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Ireland vs England - Composite XV

By Alex Shaw
Johnny Sexton and Maro Itoje (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

With Ireland vs England just a day away, excitement levels are beginning to spike for the contest, which pits the two sides responsible for the last five Six Nations titles against one another.

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Head coaches Joe Schmidt and Eddie Jones have both named their teams for the test in Dublin, but how many of their opponent’s squad would they want to welcome into their own ranks?

We have compiled a composite XV between the two sides, ahead of one the most eagerly-anticipated games in recent years.

  1. Robbie Henshaw, Ireland

Two interesting selections from Schmidt and Jones, with Henshaw and Elliot Daly both predominately centres at their province or club. Both players did make their domestic breakthroughs at 15, however, and Henshaw just edges this one with his security competing for the contested balls in the air. Having not played at 15 for Ireland recently, he also has the luxury of not having had the positional struggles that Daly faced in 2018.

  1. Jonny May, England

May is arguably one of the more underrated performers in an England shirt, but merits inclusion based upon both his top-end speed and finishing ability, as well as the work he puts in on the chase, making sure England’s kicking game is successful. He is predatory in defence, capable of sniffing out intercepts, and his work in the air might be the most consistent of England’s back three options.

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Watch: Eddie Jones speaks to RugbyPass about Ireland game

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  1. Garry Ringrose, Ireland

A different type of 13 to Henry Slade, so it’s quite difficult to compare them offensively, but the Leinster centre probably has the advantage defensively, an area where the two can be effectively compared. Ringrose has an edge in mobility in that wider channel that both allows him to get up and shut down attacks from turning the corner and getting wide, as well as the lateral quickness to drift and not allow his wings to be isolated with two-on-ones. Ringrose enters the game as the number one ranked outside centre on the RPI in the Guinness PRO14 and Heineken Champions Cup.

  1. Bundee Aki, Ireland

At his best, Manu Tuilagi would be a certainty for this XV, whether at 12 or 13, but until he can show that ability to stay fit and perform at the highest level again after his nightmare years of injury, the impressive Aki takes the spot. That road back to the very top could well start for Tuilagi on Saturday, but he will first have to get through Aki, who has leapfrogged the Leicester Tiger during his convalescence.

  1. Jacob Stockdale, Ireland
Jacob Stockdale makes a break against the All Blacks. Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images

It’s impossible to leave Stockdale out of the XV based on his current form, with the Ulsterman arguably the most difficult wing to contain in world rugby at the moment. He is capable of hurting England in a number of ways at the Aviva and as a target for cross-field kicks, he will fancy his chances of finding favourable match-ups and space between England’s wings and midfield.

  1. Jonathan Sexton, Ireland

Not an easy call, despite Sexton’s recent World Rugby Player of the Year accolade, but it feels like, at least at international level, as if he still has a slight advantage over Owen Farrell. If you took club form into the equation, you might lean the way of the Englishman, but for a composite international XV, a well-rested and cohesive Sexton is a must-pick at fly-half.

  1. Conor Murray, Ireland

Credit is certainly due to Ben Youngs for his consistency and effectiveness with England, but if Murray is there to be picked, the spot has to go to the Munsterman. This will be a good barometer for Youngs with half a season to go until the Rugby World Cup, as to exactly how his game stacks up against the world’s best.

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Watch: Conor Murray looks ahead to England clash

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  1. Mako Vunipola, England

There’s a reason Vunipola was a starter for the British and Irish Lions in 2017 and his form for England has not dipped since then, despite the team in general enduring some struggles. He isn’t one of the very best scrummagers at the position, but what he offers in carrying, tackling, ball-handling and conditioning, more than makes up for that.

  1. Jamie George, England
England hooker Jamie George (Getty Images)

Rory Best has the advantage in experience and his role as a leader within the Irish set-up should not be underestimated, but pragmatically, George is currently offering more on the pitch. His lineout throwing is more consistent, he packs more of a punch offensively and has the engine to perform all his roles to a high level for an 80-minute spell if required.

  1. Tadhg Furlong, Ireland

One of the easier calls in this XV, although Kyle Sinckler was one of two or three standouts for England in the autumn internationals, so the gap may be beginning to close. That said, Furlong has set standards at the position which are unlikely to see him caught anytime soon and he will relish having a crack at the English scrum, as well as keeping Ireland on the front-foot as a carrier.

  1. Maro Itoje, England

There are few second rows who can influence a match as broadly as Itoje does, with the Saracens lock a potential game-changer at the set-piece, the contact area and in his carrying and tackling work in the loose. His selection here is fairly straightforward and perhaps foreshadows a British and Irish Lions combination with the man to come at five.

  1. James Ryan, Ireland
James Ryan in action against All Blacks. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
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No player has risen as fast over the last couple of years as Ryan, to the point where his inclusion here doesn’t even require a second thought, despite being up against an operator as well-rounded as George Kruis. The battle between Ryan and Itoje on Saturday afternoon will be one of the more enjoyable contests within that game.

  1. Peter O’Mahony, Ireland

In addition to delivering plenty of passion to the Ireland back row, O’Mahony brings unparalleled defensive lineout ability and a physicality in the tackle that all but the most powerful ball-carriers will struggle to break and create forward momentum against. He chips in with effective contributions at the breakdown, too, making him one of the more versatile and influential blindsides in international rugby.

  1. Josh van der Flier, Ireland

A case of having been there and done it swings this one in van der Flier’s favour, with Tom Curry coming up fast on the outside. It’s potentially a pecking order which could be re-evaluated by the end of the Six Nations, but Curry has been unlucky with a couple of injuries early in his England career, so he has yet to put together the body of work at international level to realistically oust van der Flier here.

  1. Billy Vunipola, England
England number 8 Billy Vunipola. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Some of the gritty work that CJ Stander does goes largely underappreciated for Ireland, but the same can be said of Vunipola in an England jersey, with a focus on his more eye-catching work with the ball in hand. Couple that unseen work with the edge in power and explosion that Vunipola has, as well as an offloading game that England have missed during his injuries, and he just shades this contest with Stander.

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J
Jon 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 8 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

30 Go to comments
A
Adrian 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

30 Go to comments
T
Trevor 12 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
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