Five key takeaways from the Ireland squad announcement

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has today named a 35-man squad for the upcoming November International Series fixtures against New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji and Australia.

Captaining the squad is Leinster backrow Caelan Doris, who continues in the role following his team’s successful second test against South Africa in Durban in July.

Former captain Peter O’Mahony has been named in the wider squad has he continues his rehabilitation from injury and is expected to be fit for fixtures later in the series.

Uncapped duo Cormac Izuchukwu and Sam Prendergast, who both featured for Emerging Ireland in Bloemfontein last month and were also part of Farrell’s Summer Tour squad to South Africa, will be hoping to earn their debut caps in November.

Additionally, Farrell has included five uncapped players – Thomas Clarkson, Alex Kendellen, Shayne Bolton, Jack Boyle and Gus McCarthy – in the squad as Training Panellists to increase their exposure to the National Team environment.

Ahead of the first test against the All Blacks next week, here are five key takeaways from Farrell’s squad.

Future planning at the forefront of Farrell’s mind
Has anyone ever noticed that Ireland hasn’t made it past a Rugby World Cup quarterfinal? Probably not, right? Well, despite being ranked number one in the world heading into the last two World Cups, Ireland was taken out by the All Blacks in the quarterfinals. Key to their downfall was a distinct lack of depth in crucial positions namely flyhalf and in the front row. Clearly, this was at the forefront of the selector’s minds, with Farrell naming three flyhalfs who, barring injury, will all arrive at the next World Cup at the peak of the powers. In Jack Crowley (24), Ciaran Frawley (26) and Sam Prendergast (21), Ireland now have three live options as opposed to relying solely on admittedly exceptional Jonathan Sexton. In the front row, Farrell has named the up-and-coming trio of Thomas Clarkson, Jack Boyle and Gus McCarthy as training panellists. On a wider point, the IRFU unveiled a new policy earlier this year confirming that they would not be allowing the provinces to sign non-Irish qualified props going forward in what was a further acknowledgement of the national team’s struggles in the department.

Decade-long flyhalf battle begins
Now firmly into their post-Sexton era, previous concerns around the flyhalf position feel like a distant memory. In naming Crowley, Frawley and Prendergast in his squad, Farrell has uncorked what has the potential to be a rivalry on the level of O’Gara and Sexton circa 2010 but with the legs to go a full decade. As the man in possession of the jersey, Crowley will likely get the first crack at the whip under lights against the All Blacks on November 1st. Having taken like a duck to water since being handed the keys to the kingdom, Crowley has yet to put a foot wrong for Ireland. At club level, however, he has been stunted somewhat by a Munster pack that has struggled to gain parity against the bigger teams in the URC and Champions Cup. This, combined with their continually outlandish list of injuries, has seen Crowley and his Munster teammates more often than not in tight battles rather than winning at a canter. On the flip side of this, Ciaran Frawley has clearly been anointed as the first-choice playmaker in Leinster this season. Having played second fiddle to Ross Byrne despite the seemingly obvious disparity in ability between the two, Frawley has been steady since taking the reigns. Working in his favour is the fact that Leinster are far and away the best team in the URC and will likely be in a similar position for the bulk of the Champions Cup. This, therefore, poses the question as to which dynamic better prepares a playmaker for the rigours of test rugby. In our humble opinion, both situations have their merits, but gaining a hardened edge throughout the season feels more beneficial as preparation for the biggest occasions, and as such, we give the edge to Crowley. In saying this, Frawley proved that he, too, has the big match temperament by sinking the Springboks with two superb drop goals back in July. Also, factoring in the Leinster star’s versatility as a viable option at fullback and centre gives Farrell flexibility to deploy a 6 – 2 bench as and when it is needed. On the outside looking in at this battle for now is the younger contender in Prendergast, who, in truth, was the best U20 player in the world for two years running. At 6’4″ and with all of the skills you could ever need, it is a case of when or not he will become a genuine contender as the starting flyhalf. Before that, however, he will need to serve an apprenticeship and will likely make his debut against Fiji this November. At the provincial level, it will be interesting to see how Leinster manage their two-star tens, but we at RugbyDump have a sneaking suspicion that a move to Connacht at some point could well be on the cards for Prendergast even if it is a temporary move.

Backrow shifts begin
In arguably their strongest position group, Ireland unsurprisingly faces their biggest selection headache. At face value, the starting backrow trio will all come from Leinster with Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier and Caelan Doris, with Jack Conan and Peter O’Mahony both unavailable through injury. Yet, in the case of Baird, who is physically one of the most impressive specimens in the squad, his position feels far from secure—facing stiff competition from Connacht captain Cian Prendergast and Ulster’s Cormac Izuchukwu. In Prendergast, Ireland has an old-school number six who is more similar to O’Mahony than any other player in the squad with his ability to get in the air quickly at line-out time and crucially do the unseen dirty work. In stark contrast, Izuchukwu is more similar to Baird as an explosive ball carrier with, dare we say, even more power than his Leinster counterpart. Coming from a 7s background, the 6’7″ and 120kg Ulsterman has unlimited potential as a utility forward who is comfortable in both the second and backrows. With four test matches to come, all three will likely get game time, and so will Nick Timoney, who will likely be the main competitor for van der Flier’s seven-shirt.

Munster players pay the price for slow start
THERE NEEDS TO BE AN INVESTIGATION! You can already hear the screams from Ireland’s southern province, which has a distinct lack of representation in this squad. Clearly, Munster players have been punished for their team’s up-and-down start to the URC season, with only the established internationals earning a call-up. Whilst Munster, on the whole, has been disappointing so far this season, there are a few players who can certainly feel hard done by. At the forefront of this group are the backrow pairing of Gavin Coombes and John Hodnett. Starting with Coombes, who, outside of Caelen Doris, has been the best number eight in Irish Rugby for the past three seasons. A dynamic ball carrier who scores bundles of tries and gets through tons of work, his continued absence from the Irish set-up is a mystery. The only thing that we can think of is his disappointing performance against the New Zealand Maori two years ago. Acquitting himself well against Doris just a fortnight ago, Coombes proved that he is at the level to play test rugby, but at this moment in time, his presence clearly doesn’t fit in the set-up. On the topic of Hodnett, like Coombes, he is arguably the second-best player in his position and is perhaps the most similar player to Josh van der Flier in Irish Rugby. Getting through plenty of work on a weekly basis whilst posing a serious threat at the breakdown, Hodnett feels like the perfect safety net as a backup to van der Flier. In reality, it feels as though both players are seeing their international ambitions slip away, with the dynamic young Munster group of Alex Kendellen, Sean Edogbo, Ruadhan Quinn, and Brian Gleeson already garnering momentum as future Irish internationals. This is not to even mention the talent coming through the other provinces, such as Sean Jensen (Connacht), James Culhane (Leinster), Alex Soroka (Leinster), Dave McCann (Ulster), Reuben Crothers (Ulster), Harry Sheridan (Ulster).

Familiar faces backed despite lack of form
Whilst certain in-form players have missed out, Farrell has backed players who have been there and done it to hit their best for the national team despite struggling for their provinces. In this department, the Connacht pairing of Mack Hansen and Bundee Aki, who have both been up and down, are the main beneficiaries. Despite starting the season well, Hansen has yet to truly work his way back to his best following a long injury lay-off. Of course, when he is fit, he brings a certain level of je ne sais quoi to the Irish back three. Aki, on the other hand, is a known quantity who, at 34-years-old is still a top-class performer but feels closer to the end than the beginning. Playing at a so-so level for Connacht so far this season, it is tough to see Aki edging Leinster’s Jamie Osborne for the number 12 shirt, given his incredible form. In the forwards, Finlay Bealham has not quite hit the heights many expected, but like his Connacht teammates, he always performs at his best when pulling on the Irish shirt. Other players who have made it despite injury and form are, of course, O’Mahony, who, prior to his injury, looked a notch off the pace. Joining him as an injured option are hookers Rob Herring and Ronan Kelleher, which says a lot about just how thin Ireland is with that position group following the injuries to Dan Sheehan and Tom Stewart. In the backrow, Ulster’s Nick Timoney, who has been good over the past fortnight, was way off the pace during his team’s two-match tour of South Africa earlier in the season. Finally, Conor Murray, who returned home for personal reasons from Munster’s South African tour, is now firmly a notch behind Jamison Gibson-Park and Craig Casey but returns given the credit in the bank he has acquired following over a decade of top-class performances.