The IRISH RUGBY thread

[ranch]

Clive Woodward? Robinson (ex Scotland boss)?

Not saying I would want either but just wondering what the opinions of others would be?

[haze]

Clive Woodward? Robinson (ex Scotland boss)?

Not saying I would want either but just wondering what the opinions of others would be?

instant mass emigration

[Dinny Breen]

Ewen McKenzie is the  name all over twitter - former Aussie  prop forward and coach of the Queensland Reds winner of the 2011 Super 15 - would be an interesting appointment

[Crete Boom]

Ewen McKenzie is the  name all over twitter - former Aussie  prop forward and coach of the Queensland Reds winner of the 2011 Super 15 - would be an interesting appointment

Now that would be an interesting appointment. Some of the coaches being mentioned fill me with dread to be honest. Mick Bradley as Dinny hinted at ,owes his longevity at Connacht due to who his is married to rather than anything he did on the training field. The amount of young local players that left or quit professional rugby in Connacht under his tenure was criminal to be honest. Obviously O' Shea would be a decent appointment but more on a Director of Rugby role than traditional head coach so some structures would have to be changed to allow him do his job correctly and I don't think this can be done in the short term but I would hope he might be considered post the next world cup.
One of the best solutions I have read is to approach Vern Cotter to team up again with Joe Schmit to take us to the 2015 world cup. It would suit them well to further their ambitions to be the next All Blacks coaching ticket and would guide us well through our mini rebuilding process that has already started. Ideally then this would allow O'Shea to finish off his job with Quins and hopefully some good young coaches like Anthony Foley , Bernard Jackman , Nigel Carolan , Peter Smyth would have moved up and gained more experience allowing Ireland to have good local knowledge on the next coaching ticket. Lastly we need to sort out the scrum guru appointment A.S.A.P. or face another few years of crossing our fingers at every scrum !!

[Denn Forever]

Lastly we need to sort out the scrum guru appointment A.S.A.P. or face another few years of crossing our fingers at every scrum !!

I thought I heard one of the commentators saying that due to the difficulties with the scrum, there was talk of having uncontested scrums.  Any truth in this?

[johnneycool]

Lastly we need to sort out the scrum guru appointment A.S.A.P. or face another few years of crossing our fingers at every scrum !!

I thought I heard one of the commentators saying that due to the difficulties with the scrum, there was talk of having uncontested scrums.  Any truth in this?

15 aside rugby league is on its way I tell you.

[NAG1]

Its a farce, the refs either dont know the rules regarding the scrum or dont want to enforce them. All these commentators keep talking about how crucial the set pieces are in rugby and the scrum is a big weapon, every game it has been a total joke in the 6N. Either hitting too early or not binding or the pitches not being able to take it, its been pathetic.

[Bord na Mona man]

The players in the front rows should put a medicine ball under their chests to stop scrums collapsing.

[screenexile]

I wouldn't take much heed of your mans Lions selection. There's no mention of Tipuric for a start who has to be on the plane. Out of our current crop that have played the 6N you're talking about Best, O'Driscoll, Sexton, O'Brien that should be on the Lions tour. There is a case not to take anyone else although you would think D Ryan, Healy, Kearney and Heaslip could conceivably get a call.

Also you could possibly have Tommy Bowe, O'Connell, Ferris, Strauss but that depends on how they shape up when they come back from injury.

[Crete Boom]

Lastly we need to sort out the scrum guru appointment A.S.A.P. or face another few years of crossing our fingers at every scrum !!

I thought I heard one of the commentators saying that due to the difficulties with the scrum, there was talk of having uncontested scrums.  Any truth in this?

I haven't heard any of this but personally I would be against it because the scrum is one of the best attacking weapons left in the modern game. The last I heard was they were going to trial the old school way of of the front rows binding first at then the rest of the pack engaging to eliminate the uncertainty of the hit in the Pacific Islands tournament this summer. It would eliminate a lot of the collapsing due to bad footing and illegal binds etc...

[lynchbhoy]

It's a joke giving out about poor officiating of scrums.
Refs could blow every minute of every game for offside, forward passes, fouls in rucks etc etc but so many infringements would destroy the games and their allure- so refs let a hell of a lot go.

The solution to the last big problem - lifting in the line out - was to allow lifting in the line out.

The scrum needs fixing or neutering before people start getting hurt ( or I stop watching with the sound on at scrums listening to Brian Moore give out about them!).

Up until recent times when line outs were changed and 5 points for a try awarded instead of 4- I have to say that rugby league at that time was more exciting to watch after they changed their own rules to jazz it up.

This entire 6n was a bore fest of teams having no ability or creativity to break through opponents lines and defenses. Seemingly relying on kicking to them to put them deep back into their half and hope they make a mistake and capitalize on it ( like Ireland did in the first half to wales).

This years 6n reminded me of the late 80's kicking matches between out halves. I thought we had seen the last of that dross but obv not.
Rule changes required pdq IMO!

[Main Street]

Keep the scrums,
means I can speed through a sky plus recording of a game inside 40 minutes.

[thewobbler]

It's a joke giving out about poor officiating of scrums.
Refs could blow every minute of every game for offside, forward passes, fouls in rucks etc etc but so many infringements would destroy the games and their allure- so refs let a hell of a lot go.

The solution to the last big problem - lifting in the line out - was to allow lifting in the line out.

The scrum needs fixing or neutering before people start getting hurt ( or I stop watching with the sound on at scrums listening to Brian Moore give out about them!).

Up until recent times when line outs were changed and 5 points for a try awarded instead of 4- I have to say that rugby league at that time was more exciting to watch after they changed their own rules to jazz it up.

This entire 6n was a bore fest of teams having no ability or creativity to break through opponents lines and defenses. Seemingly relying on kicking to them to put them deep back into their half and hope they make a mistake and capitalize on it ( like Ireland did in the first half to wales).

This years 6n reminded me of the late 80's kicking matches between out halves. I thought we had seen the last of that dross but obv not.
Rule changes required pdq IMO!

I'd agree with all of the above, and I'd go further again to stay that the standard of line kicking was also brutal. Somebody smarter than me can explain why out halves are struggling to kick from hand further than 30m.

It's too early to say if rugby has reached a crossroads, but if a player of 6' 3" and 16 stone is considered normal to small, then theres's never going to be much room out there and the game probably has two choices: bigger pitches or fewer players.

[NAG1]

It's a joke giving out about poor officiating of scrums.
Refs could blow every minute of every game for offside, forward passes, fouls in rucks etc etc but so many infringements would destroy the games and their allure- so refs let a hell of a lot go.

The solution to the last big problem - lifting in the line out - was to allow lifting in the line out.

The scrum needs fixing or neutering before people start getting hurt ( or I stop watching with the sound on at scrums listening to Brian Moore give out about them!).

Up until recent times when line outs were changed and 5 points for a try awarded instead of 4- I have to say that rugby league at that time was more exciting to watch after they changed their own rules to jazz it up.

This entire 6n was a bore fest of teams having no ability or creativity to break through opponents lines and defenses. Seemingly relying on kicking to them to put them deep back into their half and hope they make a mistake and capitalize on it ( like Ireland did in the first half to wales).

This years 6n reminded me of the late 80's kicking matches between out halves. I thought we had seen the last of that dross but obv not.
Rule changes required pdq IMO!

I'd agree with all of the above, and I'd go further again to stay that the standard of line kicking was also brutal. Somebody smarter than me can explain why out halves are struggling to kick from hand further than 30m.

It's too early to say if rugby has reached a crossroads, but if a player of 6' 3" and 16 stone is considered normal to small, then theres's never going to be much room out there and the game probably has two choices: bigger pitches or fewer players.

To me there is something inherently wrong with being rewarded for kicking the ball out of play in the first instance no matter if they kick is 10 or 30m its still yet another break in play but that is a fundamental problem I have with the game personally.

[thewobbler]

To me there is something inherently wrong with being rewarded for kicking the ball out of play in the first instance no matter if they kick is 10 or 30m its still yet another break in play but that is a fundamental problem I have with the game personally.

Disagree. For me, the beauty of rugby union(compared to league) is the tactical emphasis on field position as well as possession. It's not kicking the ball out of play, it's kicking for position. League suffers in comparison as a spectacle, simply because it is a monotonously repetitive game.