JOE SCHMIDT’S SQUAD for the forthcoming November internationals dropped into inboxes slightly later than advertised yesterday afternoon, but once Conor Murray had already confirmed he wasn’t in it, there weren’t too many surprises in his enlarged panel.
The absence of Murray, as well as the inclusion of three uncapped players — Will Addison, Sammy Arnold and Ross Byrne, were the standout headlines from a 42-man strong squad for the four Tests next month.
Garry Ringrose was speaking in his role as an Audi ambassador.
As was expected, this Autumn window will be used to further expose lightly-capped players such as Tadhg Beirne, Joey Carbery and Jordan Larmour at Test level, rather than experiment too much with the World Cup — now just 11 months away — coming into sharp focus.
By including Addison and Arnold, Schmidt has not only indicated both are in the running for Japan but has rewarded early-season form with the pair excelling for their respective provinces during the early stages of the campaign.
Furthermore, a recall for Ulster’s Stuart McCloskey adds another option to Schmidt’s midfield ranks, with the established trio of Garry Ringrose, Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw vying for those starting berths.
Munster’s Rory Scannell can consider himself unfortunate to miss out and while Chris Farrell and Dan Goggin are sidelined through injury, Ireland’s depth in the centre is indicative of the strength Schmidt has built throughout the whole squad during this cycle.
A Six Nations campaign, particularly as defending Grand Slam champions, is no place for experimentation so the excursion to Chicago to face Italy, as well as the fourth and final Test against USA, will provide Schmidt with his only real chance to run the rule over alternative options.
The expectation is that the front-line internationals will be excused from the trip to the States in advance of the back-to-back games against Argentina and New Zealand in Dublin, with the battle for places as intense as ever in every position.
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“Yeah, it is,” Garry Ringrose, in conversation with The42, agrees. “There’s even a couple of injuries in there [midfield] as well. Competition is pretty high at the moment which is obviously a great thing as it drives the squad on, even amongst the group of centres.
“Selection is one of those things, it’s not a controllable, you don’t get to caught up by it or worried about it, you just focus on training and the game at the weekend. But it’ll be interesting to see over the next couple of games with the competition who gets the nod.
“You’re aware of other players and the competition, but you’d never wish bad on any other player, nor would you try and be a player you’re not. Everyone has their own style, their own sort of uniqueness so you’re aware of the competition, but you focus on what has got you to the point that you are.”
On Addison, who has impressed for Ulster following his summer arrival from Sale Sharks, Ringrose added: “He’s been brilliant, one of their top backs at the moment, albeit a few tricky results, they’ve stood out in their wins, and even in their couple of losses as well. He’s just adding to the competition that’s there.”
It remains to be seen who is named in the squad for Italy, but should Ringrose be included by Schmidt, it will be a return to the city where the 23-year-old’s international career began in earnest two years ago now.
An unused replacement in that famous victory over the All Blacks at Soldier Field, Ringrose was still an untested rookie at international level then but has developed as everyone imagined, becoming a key part of Schmidt’s plans, winning 14 caps to date.
The centre has won 14 caps. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
The former Blackrock College student returned from injury in time to play a crucial role in helping Ireland achieve the Grand Slam success at Twickenham last March, and then to feature in the second Test against Australia in June.
His midfield partnership with Leinster team-mate Robbie Henshaw puts the pair in a strong position to be Ireland’s first-choice combination, but the form of Bundee Aki in his debut season at international level leaves Schmidt with a big call to make.
“I remember the whole week,” Ringrose says of the win over the All Blacks in 2016.
“The Cubs had won the world series so the place was going mad anyway, the buzz in the city, and getting closer to game time you could just see more and more Irish people out on the streets.
“The match itself, it felt like we were in Dublin with the amount of Irish people there, and the game intensity was something else. It was a day I’ll always remember and feel pretty privileged to even be a part of it.
Even now, though, it’s still only 14 caps I have. Still for me it’s trying to play as well as I can provincially and chase any opportunity I can to get more caps because it’s pretty special to play for Ireland in any game, against any team. It’s about chasing opportunities.
After playing back-to-back 80 minutes in Leinster’s opening Heineken Champions Cup games, Ringrose is in line to be given a weekend off when the province travel to Italy to face Benetton in the Guinness Pro14 this weekend.
But whether that means he’s then in the frame to start against Italy is anyone’s guess, with the players not yet sure what Schmidt’s plans are for selection over the course of the four-match window.
Either way, Ringrose is just keen to play as many minutes as he can and continue to head in the right direction on the form chart, sharpening his skills and fulfilling his role for the team to the best of his ability.
“You just want to play as many games as you can,” he adds.
And to put that increased emphasis on recovery off the pitch as well so you can be fresh for opportunities. You want to hit the ground running, be in form and have that match sharpness.
“It’s the powers that be that decides the minutes so it’s just about trying to put your hand up for every selection possible and the rest is sort of outside of your control.
“We don’t have any prior knowledge of what the story is going to be, just do what we’re told and try and put our hand up for any selection possible. Any opportunity to play for Ireland is a pretty special one so to get the chance to do that at all during November would be special.”
Audi ambassador Garry Ringrose was speaking to The42 at the launch of Audi’s 191 campaign in Dublin yesterday.
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'I want to chase any opportunity I can to get more Ireland caps'
JOE SCHMIDT’S SQUAD for the forthcoming November internationals dropped into inboxes slightly later than advertised yesterday afternoon, but once Conor Murray had already confirmed he wasn’t in it, there weren’t too many surprises in his enlarged panel.
The absence of Murray, as well as the inclusion of three uncapped players — Will Addison, Sammy Arnold and Ross Byrne, were the standout headlines from a 42-man strong squad for the four Tests next month.
As was expected, this Autumn window will be used to further expose lightly-capped players such as Tadhg Beirne, Joey Carbery and Jordan Larmour at Test level, rather than experiment too much with the World Cup — now just 11 months away — coming into sharp focus.
By including Addison and Arnold, Schmidt has not only indicated both are in the running for Japan but has rewarded early-season form with the pair excelling for their respective provinces during the early stages of the campaign.
Furthermore, a recall for Ulster’s Stuart McCloskey adds another option to Schmidt’s midfield ranks, with the established trio of Garry Ringrose, Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw vying for those starting berths.
Munster’s Rory Scannell can consider himself unfortunate to miss out and while Chris Farrell and Dan Goggin are sidelined through injury, Ireland’s depth in the centre is indicative of the strength Schmidt has built throughout the whole squad during this cycle.
A Six Nations campaign, particularly as defending Grand Slam champions, is no place for experimentation so the excursion to Chicago to face Italy, as well as the fourth and final Test against USA, will provide Schmidt with his only real chance to run the rule over alternative options.
The expectation is that the front-line internationals will be excused from the trip to the States in advance of the back-to-back games against Argentina and New Zealand in Dublin, with the battle for places as intense as ever in every position.
“Yeah, it is,” Garry Ringrose, in conversation with The42, agrees. “There’s even a couple of injuries in there [midfield] as well. Competition is pretty high at the moment which is obviously a great thing as it drives the squad on, even amongst the group of centres.
“Selection is one of those things, it’s not a controllable, you don’t get to caught up by it or worried about it, you just focus on training and the game at the weekend. But it’ll be interesting to see over the next couple of games with the competition who gets the nod.
“You’re aware of other players and the competition, but you’d never wish bad on any other player, nor would you try and be a player you’re not. Everyone has their own style, their own sort of uniqueness so you’re aware of the competition, but you focus on what has got you to the point that you are.”
On Addison, who has impressed for Ulster following his summer arrival from Sale Sharks, Ringrose added: “He’s been brilliant, one of their top backs at the moment, albeit a few tricky results, they’ve stood out in their wins, and even in their couple of losses as well. He’s just adding to the competition that’s there.”
It remains to be seen who is named in the squad for Italy, but should Ringrose be included by Schmidt, it will be a return to the city where the 23-year-old’s international career began in earnest two years ago now.
An unused replacement in that famous victory over the All Blacks at Soldier Field, Ringrose was still an untested rookie at international level then but has developed as everyone imagined, becoming a key part of Schmidt’s plans, winning 14 caps to date.
The former Blackrock College student returned from injury in time to play a crucial role in helping Ireland achieve the Grand Slam success at Twickenham last March, and then to feature in the second Test against Australia in June.
His midfield partnership with Leinster team-mate Robbie Henshaw puts the pair in a strong position to be Ireland’s first-choice combination, but the form of Bundee Aki in his debut season at international level leaves Schmidt with a big call to make.
“I remember the whole week,” Ringrose says of the win over the All Blacks in 2016.
“The Cubs had won the world series so the place was going mad anyway, the buzz in the city, and getting closer to game time you could just see more and more Irish people out on the streets.
“The match itself, it felt like we were in Dublin with the amount of Irish people there, and the game intensity was something else. It was a day I’ll always remember and feel pretty privileged to even be a part of it.
After playing back-to-back 80 minutes in Leinster’s opening Heineken Champions Cup games, Ringrose is in line to be given a weekend off when the province travel to Italy to face Benetton in the Guinness Pro14 this weekend.
But whether that means he’s then in the frame to start against Italy is anyone’s guess, with the players not yet sure what Schmidt’s plans are for selection over the course of the four-match window.
Either way, Ringrose is just keen to play as many minutes as he can and continue to head in the right direction on the form chart, sharpening his skills and fulfilling his role for the team to the best of his ability.
“You just want to play as many games as you can,” he adds.
“It’s the powers that be that decides the minutes so it’s just about trying to put your hand up for every selection possible and the rest is sort of outside of your control.
“We don’t have any prior knowledge of what the story is going to be, just do what we’re told and try and put our hand up for any selection possible. Any opportunity to play for Ireland is a pretty special one so to get the chance to do that at all during November would be special.”
Audi ambassador Garry Ringrose was speaking to The42 at the launch of Audi’s 191 campaign in Dublin yesterday.
Subscribe to our new podcast, Heineken Rugby Weekly on The42, here:
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
fight for places Garry Ringrose Ireland November internationals November Tests