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7th January 2020
11:40am GMT
While Jerry Flannery believes Cooney is having an outstanding season, on the back of an excellent 2018/19, he still feels Ireland would do well with Conor Murray starting and the Ulster No.9 as his back up.
Trimble declares Cooney is 'probably been the best 9 in Europe this year' who is consistently delivering and 'living up to the expectation'.
https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/1214256889502015488
The case for McCloskey to start in the Ireland midfield is not so clear, mainly because there is so much competition in that particular area.
"I don't know," Flannery admitted. "I think he is playing incredibly well.
"If he's gonna be in the mix he's gotta be in the mix now, because his game is rounded and he's playing phenomenally well. I just, I think it's the one place where you've got Garry Ringrose, you've got Bundee Aki, when you've got Robbie Henshaw, when you've got Chris Farrell. There's absolute quality there." The conversation continued:
MURPHY: That Leinster team, when you're Andy Farrell and you're looking at a team that has a habit of absolute hockeying teams now, and playing with such cohesion and such confidence, how do you look beyond them at the moment? TRIMBLE: If it comes to a 50/50, you go, 'That guy who's in an environment [Leinster] where he hasn't lost a game this year'. MURPHY: And it's tough to pick a 12 on the bench, as well, so he does find himself in a very awkward position. FLANNERY: He's in camp and you see how he goes in training with his peers, and you go from there, because he's playing phenomenally well. Just when we... looking at him playing this year, and watching him so closely, like he's kicking off his left, kicking off his right, he's offloading, he's throwing long passes, short passes, he's carrying. He's taking the ball right to the line and distributing, like the pass he gave to Matty Rea [for his try].Perhaps the biggest impediment for McCloskey is, as Barry Murphy points out, his lack of versatility. He is an out-and-out No.12 and that went against him with Schmidt. Andy Farrell may take a different view, but it is where the likes of Ringrose, Aki, Henshaw and Farrell hold edges. Like Cooney, though, all McCloskey can do is continue to put in the big performances - with Clermont (away) and Bath (home) coming up - and hope that Farrell rewards form.
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