JGP has been a slow burn in Ireland, being used as a back up to Luke McGrath, a player who was a great white hope early in his career, at Leinster more often than not up until last year. Murray has been in decline since suffering a serious neck injury a couple of years ago, but the real reason JGP is picked is that on top of improving hugely since he arrived here he suits the style of football Farrell wants Ireland to play. He isn’t as brilliant defensively as Murray, or have the passing speed and range of Aaron Smith, but he is very quick to the breakdown, has a very decent pass, and his kicking game has improved beyond belief. He is virtually unrecognisable from the guy who arrived here a few years ago.
I’m not as convinced by Lowe, as I think he is very vulnerable defensively both technically and tactically, and I think he’s a bit unreliable when the chips are down. I would never question his commitment though.
Aki has been outstanding for us, and even in the few games where he has been a bit poor it has never been due to lack of effort or commitment, I’m not a fan of the poached player model, and along with the vast majority of Irish rugby people am very happy it’s been tightened up, but we have generally been very lucky with the character and commitment of the guys we’ve poached especially when you include the likes of Jarred Payne and CJ Stander in the mix.
