Yeah there's no doubt we have a bit of a crisis at second row, we over rely on O'Callaghan and O'Connell, and Cullen does not have the athleticism required for international rugby. Heaslip seems to be coming back to is best, he can be an incredibly intelligent layer on the ball when on form. whether or not heaslip is kept, we need to develop an out and out young 7, and blood new young second rows. O'Connell is still the man, but we rely on him a fierce amount! »
I think he should be moved into the second row, and become an enforcer type figure in the Irish pack. A lot of journalists in Ireland (as well as Conor O'Shea, head coach at harlequins) have called for this to be done. At 6 foot 4, he wouldn't be the tallest second row going, but it has been proven before that certain types of bulky, 6'3" plus powerful backrowers can become world class second row forwards. I think he would be a very similar player to Brad Thorn, but better! Therefore, we can have O'Brien at 6, Heaslip at 8, and a fetcher at 7, such as munster's Peter O'Mahony, or maybe Shane Jennings? also, If Leinster's Dominic Ryan is given game time at Leinster this year, I think he could become a serious operator at 7, has all the attributes of a Warburton type player, and still very young »
