RYAN BAIRD’S PROGRESS to the point where he is a viable starter in place of Peter O’Mahony in the Ireland pack was a topic of discussion on today’s Rugby Weekly Extra, the podcast for subscribers to The 42.
The Leinster player is beginning to match the unseen, unselfish work long associated with O’Mahony, according to Murray Kinsella, rugby journalist with The 42. Yet the Ireland captain remains invaluable to head coach Andy Farrell, Kinsella added.
“Baird has really improved in that. That side of his game has gone through the roof, he’s more Peter O’Mahonyesque,” Kinsella said.
“He’s nailing his lineout defence, you can see how much time he’s putting into it and how much desire he has for that. His maul stuff has been good, and his ruck. He’s shifting bodies better and he’s … he’s been put on notice for all that stuff – that that’s what it takes, you have to have that as well as the ability to just thunder onto Ronan Kelleher’s offload and gallop upfield. It’s so fun every time it happens . . . that exuberance was great.
“What Peter O’Mahony does well is something he’s starting to match now.
“Peter O’Mahony, he defended well I thought in this game (against Wales), had 10 tackles and seven carries which is actually higher than what he sometimes hits in those numbers. He doesn’t tend to have massive breakdown numbers when you look at it, he doesn’t hit a load of rucks, even when he’s not carrying.
“I can see why people go, ‘Well, what’s he doing?’ But there are intangibles in rugby, intangibles to us, but they are tangible to Andy and teammates in terms of how he makes them feel and how he leads, and how he sets the tone and gives the right message and backs you up at the right moment and demands the right standards of you and all that stuff – it really does matter and Farrell puts a massive value on that.
“He always has figures like that he leans on. He has a lifetime of being around those people in sport, he was one of them himself when he was playing. You look at even Keith Earls going to the World Cup. All that stuff, around what you do on the pitch, it matters to Andy Farrell.”
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Either next 6 nations or Autumn 2025 he takes the 6 jersey from POM. The thought of a Leinster back 5 of Ryan, McCarthy, Baird, VDF, Doris and then bench of Snyman, Connors and Conan next season is terrifying
@Andrew Slazenger: Baird is so close. I would expect he will be the starter next 6 nations with a very good chance of getting a starting spot for one or more of the upcoming autumn games. The unglamorous side of his game has just come on leaps and bounds. It’s obvious how hard he has worked on his close in carries and ruck and maul defense. It’s a testament to him. He’ll never become the leader that POM is, but that’s not his job. He’s a freakishly good athlete who gets better with every outing. I’m becoming more of a fan of his every time I see him, and that back 5 squad you mention above is scary good. Absolutely world class. Leo needs to deliver more silverware with class like that at his disposal.
@Andrew Slazenger: would be stronger with Snyman starting and Ryan on the bench.
@TL55: Hard for Ryan moving forward, Could be benched for big European games, then you have to consider the potential talent and competition for places at the international level.
@Thesaltyurchin: Can see Ryan heading for Eng or France maybe
@Mistral: literally zero chance of that happening.
@Mistral: hardly, as hell still very plenty of games with Leinster for the next cpl seasons and likely enough to make Irish squads. After that you’d not expect Leinster be let keep Syman with two Irish international standard second rows there already plus Baird who likely will start on second row occasionally
@TL55: Ryan is a loose-head lock, Synman and McCarthy are tight head locks, a team is better balanced with one of each rather then two the same. One of the reasons I think Beirne has been so good this 6 nations is he’s finally been paired with a proper TH Lock
@Andrew Slazenger: beirne has been great for years. He also plays with a top.class th lock in kleyn for his province
@Andrew Slazenger: It amazes me just how underrated & underappreciated Ryan is outside of Leinster. Absolute gem of a player and adds so much to any side. You’ve hit the nail on the head – for years now, he’s been tasked with playing that TH lock role, and has done so extremely capably too. But as you say, he’s more of a LH lock. His freakish power despite his relatively “lighter” frame is why coaches have always picked him to do that. I also think fans outside of Leinster unfairly associate his level as that of a couple of years ago when he was definitely not himself,which was most likely down to a succession of concussions which disrupted any momentum. He’s been playing unreal rugby for the last 18 months. Incredible vs La Rochelle in Dec & him going off cost Leinster the final in May.
@munsterman: Yeah and the fact is Beirne has struggled lots of times this season for his club, he’s looked underpowered at times and lineout has been poor in a few games. So his form was patchy. But as soon as he’s been put into a more cohesive Ireland side, and with more grunt and power beside him, he’s been playing out of his skin. Genuine question, is he a viable option at 6 if O’Mahony was left out tomorrow for club and country? I’d another Munster fan tell me they think he’s not quite as mobile as he was so shouldn’t play at 6 at all anymore.
@Carmine Lorenzo: he’s been pretty much munsters only fit 2nd row for the first half of the season! Beirne hasn’t looked underpowered, due to injuries the munster pack has been underpowered. As for if he’s still mobile, the trys scored v france and Wales (in the last minute) showed he’s fairly lively. Beirne is an 80 minute player and one of the elite players in world rugby
@Carmine Lorenzo: also there’s probably a reason why most rugby supporters don’t rate Ryan as highly as leinster supporters do. He’s a grand player, a hard working, honest lad. He reminds me of Johnny grey in that he’s decent but there’s not one thing I could point to that he excels in
@Thesaltyurchin: next season is a long way away. Ryan when fit will start for leinster in whatever big games they play this season, so it’s up to him to keep the shirt. Also with RG it’s been a long times since he’s had a run of games so let’s see how he goes. At international level he seems to be an impact player so maybe that will be his role.
@Mark Murphy: Did you hear the one about the Leinster bra, plenty of support, but no cups.
@Carmine Lorenzo: Nail on the head. When he was epic in 2018 he had Toner playing THL at club and Henderson or Toner playing THL for Ireland. He needs to play LHL
@KIldareman: can’t really comment on it as a Munster man. Their lingerie draw is a bit fuller that ours :-)
i think Baird and Ahern look like the new prototype 6, both are good in lineouts and a running threat. Its unfortunate for POM as he will be under serious pressure to make it to the RWC with these guys around
@Owen ODonoghue: No way he sees the WC.
@Thesaltyurchin: yeah my gut feeling is that he’s preparing to hand over to the next generation, reinforcing the high standards that are required, doing his bit to pave the way for Ireland to hopefully win the WC in 2027. I guess maybe similar to what Keith Earls and Andrew Conway probably did with Calvin Nash in particular during and outside of training sessions in Munster to get him up to international standard. Just my few cents…
One thing he doesn’t have yet is POM leadership qualities.
@Nialler H: not sure he ever will or if it’s even expected of him.
@Nialler H: or the ability to terrify a journalist with a stare.
Who’s after Josh at 7. Hodnett timoney Connors. Think timoney is the real deal love to see him given chance alongside Doris and pom
@Gary Galligan: Doris and then a big drop off to Penny or Hodnett, i’m not sure either will get to SA this summer unless theres injury to VDF
@Gary Galligan: Timoney will be 29 in a couple of months. He hasn’t done anything throughout his career to prove he’s proper international standard. He’s a good talented club man but that’s it. Penny, Hodnett are much younger & better at this stage in their careers. Their ceiling is higher than Timoneys.
Baird is more than worthy of a starting berth for club and country, as is POM (not exactly news). However with the current set of the Irish team, we have a number of solid options for starting 6 (Beirn and POM, and probably 2/3 others). What we don’t have a lot of, is a nuke like Baird to spring after 55 mins to punish any tired legs on the opposition. He’s just such a good impact player, I wonder if his most useful role is as a sub?
Can we get past the QF of a World Cup? That’s the question!
@John Cleere: of course we can it’s just another glass ceiling to break…how many times did we get close to beating the ABs before we started to beat them regularly? I think Andy Farrell has the right strategy, ignore the 4 year cycle, just keep building and building a quality squad. Players will always get injured/retire, but when that happens, make sure the backup is up to standard. Make no bones about it, if Mack Hansen & Jimmy O’Brien were not injured and/or Andrew Conway + Keith Earls not retired, Calvin Nash imo would probably not be getting caps in this 6N. But, look at the matches, he has played very well.
@John Cleere: ‘Fail again, fail better’, the difference between 2019 & 2023 was enormous. To give up 13 points & claw your way back repeatedly, only for the try to win the game to be ‘held up’, was such a testament to their mentality.
It was like the All Blacks in their pomp, never beaten until the teams have left the pitch, & all the fans out of the stadium, ‘self belief’ in a phrase. That attitude got us the bonus point against Wales, and will serve us well over the next 4 years cycle, with or without all of today’s crop of talent.