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'If I was Devin Toner I'd be feeling very sorry for myself' - Brian O'Driscoll on the World Cup controversy that has Ireland talking
Brian O’Driscoll insists that Ireland lock Devin Toner’s World Cup omission “beggars belief”. Former Ireland skipper O’Driscoll admitted to being left nonplussed by Joe Schmidt’s decision to select Munster’s Jean Kleyn ahead of lineout boss Toner.
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Ireland named their 31-man World Cup squad on Monday, with 33-year-old Toner the glaring absentee. Former British and Irish Lions captain O’Driscoll believes Leinster stalwart Toner could have proved crucial to Ireland’s lineout at the World Cup, but still backed boss Schmidt to steer his side back to top form.
“I think there was always going to be a big omission, such is the strength in depth,” said O’Driscoll. “I guess no-one saw Devin Toner being left out. And it kind of beggars belief that if the lineout is malfunctioning you then don’t include your tallest player and your best lineout operator.
“He’s the most capped player under Joe Schmidt, the go-to guy for big games. And only 10 months ago he was dominating the lineout in that big victory against the All Blacks at the Aviva Stadium. So it’s quite the fall from grace.
“And obviously Joe Schmidt sees something in Jean Kleyn, a different player from Devin Toner, a big scrummager and maybe a meatier ball carrier. But if I was Devin Toner I’d be feeling very sorry for myself, and wondering whether it was justified.”
Joe Schmidt hasn't taken kindly to Agustin Pichot's comment regarding Ireland's Devin Toner https://t.co/8F3tWQwZ6q
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 3, 2019
Toner has started 50 of Schmidt’s 67 Test matches at the Ireland helm and produced a fine showing in the 16-9 win over back-to-back world champions New Zealand in Dublin in November. Munster’s South Africa-born lock Kleyn only qualified on residency for Ireland two days before his Test debut, against Italy in August.
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But now the 26-year-old has been thrust into Ireland’s final World Cup group, with Schmidt valuing his scrummaging ability and aggression around the field. O’Driscoll believes Toner could yet wind up at the World Cup, however, should any injuries strike the Ireland camp.
Schmidt’s side will complete their warm-up schedule by hosting Wales in Dublin on Saturday before opening their Pool A campaign against Scotland on September 22. Asked if a discarded player can ever state their selection arguments to a coach, O’Driscoll said: “You have to be careful with how honest you are, there’s a chance of injuries and you don’t want to alienate yourself by putting your foot in your mouth and saying something you can’t take back.
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An impossible task but hoping we get at least 5 out of 15 correct… #RugbyWorldCup #Japan2019
“You can be honest and say ‘I think you’ve made a bad decision’, but ultimately it’s not going to change his mind. So you’ve got to deal with the disappointment and stay fit because you never know what’s around the corner.”
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Ireland slumped to a record 57-15 loss to England at Twickenham two weeks ago, causing external alarm amid their World Cup preparations. O’Driscoll enjoyed years of success under Schmidt at first Leinster and then Ireland, and backed the savvy Kiwi boss to roll a few more trademark trick plays once the Japanese global battle gets into full swing.
“Undoubtedly Joe’s still got a few more tricks up his sleeve,” said O’Driscoll, speaking as a Land Rover ambassador. “You would have been a bit more comfortable if you’d seen a little bit more rhythm to the team, particularly in phase plays.
‘I remember as a kid having vague recollections of police checks and border controls, so the thought of going back there feels as though it's such a step back in time’
– @BrianODriscoll talks to @heagneyl about Brexit, @IrishRugby and @rugbyworldcuphttps://t.co/jHOw9x5HfE— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 1, 2019
“But I think some of the launch plays he’s got planned, some we’ll have seen in playbooks three or four years ago, others we’ll never have seen before. So I’m excited as an analyst to go and watch that and see how he manipulates defences to then get them to do something that they can counter.
“And that’s where he separates himself from the rest of the coaching world: the amount of footage he’s watched, and the detail that he goes through, he’s able to see patterns and put things into effect to counter opponents.”
WATCH: Brian O’Driscoll tips England to win the World Cup
Comments on RugbyPass
🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
27 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
27 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
27 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
27 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
27 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to comments