The IRISH RUGBY thread

[screenexile]

Andy Farrell to replace Schmidt after the 2019 World Cup.

Very strange announcement. . . he's going to "finish coaching"?

Cant understand why one of the World's top coaches would just stop at the height of this powers. The All Blacks or the Lions are probably both falling over themselves to have him I would have thought the Lions would be a great fit for him if he's looking to take a step back.

Good luck to him though he owes Irish Rugby nothing the results of his hard work are there to see!

[seafoid]

Andy Farrell to replace Schmidt after the 2019 World Cup.

Very strange announcement. . . he's going to "finish coaching"?

Cant understand why one of the World's top coaches would just stop at the height of this powers. The All Blacks or the Lions are probably both falling over themselves to have him I would have thought the Lions would be a great fit for him if he's looking to take a step back.

Good luck to him though he owes Irish Rugby nothing the results of his hard work are there to see!

a few years ago one of his kids was very sick

[Maroon Manc]

On paper Irelands best 15 looks around a similar level to the England team that won the World Cup or am I way off the mark?

[screenexile]

Andy Farrell to replace Schmidt after the 2019 World Cup.

Very strange announcement. . . he's going to "finish coaching"?

Cant understand why one of the World's top coaches would just stop at the height of this powers. The All Blacks or the Lions are probably both falling over themselves to have him I would have thought the Lions would be a great fit for him if he's looking to take a step back.

Good luck to him though he owes Irish Rugby nothing the results of his hard work are there to see!

a few years ago one of his kids was very sick

Didn't realise that at all his son has epilepsy as a result of a brain tumour from when he was 4.

https://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/six-nations/irish-news/joe-schmidt-ill-park-rugby-for-a-while-to-care-for-my-sick-son-31085146.html

[Walter Cronc]

On paper Irelands best 15 looks around a similar level to the England team that won the World Cup or am I way off the mark?

Tough one to answer. That England team was a serious outfit. Quite an old side and played generally a 10 man game.

[RedHand88]

There is still a way to go to the RWC but to be in the top 2 now means certain scenarios
come within reach, injuries, psychology and luck excepted.

If they did pull it off it would be bigger than Fermanagh winning San.

https://mobile.twitter.com/matt9dawson/status/1065553031385763843

Fermanagh aren't ranked the second strongest team ad probably never will be.

[seafoid]

There is still a way to go to the RWC but to be in the top 2 now means certain scenarios
come within reach, injuries, psychology and luck excepted.

If they did pull it off it would be bigger than Fermanagh winning San.

https://mobile.twitter.com/matt9dawson/status/1065553031385763843

Fermanagh aren't ranked the second strongest team ad probably never will be.

Weakest team in the old 5 nations by a very long shot
Still behind Scotland when you include 6N

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Nations_Championship#Overall

Grand Slams

England 13
France 9
Wales 11
Ireland 3

Wooden spoons

England 25
France   18
Wales      21
Scotland  33
Ireland   36

[Itchy]

130 odd wooden spoons? Is that possible? Doesn't that mean you lose every game?

[trueblue1234]

No just last.

[Hound]

130 odd wooden spoons? Is that possible? Doesn't that mean you lose every game?

124 tournaments.

The stats includes when the wooden spoon was shared. They only started using points difference in recent years (since early 90s I think).

Don't have to lose every game to "win" the wooden spoon. Bottom team is enough. Italy won it 13 times (only failed to win it 6 times!)

[Hound]

Weakest team in the old 5 nations by a very long shot
Still behind Scotland when you include 6N

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Nations_Championship#Overall

Grand Slams

England 13
France 9
Wales 11
Ireland 3

Wooden spoons

England 25
France   18
Wales      21
Scotland  33
Ireland   36

Interesting that Ireland seems to do well from the picking of Player of the Tournament awards, which began in 2004:

7: Ireland (won 4 championships in that time)
4: Wales (4 titles)
2: Scotland (0 titles)
1: Italy (0 titles)
1: England (3 titles)
0: France (3 titles)

D'Arcy, O'Driscoll (3), Bowe, O'Connell and Stockdale being the 7 Irish winners.

[Syferus]

Farrell seems the smart choice to replace Schmidt. I read that the only teams to prevent the All Blacks scoring a try in 23 years were us a week ago and the Lions last summer, both defensively coached by Farrell. Clearly he was about to get a head coaching job somewhere, so why not with us and try to ensure some continuity with our best ever management team post-WC?

England may come to regret letting Farrell walk in the aftermath of the Lancaster disaster.

[seafoid]

Weakest team in the old 5 nations by a very long shot
Still behind Scotland when you include 6N

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Nations_Championship#Overall

Grand Slams

England 13
France 9
Wales 11
Ireland 3

Wooden spoons

England 25
France   18
Wales      21
Scotland  33
Ireland   36

Interesting that Ireland seems to do well from the picking of Player of the Tournament awards, which began in 2004:

7: Ireland (won 4 championships in that time)
4: Wales (4 titles)
2: Scotland (0 titles)
1: Italy (0 titles)
1: England (3 titles)
0: France (3 titles)

D'Arcy, O'Driscoll (3), Bowe, O'Connell and Stockdale being the 7 Irish winners.

Ireland of all the countries reacted the best to professionalism (if you ignore drugs etc)
I was reading about France the other day . They have been a mess for 3 or 4 years.

[Bord na Mona man]

Weakest team in the old 5 nations by a very long shot
Still behind Scotland when you include 6N

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Nations_Championship#Overall

Grand Slams

England 13
France 9
Wales 11
Ireland 3

Wooden spoons

England 25
France   18
Wales      21
Scotland  33
Ireland   36

Interesting that Ireland seems to do well from the picking of Player of the Tournament awards, which began in 2004:

7: Ireland (won 4 championships in that time)
4: Wales (4 titles)
2: Scotland (0 titles)
1: Italy (0 titles)
1: England (3 titles)
0: France (3 titles)

D'Arcy, O'Driscoll (3), Bowe, O'Connell and Stockdale being the 7 Irish winners.

You can attach a degree of skepticism to some of those awards due to them being done by public vote.
Ronnie O'Brien was player of the tournament a couple of times.

[seafoid]

From the Torygraph . The view from Sasana . It's interesting how others see us. 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/2018/11/26/ireland-juggernaut-will-not-derailed-joe-schmidts-decision/

Joe Cary

Ireland juggernaut will not be derailed by Joe Schmidt's decision - it's all part of the masterplan
Andy Farrell will take over from Joe Schmidt next year CREDIT: PA


Joe Schmidt's decision to quit as Ireland head coach after next year's World Cup has come as no surprise.
Heavily trailed for weeks, the Kiwi all but confirmed he would go in his press conference following Saturday's win over the United States when he let slip that his bosses at the IRFU had urged him not to be "rash", adding that they were keen to continue discussions if he "changed his mind". Amusingly, Schmidt appeared to realise what he had just said, and tried his best to backtrack. But it was too late. It's about the only time he has dropped the ball in the five years he has been at the helm.
The big question now is how his departure in 12 months' time - and Andy Farrell's takeover as the main man - is likely to impact on Irish rugby, which is enjoying a period of unprecedented success and stability at the moment.
Second in the world rankings, Ireland's win over the All Blacks 10 days ago would have put them top of the pile had England held on in their clash against the world champions the previous week. A thriving provincial scene (led by Leinster, where Schmidt's impact was also felt as head coach from 2010 until 2013), central contracts, prolific academies, one of the strongest schools set-ups in the world... in some respects you would not want to be the coach taking over from Schmidt as the only way to go is down.
Farrell has a decent amount of credit in the bank. His stock is high after last year's Lions tour and Ireland's 2018 campaign; his ignominious exit from England in 2015 long forgotten. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph a fortnight ago, the IRFU's chief executive Philip Browne touted the Englishman for the top job should Schmidt move on, dismissing concerns about his lack of experience as a No 1. "Andy has been in international set-ups, and in the Lions set-up," Browne said. "He is more than capable of stepping up."
That may be so. And Farrell will certainly benefit from the structures and systems put in place by Schmidt and David Nucifora, the IRFU's performance director. Together the two men have got the Ireland set-up humming, shuffling players between provinces to ensure there is always a steady stream of talent coming through in every position, setting standards, ensuring continuity.
But we have seen before how coaches announcing their decisions to go in advance of their leaving date can alter a team dynamic. A patchy Six Nations, a less-than-brilliant World Cup, and the mood could sour before Farrell even takes over. Suddenly the prospect of a hard man, an Englishman, taking over the reins, might not be so popular.
Right now, with Ireland sweeping the board in Sunday's World Rugby awards, it is difficult to imagine that happening. The Irish juggernaut appears well set. And in many respects this move is typical Schmidt. All part of the masterplan. Rather than keep answering questions about his future, he has opted instead to remove all doubt and go with total clarity (presumably the decision to retire from coaching altogether is to prevent any possible speculation about the All Blacks role, one he can always reverse at a later date).
Now he can focus solely on trying to win Ireland the World Cup. He has 12 months to finish on a high.