We were a little bit panciky, but it was notable we didn't concede any more penalties and defended well. Agree other than that though - we should've been out of a sight and really punished a ropey Scotland.
Ou-est le Centre George Pompidou?
Why did he take off ROG, Wallace and Reddan? They were going well.
How stupid is this team? Management are clearly not getting through to them so I think it's time players get dropped for stupid indiscipline. Not binding jerseys at scrum time, hands on the ball when the ref is looking right at you etc etc has to stop.
Christ I was in a bad mood after the game and we won!
"If God had meant football to be played in the air, he'd have put grass in the sky." Brian Clough.
You'll NEVER beat the Irish.......you'll just draw with us instead!!!
Yeah this kind of ill-discipline can't go on and players have to be punished if they keep pushing it. O'Callaghan, Best and a few others seem particularly prominent. I'm really not looking forward to England at Lansdowne.
Ou-est le Centre George Pompidou?
England will beat us comfortably in the Aviva. I base this solely on their front 5 hammering the bejaysus out of ours and depriving us of ball, and giving Flood penalties he can kick blindfolded. We are too indisciplined and although its improving, our scrum is a shambles.
Does anyone else think that Sean Cronin vertainly isnt the boy wonder everybody thought he was going to be a year ago?
I hope your wrong Joe about our chances against England. I think our front 5 will 'man up' as they tend to do when they play England and the scrum won't be that much of an issue.
England are slow in midfield and not exactly pacy around the fringes. Tindall is a big bus and loves his crash ball but their play can be predictable. I don't rate their other centre either (New Zealand lad). This England side is not 2003 reincarnated as the English media seem to be suggesting. Flood can also get flaky when the pressure is on.
If we stop giving penalties away then we can beat most of the top sides. Keith Wood made a good point on the BBC that our players should just let the opposition have the ball now and again. We don't have to compete for every ball. Our defence has been excellent on the whole so why not bide our time until the opportunity presents itself for a turnover?
"If God had meant football to be played in the air, he'd have put grass in the sky." Brian Clough.
You'll NEVER beat the Irish.......you'll just draw with us instead!!!
Our scrum was a shambles. Now it's solid and unspectacular. England have always and will always be stronger up front than us but that hasn't stopped them from losing 6 of the last 7 meetings.Originally Posted by joeSoap
Wood was completely right - our completed tackle rate was something like 96% yesterday. I think they did try to change in the second half - O'Connell in particular was driving over the ball rather than putting his hands on it - but overall we just haven't adapted. It's concerning when you see the likes of Heaslip giving away stupid penalties that he never would for Leinster. Kidney's continued inclusion of Leamy is just bizarre. He did make one steal on the ground but should have been in the sin-bin at the time.
Based on this:from Kidney, I don't like our chances.We must look at the things we can control. We do contest the break down and make no apology for that.
We're not arrogant, we're just better.
So if Ireland beats Wales they are in the mix right?
No Somos muchos pero estamos locos.
That ball boy is an absolute legend.
"Life is like a hair on a toilet seat. Sooner or later you are bound to get pi$$ed off."
"In this league, a draw is sometimes as good as a win" - Steve Morison
so i take it they are now out of the mix !!!
" football is a simple game "
Seems to be a degree of tension between the Irish team and the media of late, heightened more so by todays events. The substitution of O'Gara, the kick ball tactics.........looks like the Irish team are on course to implode just in time for the world cup again. With Australia in our group for the WC and the Italians developing nicely, getting out of the group is far from certain.........again.
Yep, game changing intervention. MOTM by a mile.That ball boy is an absolute legend.
Funny, but my rugby mates were all on their high horses about how video technology minimises referee error, and footy has a long way to go to catch up.
The incident in Cardiff today rubbishes that notion. If an event can so easily be adjudicated upon by video intervention, why ignore it?
I believe Ireland suffered from incorrect video application vs WI in the cricket yesterday.
True, but maybe I'm naively optimistic in thinking that with just a bit extra - which I think they could find - they'd be a 20% better team than now. Still lots of basic errors.
Sexton doesn't convince me at test level. What was Wallace thinking at the death? Lack of confidence in Sexton, or just an outrageously dumb decision to cut inside? That "try" would have been a delight to watch, handling of the highest quality before Wallace cut back in.
Frustrating day, since Wales didn't look like getting a try until they nabbed one illegally. Still Ireland can only blame themselves for the awful kicking and some dreadful individual errors, like Wallace's cutting back inside at the death and Sexton's easy penalty miss.
Not convinced it'll happen but I'd really like to see Kidney go for a fresh approach next week - Fitzgerald isn't happening at full-back so replace him. Give McFadden a run instead of D'Arcy, maybe recall Trimble. At this point there's nothing to lose and a few of those guys could use a reminder of what they're playing for.
Ou-est le Centre George Pompidou?
Where do you start after that utter shambles?
Fitzgerald should NEVER EVER play full back again.
Who told them to kick every time they had possession? Is that Gaffney or Kidney?
Where the hell has been Heaslip been this 6N?
"If God had meant football to be played in the air, he'd have put grass in the sky." Brian Clough.
You'll NEVER beat the Irish.......you'll just draw with us instead!!!
[QUOTE=shakermaker1982;1464119]Where do you start after that utter shambles?
He's been dire. Earls has impressed me, and I'm told he's decent at full back too. They need a different option that's for sure.Fitzgerald should NEVER EVER play full back again.
Who told them to kick every time they had possession? Is that Gaffney or Kidney?
Twitter, by all accounts.Where the hell has been Heaslip been this 6N?
D'Arcy hasn't looked hectic and I'm told that McFadden deserves a run there. I try to take in as much as I can from the people who know better than me. I always feel we commit more people to protecting ball than our opponents do with no obvious difference? Is that fair or unfair?
How many places on the team are assured? Bowe? BOD? POC? Ferris when fit?
Here they come! It’s the charge of the “Thanks” Brigade!
I think Fitzgerald's gotten better in every game but he definitely needs to get back on the wing. I think he still offers more than Earls on the wing, though he has also been improving with every game.
Heaslip has been quite in games but I think that's because he's ceded ball-carrying duties to Sean O'Brien. He is still very visible for Leinster because Jennings isn't much of a ball-carrier, but Wallace takes up that responsibility for Ireland. He's still been brilliant off the back of the scrum.
I think McFadden has been shockingly hard done by. I just don't understand the decision to keep Paddy Wallace on the bench. Earls should be cover for 15, allowing McFadden to come in and play on the wing or in the centre if required. Even Trimble would offer speed and quick feet off the bench.
That's exactly what my better informed mates have been saying.
Every time the squad is announced I get a "Kidney out!" email from my mate saying that overlloking McFadden is a crime and that Kidney is too conservative.
I queried the latter contention, pointing to Trap's "conservatism" despite lots of (eventual) new caps and how teams do actually change. I cited Ross, Healy, O'Brien, Heaslip (I think), Sexton and a few others as being Kidney caps, rather than O'Sullivan legacies.
In fact Sexton kind of illustrates the dilemma facing a manager at test / international level. He looks the part at club level but to me he looks a bit phased by test level, his kicking being too eratic - and I was saying this before Wales.
I was really playing devil's advocate but I know from experience from watching the footy that there's usually a lot of clamour for new faces when maybe they're not yet justified.
Kidney seems to be panicking now. Omitting Fitzgerald from the 22 entirely to accommodate Paddy Wallace on the bench again. Still no McFadden. England will be very pleased with that.
Ireland team (v England): Keith Earls (Thomond/Munster), Tommy Bowe (Ospreys), Brian O’Driscoll (UCD/Leinster) (capt), Gordon D'Arcy (Lansdowne/Leinster), Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster), Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary's College/Leinster), Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne/Leinster), Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster), Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster), Donncha O'Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster), Paul O'Connell (Young Munster/Munster), Sean O'Brien (Clontarf/Leinster), David Wallace (Garryowen/Munster), Jamie Heaslip (Naas/Leinster)
Replacements: Sean Cronin (Buccaneers/Connacht), Tom Court (Malone/Ulster), Leo Cullen (Blackrock College/Leinster), Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution/Munster), Peter Stringer (Shannon/Munster), Ronan O'Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster), Paddy Wallace (Ballymena/Ulster)
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