Rory Best to remain Ireland captain despite Peter O’Mahony staking a massive claim.
With the Lions tour wrapped, the 2016/17 season has been officially put to bed. It will surprise hardly any of you to learn that 2017/18 preseason training is already into week three.
Ireland swept their summer tour 3-0 with wins over United States and Japan, with Joe Schmidt doling out six international debuts along the way. Keith Earls had a cracking tour while relative newcomers Jack Conan and Tiernan O’Halloran also starred. Jacob Stockdale and James Ryan stood out from the new crop.
As for the drawn Lions Test Series, seven Ireland players featured against the All Blacks and four more during tour games. Sean O’Brien was the pick of the Irishmen on show but Tadhg Furlong, Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton all proved they are at the top of the world game.
Fully deserved https://t.co/W0S3sNph8e
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) July 11, 2017
Looking ahead to Ireland’s three November internationals, Joe Schmidt will have to make a few changes from the [close to] full strength XV he sent out to beat England in the final Six Nations game.
Schmidt’s first big call to make will be settling on his captain for the next year. Peter O’Mahony has staked a big claim for the role after an impressive season with Munster, his Six Nations impact and his exploits on the Lions Tour, where he captained against the Maori All Blacks and in the First Test.
Rory Best turns 35 in August and will be 37 by the time the 2019 World Cup comes around. O’Mahony would appear to be the obvious candidate for World Cup captain but he faces hefty competition among Ireland back rows and Best does not. Niall Scannell did well during the summer and Tom McCartney [Connacht] will be Irish qualified but Best is the stable option.
As for midfield, that is not so simple.
Robbie Henshaw [shoulder] may not be fit enough for the start of the series and Garry Ringrose [shoulder] is out until the turn of the year. Luke Marshall and Rory Scannell both featured in the summer tour and should be included in the wider squad. Jared Payne will have hopefully had his migraine issues resolved too.
Schmidt may bring Connacht’s Bundee Aki in for a look. 12 months ago, fans would have been fit to burst at the news but Aki’s performances tapered off – and his temperament was questioned – as Connacht struggled to defend their PRO12 title and do battle in the Champions Cup.
The exciting prospect here is former Ulster and Grenoble centre Chris Farrell. Newly signed for Munster, Farrell has been in touch with Schmidt several times over the past 18 months. While he missed out on the summer tour, a strong start to the new season should see him come into the fold.
Our second row is a potentially devastating combination but one of Ultan Dillane or Iain Henderson will have to put themselves forward for greater responsibility and calling at the lineout. We accept that the call [below] is harsh on Devin Toner.
As for the half backs, if Sexton does not take a six-month sabbatical he should resume is Ireland/Lions partnership with the excellent Murray.
IRELAND TEAM
15. Jared Payne
14. Keith Earls
13. Chris Farrell
12. Bundee Aki
11. Simon Zebo
10. Johnny Sexton
9 Conor Murray
1. Jack McGrath
2. Rory Best (c)
3. Tadhg Furlong
4. Ultan Dillane
5. Iain Henderson
6. Peter O’Mahony
7. Sean O’Brien
8. CJ Stander
Replacements: N Scannell, Healy, John Ryan, James Ryan, van der Flier, Marmion, Jackson, Andrew Conway.
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