McCloskey's Ireland RWC training squad omission branded 'absolute joke'
After Ireland coach Joe Schmidt announced his 44-man World Cup training squad today, fans cannot understand how Stuart McCloskey has not made the cut.
The Ulsterman had only recently made it into the Pro14 Dream Team, but failed to earn a place amongst Leinster’s Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose, Munster’s Chris Farrell and Rory Scannell and Connacht’s Bundee Aki.
Other notable names that have missed out are Ulster’s Will Addison and Connacht’s Quin Roux, but McCloskey’s exclusion seems to be causing the most uproar on social media.
The 6ft 4 centre has only three caps to his name, all under Schmidt, with his last appearance coming in the Autumn against the USA. The New Zealander has clearly not taken to the 26-year-old, preferring Aki and Henshaw ahead of him. The powerful centre plays a similar game to Aki, with Schmidt clearly feeling there is no role in the team for the Ulsterman.
This has been suspected by Ireland fans for a long time, but the fact that McCloskey has just finished a superb season with Ulster may have been persuasion enough to be included into the fairly sizeable squad. However, he still has not done enough, and many fans have been left baffled. This is what they have said:
No Stuart McCloskey ???
— Gav (@GavStew99) May 28, 2019
No McCloskey, fresh off inclusion in the pro14 dream team and had a great season. Madness when you look at some who have been included.
— Adam James (@atjames88) May 28, 2019
Where’s McCloskey!?
— Rory Henry (@rory_henry_) May 28, 2019
Mental that Stu McCloskey can be left out after another standout season for Ulster. ???
— Mark Best (@Besty06) May 28, 2019
Can’t believe no Stuart McCloskey !
— Gary Killen (@KillenGary) May 28, 2019
Rory Scannell picked ahead of Tom Farrell and Stu McCloskey. ? https://t.co/ULPQDUGbu2
— Mark Gordon (@thegord001) May 28, 2019
No Stuart McCloskey is odd..been in tremendous form for Ulster.
— Dylan Carleton (@dylancarleton84) May 28, 2019
Stuart McCloskey good enough for the PRO 14 team of the year not good enough for a 44 man Ireland training squad.
— Chris McCann (@canntoya) May 28, 2019
No Stuart mccloskey on the ireland wc training squad yet there is space for Dave Kearney is an absolute joke
— Connor Hart (@connorhart99) May 28, 2019
Laughable
— darkside lightside (@ds_ls) May 28, 2019
I could understand, but perhaps not agree, with him not making a squad of 31 but to not include him in a squad of 44 is laughable. His performances for Ulster this season have been brilliant and him, along with Coetzee, have been at the heart of Ulster’s improvement this year.
— Richard Tanswell (@richardt84) May 28, 2019
While McCloskey has been bitterly unlucky here, this is an indication of the strength in depth when it comes to Ireland’s centres. Aki, Henshaw and Ringrose in particular are three players that all deserve a starting berth in green, but one will inevitably miss out.
The reality is, as it is in all sport, some players simply do not fit a coach’s style of play or vision, and unfortunately for McCloskey, he looks like one player that cannot impress Schmidt. He will be looking forward to next season, where he will hope to curry favour with the incoming Andy Farrell.
A bad day appeared to get worse for the McCloskey, who tweeted about a lost wallet shortly after the squad announcement.
If people could retweet that would also be great ??
— stuart mccloskey (@Stuart_Mc12) May 28, 2019
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments