Rugby 2015

[swinfordfc]

Lads,

This is such a big year for rugby especially in this country with the world cup and 6N but the Pro 12 is really good at present with all 4 teams fighting in the top 6 but also looking over their shoulders at Scarlets in order in the top 6 for the Champions Cup - Connacht have being unreal so far and next week game is huge against Edinburgh!

Can they keep it going?

[Stuttgart88]

Were the English right all along? Making European qualification harder from the Pro12 seems to make it a more interesting league.

[Charlie Darwin]

It's a more interesting league because all the teams are worse.

[swinfordfc]

It's a more interesting league because all the teams are worse.

I disagreed - Connacht has much improved from previous years! - This is their best year ever .... so far!

[Real ale Madrid]

Were the English right all along? Making European qualification harder from the Pro12 seems to make it a more interesting league.

Qualification has gotten easier not harder for the Irish teams.

It's the Welsh regions its going to hurt the most - as it stands now the regions will only qualify 1 team to next years Champions Cup - if that situation continues then it could very well kill off the regions altogether who are dying on their feet as it is. The death of professional club rugby in Wales would have serious consequences for the Pro12. Meritocracy is a bad thing for the Pro12 as it will just help the stronger teams at the expense of the weak. No Pro12 could be catastrophic for Irish rugby, it would be cutting off your nose to spite your face. Good for Connacht needs to be at the expense of another Irish team not a Welsh team.
There was nothing wrong with the system of Pro12 / Heineken Cup as it was.

[Charlie Darwin]

I disagreed - Connacht has much improved from previous years! - This is their best year ever .... so far!
Well Connacht are better, Ospreys maybe surprisingly better despite a reduced budget, and the Scots have kicked on a little but the rest are worse. Leinster, Ulster and Munster have all regressed, the Italians lost all their players to England and the Welsh are even more of a basket case than before.

[swinfordfc]

Qualification has gotten easier not harder for the Irish teams.

It's the Welsh regions its going to hurt the most - as it stands now the regions will only qualify 1 team to next years Champions Cup - if that situation continues then it could very well kill off the regions altogether who are dying on their feet as it is. The death of professional club rugby in Wales would have serious consequences for the Pro12. Meritocracy is a bad thing for the Pro12 as it will just help the stronger teams at the expense of the weak. No Pro12 could be catastrophic for Irish rugby, it would be cutting off your nose to spite your face. Good for Connacht needs to be at the expense of another Irish team not a Welsh team.
There was nothing wrong with the system of Pro12 / Heineken Cup as it was.

Thats a good point but Scarlets could still catch Connacht so we see .... i think its wrong that a Italian side still makes it into the Champions Cup still though .....

[swinfordfc]

Well Connacht are better, Ospreys maybe surprisingly better despite a reduced budget, and the Scots have kicked on a little but the rest are worse. Leinster, Ulster and Munster have all regressed, the Italians lost all their players to England and the Welsh are even more of a basket case than before.

Only Glasgow is good in Scotland .... Edinburgh have alot of work to do although they did well last weekend! And Ospreys are a very good team in Wales but the rest are poor at the moment.

[Stuttgart88]

Qualification has gotten easier not harder for the Irish teams.

It's the Welsh regions its going to hurt the most - as it stands now the regions will only qualify 1 team to next years Champions Cup - if that situation continues then it could very well kill off the regions altogether who are dying on their feet as it is. The death of professional club rugby in Wales would have serious consequences for the Pro12. Meritocracy is a bad thing for the Pro12 as it will just help the stronger teams at the expense of the weak. No Pro12 could be catastrophic for Irish rugby, it would be cutting off your nose to spite your face. Good for Connacht needs to be at the expense of another Irish team not a Welsh team.
There was nothing wrong with the system of Pro12 / Heineken Cup as it was.you sound very convincing, so I'll take your word for it as I haven't been studying the table. But I felt that if Leinster list to Ulster they might face a battle to qualify, no? That'd have been bad for Leinster but interesting for everyone else.

[Real ale Madrid]

you sound very convincing, so I'll take your word for it as I haven't been studying the table. But I felt that if Leinster list to Ulster they might face a battle to qualify, no? That'd have been bad for Leinster but interesting for everyone else.

Its early days to be looking at the table too closely but the top team from each country gets in and then the next 3 in the table.
As it stands 3 Irish provinces hold the 3 places allocated to the league itself. Id be amazed if Leinster finished outside the top 6 - but its not impossible.

I reckon Connacht will be in a scrap with Scarlets and possibly Edinburgh for that 6th spot in the league. If you look below them - NG Dragons and Cardiff are hopeless and the Italian teams don't look like they are able to get involved although they both have been competitive at home. Maybe Ulster will get dragged into the play-off battle if they don't improve. Can't see the top 4 changing at all - Ospreys - Glasgow - Munster - Leinster.

It will make for an interesting finish to the season hopefully as the 6th place team will guarantee a Champions Cup slot - while the next team down will qualify for a play-off with the Eng / Fra teams in a similar position.

[Mr A]

Neil Francis doesn't hold back on Dylan Hartley here: http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/other-rugby/neil-franncis-dylan-hartley-wont-stop-biting-stamping-and-gouging-until-hes-booted-out-of-game-30891234.html

He's right of course- the guy is a thug.

[swinfordfc]

Neil Francis doesn't hold back on Dylan Hartley here: http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/other-rugby/neil-franncis-dylan-hartley-wont-stop-biting-stamping-and-gouging-until-hes-booted-out-of-game-30891234.html

He's right of course- the guy is a thug.

Thats the first time Francis has wrote something bang on - he's spot on about Hartley!

[Mr A]

Hartley responds via Twitter:

https://twitter.com/DylanHartley/status/553164037480271872

"My downfalls have been on the field for everyone to see. You hide away writing opinion and not fact, never to be held accountable. Snakes."

Not sure what he's on about there TBH.

[swinfordfc]

Well that was the worst i seen Connacht play this year ... slow out of the blocks and that was bad when you had a gale force wind behind you! ... Give away a bad try in the first half and then when they had Edinburgh under pressure, Rodney Ar You and Denis Buckley (2) give them 3 soft pens to clear they lines! ... you wonder is the brain working sometimes!

Pressure is a big thing and its the first time that Connacht are now expected to win a game ..... and they fell down big time!!!!! .... really disappointed with tonight show but their are still 5 pts ahead of Scarlets and Edinburgh after tonight games ...... Roll on February!

[swinfordfc]

Well done to Munster and Leinster in they wins yeastarday! ... Ulster needs 5 points today to stayed with the top 4 or they be in no mans land!

Its Looks like a sixth placed fight among 3 teams for that final ERCC spot !!!

[swinfordfc]

Oh Ulster were very lucky today! 24pts up .. and only win by 4pts!

[swinfordfc]

Well that's Munster and Ulster gone out of Europe for this year! ...... good win by Leinster and they now have a huge game in Coventry next weekend especially as Wasps are 17-0 up at half time now against O'Shea team Harlequins!

[tetsujin1979]

watching the Munster game, I thought Saracens gave an early preview of how England are going to play this year's Six Nations - ball in hand, short passes, and power your way through the opposition.
Out of possession it's all about moving up fast and closing down the player in possession. Friend of mine is a coach with one of the clubs in Lucan, and he described it as "anti-rugby"

[Charlie Darwin]

watching the Munster game, I thought Saracens gave an early preview of how England are going to play this year's Six Nations - ball in hand, short passes, and power your way through the opposition.
Out of possession it's all about moving up fast and closing down the player in possession. Friend of mine is a coach with one of the clubs in Lucan, and he described it as "anti-rugby"
I think that's underselling Saracens a bit. They play very simple, low-percentage rugby but they do it very well and the skill level is high. They are miles off Toulon, but then again so is everybody. I don't think England have the mixture of power and skills that Sarries have so I'd expect them to play more in the pack.

[swinfordfc]

Connacht wont win these big games either if they dont sort out they scrum .... it was brutal yestarday! ... they are as good out of Europe as well!

[Spudulika]

Leinster win the pool, happy to see Wasps go out if this is the case. Really surprised that the wasps 6 only got yellow after Pienaars red for Ulster last year. The Ulsterman showed no malicious intent and tried to pull out, Johnson for wasps went to do Dave Kearney, and did it!

[Charlie Darwin]

Leinster win the pool, happy to see Wasps go out if this is the case. Really surprised that the wasps 6 only got yellow after Pienaars red for Ulster last year. The Ulsterman showed no malicious intent and tried to pull out, Johnson for wasps went to do Dave Kearney, and did it!
Payne. Yeah, the Wasps player should have been red. The Payne red and subsequent suspension set down the marker that taking a player out in the air like that, intentionally or not, was a red card offence. The referee bottled it. Funnily enough, it was the same ref. Maybe he had deja vu.

[swinfordfc]

Leinster will be out after the quarter final - they not good enough!

Connacht wont make the quarter final - set pieces ruining they chances in France ..... again~!

[swinfordfc]

Leinster will be out after the quarter final - they not good enough!

Connacht wont make the quarter final - set pieces ruining they chances in France ..... again~!

I take that back - two tries in last 6 mins and we are into the quarter finals - Bravo Connacht!

[tetsujin1979]

Leinster will be out after the quarter final - they not good enough!

Connacht wont make the quarter final - set pieces ruining they chances in France ..... again~!
Can see Leinster getting by Bath with home advantage, but no way they'll progress beyond the semi final

[swinfordfc]

Can see Leinster getting by Bath with home advantage, but no way they'll progress beyond the semi final

Yes i agree with that for sure.


Ireland Wolfhounds are very strong for tonights game

[Spudulika]

Terrible game last night. Made the mistake by sitting in to watch it. Marmion was a bit off the boil and they looked like players who had just met. Didn't see why all the hype over Waldrom, but Kvesic had a decent game. Sean O'Brien did his bit, Ian Madigan showed his kicking boots are back, but a sad loss.

[swinfordfc]

Terrible game last night. Made the mistake by sitting in to watch it. Marmion was a bit off the boil and they looked like players who had just met. Didn't see why all the hype over Waldrom, but Kvesic had a decent game. Sean O'Brien did his bit, Ian Madigan showed his kicking boots are back, but a sad loss.

Agreed - very poor game

[Charlie Darwin]

Some start in Cardiff. 10-5 after 20 minutes.

[swinfordfc]

But England deserved the win - Only 3 teams can win the slam now! ..... Ireland v France the big game next weekend!

[swinfordfc]

Ireland v England is huge in 2 weeks!

Connacht season is slowly slipping away now and Leinster are on a slipping slope as well but they will get 5pts next week! ... Its awful to see Connacht play the way they did today - brutal stuff!

[tetsujin1979]

Wales and Scotland pretty much cancelled each other out in Murrayfield. Scotland have improved since last season, but are still short of the quality required to beat the better sides in the Six Nations. I fully expect them to beat Italy, but that's it. England fared pretty much the same as ourselves against Italy - struggled to break down a stubborn defence in the first half, but eventually ran out clear winners
France have regressed since the last world cup, and they really only have themselves to blame. With their bigger club sides having the pick of worldwide talent, their success has come at the expense of the national side. Having said that, they still cause Ireland problems with their physicality, and it'll be more of the same from England in two weeks. Another blow to the head for Sexton is worrying and I doubt he can see out of his left eye today, but he'll still start against England, barring an injury next week in France. Was surprised Madigan was given the nod ahead of Keatley as the replacement kicker, after a decent performance from Keatley against Italy. I'm genuinely worried about the lack of creativity in the Irish backline, no tries scored against France despite spending quite an amount of time on their 22 in the first half. One thing I noticed from last year's Six Nations was the lack of scoring in the second half of games from the Irish side, and it was the same against France, only two penalties in the second 40. Payne and Henshaw may well be the new Driscoll and D'Arcy, but they didn't look like breaking through the French defence. Both wingers were passengers, Zebo did nothing until the last minute when he bundled the French player into touch,

[Real ale Madrid]

I'd agree about the lack of creativity, but the main thing in Rome was to win and not take unnecessary risks. I think the French came here to be a bit negative if I am honest. They were really up on the gain line - too much most of the time I thought. They went to stifle us completely and with the beef that they have in the back-line then it becomes difficult to break down - we only created 1 clear opportunity and if we had taken that it would have been a more comfortable victory. I expect a similar type of game against England but I would expect us to have more opportunities to score tries against Wales and Scotland. Maybe England may not be as difficult ? I thought England got a few soft scores against Wales and gave up 3 poor tries against Italy. It will interesting to see how good they really are. Wales / France will be interesting also on Saturday week. If Wales could get back to more of the offloading type game they are so good at - they may have enough for the French.

[Mr A]

Madigan got the nod over Keatley as he also covers centre I think. Uninspired stuff from Ireland so far, but then we haven't much needed much. But we should get better as we've players returning and getting back up to speed.

[swinfordfc]

A window of opportunity has open for Connacht! ... Can they win away tomorrow in Wales and get 6th spot back for themselves?

[swinfordfc]

Bravo Connacht ..... back up to 6th and now 7 games to go!!!!

[swinfordfc]

6 games to go and Connacht have a great chance now! ...... but its going to be tight. The Cardiff game is huge on Friday night!

[Charlie Darwin]

Love that you bumped this thread and not a mention of a certain match at Lansdowne.

[tetsujin1979]

I'm just putting this out there: Schmidt is turning Ireland into England under Woodward, with Sexton in the Wilkinson role.
Discuss.

[Spudulika]

I'm just putting this out there: Schmidt is turning Ireland into England under Woodward, with Sexton in the Wilkinson role.
Discuss.

Or into New Zealand with Sexy Jonny in the Dan Carter role! We get a lead and then sit back.

[swinfordfc]

Or into New Zealand with Sexy Jonny in the Dan Carter role! We get a lead and then sit back.

It's great ..... 10 wins in a row and England are fuming about it! .... the Wales game will be a lot tougher though .... the centres battle is going to be great to watch!

[BonnieShels]

All this talk of it not being "good" to watch is absolute tosh. I am loving this intensity. How could you not?

Watching that scrum on Sunday had me purring. When has it ever been this good? Not in my lifetime.

[Mr A]

I thought that was a brilliant match on Sunday and Ireland could and perhaps should have won by more. 10 wins in a row is a hell of a thing. The intensity of the game would make you fear for player welfare though.

The Welsh will have their tails up, although their general arrogance means they're never all that short of confidence anyway.

[Real ale Madrid]

I thought the France match wasn't great but the game Sunday was good. England came to play a bit in fairness to them but they are a very inexperienced team and just let the occasion get to them a little. They got a few soft scores in Cardiff which they were never doing to get in Dublin. We should have pressed on after the 52 min mark a bit but hard to be over-critical.

Rugby is a different game to what is was though - no more mis-matches in terms of pace and power. Barring the props all the players have similar physique which is bound to send the game itself into a more rugby league type set-up.

The scrums were OK on Sunday but in rugby generally, the scrum is badly in need of a re-haul - 20 years ago the scrum was just a means of restarting the game. Now its a penalty generator. Something needs to change there. No-one wants to see 10 mins of scrums per game. No one.

A similar level of performance against Wales and Scotland and we are certainties for the Grand slam. Can't help but think we will throw in a below par performance somewhere along the road.

[BonnieShels]

A good start would be stopping the clock at restarts and only starting again once the ball is put in.

That will at least resolve that problem of wasting time.

[swinfordfc]

Mmmmmmm ..... Wayne Barnes is the ref against Wales ......

[BonnieShels]

Bawlls.

In other news, Italy have exoresses an interest in RWC2023

[swinfordfc]

Connacht ...... why would you kick the ball away in the 79 minute of the game ..... Carty you useless ....... threw the win away and this will come back to haunt ye at the end of the season!

[NeverFeltBetter]

I've only ever really had any interest in international rugby, and even then only in a fleeting sense, but I was thinking I might try and give the upcoming World Cup a bit more of my attention than I gave to the last one. Reading into it, I'm wondering why the authorities are content with four groups of five (and with such a poor geographical spread). Surely you could find four more teams (so, a USA 94 format) as good or better than, say, Namibia, and make everything a bit more streamlined? I mean, Spain and Russia are reasonably competitive right? Is it really just a case of trying to avoid too many lopsided scorelines? How do you grow the international game then?

[Stuttgart88]

How do you grow the international game then?
They don't really want to grow the international game unless if it includes a big TV market like the USA, or maybe Russia. It's as bad as cricket in the institutionalised disregard for ambitious, talented and plucky, but not wealthy, nations. That's modern sport for you.