Hayes will be out. I can't see him getting less than about 6 weeks. Jennings only looks good when his pack is dominant. I'd stick with Wallace for now. Other than that and maybe starting ROG with Sexton to come on early then that's fineTeam I'd like to see:
Healy
Flannery
Hayes (Hmmm)
POC
CUllen
Jennings (Ugh)
Heaslip
Ferris
TOL
Sexton
D'Arcy
BOD
Fitz
Bowe
Kearney
Attitude? It's no worse than ROG's to be fair. Niall O'Connor is probably not up to it and at this stage Humph Óg is probably no better than ML standard with the odd eye-catching HEC performance. Earls needs a bit of TLC after the Lions tour. He mixed the bad with the solid on Saturday.Cullen will be 32 in January. I don't really see the point in bringing him in.
You're probably right that we need to give Sexton a run out, although I have serious reservations about his attitude, if not his skills.
Unfortunately, at out-half, ROG has had such a lock on the position that we haven't really sorted out the succession. I would like to see Ian Humphreys or even, as a much bolder move, Niall O'Connor given a 20 minutes off the bench at the end of one of the matches.
We need to give Keith Earls some serious gametime this year. Also, with the inevitability of D'Arcy getting injured, Paddy Wallace needs a start or two.
Jennings? His name doesn't sit that easily there, but I can't think of who I'd place ahead of him.
Attitude? It's no worse than ROG's to be fair. Niall O'Connor is probably not up to it and at this stage Humph Óg is probably no better than ML standard with the odd eye-catching HEC performance. Earls needs a bit of TLC after the Lions tour. He mixed the bad with the solid on Saturday.
Actually, I'd say Wallace will be around still. And Cullen will around for it too so if he's till at the standard then why not? He's not much older than POC after all and a lock playing top-class international rugby at 34 is hardly unheard of.I'm inclined to agree with jd26 about Cullen, he's not going to be there for the world cup so I think its pointless bringing him in really.
Healy has to be pushing for a place as well, and we need to forget about John Hayes in terms of the world cup, so someone needs to be found asap to play there.
Sexton is looking like the natural successor to ROG, so I think he should at least start against Fiji, and I would personally have him start against Australia as well with ROG on the bench. If he performs well, then he should start against SA.
Behind him, the backline picks itself really. Earls should definitely be a replacement though, as he can cover a few positions, and a start against Fiji would be a good idea.
openside is a tough one, will Wallace be around for the world cup in 2 years? Extremely doubtful, so in that case, Jennings has to be considered first choice.
Attitude? It's no worse than ROG's to be fair. Niall O'Connor is probably not up to it and at this stage Humph Óg is probably no better than ML standard with the odd eye-catching HEC performance. Earls needs a bit of TLC after the Lions tour. He mixed the bad with the solid on Saturday.
Actually, I'd say Wallace will be around still. And Cullen will around for it too so if he's till at the standard then why not? He's not much older than POC after all and a lock playing top-class international rugby at 34 is hardly unheard of.
Jennings at openside? Heaven fucking help us. That said, I don't know that the options are great. Niall Ronan is not an international openside.
