November is when the southern hemisphere kingpins come north to take on the European nations on their home turf and we can’t wait to see what’s in store.
Who can forget that gut-wrenching last minute loss to New Zealand in the Aviva Stadium when Ryan Crotty broke Irish hearts last year? While we don’t get a chance to avenge last year’s loss to the All Blacks this time around, we do have an opportunity to topple heavyweights South Africa and Australia as well as Georgia in between.
The squads have been named this week and we’ve scrolled through Joe Schmidt’s selection as well as the English, Scottish and Welsh squads to discover who were the real winners and losers…
Winners
Ian Keatley (Ireland) – The Munster man is the real winner in the Irish camp following the squad announcement. He hasn’t seen much action at international level over the past few years but he has been rewarded for his consistency over the past couple of seasons with a spot in the squad. Having kick-started his career in Connacht, he matured under the tutelage of Ronan O’Gara and he has blossomed with the new responsibility in Munster since ROG’s retirement.
Many people expected a shoot-out between Ian Madigan and Paddy Jackson to put pressure on front-runner Jonathan Sexton but Irish coach Joe Schmidt had other ideas. We wonder if the composure he showed to convert a last minute drop goal on Saturday helped to sway Schmidt’s decision? Either way, Keats is the real winner in the Irish squad while JJ Hanrahan may benefit from increased game time at 10 in his absence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpGemy5PmDs
Video via Cillian Shields.
George Ford (England) – The Bath fly-half missed out on the summer tour to New Zealand through injury and he would have almost certainly started the first test against the world champions. He comes into the squad this November on the back of some fantastic performances for Bath both this season and last season.
In JOE’s opinion he is the outstanding fly-half in England and he is definitely a more exciting option at 10 than his more experienced colleague Owen Farrell. While Farrell has proved himself a consistent and reliable out-half, Ford has more x-factor and game-winning ability. So for Ireland’s sake, let’s just hope Lancaster persists with Farrell at number 10.
Tim Visser (Scotland) – It may seem strange to include Visser in the winners’ category considering he is an established international player. However, Visser suffered a horror double leg break last season and the fact that he worked his way back to full fitness at the tail end of last season is a huge achievement for the huge winger.
His try scoring record for Edinburgh is impressive to say the least and he will be hopeful of adding to his tally at international level over the next few weeks.
Rhodri Williams (Wales) – The scrum-half has benefitted from the injury suffered by flying Scarlets scrum-half Gareth Davies, who would probably be a shoo-in for the squad had he not suffered such an untimely injury.
However, one man’s loss is another man’s gain and Rhodri Williams is the benefactor of Davies’ misfortune. A clubmate of Davies, Williams will get a chance to add to caps he earned in last year’s November series and this year’s Six Nations.
Video via RBS Six Nations.
The losers
Paddy Jackson (Ireland) – The obvious loser in the Irish camp. He was initially included in the tour to Argentina with Ireland during the summer before injury ruled him out and he was a member of the squad during last year’s Six Nations. He has been the victim of poor form and injury over the last few months and hence has missed the cut. The absence of Ruan Pienaar at nine for Ulster may have contributed to his exclusion as Jackson looks a far better player with Pienaar beside him.
It is still questionable whether or not Schmidt is a fan of the Ulster number 10 while doubts still surround his game management.
Chris Ashton (England) – The Saracens man has been in the international wilderness for a little while now and it begs the question, has Stuart Lancaster has taken a dislike to the winger? His flamboyant celebrations do not exactly fit in with the Lancaster model and he is something of a controversial character.
However, it seems more likely that Ashton has been left out because of his defensive frailties and unreliability under the high ball. It is a much safer option to have Jack Nowell or even Jonny May on the wing.
Video via atetempor.
Kelly Brown (Scotland) – The former captain misses out on the squad under new coach Vern Cotter. No reason has been given regarding his omission but it seems likely that Cotter wanted to put his own stamp on the squad. He can feel quite hard done by to miss out, as can another former captain Al Kellock.
Gareth Davies (Wales) – As mentioned above, the scrum-half can feel extremely unfortunate to have suffered the injury in what is potentially his breakthrough year. He was the top try scorer in the PRO12 last year with ten tries and he has a summer tour to South Africa under his belt.
This season could have been the year where he pushed on and established himself as a key player at international level, where Mike Phillips is not the force he was and Rhys Webb is not the force he once promised to be.
International squads for the November Internationals
Ireland:
Forwards: S Archer (Munster), R Ah You (Connacht), R Best (Ulster), J Cronin (Munster), S Cronin (Leinster), R Diack (Ulster), D Foley (Munster), C Henry (Ulster), J Heaslip (Leinster), D Kilcoyne (Munster), M McCarthy, J McGrath (both Leinster), P O’Connell (capt),T O’Donnell, P O’Mahony (all Munster), M Ross, R Ruddock, D Ryan, R Strauss, D Toner (all Leinster), N White (Connacht).
Backs: T Bowe (Ulster), G D’Arcy (Leinster), C Gilroy (Ulster), R Henshaw (Connacht), F Jones (Munster), R Kearney (Leinster), Ian Keatley (Munster), D Leader (Connacht), I Madigan (Leinster), K Marmion (Connacht), C Murray (Munster), S Olding, J Payne (both Ulster), E Reddan (Leinster), J Sexton (Racing Metro), S Zebo (Munster).
England:
Forwards: Joe Marler (Harlequins) , Matt Mullan (Wasps), Kieran Brookes (Newcastle) , David Wilson (Bath), Dylan Hartley (Northampton), Rob Webber (Bath), Dave Attwood (Bath), George Kruis (Saracens), Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Courtney Lawes (Northampton), Calum Clark (Northampton ), James Haskell (Wasps), Ben Morgan (Gloucester), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, captain), Billy Vunipola (Saracens), Tom Wood (Northampton)
Backs: Danny Care (Harlequins) , Lee Dickson (Northampton) , Ben Youngs (Leicester), Owen Farrell (Saracens), George Ford (Bath), Stephen Myler (Northampton), Brad Barritt (Saracens) , Luther Burrell (Northampton), Kyle Eastmond (Bath), Jonathan Joseph (Bath), Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester), Mike Brown (Harlequins), Alex Goode (Saracens), Jonny May (Gloucester), Jack Nowell (Exeter), Semesa Rokoduguni (Bath), Marland Yarde (Harlequins)
Wales:
Forwards: Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), Paul James (Bath Rugby), Nicky Smith (Ospreys), Richard Hibbard (Gloucester Rugby), Emyr Phillips (Scarlets), Scott Baldwin (Ospreys), Aaron Jarvis (Ospreys), Samson Lee (Scarlets), Rhodri Jones (Scarlets), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Jake Ball (Scarlets), Bradley Davies (Wasps), Luke Charteris (Racing Metro), Dan Lydiate (Racing Metro), James King (Ospreys), Sam Warburton (Cardiff Blues, capt), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Dan Baker (Ospreys), Taulupe Faletau (Dragons).
Backs: Mike Phillips (Racing Metro), Rhys Webb (Ospreys), Rhodri Williams (Scarlets), Dan Biggar (Ospreys), Rhys Priestland (Scarlets), Cory Allen (Cardiff Blues), James Roberts (Racing Metro), Jonathan Davies (ASM Clermont Auvergne), Scott Williams (Scarlets), Hallam Amos (Dragons), Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues), George North (Northampton Saints), Tom Prydie (Dragons), Leigh Halfpenny (Toulon), Liam Williams (Scarlets).
Scotland:
Forwards: Adam Ashe (Glasgow Warriors), Johnnie Beattie (Castres), Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors), Blair Cowan, Geoff Cross (both London Irish), Alasdair Dickinson, Ross Ford (both Edinburgh), Chris Fusaro (Glasgow Warriors), Grant Gilchrist (c) (Edinburgh), Robert Harley, Jonny Gray (both Glasgow Warriors), Richie Gray (Castres), Scott Lawson (Newcastle Falcons), Kieran Low (London Irish), Euan Murray, Gordon Reid (both Glasgow Warriors) Alasdair Strokosch (Perpignan), Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors).
Backs: Mark Bennett (Glasgow Warriors), Chris Cusiter (Sale Sharks), Alex Dunbar (Glasgow Warriors), Dougie Fife, Tom Heathcote (both Edinburgh), Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors), Greig Laidlaw (Gloucester), Sean Lamont, Sean Maitland, Finn Russell, Henry Pyrgos, Tommy Seymour (all Glasgow Warriors), Duncan Taylor (Saracens), Tim Visser (Edinburgh), Duncan Weir (Glasgow Warriors).
