Kearney Should Stay Put To Continue His Development

I want to make one thing clear from the off. I am a big fan of Mick Kearney.

@ColmODonoghue It's as good as done I'm told
— Rúaidhrí O'Connor (@RuaidhriOC) January 14, 2015

What I'm not a fan of, however, is the rumoured move that he will make at the end of the season to Leinster. This isn't like the Henshaw rumours - Kearney is out of contract at the end of the year, so the implications of a switch wouldn't be as precedent setting, but I believe it would be a bad move.

It would be a bad move for Leinster. It would be a bad move for Connacht. It would be a bad move for Mick Kearney. It would be a bad move for Irish rugby.

It would be a bad move.

Mick Kearney remains the most impressive lock I've seen play for the Ireland Under 20s in the last 6 years. That includes Irish internationals Iain Henderson and Devin Toner.

Kearney's strengths are his lineout calling. He's a very good loosehead lock, whose workrate and tackling ability has been improving, and whose technical ability is very good.

The former Clontarf and Blackrock College second row has come through the ranks of Nigel Carolan's academy and has improved every year since the Under 20s. His breakthrough year last year came when the likes of Craig Clarke and Connacht legend Michael Swift were still in vogue.

He is now Connacht's premier second row, and while Quinn Roux and Aly Muldowney came come on leaps and bounds since the start of the season, Kearney a young second row to build a pack and lineout around.

He's not finished developing, but he's close. Another year or two in Connacht and Kearney will be banging fiercely on the international door.

That process will not get faster with a move. Leinster currently have Australian international Kane Douglas and Devin Toner as their first choice locks. Toner is an automatic first choice for Ireland. His main attributes mirror Kearney's and his physical attributes and development tip the scales in his favour considerably.

Douglas is a highly paid international, brought in to provide the grunt and shift of a classic tighthead lock. A fine partner for Kearney perhaps, but not a replacement. Toner and Kearney are too similar for that partnership to work in the long term, and Douglas is too well paid and valuable to be left out.

The man on the outside would end up being Kearney. Very similar to the last Connacht second row who decided to move East - Mike McCarthy. McCarthy is signed up for another year, and will prove another stumbling block for Kearney to overcome.

Not to mention the young second rows that Leinster will have in a few years. Ross Moloney is as close to a carbon copy of Leo Cullen as you can find. Moloney is an intelligent leader of men for such an inexperienced player, who is excellent in the lineout, and hardly puts a foot wrong. With such talent blocking his path, it won't be beneficial to anyone to add another player to the mix.

Kearney is better off served staying Connacht. For at the very least, another two years. Connacht's development should provide enough excitement to hold him until then, and the block in Leinster might just be down to Ross Moloney.

Mick Kearney to Leinster in 2015 is a very bad idea.

Educational win for Connacht Eagles

Connacht Eagles 17- 8 Bedford Blues.

Paul O'Donohue clears from the base of a ruck. 

Rugby fans have been treated to some fantastic spectacles in the last few weeks, with South Africa - New Zealand, Wales - Australia and even Cardiff - Glasgow thoroughly entertaining those that watched. Unfortunately the action at the Sportsground was not to join those in the pantheon of great games to watch. The weather had a part to play, but overall the Eagles will be satisfied with the scrappy win that flattered them on the scoreboard.

A better team than Bedford would have been out of sight given all the linebreaks they had, but Connacht's defense held firm all but once, to ensure critical penalties were won in the dangerzone.

Connacht's forwards shone throughout, and gave them a platform from the off with some strong scrummaging from Finlay Belham especially. The back row of Masterson, Browne and O'Brien in particular were everywhere, getting through mountains of work, joining the second rows in the engine room. Despite this, Bedford had the best of the first half playing into the wind, eventually their best player on the day, Brendan Burke went over after a break from the hooker, Charlie Clare. Mike Le Bourgois was unable to add the extras.

Carty, who managed the game nicely, especially in the second half, got Connacht onto the scoreboard just before halftime, with Sean O'Brien's sinbinning the only other point of note in the first 40. Indeed, Connacht's discipline was poor, and this young side need to learn to adapt to the referee's interpretation much faster after they were penalised time and again.

The second half started just as the first left off, and Bedford were able to add to their lead with a penalty after Eoin Masterson was sinbinned for another penalty at the breakdown. This seemed to spark Connacht into life, and they will be enthused with their reaction. A good break from Carty led to a period of pressure on the Bedford line, with substitute hooker Dave Heffernan going over. Carty added  the extras as Connacht took the lead for the first time.

Connacht grew into the game from here, with Sean O'Brien to the fore. He was a physical beast, and as he gains experience, he will be able to effect the game more. If he was able to add some handling or offloading skills to his impressive arsenal, O'Brien would be one of the leaders of the Connacht first team.

A long period of pressure on the Bedford line brought another try, this time for Andrew Browne, which put a bit of gloss on the scoreline that perhaps flattered Connacht. They should learn a lot from this, as there were a few times when the wrong decisions were made, but they were able to win a game that it looked like they were going to lose for a very long time. Not a bad habit to get into.

Young players like Conor Finn, Shane Layden, Finlay Bealham and O'Brien had strong games, but my man of the match was Jack Carty.

Connacht Eagles: 15 Shane Layden, 14 David Panter, 13 Conor Finn, 12 Brian Murphy, 11 Steve Macauley, 10 Jack Carty (captain), 9 Paul O’Donohoe; 1 Finlay Bealham, 2 James Rael, 3 JP Cooney, 4 Dave Nolan, 5 Danny Qualter, 6 Andrew Browne, 7 Eoghan Masterson, 8 Sean O’Brien

Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 Peter Reilly, 18 Ultane Dillane, 19 Conor Kindregan, 20 Caolin Blade, 21 Tadhg Leader, 22 Marcus Walsh

Bedford Blues: 15. Mike Le Bourgeois, 14. Patrick Tapley, 13. Brendan Burke, 12. Ollie Dodge, 11. James Short ,10. Mark Atkinson, 9. Darryl Veenendaal; 1. Darren Fearn, 2. Charlie Clare, 3. Phil Boulton, 4. Mike Howard, 5. Paul Tupai (c), 6. Tom Jubb, 7. Matt Hankin, 8. Nick Fenton-Wells

Replacements: 16. TJ Harris, 17. Nico Steenkamp, 18. Tomas Gilardon Paz, 19. Ben Gulliver, 20. Tom Armes, 21. Ben Calder, 22. Jake Sharp

End Of Season Review

Connacht

Connacht look like they are finally coming of age. After a second successive season in the Heineken Cup, they performed admirably with 3 wins, including a fantastic win over Biarritz. Domestically, they finished in 8th position, their best position ever, which is about where they should be finishing. With a ever improving squad, with plenty of young talent that keep getting better, the likes of Robbie Henshaw, Tiernan O'Halloran and Kieran Marmion will want to improve on 8th and start challenging for qualification from the pool stages.

Leinster

Possibly not the best season by their elevated standards over the last few years, but any season that ends with two trophies has to be considered as positive. Being put in Clermont's pool in the Heineken Cup meant that qualifying was always going to be a challenge, and a midseason dip didn't help matters. But as all good teams do, they carved out wins, and ended up at the business end of the season with two finals, winning both and using a large number of their squad. Joe may have left for higher honours, and other key players like Johnny Sexton, Isa Nacewa and Heinke van der Merwe may be leaving, but with the likes of Brian O'Driscoll and Leo Cullen signed on, and Mike McCarthy and Matt O'Connor incoming, Leinster will look to continue their trophy winning form and building on some exciting talent in Jordi Murphy, Jack McGrath and Luke McGrath.

Munster

A team in transition will sum up their year. Fans seems disenchanted with new coach Rob Penney's plan for the team in the initial part of the year. However, fortunes turned with a historic win over Harlequins in the Stoop, and despite being out of contention in the Rabo Pro 12 for the first time in years, there are plenty of optimism going forward. Conor Murray finally stepped up to the challenge, and with players now buying into the plan, and Paul O'Connell maintaining fitness, Munster won't be too far away the top 4 next season. The departures of Ronan O'Gara and Doug Howlett will hurt them, but with Simon Zebo, Peter O'Mahony and Murray growing in stature, players like Ian Keatley and CJ Stander have big seasons ahead of them.

Ulster

What seemed like a great season in the making suffered a devastating dip after Christmas. A remarkable  run of victories in difficult circumstances at the start of the year was something to behold, but the rails came off with their first loss of the season vs Northampton in Round 4 of the Heineken Cup. That's their first loss in December! A large number of talented youngsters appeared this season, with Niall Annett, Peter Nelson, Stuart Olding, Chris Cochrane, Ricky Andrew and Michael Allen impressing. The likes of Luke Marshall and Paddy Jackson have had good seasons, and will look to kick on and firmly establish themselves in the Irish setup. The final loss last weekend will strengthen them, and will be in a strong position for larger honours next year. Watch out, we could be set for a period of Northern dominance.

Irish based Team of the Season

1. Dave Kilcoyne
2nd choice: Tom Court

There were some strong contenders, with Cian Healy and Jack McGrath impressing in bits this year. Callum Black was an able replacement for Ulster, and Denis Buckley showed he has promise, but a huge breakout year for Dave Kilcoyne, where he cemented himself as Ireland's 2nd choice no.1, and looks set to drive Cian Healy to improve year on year to keep his position. Tom Court had a great year after being written off after the fiasco against England in the previous year's 6 Nations.


2. Rory Best
2nd choice: Mike Sherry

Now that he's rightly in the Lions set up, we can look back at how good Rory Best was this year. One of Ireland's best performers in the 6 Nations, Best was awesome around the park, making turnovers, driving the strong Ulster scrum and being a leader in any team he played in. The Lions will be stronger for his inclusion. Mike Sherry has now established himself as Munster no.1, and seems to have usurped Sean Cronin as third in line to Best's Ireland jersey. Harris Wright had a strong season, and Strauss was decent but was injured for too much of the season.

3. John Afoa
2nd choice: Nathan White

John Afoa was a rock for Ulster this year. An extremely fierce scrummager, who offers plenty around the park too, Afoa is one of Europe's premier tightheads. Mike Ross looked tired all season, and BJ Botha has had better seasons.

4. Mike McCarthy
2nd choice: Michael Swift

McCarthy more than proved that he wasn't a token Connacht selection in the Irish setup with an impressive performance in the 6 Nations. His partnership with his second row partner Michael Swift was one of the reasons for Connacht's good season.

5. Donnacha Ryan
2nd choice: Dan Tuohy

Donnacha Ryan has come of age. He grew in stature this season in the absence of Paul O'Connell even though he seemed to fade a little bit when the great man returned. Such was Ryan's great season that he was being spoken as being unlucky to have missed out on Lions selection in some areas.

6. Iain Henderson
2nd choice: Robbie Diack

Much has been made of the talent of Iain Henderson. However it took him until midway through this season to show me his devastating ball-carrying abilities that lift teams. A future beckons on the international stage, perhaps at second row, but for now he had a great season at blindside. Needs to continue to improve next season and work even harder.

7. Tommy O'Donnell
2nd choice: Chris Henry

How Tommy O'Donnell is still uncapped for Ireland I'll never know. Probably my player of the season, O'Donnell stood up and fronted up like no other Munster player this season. Now Ireland's best openside, Schmidt could do worse than build his backrow around him next season.

8. Nick Williams
2nd choice: Peter O'Mahony

The IRUPA player of the year was devastating this year, showing a bigger workrate and ball carrying devastation than was seen during his time at Munster. Jamie Heaslip only contended in the last few weeks, while O'Mahony got better as the campaign went on.

9. Kieran Marmion
2nd choice: Conor Murray

The only player to start every game of the Rabo Pro12, Marmion has had a hugely successful breakout year, directly after graduating from the under 20s. His selection on the US tour is just reward for a fine season where he displayed maturity beyond his 21 years.

10. Ian Madigan
2nd choice: Jonathan Sexton

Whatever about Marmion's breakout year, Madigan rose to crazy heights this year. Firmly establishing himself as backup outhalf on the national stage after starring in Leinster's run in, and cementing his position as first choice once Sexton leaves. Sexton himself didn't have a bad season, and the national team missed him more than anyone once he was ruled out of the 6 Nations.

11. Simon Zebo
2nd choice: Isa Nacewa

Zebo is another to have a "breakout" year of sorts. Although he was established in the Munster set up, he's gone on to national prominence and his bit of skill against Wales was revered throughout the world

12. Luke Marshall
2nd choice: Dave McSharry

What a player Luke Marshall is. For more on my thoughts about him, check out my article that came out the day he was named in the side to play Scotland. If it wasn't for all of the concussions, young Luke might have been the bolter everyone wanted for the Lions. He is someone who has it all, and needs to be managed carefully next season.

13. Darren Cave
2nd choice: Brian O'Driscoll

Cave enjoyed a wonderful season in Ulster, and seems to enjoy playing outside Olding or Marshall and with running off the magicians that are Pienaar and Payne. Contenders in outside centre were hard to come by, and O'Driscoll gets in on his limited gametime.


14. Andrew Trimble
2nd choice: Craig Gilroy

For someone who scored as many tries, and important tries, for their province as Andrew Trimble did this season, it's baffling that he ends the season as low down on the international pecking order as he did. Trimble was one of Ulster's best performers, and with Gilroy and Bowe performing well when injured, Trimble has stepped up to the challenge to keep his spot in the Ulster XV.

15. Jared Payne
2nd choice: Robbie Henshaw

What can you say about Jared Payne? He is just a magician. He is one of the reasons why Ulster were so much better than last year. He's one of the reasons why the difference between Leinster and Ulster was reduced by 24 points in a year. He will be a huge asset to Ireland when he qualifies. Robbie Henshaw had a great breakthrough year too directly out of school. He has a bright future ahead of him.

Breakdown:
Connacht 2+4;
Leinster 1+3;
Munster 4+3;
Ulster 8+5;

Connacht's plan

Worthy of it's own post.

Review of the provinces weekend

First weekend that all Irish Provinces win. Ever. That's something all Irish Rugby fans should be proud of.

Connacht just scraped through on Friday against Zebre, in what was a really boring match. It was hard to concentrate on it, and with Quins and Biarritz with slight relevance to the permutations.

However, from what I did see, Henshaw performed with confidence that one gets with their first call up to the national squad, and O'Hallorhan continued his great form. He can't be too far away.

Ulster also looked lethargic, but should be boosted by winning for the first time in France, especially with so many key players out; Nick Williams, Johann Muller, Dan Tuohy, Stephen Ferris, Tommy Bowe and Jared Payne. I can't help get the feeling that while that depth is impressive, if anything were to happen to Ruan Pienaar, they would really struggle.

Looking forward to the Heineken quarters for them, they have a great chance away to Saracens in the quarters and possibly hosting Toulon who were so bad against Montpeiller on Saturday or Leicester, who they've beaten before. A second final in a row is a likely possibility. Hopefully too, as I've tickets this year.

Munster looked a different team in the space of a week. It looked like they had the 13 changes. They went from being absolutely awful against a worse Edinburgh "team", to looking like world beaters today. People like Simon Zebo and Conor Murray finally stepped up. They showed that Penney's plan can work, and they looked dangerous at all times.

The have the potential for a great team with a core of young players stepping up, with Kilcoyne, Sherry, Ryan, O'Mahony, O'Donnell, Murray, Keatley and Zebo showing well today. They all need to be more consistent, which is the next challenge for these guys. And they have Stander, Butler and JJ Hanrahan in particular to come through. The future could be bright, but need more consistency. 

I've always thought the difference between a good player and a great player isn't how they are at the top of their game, it's what they are like when not on form. Conor Murray is a good player, who when playing badly, nearly becomes a liability. But someone like Zebo, or Heaslip, who has been getting a lot of criticism, still affects the games in a positive way when they are playing badly. Munster need their good young players to develop into these great players.

As for their European hopes, Quins aren't the toughest side left in the competition, but they have improved since Munsters last meeting with them. It'll be extremely tough, but not impossible. What is impossible, is for this Munster side to get a result against Clermont, in Clermont in the semi's were they to get there.

As for Leinster, It's a case of what could have been. From the lack of bonus points in their first two games, to not capitalising away to Clermont when the games was their. Hopefully they'll go for the Amlin, mostly because I also have tickets to that.

As for their match, they got the 4 tries, but it should have been more. It was like last week, in that they weren't as clinical as they needed to be, even coming away with the 4 tries. And the defence wasn't what it should have been, with Exeter still in the game themselves. 

I don't  know if that's a great team playing badly, or a bad team playing well for Leinster. They looked dangerous again, but rusty. And switched off too much to allow Exeter a chance to win the game with 5 minutes remaining.

Leinster vs Connacht

Final Score 17-0

First off, I fancied Connacht from the start. After 30 mins, I fancied them even more. I thought the Leinster team was one of the worst named I've seen in a long time; with both the backline and front five looking very dodgy.

Conway and Carr have become liabilities, Goodman does not live up to his name, Bent does unfortunately.

And Connacht have showed, this season in particular, that they are no mugs anymore.

In any case, after the try against the run of play, Connacht didn't look the same side.

Individual stand-outs, and there wasn't as many as Munster and Ulster were Dominic Ryan and Rhys Ruddock. Both showed they are ahead of the vast improving Jordi Murphy, who does not have enough control at the base of a scrum to be an 8. Kevin MacLaughlin and Shane Jennings will be wary as both of these lads are making strong cases for promotion and I think should be soon.

As for Connacht, Henshaw looked exciting, but like Luke Marshall, showed his youth at times by taking the wrong options, and making silly errors that experience teaches you not to do. He has some way to go yet.

Marmion however was immense, quick passing, some slick breaks and took control of the game at times. He had a lot of clever kicks over the top. I'd have him ahead of Murray in the Irish set up.

Although I'd have a lot of scrum halves ahead of Murray.

The West's Awake

A Link to "The West's Awake", the documentary on Connacht's first season in the Heineken Cup.

http://vimeo.com/52031977