The IRISH RUGBY thread

[weareros]

Well the game answered the question: who do you want to meet in the 1/4 final, France or New Zealand? So winning the group is the priority.

[seafoid]

if you are Ireland you rather play NZ on that performance.

It's the round robin stage. Maybe Mayo have just beaten Kerry.

[Capt Pat]

Dupont did nothing for France but France were still well on top for most of the second half.

[Wildweasel74]

South Africa be stronger than either. U wouldn't want a beating session with them, then take on a heavy France pack. That's the worse New Zealand team I seen player wise since 1991.Plus very poor manager who wouldn't go last year when they were so poor, think they lost more games in about 2 years than the horrible 98 season.

[An Watcher]

I really think it's too big of an ask for ireland to beat SA, then Scotland a week later and then NZ a week after that.  They'll be beat up while NZ will just canter through their next 3 games

[meatsy86]

2 week gap between Sprinboks and Scotland game.

[An Watcher]

That's a good help. 

[marty34]

That's the first pool game NZ have ever lost at the World Cup.  Crazy consistency. 31 wins in a row.

Very poor tonight.

[From the Bunker]

if you are Ireland you rather play NZ on that performance.

It's the round robin stage. Maybe Mayo have just beaten Kerry.

Are you saying New Zealand will lose the final?

[weareros]

if you are Ireland you rather play NZ on that performance.

It's the round robin stage. Maybe Mayo have just beaten Kerry.

Are you saying New Zealand will lose the final?

I think in rugby terms New Zealand are Kerry, South Africa are the Dubs. The Aussies are Tyrone and France are Mayo (always coming up short). England are Armagh (won it once in recent memory in fairness). Ireland are the Rossies. Can take out a big team in an early round but can't get past a 1/4 final.

[JoG2]

if you are Ireland you rather play NZ on that performance.

It's the round robin stage. Maybe Mayo have just beaten Kerry.

Are you saying New Zealand will lose the final?

I think in rugby terms New Zealand are Kerry, South Africa are the Dubs. The Aussies are Tyrone and France are Mayo (always coming up short). England are Armagh (won it once in recent memory in fairness). Ireland are the Rossies. Can take out a big team in an early round but can't get past a 1/4 final.

Seafoid is looking his phone back 

[Milltown Row2]

 

[PAULD123]

I think in rugby terms New Zealand are Kerry, South Africa are the Dubs. The Aussies are Tyrone and France are Mayo (always coming up short). England are Armagh (won it once in recent memory in fairness). Ireland are the Rossies. Can take out a big team in an early round but can't get past a 1/4 final.

I think that's really funny because it's not far off accurate. made me smile today

[PAULD123]

I wouldn't get sucked into the hype about France. This post may sound like I am a New Zealand fan, I'm not, don't really like them at all. I just think that France weren't as impressive in analysis as emotion perhaps made people feel on the night.

They were dysfunctional for a lot of the game without N'Tamack. No fluidity at all, resorting to their standard kicking game a lot, but without the intelligence of N'Tamack. Jailibert is a genius player but didn't impose himself for most of the game bevuase he doesn't play the way France play, DuPont was clearly in charge and that limited French attack because it is either long kicks or short inside passes. Their defence was extremally Narrow and exposed easily by Telea when New Zealand had the sense to release him.

France were dominant and deserved to win, the better team yes, but look at the opposition. New Zealand stuttered because of Mo'Unga, if Barrett was 10 I think he would have controlled their possession better. But the biggest thing was discipline. New Zealand gave away 7 kickable penalties and France took 5 of them. If you give away 15 points to the opposition you are not gong to have an easy night. France didn't create a lot for the first 50 minutes of the game, New Zealand's appalling discipline handed them the authority.

Incidentally the last try should never have stood. France turned the ball over before Jalibert's kick. In the turnover Vincent crystal-clear knocks the ball forward on the ground. It literally goes round his body before he gathers it and offers it back to his team. Even the Try itself - Jaminet does not have control of the ball in the air and it brushes off Mo'Unga's head before gathering it. That's a knock on and it should have been checked.

Now that try aside, France already had the game won. France deserved to win and are a really good team but I think the All-Blacks made them look better by poor discipline threw the game away. Take away the penalties and France aren't in a position to open up for the Final flourish.

[Capt Pat]

This game coming up will be tough in the conditions I think.