The IRISH RUGBY thread

[seafoid]

No it was a great step forward as it demonstrated that we can compete with the best, sustaining that effort is the task for the coaches. 3 home wins and a win in either Paris or London is a realistic goal and could gives us a 6 nations title. Our bread and butter, not one off tests.

We've done that before though. Outplaying NZ in their back yard and then getting hockeyed as comeuppance. Beating Australia in the World Cup and then losing to Wales.

We have and have had over the last 15 years the talent to compete with the very best. The challenge is to a) compete regularly and consistently and b) turn competitiveness into wins.

Nz are like kerry, the cats, Bayern , Real, Man U etc. They can win even playing badly. They will.score in the last minute if they have to and the opposition know it too. But they have a poor record in rwc finals against other born winners.
Ireland are more like Mayo, Cavan, Dortmund, Atletico etc. will lose a majority of finals. Know they will. 

[Cyril Farrell fan]

Cluxton would have nailed that last penalty.

[laoislad]

Did we win?

[Sidney]

A fine day for Mayo GAA. Castlebar Mitchels win the Connacht title and Mayo are no longer the biggest bottlers in Irish sport.

[seafoid]

A fine day for Mayo GAA. Castlebar Mitchels win the Connacht title and Mayo are no longer the biggest bottlers in Irish sport.

Crossmolina and Ballina won the all Ireland recently enough. They are well able for anyone at club level.

[From the Bunker]

A fine day for Mayo GAA. Castlebar Mitchels win the Connacht title and Mayo are no longer the biggest bottlers in Irish sport.

Crossmolina and Ballina won the all Ireland recently enough. They are well able for anyone at club level.

And this years Minor?

[Sidney]

I should clarify. A result in another code today has cruelly taken the Mayo senior inter-county football team's title as biggest bottlers in Irish sport.

Never can that accusation be levelled at them again.

[J OGorman]

I should clarify. A result in another code today has cruelly taken the Mayo senior inter-county football team's title as biggest bottlers in Irish sport.

Never can that accusation be levelled at them again.

A parrot wouldn't have a look in

[seafoid]

I should clarify. A result in another code today has cruelly taken the Mayo senior inter-county football team's title as biggest bottlers in Irish sport.

Never can that accusation be levelled at them again.

What about Limerick hurlers?
It's a rich field.

[rodney trotter]

No it was a great step forward as it demonstrated that we can compete with the best, sustaining that effort is the task for the coaches. 3 home wins and a win in either Paris or London is a realistic goal and could gives us a 6 nations title. Our bread and butter, not one off tests.

We've done that before though. Outplaying NZ in their back yard and then getting hockeyed as comeuppance. Beating Australia in the World Cup and then losing to Wales.

We have and have had over the last 15 years the talent to compete with the very best. The challenge is to a) compete regularly and consistently and b) turn competitiveness into wins.

Nz are like kerry, the cats, Bayern , Real, Man U etc. They can win even playing badly. They will.score in the last minute if they have to and the opposition know it too. But they have a poor record in rwc finals against other born winners.
Ireland are more like Mayo, Cavan, Dortmund, Atletico etc. will lose a majority of finals. Know they will. 

You left out your native Galway Hurlers, in the poor record bracket, since you're being all patronising about it.

[Sidney]

Devastation is the only way I can sum up my reaction to New Zealand's last gasp try.

We'd put in such a monumental effort. The home crowd had roared us on all day. We were the better team. But a crucial mistake in the last minute when we had the game at our mercy cost us, and there's no better team than World Champions New Zealand to punish you. People may say we choked, people may say we tried to hang onto the lead too much and went negative, but that's rubbish in my view.

Our players gave everything and I'm particularly gutted for them. A two point loss and a great performance is scant consolation for losing a golden chance we may never get again to an injury-time try and conversion. It's also sad that it was our greatest ever and most capped player's last chance to deliver on the big stage against top southern hemisphere opposition.

Nevertheless, I will continue to support our team.

I'm proud to be an England rugby league supporter.

Kevin Sinfield - all-time legend.

[Zulu]

Kevin Sinfield - all-time legend.

Didn't he have his own TV show before? It was a show about nothing which is a bit like your post.

[Sidney]

Kevin Sinfield - all-time legend.

Didn't he have his own TV show before? It was a show about nothing which is a bit like your post.

About nothing is what Ireland got in the second half today.

[guy crouchback]

i was at the game yesterday. it was heartbreaking at the end, with 30 seconds to go it looked like we had it but once the all blacks got the ball there was a sense of inevitability about what was going to happen.

a few thoughts on the rugby experience. i have only been at two rugby matches before an ireland V Italy 6 nations match and a lenister V ospreys ( i think) Heineken cup game in the Aviva. both were very underwhelming experiences, poor games with a poor and contrived atmosphere.
today was very different, the atmosphere was electric and as a sporting occasion it was up with the best i have attended, in fact  atmosphere wise it was only bettered by mayo -Dublin in 2006 and the Olympic stadium in London the night the mo Farah and Jessica Ennis won( i just happend to be there that night).
the only real negative  was the incessant drinking during the game. now i like a drink as much as the next man and watching rugby on the TV  i always thought what a good idea it was to be able to bring your drink to your seat. the reality though it a bit different. for a lot of people its not enough to have a pint per half, they are up and down and in and out throughout the game. there is a constant stream of people in and out to the bar, half the crowd left their seats with 5 mins to go in the first half and didn't come back until 5- 10 mins into the second half. then 15 mins later they were off again except this time it was not enough to send one guy to get the drinks the 2 or 3 of them had to go together, for a piss presumably.
it was only for the last 10 Min's that everyone stayed in their bloody seats.

[Orior]

Yesterday was a friendly. No big deal really.