THE THOUGHT OF Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher, and Tadhg Furlong in the same starting front row is something that has appealed to Leinster and Ireland for a couple of years now.
We look set to see it this season thanks to Porter’s long-mooted move back across to the loosehead side finally happening.
Leinster identified the need for more power in their tight five as key to getting back to the pinnacle of the European game and they certainly should have plenty of it now.
Injuries can disrupt best-laid plans but Leo Cullen and Stuart Lancaster must be giddy imagining a starting trio of Porter, Kelleher, and Furlong possibly being backed up by Cian Healy, Dan Sheehan, and Michael Alaalatoa.
There are others vying for places in Leinster, of course, but that is a front row unit that could rival any in the club game.
Porter is only two games into his return to loosehead prop – where he played his underage rugby – but Leinster forwards coach Robin McBryde is pleased with the signs so far, while Healy is now learning the ropes at tighthead too.
“It’s a conversation regarding Andrew that’s been ongoing since I arrived here really,” said McBryde, who was part of the Lions coaching staff who selected Porter as a tighthead for the tour of South Africa, which the 25-year-old missed through injury.
“You want your best players on the pitch and everyone is aware of the battle between Tadhg and Andrew for the tighthead shirt both here at Leinster and with Ireland as well.
Advertisement
Porter was selected for the Lions as a tighthead. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
“They’re both great players and you want your best players on the pitch at the same time, so you look at the strength in depth nationally and where that next player is going to come from.
“I think it’s going well with Andrew, I’m really happy with how it’s gone in the first couple of games. He’s still learning, obviously, even though he’s had exposure previously on the loosehead. The more time that he spends there, the better he will get.
“Then from a national perspective, when you look at the next World Cup, which is only two years away, if you’ve got a couple of props who can cover both sides of the scrum, it means you can maybe have an extra member in your 31-man squad [note: squad size is due to be 33 players at the next World Cup] and that’s gold really.
“It’s going well and he is great to work with, Andrew. He is very open-minded and he just gets on with it.”
With Porter moving back to loosehead, 33-year-old Healy has been used at tighthead early on this season despite playing the entirety of his career on the other side of the scrum. Again, McBryde is enthused by Healy’s efforts.
“He has earned two penalties in the opening rounds, some good penalties as well on our own ball where we’ve really gone after them,” said McBryde.
“Again, Cian put his hand up and volunteered basically to give it a crack on the other side. With the experience that he’s got, he’s hands-down strong enough, but his mental application to things – he tends to just get on with it.
“He’s not going to get every scrum right so when he does have a bad one, he’s just got to dust himself off, say he didn’t get it right, and go again. That’s what’s key when you are learning things for the first time there.”
Michael Alaalatoa has joined from the Crusaders.
McBryde also praised Samoa international Alaalatoa for settling in swiftly after his move from the Crusaders during the summer, with the 30-year-old adding plenty of winning experience to the set-up.
While Kelleher is likely to remain first-choice at hooker with Leinster, 23-year-old Dan Sheehan has had a good start to the season and is a big, powerful unit at 6ft 3ins and 110kg.
“I think it’s evident what Dan brings as a hooker,” said McBryde. “You see how effective he is carrying the ball around the tail of the lineout, you see his offloading ability.
“He didn’t get all his decisions right in the first game [against the Bulls], where he lost the ball a couple of times in contact, trying an offload, but you don’t want to take that out of him either. You just want him to make better decisions, better judgments at that time. With experience, that will come.
“From a set-piece point of view, we’re really happy with the way he’s gone, both scrum and lineout really. There were a couple of wobbles at the weekend, but I don’t think he was on at that stage.
“The first two games have been a great start to the season for him and he’s put a bit of pressure back onto the likes of James Tracy, Sean Cronin, and Rónan Kelleher for that matter as well.
“He’s a big, ball-carrying hooker and he’s pretty strong defensively as well. So, yeah, it’s going to be interesting to see how the battles pan out over the season.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
9 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
'You want your best players on the pitch at the same time'
THE THOUGHT OF Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher, and Tadhg Furlong in the same starting front row is something that has appealed to Leinster and Ireland for a couple of years now.
We look set to see it this season thanks to Porter’s long-mooted move back across to the loosehead side finally happening.
Leinster identified the need for more power in their tight five as key to getting back to the pinnacle of the European game and they certainly should have plenty of it now.
Injuries can disrupt best-laid plans but Leo Cullen and Stuart Lancaster must be giddy imagining a starting trio of Porter, Kelleher, and Furlong possibly being backed up by Cian Healy, Dan Sheehan, and Michael Alaalatoa.
There are others vying for places in Leinster, of course, but that is a front row unit that could rival any in the club game.
Porter is only two games into his return to loosehead prop – where he played his underage rugby – but Leinster forwards coach Robin McBryde is pleased with the signs so far, while Healy is now learning the ropes at tighthead too.
“It’s a conversation regarding Andrew that’s been ongoing since I arrived here really,” said McBryde, who was part of the Lions coaching staff who selected Porter as a tighthead for the tour of South Africa, which the 25-year-old missed through injury.
“You want your best players on the pitch and everyone is aware of the battle between Tadhg and Andrew for the tighthead shirt both here at Leinster and with Ireland as well.
“They’re both great players and you want your best players on the pitch at the same time, so you look at the strength in depth nationally and where that next player is going to come from.
“I think it’s going well with Andrew, I’m really happy with how it’s gone in the first couple of games. He’s still learning, obviously, even though he’s had exposure previously on the loosehead. The more time that he spends there, the better he will get.
“Then from a national perspective, when you look at the next World Cup, which is only two years away, if you’ve got a couple of props who can cover both sides of the scrum, it means you can maybe have an extra member in your 31-man squad [note: squad size is due to be 33 players at the next World Cup] and that’s gold really.
“It’s going well and he is great to work with, Andrew. He is very open-minded and he just gets on with it.”
With Porter moving back to loosehead, 33-year-old Healy has been used at tighthead early on this season despite playing the entirety of his career on the other side of the scrum. Again, McBryde is enthused by Healy’s efforts.
“He has earned two penalties in the opening rounds, some good penalties as well on our own ball where we’ve really gone after them,” said McBryde.
“Again, Cian put his hand up and volunteered basically to give it a crack on the other side. With the experience that he’s got, he’s hands-down strong enough, but his mental application to things – he tends to just get on with it.
“He’s not going to get every scrum right so when he does have a bad one, he’s just got to dust himself off, say he didn’t get it right, and go again. That’s what’s key when you are learning things for the first time there.”
McBryde also praised Samoa international Alaalatoa for settling in swiftly after his move from the Crusaders during the summer, with the 30-year-old adding plenty of winning experience to the set-up.
While Kelleher is likely to remain first-choice at hooker with Leinster, 23-year-old Dan Sheehan has had a good start to the season and is a big, powerful unit at 6ft 3ins and 110kg.
“I think it’s evident what Dan brings as a hooker,” said McBryde. “You see how effective he is carrying the ball around the tail of the lineout, you see his offloading ability.
“He didn’t get all his decisions right in the first game [against the Bulls], where he lost the ball a couple of times in contact, trying an offload, but you don’t want to take that out of him either. You just want him to make better decisions, better judgments at that time. With experience, that will come.
“From a set-piece point of view, we’re really happy with the way he’s gone, both scrum and lineout really. There were a couple of wobbles at the weekend, but I don’t think he was on at that stage.
“The first two games have been a great start to the season for him and he’s put a bit of pressure back onto the likes of James Tracy, Sean Cronin, and Rónan Kelleher for that matter as well.
“He’s a big, ball-carrying hooker and he’s pretty strong defensively as well. So, yeah, it’s going to be interesting to see how the battles pan out over the season.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Andrew Porter front row union Leinster prop life ronan kelleher Tadhg Furlong