No 15: full-back
Jason Hawkins, the relatively new boss at Carbery, is consistant under the high dropping ball. Top of the charts on milk price again for 2019. He has the look of NDC's Rob Kearney about him ... tanned, dark hair, drinks milk.
No 11: left wing
It's all about speed and the odd kick and chase. UCD's Paddy Wall could be down talking to a group of dairy farmers in Kilkenny on a Thursday night, Roscommon IFA farmers on Friday night and by Saturday he could be in China or Saudi Arabia shaking with a sheik. The speed he gets around and distance covered makes him a definite starter on the left wing.
No 14: right wing
Another speedster is Cork's Teddy Cashman. One second he was gone from his positions in the IFA and as NDC chair and the next he was drafted into Lakeland to help sort board governance. Versatility, smooth, sharp, high balls, left or right peg ...Teddy takes the right wing but can play in many other positions.
No 9: scrum-half
IFA dairy chair Tom Phelan takes on the Conor Murray role. He organised a series of calf meetings around the country this backend, which fired more low balls, crossfield balls, hospital passes and high kicks than Conor Murray kicked throughout the World Cup in Japan.
No 10: out-half
Michael Hanley.
Michael Hanley takes the pivotal out-half role for his takeover of the top half of the country with the LacPatrick-Lakeland merger, which was firmed up in early April. He also paid a better price for milk than many of his neighbours in 2019. What is he and Lakeland doing that the rest can't do? Don't mention trading outside Ornua.
No 12: first centre
Big Phil Hogan. Imagine seeing Hulk Hogan coming at you at pace. He cleared out all the intervention milk powder at start of year. Now that he is safely at his new, bigger Brussels desk as trade commissioner, we need him on the team. Early in the year he was in Kilkenny firing shots at Glanbia on milk price so he's not afraid even on home pitches. He might be better in the forwards, but the game we are playing now we need bulk all over the field.
No 13: second centre
So if Big Phil can drill it up the centre what we need is a crafty sort of player outside him. I'm picking New Zealand's John Penno, who qualifies for the Irish Team Dairy 2019 by the fact that he spoke at Dairy Day in November. He told us the home truths about dairying in New Zealand: environmentally, kiwi farmers are improving slowly; they now have too much milk processing capacity. Stay away from Bobby calves in Ireland, he said, and don't count on dairy ingredients in the mix for ever.
No 1: loose-head prop
Conor Ryan. It was a relatively quiet year for the Arrabawn boss and he might be a bit tall for front row, but there's good capacity to grow milk in the Arrabawn hinterland (north Tipp, Offaly, Kildare, Westmeath). They had 70 potential new entrants to milk attend a workshop near their headquarters in Nenagh recently. Of course, Arrabawn still picking up milk down to Cork and Wexford after spats with Dairygold and Glanbia so the's not afraid of the rough and tumble.
No 2: hooker
North Cork Co-op boss Pat Sheahan put his arms around Newtownsandes Co-op at the start of the year so he'll have no bother at hooker.
No 3: tight-head prop
Martin Keane, the Glanbia chair, gets the nod. Well able to put himself about, disruptive in the loose, and well able to tackle. Plays in the US as well and that is what got him and Glanbia's Truly Grass-Fed cheese and butter into a lot of trouble this year. Hard to play in both countries (Ireland and the US) without farmer margins suffering. Has been reprimanded by Ornua and similar to others looks like hes not going to play the same role in 2020.
No 4: second row
Jim Woulfe takes the No 4 shirt. Consistency is what it's all about in the engine room. Good all-round sports fan, which Jim clearly is with Dairygold Co-op sponsoring the Munster GAA league. Height, safe hands, lines out for the industry when asked and has money to spend, which we need in the team.
No 5: second row
Dairygold chair John O'Gorman takes the No 5 shirt. It's always good to have someone you know alongside you. Both second rows put a plan in place to reshape the Ornua board, but, like a lot of the grunt work, the teak-tough forwards' grind allows the silky backs to take all the glory. The Dairygold plan for the Ornua call at lineout time was money and effort wasted.
No 8
Mundy Hayes has to get a place on the team. While the 3c/litre "goodwill" top-up to Kerry milk suppliers hasn't been paid out, it's in the post for mid-January, or so we're told. The Kerry chair suits No 8: sort of a cross between Jamie Heaslip and CJ Stander and Mundy must have good hands for the back of the scrum being from Kerry. Now it's the next five years that need to be sorted on price. We'll leave that for 2020.
No 6
Denis Cregan, the former Kerry great, made a comeback in 2019 chairing the Ornua board for the second half of the year, following the resignation of Aurivo's Aaron Forde. Ironic that it's a former Kerry great who is leading the reshaping of the Irish Dairy Board (now Ornua) after it was Kerry who said farewell to the board not that long after its inception to go it alone in the world. For his pivotal role since the sort of independent Ornua, director Denis gets the No 6 shirt.
No 7
John Daly, the Tipp Co-op boss, might be more at home on the blind side after a powder scare threatened trouble, but bounced back into contention in 2019 if not a little battered - like all 7s - just ask Sean O'Brien.
Not considered
Formerly of this parish, it wouldn't be right if we picked Longford native Donohoe on this team, even with his rugby pedigree.
Patrick Donohoe, the former LacPatrick spin doctor now with Lakeland, is just too light for the national team. Bulk up, Patrick - haven't you heard of whey up there yet?
Dr Sean Brady. No sign of him lately. Where are you, Sean?
Aaron Forde - recently retired.
Joe Collins - Ornua stalwart is crossing the fence into the beefies.
Beef Plan and all the Independent beef farmers - no beef with dairy seemingly.
Tim Cullinan - IFA's new leader not long in the job, but Team Dairy expect him to come out all guns blazing.
Injured
Pat Duffy, the Aurivo chair, is still coming back to his best following health scare but making up good ground.
INHFA. They called for a dairy herd cull to reduce calf numbers. Long-term HIA assessment needed, obviously not right in mind or body.
All vegans - something not right there.
Not considered on disciplinary grounds
Former North Cork TD Ned O'Keeffe - for talking about calves like that and painting all with the one brush.
EPA - for blaming everything on farming without balance.
An Taisce - blocking Glanbia cheese investments, among other issues.
Glanbia's boss Jim Bergin for poor milk price delivery.
Leo Varadkar - after what he said on meat he'll have to do more than hold up a glass of milk at an ICMSA conference.
John Fitzgerald, chair of the Climate Change Advisory Committee - get your hands off the suckler cows, John. We know you're only getting them out of the way to get at the dairy cows.
Future hopes
Keep up the good work, Team Dairy. Dairy farmers need you all to keep the milk wave rising and if you line out as selected in 2020, we're in safe hands.
Read more
Sweeping changes to Ornua board
Forde steps down as CEO of Aurivo
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