The IRISH RUGBY thread

[Dinny Breen]

Time to go back to basics. Whatever Healy offers in the loose, he isn't doing the bread and butter stuff like scrummaging well enough.

I'd still keep Darcy in. The first priority against the French is to defend well. Paddy Wallace at 12 would get smashed too easily. Darcy's dropping of routine balls is hopefully just one off bad day, rather a fundamental weakness.

If Kidney heeded the calls from here and put Stringer, O'Gara and Wallace at 9, 10 and 12 the French would have a bonanza with such defensively weak channels.

Healy got zero assistance in the scrums from Wallace at key times, we had no 8 man scrum, very disappointing but watching the french get a penalty try I'd definitely pick Court.

Reddan will start and Sexton will start allowing us to play Wallace at 12.

Thats the first I've heard of it. Watching the French game now don't hear James Barclay being blamed for their collapsing scrum. I didnt hear anyone singing Zanni's praise for his scrummaging display against the Irish either.

Most top sides use an 8 man scrum and when you have a loose head like Healy up against the best THP in Europe you need your wing-forward with a full shoulder and ideally a power bind where he binds under the prop. Wallace was like a meercat and no use in the scrum today. Healy was poor but he got no assitance plus Italy's LH got away with a lot, dropping his bind and not driving straight.

[muppet]

Time to go back to basics. Whatever Healy offers in the loose, he isn't doing the bread and butter stuff like scrummaging well enough.

I'd still keep Darcy in. The first priority against the French is to defend well. Paddy Wallace at 12 would get smashed too easily. Darcy's dropping of routine balls is hopefully just one off bad day, rather a fundamental weakness.

If Kidney heeded the calls from here and put Stringer, O'Gara and Wallace at 9, 10 and 12 the French would have a bonanza with such defensively weak channels.

Healy got zero assistance in the scrums from Wallace at key times, we had no 8 man scrum, very disappointing but watching the french get a penalty try I'd definitely pick Court.

Reddan will start and Sexton will start allowing us to play Wallace at 12.

Thats the first I've heard of it. Watching the French game now don't hear James Barclay being blamed for their collapsing scrum. I didnt hear anyone singing Zanni's praise for his scrummaging display against the Irish either.

Most top sides use an 8 man scrum and when you have a loose head like Healy up against the best THP in Europe you need your wing-forward with a full shoulder and ideally a power bind where he binds under the prop. Wallace was like a meercat and no use in the scrum today. Healy was poor but he got no assitance plus Italy's LH got away with a lot, dropping his bind and not driving straight.

Should that not be Leamy?

[Dinny Breen]

He got assistance from Leamy I thought but Wallace nope..

[Capt Pat]

We were missing four pf our best p'ayers today. Ferris bowe, kearney and heaslip. So stop the fantasy football manager games. Until that quartet recovee their fitness, we really don't have all that much room for manouver.

My main thoughts are for the recovery timetables for those 4 players  apart from that the room for improvement is limitrd to little more rhan tactical changes.

[Dinny Breen]

Kearney is not one of our best players.

[trileacman]

Kearney is not one of our best players.

Definitely.

I think that although we were missing players could we not have expected better than that from our squad? Ferris and Heaslip were the only players in central positions that we were missing, we had a full selection at half backs and centre and it was here where we were at our most disappointing.

[Donnellys Hollow]

Murphy is a bigger loss than Kearney. Kearney hasn't played well since the Autumn of '09.

We have problems at 9 & 12 and have had for some time. All of our scrum halves have their limitations: O'Leary has great pace and is a good defender but he's too ponderous at the base, and his passing and kicking lets him down. Boss is a similar player and he blows hot and cold. Reddan doesn't have too many glaring weaknesses but he's not spectacular at any aspect of the game either. Stringer will provide the quickest and most accurate service to the backs but he won't draw in the opposition back rows because he's never been a threat sniping around the fringes.

D'Arcy has been living off past achievements for a number of years. The fact that he has played alongside O'Driscoll for so many years may explain why Kidney is so reluctant to drop him (similar story with O'Callaghan/O'Connell).

Team I'd like to see next weekend (not that I think there'll be many changes):

15 Fitzgerald - solid enough today despite poor club form
14 McFadden
13 O'Driscoll
12 P Wallace
11 Earls - would prefer to see him tried in the centre but he's needed on the wing due to all the injuries
10 Sexton - played ok today and deserves another chance with a better 9 inside him
9 Stringer
1 Court - does the basics better than Healy and deserves a chance in his preferred position
2 Cronin - his darts can be hit and miss but Best was hardly Jocky Wilson today and he's not as good around the park
3 Ross
4 Cullen - O'Callaghan had a good game today but he could offer good impact off the bench and he always plays better after getting a kick up the arse
5 O'Connell
6 Leamy
7 Faloon - Wallace has been a fantastic player but he's not an 80 min man anymore, not a fan of Jennings and Faloon has been in great form
8 O'Brien

[muppet]

Kidney will only make one or two changes barring a reutrning player such as Ferris.

I don't think Court has done much wrong but don't see Kidney picking him sadly. I'd love to see Cronin on but the wont happen either. It'll be the same front 5 barring a major shock.

The only likely changes Kidney could make might be Stringer and Paddy Wallace but I wouldn't be stunned to see the same 15 again, which would be ludicrous.

[Hoof Hearted]

did you see the French scrum tonight ? Scotland were a stone per man heavier in the 8 and they were destroyed. We will have our work cut out !

[CiKe]

Thought DOC was the best of our lot, much more prominent than usual, and this was evidenced with POC going off - that can't have happened too many times. He usually lacks discipline but today the stupidity award fell to Leamy which is no surprise either. His most prominent contributions were giving away that penalty and whinging at every scrum and looking to the touch judge instead of getting on with it.

I hope to God Ferris is back for next weak. O'Brien was ok, generally made yards but not stand out. Wallace didn't contribute much. However we need ball carriers next week as the French defence is poor and they play a very expansive game - there will be gaps to exploit. That said I don't think it matters what team we put out, we'll be beaten easily enough, our basic skills just aren't up to scratch.

[INDIANA]

Thought DOC was the best of our lot, much more prominent than usual, and this was evidenced with POC going off - that can't have happened too many times. He usually lacks discipline but today the stupidity award fell to Leamy which is no surprise either. His most prominent contributions were giving away that penalty and whinging at every scrum and looking to the touch judge instead of getting on with it.

I hope to God Ferris is back for next weak. O'Brien was ok, generally made yards but not stand out. Wallace didn't contribute much. However we need ball carriers next week as the French defence is poor and they play a very expansive game - there will be gaps to exploit. That said I don't think it matters what team we put out, we'll be beaten easily enough, our basic skills just aren't up to scratch.

Ferris is officially out for next week.

Bowe has little or no chance

Heaslip has a 40% chance of playing.

[Bord na Mona man]

A fast and open game doesn't necessarily suit Stephen Ferris anyway. His stamina isn't the best and it wouldn't suit him if French uncork the champagne and start recycling it quickly, offloading and continually changing the point of attack.

Ireland would need him back for the England game which will be the sort of ugly, smash-em-up encounter that he excels in.

[INDIANA]

A fast and open game doesn't necessarily suit Stephen Ferris anyway. His stamina isn't the best and it wouldn't suit him if French uncork the champagne and start recycling it quickly, offloading and continually changing the point of attack.

Ireland would need him back for the England game which will be the sort of ugly, smash-em-up encounter that he excels in.

Couldnt agree less. I couldnt adequately describe how a big a loss he is next week. Did you see his try versus new zealand? He hasnt got great offloading skills but Christ can he carry the ball. And thats what we need next week. We got smashed in the contact zone yesterday in his abscence. he's the only natural power athlete in Irish rugby aside from Wallace. To play a fast game you need someone who can clear rucks. And he's the best we have at it.

[tyroneboi]

A fast and open game doesn't necessarily suit Stephen Ferris anyway. His stamina isn't the best and it wouldn't suit him if French uncork the champagne and start recycling it quickly, offloading and continually changing the point of attack.

Ireland would need him back for the England game which will be the sort of ugly, smash-em-up encounter that he excels in.

Couldnt agree less. I couldnt adequately describe how a big a loss he is next week. Did you see his try versus new zealand? He hasnt got great offloading skills but Christ can he carry the ball. And thats what we need next week. We got smashed in the contact zone yesterday in his abscence. he's the only natural power athlete in Irish rugby aside from Wallace. To play a fast game you need someone who can clear rucks. And he's the best we have at it.

And i couldn't agree more with that! Massive loss as he was in great form in the past couple of weeks particularly in Europe.

[Bord na Mona man]

A fast and open game doesn't necessarily suit Stephen Ferris anyway. His stamina isn't the best and it wouldn't suit him if French uncork the champagne and start recycling it quickly, offloading and continually changing the point of attack.

Ireland would need him back for the England game which will be the sort of ugly, smash-em-up encounter that he excels in.

Couldnt agree less. I couldnt adequately describe how a big a loss he is next week. Did you see his try versus new zealand? He hasnt got great offloading skills but Christ can he carry the ball. And thats what we need next week. We got smashed in the contact zone yesterday in his abscence. he's the only natural power athlete in Irish rugby aside from Wallace. To play a fast game you need someone who can clear rucks. And he's the best we have at it.

Yes in a physical forward smashfest game like the Italian one Ferris would have been in his element.
France will be different, I suspect his lack of puff will mean he won't be covering grass to arrive at the breakdown.
Look at how he performed last year in Paris against the same opposition for hints. The French forwards don't traditionally lie down and wait for rucks to be cleared out.