seemingly it is a bit more complicated than that. Dont wanna say too much on a public forum though.
Printable View
seemingly it is a bit more complicated than that. Dont wanna say too much on a public forum though.
you have me intrigued stu, feel free to pm me with the details
Likewise. I must get out more, haven't heard any of this
Thank god I pulled the plug on going this Friday night, the thought of watching in on tv is making me sick
remember it alright , a nice piece of trickery by elwood conjured the irish try.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheJamaicanP.M.
brilliant post , but perversely i think we can win , as a welsh mate of mine said the french fans will be coming to this game with a bugle in one hand and a tomato in the other. a few early scores for us would get them fickle bassas on their teams back.Quote:
Originally Posted by geysir
French side picked. No Jauzion...he's playing Michalak, and their back row composition is strange to say the least. New hope.
Depends on which Michalak turns up.... Melbourne 2003 springs to mind, drove straight from Phillip Island the day after my wedding anniversary, into the stadium, game over inside 20 minutes....Quote:
Originally Posted by joeSoap
On the allegations published this morning. Irrespective of whether there is any truth to them or not they are guaranteed to have an impact on mental preparations. What isn't guaranteed is the type of impact that will be and the mind games could well backfire for the French.
The Irish rugby team is a wounded animal right now, especially after the poor showings in the first two games, and the French press may just have just fuelled the hunger within for one big, merciless attempt to regain some pride.
Chabal in the 2nd row so maybe a weakness at the line out?Quote:
France: Poitrenaud; Clerc, Marty, Traille, Heymans; Michalak, Elissalde; Milloud, Ibanez, De Villiers, Chabal, Thion, Betsen, Dusautoir, Bonnaire.
Replacements: Szarzewski, Poux, Nallet, Nyanga, Beauxis, Jauzion, Rougerie.
Appears to be a lot of chances from the Argentina game...
Ireland are 4/1 to win which is very long when only 2 teams.
Look at The Football World Cup, Italy always get off to a slow start but are always there or thereabouts. Hopefully, a few changes and the obvious rustiness will have gone to help lift the standard of performances. Those really bad performances could be a blessing in disguise for O Sullivan, as the fringe players could come in and do a better job. O Sullvan was always wary of changing his starting 15 no matter who the opposition were.
Ireland are currently 6/1 with bwin.
Saudi Arabia usually get off to a slow start too though.Quote:
Originally Posted by lofty9
Touché !Quote:
Originally Posted by Schumi
But in Rugby terms we are at a level much much higher than that of Saudi Arabia.
Not based on our warm up games we aren't.Quote:
Originally Posted by lofty9
Also, if rumours are true, I'd be starting Wallace at 10.
Did the French papers print "the story" then?Quote:
Originally Posted by OneRedArmy
They said on Ireland AM this morning that L'Équipe ran the story today. I don't know if they had actually seen it or if they were just saying it.
As for the rumours/Wallace, I would disagree. Wallace is too weak and with his back in the corner the man facing the flak might come out swinging for the first time this tournament. There are two ways a sportsman can deal with this type of pressure in the short term. He can crawl into a shell or he can come out fighting. I pray it's the latter in this case.
Unless O'Gara has two broken legs playing Wallace would be a disaster. If he is playing might as well give the French a by. Among other things his kicking is woeful.Quote:
Originally Posted by OneRedArmy
Who has been the fly-half for our last 4 games?!Quote:
Originally Posted by pete
Lets face it ROG has hardly set the world on fire lately and the news breaking today gives one possible answer why that may be.
In fact, he's done nothing of note since the Autumn, apart from the England game. His line and tactical kicking were poor throughout the Six Nations and his goal kicking accuracy has fallen away too. He sits too deep in the pocket and when he can't find the corners he hasn't got the 3-dimensional game to try anything different.
Don't get me wrong, Wallace is unproven at best, erratic and unable to control a game at worst, but he does play the game at the gain line, shows flashes of brilliance from time to time and is considerably better passer than O'Gara.
No idea, knew about it from other sources.Quote:
Originally Posted by beautifulrock
There is nothing on the L'Equipe website about it, as far as I could see.
I was looking too mais ma francaise n'est pas le meilleur
At least Eddie is on song, Gift Grub special.
http://audiostore.todayfm.com/audio/...ift_ladies.mp3
:D :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
Not another Irishman moaning about his French bit on the side.
What's her name Stutts?
j'espere, j'espere...
Anyway, all rumours can be posted disreetly here.
You might as well wave the white flag if Wallace gets a game
I'm sick of yours and Pete's constant pro-Munster drivel.Quote:
Originally Posted by Soko
The white flag has been waved already based on our last 6 performances.
O'Gara has been atrocious recently.
On his day, he's a much better player than Wallace, but he hasn't got near those heights this year (except against an England team who aren't in the top 8 in the world right now).
Take the provincial blinkers off and if you are going to talk rugby, at least try and back up your points with some informed opinion (see joesoaps posts).
PS In case you think I'm equally biased in favour of Ulster players, I have no affinity whatsoever for Ulster and actually I stood on the terrace at Ravenhill this year in a London Irish jersey and scarf getting abused for cheering against Ulster.
If Wallace was a viable alternative, I'd be willing to play him but he's not. He's not even the out half for his own province ffs
I couldn't give **** about your provincial bull****, Wallace is not international quality. But hey, lets throw a guy in who struggles to hit penalties in front of the posts and rarely gives his over worked pack a break in Argentina a shot in the most important game this team has played. Great idea. Lets match Michilak with our own version in a panic move to unsettle the squad even further and wave the white flag!!!
PS In case you actually think I care about your views on Ulster, I don't.
fully agree with soko here. Wallace is not at the required standard and to suggest he should start ahead of ROG is outrageous. :eek:
He might not be the required standard yet, but how is he ever going to get there unless he's given game time? O'Gara represents the only option at out-half at the moment simply because he's the only one there. His performances have been totally inept, and blaming Stringer for a slow pass, or the pack for slow ball don't cut it. His running lines aren't conducive to getting the backs running, he takes at least 15 minutes every game lately to get his eye in with regard to his line kicking, and his personal problems are obviously affecting him.
Paddy Wallace has done very little wrong in any international he has played at out-half for Ireland. You can only perform against the opposition thats in fornt of you. I am prepared to give O'Gara one last chance tomorrow night because he has proven himself to be a big game player in the past. But it doesn't go beyond tomorrow night for me. It's his last chance saloon. If we don't win, then he's gotta go for the Argentina game because we will need a 4try haul minimum, and Wallace is a better man to get the backs going.
Is Ian Humphreys not a better 10 than Wallace? How come he never got a look in?
Ian Humphreys would not be any way near as good as Wallace...not yet anyway. Plus, he plays his rugby for Leicester, something O'Sullivan frowns upon. He wants all his players playing in Ireland. Easterby is an exception as he always lived and played with Llanelli, and Geordan Murphy went to Leicester at a very early age. Shane Jennings in particular learnt this the hard way. Eoin Reddan seems to be an exception, but only it seems because things are approaching rock bottom.
I agree. Could not care what province he plays for. I hoped he would do ok against Scotland in the summer but was a complete failure. If Ireland had an alternative kicker it may not be such a big deal but he is simply not good enough place kicker for International level rugby.Quote:
Originally Posted by Soko
His place kicking stands up...The pack and tactics against Scotland were as much of a failure as he supposedly was. I think he's getting an unfairly hard time of it here. No question, a fit, focused and on form O'Gara should always start, but at the moment he certainly isn't focused or on form. Wallace could be no worse than him at this moment. I have a gut feeling that he's going to turn it around tomorrow night though.Quote:
Originally Posted by pete
I'm as anti-Munster as anyone else and I don't think Wallace should get in the team to play France barring injury to O'Gara. O'Gara has been poor so far in the world cup but so has practically everyone else. If they don't all improve we're screwed and I don't think Wallace is of the standard required for a game of this magnitude.Quote:
Originally Posted by OneRedArmy
It was his older bro that should've been persuaded to come out of retirement for the World Cup. Not up to on form O'Gara standards, but would've been a realistic option from the bench.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
I made it abundandly clear that O'Gara is a better player than Wallace, but for whatever reason he is badly off his game.
I genuinely hope we turn it around tomorrow night, but I don't think people are recognising how poor we have been recently.
For us to win tomorrow night would be the biggest comeback since Lazarus.
why in God's name would we want to drop one of the best fly half's in Europe before the biggest Irish game in recent history? Yes he's played badly in the past two games but he'll find his form eventually. If we had a top class replacement then that is all well and good but we don't. I have faith in O'Gara, if he controls the game tomorrow we have a fantastic chance of beating France. A big if but we have the players to do it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by shakermaker1982
Answered your own question there.Quote:
Originally Posted by shakermaker1982
Will he? We'll see tomorrow night I suppose.Quote:
Originally Posted by shakermaker1982
Maybe if Fast Eddie occasionally rotated players from time to time we might have an idea how good our replacements are.Quote:
Originally Posted by shakermaker1982
The Pacific Islands team were a considerably better side than Namibia and Georgia for example. Why wasn't Wallace given a run against either of those sides?
The hope I'm clinging too is that they've been keeping back set plays and moves for these two games that they've been working on for months, and they just thought they could show up and wing it in the last two games (which should've been enough).Quote:
Originally Posted by OneRedArmy
Pretty much the entire team are off their games. As I stated above I believe O'Sullivan made changes in positions he had a credible alternative, out half obviously not one of them.Quote:
Originally Posted by OneRedArmy
O'Sullivan backed himself into a corner by not giving many alternatives enough game time to demonstrate whether or not they are credible.Quote:
Originally Posted by pete