It’s The Probables taking on The Possibles at Carton House.
Oh to have a ticket for that match.
Joe Schmidt went ahead and named the largest Six Nations squad of the bunch. We were expecting 32 to 34 players to be named but the Kiwi went all Martin O’Neill on us and named 40, including three uncapped players [Niall Scannell, Andrew Conway and Rory Scannell].
Ronan O’Gara was unfortunate in just missing out on the chance to work with Schmidt. He retired in May 2013 and Schmidt took over with Ireland later that year. He keeps abreast of the situation with the national team, however.
Following his Racing 92 side’s 22-10 defeat to Munster, O’Gara was discussing which untried Munster players Schmidt should be selecting when he offered an excellent insight into the Kiwi’s training set-up.
“Everyone will push but you can only pick two [per position]. Joe has it the way he wants it because he’s going to have some A versus B games in training.
“That’s going to bring out a great Irish team, which is what we all want.”
Probables vs. Possibles was a staple of Irish rugby for decades and even bled into the early years of the professional era [post August 1995]. The increasing amount of games on the fixture list saw them fade away as a regular event but the odd one still takes place behind closed doors. The All Blacks did hold such a match ahead of the 2005 Lions Tour.
At Wednesday’s Six Nations launch in London, Schmidt was asked how he would know the likes of Conway, the Scannell brothers and Ireland’s five other players on one cap would fare. He commented:
“You never know that they’re ready.
“Joey Carbery had his 21st birthday in Chicago on the Tuesday [before the win over New Zealand]. He’s got to go on and negotiate the last quarter with the All Blacks, that black wave coming back into the game and nearly washing over us like they had in 2013.
“Did he stand up? He negotiated his way through the game superbly. Throwing him on against Australia at fullback and he did an admirable job out of position.
“There are some guys like Rory Scannell, who is playing more at 12, who may have to deputise at 10. Again, you’re not going to know. You get a sense at training, so over the next few days we’re going to get a better idea if we think guys are going to be able to slot in or not.”
Probables vs. Possibles will give Schmidt an idea. It might even earn a player a cap against Scotland on February 4.
It is only in the Test arena, though, that one can truly prove if they are ready or not. If they fail, they may not get a look-in for a long time.
