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Sean Cronin's World Cup looks over as Ireland reportedly fly in replacement hooker

By Online Editors
Sean Cronin is set to miss the remainder of Ireland's World Cup through injury (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Sean Cronin’s World Cup appears to be over as Ireland are believed to be flying Rob Herring in for the remainder of the finals in Japan. 

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Cronin came off the bench in two of Ireland’s four pool matches – the defeat to hosts Japan and the scratchy win over Russia.

However, he was left sitting in the stands behind starter Rory Best and replacement Niall Scannell for last Saturday’s match versus Samoa and is now unavailable for selection for this Saturday’s quarter-final versus New Zealand. 

It has been reported that Cronin suffered a campaign-ending injury during training this week in the build-up to face the defending champions and it’s believed Herring will join the Ireland squad on Thursday. 

The South African-born hooker, who qualifies for Ireland through his grandfather, was considered unlucky not to have made Joe Schmidt’s initial 31-man squad for the final.

(Continue reading below…)

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Last capped in the August warm-up win over Italy, Herring’s arrival will see him become the second in-tournament call-up by Schmidt.

Jack Conan left the finals after just one appearance, paving the way Jordi Murphy, Herring’s colleague at Ulster, to join up with the Irish squad in time to start their match versus the Russians in Kobe.  

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J
Jon 9 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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