It may still be early in the season but I think it needs to be said. We need a clearout of players and management. The same problems are arising week in week out without solutions in sight. We lack a gameplan, we are clueless beyond 3rd or 4th phase, our scrum is appalling, we have half backs who don't get the backs moving, our clearouts at ruck time are terrible, we never have quick ball and we make so many bloody unforced errors. Week in week out.
These problems existed last year, but we got out of the mire by winning about 4 home games on the spin against weakened opposition due to the 6 nations and that papered over the cracks. A bit of Fionn Carr or Keatley individual brilliance save us from time to time.
I listened to McFarland after the Toulouse game saying how we were never going to win the game, budget size, squad wise etc. We were poor on the day that was the bottom line. How does that translate to the players? Off the hook, hard luck lads. Losing mentality. Elwood talks about little things being wrong every week. Excuses, excuses. We have fundamental problems that aren't being adressed. Some of the ball skills are just shocking, for pro rugby players its a disgrace.
On the players front, it's clear alot of the lads aren't up to it. Ah You is still clearly overweight and can't scrum. Flavin is an honest slugger, but not up to this level, Reyneke is a headless chicken. Rogers doesn't look up to it, Maguire is very very raw, may be 2 years before he's up to this standard. Naoupu is overweight and I feel that's the reason we're seeing him in the 2nd row. TJ Anderson is a poor mans Mike McComish, Eoghan Grace appears very light, Ofisa has been a superb player for us for years but he's not able to put himself about physically anymore. We are AIL standard at fly half and scrum half. Beggars belief why Dave Moore and Jarvis aren't getting a run. Fa'afili is a very poor signing, no pace and can't defend. Brian Tuohy is an AIL player. If Vainikolo was any good he'd be playing.
For me, Swifty is still carrying this team and at 34 years of age that's not good enough. Muldoon, McCarthy, Wilko, a fit George and Concrete are the only other forwards who are showing up for us. Gannon and Loughney are solid. The only backs worth their salt are Duffy, O Halloran, Griffin and McSharry. I'll reserve judgement on Tonetti and McCrea.
If we don't arrest this slump then we risk losing the likes of McSharry, O Halloran and Griffin as contract renewals come up very soon. And it wouldn't shock me to see Muldoon or some of the older heads jump ship and try their hand somewhere else.
From the outside looking in, we appear to have a nicey nice culture around the place. Mistakes are swept under the carpet, poor form is not punished. If this slide continues, the axe must be wielded on the coaching team and some of the players. Alot of the staff are around since the Bradley era. We need a straight shooter like Eddie O Sullivan around the place with a good back room team in toe
