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London Irish sign hooker Tadgh McElroy on a season-long loan

By Liam Heagney
(Photo by London Irish)

London Irish have completed the loan signing of former Irish U20s international Tadgh McElroy for the rest of the season. McElroy has joined from Ealing Trailfinders, after previous spells with Premiership duo Bristol Bears and Saracens, amongst others.

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Director of rugby Declan Kidney said: “After Reece Marshall’s unfortunate injury last weekend, which will rule him out for a couple of weeks, we are pleased to welcome Tadgh for the rest of the season, to improve competition at hooker.”

Irish signed Marshall on December 7 on a short-term loan deal from Northampton to provide injury cover but the 27-year-old was hurt in the Challenge Cup win over Pau on his debut.  

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McElroy has had a curious 2021 in England. It was March when he pitched up on trial at Bristol and after that stint came to nought by the summer, he was snapped up by Ealing and he has since played two Championship matches and scored three tries for the Trailfinders in his appearances from the bench. Now Irish has snapped up McElroy.  

The hooker first came to England in 2017 when he joined the Saracens academy. He made the move back to Ireland two years later and his form for club side Clontarf had been promising until the All-Ireland League shut down in March 2020.

That left the 24-year-old in limbo until Pat Lam decided to take a look at what the front-rower might have to offer. “He he has done really well,” said Lam to RugbyPass last June before the decision was taken for McElroy to try his luck elsewhere. “The Tadgh McElroy that arrived, that was training by himself up near Dundalk, it was really difficult (for him) to be able to come here and grow.

“But physically and as a person, he has really enjoyed it and come through. I’m really pleased with the progress that he has made. There is a lot more progress for him to make obviously, but he has come in and been a really good person in the group.”

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Trevor 1 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.

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Bull Shark 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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