Ireland rugby legend Keith Wood isn't buying his old boss Eddie O'Sullivan's line this week that Leinster and Ireland starlet Joey Carbery should start looking at a possible exit from his province so as to get more game-time at outhalf.
Off The Ball presenter Joe Molloy put the suggestion to the former Ireland skipper on WNR.
"I love it. That's great shit-stirring by Eddie," Wood replied to giggles from Molloy and former Ireland and Munster lock Donncha O'Callaghan.
"There's no way he's going to leave Leinster and there's no way he should leave Leinster. I think if you put the whole thing in context, both Ireland and Leinster. And if you go back and look at [New Zealand's Dan] Carter playing 10 and look at Beauden Barrett playing 15 or coming on at 15 or coming in at 10 to cover up towards the end of a a career. You can maximise the ability of both and you want a sense of longevity as well where you can."
Wood went on to refer to the start of the Blues' season when Carbery was only used at full-back.
"There was injuries all over the place in the Leinster back-line. And actually when Sexton is playing, I would want to see Carbery playing 15. Yes, I would still say he is a 10 and I think he'll be an incredible 10 and when we need him he'll be an incredible 10.
"With all the injuries at full-back, I think that's one of the reasons why Ross Byrne got in there. Ross Byrne played well in there but for me Carbery is a better 10 than Ross Byrne."
While O'Callaghan did feel his fellow Munster man had a point in suggesting a possible move for the 22-year-old, he also feels that working with Ireland's first-choice outhalf every day in training is a good thing for him.
"For Joey Carbery, he's around Johnny Sexton. You're around the best, for me, the best 10 in Europe. So to be able to train with him, see what he does but I certainly agree with Eddie that you need game-time so it's a hard one to get the balance on for me.
"I wouldn't fault [him] if he did have a look around. I think it would be brilliant for Ireland if we had someone of his class playing 10 more often. I think we definitely need competition in that spot. If anything was to happen to Johnny I think we're a but understrength. If you look at the Munster 10s, they're still battling it out between them. There's no clear-cut number two."
