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Backs: G Dempsey; A Trimble, B O'Driscoll, G D'Arcy, D Hickie; R O'Gara, P Stringer
Forwards: M Horan, R Best, J Hayes; P O'Connell, D O'Callaghan; S Easterby, D Leamy, D Wallace
Subs: I Boss, P Wallace, G Murphy, N Best, J Flannery, S Best, M
O'Driscoll.
Only surprises for me are Trimble in ahead of Murphy and Easterby in ahead of Neill Best, especially seeing as that he was a real star preformer during the autum tests.
How come they're only playing with XI ? Or how come Stan picked these fat f*cks ?Quote:
Originally Posted by BrayUnknowns
The biggest suprise for me is we're only playing XI instead of XV. ;)
Easterby had to start in my opinion. He's on fire for Llaneli - one of the best players in the Heineken Cup. He also knows the Welsh players inside out.
Murphy on the bench is the right decision in my books - Steady Eddie gets it right again.
highlights the contrast between eddie and stan. eddie can pick on form at the moment not form of the national team months ago, which is a reason people want robbie keane dropped. eddie's policy, in my view, is better.Quote:
Originally Posted by BrayUnknowns
good team selection by Eddie, Neil Best is very unlucky but the correct decision as Easterby is on fire. Expect best to be introduced and he will make a serious impact sub. Also expect Flannery to get at least a half. Come on Ireland
I'd be a bit of a chancer when it come to rugby. I only watch Munster and keep tabs of what I hear in the Media when it comes to analysing the team. I was surprised to see Rory Best selected ahead of Flannery, who I thought if he was fit enough to be in the squad would be fit enough to start. Good call on Dempsey, everyone seems to agree that he's on form. The team mostly picks itself doesn't it?Quote:
Originally Posted by BrayUnknowns
Can't wait for the weekend now,
Not picking Best (MoTM Ulster v Llanelli) is Fast Eddie at his conservative worst. Best has probably been the worlds best 6 over the past 12 months & he brings an intensity Easterby can only aspire to. The only thing Easterby has over him is lineout ability at the tail, which isn`t enough justification in my book.
The rest of the team picks itself in Horgans absence, with R Best only keeping the jersey warm for Flannery.
Thankfully Murphy the pretender has been banished to the bench, surely the most over-rated player since Conor O`Shea in an Irish jersey.
oh dont mention that gobsh1te conor oshea!
Surprised Flannery even with little game time not starting but I expect him off the bench & to start the second game as clearly the best hooker.
As usual a few injuries in key areas & Ireland would be screwed. Injury to O'Gara would end any hope in 6 Nations. Also not quality backup for props & now fairly weak in the second row after the first choice players.
For some reason I believe Ireland will be unable to live up to the hype especially the Croke Park games & as the old cliche goes we don't like being favourites.
He wouldn't be within 10 places of the All Blacks backrow. Jerry Collins would rip him to pieces. Having said that I personally would have picked Best above Easterby but Easterby offers another line out option which must have been the thinking.Quote:
Originally Posted by OneRedArmy
Murphy is only poor when played on the wing as a full back he is our most solid dependable option.
I'd have backed best as well. Not shocked by the R Best/Flannery decision, no doubt Flannery is the better player but needs a bit more game time. If he comes off the bench on Sunday he'll probably be ready to start the next game.
Pre Xmas I was confident we'd clinch the title at the very least but now I'm starting to get a little nervy. Wales away in your first game is no easy task. We will miss Horgan but Trimble/Hickie are fantastic players themselves so I hope they more than compensate on the wings. We need Flannery to get match fit because our front 3 is our only real weakness and I break out in panic every time we have a scrum (even when we have the put in!)
Has anyone here actually seen Easterby play recently? He's on fire and playing the best rugby of his life, easily Llanelli's best forward while Best has been playing on a struggling Ulster squad. Good choice
I agree with Soko - Easterby has been the best back row player in the Heineken Cup without question so he's in there on merit. Best was let down by his team's performances.
I think the fact that Easterby knows all the Welsh pack pretty well has given him an extra advantage too.
I'd have Best in ahead of Easterby, and Flannery in ahead of the other Best. Apart from that I'd say its a pretty good line up. Our major problem is that we are favourites which never suits us.
Agree. Worrying that Horan, Hayes, O'Connell and Wallace have all looked out of sorts in Munster's recent games. O'Connell's form is most worrying, Hope I am wrong!Quote:
Originally Posted by Aldini98
Best was arguably Ireland`s best player in the 2 summer tests against the AB`s and more than held his own.Quote:
Originally Posted by endabob1
As for full-back, Dempsey is better defensively, has a better boot & has actually come more into the line offensively.
Great game of rugby although we did not play as well as we can.D'Arcy man of the match. O'Driscoll off injured, hopefully he will be fit for the French game.
The English media and fans alike are starting to write us off whilst Wilko will come to their saviour and win the 6n plus WC. Can't wait till he comes up against us in 3 weeks time.
The English media were writing us off after the final round of Heineken Cup group games.Quote:
Originally Posted by shakermaker1982
Dodgy performance by Ireland, but got the job done none the less. An improved display next week a must for victory against France.
How far has Irish rugby come when we can play poorly and still outscore Wales in cardiff 3 tries to none. Easterby more than justified his selection. Thought the back row was terrific.
I've got to say i was impressed with our front 3, they have been criticised all last week with the Welsh making noises on how they'd beat em up and I'm pleased to say they held their own.
D'Arcy was outstanding, back to his best.
Yep noticed that too. A win for both of us would sent the English into hysterics!Quote:
Originally Posted by shakermaker1982
Better second half performance but very worried about the number of mistakes and the performance of the half back axis.
O'Gara showed good recovery skills to bounce back towards the end of the game but he really wasn't helped by Stringer. Peel showed Stringer what a world class scrum half. I really think he's holding back Ireland as he is a limited player with too many downsides and I could see Boss in permanently before the World Cup.
On the plus side, good to see the scrum holding up, Hayes is worth his (considerable) weight in gold. Great to see Flannery back also, Best did fine in the scrum and lineouts but he'll never offer what Flannery does in the loose.
Really think we'll struggle against the French without O'Driscoll and Horgan and Paul O'Connell really needs to up his game.
Impressed by Geordan Murphy in his limited time. Maybe getting dropped was exactly what he needed?
fingers crossed BOD makes the French game. When is big Shane likely to feature?
England at the earliest I think.Quote:
Originally Posted by shakermaker1982
Below par prefromance yesterday, but as they say it's the sign of a good side that can play badly but still win. Improvements needed all over the pitch for the French game.
Have to say Wilko looked good, even if it was against a poor scottish side. still the best kicker in the world.
A win is a win as they say. I'd still make 3 changes to the team (if there are no injuries). Boss in for Stringer, Murphy for Trimble and Flannery for Best.
Stringer was horrendous yesterday. Trimble didn't do anything wrong but Murphy offers a bigger threat. As for Best - he needs a hearing aid or can he just not understand the southern accent?
I'd agree with those changes and also introduce Neil Best at some stage.Quote:
Originally Posted by finlma
If BOD is injured I'd put Trimble in at 13, although I suspect Eddie might favour Paddy Wallace at 12 and Darce at 13.
Bad in all that Stringer was he will not be dropped for France game. I agree with other replacements as they were tight decisions for Wales match anyway.Quote:
Originally Posted by finlma
Dempsey is poor international player although he has the odd good game. He doesn't have the ambition or cutting edge for Internationals (i will almost always kick the ball back) & kicking isn't good enough to justify his place. He is very good usually at club level though.
Is it me or is Flannery looking 'lighter'?Still a class player, looks like he's missing a bit of bulk, although I am probably wrong?
That's very harsh on Dempsey. He is dependable, and will rarely make a mistake under a high ball or miss a tackle, which must be the priority for a full back. Murphy offers more in attack, when he can be arsed, but is much poorer defensively.Quote:
Originally Posted by pete
Agree with macy. Dempsey isn't brought in for his kicking as they'll use Hickie as a left footed option instead (and occasionaly O'Driscoll). He's in there as he makes less mistakes than Murphy. He had a quiet enough game on Sunday but no reason to drop him IMO
do ye notice in England they always look for saviour or a villian/scapegoat.ALWAYS.Quote:
The English media and fans alike are starting to write us off whilst Wilko will come to their saviour and win the 6n plus WC. Can't wait till he comes up against us in 3 weeks time.
wilkinson did play well though. you have to give it to him.
I thought Ellis was better!Quote:
Originally Posted by paul_oshea
Quote:
Originally Posted by OneRedArmy
How did Best get MOM against LLanelli if he was outplayed by Easterby? Was it just a case of a home player having to get the award? Scarlets battered Ulster that day in Ravenhill and Easterby was brilliant.
I'm referring to the away game in Stradey, which Ulster also lost. In the game in Ravenhill Easterby did play well, but in fairness it was hard for Best to exert a lot of influence when the whole Ulster team folded like a pack of cards.Quote:
Originally Posted by swano
There's no doubt Llanelli are a far superior team to Ulster (and just about every other team in the competition this year).
Still reckon Best's ommission is a mistake, particularly given Chabal's presence in the French side.