The IRISH RUGBY thread

[Walter Cronc]

Great to see the inbred Bomber back....no sisters or cousins available this weekend pal?

Game very disappointing. Worse still being at it. Changes needed. Kearney, O'Brien and Ryan to drop out for me. O'Briens miss on Scott Williams was criminal.

scannell or Cronin to be starting hooker next year! Sweetnam and Byrne need fast tracked too. Zebo and Earls don't have the pace or power though in fairness the tactics employed aren't helping their cause!

Henshaw is consistently our top performer. What work rate!!!!

[Gold]

Great to see the inbred Bomber back....no sisters or cousins available this weekend pal?

Game very disappointing. Worse still being at it. Changes needed. Kearney, O'Brien and Ryan to drop out for me. O'Briens miss on Scott Williams was criminal.

scannell or Cronin to be starting hooker next year! Sweetnam and Byrne need fast tracked too. Zebo and Earls don't have the pace or power though in fairness the tactics employed aren't helping their cause!

Henshaw is consistently our top performer. What work rate!!!!

The difference in size between say George North and Earls/Zebo is substantial. 

We struggle without Bowe and Trimble imo due to their physicality although both are getting on a bit now and Bowe God help him could be done...looked a bad injury the other night (when Joe only gave him a token minute after the game was done)

Joe should've put Bowe and Jackson on earlier. Other than the Best chance in the maul we didn't look like scoring. We're so slow and predictable we never looked like opening them up. Did we even make one line break all game?

Murray has his dummy pass.... show and go....other than that what do we have?

[AZOffaly]

Is the whole Sexton Loop Around pass not gone fairly stale?

[Owen Brannigan]

Game very disappointing. Worse still being at it. Changes needed. Kearney, O'Brien and Ryan to drop out for me. O'Briens miss on Scott Williams was criminal.

scannell or Cronin to be starting hooker next year! Sweetnam and Byrne need fast tracked too. Zebo and Earls don't have the pace or power though in fairness the tactics employed aren't helping their cause!

Henshaw is consistently our top performer. What work rate!!!!

Henderson made a difference when he came on, improved the lineout and is more mobile than Ryan.  Zebo lacks the pace of North and Williams and spends to much time in the centre making an even narrower focus.  He and Earls don't compensate their loss of speed with grater physicality.  Toner was quite poor, his greater height is not used to its best.

Farrell's tactic of having the half backs as frontline defenders leaves brave smaller men tackling big men thundering into them resulting in more injuries and inability to escape from a ruck. 

Wales did have more guile than Ireland in working the referee.  Webb showed that Murray isn't unique in his ability to run the game and certainly is much more physical than him.

Schmidt left Murray on far too long and it was obvious to any non-medical person that he had lost power in the tackle and passing the ball.  This left his colleagues trying to catch balls around their angles while the Welsh back row came thundering through.

Do we have our own North or Williams, fast and very strong?  If not stop playing the same game as Wales trying to bash through the middle.

Unfortunately, Bowe and Trimble have been living through one injury after another and age is not a serious factor for them as international players.  Bowe has not even had a good game for Ulster in the very small number of appearances over the last year and his international selection does ask questions about Schmidt and his blindness toward others especially those outside Leinster.

[magpie seanie]

This was a shambles but sadly an all too predictable one. Most of the points I made pre game came home too roost. We cannot score inside the opposition 22. No creativity and opponents have copped these pre rehearsed moves.

One thing I didn't mention but I see another poster has mentioned is our defence coach. He absolutely has to go ASAP. Our defence is a shambles as was England's when he was with them. Major mistake by St Joe hiring him.

I'd say Joe's stubborn nature will be in full show for next week. Unchanged team if everyone is fit which will be a disaster. At a minimum POM has to start as our lineout is a mess, totally reliant on Toner. He could take the place of any of the back row but Stander probably should go to 8 and H aslip drop out. SOB should go and VDF start. Im very fearful about next weekend.

[Syferus]

Devin Toner is stone useless.

[Milltown Row2]

Devin Toner is stone useless.

If they throw the ball to him at the line out he'll win it!!

[seafoid]

JS has hit the same wall of mediocrity as his predecessors.
2 years to the next World Cup. It is no time for passengers or fellas past their sell by date.

[Il Bomber Destro]

I wonder will Joe Shit get pilloried by the media much like Trapattoni did or will the rugby cheerleader continue to celebrate medicority?

[Owen Brannigan]

Devin Toner is stone useless.

If they throw the ball to him at the line out he'll win it!!

No he didn't.  Not once did he dominate the lineout.  When Charteris came on for Wales, he was much more of a threat than Toner while not quite as tall but much more aggressive.  If Toner was not as tall it is doubtful if he would be an international except that he plays for Leinster.

O'Mahony and Henderson make a more aggressive lineout setup. Henderson was dragging the maul along that nearly resulted in the winning try before Henshaw decided to foul it. 

[Syferus]

Devin Toner is stone useless.

If they throw the ball to him at the line out he'll win it!!

When Rory Best can only throw it to the opposition it's a bit of a moot point, isn't it? Toner is such a liability in play it's not even funny.

Has he ever even pushed the defensive line back once with ball in hand?

[Walter Cronc]

McFadden called into the squad for Bowe!

If he ends up anywhere near the 23 I'm done with Schmidt!!!

Christ surely giving Sweetnam or Byrne the experience would be more benefical. Drives me potty at times!!!

[Declan]

Bernard Jackman will leave French club Grenoble.

Independent.ie understands that the Irishman was told by the club last night that his services as head coach would no longer be required.

Mike Prendergast and Aaron Dundon will take temporary charge.


Not a surprise is it? Don't think our resident Rugby experts here thought much of his coaching abilities

[Walter Cronc]

It was a pretty tough gig for Jackman considering the money in the French top 14. However this year hasn't gone well for Grenoble.

I'd like to see him back involved in Irish rugby at some capacity.

Thats a strange one with Racing and Stade Francais merging. Wonder will ROG keep his job!

[Mayo4Sam]

I'm not sure what you have to do to get dropped from this Irish team, it is worse that the soccer for the old boys club mentality.

How can Bowe and McFadden be anywhere near the squad, even if it was a 39 man squad like the soccer they shouldn't be in it.

Kearney is living off the back of a great performance in Chicago, his only good performance in two years, we have O'Halloran, Zebo and Payne all much better there. Murray plays with one arm for 30 mins FFS, shows how little faith there is in Marmion.

Heaslip plays every minute of every game even when he stinks the place out, he must have something on JS, he gives away so many penalties and now himself and O'Brien (who looks finished too) can't hold onto the ball.

And Andy Farrell clearly isn't working