The IRISH RUGBY thread

[Hardy]

Sometimes there is less pressure during a rebuilding phase than when these players hit their peak!

You wouldn't think so, given the pressure on Kidney at present. Maybe it's that Declan doesn't realise it's a rebuilding phase.

[Walter Cronc]

Sometimes there is less pressure during a rebuilding phase than when these players hit their peak!

You wouldn't think so, given the pressure on Kidney at present. Maybe it's that Declan doesn't realise it's a rebuilding phase.

I think its time the IRFU realise a rebuilding phase is required.

Those Leinster players should have the skill and execution to be capable of beating Scotland.

The golden era of Irish rugby was when it was backboned by Munster players.
More recently Leinster and now Ulster are supplying the bulk of them team and they have gone to sh1te.

Yep, Oh how Tipps finest son, Denis Leamy is missed, hands like feet that man!

He'd do much better than Jamie Feetslip at the moment.

Heaslip has come in for a lot a flack but his performance levels have been ok, he suffers from lack of competition. I think the real elephant in the back row as highlighted before the 6 Nations is Peter O'Mahony. In the last two games, he has carried 13 times for a total of 32 meters. He has made 5 tackles and taken 6 line outs. In the entire 6 Nations, he has passed the ball twice. 5 tackles for a 6 is just awful.  Henderson should start ahead of him the next day.

I think Heaslip has been very poor this year Dinny. His 2 dropped balls, lack of conviction in the Scotland game, his lack of carries and giving away penalties at bad times makes me think he shouldn't be Captain and concentrate on his own game.

Unfortunately Hook was correct in one thing he said Plans A, B and C are give the ball to Sean O'Brien and aside from that our other lads are not performing in terms of carries or else it's a call from Kidney.

On the next manager issue I can't see O'Shea coming in. I think he would want to finish what he has started with Quins and get himself the experience necessary to take the next step as an International manager.

If we can't get the likes of Schmidt/Cheika then I think Ruddock has to be up there. A proven International manager who has based himself in Ireland and looked after the youth setup surely he has to be the man to lead the transition!

Good call on Ruddock. Never really thought about him. Did Cheika not fall out badly with the senior Leinster players or am I imagining things?? Do Leinster fans on the board feel their policy of bringing through young players is working? I cant help but think of the likes of Macken, Conway, Jordi Murphy, Jack Mc Grath to name but a few have struggled to make the step up. Could it be a case whereby like any successful team youth policy is put on the back burner. If so should the IRFU distribute players equally across the 4 teams in order to maximise game time??

[seafoid]

Sometimes there is less pressure during a rebuilding phase than when these players hit their peak!

You wouldn't think so, given the pressure on Kidney at present. Maybe it's that Declan doesn't realise it's a rebuilding phase.

didn't he bring a meitheal of new players in ?

[johnneycool]

Sometimes there is less pressure during a rebuilding phase than when these players hit their peak!

You wouldn't think so, given the pressure on Kidney at present. Maybe it's that Declan doesn't realise it's a rebuilding phase.

didn't he bring a meitheal of new players in ?

Because injuries forced him into it.

[seafoid]

Sometimes there is less pressure during a rebuilding phase than when these players hit their peak!

You wouldn't think so, given the pressure on Kidney at present. Maybe it's that Declan doesn't realise it's a rebuilding phase.

didn't he bring a meitheal of new players in ?

Because injuries forced him into it.

I hope it isn't Sean Boylan syndrome

[highorlow]

It's Jay-Z's fault.

[seafoid]

It's Jay-Z's fault.

Jaysus

[Hound]

Healy got the all clear for France. Finally some good news.

[trileacman]

Healy got the all clear for France. Finally some good news.

Shouldn't have. If an English player did what he done and only got one match suspension I'd be livid. ERC fucked up the dates though. A premeditated and dangerous action, it's sets a dangerous precedent if that is only worth one match.

[muppet]

Healy got the all clear for France. Finally some good news.

Shouldn't have. If an English player did what he done and only got one match suspension I'd be livid. ERC fucked up the dates though. A premeditated and dangerous action, it's sets a dangerous precedent if that is only worth one match.

I agree it looked shocking, but Keith Wood's analysis of it on BBC was very interesting (to a non-rugby type like me). He said the stamp was slightly forward, which it was, but if it had been vertical (straight down) or with any rearward angle it would have been completely legal. He reckoned yellow card at the time and then end of the matter.

[Hound]

Healy got the all clear for France. Finally some good news.

Shouldn't have. If an English player did what he done and only got one match suspension I'd be livid. ERC fucked up the dates though. A premeditated and dangerous action, it's sets a dangerous precedent if that is only worth one match.

Absolute nonsense. Looked a lot worse than it actually was. Deserved a ban alright, but what he got was fair. The bit about not starting it for a week was bull and correctly overturned.

The English player involved (Dan Cole I think it was) gave evidence that he suffered no cuts or bruises as a result of the incident.

[Applesisapples]

Not an expert on Rugby by any means, but I have a number of thoughts or questions on this. Firstly why would the Captain insist that a youngster starting his first 6 nations match kick to the posts from an acute angle on his weaker side, why not kick for touch. Why then when presented with kickable penalties from the other side kick for touch when you know your lineup is shite and Rory Best couldn't have hit a dart board from 2 feet the way he was throwing. Why not develop and carry 2 or 3 kickers as other teams do and indeed other codes, (maybe Aaron Kernan could be drafted to take the left footers!) to take longer kicks and from left and right. Sexton is a leader on the pitch both vocally and the way he plays, why would his position stop him being captain, Rory Best is a leader even if he did have an off day, or is he too Ulster Proddy to captain Ireland? And finally the flack that Jackson has taken is unfair. I remember occasions when O'Gara missed easier kicks. Jackson was handed a difficult job on Sunday and one his Captain proceeded to make more difficult.

[thewobbler]

Not an expert on Rugby by any means, but I have a number of thoughts or questions on this. Firstly why would the Captain insist that a youngster starting his first 6 nations match kick to the posts from an acute angle on his weaker side, why not kick for touch. Why then when presented with kickable penalties from the other side kick for touch when you know your lineup is shite and Rory Best couldn't have hit a dart board from 2 feet the way he was throwing. Why not develop and carry 2 or 3 kickers as other teams do and indeed other codes, (maybe Aaron Kernan could be drafted to take the left footers!) to take longer kicks and from left and right. Sexton is a leader on the pitch both vocally and the way he plays, why would his position stop him being captain, Rory Best is a leader even if he did have an off day, or is he too Ulster Proddy to captain Ireland? And finally the flack that Jackson has taken is unfair. I remember occasions when O'Gara missed easier kicks. Jackson was handed a difficult job on Sunday and one his Captain proceeded to make more difficult.

Not an expert on Rugby by any means, but I have a number of thoughts or questions on this.

Firstly why would the Captain insist that a youngster starting his first 6 nations match kick to the posts from an acute angle on his weaker side, why not kick for touch.

He's an international place kicker. Nobody has 100% accuracy from kicking, but it's generally accepted that at the start of matches and in close matches, you take every kick at goal you can get.


Why then when presented with kickable penalties from the other side kick for touch when you know your lineup is shite and Rory Best couldn't have hit a dart board from 2 feet the way he was throwing.

Mainly because the captain had lost confidence  in his kicking ability. As for Rory Best, his throwing improved immeasurably over the course of the game, and he has been a key part of a strong irish line-out for a number of years.


Why not develop and carry 2 or 3 kickers as other teams do and indeed other codes, (maybe Aaron Kernan could be drafted to take the left footers!) to take longer kicks and from left and right.

If they haven't developed as reliable kickers by the time they become internationals, they're not going to do it when they are internationals. Booting an oval ball 50 yards is unnatural anyway, but doing so when 50,000 in the crowd and 500,000 at home demand excellence, will show up any flaws in techniques. There is an oddity in Irish rugby in that there are so few place kickers at provincial level who play anything but out-half, but that's not a problem the national team has created.


Sexton is a leader on the pitch both vocally and the way he plays, why would his position stop him being captain,

Because a no.10 is the most important decision maker in every attacking play, and needs to concentrate on that aspect of the game, they are rarely burdened with worrying about what forwards are up to, or who is doing what in defensive lines.


Rory Best is a leader even if he did have an off day, or is he too Ulster Proddy to captain Ireland?

Oh FFS, grow up.


And finally the flack that Jackson has taken is unfair. I remember occasions when O'Gara missed easier kicks. Jackson was handed a difficult job on Sunday and one his Captain proceeded to make more difficult.

Jackson hasn't actually taken that much flak. There's very few people who have been outwardly dismissive of him. There were bigger issues with Ireland's performance on Saturday. But in all likelihood, despite those issues, with a better kicker, Ireland would have probably won.

modified: Also, ROG has won more MOTM awards than he count for doing very little more than kicking the ball over the posts. That's the rub with being a placekicker; when you miss, it's all you.

[snoopdog]

Not an expert on Rugby by any means, but I have a number of thoughts or questions on this. Firstly why would the Captain insist that a youngster starting his first 6 nations match kick to the posts from an acute angle on his weaker side, why not kick for touch. Why then when presented with kickable penalties from the other side kick for touch when you know your lineup is shite and Rory Best couldn't have hit a dart board from 2 feet the way he was throwing. Why not develop and carry 2 or 3 kickers as other teams do and indeed other codes, (maybe Aaron Kernan could be drafted to take the left footers!) to take longer kicks and from left and right. Sexton is a leader on the pitch both vocally and the way he plays, why would his position stop him being captain, Rory Best is a leader even if he did have an off day, or is he too Ulster Proddy to captain Ireland? And finally the flack that Jackson has taken is unfair. I remember occasions when O'Gara missed easier kicks. Jackson was handed a difficult job on Sunday and one his Captain proceeded to make more difficult.

not an expert or do i want to be. Maybe they have the wrong guy as captain. also why would people call for Kidney to go. Is he not the only guy in 60 years to win anything for them. Short memories, the golden era of irish rugby is nearly at an end, they will never produce players like odriscoll etc again.
Like i say i know nothing about rugby, just an outsider looking in.

[screenexile]

Not an expert on Rugby by any means, but I have a number of thoughts or questions on this. Firstly why would the Captain insist that a youngster starting his first 6 nations match kick to the posts from an acute angle on his weaker side, why not kick for touch. Why then when presented with kickable penalties from the other side kick for touch when you know your lineup is shite and Rory Best couldn't have hit a dart board from 2 feet the way he was throwing. Why not develop and carry 2 or 3 kickers as other teams do and indeed other codes, (maybe Aaron Kernan could be drafted to take the left footers!) to take longer kicks and from left and right. Sexton is a leader on the pitch both vocally and the way he plays, why would his position stop him being captain, Rory Best is a leader even if he did have an off day, or is he too Ulster Proddy to captain Ireland? And finally the flack that Jackson has taken is unfair. I remember occasions when O'Gara missed easier kicks. Jackson was handed a difficult job on Sunday and one his Captain proceeded to make more difficult.

not an expert or do i want to be. Maybe they have the wrong guy as captain. also why would people call for Kidney to go. Is he not the only guy in 60 years to win anything for them. Short memories, the golden era of irish rugby is nearly at an end, they will never produce players like odriscoll etc again.
Like i say i know nothing about rugby, just an outsider looking in.

I wouldn't be too worried about Jackson as I think if they persevere with him there he will come good.

I can remember lads on here not that long ago saying Sexton wasn't up to it with the boot and that O'Gara should have held the No. 10 jersey and look how wrong that was. I think under Sexton Jackson will have a good tutelage and be Ireland's no. 10 within the next 5 years.