FERGUS MCFADDEN ALWAYS harboured ambitions of wearing the 13 jerseys Brian O’Driscoll made famous for Leinster and Ireland.
In 2010, Joe Schmidt was three months into his tenure as McFadden’s coach at Leinster and starting to string results together after a difficult start. Luke Fitzgerald was injured and an away match with Clermont Auvergne loomed. Schmidt shifted McFadden onto the left wing against Scarlets to test his mettle before the pivotal Heineken Cup match.
McFadden scored a try against Scarlets and took the 11 jersey off the hook for Leinster’s 20 — 13 loss to Clermont at the Stade Marcel Michelin. McFadden, then 24, impressed in his stop-gap role. From that moment on he became ‘versatile back Fergus McFadden’. His ability to cover positions across the backline helped Leinster but hindered his outside centre hopes.
Last season saw the Kildare native focus his energies on re-establishing himself as a centre. Matt O’Connor’s arrival at Leinster looks to have shelved such ambitions for now.
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He told TheScore.ie: “I’m predominantly a winger. Under Matt, and with a full deck of cards at Leinster, wing is my position. At Test level, I think Joe is looking at me as a winger. I know that if injuries happen here and there, that I can cover those positions but, primarily, I’m definitely a winger.”
McFadden and Leinster teammates Isaac Boss and Kevin McLaughlin are three players that have benefited from Schmidt’s elevation to the national set-up. The trio were often trusted for key league and cup encounters and will hope to Schmidt keys them in for game time against a physical Samoan team.
McFadden ran in a hat-trick of tries against Canada in the summer. INPHO/Billy Stickland
McFadden may well have got the start ahead of Keith Earls anyway but the Munster winger’s knee worries have kicked that can up the road. Dave Kearney and Andrew Trimble are his direct opponents for a starting role on Saturday but McFadden’s provincial form may give him the edge.
“After getting a few games under my belt [this season] I felt better; a bit more of a flow,” he said. “Coming in here I felt good but there is a massive emphasis on training well. I felt I did that well. Hopefully I’m in the mix now and not just against Samoa but we’ll see what happens.”
At 27, McFadden is hell-bent on taking his international chances and forcing his way into the first team. A hat-trick of tries against Canada, last time out, certainly helped and another strong outing should see his name in the hat to start against Australia. He is keen, too, to play his part in turning Ireland into a team of peaks and troughs to a team that can start making Test match waves again.
He commented, “Ireland have been guilty of lacking consistency in the last couple of years. Pulling out a big performance, for instance, at the start of last year’s Six Nations, against Wales in Cardiff. Then it kind of all came crashing down after that.
“We’re looking to get some consistency in our performance and if we can concentrate on some of the things that Joe is looking for us to work on. If we can do that, the November Series will hopefully be a successful one.”
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Think Darren Cave is deserving of a international chance now as is Paul Marshell and even Olding. Thought Schmidt in his wisdom would have recognized their fantastic contribution to Ulster Rugby, this series would be have been a good chance to show what they along with others can do for Ireland.
Marshall’s problem is Ruan Pienaar! He needs to get more game time at provincial level to be considered for international…. I think he is a good player, but even Marmion at Connacht is passing him by in the pecking order in terms of warranting a call up as he is playing every week…
At the moment in my opinion, when it comes to scrum half for ireland it’s in this order: Murray, Reddan, Boss, Marmion, Marshall.
Reddan and Boss probably only have a couple of more seasons in them (i’d say they’ll retire from the international game after the world cup). Marshall will be 30 in 2015. Too late for him perhaps?
For me anyway, after the world cup, it’s Murray and Marmion 1 and 2.
Pienaar would be ahead of Murray and reddan in fact most scrum halfs, Marshell gets quite a significant amount of game time and has also learned hugely from pienaar which many would consider very advantageous in some respects. He has serious pace and a brain to match. This logic that if you happen to be behind a world class foreign player you aren’t worthy of a call up is completely false and very myopic. I believe it is really unnecessary to play players of POC and BOD’s stature against samoa or even Australia at present and only risk injury when we have players like Cave, Henshaw, Olding, who can gain valuable experience and challenge for a jersey or at least show they are ready to step in if needed. I also thought Marmion outplayed reddan in the interprovincial. If we are looking to the World Cup then Murray, Marshell, Marmion, Hart (Grenoble), etc etc are the guys to give the samoa matches to.
That’s not how an international coach sees things though. He picks the guys playing week in, week out at the highest level. From an Irish team perspective that is the Heineken Cup and Inter Pro matches, both of which Pienaar starts in (if outside of an international window).
Samao are ahead of us in the IRB rankings, so this is no warm up game. Samoa are a good side and Schmidt wants to start with a win going into the tougher encounters vs Oz and NZ. I think there might be 1 or 2 changes like you suggest, but I think he’ll go with a pretty much full strength side.
I would definitely not agree with that, although i do think he will select his “most experienced” side which is never necessarily the strongest in order to get off to a good start.
It also does a great disservice to the Pro12 and is simply a replica of the problem. Its akin to those who deemed madigan not to be worthy of a call up because he was always behind sexton at Leinster and therefore keatley/jackson who were first choice at their respective provinces must be better which is clearly false. Madigan although not starting heineken cup matches etc was outstanding in the pro12 his absence and would have arguably been the starting 10 in every other Irish province. You can apply a similar analogy to Marshell, because another player for another province player is chosen for Heineken cup matches does not mean he is the better player at all. It totally depends on the current strength of that position at the province in question. You would not say that a player that comes on as a sub consistently for chelsea is therefore inferior to one who starts every game for hull.
Madigan got called up when he got more game time and showed his worth in the big Pro 12 games. Before that he was behind Jackson for example as Jackson was starting more big games for Ulster (2012 Heineken Cup Final for example – wrestling the jersey from iHumph that season). As a result of that we saw Jackson as the number 2 in the 10 shirt when ROG got nudged out. Kidney picked him as he was playing more regularly than Madigan had been in the previous 12 to 18 months. Personally I think Madigan is a better all round player, but Jackson had the game time in the bank, therefore he got the nod. Can’t really argue with that….
I am not making the point about one player being better than another. Marshall may be better than another player who is starting for example, but this is not the only aspect on which coaches pick teams on. They need someone who is “battle ready” and has the experience/game time in the bank. It’s a big step up from Pro 12 -> H Cup -> International Test. Marshall would essentially be making the step up from Pro12 direct to International test. Playing Zebre or Dragons away on a cold night in January is no place to be gearing yourself up for the step to playing England at Twickenham at 6 Nations time for example. You need to be playing at the H Cup level to even stand a chance of matching the pace…
Your analogy of Chelsea and Hull is not a valid comparison. The standard is quite vast between those two sides in terms of talent and resources. Ulster, Munster and Leinster are pretty much at the same standard and players, being a starter or backup would be of a similar level.
Chelsea comparison may have been a little much, but the analogy holds true in areas where certain provinces are quite weak.
Keatley is munsters current starting outhalf, he would not even make the current Leinster bench, yet he is starting Heineken cup matches, Granted that gives him more experience but that is only one segment of what is required. If you where no2 to sexton who was streets ahead and playing at the home of the 3 time european champions then that should not automatically put you behind a starter in another province. Jack McGrath begin a point in case which I was delighted to see get a call up as I believe he is also a better player than those starting in the other provinces right now. International experience is important i would agree that is why i am for playing these players and giving them that in matches such as samoa which for all intensive purposes although a “test” match is a friendly and after which they perform well then they can be considered viable option for bigger games like the 6 nations which is all part of building a squad with real depth. I don’t think we will agree on anything bar that we both home we play some great rugby and take a few scalps.
No, I can definitely see the point you are trying to make. We, not being rugby coaches of top teams see things quite differently to what they would. I am all for throwing young lads in to see how they do in the not so important matches. The place for that was the summer tour in the US and Canada and those lads got their chance to show if they are capable of the next step into the general international elite squad. Schmidt is no dummy. He will have seen 10 to 15 players from that summer squad that he will have starting in his team in 12 to 24 months time.
Now, coming back to Samoa, Schmidt won’t see this as a game to blood new talent. It’s a must win game from his point of view. As Eddie O’Sullivan said the other night on ‘against the head’ on RTE, he has very little opportunity to blood new players in this Autumn series and then he is right into the Six Nations. He very much needs to build squad depth as we are lacking in some areas.
What a terribly sad and pathetic headline to put on an article which is essentially McFadden describing how he is now seen as a winger and not a centre by the Irish and provincial coaching setup.
McFadden much the same as Earls is better suited to the wing. Neither are international class centers. McFadden does throw himself bravely into tackles,but a lot of the time his technique is wrong and gets bumped off. Needs working on.
I am sick of McFadden playing on the wings. He is a centreman not a wingman. When he’s in the wing he runs into the centre on it’s wrong direction. He is also a hopeless defender on the wing Playing easy beats suits him on the wing . This Samoa team are a different team you have ever seen before Dave Kearney should play left wing as he is a wingman and in form
You’re right in that McFadden is a centre but he is also one of our most aggressive defenders both on the wing and in the centre. Some of his tackles are outrageous and he shows no regard for his own body when making them. He’s definitely the man you want on the wing for not just the Samoa game but all three tests!
Sorry for change of subject does anyone know are those matches going to be on BBC or any channel online ? They don’t really do rugby in Norway
Thanks for any help
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Where’s the bit about the crash landing under kidney?!?bit of a misleading headline
Another irrelevant journal headline.
“crash landing under kidney” ….. am i missing something here ??
Think Darren Cave is deserving of a international chance now as is Paul Marshell and even Olding. Thought Schmidt in his wisdom would have recognized their fantastic contribution to Ulster Rugby, this series would be have been a good chance to show what they along with others can do for Ireland.
Marshall’s problem is Ruan Pienaar! He needs to get more game time at provincial level to be considered for international…. I think he is a good player, but even Marmion at Connacht is passing him by in the pecking order in terms of warranting a call up as he is playing every week…
At the moment in my opinion, when it comes to scrum half for ireland it’s in this order: Murray, Reddan, Boss, Marmion, Marshall.
Reddan and Boss probably only have a couple of more seasons in them (i’d say they’ll retire from the international game after the world cup). Marshall will be 30 in 2015. Too late for him perhaps?
For me anyway, after the world cup, it’s Murray and Marmion 1 and 2.
Pienaar would be ahead of Murray and reddan in fact most scrum halfs, Marshell gets quite a significant amount of game time and has also learned hugely from pienaar which many would consider very advantageous in some respects. He has serious pace and a brain to match. This logic that if you happen to be behind a world class foreign player you aren’t worthy of a call up is completely false and very myopic. I believe it is really unnecessary to play players of POC and BOD’s stature against samoa or even Australia at present and only risk injury when we have players like Cave, Henshaw, Olding, who can gain valuable experience and challenge for a jersey or at least show they are ready to step in if needed. I also thought Marmion outplayed reddan in the interprovincial. If we are looking to the World Cup then Murray, Marshell, Marmion, Hart (Grenoble), etc etc are the guys to give the samoa matches to.
That’s not how an international coach sees things though. He picks the guys playing week in, week out at the highest level. From an Irish team perspective that is the Heineken Cup and Inter Pro matches, both of which Pienaar starts in (if outside of an international window).
Samao are ahead of us in the IRB rankings, so this is no warm up game. Samoa are a good side and Schmidt wants to start with a win going into the tougher encounters vs Oz and NZ. I think there might be 1 or 2 changes like you suggest, but I think he’ll go with a pretty much full strength side.
I would definitely not agree with that, although i do think he will select his “most experienced” side which is never necessarily the strongest in order to get off to a good start.
It also does a great disservice to the Pro12 and is simply a replica of the problem. Its akin to those who deemed madigan not to be worthy of a call up because he was always behind sexton at Leinster and therefore keatley/jackson who were first choice at their respective provinces must be better which is clearly false. Madigan although not starting heineken cup matches etc was outstanding in the pro12 his absence and would have arguably been the starting 10 in every other Irish province. You can apply a similar analogy to Marshell, because another player for another province player is chosen for Heineken cup matches does not mean he is the better player at all. It totally depends on the current strength of that position at the province in question. You would not say that a player that comes on as a sub consistently for chelsea is therefore inferior to one who starts every game for hull.
Madigan got called up when he got more game time and showed his worth in the big Pro 12 games. Before that he was behind Jackson for example as Jackson was starting more big games for Ulster (2012 Heineken Cup Final for example – wrestling the jersey from iHumph that season). As a result of that we saw Jackson as the number 2 in the 10 shirt when ROG got nudged out. Kidney picked him as he was playing more regularly than Madigan had been in the previous 12 to 18 months. Personally I think Madigan is a better all round player, but Jackson had the game time in the bank, therefore he got the nod. Can’t really argue with that….
I am not making the point about one player being better than another. Marshall may be better than another player who is starting for example, but this is not the only aspect on which coaches pick teams on. They need someone who is “battle ready” and has the experience/game time in the bank. It’s a big step up from Pro 12 -> H Cup -> International Test. Marshall would essentially be making the step up from Pro12 direct to International test. Playing Zebre or Dragons away on a cold night in January is no place to be gearing yourself up for the step to playing England at Twickenham at 6 Nations time for example. You need to be playing at the H Cup level to even stand a chance of matching the pace…
Your analogy of Chelsea and Hull is not a valid comparison. The standard is quite vast between those two sides in terms of talent and resources. Ulster, Munster and Leinster are pretty much at the same standard and players, being a starter or backup would be of a similar level.
Chelsea comparison may have been a little much, but the analogy holds true in areas where certain provinces are quite weak.
Keatley is munsters current starting outhalf, he would not even make the current Leinster bench, yet he is starting Heineken cup matches, Granted that gives him more experience but that is only one segment of what is required. If you where no2 to sexton who was streets ahead and playing at the home of the 3 time european champions then that should not automatically put you behind a starter in another province. Jack McGrath begin a point in case which I was delighted to see get a call up as I believe he is also a better player than those starting in the other provinces right now. International experience is important i would agree that is why i am for playing these players and giving them that in matches such as samoa which for all intensive purposes although a “test” match is a friendly and after which they perform well then they can be considered viable option for bigger games like the 6 nations which is all part of building a squad with real depth. I don’t think we will agree on anything bar that we both home we play some great rugby and take a few scalps.
No, I can definitely see the point you are trying to make. We, not being rugby coaches of top teams see things quite differently to what they would. I am all for throwing young lads in to see how they do in the not so important matches. The place for that was the summer tour in the US and Canada and those lads got their chance to show if they are capable of the next step into the general international elite squad. Schmidt is no dummy. He will have seen 10 to 15 players from that summer squad that he will have starting in his team in 12 to 24 months time.
Now, coming back to Samoa, Schmidt won’t see this as a game to blood new talent. It’s a must win game from his point of view. As Eddie O’Sullivan said the other night on ‘against the head’ on RTE, he has very little opportunity to blood new players in this Autumn series and then he is right into the Six Nations. He very much needs to build squad depth as we are lacking in some areas.
Hopefully 3 wins in the next few weeks! ;-)
What a terribly sad and pathetic headline to put on an article which is essentially McFadden describing how he is now seen as a winger and not a centre by the Irish and provincial coaching setup.
McFadden much the same as Earls is better suited to the wing. Neither are international class centers. McFadden does throw himself bravely into tackles,but a lot of the time his technique is wrong and gets bumped off. Needs working on.
A lot Of the time? I’d say he complete’s most tackles.
I am sick of McFadden playing on the wings. He is a centreman not a wingman. When he’s in the wing he runs into the centre on it’s wrong direction. He is also a hopeless defender on the wing Playing easy beats suits him on the wing . This Samoa team are a different team you have ever seen before Dave Kearney should play left wing as he is a wingman and in form
Indeed! McFadden has been commenting on everything since leaving Westlife. And don’t get me started on yor wan Vouge!
You’re right in that McFadden is a centre but he is also one of our most aggressive defenders both on the wing and in the centre. Some of his tackles are outrageous and he shows no regard for his own body when making them. He’s definitely the man you want on the wing for not just the Samoa game but all three tests!
ok. Everyone sssshhhh!! let wait till Saturday. yippy. cant wait
Sorry for change of subject does anyone know are those matches going to be on BBC or any channel online ? They don’t really do rugby in Norway
Thanks for any help
BBC2 Northern Ireland
Trevor your a gentleman when is it kicking off ?