Rugby World Cup

**Soko** · 20/09/2007, 2:02 PM

Wallace was awful in the only thing that might be comparable to Friday and next week- the test in Argentina. He missed a demoralising kick in front of the posts right on half time and playing him would be akin to just throwing everything out the window and basically saying, **** it, I give up. Change the whole team while you are at it

**shakermaker1982** · 20/09/2007, 2:07 PM

Originally Posted by OneRedArmy

Answered your own question there.Will he? We'll see tomorrow night I suppose.

Loads of players hit a bad patch of form but you don't drop them on a run of 2games, especially when you don't have adequate back up. If David Humphries had not retired from the Irish set up then that would have been a viable proposition but EOS has faith in O'Gara (unlike Stringer) so let us pray it works out tomorrow!

One positive is that Chabal is in the 2nd row tomorrow and not going to be running at O'Gara like a mad dog with the rage virus. If O'Gara finds touch with his first couple of kicks tomorrow his confidence will pick up. If he hits a few on the full then we're f****d. Let's hope the pack answer their critics like they did in the 6 nations and get parity at least. I cannot wait -

Anybody going this Friday or to Argies game? I'm going to the latter. 130 sterling a ticket

**OneRedArmy** · 20/09/2007, 2:10 PM

Originally Posted by Soko

Change the whole team while you are at it

Best suggestion you've had.

**Soko** · 20/09/2007, 2:37 PM

Drop them all, O' Driscoll, Darcy etc... Everyone who put on a green shirt the past 2 games should be hung, drawn and quartered. Replace them with their backups and the French won't know what hit them. Can't believe nobody has thought of that yet!!!!

**Superhoops** · 20/09/2007, 2:58 PM

Originally Posted by pete

Pretty much the entire team are off their games....

Particlularly the pack, 7/8th's of which are from Munster, who have not only struggled all season for Ireland but also for Munster in the Heiniken Cup.

Over hyped and passed their sell-by date, O'Sullivan's blind loyalty to them has left us with hardly any alternative options for getting out of the very big hole we are in.

I hope I am wrong, but I expect them all to be on the plane home by the end of next week. not just the dissenters.

**joeSoap** · 20/09/2007, 3:19 PM

Originally Posted by Superhoops

Particlularly the pack, 7/8th's of which are from Munster, who have not only struggled all season for Ireland but also for Munster in the Heiniken Cup.

Over hyped and passed their sell-by date, O'Sullivan's blind loyalty to them has left us with hardly any alternative options for getting out of the very big hole we are in.

I hope I am wrong, but I expect them all to be on the plane home by the end of next week. not just the dissenters.

Another idiotic assumption. Of that pack, only John Hayes is at an age to be considering retirement and he's the most important member of that pack by far. Regarding the Munster thing, O'Sullivan has no blind loyalty to anyone, and the reason he doesn't change it around is simply because he can't. Neil Best for Easterby is probably the only serious adjustment you'd make to that pack. I'd like to see Marcus getting a kick up the hole, but Hayes, Flannery, O'Connell, Wallace, Leamy are all indispensible simply because they cannot be replaced with anything adequate. I'm allowing for O'Callaghan to be dropped for O'Kelly there too, but if they all hit form they are the best available pack option to him.

**OneRedArmy** · 20/09/2007, 5:16 PM

Originally Posted by Soko

Drop them all, O' Driscoll, Darcy etc... Everyone who put on a green shirt the past 2 games should be hung, drawn and quartered. Replace them with their backups and the French won't know what hit them. Can't believe nobody has thought of that yet!!!!

When do we drop them so?

Do we go out of the World Cup, put it down as an abberation and start them in the Six Nations.

Do we play them throughout the Six Nations even if they continue to play poorly?

Surely there comes a time when nobody is undroppable?

When is that time?

**IsMiseSean** · 20/09/2007, 5:26 PM

So what was said in the article about ROG? I cant find it anywhere

**Superhoops** · 21/09/2007, 12:23 AM

Originally Posted by joeSoap

...Regarding the Munster thing, O'Sullivan has no blind loyalty to anyone, and the reason he doesn't change it around is simply because he can't....

it is simply because of O'Sullivan's blind loyalty that some of the credible options are still at home.

Originally Posted by joeSoap

....Neil Best for Easterby is probably the only serious adjustment you'd make to that pack.

why not Quinlan for Easterby and make it the full Munster set?

Originally Posted by joeSoap

....but if they all hit form they are the best available pack option to him.

and if they don't all hit form then what? do they suddenly become not the best available pack option?

**Soko** · 21/09/2007, 12:45 AM

Go ahead and please name the alternatives, 1-8

1.Horan
2. Flannery
3. Hayes
4. O' Callaghan
5. O' Connell
6. Easterby
7. Wallace
8. Leamy

**OneRedArmy** · 21/09/2007, 7:36 AM

Originally Posted by Soko

Go ahead and please name the alternatives, 1-8

1.Horan
2. Flannery
3. Hayes
4. O' Callaghan
5. O' Connell
6. Easterby
7. Wallace
8. Leamy

Amongst the current squad (as said above some good alternatives left behind)
4. O'Kelly
6. Quinlan
7. Best
8. Ferris

I'd love to see that back row play together.

**Over the post** · 21/09/2007, 8:28 AM

Originally Posted by OneRedArmy

Amongst the current squad (as said above some good alternatives left behind)
4. O'Kelly
6. Quinlan
7. Best
8. Ferris

I'd love to see that back row play together.

There may be a case for O'Kelly's inclusion with Donnacha coming off the bench in the second half, and maybe Best for Easterby but Wallace is they only specialist 7 we have and Leamy is the best 8 we have by a country mile.

Again the problem is that EOS hasn't given many of the alternatives enough test minutes so it'd be a bit of a gamble playing them. I really think both the forwards listed above and backs such as Duffy, Murphy, Carney, Wallace should have lined out against Namibia and Georgia or at least have been given a good 20-30 mins to make their case. We've got to play our first XV for what are going to be two very bruising encounters against France and Argentina, and even if we do qualify, we're going to be knackered for the quarterfinals.

**joeSoap** · 21/09/2007, 8:37 AM

It's a nice morning in Paris, some sunshine, but rain is promised for later....I think the more that falls the better. Michalak certainly won't like it. I think the key to this game is getting at him, Chabal and Poitrenaud. O'Connell already knows Chabal personally and Michalak and Poitrenaud don't like it at all under pressure. Thats why I would have loved to see Neil Best play this game.

On a funny sidenote. Did anyone see Eddie O'Sullivans live interview on Setanta last night after the Welsh game? Apparently Daire O'Briain went split screen live with Ian Paisley wishing O'Sullivan all the best but O'Sullivan thought it was 'GIFT GRUB' type skit and was laughing his khaks off all through it....brilliant for Norn Iron relations!!

**OneRedArmy** · 21/09/2007, 9:33 AM

Originally Posted by Over the post

Again the problem is that EOS hasn't given many of the alternatives enough test minutes so it'd be a bit of a gamble playing them. I really think both the forwards listed above and backs such as Duffy, Murphy, Carney, Wallace should have lined out against Namibia and Georgia or at least have been given a good 20-30 mins to make their case. We've got to play our first XV for what are going to be two very bruising encounters against France and Argentina, and even if we do qualify, we're going to be knackered for the quarterfinals.

Hard to disagree with that.

Playing the "first" XV in both games was an awful mistake.

**Soko** · 21/09/2007, 12:25 PM

We will be the only team to have played our "best" 15, 4 games in a row. That only compunds itself as we may continue, madness

**Student Mullet** · 21/09/2007, 12:42 PM

If we hadn't played our first 15 we wouldn't know how s**t they are.

**shakermaker1982** · 21/09/2007, 12:52 PM

Can we do it? How I'd love it if we pulled off a famous victory and knocked the hosts out of the world cup. I can see Chabal getting a few hits early on - let's pray its Munster-Sale all over again.

**beautifulrock** · 21/09/2007, 1:00 PM

Originally Posted by shakermaker1982

Can we do it? How I'd love it if we pulled off a famous victory and knocked the hosts out of the world cup. I can see Chabal getting a few hits early on - let's pray its Munster-Sale all over again.

Its almost what is required, we need to lay down a few markers and few come bigger than the caveman. It certainly worked for Munster against Sale, a re run of him going backward would set the scene nicely.

**shakermaker1982** · 21/09/2007, 1:05 PM

Who whacked him back that time? It was a monster hit Was it O'Connell or Wallace? I remember watching it and thinking "wow - Munster are going to tear into em tonight". Like tonight Chabal got the big build up in that HC game. Brilliant news he's in the second row. We should do some damage at the line out.