hugonaut wrote:I was looking for Bryan Byrne to get a start against Connacht - and he did, and didn't impress. He wasn't the only one that day [in the first half especially], but as far as moving up the depth chart goes, he got a chance and didn't take it.
That's a fair point.
It just seems like Tracy has had loads of blown chances, with no selection consequences.
If what's behind can't push past him, then we probably do need to recruit there.
James Tracy(9+9) = 697
Sean Cronin(10+3) = 683
Bryan Byrne(1+8) = 246
Byrne's try scoring stats look even better
It's mostly been against teams already beaten.
Ruddock's tackle stats consistently too low for me to be taken seriously as a Six Nations blindside..... Ruddock's defensive stats don't stack up. - All Blacks Nil, Jan 15th, 2014
England A 8 - 14 Ireland A, 25th Jan 2014 Ruddock(c) 19/2 Tackles
mildlyinterested wrote:more to playing hooker than scoring tries I guess.
...more to playing [fill in position] than scoring tries...
An ability to score tries in rugby matter. Some more than others.
Sean Cronin is the joint highest try scorer in the Champions Cup and, as a result, some think that he should start for Ireland (I don't). His ability to score (albeit mainly in an armchair position at the back of mauls) matters.
So there is more to playing any position than scoring tries, but its a pretty good habit to have.
mildlyinterested wrote:more to playing hooker than scoring tries I guess.
...more to playing [fill in position] than scoring tries...
An ability to score tries in rugby matter. Some more than others.
Sean Cronin is the joint highest try scorer in the Champions Cup and, as a result, some think that he should start for Ireland (I don't). His ability to score (albeit mainly in an armchair position at the back of mauls) matters.
So there is more to playing any position than scoring tries, but its a pretty good habit to have.
Well there is, there is a reason Tracy is ahead of Byrne, even if Byrne has scored more tries in less game time.
mildlyinterested wrote:more to playing hooker than scoring tries I guess.
...more to playing [fill in position] than scoring tries...
An ability to score tries in rugby matter. Some more than others.
Sean Cronin is the joint highest try scorer in the Champions Cup and, as a result, some think that he should start for Ireland (I don't). His ability to score (albeit mainly in an armchair position at the back of mauls) matters.
So there is more to playing any position than scoring tries, but its a pretty good habit to have.
mildlyinterested wrote:more to playing hooker than scoring tries I guess.
...more to playing [fill in position] than scoring tries...
An ability to score tries in rugby matter. Some more than others.
Sean Cronin is the joint highest try scorer in the Champions Cup and, as a result, some think that he should start for Ireland (I don't). His ability to score (albeit mainly in an armchair position at the back of mauls) matters.
So there is more to playing any position than scoring tries, but its a pretty good habit to have.
Armchair ride, come on!!!
Scored 12 tries this year with about 1/3 from mauls
Was his 30 yard break against wasps off a maul???
Was his inside line from Sexton against Toulouse off a maul???
Was his 2 bulldozers against ulster from a maul???
There's a lot of value in players with a nose for the line, there are a lot of situations where a good line makes a critical difference.
Its not the only part of their game, but it definitely should be appreciated if you have a dangerman there. Steering the back of a maul is also really valuable, very easy to get wrong. Those guys earned their tries.
ronk wrote:There's a lot of value in players with a nose for the line, there are a lot of situations where a good line makes a critical difference.
Its not the only part of their game, but it definitely should be appreciated if you have a dangerman there. Steering the back of a maul is also really valuable, very easy to get wrong. Those guys earned their tries.
Absolutely and added to that the opposition have a defensive problem with somebody like Cronin because some of his intrusions are very unpredictable.
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall who's the greatest player of them all? It is Drico your majesty.
ronk wrote:There's a lot of value in players with a nose for the line, there are a lot of situations where a good line makes a critical difference.
Its not the only part of their game, but it definitely should be appreciated if you have a dangerman there. Steering the back of a maul is also really valuable, very easy to get wrong. Those guys earned their tries.
Absolutely and added to that the opposition have a defensive problem with somebody like Cronin because some of his intrusions are very unpredictable.
Absolutely. Cronin's 327m from 72 carries gives 4.5m/carry ... absolutely mind-blowing numbers for any forward, never mind a front row. The guy can pick an inside line and he has the pace to run outside lines. He's been at Leinster for a long time now [eighth season] and he has never played better.
I don't think anyone has a problem with Cronin, more so with whats behind him.
Personally I think Tracy is fine and while Byrne has flashier stats(tries scored/minutes played) there are obviously some deficiencies in his game preventing him from overtaking Tracy.
mildlyinterested wrote:I don't think anyone has a problem with Cronin, more so with whats behind him.
Personally I think Tracy is fine and while Byrne has flashier stats(tries scored/minutes played) there are obviously some deficiencies in his game preventing him from overtaking Tracy.
In practical terms it’s not sensible to sign a hooker. Cronin is too good to be worth signing someone to demote him and the others are at worst adequate enough that there’s no point in signing someone below Cronin.