2009 Grand Slam Champions

[Maroon Heaven]

The tickets were sold along with the All Black tickets and the problem was people who bought the AB ticket didn't go to Argentina game... (fair enough it was only a Friendly international)

The tickets were bundled and not every club was able to sell them as a twin package, €160 is a lot of money to pass over just to see the All-Blacks. Athy and Clane are small clubs with small allocations in fact Clane were a J2 club less than 10 years ago and would be one of the smallest clubs with the smallest allocations in Leinster, club President in rugby is generally just a token thing no surprise he's looking for tickets . Trust me the demand is not what it use to be.

You are talking out of your arse....

Firstly in relation to the All Black's / Argentina game it was a sell out. Before this match clubs canvassed their members to see who wanted tickets and they put their allocation in to IRFU. I know I organised it for my own club. We put in for 300 tickets  - we got 120. Not one club, I know, got the amount of tickets they asked for.

You said earlier Clane & Athy were struggling with selling their ticket allocations. They are not. I also spoke with Portarlington last night and they have there's all gone.

[Dinny Breen]

We do not have to commit to buy any set number of tickets but each club is allocated tickets and if we need more or less we say so

This is what you stated, now you state that you looked for 300 and got 120 which is it? That's rethorical btw.

The simple fact is that the IRFU determine the maximum number of tickets a club gets, you can apply for less but if you apply for more you have no chance although that could very well change considering the climate.

I made a point that clubs are struggling to get rid of their tickets this was mainly within the confines of the club and are having for the 1st time that I can remember going outside that circle to get rid of tickets.

To be honest 120 is not a big alliocation and I can see why your club is looking for more but the club I'm involved with gets in excess of 240 and have had to ask members to get rid of tickets.

The Argentina game was only a sell-out because the clubs paid for the tickets in advance because it was bundled with the NZ game, not every club was able to sell the Argentina tickets on because not every club felt it right to charge people €160  in fact clubs in the north were emailing clubs in the south trying to get rid of their Argentina alliocation, that is a fact as it was distributed by the Leinster Branch. This was not a sell-out as regards attendance why was that MH because people were willing to spend €160 to watch the all-blacks and not go to the Argentina game, are people that f*cking dumb/rich up there? Or maybe the plausible answer is that the clubs simply could sell the tickets on...

Anyway I can't be arsed to argue anymore, I'll just going to disagree with you and leave it at that.

[turk]

France gamble at fly-half for Ireland
Wednesday, 28 January 2009 17:04

France took the gamble of naming only one recognised flyhalf and goalkicker, Lionel Beauxis, for their Six Nations opener against Ireland on 7 February in Dublin.

Scrumhalf Jean-Baptiste Elissalde had been expected to feature in the 23-player squad to act as cover for Beauxis because he wore the number 10 jersey for Toulouse in last year's finals of the Heineken Cup and the French championship.

Coach Marc Lievremont, however, dropped the 31-year-old and selected Sebastien Tillous-Borde and Morgan Parra, who are 23 and 20 respectively.

'We decided to give Parra and Tillous-Borde more playing time,' Lievremont told a news conference.

'Scrumhalf is a position where you need experience. We have something like 25 games to play before the 2011 World Cup, it's time to toughen them up.'

Tillous-Borde, who has four caps, was Beauxis's partner at halfbacks in the France team which won the world under-21 title in 2006 under the coaching of Lievremont.

Parra also has four caps, won during last season's Six Nations.

Asked what he would do if Beauxis needed to be replaced during the Croke Park game, Lievremont said: 'Parra is a versatile player but we'll rely on a centre like Yannick Jauzion or Benoit Baby.'

Jauzion will lead a strong contingent of seven Toulouse players -- prop Benoit Lecouls, flanker Thierry Dusautoir, centre Florian Fritz, wing-cum-fullback Maxime Medard, wing Cedric Heymans and fullback Clement Poitrenaud.

'Clement had very convincing games with Stade Toulousain,' Lievremont said to explain the return of the creative fullback who won the last of his 31 caps in the third-place playoff of the 2007 World Cup against Argentina.

There was no place in the squad for flanker Julien Bonnaire, lock Jerome Thion or wing Aurelien Rougerie, who had all been recalled to the 30-man training squad.

Imanol Harinordoquy, who was left out of the three-day training session because of a sore knee, is back in the squad after being declared fit.

Lievremont is due to announce his starting line-up on Tuesday.

France RBS 6 Nations squad v Ireland, Saturday 7 February, 5.00pm:

Forwards: Nicolas Mas, Lionel Faure, Benoit Lecouls, Fabien Barcella, Dimitri Szarzewski, Benjamin Kayser, Sebastien Chabal, Lionel Nallet (captain), Romain Millo-Chluski, Thierry Dusautoir, Fulgence Ouedraogo, Louis Picamoles, Imanol Harinordoquy.

Backs: Sebastien Tillous-Borde, Morgan Parra, Lionel Beauxis, Yannick Jauzion, Benoit Baby, Florian Fritz, Julien Malzieu, Cedric Heymans, Clement Poitrenaud, Maxime Medard

http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/2009/0128/france.html

[Maroon Heaven]

We do not have to commit to buy any set number of tickets but each club is allocated tickets and if we need more or less we say so

This is what you stated, now you state that you looked for 300 and got 120 which is it? That's rethorical btw.

Autumn Internationals in Croke Park have operated differently then six nations.... How easy is it to get that?

[lynchbhoy]

Just got a call there earlier confirming my ticket for next weeks game at croker v france.

should be a comfortable Irish win. Might not be wonderful rugby, but a ground out forwards based victory I hope.

[Off The Fence]

Ireland have cut their squad to 27:

Ireland Squad V France
Backs:
Tommy Bowe (Ospreys)
Girvan Dempsey (Terenure College - Leinster)
Gordon D'Arcy (Lansdowne - Leinster)
Keith Earls (Young Munster - Munster)
Luke Fitzgerald (Blackrock College - Leinster)
Shane Horgan (Boyne - Leinster)
Robert Kearney (UCD - Leinster)
Geordan Murphy (Leicester)
Brian O'Driscoll (UCD - Leinster)
Ronan O'Gara (Cork Constitution - Munster)
Tomas O'Leary (Dolphin - Munster)
Peter Stringer (Shannon - Munster)
Paddy Wallace (Ballymena - Ulster)

Forwards:
Rory Best (Banbridge - Ulster)
Tom Court (Malone - Ulster)*
Stephen Ferris (Dungannon - Ulster)
Jerry Flannery (Shannon - Munster)
John Hayes (Bruff- Munster)
Jamie Heaslip (Naas - Leinster)
Marcus Horan (Shannon - Munster)
Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution - Munster)
Donncha O'Callaghan (Cork Constitution - Munster)
Paul O'Connell (Young Munster - Munster)
Mick O'Driscoll (Cork Constitution - Munster)
Malcolm O'Kelly (St.Mary's College - Leinster)
Alan Quinlan (Shannon - Munster)
David Wallace (Garryowen - Munster)

[Hound]

I've heard the team from a source. No idea if he's reliable or not, but time will tell...

Munster front 5.
Ferris Heaslip Wallace
The Os
Luke and Bowe on the wings
Paddy Wallace at centre with Drico.
Kearney at full back.

Leamy, Dempsey and Murphy among the subs.

[Dinny Breen]

Would be very happy with that team, except I'd have Best at hooker and Dempsey nowhere near the squad, will wait and see.

[GaillimhIarthair]

Kearney
Bowe
O'Driscoll
Wallace
Fitzgerald
O'Gara
O'Leary

Horan
Flannery
Hayes
O'Callaghan
O'Connell
Ferris
Wallace
Heaslip

Best, Court, O'Kelly, Leamy, Stringer, D'Arcy, Murphy

[Off The Fence]

Good team, impressed with the layout and more confident than I was when I seen the squad.

[Hardy]

A scoop in the Ziggy class there, Hound.

[Lar Naparka]

Kearney
Bowe
O'Driscoll
Wallace
Fitzgerald
O'Gara
O'Leary

Horan
Flannery
Hayes
O'Callaghan

O'Connell
Ferris
Wallace
Heaslip

Best, Court, O'Kelly, Leamy, Stringer, D'Arcy, Murphy

That is as good a side as we can put out, I guess.

[Hound]

A scoop in the Ziggy class there, Hound.

Indeed, I fed back Dinny's comments on Best and Girv, and while we were already up to our quota of Nordies, they dumped Dempsey and gave D'Arcy the no. 21 jersey   

[GaillimhIarthair]

A scoop in the Ziggy class there, Hound.

Indeed, I fed back Dinny's comments on Best and Girv, and while we were already up to our quota of Nordies, they dumped Dempsey and gave D'Arcy the no. 21 jersey   

Dempsey might not be totally out of the picture just yet for Sat as I believe Kearney is a bit of an injury concern at the moment 

Hope to fcuk he is ok as I really expect him to have a massive 6 nations and push on for the Lions FB spot later in the year.

[thewobbler]

I'm happy enough with that team. I'd rather have Best in, but Flannery is a class act too, so it's hardly a bad thing.

But the replacements could be better thought out. O'Kelly has nothing to offer as an impact sub, nor does Stringer.