Ronan O'Gara: It’s not an Irish test window without a No 10 debate

There are a pair of test windows left for Andy Farrell to mould Ireland into the unit he needs to rattle the World Cup next year. I like Farrell. He is honest and accurate in his commentary - I'd agree with him on where Ireland stand now

KICKING ON: Sam Prendergast during an Ireland Rugby captain's run at the Aviva Stadium on Thursday. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Any test window that has South Africa, New Zealand, Australian and the Argentinians together in the northern hemisphere has to have something going for it. It’s easy from the cheap seats to knock holes in the format and the capacity come the end of November to have some close-to-dead rubbers, but this Nations Championship might be onto something. 

A normal November might see a couple of the southern hemisphere powerhouses with something to prove but it tends to be half-hearted tours sprinkled with some youngbloods and the primary aim of balancing the books. This format makes it all somewhat more accountable for a final weekend where the rankings dictate whether you’re an hors d’oeuvre or a Sunday roast.

It’s not an international test window in Ireland without a number ten debate. To ensure fair play, it’s noteworthy to mention Sam Prendergast and the increased maturity in his decision-making and performances, not least against Clermont in the Champions Cup, the most commanding performance I’ve seen from the rookie ten. 

Yes it was club level but it was polished and mature, displaying fantastic vision to boot. Prendergast well knows he will get nothing like that amount of time Friday night at the Aviva Stadium against Argentinians, who like their meat rare, blue almost.

Heretofore I was in the camp that struggled to get on board with all this excitable Leinster chatter about Sam, but as things stand he’s favourite to start the Six Nations, given Jack Crowley’s return to arms is still in the vague category for the new year. 

Some might see that as sobering which fairly rapidly underlines the importance of the Munster ten to Ireland. Ciaran Frawley should see a lot of minutes in November but it’s his first season as a number ten, which is rather incredible in itself.

On Argentina, I must find out where Facundo Isa is in terms of not being in Dublin with Felipe Contempomi’s squad. Maybe he is already a shoo-in for the World Cup and has asked for a bit of time with Pau. He stars in the back row season after season in the Top 14 with his club. 

A real workhorse, he dismantled Toulouse again there last weekend in a 34-14 win that moved them up to third. There must be a legitimate reason he’s not in Dublin.

Where are Ireland at a year out from the World Cup?

There are a pair of test windows left for Andy Farrell to mould Ireland into the unit he needs to rattle the World Cup next year. I like Farrell. He is always honest and accurate in his commentary. I would agree with him on where Ireland stand now. 

So November needs to cast some light on a couple of personnel and positional issues. Without Garry Ringrose, where are the wheels at 13 in Ireland’s centre partnership going to come from? Playing at test level against South Africa, New Zealand or France, the de facto top three in the world, any combination of McCloskey, Henshaw or Aki is what Ireland are fronting up with. 

With all due respects to those veterans, they are serious operators at inside centre for Ireland. But 13 is a completely different proposition. Was Friday night the opportunity to see Jamie Osborne starting at 13.

Ringrose has always had that advantage of wheels, which is why he played Lions 13. Scotland have a not dissimilar scenario with their Lions midfield of Huw Jones and Sione Tuipulotu, who have bags of experience with over 100 caps between them but have they still got the gas? 

Will Jordan and Damien McKenzie will test those legs this weekend at Murayfield, with their sublime passing game. The challenge for the Scottish midfielders is keep an eye on the All Black midfielders, while also keeping the Will Jordan corridor covered. Best of luck with that.

How much change is too much change?

Andy Farrell knows this much and a lot more besides: Ireland will want to grow their offloading game this winter and next spring. With it, they become a different threat. 

This debate has an interesting new thread with the appointment of Noel McNamara to replace Leo Cullen as Leinster head coach next season. 

Most of Farrell’s Ireland squad are shaped in Donnybrook and given he won’t be in the house until next summer, one could well wonder what sort of material influence McNamara can have on the Leinster majority in the Ireland squad ahead of next year’s World Cup. 

That might well depend on whether Faz wants to engage in that respect. Noel is an intriguing character and a fantastic, interesting signing for Leinster. He believes in an instinctive, offloading, fast, exciting, chaotic game which isn’t practiced in Ireland at the moment (particularly in the Leinster schools system).

That clash of cultures will be very interesting to watch in evolutionary terms over the next 24-26 months because the intrigue is around how Ireland can pimp up their game with the ball over the next year or so. 

Under Joe Schdmit Ireland become very ruck-obsessed, fit and structured outfit, but when it came to the biggest days, they got found out. Farrell felt things need to be adapted and in the main, Ireland delivered against South Africa in the pool stages of the last World Cup, but a slow start against New Zealand in the quarters killed them again.

McNamara’s Bordeaux Begles had a midfield scrum against La Rochelle in the Top 14 recently and his thought process to execute and throw us off defensively was top tier. I even asked our own backs coach to make a mental note of the play – it was that hard to defend. The timing of their play, an appreciation of the chess board and being a step or two ahead of our defence was impressive. I like people who have the capacity to plan out something with several what-if they scenarios.

Credit Lansdowne Road for their thinking on this one. From a distance I’ll be intrigued. Whether it be schoolboys structure or street rugby, Noel will be more interested in empowering players to play what they see. I’m not sure if that’s really the case in Leinster (and by extension, Ireland) just now but Andrew Goodman would have that in his locker as attack coach. But when you spend time in France and see what’s needed to win Top 14 games, you become well-armed for the test game. 

As a by the way, reports last week of my acute disappointment at not being contacted by Leinster for the head coach gig might have been somewhat exaggerated...

What of France, Europe’s cock of the walk?

Fabien Galthie is getting a small taste of what an overcrowded infirmary looks like this autumn. The Six Nations champions are fairly ravaged by injuries heading into the Nations Championship games against Fiji, South Africa and Argentina. From the exciting Fabien Brau-Boirie, to Emmanuel Meafou, Thibaud Flament, Matthieu Jalibert, Thomas Ramos, Oscar Jegou, Nolann Le Garrec, Marko Gazzotti and Noah Néné. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that, such is Maxime Lucu’s form at nine, that there was a genuine debate whether the golden one, Antoine Dupont would get the start in November. Galthie has gone with the Toulouse talisman but it was a close run thing. It’s Ntamack’s team to run, with Mathieu Jalibert and Thomas Ramos absent. 

Yoram Moefana continues as inside centre with the impressive Kalvin Gourgues, making his first start, inside. Keep an eye too on Théo Attissogbe starts at full-back and a pair of machines on the wing in Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Pau’s Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang on the right. The game everyone in France is red-circling is the South Africa game in Week 2 in Paris. 

France play Fiji this weekend and follow the Boks with Argentina, so the potential for further injury complications is considerable. They may end up playing the Boks again in a final on November 29th, and while the French are keen for a tough autumn to give them a proper look at the ledger, Galthie won’t want to be in charge of an infirmary either at month’s end. It’s a balance. There is a full round of Top 14 this weekend, and the next one is the weekend of the Nations Championship finals.

It looks like Pau’s inside centre Fabien Brau-Boirie will miss the entire window with injury but jot down the name, you will be hearing more of him in 2027. He’s only 21 and a real prospect.

Time to take Scotland seriously.

I know, I know, we’ve been here before. Once upon a time, I used to get under the skin or the Scots, but beneath it all, they knew themselves they were a bit of a rugby basket case. Not anymore. Which is why the game of the opening weekend is Saturday in Murrayfield, against New Zealand.

Scotland have interesting backs, from full back Kyle Rowe to Kyle Steyn, the currently injured Darcy Graham and Jamie Dobie on the wings, the afore-mentioned centres, and the 95-times capped Finn Russell conducting. If/once they can get a set piece and some parity up front, they will be tricky. Scotland are in Ireland’s World Cup pool next year, so we get to see where they, as well as Argentina, are currently at.

They have a more rounded game under Gregor Townsend these days, Rory Darge in the back row is a hand full but whether their front five can stand the heat in the kitchen when New Zealand’s de Groot, Codie Taylor, Scott Barrett and the powerful Fabian Holland come calling on Saturday is the intriguing bit.