Irish props

[coonor]

Just reading the stephen Jones collum in rugby world. He argued that Hayes and Horan are better scrummagers than Buckley and healy which I disagree with. For me a props main role is in the scrum which is why I'd like to see better scrummagers given a go at irish international levels. Healy is still very young. his rucking and open play is very good and his scrum skills may get better with experience and good coaching. I want a pure scrummager for Ireland at least on the bench as with decent set piece winning games consistently is very hard. who should be Irelands props????

 

[TRF_Olyy]

For me a props main role is in the scrum which is why I'd like to see better scrummagers given a go at irish international levels.

I'd agree with this,
Cian Healy may be cracking in the loose, but he's not going to get a chance in the loose if he's giving away penalties at every scrum (over exaggeration there, but you get my point) - for me the front row should be good in their set roles (scrum and lineouts) and then loose work should come second (obviously you want them to be good in the loose, but, imo, a solid scrum is more important)

 

[Conal]

a pure scrummager probaly mike ross its one of his hew good points also court is a good scrummager

 

[lucky number 7]

over here we dont really breed props to well.. more a nation of 13 stone gaa players build than some of the beastly things that the world of intenrational rugby throws at us ..i dont think there is a serious scrummager coming through the youths either ...bring back the claw

 

[Conal]

thers a few young ones who could be alright
probaly do us a world of good to steal a exile ya know englsh or scottish but with an irish parent or grandparent as england seamsto make more props than us

 

[MunsterMan]

Don't want any more poaches, we already have an Australian prop in our squad. We don't want to end up like England do we?

We need to "do and Australia" and put the structures in place to produce better scrummagers, and put much more emphasis on improving the scrummaging of our current forwards, and yes I said forwards, not props.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

The best Irish qualified scrummaging props are Tom Court and Mike Ross. Cian Healy has had his struggles this year but he's picked up a lot in the last couple of games (since the Toulouse game when Gibbes and Cheika decided to re-emphasize this area in training). The above three are better than Hayes and Horan. Buckle is a poor scrummager but he's a monster in loose play. Perhaps he's best used as an impact sub where he causes 30 minutes of havoc in a game.

Of the emerging props, Dave Ryan and Jamie Hagan (both of whom are older than Cian Healy) look like decent prospects. Jack McGrath and Stewart Maguire have been talked up by Michael Cheika recently so each of them could be worth kepping an eye on.

 

[coonor]

I suppose were forgetting that it's not just about one or two good props. It's about the full forward power. we need to get used to some srumming techniques for example just after the opposition makes a hit and step there is a time where the pack is unbalanced so your forwards can put its own power on the drive.

 

[munstermuffin]

Lads point is been picked up - we haven't had a settled coaching structure from the bottom up

 

[MunsterMan]

We have no Millo-Chlusky/Shaw/Hines/Bakkies type of second rows to pick either. All our locks are light and mobile, which has many many benefits but hinders the scrum.

 

[lucky number 7]

After being at the leinster ospreys match today and being withing touching distance of the god we call tommy bowe it was obvious really which team were the more solidly built ..the welsh lads despite the fake tan were absolute beasts

 

[ORothlain]

Don't diss my main man John Hayes.

Cian Healy is excellent in the loose. He needs some maturing in the scrum like has been mentioned.

Tony Buckley has sooooo much potential. He needs a tutor to help him out. I think he could be awesome and is the likely replacement for Hayes.

Not living in Ireland leaves me at a disadvantage to comment on up & commers, but I can only pray that we have some.

 

[lynam1104]

Don't diss my main man John Hayes.

Cian Healy is excellent in the loose. He needs some maturing in the scrum like has been mentioned.

Tony Buckley has sooooo much potential. He needs a tutor to help him out. I think he could be awesome and is the likely replacement for Hayes.

Not living in Ireland leaves me at a disadvantage to comment on up & commers, but I can only pray that we have some.

Thats not Buckley is it? and why is the leinster jersey green?

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Leinster wore a green jersey in a friendly last season for some hippy reason like they were promoting "green" policies.

 

[MunsterMan]

John Andress is apparently playing very well for Quins, but hey, so was Mike Ross.

 

[coonor]

I do find that at the moment many abroad players do not get noticed by the Irish coaching staff. etc for Tommy Bowe you can't miss him.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Who outside of Ireland is good enough? Tommy Bowe, Geordan Murphy and that's about it. Roger Wilson could perhaps make an extended squad too. I wouldn't waste my time giving Neil Best, James Downey, Johne Murphy, Bob Casey, Jeremy Staunton and countless others an international call up. They're not good enough.

Seeing as this thread is about Irish props, talk about John Andress being worth a look is wide of the mark. Check out the Quins fans forum and see whether they'd prefer Andress or Mike Ross in their team. Ross has been a big loss for them yet he hasn't made a huge impact with Leinster.