The IRISH RUGBY thread

[JPGJOHNNYG]

Great result for Munster. Leo Cullen should have been sacked about 3 yrs ago an absolute spoofer

That team with so many top players just keeps underperforming when it matters

[Wildweasel74]

Leinster good players but Cullen messed up 2/3 finals now and Leinster been way off the pace this year.

[Tony Baloney]

Farrell should have been picking his squad after today. Leinster totally bullied out of it today.

[Dag Dog]

The debate for Crowley at 10 has been settled beyond any doubt.
Only 2 of those Munster 23 players are in the Ireland squad. Time for Farrell to pick the team based on merit and not what the South Dublin rugby writers tell him.

P.S. Leo Cullen is doing a great job, leave him there!

[seafoid]

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/2025/10/27/denis-walsh-changes-must-come-as-andy-farrell-faces-biggest-challenge-as-ireland-manager/0
How good is the next wave of players? That is what he must find out.
Building a team for the next World Cup is the greatest challenge of Farrell's time as Ireland coach. There is no time to lose.

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/2025/10/28/gerry-thornley-too-old-too-leinster-well-soon-learn-a-lot-about-andy-farrells-ireland/


After all, this came within three days of Farrell initially naming a 34-man squad featuring 21 Leinster players to one from Munster, on top of 14 Leinster players taking part in the Lions tour down under compared with just Tadhg Beirne from Munster.


This has shone a light on the balance of the Leinster squad, which was accentuated by not-so-subtle suggestions in Ross Byrne's interview in these pages last Saturday. There's little doubt that Leinster's skill levels on the ball and attacking play have gone backwards, with the defence still at risk of costly bad days, as in that Northampton semi-final.

[seafoid]

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/2025/10/30/view-from-new-zealand-all-blacks-under-big-pressure-to-prove-their-worth-against-ireland/
View from New Zealand: Huge pay day the main reason All Blacks are facing Ireland in Chicago
There's growing concern in New Zealand that the focus is more on winning investment than on the All Blacks' ability to win games.

The Springboks scored 13 Rugby Championship tries from counterattack this year – which was 48 per cent of their total – while the All Blacks only scored two counterattack tries (9 per cent).

The All Blacks also conceded 17 more points than they scored in the final 20 minutes of games in the championship. Long gone are the days in which New Zealand would surge in the final quarter and run down almost any lead an opponent had.

In addition, there have been endless issues trying to nullify opponents' kicking games this year and the All Blacks have been almost comically bad at catching high balls.

The basics that have made the All Blacks what they are have eroded on Robertson's watch, and having not managed to win the Rugby Championship either this year or last, having suffered a record (43-10) loss to South Africa in September, and having seen two assistants depart early, he's clearly under enormous pressure to get a win in Chicago.

The All Blacks need a win not just to bolster an unconvincing record to date, but to also restore some faith that they can again become the game's great innovators and satisfy their enormous collection of sponsors that their investment has been well spent.

[galwayman]

The debate for Crowley at 10 has been settled beyond any doubt.
Only 2 of those Munster 23 players are in the Ireland squad. Time for Farrell to pick the team based on merit and not what the South Dublin rugby writers tell him.

P.S. Leo Cullen is doing a great job, leave him there!

To be fair - that was a one off game.
Leinster have been streets ahead of Munster for years.
One result in a run of the mill league fixture isn't going to suddenly convince Farrell to make wholesale changes in personnel.
The likelihood is still that Leinster are going to be a big contender for the Champions Cup whereas Munster won't be.

[Tony Baloney]

The debate for Crowley at 10 has been settled beyond any doubt.
Only 2 of those Munster 23 players are in the Ireland squad. Time for Farrell to pick the team based on merit and not what the South Dublin rugby writers tell him.

P.S. Leo Cullen is doing a great job, leave him there!

To be fair - that was a one off game.
Leinster have been streets ahead of Munster for years.
One result in a run of the mill league fixture isn't going to suddenly convince Farrell to make wholesale changes in personnel.
The likelihood is still that Leinster are going to be a big contender for the Champions Cup whereas Munster won't be.

I can see why he wants to be conservative for the Nov series but after that he seriously needs to turn attention to building a squad for 2027 which needs to have more new blood.

[johnnycool]

The debate for Crowley at 10 has been settled beyond any doubt.
Only 2 of those Munster 23 players are in the Ireland squad. Time for Farrell to pick the team based on merit and not what the South Dublin rugby writers tell him.

P.S. Leo Cullen is doing a great job, leave him there!

To be fair - that was a one off game.
Leinster have been streets ahead of Munster for years.
One result in a run of the mill league fixture isn't going to suddenly convince Farrell to make wholesale changes in personnel.
The likelihood is still that Leinster are going to be a big contender for the Champions Cup whereas Munster won't be.

Ireland with the very heavy Leinster contingent were also very flat in the 6N's this year, so there does need to be fresh blood in these Autumn internationals, but it seems that Farrell is going with the tried and trusted yet again.

[Tony Baloney]

The debate for Crowley at 10 has been settled beyond any doubt.
Only 2 of those Munster 23 players are in the Ireland squad. Time for Farrell to pick the team based on merit and not what the South Dublin rugby writers tell him.

P.S. Leo Cullen is doing a great job, leave him there!

To be fair - that was a one off game.
Leinster have been streets ahead of Munster for years.
One result in a run of the mill league fixture isn't going to suddenly convince Farrell to make wholesale changes in personnel.
The likelihood is still that Leinster are going to be a big contender for the Champions Cup whereas Munster won't be.

Ireland with the very heavy Leinster contingent were also very flat in the 6N's this year, so there does need to be fresh blood in these Autumn internationals, but it seems that Farrell is going with the tried and trusted yet again.

The 2027 WC seedings are straight after this in early December and it's imperative they get a decent draw (Remember England's side of draw!) so I see some logic is persevering with the tried and tested for now, but after that he needs to start planning phasing boys in and out over the next 12-18 months.

[thewobbler]

As usual, there's too much emphasis on the World Cup draw and not enough emphasis on the World Cup.

With 6 groups of 4, which in effect means only 1 of the other top 12 sides can in their group, Ireland's B team would canter into the last 16. Their C team would even get there. Put their A team on ice until the knockout stages, that's what has to be done.

That's when the tournament starts.

Everything up to that is nonsense.

[screenexile]

Could this be a red??!! Game over if so

[thewobbler]

Obviously people who know better than me will know better than me.

But the only way Beirne could lower his body in that situation and timeframe would have resulted in a headbutt.

So his only way to avoid a "yellow card / red card " collision would be to step out of the tackle.

Why is height difference not factored into these decisions? It's completely unfair on bigger players.

[BigGreenField]

It is the tacklers job to get lower, he made no attempt to do so, he made contact with the head. He also had no wrap with arms.

Regardless of how soft you view it dems the rules. Possibility of an upgrade to red but unlikely.

[thewobbler]

It is the tacklers job to get lower, he made no attempt to do so, he made contact with the head. He also had no wrap with arms.

Regardless of how soft you view it dems the rules. Possibility of an upgrade to red but unlikely.

My point still stands. A man who stands a foot taller than his opponent has to drop 18" in a split second. A man who stands a foot smaller than his opponent never has to consider this.

Now it's a red card.

For being taller.

f**k off rugby.