There’s no irony at play here; certainly not on my side. I don’t have to justify his appointment: the IRFU appointed him, and I’m happy that they think he can do the job. They know much more than me… or, you may find- even you, on what’s required and what he brings. It’s up to you to make a real case on why he shouldn’t have been appointed. And you haven’t come anywhere near standing that up: just a series of peevish sneers on why each career stage was a failure.FtD wrote:The irony of you saying I should expect to be challenged on it - a few times now I've laid out my thinking on this quite clearly as to why I feel (a) he hadn't done enough to justify giving him the role to begin with, (b) I feel he has gotten it wrong by choosing to come out publicly on the prop issue.artaneboy wrote: ↑September 4th, 2024, 2:13 pmNearly all your post above (not to get into the previous ones) has demonstrated premature judgement.FtD wrote:What makes the judgment premature?
His only real public policy statement so far is to come out in the press and state he won't sign off on any NIQ front rows so far. This is obviously well intentioned, but it still looks naive and ill-considered.
There was nothing stopping him briefing the provinces in the background that he wouldn't sanction these moves apart from in the most exceptional of circumstances, but grandstanding and saying it publicly has probably just led to a scenario where a number of our props will have to engage in a nonsensical flirtation with French clubs to get paid their worth, and we end up paying them more than we likely would have without the pronouncement.
It's also going to lead to inevitable interprovincial nitpicking and arguing amongst fans when he inevitably does deviate from this and sanction some NIQ front rowers.
People are entitled to give their opinions on this - it's one of the most significant roles in Irish rugby. I feel he didn't deserve the role in the first instance, and he's made a mess of his first real involvement since getting the role.
Maybe try refuting that and arguing the other side rather than just patronisingly claiming everyone is pre-judging him?
There’s nothing he’s done that’s been necessarily wrong, not to imply calamitous. We do need to have more home grown props develop. That’s going to require a balance of carrot and stick to clubs. Some of his tactical choice may be to go public to highlight the urgency. Otherwise individual clubs will understandably make their own pragmatic choices, not necessarily to the benefit of Irish rugby. We will see if his longer term strategy on this works out. I think it might. As some people here are find of saying: this is chess- not draughts!
Oh, and… please stop trying to make this a debate on your “USA 1st Amendment rights”. You can say whatever you want, within the law and forum rules, but be prepared to be challenged on it.
I have to get back to work now. Enough on this…
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Rather than actually engage with those specific points you're the one citing cliches like "chess not draughts", and have done nothing to make the case for why it was a justified appointment.
No one anywhere denies we need to develop more homegrown props - but he was already in a position where he had the ability to sign off on each and every signing of a player in the Irish rugby system (just like his predecessor).
He already had the ability to refuse signings where he felt they were unnecessary, but he still had the wiggle room to sanction them in cases of extreme need. It feels entirely performative to come out publicly and just push this problem back on the provinces, and will just inevitably create issues and tensions when he inevitably has to sanction an NIQ front row signing (like is already rumoured for Ulster with TOT shifting positions).
I suggest we could take… oh, let’s say 70% of coaches, and find a way to diminish their careers in describing them. The truth is, David Humphreys is very well regarded nationally and internationally. If he’s not the perfect man for the job, he’s not a bad choice, based on what we know now. If he implodes over the next few years, then maybe you can say “I told you so”, but the evidence of incompetence isn’t there. And yet, I suspect all his actions will be viewed through a jaundiced filter by some here.
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