Ireland Vs New Zealand Preview

Ireland play New Zealand in their first fixture since 2016 when Ireland broke their duck vs. New Zealand in Chicago before New Zealand empathically answered back two weeks later with an extremely physical approach in Dublin that saw them claim a 21-9 win in a game that will be remembered for two big hits on Robbie Henshaw by Sam Cane and a high shot on Simon Zebo by Malakai Fekitoa.

Neither incident was deemed worthy of a yellow card or red card but both incidents will be remembered by all in the Aviva that evening. To be fair though New Zealand can look to tackle by Jonathan Sexton on Beauden Barrett right on half time in the same game so both teams had the right to be aggrieved by calls in that game.

Fast forward two years and Ireland are just off the back of a Series win in Australia and a Grand Slam win back in March. Ireland are now officially 2^nd in the pecking order of World Rugby at this current moment and the game this weekend won’t change the rankings but will give Ireland the perfect barometer of how far they still need to go to be serious challengers in 2019 in Japan.

It will be very interesting to see where Joe Schmidt will go with team selection  , will he recall Devin Toner and what way will his back row look with the news that Sean O Brien will again be out for an extended period with a broken arm. Will Dan Leavy hold the 7 jersey or will Josh Van Der Flier be included.

Also after three auditions at scrum half who will get the shout to partner Jonathan Sexton at half back, will it be Luke Mc Grath who is his partner in crime with Leinster , will it be Schmidt’s trusted lieutenant Kieran Marmion or will John Cooney get the nod only time will tell to see where Schmidt will go with team selection.

New Zealand just got over the line last week in Twickenham winning a tight game 16-15 where a 65^th minute penalty from Barrett saw them home after Sam Underhill had a try chalked off after Courtney Lawes was caught in a offside position in the build up to the Underhill try.

Steve Hansen has heaped praise on Ireland in the build up as have a few of his players but knowing how New Zealand operate , one suspects they are only paying lip service to Ireland , 1 win in 29 games is all the evidence needed  to prove that little fact.

Joe Schmidt has prepared Ireland to face the country of his birth 3 times and his record is win and 2 defeats, not a bad strike rate and you can be sure he will try and put another win in the winners column this weekend.

The game is a last chance to test themselves vs. the best in the World before the World Cup. Looking to the team he may select Injury will rob him of two potential starters in Conor Murray and Robbie Henshaw but with these injuries the opportunity is there for guys to put the hand up and fight for a first team place.

Can Ireland win this weekend, of course they can, I doubt the Silver Fern holds the same fear and trepidation it did before victory in 2016. Joe Schmidt has coached this side to fear nobody and that will need to be the mantra this weekend as Ireland really get a chance to tell World Rugby that they will go to Japan and break down barriers never surpassed before like making a Semi Final but before that dream can be chased an opportunity to inflict another defeat on New Zealand.

Time to step up to the plate guys and write another piece of Irish rugby history to be in the 23 that defeated New Zealand for the first time on Irish Soil…….

Here is the 23 I would select if I had to pick the squad to face the World Champions ,

15 Andrew Conway

14 Keith Earls

13 Gary Ringrose

12 Bundee Aki

11 Jacob Stockdale

10 Jonathan Sexton

9 Luke Mc Grath

8 CJ Stander

7 Dan Leavy

6 Peter O Mahony

5 James Ryan

4 Tadgh Beirne

3 Tadgh Furlong

2 Sean Cronin

1 Cian Healy

–

16 Niall Scannell

17 Jack Mc Grath

18 Andrew Porter

19 Devin Toner

20 Josh Van Der Flier

21 John Cooney

22 Joey Carbery

23 Will Addison

Ireland Vs Argentina

So Ireland returned to Soldier Field this weekend and defeated Italy 54-7 in the middle game of the now yearly rugby festival that takes place in the USA. Yes the opposition would not really persuade your casual rugby fan to switch on or travel to Chicago to take it in like the New Zealand fixture of two years ago.

This game was about fine tuning the planning for this November Series and also trying to give some of the less experienced players in the squad meaningful game time when there are now after this weekend only 11 more games before the 2019 World Cup.

It took Ireland until early in the second half to take control of the game and they showed true ruthlessness that will be needed to surpass the exploits of the last few World Cups where a quarter final has been the furthest Ireland have managed since the first World Cup in 1987. They scored two quick fire tries to gone from 14-7 up to 28-7 up inside the first 7 minutes of the second half. That type of ruthlessness will be needed more and more over the next 12 months.

Ireland still need sharpen up in defence and defend as a unit on occasion but some of the performances from men like Jordan Larmour who scored a hat trick of tries and Tadgh Beirne were great to see and Beirne has just gone from strength to strength since signing for Munster. Seeing the half back pairing of Luke Mc Grath and Joey Carbery gave us a glimpse of a future long term pairing maybe but of course Ross Byrne and John Cooney will have something to say about that you can be sure.

Ireland arrived back from Chicago in two groups this morning and will begin to prepare for the encounter with Argentina who are now coached by Mario Ledesma who after a spell in charge of the Argentine Super Rugby side Jaguares that yielded a semi final spot in Super Rugby at the first go meant the Argentina Rugby Union didn’t need to look too far for a replacement for Daniel Hourcade when he stepped down after the November Tests last year.

Ireland and Argentina have a history in the past 21 years beginning at the 1999 World Cup quarter final in Lens when Argentina beat Ireland and then in a group game in 2003 Ireland gained some revenge beating Argentina 16-15 to make a quarter final where they were heavily defeated 43-31 by France.

The game this weekend offers both sides the chance to step preparations for further tests this month with Ireland facing World Champions New Zealand the following weekend in a last chance to test themselves against the best before Japan 2019.

There is some chatter that Conor Murray may make a appearance against New Zealand which hasn’t been dismissed by the Ireland coaching ticket but still seems unlikely with Munster’s Pro 14 game vs Zebre at the end of November the more likely destination for the returning scrum half although he has been involved in the planning and plotting last week in Carton House with the senior group of players who didn’t travel to Chicago.

Joe Schmidt delayed his departure to Chicago until late last week to stay behind and work on some things with that senior group. His attention to detail never ceases to amaze people and that is why he has achieved so much since November 2013.

I will now try and select a team to face Argentina this weekend :

15 Jordan Larmour

14 Keith Earls

13 Gary Ringrose

12 Robbie Henshaw

11 Jacob Stockdale

10 Jonathan Sexton

9 Luke Mc Grath

8 Jack Conan

7 Josh Van Der Flier

6 Peter O Mahony

5 James Ryan

4 Tadgh Beirne

3 Tadgh Furlong

2 Sean Cronin

1 Cian Healy

–

16 Niall Scannell

17 Jack Mc Grath

18 Andrew Porter

19 Iain Henderson

20 CJ Stander

21 John Cooney

22 Joey Carbery

23 Will Addison

Munster 12-0 All Blacks – 40 Years On

On this date 40 years ago 15 men from Munster played under captain Donal Caniffe and coach Tom Kieran in Thomond Park against a touring All Blacks side and defeated them 12-0. I can confirm that I was not one of the 100,000 people who claimed to have been there as I was welcomed into the world 12 years later….

All this author can go on is photos and old archive footage with the famous commentary from the Fred Cogley. Of course a play was penned by Alan English who also wrote a book named Alone It Stands.

This two pieces bring to life that never to be forgotten day on October 31st 1978. New Zealand were unbeaten until on that tour and Munster were the only side to beat them and not alone that, they kept them scoreless which was a huge achievement.

Hearing all the different stories that have gone down in folklore, like the coat that was tossed into the air when Christy Cantillion crashed over for his try, I don’t think we will ever know did the coat hit the ground again. I doubt it mattered in light of the result. Tony Ward also contributed points to the cause including a drop goal and a penalty.

Donal Caniffe received devastating news at the conclusion of the game that his father had passed away during the game. He made his way to Cork while his team mates celebrated a momentous victory. This story was very well told in Alan English’s play “Alone It Stands “  So many people claimed to have been there on the day in question but only around 12,000 souls actually made it into the game.

The match ball was rescued by touch judge’s Martin Walsh and John Cole and in the days following the match John received a bill from the Munster Branch for £3 and 8 shillings to replace the match ball, not a bad bill to get given the result of the game.

In 2008, Munster faced the All Blacks on the 30^th anniversary of that famous day. On that occasion this author was in the crowd and the match ball was presented to the captain in 1978 Donal Caniffe after being delivered by an Air Corps Helicopter.

Then the teams entered the stage and Munster who had 4 New Zealanders in there squad on the evening, stepped out and led by Rua Tipoki alongside Doug Howlett , Jeremy Manning and Lifimi Mafi and roared on by 26,000 hardy souls they performed a very special Haka to tell New Zealand they were in for a fight and so it proved as only for a late Joe Rokocoko try to cancel out a Munster try by Barry Murphy along with points from Paul Warwick who played at out half.

To the men of 1978 and 2008, well done for keeping the proud tradition of Munster’s never say die attitude alive in both games…..

Joe Schmidt has selected his 42 man squad to take on Italy, Argentina , New Zealand and USA over the next 4 weeks in the Guinness Series in Chicago where they face Italy , then it’s back to the Aviva to face Argentina , the All Blacks and USA.

People will ask why travel to Chicago to play Italy when they face them every 12 months in the 6 Nations , but this decision is purely down to sponsorship and the fact that there will be three games played on the one day in Soldier Field. That field will evoke memories of the 2016 Test match against the All Blacks that saw Ireland defeat them 40-29.

There are only three new names in the 42 man squad namely Ross Byrne, Sam Arnold and Will Addison who will add to the options at full back and in the centre like Jared Payne did before injury ended his career.

Addison looks a real player in his early appearances for Ulster. Both he and Mike Haley were cleverly recruited but unlike others they won’t have to wait 3 or 5 years to qualify to play for Ireland as both have Irish heritage through parents and grandparents. Although Mike Haley hasn’t been selected in the initial 42 man squad injury may still him involved at some point over the next few weeks.

All the focus will be on the two games against Argentina and New Zealand but the other fixtures will be crucial in preparing Schmidt’s men for the 2019 World Cup. It will give Schmidt the chance to see either Carbery or Byrne start a Test at 10 and see how each man gets on leading his team around the field.

Joey Carbery has been exposed to first team rugby in the out half position since his Munster debut back in September. He has controlled Munster in 2 Heineken Champions Cup games and did an admirable job but still has plenty to learn but this move is already paying off as Joe Schmidt’s two first choice 10s are playing regularly not like 12 months ago where Joey Carbery started at 10 vs. Fiji will little or no rugby at out half in the weeks leading into that game.

This year will be different because he will have had a number of weeks at out half to learn his craft. He will learn the game more and more now since his move, he will learn to play going forward and maybe backward as well which will bring him on leaps and bounds.

Ireland will face Italy in Chicago on Saturday week and I will now try and select the XV that will play Italy :

15 Andrew Conway

14 Darren Sweetnam

13 Sam Arnold

12 Will Addison

11 Jordan Larmour

10 Joey Carbery

9 Luke Mc Grath

8 Jack Conan

7 Dan Leavy

6 Sean O Brien

5 Devin Toner

4 Iain Henderson

3 Finlay Bealham

2 Sean Cronin

1 Jack Mc Grath

–

16 Niall Scannell

17 Dave Kilcoyne

18 John Ryan

19 Quinn Roux

20 Jordi Murphy

21 Kieran Marmion

22 Ross Byrne

23 Stuart Mc Closkey

It’s a huge 4 weeks ahead but the eye can’t be taken from Italy or they could ambush Ireland first up like they did before in the 6 Nations…..

Munster Contract Time

Munster today announced another raft of fresh contract extensions and a new signing for next season namely scrum half Nick Mc Carthy who will move from Leinster next year on a two year deal. While this news will be welcomed by most people, it will again beg the question of the Munster Academy set up, why have they had to go to another province yet again to bring in a scrum half when there has been a few options in the Academy in recent years like Jack Stafford, John Poland and a few years ago a player by the name of Jack Cullen was brought in through the Exiles system and played only a few times for Munster A.

Also a player like Ryan Foley who is now plying his trade in France were in the Munster set up and have now gone on to pastures new. Leinster will lose another player and while his opportunities were limited at Leinster by Jamison Gibson Park, Luke Mc Grath and others he has still racked up 30 first team games in the blue of Leinster.

Not for one moment am I say that Munster don’t do good work at academy level and also players reach a certain stage and they will either break through or find other opportunities outside of professional sport.  It is a tough business and only small numbers make it through to play professionally in any position.  As a pro you just have to make the most of every chance that comes your way and you can be certain that Nick Mc Carthy weighted up all his options before agreeing to this move.

On the plus side he will get the chance to play with Joey Carbery and Tyler Bleyendaal while learning from Conor Murray who he will compete with for the 9 jersey. Leinster do seem to be the go too Province if another is struggling to fill a certain gap in a squad. Many men have now made the move south and yes the move east was also fashionable in the not too distant past, men like Mike Ross via Harlequins, Paul Wallace via Saracens, Liam Toland , Brian O Meara have also gone the other way so for people saying it’s always the Leinster players being cherry picked , have a look at old programmes and you will see this move was common long before the professional game took hold.

Munster do need to revise the way they are producing players, yes there are only limited spots in an academy and really only one player in each position will get in if they are lucky so It is a charmed life. As a professional you have to go where the opportunities are and this move from Nick Mc Carthy will also help Joe Schmidt in the long term with more options in the scrum half position.

The men to sign new deals today with Munster are Chris Farrell on a three year deal , Chris Cloete who signed a two year extension to his current three year deal , Neil Cronin , James Cronin and Tommy O Donnell have all signed new two year deals today so it’s a good day for all concerned with Munster Rugby.

Conor Murray New Contract

The news that Conor Murray has signed a new deal to take him beyond his original deal which ended in 2019 will be greeted by all Irish rugby supporters with relief because you can be sure some of the French heavy hitters along with some English sides may have been circling with the end of his current contract coming up.

Conor made his Munster debut in 2010 and made his Ireland debut against France before the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand. He has developed into one of the World’s best 9’s in the game along with Aaron Smith and Will Genia. His has travelled on two Lions tours in 2013 and 2017, becoming a Test Lion in 2013 and then starting all three Tests in 2017 against New Zealand in the drawn Series.

He has 67 caps for Ireland since 2011, winning Three Six Nations crowns in 2014, 2015 and a Grand Slam in 2018. He also has a Magners League Winners medal with Munster from 2011 when they defeated Leinster in the Final in Limerick.

The continuing question of who is the World’s best 9 will continue but Murray’s consistent performances in green and red have surely brought him close to surpassing Aaron Smith in recent years. He has also the added edge that he can goal kick and has done this for Munster to good success and more latterly for Ireland on the odd occasion.

From a Munster perspective, this news is a much needed boost in the week leading into the opening Heineken Champions Cup game away at Exeter. Although Murray won’t be involved in the match day 23 due to injury, he will help out the other fit 9s in the squad with the execution of the Munster game plan whatever that may be.

The impetus will now be on Munster to introduce some young blood into the scrum half position to learn off Murray from now until 2022. Jack Stafford who may get game time this weekend depending on selection is the current Munster academy 9 and will be working overtime this week to help his chances of gaining selection for this game.

Denis Hurley was 21 when he was introduced to the Munster faithful back in 2008 in Gloucester in the Heineken Cup quarter final in Kingsholm. Munster won that day helped by Hurley, a try by Doug Howlett and some wayward kicking by the usually reliable Chris Paterson. So  Munster have trust young guys before and you can be sure they may do so again , it didn’t end too badly that day in 08 did it ??

The good news of this announcement may help to give the players a boost heading for Sandy Park this weekend, Munster beginning a 23rd campaign in Europe’s premier competition , roll on Saturday at 3.15pm live on BT Sport.

Munster, Turning A Corner??

Have Munster finally turned a corner in their quest to find consistency of performance. They have played 5 games and have been well beaten in the two away fixtures at Cardiff and Glasgow. These results have seen questions raised about their performance levels since the season began.

The addition of Joey Carbery has added some attacking flair to the squad that still needs to smooth out the rough edges to be the complete package and there is no better place to start that process than the Aviva Stadium this Saturday at 6pm against Leinster.

It has been well flagged that Leinster will rest a few players with one on Europe the following week but they will still be in a position to field a XV that will have International quality across the field. The work that has gone into the development of the Leinster squad has to be admired by all involved in Irish rugby.

Munster will have players like Alby Mathewson and Arno Botha to call upon if Johan Van Graan decides to rest some of his front line players like Peter O Mahony and CJ Stander. Munster unlike Leinster do not have the same player resources and have to manage their squad very carefully in the face of European rugby and Pro 14.

The game this weekend is massive for both sides but for Munster it will give them a chance to find a win that could kick start their season and get them on the right footing heading into an extremely testing two weeks where they face Exeter Chiefs and Gloucester.

Johan Van Graan is almost a year into his job after he signed a contract until June 2020. He is now gone beyond the honeymoon period and will now need to start producing the results to match the squad’s ambitions. Two Semi Finals last year was a good end result to a season that saw Van Graan take charge in November 2017.

JP Ferreira was brought on board to look after defence while Jerry Flannery and Felix Jones were kept on as scrum and backs coach. This coaching team is almost a year old and will want to see the fruits of their labour starting with this run of games that will end with Glasgow arriving in Limerick at the end of October.

This fixture is massive for both sides and will give Munster in particular a real insight into how far they have come this year. I will now try and select the two teams that will face off in The Aviva Stadium this weekend.

Leinster XV :

15 Rob Kearney

14 Fergus Mc Fadden

13 Rory O Loughlin

12 Noel Reid

11 James Lowe

10 Ross Byrne

9 Jamison Gibson-Park

8 Jack Conan

7 Sean O Brien

6 Josh Murphy

5 Devin Toner

4 Mick Kearney

3 Andrew Porter

2 James Tracy

1 Peter Dooley

–

16 Sean Cronin

17 Jack Mc Grath

18 Michael Bent

19 Ian Nagle

20 Dan Leavy

21 Nick Mc Carthy

22 Ciaran Frawley

23 Adam Byrne

Munster XV

15 Andrew Conway

14 Darren Sweetnam

13 Sam Arnold

12 Rory Scannell

11 Keith Earls

10 Joey Carbery

9 Alby Mathewson

8 CJ Stander

7 Chris Cloete

6 Peter O Mahony

5 Tadgh Beirne

4 Jean Kleyn

3 Stephen Archer

2 Niall Scannell

1 James Cronin

–

16 Kevin O Byrne

17 Dave Kilcoyne

18 Brian Scott

19 Billy Holland

20 Tommy O Donnell

21 Jack Stafford

22 Ian Keatley

23 Alex Wootton

My Irish Squad for November 2018

Forwards : Cian Healy , James Cronin , Peter Dooley , Tadgh Furlong , Finlay Bealham , Andrew Porter.

Sean Cronin, Rory Best, Dave Heffernan.

James Ryan, Devin Toner, Tadgh Beirne , Ultan Dillane.

CJ Stander , Peter O Mahony , Max Deegan , Sean O Brien , Sean Reidy. ( 18)

Backs : John Cooney , Luke Mc Grath , Kieran Marmion.

Jonathan Sexton, Joey Carbery , Jack Carty , Billy Burns.

Robbie Henshaw , Rory Scannell , Bundee Aki , Sam Arnold , Garry Ringrose.

Keith Earls, Andrew Conway, Darren Sweetnam , Craig Gilroy , Matt Healy.

Mike Haley , Will Addison , Tiernan O Halloran. (20)

Here is the 38 man squad I would select for the November Internationals this year. There are players named who may get injured in the coming few weeks but this is an initial squad with players that are currently available for selection.

Interprovincial Derbies 2018/2019

So the first Provincial derbies of this season take place this weekend where Connacht face Leinster in Galway at 5.15pm and then at 7.35pm Munster play Ulster in Thomond Park. All four teams have started their campaigns in good form with some good early season results. Over the last two weeks Leinster in particular have found there groove dispatching Edinburgh and Dragons in clinical fashion at home in the RDS.

They look like the side that conquered all last year in Europe and in the Pro 14. Jonathan Sexton looks back to his assured best as team captain and that will surely drive standards as the year goes on. Going to Galway will bring memories of last season back to Leinster where they were well beaten and had over 40 points put on them in the Sportsground. This game will have a slightly different 23 involved than that day for Leinster in particular who will have all available Irish Internationals at their disposal.

Connacht should have Bundee Aki , Kieran Marmion and others involved so that should even up the scales. Andy Friend is slowly changing the attacking pattern that Connacht used last year where the midfield axis of Aki and Farrell have worked wonders in the early part of the year. Jack Carty is also in a rich vein of form and this is helping Connacht reach the same levels as in 2016.

Of course it is too early in the season to make any bold predictions but in all fairness to all in Connacht they are playing really well in the last two weeks and will know like last April that this is a golden chance to pick up a big win over an Interprovincial derby rival and gain vital league points at the same time.

Andy Friend knows only too well how quick things can change, they need to find a level of consistency that will get them winning the big games along with the games they would expect to win.

Looking to Leinster, they have started the season like lightening only for a slip in Wales vs Scarlets they would be 4 out of 4 heading into to the game with Connacht this weekend. The partnership of Ringrose and Henshaw is flourishing like last year. This will in no doubt help the cause. Having Dan Leavy and Sean O Brien back will strengthen the back row and will help them over the busy period of the next few weeks. Not to mention the addition of Caelan Doris, Josh Murphy two men who have slipped in unnoticed in the opening weeks of the year.

Moving to Limerick at 7.35pm , Munster will want to bounce back from a heavy defeat in Cardiff on Friday evening when they face Ulster in Thomond Park on Saturday night under lights. The Munster squad should welcome back Keith Earls to the fold and he will be the last addition of an Irish International to the side.

Men like Mike Haley and Sam Arnold should also be back in contention for selection after getting a rest last weekend. Munster will need to sharpen up all over the field to get the better of an Ulster side that has played some great attacking rugby with guys like Angus Kernohan , Angus Curtis and new signing Billy Burns showing some deft touches in the first few weeks of the year.

John Cooney is defiantly pushing to do more than just play well for Ulster, one senses he is sniffing out the opportunity to get ahead of Marmion and Mc Grath to be understudy to Conor Murray , although the latter’s return to action is delayed while he recovers from an neck injury. Munster are missing his influence at 9 alongside new man Joey Carbery. Carbery has shown real signs of quality and Munster will benefit from his influence in the long term. They will really need to starting firing soon and get there maul game going and start using some strike plays from first phase ball to see can that crack a defence earlier than they are doing at the moment. Ulster will attack off 10 this weekend and will also use Stuart Mc Closkey if selected to get over the gain line. It will be a physical encounter and Johan Van Graan will need his squad to be ready from the off this weekend.

Joe Schmidt will get a first chance to see his men in action in club colours this weekend with squad selection for November fresh in his mind. Men like John Cooney , Finlay Bealham , Tom Farrell and Craig Gilroy keen to take the chance to shine against men they are in direction competition with for squad places. This weekend signals to ending of friendly fire , the serious stuff starts now…..

The Provinces Season Ahead

So the 2018/2019 season is just around the corner with all four provinces currently in pre season action with Leinster the current Pro 14 and Champions Cup holders completing their 2 game schedule  last Friday where they faced Newcastle Falcons and were beaten 42-17. They travelled to Montauban the previous week and held on for a narrow 18-17 win.

Senior Coach Stuart Lancaster has already admitted that both games have shown up the Leinster defence and he was not pleased having conceded a large number of tries late last season and in this pre season period.

With no game until they open there campaign away to Cardiff Blues on August 31^st they can work on their defence and other aspects of their game plan that they may feel needs to be sharpened before that opening fixture.

How can Leinster achieve more than they did last year having won in Europe and in the Pro 14. The drive for 5 in Europe is well and truly alive now and Leo Cullen along with Stuart Lancaster will want to drive the standards further and further and achieve more and more. Bettering oneself must be high on the priority list.

Of course the chance of new young players stepping up to the mark is a real distinct possibility with guys like Harry Byrne and Will Connors and Caelan Doris hoping to get an early chance to show what they can do in the early weeks of the new campaign.

From a Leinster perspective, if they retain one of their trophies that will be seen as another success but you can be sure they will be hell bent on keeping a hold of both Pro 14 and the Champions Cup. Roll on the new campaign. My prediction for Leinster will be another Pro 14 win but they may lose the Champions Cup as I feel they will only get to a Semi Final.

Munster have invested in there playing group adding Tadgh Beirne , Neil Cronin , Mike Haley and Arno Botha. Those four players have been added to an already improving squad where Johan Van Graan has had a full pre season to get his ideas across to the group of players he will work with this year. Munster played in two Semi Finals last season and will really need to find the key for success to get past a Semi Final and get back to competing in Finals. My prediction for Munster will be that they will get to a Pro 14 Final and a bold prediction that they will get to a Champions Cup Final…

Ulster have Dan Mc Farland on board after the IRFU paid compensation to the SRU to have him released from his contract to take up his new role. The signing of Billy Burns could be hugely exciting for all in the Ulster set up along with all in the Irish set up as he is Irish qualified.

Will Addison is another Ulster addition who has already spent time in the Irish set up down in Australia and will hope now that some good early performances for Ulster will bring him into contention for an Irish squad place for the November Internationals.

My prediction for Ulster will be a Pro 14 Play off place and maybe with a strong start a knock out spot in the Champions Cup.

Connacht of course have a new coach in Andrew Friday and he will hope that he can bring back the good times to all involved with Connacht rugby after the Pro 12 win two season ago. Kieran Keane came in last year and tried to implement a new game plan that the Chiefs had brought in and that helped them win a Super Rugby title in 2013. It didn’t work out too well for Kieran Keane and he was sacked at the end of last season after only winning 7 games in the Pro 14 last year. Although the Challenge Cup challenge was ended by Gloucester, Connacht will feel that a successful Challenge Cup campaign could help them with domestic matters. My Prediction for Connacht will be a Challenge Cup Semi Final and maybe a Pro 14 play off place as well.

With a World Cup in late 2019, many players will think that they can put up some good performances to force Joe Schmidt into some squad changes as the November Internationals come along followed by the 2019 Six Nations. This is the year to put your hand up and be counted to maybe just maybe gain a spot in the plane to Japan…..

By

Cian Mc Gibney

21/08/2018