NPR

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 10:01 am**

I now have a sore arse having watched all 3 games yesterday whilst sat on my sofa. Reflections:

Scotland v Ireland - early kick off, flattish atmosphere and nothing to play for really. Italy played very well and as so often in this tournament got into great positions then butchered the opportunities. They have a young squad that is getting better and play some nice patterns and will only get better. They should have beat the Welsh, even possibly the French, and had a real chance against us. Scotland looked flat and careless at times, we resorted to giving cheap penalties again and conceding ground. We should have scored more in first half, Italy could have scored more late on but the difference is we have some real game breakers in the team and VdM and Kinghorn did the necessary. Our midfield looked worryingly quiet! At full strength we can beat almost anyone but there is a dip when we lose our key players.

France v Wales - Wales at least looked embarrassed after previous weeks and tried hard but they lack any real threat with Biggar at 10 and any midfield they pick. France were slow to start, got the BP win secured and then gave up as only French teams do. They did the same when they went 19-0 up against us and had a real fright when we nearly came back to win. Wales need to unearth at least 5-6 decent players before the RWC but they won't and will struggle with a limited game plan and limited squad. France can potentially beat anyone but could also get beat by anyone, usual French problems of concentration and staying focused for 80mins. I would also think they might struggle without Dupont at 9, he is the heartbeat of the team.

Ireland v England - Ireland were very sluggish and careless yesterday with lots of mistakes which looked like guys trying too hard at times with loose off loads, backs over running the pass, etc. They were alway going to win and had a few gears in hand but struggles to find their rhythm. England, like Wales, were obviously trying to make up for previous week and played hard and energetically but never had the finesse nor guile to win the game. They worked hard to negate the Irish game but had little of their own game to fall back on. They will continue to struggle against teams who like to play faster and wider rugby and without any resolution on who is their best 9-10-12-13 will continue to struggle to score tries with their backs. They will continue with the forward dominated kicking game and look to feed off others mistakes. Ireland look to have the complete package and must be strong favs for the RWC which they might struggle to live up to?

Final table doesn't lie - Scotland struggling to hang onto the coast tails of France and Ireland with Italy, who played good rugby throughout, unlucky to be the worst of the bottom three.

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 10:24 am**

Jim Lahey wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:31 am
Guy Smiley wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 3:29 am

Did one of the Irish rugby lads make a joke about women's rugby once upon a time or something?

Why is he so bitter? Probably needs to sort himself out if he wants to be taken seriously by people as a pundit.

Sad to see yet another taff have his neurons melted together in a formless mush by bitterness about ireland.

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 10:25 am**

EnergiseR2 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 10:22 am
dpedin wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 10:01 am I now have a sore arse having watched all 3 games yesterday whilst sat on my sofa. Reflections:

Scotland v Ireland - early kick off, flattish atmosphere and nothing to play for really. Italy played very well and as so often in this tournament got into great positions then butchered the opportunities. They have a young squad that is getting better and play some nice patterns and will only get better. They should have beat the Welsh, even possibly the French, and had a real chance against us. Scotland looked flat and careless at times, we resorted to giving cheap penalties again and conceding ground. We should have scored more in first half, Italy could have scored more late on but the difference is we have some real game breakers in the team and VdM and Kinghorn did the necessary. Our midfield looked worryingly quiet! At full strength we can beat almost anyone but there is a dip when we lose our key players.

France v Wales - Wales at least looked embarrassed after previous weeks and tried hard but they lack any real threat with Biggar at 10 and any midfield they pick. France were slow to start, got the BP win secured and then gave up as only French teams do. They did the same when they went 19-0 up against us and had a real fright when we nearly came back to win. Wales need to unearth at least 5-6 decent players before the RWC but they won't and will struggle with a limited game plan and limited squad. France can potentially beat anyone but could also get beat by anyone, usual French problems of concentration and staying focused for 80mins. I would also think they might struggle without Dupont at 9, he is the heartbeat of the team.

Ireland v England - Ireland were very sluggish and careless yesterday with lots of mistakes which looked like guys trying too hard at times with loose off loads, backs over running the pass, etc. They were alway going to win and had a few gears in hand but struggles to find their rhythm. England, like Wales, were obviously trying to make up for previous week and played hard and energetically but never had the finesse nor guile to win the game. They worked hard to negate the Irish game but had little of their own game to fall back on. They will continue to struggle against teams who like to play faster and wider rugby and without any resolution on who is their best 9-10-12-13 will continue to struggle to score tries with their backs. They will continue with the forward dominated kicking game and look to feed off others mistakes. Ireland look to have the complete package and must be strong favs for the RWC which they might struggle to live up to?

Final table doesn't lie - Scotland struggling to hang onto the coast tails of France and Ireland with Italy, who played good rugby throughout, unlucky to be the worst of the bottom three.
Playing twice in the one day. We really are absolute ledgeballs

Oooops! You're not that good ... well you probably are!

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 11:02 am**

PD was found not guilty of rape but the evidence that was revealed in the trial did not do him any favours (mainly some pretty nasty whatsapp messages).

I admit I have enjoyed SRs videos in the past but think his success has gone to his head a bit. You can be a rugby analyst or you can be a partisan commentator/culture war fighter..mixing them up doesnt work.

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 12:24 pm**

I have absolutely no problem with Squidge standing by his principles and letting that come through in his work, people can choose for themselves whether they consume it based on that and form their opinions appropriately.

What we've seen from him in the last year or so suggests he's a weirdly bitter guy who bears grudges and has geared everything into making grand statements and then seeking reasons to say "I Told You So" when there's anything suggesting he's right or fighting a rearguard battle when he's obviously wrong.

His analysis is shit which doesn't help

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 1:47 pm**

Jock42 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 9:39 am Congrats Ireland.

Now if you can have an implosion in the world cup that would be great.

When not if.

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 2:47 pm**

EnergiseR2 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 12:54 pm
tc27 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 11:02 am PD was found not guilty of rape but the evidence that was revealed in the trial did not do him any favours (mainly some pretty nasty whatsapp messages).

I admit I have enjoyed SRs videos in the past but think his success has gone to his head a bit. You can be a rugby analyst or you can be a partisan commentator/culture war fighter..mixing them up doesnt work.
alright in the North

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 3:21 pm**

Bit of fresh air on this thread. Nice to see no frothing and respectful comments all round.

On Ireland's play overall, Sexton said they went out and did virtually nothing Farrell told them to do. Which made sense because it looked like they'd reverted to a few years ago with too much one out rugby and then inaccurate passing, making things hard for ourselves time and again.

I'd like to think we'd have won anyway but I'm pretty upset we didn't get a chance to do so v 15. It's why I was delighted Antonio was only yellowed. I'm all for the 20 min bin, especially for the type of incident yesterday.

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 3:28 pm**

CM11 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 3:21 pmOn Ireland's play overall, Sexton said they went out and did virtually nothing Farrell told them to do.

wish we'd do the same, etc

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 3:30 pm**

Ireland and France have been head and shoulders better than anyone elese this season.
Is this the first time the top 2 ranked teams in the World have finished 1 and 2 ?

I can see France moving forward for the RWC but feel Ireland have peaked and not too sure they have the physicality to make it through a tough side of the draw and go all the way to the final. Anyway, enjoy your win guys and wrap Sexton and Gurlong up in cotton wool.

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 3:39 pm**

C69 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 3:30 pm Ireland and France have been head and shoulders better than anyone elese this season.
Is this the first time the top 2 ranked teams in the World have finished 1 and 2 ?

I can see France moving forward for the RWC but feel Ireland have peaked and not too sure they have the physicality to make it through a tough side of the draw and go all the way to the final. Anyway, enjoy your win guys and wrap Sexton and Gurlong up in cotton wool.

On the assumption that beating Scotland gets us into the quarter, we've one big game to make the semis as we don't have to beat SA as really the winning or coming second is much of a muchness. Arguably getting France, if they win their group, at the QF stage is better and England, probably, in the semis is a preferable draw to NZ then Aus then France. Obviously things won't go exactly to plan, as we know from previous WCs, so that draw is by no means guaranteed.

Because of the way they've scheduled now, squads with less depth aren't as inconvenienced. Our draw is pretty decent. Two minnows, SA, two week break, Scotland. It means that we'll still be relatively fresh for the quarters.

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 4:16 pm**

Uncle fester wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 10:24 am
Jim Lahey wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:31 am
Guy Smiley wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 3:29 am

Did one of the Irish rugby lads make a joke about women's rugby once upon a time or something?

Why is he so bitter? Probably needs to sort himself out if he wants to be taken seriously by people as a pundit.
Sad to see yet another taff have his neurons melted together in a formless mush by bitterness about ireland.

He sees the writing on the wall for Welsh rugby for the next 10-15 years, and can't abide the fact that Ireland has successfully negotiated professionalism and Wales hasn't.

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 5:21 pm**

Fun game here, England ahead 7-5 but Ireland look ominous. They also seem to run very similar patterns to the main side, Lancaster’s mitts all over that

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 5:42 pm**

Paddington Bear wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 5:21 pm Fun game here, England ahead 7-5 but Ireland look ominous. They also seem to run very similar patterns to the main side, Lancaster’s mitts all over that

They've been training with the senior side regularly this 6N

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:02 pm**

Ah come on, you've got to give that.

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:10 pm**

Fuck me our 3 is enormous, could be very handy

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:20 pm**

What’s the score? Not getting near this on Mothers Day

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:21 pm**

Slick wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:20 pm What’s the score? Not getting near this on Mothers Day

17 - 7 to ireland and a red coming for England.

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:21 pm**

I honestly don't see how that's red.

Paddington Bear wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:10 pm Fuck me our 3 is enormous, could be very handy

Maybe. Shades of Painter and Heyes about him atm in that he and they were obviously massive humans at this level, but scrummaging is variable. In the case of the latter two it's yet to really pick up.

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:22 pm**

270 not 360, if it were 360 he’d have ended up on his feet again…

Hard to argue with that red, goodness knows what 10 was thinking.

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:22 pm**

What's the coaching point there on that red?

He's gone low and wrapped. The player is running at speed and has whipped over the top of him. It's all momentum

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:22 pm**

He’s sent a bloke through 360 degrees - hard to give anything but a red to be fair. Suspect that’s the game

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:22 pm**

sockwithaticket wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:21 pm I honestly don't see how that's red.

Paddington Bear wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:10 pm Fuck me our 3 is enormous, could be very handy
Maybe. Shades of Painter and Heyes about him atm in that he and they were obviously massive humans at this level, but scrummaging is variable. In the case of the latter two it's yet to really pick up.

In Judo perhaps not. You joking aren’t you?

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:24 pm**

Paddington Bear wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:22 pm He’s sent a bloke through 360 degrees - hard to give anything but a red to be fair. Suspect that’s the game

There was no lift though. He's just spun over the top of him.

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:24 pm**

PCPhil wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:22 pm
sockwithaticket wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:21 pm I honestly don't see how that's red.

Paddington Bear wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:10 pm Fuck me our 3 is enormous, could be very handy
Maybe. Shades of Painter and Heyes about him atm in that he and they were obviously massive humans at this level, but scrummaging is variable. In the case of the latter two it's yet to really pick up.
In Judo perhaps not. You joking aren’t you?

No, like Margin says, what's he actually supposed to do differently? The Irish player going through the air is obviously very spectacular, but Bradbury went in low, wrapped his arms and drove as is the case in umpteen tackles per match.

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:26 pm**

Margin__Walker wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:24 pm
Paddington Bear wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:22 pm He’s sent a bloke through 360 degrees - hard to give anything but a red to be fair. Suspect that’s the game
There was no lift though. He's just spun over the top of him.

He’s got to keep hold of him. The duty of care stuff was bollocks on the Steward one but is valid there. Nothing malicious but you can’t let that stand

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:27 pm**

If you go that low you’ve got to soak tackle, otherwise you’re going to flip them. And then as he goes over the top the tackler stands up and sends him through 270.

Not 360. Obviously.

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:27 pm**

Paddington Bear wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:26 pm
Margin__Walker wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:24 pm
Paddington Bear wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:22 pm He’s sent a bloke through 360 degrees - hard to give anything but a red to be fair. Suspect that’s the game
There was no lift though. He's just spun over the top of him.
He’s got to keep hold of him. The duty of care stuff was bollocks on the Steward one but is valid there. Nothing malicious but you can’t let that stand

That's absolute split second stuff though. Happens at real time not in slow motion. No one is keeping hold of him at that speed. In a traditional tip where the player is lifted, you absolutely have the opportunity to let him down again. No chance here.

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:29 pm**

Mahoney wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:27 pm If you go that low you’ve got to soak tackle, otherwise you’re going to flip them. And then as he goes over the top the tackler stands up and sends him through 270.

Not 360. Obviously.

Actually, 360 would have spectacular

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:35 pm**

This has 40/50 written all over it now sadly. England look shagged, Ireland in pro condition

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:43 pm**

England 2 has a lot of ink on that arm for someone so young.

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:46 pm**

PCPhil wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:29 pm
Mahoney wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:27 pm If you go that low you’ve got to soak tackle, otherwise you’re going to flip them. And then as he goes over the top the tackler stands up and sends him through 270.

Not 360. Obviously.
Actually, 360 would have spectacular

Would it count as bringing him down safely?

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:48 pm**

Well deserved try. All our front rowers look pretty formidable scrummagers, which is positive

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:55 pm**

Fair play to the boys for digging in.

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:55 pm**

What a kick. How’s your bottle Ireland?

Shame Chessum’s try didn’t stand

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:56 pm**

Just tuned in and Baby Orcs on a red? As dim as their senior counterparts?

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:59 pm**

Good try. This has been a really good game, a credit to both sides

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 7:00 pm**

Torquemada 1420 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:56 pm Just tuned in and Baby Orcs on a red? As dim as their senior counterparts?

Unlucky rather than anything else, there’s been some debate but for me it was a clear red

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 7:01 pm**

Paddington Bear wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 7:00 pm
Torquemada 1420 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:56 pm Just tuned in and Baby Orcs on a red? As dim as their senior counterparts?
Unlucky rather than anything else, there’s been some debate but for me it was a clear red

Cheers.

Pretty silly behaviour at the end there. Just have to suck it up.

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 7:02 pm**

Torquemada 1420 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 7:01 pm
Paddington Bear wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 7:00 pm
Torquemada 1420 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:56 pm Just tuned in and Baby Orcs on a red? As dim as their senior counterparts?
Unlucky rather than anything else, there’s been some debate but for me it was a clear red
Cheers.

Pretty silly behaviour at the end there. Just have to suck it up.

They rubbed Chessum’s face in it twice in two minutes - does any 20 year old take that on the chin?

NPR

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