There were many disappointing goals after Andy Farrell abandoned his 42-man Rugby World Cup practice squad. And plenty of talent missed out on selection. Below are our 23 made up of these men and it certainly shows the incredible depth of Irish rugby at the moment. Rugby supporters can book Ireland Rugby World Cup Tickets on our website at exclusively discounted prices.
Jeremy Loughman – Loose Head Prop
The oddest omission on the team considering he has been heavily linked with the Republic of Ireland since the summer. And given the fact that he is Munster’s first choice and ahead of Dave Kilcoin.
Diarmuid Barron – Hooker
He was ahead of Tom Stewart in the pecking order last year. But Stewart’s average and incredible height set him back. Like most of his Munster teammates, he has been huge since their resurgence over the past few weeks.
Stephen Archer – Tight Head Prop
The Corkonian has been on one of the most surprising runs of form we can remember, and playing the best rugby of his career at 35 years of age. Has excelled in Munster’s recent fixtures in South Africa. Which is a as good a badge of honour as prop can achieve.
Jean Kleyn – Lock
Despite being called up to the South African squad for the upcoming Rugby Championship. Klein was ready and available for Andy Farrell. The top fit player has been dropped and although he hasn’t played for Ireland since 2019 there was certainly little risk of having him join a training squad and see if he could get comfortable with the systems.
Ross Molony – Lock
Moloney has a right to feel hurt after being Leinster’s first choice only because his World Cup hopes will fizzle with the return of Joe McCarthy. Ireland has not yet played and this chance may have been missed.
Scott Penny – Blindside Flanker
His call-up to the Republic of Ireland squad during the Six Nations created an odd uproar among the Munster fans. But he backed up his selection with some of his best performances in the Leinster jersey in the following weeks. One after the Rugby World Cup 2023.
John Hodnett – Openside Flanker
The same age as Penny and the same style of play. Hopefully both players can stay fit in the coming seasons and compete for Ireland. He was sensational in his man-of-the-match game in the URC final.
Nick Timoney – Number Eight
He would have been seen making the training squad back in November when he won his first cap for Ireland against Fiji. Ulster’s poor form at the end of the season clearly undermined his Rugby World Cup chances.
Kieran Marmion – Scrum-Half
While the London Irishman’s decline is a sight no rugby fan would want to see. The upside is that Marmion’s new club, the Bristol Bears, will take their place in the Champions Cup next season. An excellent servant of Irish rugby.
Jack Carty – Out-Half
Despite a very memorable last appearance in the Irish jersey. Carty is still a classy cameraman at 10 and the most creative outsider in the country. A favorite of Joe Schmidt, but much less popular under Andy Farrell. Rugby World Cup fans can buy Ireland Vs Tonga Tickets from our website.
Andrew Conway – Left Wing
With all the talk of Klein, Hayley, Loughman and Hodnett being expelled from Ireland, almost nobody thought about Andrew Conway. The only person on this team who was a starter for Ireland before he got injured. Desperately unlucky that he couldn’t get back in time.
Tom Farrell – Inside Centre
One of the best players never to have played for Ireland and the definition of a great center. At 29, his international window has unfortunately passed.
Antoine Frisch – Outside Centre
After just one season at Munster, he was already talking about the most astute provincial signing ever. The center’s partnership with Alex Nanquiwell next season could prove devastating.
Ireland Rugby World Cup player Robert Baloucoune – Right Wing
We’ve previously written about Balukun’s disappointing November, which, looking back, was his last chance to really make his mark on the roster. However, he offers qualities that no other Irish player can match.
Mike Haley – Fullback
We hope that doesn’t happen, but there is a situation where Hugo Keenan gets injured and Andy Farrell starts to regret not having integrated Haley into the Irish team over the past few seasons. Comfortably the second best defender in the country.
Replacements:
Michael Milne, Dave Heffernan, John Ryan, Niall Murray, Conor Oliver, Nathan Doak, Harry Byrne, Shane Daly.
Kleyn bombshell Rassie’s first Rugby World Cup shot at Ireland
If all goes according to plan. Irish club Gene Klein could switch international loyalties after being chosen to play in the Springboks Rugby Championship training team. Born in South Africa, Klein became eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland in September 2019.
He played five Tests for Ireland, including the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Klein has not played for Ireland since the 2020 Six Nations and his latest absence from the team, named by head coach Andy Farrell, appears to have left the door open for the Springboks to lure him back to the Republic.
The admission of the 29-year-old to Boca’s team is subject to the outcome of an application made by the South African Rugby Union (SARU) regarding the eligibility of the former Stormers Castle under Rule 8 and on the basis of birthright.
A decision is expected to be received shortly. The inclusion of Klein in the Boks training team was certainly a big shock. But at the same time a stroke of genius on the part of the Springbok management.
Munster Lock put in some really impressive performances this season and he was named Munster’s Player of the Season. He has been an integral part of Munster’s success in the unified rugby championship, beating his former team the Stormers in the final last month.
Despite his incredible form, Irish manager Andy Farrell still held the Johannesburg striker in contempt, which left many Irish fans far from happy in the north. But the loss of Ireland could be a gain for South Africa.
Understandably, Springbok management holds Klein in high regard. In 2016, Klein became the first high-profile signing of former Munster head coach Rassi Erasmus, who is currently South Africa’s director of rugby.
The STACKED Tonga XV that could cause a Rugby World Cup upset
The announcement of the Tonga team for the RWC 2023 warm-up matches caught the attention of the rugby public and several former All Blacks and Wallabies entered the Toutai Kefu team. A change in eligibility laws in early 2022 has undoubtedly benefited the Pacific Island Nation, which includes three former Wallabies, five All Blacks and a former New Zealand Sevens star.
Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Kefu welcomed the changes to the eligibility law. Obviously it’s a different class of team compared to the teams we’ve had in the past and what it allows us to do gives us some huge X factor, Tonga’s coach said.
Kefu has a healthy headache in qualifying for the Rugby World Cup and we made an attempt to pick a matchday team that could be a disappointment at the tournament despite being in the same pool as Ireland, South Africa, Scotland and Romania.
Potential Tonga XV at Rugby World Cup 2023
15 Israel Folau: It was not his gambling ability that led to his departure from Australia, but his anti-gay social media posts. During his time with the Wallabies, he was one of the best cornerbacks in the game and Tonga is looking to get the most out of his talents in France.
14 Charles Piutau: Former All Black from Japan proved his skills time and time again. The 31-year-old is an established match winner and it will be a real pleasure to finally see him perform in rugby’s biggest show, missing out on the 2015 All Blacks squad.
13 Malakai Fekitoa: Tough challenge between two former All Blacks for one of the central roles, with George Moala and Fekitoa capable of filling jerseys 12 and 13. After his performances with Munster in the latter stages of the URC, we went with Fekitoa in jersey number 13, but we could even see the pair pair up in red Tonga. There really is no wrong answer for Kefu, especially with Perpignan’s Afusipa Taumoepo on the team.
Defenders of Tonga Rugby World Cup team
12 Pete Ahki: The former New Zealand Sevens star has been a mainstay of Toulouse defenders since joining the team in 2018. Thanks to his skill set, Ahki should be able to sneak into the starting team in midfield, where the competition is fierce, as he will be able to throw in some grunts. , but his game is undoubtedly his biggest advantage.
11 Solomon Kata: The 28-year-old provides Kefu with versatility as he has played center and wide for the Exeter Chiefs this season. In the team’s official release, he was listed as an outside defender and with Ahki, Fekitoa, Moala and Taumoepo in the center, we expect him to play wide. However, there is stiff competition from Fine Inisi and Kyren Taumoefolau.
10 Rugby World Cup The legend of Tonga RWC William Havili:
A position where Tonga has limited depth, but Havili provides a safe option as a support. He started all three of November’s internationals in this position and was a solid defender for Moana Pacifica. Otumaka Mausia covered for Havili on the bench last year, while Doncaster Knights’ uncovered midfielder Patrick Pellegrini is an intriguing prospect for the team.
9 Sonatane Takulua: The experienced midfielder did not feature for Tonga last November, but we expect him to captain the team and add another opportunity to score from outside of Havili. Captain Ikale Tahi has tough competition in former All Black Augustin Pulu and midfielder Moana Pacifica Manu Paea.
8 Sione Vailanu: Again, Kefu has a lot of options in the back row with a lot of versatile and strong candidates in all positions. Vailanu has excelled at Glasgow this season, both on the sidelines and at the end of the scrimmage. Sione Havili and Tanginoa Halaifonua are likely to compete for blind jumpers and number eight.
7 Solomon Funaki: The flanker was Tonga’s regular in 2022 and has continued that form with Moana Pacifica in Super Rugby. He is another one who could take eighth place, but he is more visible in the battle for Kefu.
6 Vaea Fifita: The former All Blacks star has been in incredible form for the Scarlets this season and is looking to repeat that form with Ikale Tahi this year. The 30-year-old power forward could also slip into the second row if Lopeti Timani presses to start.
5 The legend’s son of former Tonga Rugby World Cup team Adam Coleman:
Another former Wallaby and yet another addition to the world class team. Coleman’s father was Tonga’s Rugby World Cup team captain in the 80s. And he’ll make a splash in the red jersey later this year. Leva Fifita and Steve Mafi will compete with the uncompromising castle. However, the 31-year-old looks like a straight choice for Kefu and immediately escalates the Tongan’s grip.
4 Samiuela Lousi: Fifita’s Scarlets teammate is another easy pick in the pack. He has been in stellar form for the Welsh side this season and will form a fearsome second-row partner with Coleman. If Tonga is going to cause an upset. They’ll need some sort of pack parity, and Loosie and Coleman will go a long way to achieve that.
3 Ben Tameifuna: Tonga is famous for its huge packs, and they are not much bigger than the stingy Tameifuna. The Bordeaux defensive midfielder regularly weighs around 150 kilograms. That making him a formidable threat with the ball in his hand and almost immobile in the scrum. Technically he is fine and can play both sides of the scrum. Similarly, David Lolohea offers options on both sides of the prostitute, as does Tau Koloamatangi.
2 Samihuela Moli for Rugby World Cup:
There are three other serious candidates for the role of starting prostitute: Paula Ngauamo, Siua Maile and Sosefo Sakalia. However, this season Moli played more regularly as a mainstay in Moana Pacifica’s starting XV. We support him to take the starting jersey for the warm-up matches. But the remaining trio will make it difficult to keep him.
1. Siegfried Fisichoy: Another regular newcomer to the club. There are several strong candidates for the position of a disbanded defensive midfielder. Fiziyhoy is perhaps the best choice, Lolohea from Provence Rugby and Feao Fotuaika from Moana claim this role.
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