I hope they finsh as they start aswell. Teams are even enough but if we tire in the 2nd jslf Englands bench could pounce. COYBIG

Yes, coined by Geordan Murphy at Leicester

Yep it’s from the way Geordan murphy says his name the lads in Leinster say it sounds like 12×3′s

Twelvetrees = 12 x 3 =36 :-)

McFadden for defence? Trimble yes, McFadden I would be doubtful of….

@Diarmuid check out his tackle count after the game on Sunday then revert back your comment!

McFadden is a good defender, reads the lines very well

Earls isn’t just covering the centre and wing; he can also play fullback(started there last time we beat England)

Earls bashing is ridiculous here. He had a good 6 nations last year where a lot of guys did not. He missed that tackle on Manu in the RWC warm-up and people never shut up about it. He’s still a gifted player.

McFadden never gets hounded for getting barrelled by North last year, which is good because he shouldn’t Same goes for Earls in my book..

Come on Ireland!

@fabio Read the team sheet and revert to your comment now!

Sorry but he just wasn’t very solid in last years 6N, he’s a top winger, but he’s lost in the centre, his positional sense is very poor and he constantly leaves gaps on his inside that any decent international player will expose time and again.

Norths try last week was a classic example.

North?
North and McFadden maybe.

I wouldnt agree that he has proven time and again that he’s not a centre. Does he provide like for like cover for BOD? Of course not, nobody in the world does, that is a very unfair benchmark to judge anybody on. He came on at 12 last week, when was the last time he played 12? He is a world class winger suffering from having the ability to cover up to 5 positions. I personally would have had him on instead of Gilroy last week but Gilroy did nothing wrong so doesnt deserve to be dropped.

He has asked to play in the centre & has been given ample opportunity to prove himself as international (as opposed to BOD) standard. He hasn’t done it.

He has now slipped down the pecking order out wide as a result. He’s a great winger who should have focused on making that position his own.

I’m in no way trying to compare him to BOD, he’s a once in a life time player that it is fair to say is irreplaceable. As other people have said, Earls is a very good winger, it’s that he isn’t a great centre. He reads the wrong lines when at 13 (often not seeing the chance at an overlap) and when he does see the overlaps, his passing often isn’t great. I’m not saying that McFadden doesn’t have his flaws either, I would agree that Earls is a better winger than him, it’s just that although they are close in wing ability (with Earls shading it), McFadden is considerably better at both 12 and 13. When it is your 12 who is looking the likeliest to go off injured at some stage during the match, I’d be happier to have a better 12 on the bench than a better wing.