comes back. I know he has played 7 for Ireland but some of the best performances I’ve seen from him for Leinster has been at 6. His game is perfect for 6. The make up of the back row will change a lot over the next few seasons, lots of good players coming through. But I doubt we’ll see Stander at 8 again except for multiple injuries.

@Ger: Stander was always a better player the O’Mahony for Munster and Ireland.
Big Leavy fan myself but he’s a real 7. Can’t see Farrell dropping CJ (especially when VDF is more expendable). I think Dan and CJ will be the two consents in the Irish backrow for the next four to five years

@Ger: it’s amazing how quickly people forget how good stander was/is as a no. 8. He played all of 2018 in that position and he excelled. If pom was motm v nz that year then stander wasn’t very far behind, they were the 2 outstanding players, amongst many, on the pitch. Doris looks a serious prospect and the Jersey should be his. I wouldn’t be as blown away by deegan as some are, he’s a serious athlete and I think he’ll excel against weaker opposition where he can look very flashy. At the top level though the line breaks aren’t as easy to come by and he’s shown nothing yet that he’s prepared to get stuck into the less glamorous parts of the job, in a lot of ways he’s similar to conan

@Tim Magner: I agree with you re Degan and Conan. I think Deegan can improve but he will need to to force his way into the 23 at test level. Not sure what Conan will be like when he’s back and everyone is fit. Probably won’t make the squad. I don’t fully agree with you re Stander. I do agree he definitely played well in 2018 but the entire team were playing well then. I think he does what he does well but he is too 1 dimensional for test level at number 8. The modern 8 needs to be a good footballer as well as being able to do the donkey work. Stander just isn’t a great footballer. He is far superior at 6.

@Matt Fagan: I always though Heaslip played on the wing !