The IRISH RUGBY thread

[screenexile]

What do we think about Ulster with Kiss? That's a pretty impressive result against a fairly strong Toulouse pack. From what I can see Ulster are best placed of the Provinces at the minute with the systems they have in place and the young players coming through as well as having the most experienced coach in all the Provinces.

They still have a lot of quality there and if they can hold on to Pienaar and bring Olding/Marshall/McCloskey/Jackson through they have a decent back line as well. Add to that Piutau coming next year and they could be formidable.

It will be interesting to see if they can secure one of the best Runner up spots. They won't win it but there should at least be one Irish team challenging the big guns!

[Walter Cronc]

Jackman has done well with very limited resources at Grenoble. Deserves a shot in my book. Probably should have got the Leinster gig over Cullen!

He's a bluffer.

Based on what Dinny?? Very harsh there. The man had the bottle to go and prove himself in the French league AS A COACH! Give me him any day over the likes of Neil Doak - jobs for the boys if ever I saw it!

[Walter Cronc]

What do we think about Ulster with Kiss? That's a pretty impressive result against a fairly strong Toulouse pack. From what I can see Ulster are best placed of the Provinces at the minute with the systems they have in place and the young players coming through as well as having the most experienced coach in all the Provinces.

They still have a lot of quality there and if they can hold on to Pienaar and bring Olding/Marshall/McCloskey/Jackson through they have a decent back line as well. Add to that Piutau coming next year and they could be formidable.

It will be interesting to see if they can secure one of the best Runner up spots. They won't win it but there should at least be one Irish team challenging the big guns!

I rate Kiss big time SE. Think he'll do really well. He has to clear out a few mugs like Doak and Malone from the coaching set up though. If 'we' get Olding back fit and in form that'll be a huge boost. Stuart McCloskey keeps impressing me. Offensively he's not far off Henshaw's ability in passing and handling. If he tightens up his defence he could be international standard for sure!

I worry about the forwards (or lack of) in Ulster though. Doesn't appear to be many coming through. That's why the likes of Dominic Ryan should be sent up the road to develop!

The biggest mistake Ulster ever made was getting rid of Brian McLaughlin. Superb rugby brain!

[Dinny Breen]

Jackman has done well with very limited resources at Grenoble. Deserves a shot in my book. Probably should have got the Leinster gig over Cullen!

He's a bluffer.

Based on what Dinny?? Very harsh there. The man had the bottle to go and prove himself in the French league AS A COACH! Give me him any day over the likes of Neil Doak - jobs for the boys if ever I saw it!

Perhaps but it's based on knowing him and have experienced 4 club sides he coached in Ireland. How do you think Jackman got the gig in France, he is good mates with Andrew Farley who is the Team Manager in Grenoble, they played together at Connacht. He went over initially as a defensive consultant and it developed from there. I will give him credit he's doing alright with Grenoble but I would like to see him develop and take another club on before an Irish provincial gig.

Agree on Doak and indeed the current nepotism in Leinster/Ulster/Munster.

[Dinny Breen]

What do we think about Ulster with Kiss? That's a pretty impressive result against a fairly strong Toulouse pack. From what I can see Ulster are best placed of the Provinces at the minute with the systems they have in place and the young players coming through as well as having the most experienced coach in all the Provinces.

They still have a lot of quality there and if they can hold on to Pienaar and bring Olding/Marshall/McCloskey/Jackson through they have a decent back line as well. Add to that Piutau coming next year and they could be formidable.

It will be interesting to see if they can secure one of the best Runner up spots. They won't win it but there should at least be one Irish team challenging the big guns!

I rate Kiss big time SE. Think he'll do really well. He has to clear out a few mugs like Doak and Malone from the coaching set up though. If 'we' get Olding back fit and in form that'll be a huge boost. Stuart McCloskey keeps impressing me. Offensively he's not far off Henshaw's ability in passing and handling. If he tightens up his defence he could be international standard for sure!

I worry about the forwards (or lack of) in Ulster though. Doesn't appear to be many coming through. That's why the likes of Dominic Ryan should be sent up the road to develop!

The biggest mistake Ulster ever made was getting rid of Brian McLaughlin. Superb rugby brain!

This. Ulster just aren't producing any forwards apart from Henderson. This is where Kiss will earn is corn, if even sign astutely and develop what's there Ulster could be in a really good position going forward.

It's not all doom and gloom - Connacht and Ulster are getting things right. The other two have some real quality coming through I just worry that the coaching teams are just not good enough.

[guy crouchback]

I'm not a big rugby man but i like to watch it on the telly and have gone to a few internationals and enjoyed it. over the years i have admired what i though was the professionalism of Irish rugby as a whole especially compered to the FAI.

that's why i was genuinely flabbergasted when Munster and then leinster appointed 2 ex- players to their most senior coaching roles.  the Foley won looked crazy from the outside looking in but i presumed that the people in charge knew more then i did.
then to see leinster do exactly the same thing!!

it could be a story line from a Ross o carroll kelly  article. Ross somehow gets the job of appointing the manages and against all advise  goes with 2 of the good Goys from the old team, hilarity ensures.

[deiseach]

Jeez, the amount of times I've seen France get booed by their own crowd over the years - often when they were winning! I know it's not nice when it's aimed at one person, but they are doing Keatley no favours with all this bleating in the press. As for the RESPECT thing they've come up with . . . ridiculous.

[ashman]

Munster & Leinster are classic cases of "be careful what you wish for".

Previous coaches McGahan and O Connor were slated by "fans" who could not see the writing on the wall.  Their reigns will be seen as decent in hindsight.

[AZOffaly]

Looks like Axel is getting a contract extension. That 's bound to go down well. There are notions of changes to the backroom staff, so that might be a positive. Although one of those names mooted is Michael Bradley as a defense coach. Not sure that's going to excite the Red Army, although he has to be better than costello.

[Dinny Breen]

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/irishnews/sport/article4642863.ece?shareToken=43349790a5ed59059de73bb2277e1bad

Coincidence or is Denis Walsh a fan of the board?

[AZOffaly]

It's hard to believe how off the mark some of these lads are. You'd almost think it's intentional. This jeering was not a reaction at Keatley per se, but it is a manifestation of the sense of frustration amongst the Munster fans that this thing is being mismanaged spectacularly.

The cash situation is making it even more imperative that Munster optimise what they have, in terms of playing staff, coaching staff, game plan and off the pitch business.

The frustration is that most Munster fans feel that none of those 4, particularly the latter three, are being adequately managed.

The jeering last week was a symptom of an underlying disquiet, and Ian Keatley is the least of the worries.

The fact that Munster, the ex-players in the media and the other media members (take a bow Newstalk), don't seem to be able to grasp this is very worrying, and it makes me think they are on the verge of killing the goose that's still laying the golden egg, however tarnished that egg might be.

The fans are not falling out of love with Munster, the team, they are falling out of love with the way it is being run. If those running it continue to feed this narrative, well, lets just say they won't be long losing the gains in Clare, Kerry, Waterford and Tipp.

[Dinny Breen]

(take a bow Newstalk)

Big fan of Newstalk but Wood, BOD, Thornley, Horgan, Hogan, O'Sullivan are just cheer leaders. They need to do better with their rugby coverage.

[screenexile]

(take a bow Newstalk)

Big fan of Newstalk but Wood, BOD, Thornley, Horgan, Hogan, O'Sullivan are just cheer leaders. They need to do better with their rugby coverage.

D'Arcy fast becoming the best Rugby Sportswriter around . . . Insightful and full or real life examples of how he and the teams he played on coped with different scenarios and events. His current article should be read by every underachieving GAA Club team about!!

[johnneycool]

(take a bow Newstalk)

Big fan of Newstalk but Wood, BOD, Thornley, Horgan, Hogan, O'Sullivan are just cheer leaders. They need to do better with their rugby coverage.

Ex players will always shy away from criticizing lads they played with in their time, it takes a few years before they're prepared to say anything substantial in relation to poor coaching, poor play and so on.

[mikehunt]

(take a bow Newstalk)

Big fan of Newstalk but Wood, BOD, Thornley, Horgan, Hogan, O'Sullivan are just cheer leaders. They need to do better with their rugby coverage.

Ex players will always shy away from criticizing lads they played with in their time, it takes a few years before they're prepared to say anything substantial in relation to poor coaching, poor play and so on.

Thornley isn't an ex-player and he's the worst culprit. He must get access to the dressing rooms, showers, pratice scrums etc as payment in kind for his soft stance. heard him calling the French League the "Top Quatorze" one evening,  tired to drag the spoofer out of the car radio.