It's very hard to feel enthused about the Irish rugby team when a XV like that is named.
That's nothing against Joe Schmidt - he's a highly intelligent and respected coach - who grinded out two amazing Six Nations triumphs with Ireland. He's one of the best coaches Irish rugby has ever had, and is by far the best candidate to lead this team.
But there's something missing.
The Irish rugby team doesn't excite me anymore. Irish rugby fans look at the team named today and groan.
We look at the team and think what might have been. Oh to see CJ Stander unleashed from the base of the scrum, or Jared Payne roaming around from full-back. Why not reward Stuart McCloskey for his debut last week, and allow him to gain more experience playing with Robbie Henshaw?
But even if we got the team we wanted to see - would Ireland play in a way that gets fans out of their seat? The notion that Schmidt wants the players to 'play what's in front of them' sounds great, but when we see Robbie Henshaw soaring over Teddy Thomas to claim the ball against France in the first ten minutes and then not see any contestable kicks towards Thomas for the rest of the game there must be something wrong. Why identify a weakness only to never use it again? Aren't Henshaw and Payne playing in the centres to aid an aerial game?
You get the impression that Schmidt agonises over every selection decision. He genuinely has reasons for various players playing over others - more commonly called a 'horses for courses' selection. And yet, you take one look at this team and wonder what thought was going on.
When selecting a bench you want to account for three things - injuries, being in a losing position, and being in a winning position. If there are injuries - you want to have enough cover to minimise disruption. If you are losing you want to bring players on who can change a game. If you are winning you want to bring on fresh players who work hard and close the game out. You can also use the bench to ease young players into the international environment.
When in form game changers like Paddy Jackson and Craig Gilroy aren't picked in favour for Ian Madigan and Fergus McFadden who aren't there for their versatility, and players like out-of-form but the quality Cian Healy are picked then it's hard to know what to think.
Are we back to the age of Eddie O'Sullivan's untouchables?
Is it worth persisting in watching the tried and trusted struggle to reclaim form when we can watch the youngsters provide genuine excitement for Leinster or Connacht?
I'll be watching Ireland play Italy this Saturday, but I'm not looking forward to it like I used to.
See Also: We're Not Buying Joe Schmidt's Excuse For Picking Ian Madigan Over Paddy Jackson
Picture credit: Matt Browne / SPORTSFILE
