With the Six Nations coming up, the question will be who starts at scrumhalf for Ireland. While a few names here will be the obvious, some are up and coming stars who might become the future faces of the national team. Let's take a look at who should start at scrumhalf for Six Nations.
Conor Murray
The Munster scrumhalf seems to finally be back in form as when he is at his best, Murray is the best at his position in Europe and possibly the entirety of World Rugby. Excellent box kicker and is smart with his distributions, Ireland usually succeeds when Murray is at his best. Murray is unfortunately getting older, but he is only 31 and will be 32 in April, so he has got a few good years left in him. Murray seems to be in a better position to hold the starting 9 jersey than a year ago, but that might be because he was still recovering from an injury and the sudden rise of John Cooney.
John Cooney
Cooney was on the up and up this time last year and some thought that he should be starting over Murray. While Murray was an excellent scrumhalf, Cooney was just in the best form possible. Cooney unfortunately has not been in the best form lately, but he still leads an excellent Ulster side. Cooney might be a better option to come in as a replacement as his experience might be better suited to close out a match, especially with how in form Murray has been though Cooney runs well and that could be beneficial especially late in a contest.
Jamison Gibson-Park
While Cooney has the international experience and is a talented player, Gibson-Park might actually overtake him on the depth chart, especially with how well Gibson-Park has played for Leinster. Leinster is lucky to have the scrumhalf depth that they have with him and Luke McGrath, but Gibson-Park's rise has made the decision for head coach Andy Farrell harder as he now has a plethora of quality choices at scrumhalf. The New Zealander was going to be blocked if he had stayed in his home country, so the opportunity in Ireland was not hard to pass up and is seen as a legitimate option to be the starting scrumhalf for the Irish national team. Gibson-Park is a great player, plus he is high tempo and is an excellent passer.
Kieran Marmion
Marmion has seemingly fallen out of favor at not only being an option to start at the 9 jersey, but to even come in as a replacement. With how he has played at Connacht this season, Farrell should consider Marmion seriously. Marmion is a hard worker and a scrappy player, but that doesn't necessarily mean he is the right man to hold that jersey. However, his international experience and distribution skills would help Ireland, especially after his performance against New Zealand in 2018.
Luke McGrath
McGrath earned the most shocking decision made my then-head coach Joe Schmidt ahead of the 2019 World Cup as he was tasked to backup Murray as he was fourth on the depth chart at the time. Why Schmidt made that decision is frankly anyone's guess, but it does suggest that McGrath is a legitimate option to be a starting scrumhalf for Ireland. McGrath is the best defensively out of all these listed, but he is a smart player as he can pick up on tempo and is great at closing out matches. McGrath is also experienced, plus his time at Leinster has helped him especially playing with Jonathan Sexton as their 9-10 combo. It will be interesting to see whether he gets a look or not.
Craig Casey
Casey is eventually going to take over as the starting scrumhalf as he is very talented. He is eventually going to replace Murray at both Ireland's and Munster's top choice nine. Casey is the real deal. Casey might be small in stature, but he is creative, has great vision, and is very smart. The only problem with Casey is that he is still very raw, but the future is bright for him at the moment. Don't be shocked to see him even be included over someone like Cooney or Gibson-Park in Farrell's squad.
Caolin Blade
Connacht is blessed to have two quality scrumhalves like they do. Marmion is obviously very experienced and a solid player, but Blade is very talented. Blade is an outstanding player, but it would be hard to see him actually start. Problem is that Blade is 26, so it is unlikely for him to be seriously thought of as the top choice at the position, however, he could become the back up in the near future.
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