Speaking ahead of Scotland v Ireland at the weekend in Edinburgh, forwards coach Paul O’Connell has signalled out the latest two Irish second rows that are new to the squad.
“You look at some of our second rows and the athleticism they have, their ball carrying ability, their tackle ability, the speed that some of them can move at,”
“The second row position is becoming far more athletic. They are almost like tall No. 6s, some of them, and it is pretty impressive to watch. It’s amazing how some of them can carry the workload of running a line-out, running a defensive line-out, maul defence and attack as well and just switch into another job once the line-out is over.
“They are just becoming far more athletic than maybe they were back in my day.
“So, I think our second-rows are really impressive at a lot of that stuff.
“You look at the latest guy to come in, Ryan Baird, I suppose that’s the way second rows are going.”
“I would have first really seen him in the Scarlets and I would have recognised him because he was an extra in a TV ad I was in,” jokes O’Connell.
“He has got great footwork, he is an excellent ball carrier, he is a very smart rugby player, he runs great lines. He may not run over people but he runs great lines which allows him to get through gaps.
“And obviously his ruck pressure was incredible. In the Scarlets, he seemed to spend the whole game searching for poaches, which they were very happy for him to do.
“He has probably had to tweak that a little bit in that he has to stay in the defensive line a little bit more, but he’s great at picking the right time and picking those opportunities to have a crack at the ruck.