Lock stocks: Ireland's 7-deep second row pecking order with James Ryan out
News that James Ryan will be out of action for up to three months will surely have sent a chill down Andy Farrell’s spine. Having undergone a procedure on a shoulder injury sustained in training a few weeks ago, the Leinster second row is set to miss the rest of Leinster’s season as rugby prepares to return in Europe.
It could also spell bad news for Ireland, who face a packed schedule later this year.
Leinster stated Ryan is set to miss 10-12 weeks. Ireland are due to play the first of their remaining Six Nations in a little under 12 weeks when they take on Italy (October 24), before playing France a week later.
Farrell’s squad will then continue their autumn schedule by taking part in a new eight-team tournament, designed to take the place of the original autumn calendar.
Even if Ryan recovers ahead of schedule, the games against Italy and France look a big ask after such a lengthy spell out. Bear in mind that by the time the fixture against the Azzurri arrives, Ryan probably won’t have played a competitive game of rugby for eight months.
His absence would represent a considerable loss. At 24, Ryan is already one of Ireland’s most important players and a guaranteed starter for Andy Farrell.
Should his leading second row option be out of the picture, it leaves Farrell facing some interesting selection issues in an Ireland team that has struggled to recapture the form that made them such a scintillating force in 2018.
Here, we look at the leading candidates vying for a place in the Ireland second row.
Devin Toner
This time last year it looked as though Toner’s Ireland career was drawing to close having being the big-name omission from Joe Schmidt’s squad for the Rugby World Cup.
Despite this body blow, Toner responded in impeccable fashion and was back in the squad as Andy Farrell prepared to lead Ireland into the 2020 Six Nations. He is not the most flash player in the position, but Toner gets his work done diligently is much more than an easy lineout target, playing an important role in some of Ireland’s greatest days.
At 34, his time at Test level won’t last much longer, but based on his form over the past 12 months Toner remains a very live option.
Iain Henderson
The Ulster captain has 55 Ireland caps to his name but will feel that number should be higher. A member of the 2017 British and Irish Lions tour, he has sometimes found it difficult to nail down a regular place in the Ireland team, with 24 of those Test caps coming off the bench.
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A destructive ball-carrier, he has the ability to dominate more games. Has shown genuine leadership qualities, succeeding Rory Best as Ulster captain and acting as Ireland’s chief lineout caller in Japan. He wasn’t at his best at the World Cup, but certainly wasn’t alone in that. Henderson has all the requirements necessary to be a key part of Farrell’s plans going forward, but needs to deliver more consistently. At his best, he can be one of Ireland’s most important players.
Ultan Dillane
Enjoyed a hugely promising start to his Ireland career by making a real impact off the bench against England in 2016 – the same year he won the Pro12 with Connacht – but the momentum quickly fizzled out. Only three of Dillane’s 15 Ireland appearances have come as a member of the starting 15 (v Canada 2016, v Fiji 2017 & Italy 2019). He didn’t play a single minute for Ireland in a difficult 2018 – his mother passed away that February – but has made big strides and come back from that tragedy impressively.
There are bigger and stronger candidates than Dillane on this list, but his workrate is superb and the 26-year-old was one of Connacht’s best performers before the season was disrupted, including some stand-out displays in Europe. Deserved his place on the bench during this year’s Six Nations and although he is still some way from challenging for first team selection, he could prove a valuable impact player going forward.
Tadhg Beirne
There was huge excitement when Beirne left Scarlets for Munster two years ago – he won an incredible 39 turnovers in the 2017/18 Pro14 season, 17 more than anyone else – yet he hasn’t made the desired impact for province or country. Injuries have played a big part in that, but with Ireland Beirne seems to be a victim of his own versatility.
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Capable of playing in either the back row or second row (Munster almost exclusively use him as a lock), seven of Beirne’s 13 caps have come off the bench as he flits between the two positions. Another player whose season was disrupted with injury, Beirne has a way to go to convince Farrell he can be more than a utility player at Test level. The arrival of World Cup winner RG Snyman at Munster could be the start of an exciting new second-row partnership at the province, and may be just what Munster’s breakdown specialist needs to take his Test career to the next level.
Ryan Baird
There a number of outside bets for second row selection, with Connacht’s Gavin Thorbury, Ulster Kieran Treadwell and Munster Fineen Wycherley among them, but Leinster academy man Baird seems the hottest prospect.
Baird is still green behind the ears with only seven Leinster appearances under his belt, but that’s never been a barrier for Ireland selection. Remember that James Ryan, like a certain Brian O’Driscoll, was an Ireland international before he had even made his senior Leinster debut.
Baird is one of the most exciting young players in Ireland. Both powerful and athletic, his stunning hat-trick of tries against Glasgow Warriors in February showcased the blistering speed that marks him out in the position. Like Ronan Kelleher at hooker, Baird could offer some extra dynamism in an Ireland team that was often accused of looking stale last year.
He’s already been around the Ireland squad and would add an interesting element of the unknown should Farrell be temped to try him out alongside a more experienced head. The autumn window just might provide an opportune time to do so.
Quinn Roux
A player Joe Schmidt was clearly fond of, handing him a high-profile debut against South Africa in 2016. The Connacht man has added 11 further caps but the last of those came in the 2019 Six Nations.
Like Toner, he responded to his omission from the World Cup with some excellent displays for Connacht and has grown into one of the province’s real leaders, but injury dashed his hopes of featuring in this year’s Six Nations. Recently underwent surgery on a hand injury so faces an uphill battle to play a part in the autumn window.
Jean Kleyn
One of the villains of Ireland’s World Cup campaign last year, through no fault of his own. Cited as “a specialist tight-head second row” by Joe Schmidt, Kleyn’s inclusion over the much-loved Toner was also going to leave him open to extra scrutiny. While he hardly lit it up in Japan – starting against Russia before being introduced off the bench against Samoa – he is by no means out of the picture under Farrell.
It is worth noting that he won’t turn 27 until later this month, meaning there is still plenty of time for him to develop his game. Missed the Six Nations through injury and you feel it would take another few bumps and bruises around the squad for Kleyn to leap-frog his way up the pecking order.
Comments on RugbyPass
The Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 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
3 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 Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 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!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 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.
30 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 comments