The IRISH RUGBY thread

[GalwayBayBoy]

I'd expect an improvement for the NZ. The team looked undercooked for this one. The selection of Reddan and Toner suggests a bit of rotation anyway.
Marshall looked decent in attack, made a few breaks but didn't have support.
McFadden although the sort of player who only gets picked when there are 2-3 injuries wasn't bad either.

Most of the rest were various shades of bad, but at least O'Connell, O'Driscoll and Bowe have the ability to improve. O'Driscoll's graph is definitely on the downward, but he is well capable of putting in a couple of decent shifts before he goes.

After this Schmidt is better off is promoting the next generation that bit sooner rather than chasing 6 Nations. No use flogging the same crew.

This is precisely the mistake that Kidney & O'Sullivan made towards the end of their reigns. Their need for results meant they took no chances with selection. Look how long it took Mike Ross to get in.

Gatland has 2 won slams by giving Welsh youth its head. I hope Schmidt follows suit.

Unfortunately the next generation  isn't as good as the last. The penny will drop in time.

The Ireland U-20's have been in general very good since the U-20 6 nations was set-up in 2008. They've finished 4th, 2nd, 1st, 4th, joint 1st and 3rd. There are a lot of talented young players out there. Just maybe no once in a generation type of player like O'Driscoll. Even having one of those can make a big difference.

[thewobbler]

Some very harsh comments on here.  People who regard defeat by Australia as embarrassing.
People with short memories mostly.

Ireland are going through a lull. No doubt about it. But if we are good enough to freeze out Andrew Trimble and ignore Darren Cave, then we aren't that bad.

It's also probably fair to point out that Australia's defence was outstanding on Saturday. Ireland might have lacked a creative spark, but you still have to give credit where it's due.

[trileacman]

I think this thread has more "the world is ending moments" than any other on this board. Don't know where all this bullshit is coming from.

Ireland's defence was shocking the last day but before the match the line-up wasn't inspiring. Ross is over-rated he's not a great prop by international standards. The Australian Union wants to do away with scrums because they're so shite at it and we could only break parity with them. Close to half the scrums in the Premiership would be better than the Aussies.

I've said this one hundred thousand times and I'll say it again, Rory Best is a distinctly average as a hooker. His line-out throws hangs our line-out all the time. Flannery was at best a mild operator around the park but was one of, if not the best line-out darts man Ireland ever had. Toner is also a poor lock as well, he's just too tall which leaves him slow and easier to chop down.

Marshall was simply shocking, like horrificly bad. I thought D'Arcy had a better day than usual against Somoa shouldn't have been dropped. Sexton is top class, what f**king clown was dissing him earlier. Played and kicked us back into it in the 1st half, team went to shite when he went off, not beyond reasoning that we may have won had he stayed on given Madigan's role in Cooper's try.

[trileacman]

I'd expect an improvement for the NZ. The team looked undercooked for this one. The selection of Reddan and Toner suggests a bit of rotation anyway.
Marshall looked decent in attack, made a few breaks but didn't have support.
McFadden although the sort of player who only gets picked when there are 2-3 injuries wasn't bad either.

Most of the rest were various shades of bad, but at least O'Connell, O'Driscoll and Bowe have the ability to improve. O'Driscoll's graph is definitely on the downward, but he is well capable of putting in a couple of decent shifts before he goes.

After this Schmidt is better off is promoting the next generation that bit sooner rather than chasing 6 Nations. No use flogging the same crew.

This is precisely the mistake that Kidney & O'Sullivan made towards the end of their reigns. Their need for results meant they took no chances with selection. Look how long it took Mike Ross to get in.

Gatland has 2 won slams by giving Welsh youth its head. I hope Schmidt follows suit.

That's a simple buzz phrase and easy to throw out. What (specifically) young players are we missing out on and how do you justify the poor display by the young players at the weekend? It's simple to f**k the coach out of it at blame him for "not giving youth it's chance"  but that same youth wasn't much good for us on Saturday.

[anglocelt39]

Anybody else feel that the fact that we have two provinces that have been capable of holding their own or better in the Heineken Cup over the past ten years gives people unrealistic expectations of our prospects at International Level? Bottom line is that Ireland don't have the numbers playing the game relative to Poms, French, and it's a bit of an obsession in SA/Wales/NZ.

one Slam in 60 plus years and failure to get past a 1/4 final of a world cup suggests to us that we should not be expecting to beat the big guns every time we line out against them. Heineken cup success does not always have a positive effect at international level, witness Madigan's situation at Leinster at present.

Expect a much improved moral victory type performance on the weekend. Best Kiwi team ever not necessarily borne out by games against England and France in the last few weeks so hope for a credible fighting performance

[muppet]

I'd expect an improvement for the NZ. The team looked undercooked for this one. The selection of Reddan and Toner suggests a bit of rotation anyway.
Marshall looked decent in attack, made a few breaks but didn't have support.
McFadden although the sort of player who only gets picked when there are 2-3 injuries wasn't bad either.

Most of the rest were various shades of bad, but at least O'Connell, O'Driscoll and Bowe have the ability to improve. O'Driscoll's graph is definitely on the downward, but he is well capable of putting in a couple of decent shifts before he goes.

After this Schmidt is better off is promoting the next generation that bit sooner rather than chasing 6 Nations. No use flogging the same crew.

This is precisely the mistake that Kidney & O'Sullivan made towards the end of their reigns. Their need for results meant they took no chances with selection. Look how long it took Mike Ross to get in.

Gatland has 2 won slams by giving Welsh youth its head. I hope Schmidt follows suit.

That's a simple buzz phrase and easy to throw out. What (specifically) young players are we missing out on and how do you justify the poor display by the young players at the weekend? It's simple to f**k the coach out of it at blame him for "not giving youth it's chance"  but that same youth wasn't much good for us on Saturday.

Have you ever heard the phrase 'it is harder to get off the Irish team than to get on it'?

Rob Kearney  27
Tommy Bowe 29
Brian O'Driscoll 34
Luke Marshall 22
Fergus McFadden 27
Jonny Sexton 28
Eoin Reddan 32
Cian Healy 26
Rory Best 31
Mike Ross 33
Paul O'Connell 34
Devin Toner 27
Peter O'Mahoney 24
Sean O'Brien 26
Jamie Heaslip 29

Average: 28.6

Kidney and O'Sullivan cost us long term development in favour of short term results. IMHO it would be far better to do poorly with new young players in the 6N, rather than do slightly better than that, but with a team of the above.

[trileacman]

I'd expect an improvement for the NZ. The team looked undercooked for this one. The selection of Reddan and Toner suggests a bit of rotation anyway.
Marshall looked decent in attack, made a few breaks but didn't have support.
McFadden although the sort of player who only gets picked when there are 2-3 injuries wasn't bad either.

Most of the rest were various shades of bad, but at least O'Connell, O'Driscoll and Bowe have the ability to improve. O'Driscoll's graph is definitely on the downward, but he is well capable of putting in a couple of decent shifts before he goes.

After this Schmidt is better off is promoting the next generation that bit sooner rather than chasing 6 Nations. No use flogging the same crew.

This is precisely the mistake that Kidney & O'Sullivan made towards the end of their reigns. Their need for results meant they took no chances with selection. Look how long it took Mike Ross to get in.

Gatland has 2 won slams by giving Welsh youth its head. I hope Schmidt follows suit.

That's a simple buzz phrase and easy to throw out. What (specifically) young players are we missing out on and how do you justify the poor display by the young players at the weekend? It's simple to f**k the coach out of it at blame him for "not giving youth it's chance"  but that same youth wasn't much good for us on Saturday.

Have you ever heard the phrase 'it is harder to get off the Irish team than to get on it'?

Rob Kearney  27
Tommy Bowe 29
Brian O'Driscoll 34
Luke Marshall 22
Fergus McFadden 27
Jonny Sexton 28
Eoin Reddan 32
Cian Healy 26
Rory Best 31
Mike Ross 33
Paul O'Connell 34
Devin Toner 27
Peter O'Mahoney 24
Sean O'Brien 26
Jamie Heaslip 29

Average: 28.6

Kidney and O'Sullivan cost us long term development in favour of short term results. IMHO it would be far better to do poorly with new young players in the 6N, rather than do slightly better than that, but with a team of the above.

You completely ignored my question. If I'd asked you the average age of the Irish then that would've been grand but in reality that post says sweet f**k all.

[muppet]

I'd expect an improvement for the NZ. The team looked undercooked for this one. The selection of Reddan and Toner suggests a bit of rotation anyway.
Marshall looked decent in attack, made a few breaks but didn't have support.
McFadden although the sort of player who only gets picked when there are 2-3 injuries wasn't bad either.

Most of the rest were various shades of bad, but at least O'Connell, O'Driscoll and Bowe have the ability to improve. O'Driscoll's graph is definitely on the downward, but he is well capable of putting in a couple of decent shifts before he goes.

After this Schmidt is better off is promoting the next generation that bit sooner rather than chasing 6 Nations. No use flogging the same crew.

This is precisely the mistake that Kidney & O'Sullivan made towards the end of their reigns. Their need for results meant they took no chances with selection. Look how long it took Mike Ross to get in.

Gatland has 2 won slams by giving Welsh youth its head. I hope Schmidt follows suit.

That's a simple buzz phrase and easy to throw out. What (specifically) young players are we missing out on and how do you justify the poor display by the young players at the weekend? It's simple to f**k the coach out of it at blame him for "not giving youth it's chance"  but that same youth wasn't much good for us on Saturday.

Have you ever heard the phrase 'it is harder to get off the Irish team than to get on it'?

Rob Kearney  27
Tommy Bowe 29
Brian O'Driscoll 34
Luke Marshall 22
Fergus McFadden 27
Jonny Sexton 28
Eoin Reddan 32
Cian Healy 26
Rory Best 31
Mike Ross 33
Paul O'Connell 34
Devin Toner 27
Peter O'Mahoney 24
Sean O'Brien 26
Jamie Heaslip 29

Average: 28.6

Kidney and O'Sullivan cost us long term development in favour of short term results. IMHO it would be far better to do poorly with new young players in the 6N, rather than do slightly better than that, but with a team of the above.

You completely ignored my question. If I'd asked you the average age of the Irish then that would've been grand but in reality that post says sweet f**k all.

You said: 'but that same youth wasn't much good for us on Saturday."

You also asked what youth is out there.

Assuming you are suggesting that there is no decent young Irish players then do we play next years Autumn Internationals with the same team only a year older? Or is there any hope at all of finding even 1 player that might bring that average age down?

[michaelg]

I think this thread has more "the world is ending moments" than any other on this board. Don't know where all this bullshit is coming from.

Ireland's defence was shocking the last day but before the match the line-up wasn't inspiring. Ross is over-rated he's not a great prop by international standards. The Australian Union wants to do away with scrums because they're so shite at it and we could only break parity with them. Close to half the scrums in the Premiership would be better than the Aussies.

I've said this one hundred thousand times and I'll say it again, Rory Best is a distinctly average as a hooker. His line-out throws hangs our line-out all the time. Flannery was at best a mild operator around the park but was one of, if not the best line-out darts man Ireland ever had. Toner is also a poor lock as well, he's just too tall which leaves him slow and easier to chop down.

Marshall was simply shocking, like horrificly bad. I thought D'Arcy had a better day than usual against Somoa shouldn't have been dropped. Sexton is top class, what f**king clown was dissing him earlier. Played and kicked us back into it in the 1st half, team went to shite when he went off, not beyond reasoning that we may have won had he stayed on given Madigan's role in Cooper's try.

Marshall really that bad?  Thought he made a few good breaks but had no support.  As for missed tackle, arguably that was as much Madigan's fault.

[BarryBreensBandage]

The issue that I have with the team at the moment is that you would see them quicker in a commercial or on the entertainment pages in the paper than playing Rugby.
It is as if the majority have made their name and are cashing in before retirement, without actually playing too much Rugby in case they get banjaxed.
I have never seen such legendary men look so apathetic as they were on Saturday. At least Sexton looked as if he gave a f**k. The rest were chasing shadows.

[trileacman]

I think this thread has more "the world is ending moments" than any other on this board. Don't know where all this bullshit is coming from.

Ireland's defence was shocking the last day but before the match the line-up wasn't inspiring. Ross is over-rated he's not a great prop by international standards. The Australian Union wants to do away with scrums because they're so shite at it and we could only break parity with them. Close to half the scrums in the Premiership would be better than the Aussies.

I've said this one hundred thousand times and I'll say it again, Rory Best is a distinctly average as a hooker. His line-out throws hangs our line-out all the time. Flannery was at best a mild operator around the park but was one of, if not the best line-out darts man Ireland ever had. Toner is also a poor lock as well, he's just too tall which leaves him slow and easier to chop down.

Marshall was simply shocking, like horrificly bad. I thought D'Arcy had a better day than usual against Somoa shouldn't have been dropped. Sexton is top class, what f**king clown was dissing him earlier. Played and kicked us back into it in the 1st half, team went to shite when he went off, not beyond reasoning that we may have won had he stayed on given Madigan's role in Cooper's try.

Marshall really that bad?  Thought he made a few good breaks but had no support.  As for missed tackle, arguably that was as much Madigan's fault.

I think Marshall is being blamed too strongly for the missed tackle too but at the same time i watched the replay of it again there and Cooper runs a straight line for Marshall, in fact he brushes against his back as he moves past him, when the ball carrier gets that close you should really be tackling him regardless of who you're marking. Madigan covered the inside option which was pretty f**king stupid considering you've your entire back row peeling off a scrum behind you.

Another lad who is getting a free run is O'Mahoney, horrible missed tackle for the 2nd try. I mean Bowe clearly dictated he was marking the outside man which is what some coaches insist upon. O'Mahoney, for a back-rower whose whole game is based on this grunt work was very poor at tackling the 6, didn't go low and chop him down, didn't go man and ball either, poor work from a position you would rely on good tackles coming from.

First try, Ross and Reddan are to blame with Bowe and O'Driscoll also culpable in a way. Ross stands off the 6 then him again allowing an offload, O'Driscoll stands off his man, then commits when the pass is away, Bowe likewise stands off his man. Reddan blocks Kearney  and falls on his hole liek a ragdoll. Kearney would likely have slowed Cummins enough to allow him to be tackled before the line by some of the backrowers.

[trileacman]

You said: 'but that same youth wasn't much good for us on Saturday."

You also asked what youth is out there.

Assuming you are suggesting that there is no decent young Irish players then do we play next years Autumn Internationals with the same team only a year older? Or is there any hope at all of finding even 1 player that might bring that average age down?

I asked who specifically are those young players, in the guts of 100 words you haven't named one. Is it really that f**king hard to come up with a name or two considering you think you've discovered the saving grace of Irish rugby.

I mean we could all fart on here about what needs to be done with all the old cliches. I mean I could say, Schmidt needs to work on his defence, he needs to add depth to front row, he needs to add inventiveness to the backs, or the old chestnut, he needs to unearth some new talent. But that's all a load of piss that could be spouted by any arsehole with a passing knowledge of rugby terminology. I mean every nation in world rugby needs to "unearth some new talent", so what's the point of stating that the blindingly obvious.

[muppet]

You said: 'but that same youth wasn't much good for us on Saturday."

You also asked what youth is out there.

Assuming you are suggesting that there is no decent young Irish players then do we play next years Autumn Internationals with the same team only a year older? Or is there any hope at all of finding even 1 player that might bring that average age down?

I asked who specifically are those young players, in the guts of 100 words you haven't named one. Is it really that f**king hard to come up with a name or two considering you think you've discovered the saving grace of Irish rugby.

I mean we could all fart on here about what needs to be done with all the old cliches. I mean I could say, Schmidt needs to work on his defence, he needs to add depth to front row, he needs to add inventiveness to the backs, or the old chestnut, he needs to unearth some new talent. But that's all a load of piss that could be spouted by any arsehole with a passing knowledge of rugby terminology. I mean every nation in world rugby needs to "unearth some new talent", so what's the point of stating that the blindingly obvious.

If it is so obvious why are you disagreeing with it? Just to have a rant?

I listed the ages of the players and the average age of the team to make my point. I also pointed out that in this scenario in the past Irish coaches stuck with the old players which in my view is a mistake. I am curious to see what Schmidt does in this regard. You don't say whether you disagree with this or not, you just hurl a load of insults via the cliched route you so despise.

You are obviously a real expert and no opinion that isn't along the lines of your own can possibly be considered so why don't you just 'ignore' me and immunise yourself from the lowly opinions of unworthy others?

[Tony Baloney]

You said: 'but that same youth wasn't much good for us on Saturday."

You also asked what youth is out there.

Assuming you are suggesting that there is no decent young Irish players then do we play next years Autumn Internationals with the same team only a year older? Or is there any hope at all of finding even 1 player that might bring that average age down?

I asked who specifically are those young players, in the guts of 100 words you haven't named one. Is it really that f**king hard to come up with a name or two considering you think you've discovered the saving grace of Irish rugby.

I mean we could all fart on here about what needs to be done with all the old cliches. I mean I could say, Schmidt needs to work on his defence, he needs to add depth to front row, he needs to add inventiveness to the backs, or the old chestnut, he needs to unearth some new talent. But that's all a load of piss that could be spouted by any arsehole with a passing knowledge of rugby terminology. I mean every nation in world rugby needs to "unearth some new talent", so what's the point of stating that the blindingly obvious.

If it is so obvious why are you disagreeing with it? Just to have a rant?

I listed the ages of the players and the average age of the team to make my point. I also pointed out that in this scenario in the past Irish coaches stuck with the old players which in my view is a mistake. I am curious to see what Schmidt does in this regard. You don't say whether you disagree with this or not, you just hurl a load of insults via the cliched route you so despise.

You are obviously a real expert and no opinion that isn't along the lines of your own can possibly be considered so why don't you just 'ignore' me and immunise yourself from the lowly opinions of unworthy others?

Nobody loves a rant like trileacman.

[Walter Cronc]

You said: 'but that same youth wasn't much good for us on Saturday."

You also asked what youth is out there.

Assuming you are suggesting that there is no decent young Irish players then do we play next years Autumn Internationals with the same team only a year older? Or is there any hope at all of finding even 1 player that might bring that average age down?

I asked who specifically are those young players, in the guts of 100 words you haven't named one. Is it really that f**king hard to come up with a name or two considering you think you've discovered the saving grace of Irish rugby.

I mean we could all fart on here about what needs to be done with all the old cliches. I mean I could say, Schmidt needs to work on his defence, he needs to add depth to front row, he needs to add inventiveness to the backs, or the old chestnut, he needs to unearth some new talent. But that's all a load of piss that could be spouted by any arsehole with a passing knowledge of rugby terminology. I mean every nation in world rugby needs to "unearth some new talent", so what's the point of stating that the blindingly obvious.

If it is so obvious why are you disagreeing with it? Just to have a rant?

I listed the ages of the players and the average age of the team to make my point. I also pointed out that in this scenario in the past Irish coaches stuck with the old players which in my view is a mistake. I am curious to see what Schmidt does in this regard. You don't say whether you disagree with this or not, you just hurl a load of insults via the cliched route you so despise.

You are obviously a real expert and no opinion that isn't along the lines of your own can possibly be considered so why don't you just 'ignore' me and immunise yourself from the lowly opinions of unworthy others?

Nobody loves a rant like trileacman.

+1

Must be a big Clogher Valley man or worse plays for the 'Skins'...