The IRISH RUGBY thread

Started by Donnellys Hollow, October 27, 2009, 05:26:16 PM

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thewobbler

Peter Stringer is a horribly limited, one-dimensional, out of form, and should never wear the Munster jersey again let alone the Irish one.

turk

Quote from: Aaron Boone on February 15, 2010, 09:42:09 PM
The Triple Crown is still out there to be won:

England 23 times (last 03)
Wales 19 (last 08)
Ireland 10 (last 09)
Scotland 10 (last 1990 :-\ )



That sort of talk is just wrong!!

ha ha derry

Quote from: thewobbler on February 16, 2010, 12:41:02 PM
Peter Stringer is a horribly limited, one-dimensional, out of form, and should never wear the Munster jersey again let alone the Irish one.
In your opinion. Not the overwhelming opinion of a lot of Munster supporters.

Capt Pat

Stringer, Cullen and Wallace are not the solution. Time to turn over to a new page for Irish rugby.

GalwayBayBoy

Anyone who saw Stringer play in the recent A internationals would not be advocating him for the first team. He was absolutely abysmal against the England Saxons and only a bit better against Scotland a week later. I don't think Reddan is the answer either. He seems too prone to making stupid decisions. The form scrum-half in Ireland is probably Isaac Boss. Has been playing consistently well for Ulster and played well both times after coming on in the two A games. Hard to see him being promoted from the bench of the A's to start for the first team though.

lynchbhoy

if redden could recapture the form he had with wasps then he would be the man. boss has looked v poor at international level in his fleeting appearances.
darcy for me is just too small, every year people run over him - last week no exception. He is game, but thats not enough.
Maybe cave should be promoted or bowe brought in from the wing
devan toner is too inexperienced yet, but the good news is that he punched a guy the other week so his aggression levels are improving... a couple of years away yet

I'd try wallace at full back
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Celt_Man

Quote from: lynchbhoy on February 16, 2010, 01:49:49 PM
if redden could recapture the form he had with wasps then he would be the man. boss has looked v poor at international level in his fleeting appearances.
darcy for me is just too small, every year people run over him - last week no exception. He is game, but thats not enough.
Maybe cave should be promoted or bowe brought in from the wing
devan toner is too inexperienced yet, but the good news is that he punched a guy the other week so his aggression levels are improving... a couple of years away yet

I'd try wallace at full back

Jaysus no keep one of the best wingers in the world in the past 12 months on the wing...  Don't think about moving him.

What about Duffy at full back?  Heard he was very impressive against England Saxons a couple of weeks ago
GAA Board Six Nations Fantasy Champion 2010

muppet

Quote from: Capt Pat on February 16, 2010, 12:52:50 PM
Stringer, Cullen and Wallace are not the solution. Time to turn over to a new page for Irish rugby.

Agreed. Those 3 and Casey are at the wrong end of their careers. Casey almost certainly deserved more caps but that is the past. If O'Callaghan is fit he will play, if not time to look at younger guys.

There is a reason why O'Callaghan went on 2 Lions tours and made the test team in one of them. He is your bread and butter man but he is very experienced and is as good as we have at that role.
MWWSI 2017

GalwayBayBoy

Quote from: lynchbhoy on February 16, 2010, 01:49:49 PM
darcy for me is just too small, every year people run over him - last week no exception. He is game, but thats not enough.

D'Arcy has probably been Ireland's best player so far in the 6 Nations and is playing the best he has done for a while. Has come back brilliantly from a badly broken arm.

QuoteI'd try wallace at full back

Paddy Wallace is a 12 and a 10 in emergencies. I don't think he's played full-back since he was about 20 or 21 which was a long time ago. Granted he can kick fine but he would neither have the pace of the fielding ability to do much from full-back anymore.

Celt_Man

Very interesting article from the pen or keystrokes of brendan Cole from rte.ie - who I enjoy reading...  he really examines the whole tight 5 and compares the Irish thinking behind it to other nations and certainly has a few "outside the box" potential answers!!

http://www.rte.ie/ie/sportsixnations2010/entry/ireland
GAA Board Six Nations Fantasy Champion 2010

lynchbhoy

Quote from: GalwayBayBoy on February 16, 2010, 03:29:26 PM
Quote from: lynchbhoy on February 16, 2010, 01:49:49 PM
darcy for me is just too small, every year people run over him - last week no exception. He is game, but thats not enough.

D'Arcy has probably been Ireland's best player so far in the 6 Nations and is playing the best he has done for a while. Has come back brilliantly from a badly broken arm.

QuoteI'd try wallace at full back

Paddy Wallace is a 12 and a 10 in emergencies. I don't think he's played full-back since he was about 20 or 21 which was a long time ago. Granted he can kick fine but he would neither have the pace of the fielding ability to do much from full-back anymore.
just never thought darcy was good enough - always tought he was too small and while he makes a few good breaks, his tackling often leads to scores from opponents because he is just too small.
Also was way too selfish as a schools cup player and never lost that trait.

point taken about wallace - theres not much of a viable alternative at full back , I knew wallace had played thee years ago, didnt think it was quite that long ago though !
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Bord na Mona man

I had the dubious pleasure of being there on Saturday. The result is a welcome wake up call for Ireland and a reminder of where the team really stands.

I'm not sure how it looked on tv, but the biggest difference to me was the aggression and physicality of the French. The way they smashed Ireland at times reminded me of what they did to South Africa in November. They sufficiently rattled Ireland to induce some of the inexplicable basic errors that lead to the scores.

Another big problem was that Ireland were too often working off slow ball. O'Leary is not the snappiest of passers, but this was worsened by him seemingly waiting for other players to get into formation before delivering. Contrast this to the French mentality - they play off the cuff, take risks, improvise and invent as they go along. Ireland seem too concerned with implementing pre-meditated moves and patterns.

Ireland's lack of aggression at the breakdown doesn't help. Wallace and Heaslip in the back row are decent ball carriers and decent  operators in the loose, but they aren't brutish. That so much stock was placed on Ferris being fit beforehand, shows how Ireland are short in this regard. Ireland really need to do much better in slowing down the opposition ball and speeding up their own re-cycling.

The nature of the performance may prove a blessing for Ireland. Kidney now has a mandate to change the team around. He doesn't have to keep any unbeaten run going and Ireland are not contenders for this year's 6 Nations. Building for WC2011 now has to be the main aim. I remember England getting a similar shock in Paris back in 2002 when they reckoned they were they number 1 team in the world. 18 months later, they proved that beyond all doubt.

At this moment, Ireland's pack is too weak to play 10 man rugby and the team can't move the ball quickly enough and flat enough to play 15 man rugby. Looking at it another way, last year's Grand Slam was a good achievement because it came from grinding out results without playing much good rugby.

Kidney can now give players like Sexton, Ryan, Best, Court, O'Brien and an alternative scrum half a decent run with less pressure to go back to the "old reliables" if they don't perform straight away. As it stands Ireland wouldn't be at the races in the next WC with the 15 that started last weekend. I suspect Kidney probably knew that all along though and had a long term aim to phase certain players out of the team. That aspect of his job should be a bit easier now.

AZOffaly

Quote from: Bord na Mona man on February 16, 2010, 07:31:36 PM

The nature of the performance may prove a blessing for Ireland. Kidney now has a mandate to change the team around. He doesn't have to keep any unbeaten run going and Ireland are not contenders for this year's 6 Nations. Building for WC2011 now has to be the main aim. I remember England getting a similar shock in Paris back in 2002 when they reckoned they were they number 1 team in the world. 18 months later, they proved that beyond all doubt.



I agree with nearly all of that post, but I can't understand the highlighted bit. How can one defeat spell the end of a championship bid entirely? Naturally France are favourites, but they are in Cardiff next, and that's not a gimme. They will also struggle with England, because they won't bully the English pack.

Ireland are 3rd favourites at the moment, but I don't think this championship will be won with a grand slam. If Ireland win in Twickenham next up, and Wales do the French in Cardiff, it's game on again with 4 teams with 1 defeat. That's not inconceivable.

Hoof Hearted

the next 3 games is the time to experiment definately. we cant defend our crown, so lets build on re-gaining it in 2011, along with winning the world cup (maybe im looking too much am i ? )
Treble 6 Nations Fantasy Rugby champion 2008, 2011 & 2012

Dinny Breen

Posted earlier on that now is the time to rebuild as well. The WC is winnable imho.

Gavin Duffy is the only remaining full back in the squad, expect him to start. I rue Felix Jone's injury as well.
#newbridgeornowhere