Irish Rugby isn't the best place to be if you are a young player. For the most part, young players aren't overly trusted, and even if the established star ahead of them is horribly out of form, they are given every chance to play instead of trusting inexperience.
It's not one person who does this, it's a product of the culture in Ireland.
With the exception of some extremely talented players like Brian O'Driscoll, the vast majority of Ireland's players get their chance because of injury. That's the case again with the Ireland national team this summer. Matt Healy, Tiernan O'Halloran, Craig Gilroy, and Paddy Jackson would all arguably have been in the form Irish XV for the season.
They are only getting an opportunity because of injuries. Jackson had finally been given the trust to be second choice to Sexton - again, only because Madigan decided to leave - and now he'll get a deserved shot to start in Cape Town.
It's an epidemic in Irish Rugby. Johnny Sexton only got his shot because of an injury to Felipe Contepomi. Jack McGrath is considered a strong contender for the Lions test spot because of Cian Healy's injury woes. Rory Best was long considered a liability by fans before Jerry Flannery's injury problems allowed him to grow into the leader he is today.
So when we look back on Ireland's gruelling 2015/16 season that lasted longer than 52 weeks - will we see the stupid amount of injuries to Paul O'Connell, Peter O'Mahony, Tommy Bowe, Iain Henderson, Jack Conan, Sean O'Brien, Johnny Sexton, Rob Kearney, Dave Kearney, Tommy O'Donnell and more at various points of the season?
Or will we be able to pinpoint the moment that the next group got their chance to play? Because Irish provinces used more young players than ever before this year, and a lot of them showed that there is a light at the end of this dark season. Johnny Holland and Rory Scannell grabbed their chance in Munster. Sean O'Brien and Peter Robb got more gametime than they would have expected in Connacht. Would Garry Ringrose had played as much without Luke Fitzgerald's injuries? Not sure. Even Ross Molony, Josh van der Flier, and Luke McGrath benefitted from the legion of injuries and they flourished.
Would the Irish rugby public know about Ultan Dillane had Mike McCarthy not been concussed?
Of course, things wouldn't be such a rollercoaster ride if coaches put their trust in the younger players. We'd be able to build and integrate squads without throwing players in at the deep end. It doesn't always work - see Paddy Jackson and Luke Marshall in 2013. They are only recovering from that now.
We've got a chance to build for the next World Cup in 2019 on this tour after all. That's worth tuning in for.
