Babbling 'brook

Does the Rainbow Cup count as part of the current season? And will players like Fardy and Cronin be around for it?

Baird kept in squad and Ruddock released is a good pointer that it'll be the following for Scotland imo. It's what I would go for too personally. Ryan Henderson Beirne Connors Stander Baird Conan Quite probably but very harsh on Rhys - not really sure what he has to do to force his way in. There ar...

Hardy's try was great. This is not a criticism of you LRIP, but I don't see that there is anything to clarify from World Rugby other than the ref team made a bad error. LRZ attempts to catch the ball but knocks it towards the opposition dead-ball line and doesn't regather it. In every game of rugby...

I think you'd have to be a bit miserable to complain about Lyttle's dive. It's just exuberance, and that kind of thing gets kids interested in the game.

The big losers would be Dooley (who could easily be an international, imo) and Milne if Porter was shifted back across. I suppose Leinster don't have much option if Ireland want it.

He is Jordan Larmour-lite. I think he should stick to playing wing. He could do fine at 15 if someone had to fill in, but, based on what I've seen, I wouldn't look to get him consistent gametime in the position over others (Frawley, MOR, Jamie Osborne) because, while you'd probably see some good ind...

No, just speculating.

Haven't seen the game but is it Coombes's mobility and consequent open field tackling they're worried about? He did miss one against Clermont. Sending him away from the squad looks strange just looking in from the outside.

I hope we don't go down a road where we end up making all the mistakes they made in super rugby. If it were 18 teams, you could have 3 conferences of 6 with a Southern hem, ire and Italy, Scotland and Wales. But I think the mixed conferences is a better way to avoid the same mistakes. So 2 conf wit...

What sets him apart is that he's a threat from long range. How many Irish players have demonstrated an ability to score from virtually their own goal line? I would say his tackling needs to improve before he'd get a shot with Ireland.

It'd be nice to have them but how do you come up with a format that works if there are 17 teams? The Cheetahs could be added back in to make it an even number but there still wouldn't be an obvious format. Cut Zebre and add the Jaguares, maybe?

Agree with that, LRIP. If you had a physical 12 who can also play 13 - Henshaw or COB - starting at inside centre and Frawley on the bench you could spring Frawley early in the second half and move the 12 out to 13. That would ask different questions of a defence. A bench role might be Frawley's bes...

NZ have an excellent structure in place for coach development with their three-tier provincial competition set up. Coaches who do well at that level then become options for jobs higher up. It's funny, in Ireland the majority of players come from schools but there aren't a whole lot of coaches going ...

I think Frawley has huge upside as a 10. I can understand people wanting to see him playing there. But, as Ronk says, there's no obvious destination for him. I mean, I'd pick him ahead of Burns up in Ulster, but selectors might disagree.

He's a lot faster than Hickie. 10.43 to 11.19.

You'd probably be talking about third or fourth choice players, so the Championship would probably be a more likely destination for any player who did go on loan, Bryan Byrne situation notwhthstanding. I believe Saracens have an agreement with Bedford for this purpose. I'm not saying it can't be a g...

I'm quite skeptical about the value of loans in an Irish context. The ones that have worked out well - Loughman to Munster, Cooney and Roux to Connacht - have involved the initial temporary move being made permanent, so not true loans at all in the end. I'm struggling to think of any player moving p...

My understanding was that you can skip out of a tackle to the side but not try to jump over a tackler you're running straight at due to the danger of kneeing them in the head.

If the issue is that Ireland only has 4 sides to pick from when France have 14 and England 12/13 maybe the solution is to consider for selection IQ players at non-Irish Pro14 teams. It could widen the player base and potentially strengthen the league, and there wouldn't be much risk of top players b...

Oh, you mean at 12 for Ireland. I agree with that. He'd be a perfect option in a RWC squad cos he could go as a centre, but cover 10, allowing them to take only two specialist 10s. I find it surprising they haven't got him involved already. I think he'd have been a better option coming off the bench...