With Jared Payne, Sean Cronin and Ultan Dillane likely to miss the start of the Six Nations, Irish fans would be forgiven for fretting.
Fear not, however, as Munster could provide some handy cover in all areas.
Rory Scannell, Niall Scannell and Donnacha Ryan are all flying it this season and are three massive reasons why the southern province is top of the Champions Cup pool and second [with a game in hand] in the Guinness PRO12.
While Ryan started both November games against New Zealand, the Scannell brothers remain uncapped. Rory was called into the squad as midfield cover before the Australia game but Niall has not yet had the privilege.
Rory Scannell has had a fine season and has already been tipped for big things by O’Gara but his brother and the evergreen Ryan must be up there, right now, as Ireland’s in-form players.
Rory Scannell proves @Munsterrugby hero with late drop goal winner https://t.co/VrW253gI2R
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) October 28, 2016
Following Munster’s 32-7 victory over Racing 92 at the weekend, O’Gara fronted up to the Sky Sports cameras and held nothing back.
O’Gara slammed his own team’s drive and commitment – or lack thereof – and marvelled that so many of Munster’s game-breakers were in the mid-twenties. He declared:
“Niall Scannell was immense. Donnacha Ryan was immense.
“They’re a fit team. They’re a good team and they’ve got great standards.”
Fit, good, great standards. Ryan has all three but, at 33, he is the squad veteran. He is also enjoying one of the best season’s of his life.
Having come close to retirement back in 2013, and 2014, Ryan’s foot issues have been alleviated and he is back to his intense best. He is Munster’s lineout strategiser and calls a lot of the rolling maul set-plays. On Saturday, in Paris, he put in another awesome performance – coal-face carries, vital tackles and a force to be reckoned with at the breakdown.
13 tackles, 0 missed.
Getting better with age, this lad pic.twitter.com/XXohyofDUI— Pat McCarry (@patmccarry) January 7, 2017
Those tackle stats were updated to 15 made, none missed on Sunday afternoon.
Scannell is well in contention for a place in Joe Schmidt’s Six Nations squad after backing up a fine 2015/16 season and taking his performances to a higher strata. He was superb in Champions Cup home wins over Glasgow and Leicester and outstanding in recent victories over Ulster [away] and Leinster [home].
As noted here, he put in an oddly muted performance in the defeat to Leicester at Welford Road but it has proved to be a blip. He capped off his fine showing against Racing with the bonus point try off a rolling maul.
He brings a sheer physicality to his role and often lands those statement-making hits and turnovers to spur his team on. He shows up in plenty of Munster attacks too and has remarkably soft hands.
Like his brother, he knows how to lay in big hits.
You don't need to hit high in the tackle to make a statement. What a stop from Niall Scannell on Masoe. pic.twitter.com/QrZz4z2ifE
— Three Red Kings (@threeredkings) January 7, 2017
Ryan will definitely be included when Schmidt names his first Six Nations squad later this month. Both Scannell brothers have done enough to merit call-ups too and we’d have no qualms about slotting them into match-day squads for the Scotland and Italy games.
Immense. Immense.
O’Gara doesn’t do bullshit and he rarely gets it wrong.
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