The Official Irish Rugby Thread

CM11 · Post by **CM11** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 11:45 am

Diego wrote:
CM11 wrote:
Diego wrote:
rfurlong wrote:It’s highly likely that stander will revert to 8 rather than Farrell giving Deegan a go there

I think this actually throws up an opportunity for Will Connors to play 6 and spend the day chopping people down in a 20+ tackle performance ..... freeing jvdf to poach

Connors is perfect for wales I reckon ..... just stop them at source

POM probably stays on the bench in Farrell’s eyes, but I’d have Deegan there for impact instead
We need more beef in the backrow, not less. If it can't be Doris it should be Deegan, Ruddock or JOD to come in.
Connors is hardly small. Be interesting to know if his weight is accurate but he's the tallest of the lot and doesn't look like a bean pole.
Badly phrased from me. I was referring to carrying more than sheer size.

Deegan is no bruiser but he would be my favourite. I wouldn't have said Connors was weak in the carry but he doesn't have a lot of top level gametime to judge him on. Is JOD that powerful a carrier? Either way, we need subtlety more than sheer strength against Wales. Just playing a power game against them rarely works.

The Doris injury really is a kick in the teeth as he had the right balance.

ticketlessinseattle · Mon Feb 03, 2020 11:50 am

Floppykid wrote:Yup.

That cheap shot on ollivon from Cowan Dickie (I think) after he scored was filth.

its amazing in this day of TMO's that that shit keeps happening ; I still remember Girve Dempsey getting nailed by that Cnut of an English winger (Cohen ?) in the 2004 game ; it still seems to be a free pass on one of the one most dangerous cowardly late hits you can do.....slide in boots/arms first on a player on the ground.

Salanya · Post by **Salanya** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 11:51 am

I think Ruddock should have been selected, but he definitely looks best with an athletic 8, like Doris or Deegan.

Ruddock and Stander should make for a solid backrow, but probably too one-dimensional to beat a team like Wales.

With Deegan's form he should be in at 8, with Stander at 6, but I can't see Faz making that call.

Yer Man · Post by **Yer Man** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 11:54 am

Flametop wrote:
DiscoHips D'Arcy wrote:I think he is definitely worth persisting with. Sometimes I do think hes a bit blinkered and others I do think our players are slow to support him. Very, very different players but I remember when big Nick first joined Ulster his teammates just didn't know what he was going to do. As Larmours awareness develops hopefully will that of our support play and he could be lethal
A little from column A and a bit from column B
He’s a very instinctive player, he doesn’t know exactly what he’s going to do before he does it, so it’s hard for both teams to know his exact next move. But the more he plays with Ireland the more players will want to get on his shoulder.

My pre-match concern with Larmour was positioning - something that Rob excelled at.
Was delighted to find Larmour in the right place nearly all of the time.

Needs to acquire the judgement of when to put boot through the ball - especially next week when Wales will kick and invite him to run it back.

My concern is that we'd don't seem to have a basic plan of how to run the ball as a team.
It seems to have been, if not coached out of us, then at least game-planned out of us.

Now every once in a while we whip out da movez and leave people drooling, but so much of the play is one line of runners (well, joggers) and no options.
The back three can all run with the ball, but by God they need a serious amount of practise together to read and link with one another.
(as an aside, I'm kinda curious to see how quickly a ex-Sevens player like Baloucoune would gel with Larmour)

So much of our play on Saturday consisted of a player getting the ball and then looking up and trying to figure out what to do next.
Now Larmour is just about the only one who can make something out of nothing but Scotland just scragged him in the second line of defenders and won a couple of breakdown penalties as we didn't know beforehand where the ruck would be.

We just looked stale for most of the match.
And we struggle to figure out how to launch our big carriers onto the ball at pace.

Flametop · Post by **Flametop** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 12:01 pm

When the big ball carriers are in position before your SH gets to the ruck (before slowing down to have a look around) an easy fix would be to pick a different SH.

lorcanoworms · Post by **lorcanoworms** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 12:15 pm

ticketlessinseattle wrote:
Floppykid wrote:Yup.

That cheap shot on ollivon from Cowan Dickie (I think) after he scored was filth.
its amazing in this day of TMO's that that shit keeps happening ; I still remember Girve Dempsey getting nailed by that Cnut of an English winger (Cohen ?) in the 2004 game ; it still seems to be a free pass on one of the one most dangerous cowardly late hits you can do.....slide in boots/arms first on a player on the ground.

McFadden scored in the corner and a taff cheap shot kept him out for 3 or 4 weeks.

Jumper · Post by **Jumper** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 12:17 pm

Everyone focusing on the backrow desite them being the best performers at the weekend. Anything to get your favourites into the team.

Liathroidigloine · Post by **Liathroidigloine** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 12:21 pm

Jumper wrote:Everyone focusing on the backrow desite them being the best performers at the weekend. Anything to get your favourites into the team.

Yeah you're right, we should look at who was the worst performer so Murray get's the bullet.

Jumper · Post by **Jumper** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 12:31 pm

Liathroidigloine wrote:
Jumper wrote:Everyone focusing on the backrow desite them being the best performers at the weekend. Anything to get your favourites into the team.
Yeah you're right, we should look at who was the worst performer so Murray get's the bullet.

Again, 9 wasn't the issue. Bringing in Cooney won't change much if anything when the issue is in the tight 5. I'm happy if he gets the start, even if it's just change for change's sake.

Ireland's tight 5 continued its run of poor form. With Kilcoyne likely to miss out, the only real change that can be made is the introduction of Porter. Porter might help as Furlong hasn't beem putting in top performances for a while now, but it won't make much of a difference.

The biggest issues are at 1/2/4, and there are no quick fixes at 2/4. We have no great hookers to choose from. Henderson can be a very good player, but for every top performance he puts in 5 middling ones; Toner isn't an improvement.

EverReady · Post by **EverReady** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 12:38 pm

Just seen Connors added to the squad ahead of Ruddock. Poor Rhys

Diego · Post by **Diego** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 12:40 pm

'Everywhere is a problem except those positions primarily inhabited by Munster players'

Armchair_Superstar · Post by **Armchair_Superstar** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 12:40 pm

Losing Doris and Ringrose in the first game is a real kick in the balls for Catt, I don't think they'll have the balls to go for Big Stu.

Jumper · Post by **Jumper** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 12:49 pm

Diego wrote:'Everywhere is a problem except those positions primarily inhabited by Munster players'

"The problem is in the tight 5, so nothing the backs do will change things"

Floppykid · Post by **Floppykid** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 12:51 pm

EverReady wrote:Just seen Connors added to the squad ahead of Ruddock. Poor Rhys

Message sent fairly loud and clear anyway.

camroc1 · Post by **camroc1** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 12:52 pm

Flametop wrote:When the big ball carriers are in position before your SH gets to the ruck (before slowing down to have a look around) an easy fix would be to pick a different SH.

Very much this.

Boxcar Ira · Post by **Boxcar Ira** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 12:55 pm

Porter might be an option at loosehead? Healy was dire on Saturday. Hope I'm wrong, but not sure he has the legs for test rugby anymore.

Wales will munch us we're as static on Saturday.

Floppykid · Post by **Floppykid** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 12:57 pm

Very much get the impression the42 crowd and inside dogs now with the IRFU, going on their last few articles/podcasts.

I don't think Furlong's far off getting swapped out for Porter tbh. He's been a shadow of his former self for a long time now.

MunsterMan!!!!! · Post by **MunsterMan!!!!!** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 12:58 pm

How long are Doris, Killer and Ringrose out for?

Jumper · Post by **Jumper** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 12:58 pm

Boxcar Ira wrote:Porter might be an option at loosehead? Healy was dire on Saturday. Hope I'm wrong, but not sure he has the legs for test rugby anymore.

Wales will munch us we're as static on Saturday.

Big ask to have him constantly switch position.

Leinster need to get him to focus on LH though. It makes the most sense for club and country.

Salanya · Post by **Salanya** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 12:59 pm

Floppykid wrote:
EverReady wrote:Just seen Connors added to the squad ahead of Ruddock. Poor Rhys
Message sent fairly loud and clear anyway.

We only had one openside in the selection in fairness, and he seemed to cramp up uncharacteristically.

Whereas there are a number of options that can play 6. Of course we're likely to play the option worse than Ruddock, but there just isn't enough ESP otherwise....

CM11 · Post by **CM11** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 1:00 pm

Boxcar Ira wrote:Porter might be an option at loosehead? Healy was dire on Saturday. Hope I'm wrong, but not sure he has the legs for test rugby anymore.

Wales will munch us we're as static on Saturday.

Healy did so well to return to his best in 2018 but he's been fading a bit ever since. Still solid for the most part but really at this stage he should be filling the experienced squad cover position while someone else nails down the position.

Jumper · Post by **Jumper** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 1:00 pm

MunsterMan!!!!! wrote:How long are Doris, Killer and Ringrose out for?

Ringrose for the next two games at least.

Doris and Killer were both out cold. You'd imagine they'd struggle to pass the rtpp in time for the weekend. Kilcoyne straight into the team will be a huge boost if he's fit to play. Himself and Porter should be starting.

A strong few weeks for Kilcoyne should see him nail down a central contract too. He has a lot to play for. Conway is in the same boat.

Diego · Post by **Diego** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 1:01 pm

Boxcar Ira wrote:Porter might be an option at loosehead? Healy was dire on Saturday. Hope I'm wrong, but not sure he has the legs for test rugby anymore.

Wales will munch us we're as static on Saturday.

There are doubts over Furlong's fitness I think? That could influence things. Otherwise yep I'd consider it.

hermie · Post by **hermie** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 1:02 pm

Boxcar Ira wrote:Porter might be an option at loosehead? Healy was dire on Saturday. Hope I'm wrong, but not sure he has the legs for test rugby anymore.

Wales will munch us we're as static on Saturday.

He was pretty poor alright (although his bit of skill made the only try of the game). He's been good for Leinster though so you'd hope it's a one off. Ideally you'd like to rotate in Killer so it's a pity that probably won't be an option. Don't think Porter is the answer though so I'd imagine he'll get another chance against the Taffs.

Duff Paddy · Post by **Duff Paddy** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 1:03 pm

I actually thought Furlong was coming back into form on Saturday - he did well. The game passed Healy by a bit.

Floppykid · Post by **Floppykid** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 1:05 pm

Duff Paddy wrote:I actually thought Furlong was coming back into form on Saturday - he did well. The game passed Healy by a bit.

I disagree.
I think he looks gassed.

EverReady · Post by **EverReady** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 1:06 pm

Floppykid wrote:
EverReady wrote:Just seen Connors added to the squad ahead of Ruddock. Poor Rhys
Message sent fairly loud and clear anyway.

Him and Joe obviously decided it was all his fault

Boxcar Ira · Post by **Boxcar Ira** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 1:06 pm

Duff Paddy wrote:I actually thought Furlong was coming back into form on Saturday - he did well. The game passed Healy by a bit.

Furlong did get it together in the second half. Wouldnt be as worried about him. Clearly not in his 2018 form but still the best we have.

Salanya · Post by **Salanya** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 1:20 pm

Boxcar Ira wrote:
Duff Paddy wrote:I actually thought Furlong was coming back into form on Saturday - he did well. The game passed Healy by a bit.
Furlong did get it together in the second half. Wouldnt be as worried about him. Clearly not in his 2018 form but still the best we have.

Furlong did improve in the second half, but he's not as destructive in recent months as he was 18 months ago. Wouldn't be averse to starting Porter to give Furlong a gentle nudge up his arse; form should be rewarded, though Porter is one heck of an impact sub.

Liathroidigloine · Post by **Liathroidigloine** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 1:32 pm

Who's next in line for LH with Kilcoyne likely gone? I always liked Cronin ever if he is a bit of a nutter.

Mullet 2 · Post by **Mullet 2** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 1:33 pm

I'm calling it early.

We're beating Wales Saturday.

Flametop · Post by **Flametop** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 1:35 pm

Floppykid wrote:Very much get the impression the42 crowd and inside dogs now with the IRFU, going on their last few articles/podcasts.

I don't think Furlong's far off getting swapped out for Porter tbh. He's been a shadow of his former self for a long time now.

MK now imbedded?

https://www.the42.ie/conor-murray-john- ... 7-Feb2020/

Diego · Post by **Diego** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 1:38 pm

Liathroidigloine wrote:Who's next in line for LH with Kilcoyne likely gone? I always liked Cronin ever if he is a bit of a nutter.

McGrath or O'Sullivan

sewa · Post by **sewa** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 1:40 pm

Mullet 2 wrote:I'm calling it early.

We're beating Wales Saturday.

Did you actually watch Wales the weekend? Not saying Ireland can't win but they'd have to be significantly better and Wales would have to have an off day

Mullet 2 · Post by **Mullet 2** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 1:42 pm

I don't give a shit how well they played or badly we played.

We're going to beat them, the waters have spoken.

Winnie · Post by **Winnie** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 1:43 pm

Mullet 2 wrote:I'm calling it early.

We're beating Wales Saturday.

I called it yesterday
We are only winning one more game this six nations

rialtoblue · Post by **rialtoblue** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 1:43 pm

What I would like:

Healy, Herring, Furlong, Ryan, Henderson, CJ, VDF, Doris/Deegan, Cooney, Sexton, Stockdale, Aki, Addison, Conway, Larmour

What I think he'll do:

Healy, Herring, Furlong, Toner, Ryan, POM, VDF, CJ, Murray, Sexton, Stockdale, Aki, Henshaw, Earls, Larmour

Mullet 2 · Post by **Mullet 2** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 1:45 pm

Winnie wrote:
Mullet 2 wrote:I'm calling it early.

We're beating Wales Saturday.
I called it yesterday
We are only winning one more game this six nations

You're wrong.

I'm going to head down the Shelbourne Friday night to give the lads a team talk about how much I hate the Welsh.

Jim Lahey · Post by **Jim Lahey** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 1:45 pm

rialtoblue wrote:What I would like:

Healy, Herring, Furlong, Ryan, Henderson, CJ, VDF, Doris/Deegan, Cooney, Sexton, Stockdale, Aki, Addison, Conway, Larmour

What I think he'll do:

Healy, Herring, Furlong, Toner, Ryan, POM, VDF, CJ, Murray, Sexton, Stockdale, Aki, Henshaw, Earls, Larmour

POM

Murray

Earls

feckwanker · Post by **feckwanker** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 1:46 pm

rialtoblue wrote:What I would like:

Healy, Herring, Furlong, Ryan, Henderson, CJ, VDF, Doris/Deegan, Cooney, Sexton, Stockdale, Aki, Addison, Conway, Larmour

What I think he'll do:

Healy, Herring, Furlong, Toner, Ryan, POM, VDF, CJ, Murray, Sexton, Stockdale, Aki, Henshaw, Earls, Larmour

Any particular reason to drop Conway?