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Anyone have an idea, where I can watch this game online. Im in New Zealand and would hate to miss it

If TV3 steam it live it shouldn't be too hard to watch it on the web. You'll have to clone an Irish IP address but that'll be easy.A quick google search will throw a heap of sites that do this.

The confidence of the mayo posters is growing each day I see as we near the final.  I can understand why they are so confident and they should be.

I think a lot depends on how Sligo plays on the day, when we hit our stride we can match any team, but when we are bad we can be brutal.

Let's home the in form Sligo team shows up and catches an over confident mayo camp on the hop...

Hey Sligoman2 I think your post reflects why Sligo haven't beaten us more over the years. You should be talking about the positives and momentum your team has at the moment and not praying that Mayo would be so over confident that we won't bother to play with any intensity at all on Sunday. I've heard this crap for years from my neighbours across the border and it's getting a little old now. If you want to engage is barstool Gaa psychology why don't you get a job editing Martin Breheny's genius in depth articles about all things Mayo!
Hey Syferus time to dust off the old Mayo flag and get it hanging outside the house sure all the Rossie police will be in the Hyde for the minor match so you'll be safe enough to show your true colours
  Back to the game , if the Mortimer thing really affects the players for this one I'll be disappointed cause it'll show all this talk of our new found steel/hardness to be a load of crap. I'll have no problem if Sligo beat us fair and square but if we go into our shell or throw in the towel when the game is tight( which I believe it will be) then we'll be back to the drawing board and listening to crap from Breheny for the next year( probably edited by sligoman2).
 

Ciaran Mac 

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would that not be the ultimate PR stunt from Horan to bring back McDonald now? deflect all the mort stuff away & have the fans creaming for 10 mins of McDonald at the end. We should win regardless but a stunt like this could be perfect for everyone(McDonald got 9 points in his last championship match).
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Well leaving aside the fact my tongue was firmly in my cheek when I mentioned him , I recently had the pleasure of watching him in action for Crossmolina and at that level he is still flying but when looking at his performances in a ruthless manner it's his outrageous natural ability that keeps him on top and I would fear he couldn't win any posession in a intercounty match. Also Horan seems intent on building a real close hard working panel and while Mac would command huge respect and sufficent workrate it's his instinctive almost maverick stlye that probably wouldn't suit the currrent game plan. Also it would take from the man's mistique if he came back now , it would be a bit like if The Stone Roses decided to get back together

One man's stupidity is another man's opportunity.

So who got into the panel instead of Conor?

Ciaran Mac 

Ive witnessed Joe do the oul drop kick alot, its a lovely style imo..............c mcdonald was partial to it too, a master

Your own Jimmy Keaveney was a dab hand at the old drop kick too.

[I ve always got the impression that there is damn all respect either]

Met a fair few West Sligos over the weekend including a few xplayers. Their mood varied from hopeful to quiet confidence. There is an emphasis on 'quiet' though. Apparently the hype was savage before the 10 final and the team did not come out of the traps. While quiet I def get the impression that they are expecting to win this - which they should be of course. There will be no fear involved and being from near the border, with parentage from over as well, I ve always got the impression that there is damn all respect either. Not like say they would have for Galway or the bigger teams outside the province. Not that I care or complaining - just the way it is.

I am from a border club also and i don't detect a lack of respect for Mayo. How could there be, Mayo are reigning Connacht champions and Divison 1 league runners up and one of the favorites for the All Ireland. They are also a much different team from 2010. Mayo had many players missing that day and obviously had lost faith in their manager.
Having said that Sligo will embrace the underdog tag. The team were very flat for the majority of the game against Ross in 2010 and the manager got his tactics wrong as a result of a belief that the hard work was done in beating both Mayo and Galway. That will not happen on this occasion and if Mayo let their standards slip and a little over confident themselves we may have an opportunity of causing an upset.

Its not a lack of respect, its just in football terms we fcking hate ye.

Good man Sligonian hit the nail on the head with at last some refreshing honesty. I live on the border (the right side thank god ) and when it comes to football there is a fair old hatered amongst my Sligo friends of all things Mayo. I suppose it's similar to the Mayo Galway thing , in that I respect what Galway have achieved over the years and admired players like Joyce , Finnegan, Walsh etc... but deep down come championship time I still hate them. Maybe it's envy of their recent success in Croker or some perceived arrogance/cockiness on their part towards us due to our lack of success on the big day?
Getting back to the game I'd be happy enough if Horan stuck with the same fifteen that started against Letrim with maybe a switch of Freeman to CHF and C O' Connor to the corner forward. Realistically from what I've seen in the league and championship so far I don't expect Horan to do this. Hopefully we'll have one or both of the O'Shea brothers to come off the bench as I'm slightly worried about our midfield up against the current Sligo pairing!
Anyway to keep the flag of honesty flying started by Sligonian , the heart says Mayo to beat the living shite out of the men from bandit country by 30 pts but unfortunately the head says a much tighter affair with only a couple in it either way, maybe a draw!

 Is there many of last years Rossie minor team still underage? I was a th the tipp game last year and was impressed. With a little more composure (especially in the second half) and they would have taken the premier lads.

U 20 World Cup , Ireland 12 England 3 with half an hour gone. Marmion and Hanrahan with trys for Ireland and Hanrahan with a conversion. Good start for Ireland with the pack and Henderson in paticular taking the game to England. Ireland playing some great rugby in terrible conditions.

Ross out for Saturday, will the scrum be backpedaling like it was in Twickenham??

We could be under pressure  johnney but the signs were Ross wouldn't make it anyway.Also New Zealand wouldn't be as fearsome as France or Argentina at scrum-time. I hope Declan Fitzpatrick has a good day and from what I have seen of him he's a good scrumm-ager but I would worry about him in general play and lifting at line-out time. Pretty good team from Kidney although I think Drico and Earls will swap positions and would still think we should have gone for McCarthy at no.4 if Ross was out. Delighted to see Ronan Loughney get on the bench and hope he gets on the field. Even though he grew up in Galway he reminds me every time I meet him he's a Mayo man come summer time with his mother a member of a famous Kiltane GAA family!

Stumbled across this game the other night, trying to avoid jubilee pish. Was a great game and must be something to look forward to as the Irish scrum held its own even when under immense pressure at the end.  Hanranhan was outhalf and I thought he played on the wing or centre in the six nations equivalent, but if Jackson was missing then it made sense. He's a funny run up to the penalties but was pinging them over.
SA looked pretty pissed off at the end. Good to see.

JJ Hanrahan was a top outhalf at schools level and plays outhalf for munster at u20 level. The main reason he was moved to 12 is because Jackson was the incumbent from last year and a top prospect too and Hanrahan was equally adept at no 12 which gives you a whole other option with a playmaker at inside center as well as 10 ala the All Blacks. He does have a funny kicking style but remember Dominguez for Italy, use to take one and a half steps then bang the ball over from all angles and distances.
It's a serious front row we have at this level and to think Furlong(tighthead) was injured all season and Merry (loosehead) played for him all through the six nations where we held oru own too even putting the french on their arse in a few scrums!

 Well this Saturday we turn up for our traditional hammering by the All Blacks and with quite a few injuries at the end of a long World Cup year. I'd love for Drico to get one victory against them down there just so the kiwis would finally admit he's one of the best to have ever played the game. What's worse is there is an extra test thrown in this time which could be painful if we ship a couple of big defeats in the first two.
  While I would have taken some more young blood down south this time to freshen things up at the end of a mammoth season Deccie isn't one for risks, so from what's in the squad this is how I'd like to see the them line out:

15.Kearney , 14. Trimble , 13. Earls , 12. Drico , 11. Zebo, 10. Sexton , 9. Murray, 8. O'Mahony, 7. O' Brien , 6. McLaughlin, 5. Ryan/Touhy 4. McCarthy , 3. Ross , 2. Best , 1. Healy.

One thing I can Guarantee is this team will not be picked or anything like it but I'll explain my logic anyway. I'm going for Zebo on the wing cause he's a natural winger (more so than Earls or McFadden) and this is the best place to find out a bit more about him, not at 25 against Canada or Western Soma in meaningless autumn international! Gone for Earls at outside centre for his eye for a break and speed over the first 5 yards and his form in the six nations dispelled any defensive worries I had about him. Drico at 12 cause he still has enough pace to match his guile and football brain plus his defence on the ground here would see a lot of turnovers. Also he played 12 against the All Blacks in 2002 in Dunedin and cut them open in game we nearly won!
Sexton and Murray pick themselves and before anyone says anything about Reddin's quicker service (it's a myth) just look at any game where he's under pressure, he's either swallowed up in the tackle or takes five steps before he passes the ball. Just because he runs around the field like mad thing doesn't mean he provides quicker service! In the back row I've gone for physicality, form and Ball carriers. A couple of seasons ago I would have had Heaslip as one of the first on my team sheet but his form this season has been patchy at best and O Mahony has been barnstorming all season so I'd let Jamie rest for this one. Kevin McLaughlin, well every team needs a player like him , apart from his work rate I'd love to see his stats on close in ball carries under pressure. The man's a beast to get over the gain line and set up go forward attacking ball for O'Brien etc.. Also he is an excellent line out performer and along with O'Mahony would give us options both on attack and defense out of touch. Donnacha Ryan is the form Irish second row this season and turning into a real leader but Touhy is snapping at his heels so either would  do for me in the number 5 shirt. Mike McCarthy has been a top performer for Connacht for two seasons now and is a top defender round the ruck. Also he is a specialist scrummag-er on the tight-head side of the second row which could be important if Ross doesn't make it. The front row if fit are our best on balance at the moment so I stick with the three amigos as long as they are healthy.
Overall I think this team would go close but sure we'll probably never know

Christ no Crete Boom didn't do it on purpose just copied and pasted . Life is bad enough without getting the rossies vexed and angry.

Ah sure if they do see the mistake Deel , just get Lar and Jinxy to throw a couple of post up on the Ballagh thread and they'll soon forget about it

Still very Leinster dominated. They are some set up. Good to see a few Munster lads starting to drip through though. A few years ago there wasn't even 1 on the panel.

Leinster have the biggest schools pick which is still where the majority of U20's and future senior internationals come bar a couple i.e Sean O'Brien and Steven Ferris. Connacht had Shane layden, Daniel Qualter, Jack Carty , Aaron Conneely and Connor Finn who all played a part in this years six nations with Layden, Finn, Conneely and Qualter starting most games. Layden is the best of these scoring 3 trys in 5 games and would have been a definite starter but for injury and is an oustanding attacking full back whereas Nelson is a more solid if less spectacular player. I think Qulater is injured also and I don't know about Finn.Connacht also had a clean sweep in this years u20 interpros which bodes well for the future.
While Scannell , Hanrahan and Rael are all excellent prospects it's a pretty poor showing from Munster that they cannot at least match Connacht for producing underage internationals over the last couple of years considering their advantage in numbers of schools players and the funding they have by comparison. It looks to me that they have been hit hardest by the criminal neglect of the club game by the IRFU which is where they traditionally developed and harderened their players like O Connel , Hayes , David Wallace and Quinlan.

anyone got the team to hand? I know the fly half was a Kerryman, but what was the breakdown of the rest?

Peter Nelson (Dungannon/Ulster); Barry Daly (UCD/Leinster), Chris Farrell (Dungannon/Ulster), Foster Horan (Lansdowne/Leinster), Sam Coghlan Murray (UCD/Leinster); JJ Hanrahan (UL Bohemians/Munster), Kieran Marmion (Corinthians/Connacht); Des Merrey (Clontarf/Leinster), Niall Scannell (Dolphin/Munster) (capt), Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster), Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Leinster), Iain Henderson (Queen's University/Ulster), Jordan Coghlan (UCD/Leinster), Conor Gilsenan (UCD/Mullingar/Leinster), Jack Conan (Old Belvedere/Leinster).
Replacements used: Luke McGrath (UCD/Leinster) for Marmion (57 mins), Aaron Conneely (Corinthians/Connacht) for Gilsenan (58-64, blood sub), James Rael (Garryowen/Munster) for Scannell (64), Mikey Sherlock (Clontarf/Leinster) for Coghlan Murray (67), Alan O'Connor (UCD/Leinster) for Beirne (71), Peter Reilly (Lansdowne/Leinster) for Merrey (73). Not used: Jack Cawley (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Jack Carty

You forgot Jack Carty (Buccaners/Connacht) of Rosscommon minor fame Deel or was it on purpose . Either way you'll have the Rossies after you for that one!

The southern hemisphere teams have bossed this level of the game over the years and beating the saffers at home is a great result as it would be at senior level. We didn't even have our best team starting today. Layden and McGrath at scrum half are better imho.

Layden broke his leg in the run up to this tournament so is not available. Marmion was picked ahead of McGrath for his physicality against a huge SA backrow. Also Paddy Jackson was pulled by Ulster who wanted him to get in a full pre-season with the senior setup.
  Great win for the U20's especially since our pack bossed South Africa all through the game.Also we destroyed them at the break down despite the ref trying his best to make sure the hosts came back in the second half. Special metion for the Irish backrow of Cogan, Gilsenan and Conan. Also Henderson , Furlong and Scannel will be senior internationals before long.

[Dominic Ryan instead of Ferris]

Should Gilroy not have been given a chance in New Zealand or at least been a part of the tour party for some experience?!

Yep - again, blame the one eyed clown that picks the squad.


Both Gilroy and DKearney are significantly further along in their development than Zebo. But, neither Gilroy or DKearney play for Munster...

I personally would have Madigan in instead of O Gara and would leave Darcy at home so you could at least try McFadden or Drico at 12. Also I would have D. Kearney in and probably pick one of Gilroy/Zebo/Tiernan O' Halloran. In the forwards I would have taken Toner or maybe Ian Henderson instead of O' Callahan, Dominic Ryan instead of Ferris and Rhys Ruddock or John Muldoon instead of O' Brien ( purely becauuse both were carrying serious injuries into the Heiniken cup final). Also from left field I would have found space for Luke McGrath or more conservatively Paul Marshall at scrum half cause while Reddan is decent at club level he just can't cut it at international level unless getting an armchair ride form the pack!
This crap that to beat New Zealand we have to put out our full team in all three tests is a fairytale. Can anyone tell me what was the closest we came to beating New Zealand since the game started to go pro after the 87 world cup?.......................
Of course everybody knows it was the first test of the famous 1992 tour where we lost 24-21 in Carrisbrook after leading till the last 10 mins of the game! Still doesn't ring a bell? Well maybe all the batlled scared vertan players on the team will jog the auld memory :
15: Jim Staples (10th cap)
14: Ronnie Carey (first cap)
13: Philip Danagher (9th cap)
12: Vincent Cunnighham (7th cap)
11: Neville Furlong (first cap)
10: Peter Russell (first cap)
9: Mick Bradley  (23rd cap)
8: Kelvin Leahy ( first cap)
7: Brian Robinson (10th cap)
6: Mick Fitzgibbon (first cap)
5: Paddy Johns (2nd cap)
4: Mick Galway (5th cap)
3: Paul McCarthy (first cap)
2: Steve Smith (16th cap)
1: Nick Popplewell (8th cap)

(Drico and ROG have more caps individually than all the above team )

And just if you think the all blacks had some backwater junior provincial team out that day it contained legends such as Sean Fitzpatrick, Ian Jones , Jamie Joseph, Walter Little , Frank Bunce , John Kirwan and ( just poached from Western Soma and the original Lomu) Inga Tuigamala!

Do you seriously believe Ferris is not 1st choice No.6 for Ireland?

No Ferris if 60% fit is the first name in the backrow for Ireland but if you read the whole sentence I said the reason to leave him and O' Brien at home is that they were both carrying injuries into the Heineken Cup final with Ferris playing on one leg since the quarter final. The knee problem he has is well documented and has to be managed and from what I hear it's in especially bad shape at the moment. Just like they way Aston Villa let Paul McGrath do very light training to prolong his career I think Kidney should take a leaf out of Brain McLoughlin's book and way up the importance of keeping Ferris fit in the long term i.e next season's November's internationals/Six Nations not flog him on an end of year money making exercise especially since we have an abundance of young backrow talent chomping at the bit for game-time.