80+ column : Jan 16

On this week’s column…

🏉 FRONT FIVE

🏉 WRAP OF A WRAP

🏉 2ND STRINGING US ALONG

🏉 MUNSTER TRIAGE

🏉 A TONY BRIDGE TOO FAR

🏉 FORMAT REFORM

🏉 LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE

🏉 LRZ TO USA

🏉 UPDATES [Incl Challenge Cup & AIL] 

A TONY BRIDGE TOO FAR?

2024 is an Olympic year and of course it has been great for rugby to have been included as a discipline even if it is the shortened sevens version of the game.

And from an Irish point of view we have both genders taking part in the tournament in Paris and going by the way both have played so far on the world circuit there’s every possibility for us to be in contention for a medal or two all going well.

But what I’d like to harp on here is the decision to include Antione Duponte in the French squad for the tournament.  Obviously there are many benefits for this…France will certainly want to do well on their own patch especially given how the World Cup turned out.  And anyone who watched the Ulster Toulouse game on Saturday evening will know he is still very much at the top of his game and given how he can create space from nothing on a pitch with 30 bodies on it, you can only imagine how he’d tear it up in sevens so when the Games are actually taking place at the end of July it should be a good advertisement for all forms of the sport.

For me though, none of those positives outweigh the downsides.  Obviously for this I have to take off both my Leinster and Ireland hats because the fact that he will be unavailable for both the Six Nations and the business end of the Champions Cup certainly won’t hurt our chances at all.  But with an overall rugby supporters hat on, you really do want the best players available for all the top matches and as exciting as all as the sevens code may be, surely the fifteens version has to trump it every time.

Then there’s the fact that Duponte parachuting into the French sevens squad means that someone who has been involved with sevens regularly for the past while is likely to miss out.  I have also heard talk of Irish fifteens stars like Nick Timoney doing likewise and while the addition of talent like that would certainly help our chances, the actual Irish sevens men’ squad has become quite settled over the past few seasons and given these players are being denied the opportunity to achieve the honours afforded by playing for provinces, for any to also miss out on a medal chance just doesn’t sit well with me.

Of course on the women’s side the issue is even bigger since they don’t even need the Olympics to deprive the senior fifteens squad of the best available players.  I could be wrong but you have to assume our last place finish in the 2023 Six Nations could have been avoided with the likes of Beibhinn Parsons and Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe involved.

At the end of the day there’s no disputing that seven into fifteen just doesn’t go evenly in every sense.  The best way forward has to be to keep them apart and prioritise the version of the sport that came first.  

With the final round of Champions Cup pool matches coming up I suppose it’s time to have another crack at addressing the much debated issue of the format, but for this I actually don’t agree with what seems to be the popular opinion.

Having said that I should probably start by pointing out that I’m not exactly a fan of the current method either, I just disagree with what most people are finding wrong with it.  Judging by comments on social media it seems that the biggest flaw of the current system is the fact that you can lose three of your four pool matches and still qualify for the knockouts.

Personally I don’t think that’s as ridiculous as you might think.  For one thing, under the round robin pools of four everyone is saying we should go back to, you weren’t trying to get into the last 16 it was the last 8 and besides, teams still have qualified for the quarterfinals winning just 3 of their 6 pool matches for example in 2016 Exeter actually topped their pool despite three losses  so it’s not like your record had to be all that perfect.

But more importantly we have to remember that the last 16 stage is actually replacing rounds 5 and 6 from the pools in the old method.  So instead of up to 24 matches a lot of which are dead rubbers, we now actually have 8 matches all of which are straight knockout rugby and even if you did qualify with just one win, you most certainly aren’t guaranteed an easy task for getting any further.

But look like I said, I’m not wild about the current way myself so I won’t try to defend it anymore than that, what I will say is that we need to be clear on what is actually causing the problem.  The domestic leagues, specifically the English & French ones, just don’t seem to be willing to give back the extra weekends required to go back to the old way so until that happens, we’re bound to be having this debate every season whatever way they structure this competition.

All I’m saying is that if there is to be a change it needs to one that fixes issues that were even there in the format during the so-called golden years, like the fact that teams have always been forced to choose between the continental and domestic fixtures when it comes to picking their strongest sides.  

Until that happens it seems pointless arguing over the format, we might as well focus on the actual rugby-related questions like can anyone stop Toulouse and Bordeaux, can La Rochelle overcome their shaky start and, of course, can Leinster finally get that fifth star?

[Besides, debating formats is just boring]

Harpin’ matchday 23 v Leicester Tigers

Keenan, Larmour, Ringrose, Henshaw (c), Lowe, Byrne H/Frawley/Prendergast, Gibson-Park

Porter, Sheehan, Furlong, McCarthy, Ryan, Baird, van der Flier, Doris

Kelleher, Healy, Ala’alatoa, Molony, Conan, McGrath, Frawley/Prendergast/Tector, O’Brien T

INJURY UPDATE – AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:

James Ryan: came through the game against Stade Francais with no issues and will be available for selection this week

INJURY UPDATE – FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:

Harry Byrne: picked up an ankle injury at training and will be further assessed this week before a final decision is made on selection

Ciarán Frawley: picked up a rib injury during the Stade Francis game and will be further assessed this week before a final decision is made on selection

INJURY UPDATE – UNAVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:

Michael Milne: picked up a calf injury last week and will be unavailable for selection this week

NO FURTHER UPDATES ON:

Jimmy O’Brien (neck), Martin Moloney (bicep), Alex Soroka (foot), Charlie Ngatai (calf), Cormac Foley (shoulder), Ross Byrne (arm) and Jamie Osborne (shoulder)

WOMEN’S CELTIC CHALLENGE

ROUND 3

GLASGOW WARRIORS 12-40 WOLFHOUNDS

CLOVERS 19-17 GWALIA LIGHTNING

BRYTHON THUNDER 17-22 EDINBURGH

SAT JAN 27

GLASGOW WARRIORS V CLOVERS

WOLFHOUNDS V BRYTHON THUNDER

SUN JAN 28

GWALIA LIGHTNING V EDINBURGH

MEN’S AIL

ROUND 10

LANSDOWNE 30-26 UCD

BALLYNAHINCH 36-10 CITY OF ARMAGH

SHANNON 20-24 CLONTARF

TERENURE 26-17 DUBLIN UNIV

CORK CON 23-13 YOUNG MUNSTER

ROUND 11

SAT DEC 23

CITY OF ARMAGH V TERENURE

CLONTARF V LANSDOWNE

TRINITY V SHANNON 

UCD V CORK CON

YOUNG MUNSTER V BALLYNAHINCH 

ROUND 3

NEWCASTLE 18-57 BENETTON

OSPREYS 25-3 PERPIGNAN

SHARKS 38-7 OYONNAX

CLÉRMONT 38-17 SCARLETS

ZEBRE 20-17 DRAGONS

CASTRES 28-6 BLACK LION

EDINBURGH 20-21 GLOUCESTER

MONTPELLIER 13-3 LIONS

CHEETAHS 20-33 PAU

ROUND 4

FRI JAN 19

GLOUCESTER V CASTRES

SCARLETS V EDINBURGH

SAT JAN 20

BLACK LION V CLÉRMONT

PAU V ZEBRE

OYONNAX V CHEETAHS

BENETTON V MONTPELLIER

SUN JAN 21

PERPIGNAN V NEWC ASTLE

LIONS V OSPREYS

DRAGONS V SHARKS