The IRISH RUGBY thread

[An Watcher]

Yep, but if Australia beat them by more than 7, they could finish 3rd and be on the plane home

[johnnycool]

Not sure how Japan are actually losing this ffs

England are lucky AF...

first try Japanese lads knocks the ball forward on his own try line. Second try England butcher yet another phase of passes, comes off the intended recipients arms, hits Marler on the big forehead, goes forward from that and falls at the feet of Laws to saunter over from 6 metres out.

I can't see how Farrell gets back into this team as a number 10, Ford is their only shining light.

[Tony Baloney]

Not sure how Japan are actually losing this ffs

England are lucky AF...

first try Japanese lads knocks the ball forward on his own try line. Second try England butcher yet another phase of passes, comes off the intended recipients arms, hits Marler on the big forehead, goes forward from that and falls at the feet of Laws to saunter over from 6 metres out.

I can't see how Farrell gets back into this team as a number 10, Ford is their only shining light.

They can't kick it away for the entire campaign. Farrell can and has played at 12 but they'll have to go Farrell 10, Manu 12 at some point.

[weareros]

So South Africa have gone with 7 forwards and 1 back on the bench, and their warm up hammering of New Zealand was clearly prep for this game. Have Ireland the players to withstand 7 new big fresh bullocks replacing 7 that have already left it all on the pitch. Some have criticised this tactic as against the spirit of the game (Matt Williams), but it is within the rules and they are playing to their panel strengths. The experts say it is vital for Ireland to take a good lead and force them into an expansive game. It's a very intriguing game.

[Tony Baloney]

So South Africa have gone with 7 forwards and 1 back on the bench, and their warm up hammering of New Zealand was clearly prep for this game. Have Ireland the players to withstand 7 new big fresh bullocks replacing 7 that have already left it all on the pitch. Some have criticised this tactic as against the spirit of the game (Matt Williams), but it is within the rules and they are playing to their panel strengths. The experts say it is vital for Ireland to take a good lead and force them into an expansive game. It's a very intriguing game.

Not sure what approach Farrell takes. Go fully loaded and try to win the mental battle for any future matchup in the knockout stages or play the long game and hold some starters back to avoid potential injury for later games.

[Mad Mentor]

There seems to be an awful lot of forward passes going unpunished.

[Nanderson]

So South Africa have gone with 7 forwards and 1 back on the bench, and their warm up hammering of New Zealand was clearly prep for this game. Have Ireland the players to withstand 7 new big fresh bullocks replacing 7 that have already left it all on the pitch. Some have criticised this tactic as against the spirit of the game (Matt Williams), but it is within the rules and they are playing to their panel strengths. The experts say it is vital for Ireland to take a good lead and force them into an expansive game. It's a very intriguing game.

Its high risk, high reward for South Africa only having 1 back on the bench in the form of a scrum half. What happens if their kicker gets injured or a centre/winger/full back they'll be screwed.

[seafoid]

So South Africa have gone with 7 forwards and 1 back on the bench, and their warm up hammering of New Zealand was clearly prep for this game. Have Ireland the players to withstand 7 new big fresh bullocks replacing 7 that have already left it all on the pitch. Some have criticised this tactic as against the spirit of the game (Matt Williams), but it is within the rules and they are playing to their panel strengths. The experts say it is vital for Ireland to take a good lead and force them into an expansive game. It's a very intriguing game.

It's gamemanship. Could they not take out one of the backs ?
South Africa might win on the scrums but lose on the open play. It's a pretty risky strategy imo.

[johnnycool]

So South Africa have gone with 7 forwards and 1 back on the bench, and their warm up hammering of New Zealand was clearly prep for this game. Have Ireland the players to withstand 7 new big fresh bullocks replacing 7 that have already left it all on the pitch. Some have criticised this tactic as against the spirit of the game (Matt Williams), but it is within the rules and they are playing to their panel strengths. The experts say it is vital for Ireland to take a good lead and force them into an expansive game. It's a very intriguing game.

It's gamemanship. Could they not take out one of the backs ?
South Africa might win on the scrums but lose on the open play. It's a pretty risky strategy imo.

SA are going for the power game, no shock there.

They'll want to pound the Irish scrum to pieces and double down on that with the introduction of the bomb squad.

Ireland want to run the ballax out of these big men, as few as scrums as possible, keep moving the point of attack etc etc and wait for the tired legs to leave gaps.

If Ireland are still in the game with 15 minutes to go, I think they'll run over a few tries in that period.

[seafoid]

So South Africa have gone with 7 forwards and 1 back on the bench, and their warm up hammering of New Zealand was clearly prep for this game. Have Ireland the players to withstand 7 new big fresh bullocks replacing 7 that have already left it all on the pitch. Some have criticised this tactic as against the spirit of the game (Matt Williams), but it is within the rules and they are playing to their panel strengths. The experts say it is vital for Ireland to take a good lead and force them into an expansive game. It's a very intriguing game.

It's gamemanship. Could they not take out one of the backs ?
South Africa might win on the scrums but lose on the open play. It's a pretty risky strategy imo.

SA are going for the power game, no shock there.

They'll want to pound the Irish scrum to pieces and double down on that with the introduction of the bomb squad.

Ireland want to run the ballax out of these big men, as few as scrums as possible, keep moving the point of attack etc etc and wait for the tired legs to leave gaps.

If Ireland are still in the game with 15 minutes to go, I think they'll run over a few tries in that period.

Same as the French match.
It's very Rassie Erasmus. I hope it blows up on him.

[Nanderson]

Dupont is just a tad good at the ole rugby isn't he

[Tony Baloney]

Bit mad that the French brought out the A Team in the second half. Dupont looked like he had a fractured cheekbone.

[Nanderson]

Bit mad that the French brought out the A Team in the second half. Dupont looked like he had a fractured cheekbone.

Yea looked exactly like the injury that broke my cheekbone in the past. He looked visibly upset coming off and France may rue playing their full squad tonight as they essentially have the group win in the bag

[Tony Baloney]

Bit mad that the French brought out the A Team in the second half. Dupont looked like he had a fractured cheekbone.

Yea looked exactly like the injury that broke my cheekbone in the past. He looked visibly upset coming off and France may rue playing their full squad tonight as they essentially have the group win in the bag

Could he come back after 4 weeks in a protective mask for the semis?

[square_ball]

Bit mad that the French brought out the A Team in the second half. Dupont looked like he had a fractured cheekbone.

Yea looked exactly like the injury that broke my cheekbone in the past. He looked visibly upset coming off and France may rue playing their full squad tonight as they essentially have the group win in the bag

Yeah its a catch 22 situation. Players need game time to stay sharp but at the same time you need to save them from injuries like Dupont seems to have suffered. I see talk this morning they reckon it could be a 4-6 week injury. On the lower scale he could be back for the semi final if they get there. Its also a bonus that the semi final should be a fairly straightforward match for whatever 2 teams come from the NZ/SA/Fr/Ire quarter finals.