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Published 15:21 17 Sept 2015 BST
Updated 15:23 18 Sept 2015 BST
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At Ireland's team announcement, this afternoon, Schmidt was eager to point out that Fitzgerald has inside centre experience - for him, at Leinster. He said:
"This time four years ago, he was starting at 12 for Leinster. He has had a fair bit of game time, for me, at 12. We've got a lot of confidence in him playing at 12 or 13."Good for you Joe, and hopefully good for Ireland, but why is Cave in the squad? Remember, Schmidt sacrificed a bringing either a third loosehead, tighthead or scrum-half to bring Cave. At the time, Schmidt said, 'With the midfield situation that we have, we feel we’ve got enough cover, but it’s a little bit of a manufactured midfield... We wanted to get one specialist midfielder in there who could play 12 or 13. His flexibility and positivity in the environment are real plusses for us.' One hopes Cave can keep his positivity as his flexibility stands for jack all at the moment. Perhaps Schmidt views the Ulster centre as Alex Ferguson once viewed Phil Neville at Manchester United - a horse for particular courses. Neville reveals, in Class of 92, that Ferguson often approached him before a league game and did not tell him he was being dropped. No, he was being rested for an upcoming cup game or, invariably, a match against Arsenal. For Cave, his cup final could be Romania at Wembley Stadium next Sunday. Unless, that is, another manufactured midfielder comes a cropper.
Frustrated English side nearing shock move to URC
This would be mad! English RFU Championship club Ealing Trailfinders are tipped to join the United Rugby Championships if the Wales Rugby Union are successful in cutting a region ahead of the 2027-2028 campaign. The Gallagher Premiership is transitioning to a franchise based model – welcomed by the top English clubs as it provides stability […]
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Live sport on TV in Ireland this weekend – Football, GAA, Rugby – May 8th to 10th
Some huge clashes! We are properly into the business end of the season in the footy, GAA and rugby. There is plenty of Premier League to sink your teeth into this weekend, with Arsenal and Man City fighting for the title, while others are doing their best to stay up. The biggest game across all […]
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Jack Willis speaks out on switching allegiances to Ireland
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