NPR

Jim Lahey wrote: ↑Wed Jan 19, 2022 7:38 pm

HighKingLeinster wrote: ↑Wed Jan 19, 2022 7:17 pm

Peripheral wrote: ↑Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:24 pm Complete noob here but want to register outrage over:

Lowe being dropped
Earls & Murray & O'Mahony still being picked - don't care about central contracts - there are better players in every position
Speaking of - where are Doak and Cooney?
And Frawley?
Larmour is lucky.

Good news:
Treadwell, Hume, Lowry and Hansen.

Great, another fucking nordie

Someone needs to take Earl's place on the lifeboat tbf.

He needs to up his "Stockdale has actually been great for Ireland despite everyone else thinking his form has fallen off a cliff since he fluffed his lines against Leinster" game though.

In fairness if I was going to go full gringo it'd be arguing that Earls isn't fit to lace Gilroy's boots and continue on down that path to insanity.

I like the idea of Stockdale though. He was fantastic 4 years ago and, similar to Murray, he's bound to have a great game any day now. Just so long as we keep trying to play him back into form, right?

(Obviously hope his surgery goes well though)

Fine with the squad, apart from the Frawley ommission.

Don't care whether he takes the injured Carbery's position, or that of ageing utility back Earls.

But he's got the goods and can play several positions. Why do we need to wait for others to retire and players to be passed the mid-20s age before they get a decent chance?

POM, Murray and Earls will be picked until they retire post WC, that much has been clear for some time. Pretty much everyone that follows Irish rugby questions that policy but facts are facts, so no point expending frustration and outrage over it at this stage.

Quality squad apart from that.

Ahem, I'm already on here thanks.

earl the beaver wrote: ↑Fri Jan 21, 2022 7:30 am Ahem, I'm already on here thanks.

Good man.

We need more salt of the earth, honest, hardworking Ulstermen to fight back the hoards of smug West Brits that threaten to stink this place up.

And Stockdale is class btw.

Was class. Briefly. Several years ago.

Wrong

Right. Hasnt done a tap at international level for several seasons now

Apart from the last time he played, less than a year ago.

HighKingLeinster wrote: ↑Fri Jan 21, 2022 10:28 am Right. Hasnt done a tap at international level for several seasons now

He did make a tit of himself at Twickers a couple of years ago tbf.

And vaguely remember a few howlers in Paris in the postponed game.

Most good Irish wingers go through a fallow period. Am sure Dropdale will be back at some stage.

Uncle fester wrote: ↑Fri Jan 21, 2022 10:49 am Most good Irish wingers go through a fallow period. Am sure Dropdale will be back at some stage.

That should keep us going for a few pages.

Am I the only one that thinks Marty Moore should be in the Irish squad ahead of ToT?

He's a better scrummager and works just as hard round the pitch (until he runs out of puff) imo. He'd be good for a 30-35 cameo at international level.

Jim Lahey wrote: ↑Sat Jan 22, 2022 7:25 pm Am I the only one that thinks Marty Moore should be in the Irish squad ahead of ToT?

He's a better scrummager and works just as hard round the pitch (until he runs out of puff) imo. He'd be good for a 30-35 cameo at international level.

Don't think too many would agree with you. Moore is 30 and has struggled for form & fitness for years now. Picking him now would send a very poor message on the standards required.

TOT is 23 and has scope to improve and supplant Bealham.

Uncle fester wrote: ↑Sat Jan 22, 2022 8:17 pm

Jim Lahey wrote: ↑Sat Jan 22, 2022 7:25 pm Am I the only one that thinks Marty Moore should be in the Irish squad ahead of ToT?

He's a better scrummager and works just as hard round the pitch (until he runs out of puff) imo. He'd be good for a 30-35 cameo at international level.

Don't think too many would agree with you. Moore is 30 and has struggled for form & fitness for years now. Picking him now would send a very poor message on the standards required.

TOT is 23 and has scope to improve and supplant Bealham.

I'd argue he's been in very good form for Ulster for a couple of seasons now.

I can see the argument over the aesthetics of it given he looks really out of shape but his workrate is excellent.

He's obviously nowhere near Furlong and Porter but I think he's been playing better rugby than O'Toole for a while. O'Toole hasn't ousted him as Ulster's starting TH yet. He should do that first before he's making the Irish squad imo.

Connacht confirm that the first leg against Leinster will be in the Sportsground.

They didn't have any choice really though did they? They're hardly going to move it to Landsdowne and I thought there would be a whole applying to committee nonsense to go through to be allowed use any GAA ground which would present major obstacles at least. Or is it easier now?

PornDog wrote: ↑Wed Jan 26, 2022 9:49 am Connacht confirm that the first leg against Leinster will be in the Sportsground.

They didn't have any choice really though did they? They're hardly going to move it to Landsdowne and I thought there would be a whole applying to committee nonsense to go through to be allowed use any GAA ground which would present major obstacles at least. Or is it easier now?

Playing at the Sportsground with a gale blowing across the pitch would be of huge advantage to Connacht even if meant forgoing a bit of extra cash. No matter how hot Leinster's attack is, Connacht are one of, if not the best team in Europe at playing in shit conditions.

Proper order. That will be a cracking occasion.

Nothing we didn't know/suspect already.

Brian O’Driscoll: I was never entirely sure if Joe Schmidt ‘rated’ me (via @IrishTimes) https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/bria ... -1.4786601

Interesting snippet about the conversation when he said he was retiring. Joe was right on that one.

Anyone else constantly getting logged off from here if you leave a tab open for a few hours and then come back?

I click "remember me" but everytime I come back after a bit of work I'm logged out again.

Uncle fester wrote: ↑Thu Jan 27, 2022 7:35 am Nothing we didn't know/suspect already.

Brian O’Driscoll: I was never entirely sure if Joe Schmidt ‘rated’ me (via @IrishTimes) https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/bria ... -1.4786601

Interesting snippet about the conversation when he said he was retiring. Joe was right on that one.

Can you paste the article, it's paywalled for me.

earl the beaver wrote: ↑Thu Jan 27, 2022 2:42 pm Anyone else constantly getting logged off from here if you leave a tab open for a few hours and then come back?

I click "remember me" but everytime I come back after a bit of work I'm logged out again.

Haven't had that issue.

I did with PR and it won't let me log back in using my saved password on my phone strangely. Don't think I did anything untoward enough to get canned but meh, I prefer it here.

Decent team given the internationals are away.

I really don't rate Moxham, especially at 13. Just doesn't look confident ball in hand and agile enough. Are our cupboards completely bare at centre after Hume, McCloskey, Marshall, Addison and Moore all unavailable?

Jim Lahey wrote: ↑Thu Jan 27, 2022 2:54 pm

Decent team given the internationals are away.

I really don't rate Moxham, especially at 13. Just doesn't look confident ball in hand and agile enough. Are our cupboards completely bare at centre after Hume, McCloskey, Marshall, Addison and Moore all unavailable?

Stockdale injured too and he would more than likely be preferred there.

We do have other young centres but Carson is with the u20s (and primarily a 12) and Postlethwaite is injured (I assume as he's not with the 20s or the 7s)

earl the beaver wrote: ↑Thu Jan 27, 2022 2:44 pm

Uncle fester wrote: ↑Thu Jan 27, 2022 7:35 am Nothing we didn't know/suspect already.

Brian O’Driscoll: I was never entirely sure if Joe Schmidt ‘rated’ me (via @IrishTimes) https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/bria ... -1.4786601

Interesting snippet about the conversation when he said he was retiring. Joe was right on that one.

Can you paste the article, it's paywalled for me.

Former Irish rugby coach Joe Schmidt “ran out of road” during the team’s disastrous performance at the 2019 World Cup, Ireland and Leinster great Brian O’Driscoll has said.

“I was hearing murmurs of, not discontent at the World Cup – but things unravelling,” O’Driscoll explained to writer Paul Howard at the Irish Times Winter Nights festival. Ireland crashed out following a humiliating defeat to Japan and a trouncing at the hands of New Zealand. Schmidt departed shortly afterwards.

“I think Joe would admit to it as well – that his game plan ran out of road,” said O’Driscoll. “There wasn’t an evolution from when they beat the All Blacks in 2018 to the World Cup a year later. They literally just tried to play the same game plan and teams knew how to defend against it.”

O’Driscoll, who scored 46 tries for Ireland and won a Grand Slam in 2009, added that he was never entirely sure whether Schmidt really “rated” him before his retirement in 2014. “Did he really rate me? He never tried to convince me not to retire. I said, ‘Joe I think this is my last year’. He said ‘aw mate, you’re probably right’.”

Schmidt had done a great deal for Irish rugby (including leading Leinster to two Heineken Cups) but perhaps was not aware to his “blind spots” as a coach, said O’Driscoll. “This isn’t a Joe-bashing episode. I have so much to be thankful for with him. He did an awful lot. But looking from the outside in, I think sometimes people don’t know where their blindspots are. And I think Joe had one or two blindspots that he could not see.

“And I don’t know whether people felt they could properly voice – or whether their voice fell on deaf ears when they did confront it. Sometimes a true belief in what you are doing can be fantastic. But it can also be a major negative. Because if it’s a little bit off and someone tries to steer you back on track and you don’t want to know about it, well then not only do you lose that direction – you also lose part of your team. I felt as though that probably happened in the World Cup in 2019.”

O’Driscoll has become a successful pundit since hanging up his boots. He told Howard he never seriously considered going into coaching – and that he was now probably out of the game too long for it to be a realistic option.

“I never really wanted to get into the coaching piece as a full time gig. It would have completely limited me to the things I now do. I wanted variety. I wanted my weekends back. I wanted to work in a couple of smaller jobs to understand ultimately what I wanted to do. And, as importantly, what I didn’t want to do… It probably wouldn’t have suited our family lifestyle. I have a wife [actress Amy Huberman] that is pretty busy most of the time. The prospect of moving around the family with me, job to job... that just didn’t interest me greatly.”

O’Driscoll and Howard looked back over the outside centre’s 16-year professional career. He recalled throwing up on the Champs-Élysées after too many kebabs and cheap wine on the night of his historic hat-trick of tries against France in 2000. He also spoke about Leinster’s bitter rivalry with Munster.

“There was an… I don’t know if animosity is the right word… There was a huge build up tension between the teams. We definitely did use it. We used them as a big piece of motivation. Particularly in ‘09 [when Leinster defeated Munster in the European semi-final] there was nowhere for us to go if we didn’t beat them that day. When your backs are against the wall and you play scared it can sometimes bring out the best in you.”

Great to see the lads wearing the favourite's hat well on Saturday. Really impressive opening 60 then they stopped playing, but the job was done.

I'd like to see Hendy come in for Beirne (who was great on Saturday). Think we need Hendy's raw power for 55mins then Beirne off the bench to lift up the pace. Henshaw onto the bench for Hume and I'd leave the rest the same.

I didn't see the French game yesterday but heard it was shit conditions. Is there much to be concerned apart from Dupont/Ntamack, apart from their typically strong pack?

Jim Lahey wrote: ↑Mon Feb 07, 2022 10:42 am Great to see the lads wearing the favourite's hat well on Saturday. Really impressive opening 60 then they stopped playing, but the job was done.

I'd like to see Hendy come in for Beirne (who was great on Saturday). Think we need Hendy's raw power for 55mins then Beirne off the bench to lift up the pace. Henshaw onto the bench for Hume and I'd leave the rest the same.

I didn't see the French game yesterday but heard it was shit conditions. Is there much to be concerned apart from Dupont/Ntamack, apart from their typically strong pack?

Ntamack was a bit meh yesterday, the French midfield was pretty good, the new winger REALLY good. Overall it felt like they were knocking the rust out and will be a lot better next weekend, Ireland should be really worried in my view.

Jim Lahey wrote: ↑Mon Feb 07, 2022 10:42 am Great to see the lads wearing the favourite's hat well on Saturday. Really impressive opening 60 then they stopped playing, but the job was done.

I'd like to see Hendy come in for Beirne (who was great on Saturday). Think we need Hendy's raw power for 55mins then Beirne off the bench to lift up the pace. Henshaw onto the bench for Hume and I'd leave the rest the same.

I didn't see the French game yesterday but heard it was shit conditions. Is there much to be concerned apart from Dupont/Ntamack, apart from their typically strong pack?

France were in cruise control mode for a lot of the game and they still gave Italy a hefty thump in the pissing rain.

I've seen a lot of "They'll have to be better to beat Ireland" from various corners of the internet, but much the same was being said the week before they played the All Blacks in the Autumn and we all know what happened there. They're a team that often play to the level of their opposition.

earl the beaver wrote: ↑Thu Jan 27, 2022 2:42 pm Anyone else constantly getting logged off from here if you leave a tab open for a few hours and then come back?

I click "remember me" but everytime I come back after a bit of work I'm logged out again.

This happens to me, on every device. Nothing remembers the login.

Uncle fester wrote: ↑Thu Jan 27, 2022 7:35 am Nothing we didn't know/suspect already.

Brian O’Driscoll: I was never entirely sure if Joe Schmidt ‘rated’ me (via @IrishTimes) https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/bria ... -1.4786601

Interesting snippet about the conversation when he said he was retiring. Joe was right on that one.

How would that have gone if Payne wasn't wiating in the wings?

Jim Lahey wrote: ↑Mon Feb 07, 2022 10:42 am Great to see the lads wearing the favourite's hat well on Saturday. Really impressive opening 60 then they stopped playing, but the job was done.

I'd like to see Hendy come in for Beirne (who was great on Saturday). Think we need Hendy's raw power for 55mins then Beirne off the bench to lift up the pace. Henshaw onto the bench for Hume and I'd leave the rest the same.

I didn't see the French game yesterday but heard it was shit conditions. Is there much to be concerned apart from Dupont/Ntamack, apart from their typically strong pack?

Henderson (if fit) for Ryan. Beirne is playing too well to relegate to impact sub role.

sockwithaticket wrote: ↑Mon Feb 07, 2022 10:57 am

Jim Lahey wrote: ↑Mon Feb 07, 2022 10:42 am Great to see the lads wearing the favourite's hat well on Saturday. Really impressive opening 60 then they stopped playing, but the job was done.

I'd like to see Hendy come in for Beirne (who was great on Saturday). Think we need Hendy's raw power for 55mins then Beirne off the bench to lift up the pace. Henshaw onto the bench for Hume and I'd leave the rest the same.

I didn't see the French game yesterday but heard it was shit conditions. Is there much to be concerned apart from Dupont/Ntamack, apart from their typically strong pack?

France were in cruise control mode for a lot of the game and they still gave Italy a hefty thump in the pissing rain.

I've seen a lot of "They'll have to be better to beat Ireland" from various corners of the internet, but much the same was being said the week before they played the All Blacks in the Autumn and we all know what happened there. They're a team that often play to the level of their opposition.

The same can be said of Ireland for the most part.

Uncle fester wrote: ↑Mon Feb 07, 2022 2:47 pm

Jim Lahey wrote: ↑Mon Feb 07, 2022 10:42 am Great to see the lads wearing the favourite's hat well on Saturday. Really impressive opening 60 then they stopped playing, but the job was done.

I'd like to see Hendy come in for Beirne (who was great on Saturday). Think we need Hendy's raw power for 55mins then Beirne off the bench to lift up the pace. Henshaw onto the bench for Hume and I'd leave the rest the same.

I didn't see the French game yesterday but heard it was shit conditions. Is there much to be concerned apart from Dupont/Ntamack, apart from their typically strong pack?

Henderson (if fit) for Ryan. Beirne is playing too well to relegate to impact sub role.

It's not a slight at all on Hendo to suggest he shouldn't be considered to start under any circumstances this weekend. He's barely played this season (has he?). Great to have him back but bench please.

Yeah hard for him to break into the starting team having not played any games. Will all depend on how he goes in training I guess.

CM11 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 07, 2022 9:58 pm

Uncle fester wrote: ↑Mon Feb 07, 2022 2:47 pm

Jim Lahey wrote: ↑Mon Feb 07, 2022 10:42 am Great to see the lads wearing the favourite's hat well on Saturday. Really impressive opening 60 then they stopped playing, but the job was done.

I'd like to see Hendy come in for Beirne (who was great on Saturday). Think we need Hendy's raw power for 55mins then Beirne off the bench to lift up the pace. Henshaw onto the bench for Hume and I'd leave the rest the same.

I didn't see the French game yesterday but heard it was shit conditions. Is there much to be concerned apart from Dupont/Ntamack, apart from their typically strong pack?

Henderson (if fit) for Ryan. Beirne is playing too well to relegate to impact sub role.

It's not a slight at all on Hendo to suggest he shouldn't be considered to start under any circumstances this weekend. He's barely played this season (has he?). Great to have him back but bench please.

Yep, that's why I said if fit, which is probably unlikely.

Rewatched the game last night and it's made me a bit pessimistic about this weekend. Can't afford to be so wasteful of opportunities against France but weather looked to have been a big factor, especially as the game went into closing stages.

Testing, testing, 1,2,3......

Camroc2 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 01, 2022 11:20 pm Testing, testing, 1,2,3......

Like one of those toffs on the Titanic, dressing up as a bird to get in a lifeboat.... for shame !

If England play the same center combination against Ireland you will be able to put anyone in opposite, there is no attacking threat for you to worry about.

ASMO wrote: ↑Wed Mar 02, 2022 2:56 pm If England play the same center combination against Ireland you will be able to put anyone in opposite, there is no attacking threat for you to worry about.

What's your read on them at the minute - wacky Jones fatigue/selections or is there some advance planning for next year going on?

Fecked if I can see it right now. New caps and power game all to the good but they're way off par.