"There’s lots of quality there, but there’s no reason to think that he can’t offer something different."
Connacht went into their weekend Guinness PRO14 clash with reigning champions Leinster as 18-point underdogs. They left The RDS with an impressive scalp and they now have Munster in their sights.
It was a commendable victory for Connacht after their squad was hit with six positive Covid-19 tests and had to cope with three line-up changes during an terribly disrupted week. Leinster had their own Covid issues but were still able to field the likes of Johnny Sexton, Devin Toner, Dan Leavy and Luke McGrath.
On House of Rugby Ireland, hosts Ian Madigan and Eimear Considine (listen from 5:30 below) spoke about the recent round of inter-pros and backed one Connacht star to break into the Ireland set-up if he can maintain his current form.
[caption id="attachment_712515" align="aligncenter" width="2048"]Tom Daly moved to Connacht on loan in December 2018 and made a permanent switch six months later. (Credit: Sportsfile)[/caption]
Connacht have been relying on their academy players for many games this season but five more established stars - Tom Daly, Jack Carty, Quinn Roux, Gavin Thornbury and Conor Oliver - all came in for praise on the show. Daly is worth a close look by Andy Farrell and the Irish coaching set-up, argues Madigan.
"Gavin Thornbury and Conor Oliver were fantastic," says Considine. "I thought Gavin and Quinn Roux, both locks, did well and Conor Oliver was excellent as well."
"This season has been about the young guys coming up," adds Considine, and there was more evidence of that, at the weekend. We saw James Hume, David McCann and Ethan McIlroy play well for Ulster and young scrumhalf Nathan Doak make his debut for the province. There were senior debuts for the Leinster trio of Max O'Reilly, Greg McGrath and Andrew Smith, while promising outhalf Jack Crowley made his first appearance for Munster at the Kingspan Stadium.
Also covered by Eimear and Ian on the latest episode:
2021 resolutions, and sticking to them
Ryan Baird's excellent outing at blindside
A preview of the upcoming Guinness PRO14 inter-pros
2021 Lions Tour in doubt
YOU CAN WATCH THAT FULL EPISODE HERE:SUBSCRIBE TO HOUSE OF RUGBY IRELAND HERESeason 3 has returned with Ian Madigan & Eimear Considine as hosts, and has already featured interviews with Brian O'Driscoll, Nigel Owens, Sean Cronin, Shane Williams, Mike Brown, CJ Stander, Ugo Monye, Sene Naoupu, Schalk Burger, Dan Leo, James Lowe, Marcell Coetzee, Ciaran Griffin and Ian Keatley.
Tom Daly moved to Connacht on loan in December 2018 and made a permanent switch six months later. (Credit: Sportsfile)[/caption]
Connacht have been relying on their academy players for many games this season but five more established stars - Tom Daly, Jack Carty, Quinn Roux, Gavin Thornbury and Conor Oliver - all came in for praise on the show. Daly is worth a close look by Andy Farrell and the Irish coaching set-up, argues Madigan.
