Yeah but this is rugby we are talking about - fiddle around for most of the game and then its all decided on penalty kicks - re that annoying ad they have on ITV - 75% of all scores are decided by p.kicks
ITV coverage does have some great tidbits of info during commentary, to enhance your appreciation of the game. Like when England's Johnny was taking a 25m drop out, 'he hits it high in the air to give his back line enough time to catch up with the dropping ball'.
I don't think I ever have watched a game on ITV. Nor would I ever through choice. I'm clearly missing out.
DID YOU NOTICE A SIGN OUTSIDE MY HOUSE...?
No choice in the UK - and they have Doyle in the studio -yikes! But wouldn't be able to watch Ryle Nugent either, IMHO he is the worst commentator of them allOriginally Posted by BonnieShels
ITV have all the games, and are free to air on satellite for the non-Ireland games (FTA in Ireland too, obviously). They've been doing the World Cups since the start as far as I recall, and they've always been brutal.
Regarding Sexton - he clearly needs to get to grips with the new ball, but some of the comments above are ridiculous regarding the general standard of his kicking - you'd swear he'd never nailed crucial penalties over the years. I'd probably start O'Gara against Italy though, as it probably won't be expansive from either side. Kidney doesn't pick on form - look how long Cullen has been kept out, Darcy being kept in at the expense of other options, and how long he's persisted with giving opportunities to penalty machines Buckley and Leamy.
If you attack me with stupidity, I'll be forced to defend myself with sarcasm.
Really? You reserve that for our Ryle?
He's not commentating anymore anyway, Hugh Cahill has that job now it seems.
At this stage it can't be the ball. I think its youth and pressure getting to him. Because unless he is kicking at this world cup he has been fine. So there's something going on with him that's more than about the ball.
That Leamy somehow still wears an Ireland shirt really really kills me. He's beyond práisce!
Youth? He's 26! has over 70 caps for Leinster and 22 caps for Ireland. It's bizarre the excuses people make for him. O'Gara deserves the nod based on performances of both over the last seven games.
The pressure of playing for Ireland is obviously a bigger burden than playing for Leinster, as it should be.
From the way he is prepping his kicks there's something else going on. I'd imagine dropping him coldly on that basis of one aspect of the game would exacerbate it. He has performed well outside of that.
I would still start him whilst we battle the Italian front row and then bring ROG on to ping the Italians around the pitch.
It could be technique too - happened to him before, and then he changed something minor and he was back into the 90%'s. Think golfers swing. But it could be in the pressure situation the technique is going - it's too hard to tell from the outside.
Not particularly trying to make the case for Sexton over O'Gara for Italy, but you'd swear from our Munster contingent that O'Gara never missed a kick himself, especially not under pressure, like for example to win the HC. I'd probably just about go with O'Gara for Italy, based on the type of game I think it'll be, but some of the commentary on this thread regarding Sexton is just partisan bs.
If you attack me with stupidity, I'll be forced to defend myself with sarcasm.
I enjoy the child at Xmas commentating approach of Ryle Nugent for the Irish rugger games - in fact I miss him now he's head of sport at RTE
Here they come! It’s the charge of the “Thanks” Brigade!
O'Gara has missed kicks eg. to win the HC and he has nailed kicks time after time to win big games. In other games he has nailed what I would call huge pressure kicks, converting from the touchline or from the 1/2 way line on a wet day. We know what O'Gara has, for better and for worse. Sexton has not demonstrated for Ireland that he is ready in the kicking depatment. Hopefully he can work on this successfully as he definitely looks the part. If Sexton is picked to start again for the Italy game and he keeps missing the kicks then he is kicking himself out of the starting team.
Some of ye guys havent a clue about sport at all - one wonders about yis!
South Africa 2009, with 2 broken fingers? Never mind in the HC. Sexton's out of form kicking wise, not some spoofer who's never been able to convert under pressure.
If you attack me with stupidity, I'll be forced to defend myself with sarcasm.
That's a good point. I heard over the summer that he had changed his technique. Think it was during the summer series I heard it.
He could be our Padraig.
I never even hinted that Sexton was a spoofer.
He's out of kicking form now, that's the issue isn't it, not the rest of his game? However, didn't he did show signs in earlier Ireland games, of missing convertible kicks? but then it was within the boundaries of blooding in a young player to this level, for longer term benefit.
Exactly Geysir - but then some of the new footiers seem to be just out of school so maybe their memories are not as long as us oldtimers -cough
OTB reporting that we are going with ROG and Murray
The papers are still saying he'll go for an unchanged XV. If it is Murray/ROG, that'll be the fourth different half-back combination in four pool games. He seems to have given up on Reddan/ROG after using it and O'Leary/Sexton exclusively in the warm-up games. He needs to make up his mind at some point.
Thornley in the IT writes (from 12 hours in the future)
Conor Murray and Ronan O’Gara ran through most of the session along with the rest of the front-liners, supporting the likelihood they are set to start ahead of Eoin Reddan and Jonathan Sexton.
Posting Permissions
Quote
Bookmarks