JOE SCHMIDT NAMED his extended 45 man squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup yesterday, and as expected after such a successful year for the national side, there weren’t many surprises.
Of that 45, 11 pack down in the front row, and of that 11, two more will be cut before the final 31 man squad heads across the water.
With a strong scrum so crucial to success, we’ve taken a look at the 11 front rows fighting for the nine plane tickets, and the long queue of names waiting in the wings, should injury strike.
All decided at tighthead?
The first thing that stands out about the selection is that barring injury, Schmidt seems decisive on the tighthead trio he’s bringing to England.
Mike Ross and Marty Moore have been the established duo on matchday, over the last 12 months it’s been a case of when, rather than if Tadhg Furlong would find himself in the main squad.
At the turn of the year it looked as if Mike Ross could struggle to make it to the World Cup.
He struggled badly in the back to back Champions Cup games against Harlequins, and paid the price by being dropped by Matt O’Connor in January.
However, Schmidt stuck by his veteran tighthead and put him in the number three juesey for the Six Nations opener in Rome. With the vote of confidence, Ross looked like a new player overnight, and comfortably anchored the scrum in all but one of the five games, coming off second best against young French loosehead Eddy Ben Arous at the Aviva Stadium.
His true redemption came against England when he dominated Joe Marler, the man who had given him nightmares in the Quins double-header. Ross put a greater emphasis on technique over power, and it exploited Marler, whose angles got exploited emphatically.
Take below as an example, Ross keeping the perfect 90 degree bend and 120 degree bend at the knees, while Marler is driving up, almost in a straight line from his head to his toes. Ultimately it led to an Irish penalty.
Ross is certain of his place in the final squad, and he seems a better player when Marty Moore is there to back him up. In the Autumn, Schmidt’s lack of faith in Rodney Ah You was evident, keeping Ross on the pitch for 27 of the 30 scrums in the November tests, and his form was patch as a result.
Having Moore on the bench for the Six Nations allowed Ross to go all out for 50 minutes at a time, with the security of a strong scrummager available to replace him. Against Scotland, we saw some perfect examples of this. Ireland had dominated the Scottish set piece in the opening half, and when Moore was introduced, he picked up where Ross left off.
In his first scrum, he came under pressure from Alasdair Dickinson, who angled in illegally, but Moore kept his discipline, maintaining a straight drive.
And the net result was that as Scotland began to wheel, the Irish pack kept moving forward, picking up another penalty.
When Ross does hang up his boots, the future is strong at Ireland’s traditional problem position, with Moore looking more and more an international standard scrummager every time he pulls on an Ireland jersey.
Barring injury, the selection of Tadhg Furlong is a clear indication of the first choice trio Schmidt is planning to bring to the tournament. The lack of a fourth option says that Furlong will get plenty of game time in the warm-up matches, with the 22-year-old having very little chance to impress at the scrum against the Barbarians,with his opponent Roberto Tejerizo getting consistently penalised for illegal drives.
However, whet we’ve seen from Furlong in his first season in the Leinster senior team has been very impressive. Whether has has what it takes to break Ross and Moore’s hold on the starting jerseys remains to be seen. But if he doesn’t, he’s in this squad on merit.
The only thing standing in the way of Furlong going to the World Cup will be an injury, or the unlikely event that Shcmidt gambles on bringing two tightheads to the tournament, the latter of which seems highly unlikely.
Those who missed the cut should keep their passports nearby however, as it just takes one injury to get back into the mix.
On form, Stephen Archer seems next in line, while Connacht pair Nathan White and Finlay Bealham will also be contenders.
Strauss and Herring to fight for a plane ticket
While tighthead looks to be a closed club, there are intriguing battles developing for the last remaining jersey at hooker and loosehead.
While Sean Cronin has played the perfect impact sub to Rory Best, there is a strong case to be made for either Rob Herring or Richardt Strauss to provide cover as third man.
At the moment, Strauss has done nothing to warrant losing his place as the next in line, but big performances from Herring could give leave Schmidt with a decision to make.
The South African-born pair are both solid options, but if the final squad was to be picked tomorrow, Leinster’s Strauss would be the man to get selected.
However, the 29-year-old has picked up some niggly injuries in the past 12 months, and should he come a cropper in training, Herring has his opening.
Spare a thought for Duncan Casey too, the Munster hooker was one of their players of the year this season, but will surely need a couple of injuries to get a first call-up.
Bent showing the Killer touch?
Of all the battles for a frontrow place, the face off between Dave Kilcoyne and Michael Bent is the hottest of the lot.
With the embarrassment of riches at loosehead, Schmidt has had so may options to choose from with this squad. Cian Healy and Jack McGrath were the locked down first and second choice, but with four or five players vying for the likely final loosehead spot, there was always going to be test quality left at home.
For Michael Bent, this has been the season of redemption. Despite being the third choice loosehead at the province, injuries and international commitments to Healy and McGrath mean he’s had plenty of gametime this season, and he’s holding his own at loosehead.
In the crucial final pool game of the Champions Cup against Wasps, Leinster’s scrum clicked, with Bent an important part, this first half penalty being a prime example.
When the ball is fed, Marty Moore anchors the scrum at tighthead, holding his spot despite the crooked drive from Matt Mullan.
Bent drives forward, creating an arc, and we can see that he’s nudged up, opening the space and forcing Wasps’ defensive line further back.
They continue driving, and Wasps begin to whip the scrum, rather than going backwards. When the penalty arrives, we can see how Bent still has his head outside the chest of Cittadini, a clear sign of a good, square and straight drive.
While Bent is probably showing his best form since arriving in Ireland nearly three years ago, Munster’s Dave Kilcoyne is the other option, and there’s not much between the pair.
Kilcoyne was the third loosehead in the squad for the November tests, starting against Georgia and coming off the bench against South Africa, but injury soon after meant that when the Ireland jetted off for Rome and the Six Nations opener, he had fallen back the pecking order.
He’s a big scrummager though, with a huge amount of leg power to draw from.
Against Glasgow in the Pro 12 final, he showed fantastic technique and power to keep the scrum as low as possible without collapsing. As we can see, he’s as close as can be to dropping his knee to the pitch, but his excellent footwork is keeping him up, with his front studs dug deep into the turf.
Eventually, Roussow du Klerk can’s keep stable any longer, dropping his bind and collapsing. Being at the far side of the scrum at the time Nigel Owens deemed it a slip, and reset, which Munster won a penalty from.
With Cian Healy still recovering from neck surgery, both Kilcoyne and Bent should get ample time to make an impression over the course of the warm-up games. Bent’s ability to play both tight and loose may help swing it, but will not be a deciding factor.
Purely on form, Kilcoyne’s end of season displays for Munster probably has him ahead by a nose, but the scrap between the pair for a World Cup place will be one of the best sub-plots this summer.
Leinster obviously have the squad with the most depth. However how can the players in third place for Leinster be rated ahead of the guys starting for the other provinces? All of the scrummaging and good performances that the likes of Furlong, Bent Strauss etc are doing is by definition against weaker opposition. Big match experience has to count for something. With regard to form there should also be consistency across the board. when looking at the back three , for example, it is inconsistent to say that Zebo has had a worrying lack of form but that Rob Kearney is a certain starter despite an entire season without form.
Agree to an extent. In the case of Bent v Kilcoyne, Kilcoyne and Cronin rotate on a regular basis with Munster, while Bent actually got planty of game time last season with Healy’s injury, and his and McGrath’s international commitments. On top of that, whoever from the pair does get selected will be third choice, and probably won’t start a game, barring injuries.
One other point would be to note just how depleted Leinster could be during the tournament. They’re definitely losing six front rows, although it’s probably going to be seven, and possibly even eight.
If I were a Leinster fan I would be worried about the squad being filleted for the RWC and the impact that would have on the Pro12. Add to this a post world cup rest period and hangover period for the players who go, a really tough Champions Cup group and the season has the potential to implode.
I have every confidence, that Girvan Dempsey with the help of Leo Cullen, Kurt McQuilkin und John Fogarty will get the best of the academy players and the rest of the squad, thereby laying the basis for a far more successful season that 2014/2015.
Hopefully we’ll use this summer series to unearth an alternative starting option at 15, I don’t think Rob is in any shape to start at the RWC with his recent form.
Rochelle,
Think you meant to say hopefully no Leinster player will ever play for Ireland ever again.
Keep dreaming bud!
Hard to disagree. He was the weakest FB in the 6n to be fair.
Cian, I think you get my point…. Rochelle does nothing but shite stirring and has a morbid obsession with Leinster players.
Some people have hobbies and a life, others sit at keyboard pulling the balls off themselves whilst setting up fake profiles to troll strangers….
True. But every now and again he makes a valid point. Much like Robson.
Cian, it’s quite possible Knobson and Rochelle are one and the same but seen as we are talking number 15 I’d quite like to see Payne given a shot at fullback!
#Justice4DenisBuckley
Just commented this on another article but I think it probably now makes more sense here.
Bent got a lot of gametime for Leinster this year while Healy was injured, and he played very well at loosehead. He’s not a great tighthead but he can cover it well. That versatility is huge, and I think it puts him ahead of Kilcoyne despite Kilcoyne being a better prop.
We’ve brought 4 props as part of a 30 man squad over the last two World Cups I think, and we now have a 31 man squad. I think it may be difficult to justify bringing 6 props with such limited spaces. With one extra space, I think it’s tailor made for a prop who can shore up both sides of the scrum. Bringing Bent as the 31st man means that he can slot in ahead of any prop in training at any given time – important with prop being an attritional & specalist position.
If Healy ships a knock he can sit out a day or two and Bent can slot into loosehead in a live scrummaging session, and he can also slot in ahead of Ross if Ross takes a knock etc.
Bent is by no means an excellent tighthead I know that, but he can cover it in training. He’ll take lots of pressure off Healy, McGrath, Ross and Moore that way. If he does what’s expected of him, he’ll make the plane as the 31st man and the 5th prop.
I don’t think Bent is there to play World Cup games, but he’s there to add value in training. If Schmidt is prepared to bring 6 props, I expect Kilcoyne and Furlong to travel. In a limited squad though I think the extra spot is perfect for Bent, with Kilcoyne and Furlong on standby to join the squad if there are any injuries.
I think you have got that 100% right , Bent will only go if they want to save a jersey for another position.
If bent goes it will be for the sake of training rather than playing. If anything happened then killer would get called in to play and bent would still stay in the training squad.
From a Leinster point of view I hope bent and furlong don’t make the final squad as they will be needed for the league. If either make the squad then best of luck to them and I hope they get themselves a nice little World Cup winners medal
With the extra prop allowance in the squad, 8 fronts rows travel to the world cup as opposed to 7 in previous world cups. If that split, there are generally 3 hookers (some squads go with two, but I’d be very surprised if we didn’t go with 3 as with most squads). That leaves five props in the squad + hookers.
These lads are pretty much locked down as going:
Loosehead: Healy, McGrath
Hooker: Best, Cronin, Strauss
Tighthead: Ross, Moore
Which leaves one spot left, which will be between Kilcoyne and Bent. I’d favour Kilcoyne myself, but Bent has the advantage of being able to play on both sides of the scrum, so can cover tight-head too, so he might get the nod on the basis of his versatility.
You’re taking a big risk by not bringing three of each in the front row though.
While Bent can play tighthead, he’s been used there very little in the last season. I’ve done a quick glance back at Leinster’s teams from the last year, and from what I can see he only played TH twice last season (open to correction though). Add to that his lack of test experience, it’d be very, very risky to include him for his tighthead abilities.
As we’ve learned in the past taking shortcuts in that position can have drastic consequences, and considering the depth and versatility we have in the backrow and backline, and how pragmatic Joe Schmidt is, I’d be very surprised to see him take the chance.
It’s a fair point, but the only way you could bring three loose heads and three tightheads is if you only bring two hookers, which Joe may well go for. If he did, then I’d probably drop Strauss and bring Kilcoyne and Furlong, but I’d imagine he’ll go with 3 hookers and 5 props, which could bring Bents versatility into play, or he may even go with two looseheads (Healy and McGrath) and three tightheads, which would likely be Ross, Moore and Furlong.
You can bring nine front rows and still have quality cover elsewhere.
If he’s going to bring 8 front rows, I think three tight and two loose would be the best option. Maybe he’s also factoring in how quickly a replacement could be flown over, considering it’s in England.
Personally, don’t see any point in taking the risk though,
Its irrelevant that Denis Buckley is the number one loosehead in the pro direct and is far more mobile than archer, the “killer”, and bent and also a better scrummager. Totally irrelevant.
He’s not more mobile than Kilcoyne, few props are
If, as a loosehead, Denis Buckley was less mobile than Archer, a tighthead, I’d be worried.
What do we think the breakdown will be in terms of the squad? We have a few guys that can play across a few positions, so that leads me to believe we’ll see something like this:
LH: 3 (Healy, McGrath, Bent)
HK: 3 (Best, Cronin, Strauss)
TH: 3 (Ross, Moore, Furlong)
SR: 3 (O’Connell, Toner, Ryan)
BS: 2 (O’Mahoney, Henderson)
OS: 2 (O’Brien, Henry)
N8: 2 (Heaslip, Murphy)
SH: 3 (Murray, Reddan, Marmion)
FH: 3 (Sexton, Madigan, Jackson)
W: 3 (Bowe, Zebo, Fitzgerald)
C: 3 (Payne, Henshaw, McFadden)
FB: 2 (Kearney, Jones)
Bent, Henderson, O’Brien, Madigan, Fitzgerald, McFadden and Payne can all cover at least one other position if needed. That versatility is a big strength for them. Can’t see a spot for D’arcy without an injury, which is a shame
That’s 32 players
If there’s any justice Earls and Gilroy should get picked best wingers by a country mile this season.
If Joe picks the out of forum steady Eddies it will be the undoing of the team .
There really is little to compare with 2007 , for a start most players didn’t have many competitive games after April until the WC itself ( hence the Bayonne shambles) because none of the provinces got anywhere in the HC and the league had no playoffs , so only Geordan Murphy and Reddan were playing high level by the end of May . Then the Argentina tour was mainly second string. There were less warm up games etc etc etc So this time Joe should know who is in form whereas Eddie knew only who was fit , and there’s a huge difference between one and the other.
I’d rate John Ryan ahead of Bent, Kilcoyne and James Cronin
Some spoofer!
Healy, McGrath, Best, Cronin or Straus, Ross & Moore.
Picks it’s self really….
Get him on the plane.
Loose-Head Props
1. Cian Healy
17. Jack McGrath
In RWC Squad Dave Kilcoyne
Hookers
2. Rory Best
16. Sean Cronin
In RWC Squad : Richardt Strauss
Tight-Head Props
1. Mike Ross
18.. Martin Moore
I’m n RWC Squad : Tadhg Furlong
*3. Mike Ross
Healy, Mc Grath
Best, Cronin, Strauss
Ross, Moore, Furlong