Takeaways from the Irish Squad Announcement

For those who haven't seen it, this is the Irish Squad for the November Internationals v South Africa, Australia and Georgia.

Looseheads: Jack McGrath, James Cronin, Dave Kilcoyne.
Hookers: Rory Best, Richardt Strauss, Sean Cronin.
Tightheads: Mike Ross, Nathan White, Rodney Ah You, Stephen Archer.
Loosehead Lock: Devin Toner, Dave Foley.
Tighthead Lock: Paul O'Connell, Mike McCarthy.
Blindside Flanker: Peter O'Mahony (8), Rhys Ruddock, Robbie Diack (8).
Openside Flanker: Chris Henry (8), Tommy O'Donnell, Dominic Ryan
No. 8: Jamie Heaslip.
Scrumhalves: Conor Murray, Kieran Marmion, Eoin Reddan.
Outhalves: Jonathan Sexton, Ian Madigan (12), Ian Keatley.
Wingers: Tommy Bowe, Simon Zebo, Craig Gilroy.
Inside Centres: Gordon D'Arcy, Stuart Olding.
Outside Centres: Jared Payne (15), Robbie Henshaw (15).
Fullbacks: Rob Kearney, Felix Jones, Darragh Leader (11-14)

A number of things caught my eye from this announcement, but pre announcement there was a big campaign for the likes of Duncan Casey and Dave Foley to be included over players familar to the squad.

Familiarity

If there is one thing we have learned since Joe Schmidt has taken over, is that he will always favour those familar to his plans and system over those new to it. Form doesn't mean a huge amount when it's comparing a newcomer to a previous fixture in the squad. He's brought players in, and left them on the periphery to learn his ways before giving them a shot, and he will continue to do that.

This most likely spells the end of some players hopes of being included in the World Cup squad, unless they spend time around the squad in the next month.

A 37 man squad is a strange number of players, especially when you look at the lack of player in some positions, notably number 8 and wing, while a plethora of options at blindside and tighthead prop.

What's notable is that there are four tighthead props involved, and that one of them isn't highly rated youngster Tadhg Furlong. I've also decided I am not going to criticise those named in this post, no matter how much I want to.

Ulster losers

The next major talking point revolves around an in form outsider, and an out of form, slightly injured formerly favoured player. I think it's very notable that Ian Keatley has been chosen ahead of Paddy Jackson, one because not many saw it coming, but mostly because the influence of Les Kiss on the Ulster set up would have expected to bring in more Ulster faces. Instead, players like Jackson, Cave, Wilson, McCloskey and Declan Fitzpatrick miss out. Fitzpatrick may be permanently injured, but he was the one time hope of Irish tightheads, and now there are at least 4 options probably ahead of him.

Lucky Thirteen

It's also intriguing to note that the first real squad where a successor to Brian O'Driscoll can be found features a grand total of 0 natural outside centres. Of the players in the squad who have played professional rugby at 13, three are fullbacks - Robbie Henshaw, Jared Payne and Darragh Leader, two are wingers - Tommy Bowe and Craig Gilroy, one is an outhalf - Ian Madigan, and two inside centres - Gordon D'Arcy and Stuart Olding.

Despite this curveball, the announcement of two other fullbacks in the squad, while only three wingers, suggest that Payne and Henshaw are the de facto 13s, Leader is a back 3 cover and the wingers stay out wide.

A final congratulatory note to Darragh Leader's inclusion. He may not get any gametime, but it's clear that his involvement will only benefit him in the long run. A quiet guy that needs to come out of his shell more, will only develop with this confidence boost, and given the improvements Henshaw and Marmion have made to their games since being involved with Schmidt, I've no doubt that Leader will make similar strides which can only benefit the player, his province and maybe Ireland in the future.

Irish Eye On The World Cup Squad 2: PRE European Cups

A lot has happened since the last Irish Eye, so it's best to have a look at the top 31 in pole position to make Joe's squad for next year's squad and the closest contenders.

Injuries and form have changed a bit, and after these two weeks of European action, I expect more from Leinster, Munster and Ulster to put their hand up.

	1st Choice	2nd Choice	3rd Choice	4th Choice	5th Choice	6th Choice	7th Choice
1	Cian Healy	Jack McGrath	James Cronin	Dave Kilcoyne	Callum Black	Denis Buckley
2	Rory Best	Sean Cronin	Richardt Strauss	Damien Varley	Rob Herring	Mike Sherry	Duncan Casey
3	Mike Ross	Martin Moore	Declan Fitzpatrick	Tadhg Furlong	Nathan White	Rodney Ah You	Stephen Archer
4	Devin Toner	Iain Henderson	Donnacha Ryan	Dave Foley	Donncha O'Callaghan
5	Paul O'Connell	Dan Tuohy	Mike McCarthy	Mick Kearney
6	Peter O'Mahony	Rhys Ruddock	Robbie Diack	Kevin McLaughlin
7	Sean O'Brien	Chris Henry	Jordi Murphy	Tommy O'Donnell	Dominic Ryan	Sean Dougall
8	Jamie Heaslip	Robin Copeland	Roger Wilson	Jack Conan
9	Conor Murray	Eoin Reddan	Kieran Marmion	Isaac Boss	Luke McGrath	Paul Marshall
10	Jonathan Sexton	Paddy Jackson	Ian Keatley	JJ Hanrahan
11	Andrew Trimble	Simon Zebo	Dave Kearney	Luke Fitzgerald
12	Gordon D'Arcy	Ian Madigan	Luke Marshall	Stuart McCloskey	Stuart Olding	Noel Reid
13	Robbie Henshaw	Jared Payne	Darren Cave
14	Tommy Bowe	Fergus McFadden	Craig Gilroy	Keith Earls
15	Rob Kearney	Felix Jones

Major Changes:

I believe that James Cronin's form is better than Dave Kilcoyne. Their battle for the final loosehead spot will be fascinating, and one to watch. There is a real danger that the winner of this duel will be the only Munster front row representative in the squad.

Martin Moore's injury is putting him in doubt, but the biggest beneficiary of this is Tadhg Furlong, who may usurp Moore's position in Leinster, and find himself second choice Irish tighthead. This may or may not be dependent on Declan Fitzpatrick's permanent injuries.

Kieran Marmion's form has to place him in front of Isaac Boss, who should be under threat from Luke McGrath both at Leinster and in Ireland, but Matt O'Connor doesn't like good young players.

I've moved Ian Madigan from a 10 candidate to a 12 candidate, and put him on the short plane to England/Wales. Stuart McCloskey is putting pressure on Luke Marshall and Stuart Olding, and whoever gets the most gametime there will be a frontrunner, but it's much to early to see who that could be. With Madigan and D'Arcy however, it'll be a tight battle.

Fergus McFadden's injury coupled with Simon Zebo's form have swapped those two, although I expect that will only be temporary.

Jared Payne has been simultaneously keeping Darren Cave out of the Ulster team, and proving to Irish rugby that his best position is full back without a shadow of a doubt. If he gets time there, he could/should put Rob Kearney's first team place under threat, but Joe's a loyal guy.

Injuries to Andrew Trimble at the worst time benefit Craig Gilroy immensely. He'll be looking to leapfrog the inactive Dave Kearney when given his chance in the next two weeks.

I was saying Boo Urns

Never one to be left out of the loop, I must rush to join the chorus of Irish disapprovers in previewing the European rugby competition, that the English are already championing up to an extortionate amount. But, this isn't your typical preview, rather a couple of points that no one seems to be mentioning in their exulted praise of debt-ridden sport.

First, each English written preview starts off with phrases like "after all of the chaos and politics is better off". Is it unreasonable to ask how in the world you can possibly know that already? Unless my life has distracted me sufficiently to miss an entire season of this brand new competition, nothing has happened yet.

This claim is predicated on the fact that the groups are stronger than ever before. Nonsense. Let's take a look at Leinster's pools from the last few years.

2013/14: Leinster, Northampton, Castres, Ospreys
2012/13: Clermont, Leinster, Exeter, Scarlets
2011/12: Leinster, Glasgow, Bath, Montpeiller.

Further detail in that reveals in 2013/14, Leinster faced the Top 14 champions in Castres and one of the top 2 favourites (I'll come back to this) in Northampton? who went on to win the Premiership.
In 2012/13, Leinster were up against the best team from that era in Europe in Clermont, while the previous year, Glasgow were beginning their upward rise in the Pro 12, as were Montpeiller.

Compare that to this year, where Harlequins growth has stalled after some encouraging performances, Wasps are being uprooted and their main home resilence is being taken away from them, while Castres have started the Top 14 with 6 losses in their first 9, while conceding and average of 28.3 points per game, and only scoring 20.8.

But no, you're right the competition is much harder. It's not like before in those "easy" pools when Clermont and Leinster were together where both teams knew that relying on qualifying as a runner up was futile. Back in my day, European Rugby only allowed 2 of the 6 runners up to qualify for the quarter finals. That's 33% for those of us who prefer percentages. Let's compare that to this new fangled system of allowing 3 of these "elite" runners up into the quarters. Which for those who can do percentages looks a lot like 60%.

So this myth that it's harder to qualify for the quarters in this new fancy way of doing things actually seems to be easier. Because, I don't know about you, but as a team looking out for my own interests, I'd much rather have the cushion of knowing that second place gives me nearly double the change of qualifying.

This now means, according to other previews, that all games in all pools matter. What these goldfish forget is, none of that has changed. What made the Heineken Cup so magical was that every weekend counted. Any loss was a hammer blow to all sides, but now two or more losses could get a third second place team into the quarter finals. That's the price of being "elite".

I fail to see how pointing to the expansion of Super Rugby helps the argument that things are now better in Europe, especially when one preview mentioned that it took Western Force a whole 9 years to be competitive since they were introduced. Let's take a moment and reflect on this. Imagine how long it would have taken the Force to be competitive if they hadn't been playing against quality opposition week in and week out?

Take the European example of Treviso, who after 3 years in the Pro 12 started making progress by finishing a respectable 7th, before their squad was plundered by the English and French. How can any team continue to keep players like Botes, De Marchi, Cittadini, McLean, Williams, Vosawau, Loamanu, Ghiraldini, Barbieri, Rizzo, Di Bernardo, Berquist and Semenzato without the lure of top rugby?

At their height, they conceded 27.8 points per game and scored 17.8 points per game in Europe. Not too dissimilar from Castres record now is it? Should the English cast those lot out too?

Club rugby has been dealt a development blow in Europe, and it's time the English stopped pretending like things are fine and dandy.

Irish Eye on the World Cup Squad 1

Starting "pre" season, I will be attemtping to have a look at the probable world cup fight for places in each position after "every week"

For this week, here is a look at how Joe viewed his squad based on the summer tours and the 6 Nations roughly. Bold is my attempted guess on cutting it down to the 30 players he can take to England in 2015 were it tomorrow. While italics are not involved.

Now, this isn't what I'd choose as my 30, but what it appears to me how Joe is thinking. It also highlights the tough choices ahead, as most squads announced contain 35 players, while the World Cup squad only allows 30. This means a tough pick between a 4th centre or a 5th back three player, while also reducing the number of props and backrowers in the squad. It's also likely that there will only be two outhalves involved aswell.

	1st Choice	2nd Choice	3rd Choice	4th Choice	5th Choice	6th Choice
1	Cian Healy	Jack McGrath	Dave Kilcoyne	James Cronin
2	Rory Best	Sean Cronin	Richardt Strauss	Damien Varley	Rob Herring	Mike Sherry
3	Mike Ross	Martin Moore	Declan Fitzpatrick	Rodney Ah You	Stephen Archer
4	Devin Toner	Iain Henderson	Donnacha Ryan	Donncha O'Callaghan
5	Paul O'Connell	Dan Tuohy	Mike McCarthy
6	Peter O'Mahony	Rhys Ruddock	Robbie Diack	Kevin McLaughlin
7	Sean O'Brien	Chris Henry	Jordi Murphy	Tommy O'Donnell
8	Jamie Heaslip	Robin Copeland	Roger Wilson
9	Conor Murray	Eoin Reddan	Isaac Boss	Kieran Marmion	Paul Marshall
10	Jonathan Sexton	Paddy Jackson	Ian Madigan	Ian Keatley
11	Andrew Trimble	Fergus McFadden	Simon Zebo
12	Gordon D'Arcy	Luke Marshall	Stuart Olding	Noel Reid
13	Darren Cave	Robbie Henshaw	Jared Payne
14	Tommy Bowe	Dave Kearney	Keith Earls	Craig Gilroy
15	Rob Kearney	Felix Jones

I've also forgotten some players, mostly injured, so all corrections, comments and tips welcome.

Youngsters To Watch In the Interprovincial Under 20 Championship

The age grade interprovincial games start this weekend, and they are the first time we get to see the stars of the future show what they can do. This year, the vast majority of those who played U20 last year, while still being underage, are ineligible for the tournament due to new rules. Some players, like Harrison Brewer, have been given an exemption. This means that more players are given a chance to stake their claim for further honours with Ireland U20, and here are four candidates who will look to lead their provinces to glory.

Munster - Stephen Fitzgerald

Fresh out of Ard Scoil Ris, this 18 year old fullback has already featured in the senior set up, and was involved in the pre season friendly against Gloucester. That's really all you need to know about this talented youngster, who is one of the brightest backline prospects from Munster since Keith Earls. He would be a shoo in for Irish honours if not for the surplus of talent in the back three at this age already - Jack Power, Jacob Stockdale, Billy Dardis and Ciaran Gaffney. Needless to say, while Ireland are well stocked, Fitzgerald can at least go on to have a highly successful career for the southern province.

He's the focal point of an exciting backline featuring Irish U19 international and sprinter Greg O'Shea, U20 scrumhalf Jack Culln, while Gearoid Lyons and Tomas Quinlan are two very handy distributors.

Connacht - Cian Romaine

Ireland U19 international and Connacht academy player Cian Romaine stands out in a highly talented Connacht U20 team. The thing about the tall second row that stands out the most is his impressive motor. Romaine has a huge work rate, and will be noticed on the pitch doing several positive actions time and time again. He hounds ball carriers in defense, and carries effectively and supports well in attack. The future is extremely bright for this Buccaneers clubman

Leinster - Nick Timoney

The former Blackrock college no.8 is another outstanding backrower coming through Leinster's ranks. Extremely highly rated coming out of school, Timoney can play across the backrow, but is most suited to 8. He will go strength to strength, and will lead a Leinster U20 team shorn of their JWC experience.

Ulster - Jacob Stockdale

When the first you hear of Stockdale is the hat trick of tries he scored for Ireland U18 last year, you take notice. From that moment on, Stockdale was a try scoring machine, whether from outside centre, wing or his preferred position of fullback. This kid is a talent, is only U19, and as a first year Ulster academy player, was already involved in Ulster senior pre season games.

He is the most exciting Ulster young backline star of recent years, and I'm including Craig Gilroy, Luke Marshall, Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding in that.

Irish Players to Watch in Pro 12

With a season left until the World Cup, this is the time for peripheral players to start making a case. Others may need a big season to guarantee future careers, while others have been threatening to break out for a while, and could use a big season to show that they can be the names the provinces build their teams around for years to come.

Leinster - Luke McGrath

We all expected McGrath to break out last season, and while I have my theories as to why he didn't, this year there is perhaps some pressure on him to succeed. Both Reddan and Boss are a year closer to retirement which helps, while his main young competitor has been given a loan deal to Connacht for the season.

While he has a safety net of having signed his first full professional contract last season, due to run out in 2016, there are a number of talented scrumhalves being churned out by Girvan Dempsey's academy and the Leinster schools; with Nick McCarthy and Charlie Rock showing some talented signs. All this means is that McGrath will have to have a year much like Noel Reid's last season to ensure that he can be the future Lion some have tipped him to be. And who knows, of all positions in the Irish camp, scrumhalf is one of the most shallow, and after Conor Murray made the World Cup squad in 2011 based on one full season, maybe this time McGrath has a chance.

Munster - Sean Dougall

It's quite hard to pick a player that Munster, Ireland and the player need to have a big season. Most of the players are either established already, or I don't believe have a huge amount of growth left in them. An ideal candidate would have been an inside centre, but I'm not convinced that 27 year old Ivan Dineen, or 23 year old Cian Bohane can push on, or will be given the chance to.

So instead, I think Sean Dougall (24), can keep growing. He pushed Tommy O'Donnell hard last year, and even started ahead of O'Donnell is several big games. Ireland can always use options at openside, and in Munster there are two very good options. Munster and Ireland could really use a big season from Dougall because either a) he beats O'Donnell for a spot, and starts to become a viable option for Ireland, or b) he pushes O'Donnell, causing him to grow into a viable option for Ireland.

Long story short, an in form Dougall should be good for Ireland, with a Munster openside pushing for inclusion in Joe's squads.

Ulster - Conor Joyce

Losing Stephen Ferris would cripple most sides, but Ulster managed to nearly pull a great season out of the bag. They do however need their other players to step up in his place though. With Iain Henderson almost certainly moving into the second row, and only Robbie Diack and Chris Henry with meaningful experience in the backrow, I'm backing last years Ireland under 20 blindside flanker Conor Joyce to make a big step up and will get some meaningful minutes.

Sean Reidy and Charlie Butterworth are two new signings with limited experience, but Joyce is one of the brightest prospects to come out of the Ulster academy, and could see himself in important matchday squads a lot this season.

Connacht - Caolan Blade

Blade is one of the most talented players in the Connacht academy right now. Highly rated among the Connacht staff, Blade made his first Pro12 appearance towards the end of the season last year after only one year in Nigel Carolan's academy.

Kieran Marmion has started 47 of 48 games for Connacht in the last two seasons, which means he will not be able to continue his remarkable run. The IRFU player welfare system will ensure Marmion does get a few rests this year too. With Frank Murphy and Paul O'Donohue gone from the squad, and despite John Cooney and Ian Porter's arrival, I'm backing Blade to show that not only will he be no.2 to Marmion, but if he works hard, he could be a threat to Marmion's monopoly on the Connacht no.9 jersey in the coming years.

Agree or disagree? Questions and comments always welcome. Did I miss anyone?

Australia's NRC: Explained

This Thursday 21st of August, Australia's second attempt at launching a national third tier rugby championship. The NRC, the newest incarnation of the failed Australian Rugby Championship aims to be Australia's answer to New Zealand's ITM Cup and South Africa's Currie Cup; both of which are prestigious tournaments that are a breeding ground for young talent.

But the NRC is not just any tournament; the ARU in their infinite wisdom are desperate to both develop their playing depth to properly compete with their southern hemisphere rivals, and to have a profitable tournament. Several new rules will be trialled, as well as a requirement for all of Australia's Super Rugby players not involved in national set-ups to participate.

This article will include everything you need to know based on what teams are playing, what Super Rugby teams players are taken from, who appears the strongest team, the new rules, and whether this is a competition worth following.

The Basics 

Australia's National Rugby Championship will last 11 weeks; with the nine participating teams playing each other once, before the top 4 play off to determine the inaugural champions. Each team will have 4 home games, 4 away games and a bye.

Team	Area	Super Rugby Equivalent
Brisbane City	Brisbane, Queensland	Reds
Queensland Country	Queensland	Reds
Greater Sydney Rams	Sydney	Waratahs
North Harbour Rays	Sydney	Manly, Waratahs
Sydney Stars	Sydney	Waratahs
NSW Country Eagles	Lismore, NSW	Randwick, Waratahs, Brumbies
Melbourne Rising	Melbourne	Melbourne Rebels
University of Canberra Vikings	Canberra	ACT Brumbies
Perth Spirit	Perth	Western Force

One of the best things about the tournament is the desire to bring rugby to places that wouldn't be familiar with a high standard of player. This is why Brisbane City, NSW Country Eagles, Perth Spirit, and Queensland Country are taking their home games to multiple venues to get the largest catchment area and drive interest in the competition.

Notable Players To Look Out For:

Brisbane City: James Hanson, James Horwill, David McDuling, Curtis Browning, Jake Schatz, Nick Frisby, Jake McIntyre, Samu Kerevi, Ben Tapuai, Lachie Turner, Chris Kuridrani.

Queensland Country: Greg Holmes, Saia Fainga'a, Beau Robinson, Mike Harris, Anthony Fainga'a, Ben Lucas, JJ Tuilagi.

Greater Sydney Rams: Jed Holloway, Chris Alcock, Mark Swanepoel, Ben Volavola, Lalakai Foketi, Taqele Naiyaravoro.

North Harbour Rays: Matt Lucas

Sydney Stars: Paddy Ryan, Jeremy Tilse, Totu Latu, Pat McCutcheon, Tom Carter, Peter Betham, Angus Roberts

NSW Country Eagles: Max Lahiff, Josh Mann-Rea, Mitchell Chapman, Tala Gray, Stephen Hoiles, Ita Vaea, Brendan McKibbin, Matt Carraro, Ed Stubbs, Chris Tuatura-Morrison, Pat Dellit

Melbourne Rising: Cruz Ah Nau, Paul Alo-Emilie, Toby Smith, Pat Leafa, Tom Sexton, Luke Jones, Caderyn Neville, Sean MacMahon, Lopeti Timani, Ben Meehan, Nic Stirzaker, Jack Debreczeni, Mitch Inman, Tom English, Telusa Veainu, Jonah Placid

University Of Canberra Vikings: Scott Sio, JP Smith, Ruan Smith, Siliva Silva, Fotu Auelua, Jarrad Butler, Jordan Smiler, Christian Lealiifano, Henry Speight, Robbie Coleman, Jesse Mogg

Perth Spirit: Pek Cowan, T Faulkner, Ollie Hoskins, Heath Tessman, Sam Wykes, Matt Hodgson, Ben McCalman, Ian Prior, Zack Holmes, Kyle Godwin, Junior Rasolea, Marcel Braache, Luke Morahan, Dane Haylett-Petty

Taking out all of the internationals currently involved in Australia's Rugby Championship campaign; the strongest NRC teams appear to be the Canberra Vikings, Perth Spirit or Melbourne Rising given their lack of internationals, and the fact that their teams are similar to their Super Rugby equivalents and no other team have shared them like with the Reds splitting into Brisbane City and Queensland Country.

Although the players I'm most looking forward to seeing are Jake McIntyre, the Brisbane City outhalf, Jonah Placid, the Melbourne Rising fullback and Taqele Naiyaravoro the massive Sydney Rams winger. For those three in particular, this competition is worth following.

New Rules - Good Or Bizarre?

To me, the 14 experimental laws have a mix of inspired ideas, some intriguing concoctions and some downright idiotic variations.

The ones that get the most attention are the reduction in points for penalty kicks and drop goals, and the increase in the value of conversations. I'm fairly neutral on this, but overall I don't think it will work and will only encourage negative defensive tactics that will concede penalties instead of allowing attacking opportunities.

One of my favourite variations concerns the end of the game when the time is up. Previously when penalties are awarded after the 80 minutes expires, the attacking team didn't have the option of kicking to touch for a lineout because that would signal the end of play. No longer, attacking teams will be allowed this luxury and we could get more frantic and interesting close end games as a result.

Crooked lineouts will not be penalised if the defending team doesn't contest. This is within the bounds of acceptability (i.e. if the throw in is outside the outside shoulder then that's taking the piss.)

Kickers will have less time for conversations and penalties, while scrums will have to be set within 30 seconds of them being awarded. This is an interesting development, and needs to be trialled. It may not work, but at least we'll know after this.

There will be increased leniency on where quick penalties and free kicks are taken from, which can only increase the speed of the game.

Two rules I'm not fond concern mauls formed after the tackler holds the ball carrier up (which cannot be collapsed intentionally), and a quick throw can now be taken even if the ball has touched another person. Both seem wrong to me, especially the maul collapse. The reason collapsing a maul from a lineout is outlawed is due to safety, players are frequently hurt when this occurs, yet from the tackle, mauls have been collapsed intentionally from a tackle for about 4 years now with no record of any injury. The ball carrying team gains no advantage from this rule as they still will not be able to recover the ball once it's wrapped up, and it just makes the game slower because the maul can't collapse and play restarted faster. It's not really a rule that will make a huge amount of difference in Australia anyway, given the Australian way of playing rarely involves holding players up in the tackle. 

Lastly, the rule I don't like at all -although reverting back to it will help people realise that having it in the first place is stupid and will end all nonsensical arguments - is the TMO rules. The NRC is reverting back to pre 2013, and stopping foul play and tries being reviewed unless it's in the try scoring area. While I agree that forward passes shouldn't be reviewed; allowing foul play to go unpunished mid-game offers the victimised team no method of benefiting from any punishment. The process needs to be reviewed to allow TMO's to review these instances while the game continues to minimise stoppages, not scrap the review completely.

Conclusion

In the previous incarnation of the competition back in 2007, the promotion focused on unheard of players that will one day end up becoming Wallabies. The players included were David Pocock, Kurtley Beale, Ben Daley, Matt Hodgson and the Fainga'a brothers. It's Australia's attempt to further increase depth so that there are more contenders to the Australian national squad. It's the next step after increasing the Australian representatives in Super Rugby from three to five teams. While that appeared to be a weakening of their resources, recent improvements are showing that Australian rugby is on the rise again, and having 5 teams playing at that high level will improve Australian rugby. NRC will add more players that otherwise wouldn't get a chance to play against Super Rugby calibre players to the depth. 

Why is this interesting to Ireland? Perhaps you'll have to wait for the next blog post...

To be continued...