Ronan O'Gara: 'Saucy' Frawley has put Ireland ten jersey back in play

Ahead of the November internationals, a sideways look at Farrell's Ireland, Razor's All Blacks and Rassie's South Africa

TEN TALK: Leinster's Ciarán Frawley with his Munster colleague and rival Jack Crowley at Kings Park in Durban last summer. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Here’s today’s ten cents worth of fortune cookie wisdom: Players who understand the mechanics of game management will always have an edge when it comes to the test arena. Without it, you will always be dealing with a flawed international.

The various squad announcements this week heralded the beginning of the November test window. For all the noise around Andy Farrell and handing over the head coaching duties to Simon Easterby after November, managing the Ireland squad doesn’t change much. We have centrally contracted players whose job it is to perform in November. They are not on loan from anyone. This is their core function.