Italy V Ireland (Rome 6Nations 2015)

[Dave Cahill]

Joe Schmidt has ruined international rugby with his selection policy.

Did you lift that from munsterfans?

Who does he think he is, picking teams on form and to play to an opposition specific game plan. Where are the politics, the bias, the wheeler-dealering? This isn't the game we grew up with!

SCHMIDT OUT! REDKNAPP IN!

[domhnallj]

Not to worry, I hear that on Deccies advice the entire squad are going to Lisdoonvarna for a bender right after the French game.

[Logorrhea]

ffs is every thread for the next two months going to be dominated by the remnants of the clique spouting off nonsense?

[paddyor]

ffs is every thread for the next two months going to be dominated by the remnants of the clique spouting off nonsense?

What clique?

[paddyor]

Joe Schmidt has ruined international rugby with his selection policy.

Did you lift that from munsterfans?

Who does he think he is, picking teams on form and to play to an opposition specific game plan. Where are the politics, the bias, the wheeler-dealering? This isn't the game we grew up with!

SCHMIDT OUT! REDKNAPP IN!

Some disgraceful decisions!

[Flash Gordon]

Who does he think he is, picking teams on form and to play to an opposition specific game plan. Where are the politics, the bias, the wheeler-dealering? This isn't the game we grew up with!

SCHMIDT OUT! REDKNAPP IN!

Some disgraceful decisions!

Indeed, the decision to pick a team to win the 6 Nations and to sweep the Guinness Series was scandalous! Redknapp's IRFU sponsored Range Rover with no window on the driver side being prepared as we speak!

[simonokeeffe]

sure if Keatley blows we can always whip him off

IMO its a good sign for this bunch of players if the manager is confident enough to go to Rome opening weekend and play with cards close to the chest

[suisse]

I hope Keatley has a fine game. And I am sure he will. But mostly because I am worried about Ray Dollard if Keatley has a meltdown.

[offshorerules]

Keatley will be fine. What would be great would be if he had such a good game that he gave joe a selection problem.

[olaf the fat]

Keatley is a better touch finder and defender than Madigan.I think Madigan will go down as the most overhyped Leinster player of all time.The hype did him no good in the end.Leinster don't trust him enough to play him at 10 but you expect the national team to.

I see what you are saying, and agree The IK is better at the touch finders than IM. But there is not much wrong with Madigans defence, in fact both defend well for outhalfs and IM playing so much at 12 probably has him the better defender.

Also, the only place Madigan is mentioned as overhyped is on Munsterfans. His career had been burning slowly behind Sexton, and he failed grab the 10 jersey when Sexton left. More hoped for than hyped. (If you are looking for an overhyped player take a look at JJ)

I hope IK puts in a MOTM game and ends the battle of the Ians.

[Fireworks]

Not sure about some of the selections..... BUT ....... In Joe we trust.

[Oldschool]

Not sure about some of the selections..... BUT ....... In Joe we trust.

Joe's selections are chessboard selections and he usually has his opponents checkmated before they realise they've made their last move.

[jezzer]

What we need from the outhalf in this game is solid game management and a strong temperament. Madigan has been chopped and changed a lot - he's suffered from the utility player curse. He's a confidence player and he's had a few games that looked like a player with less than full confidence. The missed placekicks and touchfinders recently are kicks he would nail in his sleep when he's ticking nicely.

Keatley is a very even-tempered guy. You won't get a 9/10 test-level performance from him, but you won't get worse than a 5/10. You know and he knows he'll be solid. He might not be error-free or miss-free, but he'll stay composed and he'll keep things moving forward. All Ireland needs to avoid is getting rattled and we'll get over the line in Rome. Keatley is not likely to get rattled and the other players will determine by how much we can win.

We'll kick a lot for territory - and we need Keatley for that - but Joe will have some Italy-specific wrinkles to open them up or find gaps. That's where we'll find out about IK, will he identify the opportunities in the game to spring those little Joe surprises and will he execute?

[ceemec]

Keatley is a better touch finder and defender than Madigan.I think Madigan will go down as the most overhyped Leinster player of all time.The hype did him no good in the end.Leinster don't trust him enough to play him at 10 but you expect the national team to.

I'd have selected Keatley too on his general phase play but he's not in the same league whatsoever as a defender as Madigan. Keatley is a soft tackler and has been burned for tries in big games this season, notably against Sale and Clermont.

[paddyor]

Indeed, the decision to pick a team to win the 6 Nations and to sweep the Guinness Series was scandalous! Redknapp's IRFU sponsored Range Rover with no window on the driver side being prepared as we speak!

His Cockney accent is liable to put some people off. Better make it a Toyota Carina 2

[Peg Leg]

What we need from the outhalf in this game is solid game management and a strong temperament. Madigan has been chopped and changed a lot - he's suffered from the utility player curse. He's a confidence player and he's had a few games that looked like a player with less than full confidence. The missed placekicks and touchfinders recently are kicks he would nail in his sleep when he's ticking nicely.

Keatley is a very even-tempered guy. You won't get a 9/10 test-level performance from him, but you won't get worse than a 5/10. You know and he knows he'll be solid. He might not be error-free or miss-free, but he'll stay composed and he'll keep things moving forward. All Ireland needs to avoid is getting rattled and we'll get over the line in Rome. Keatley is not likely to get rattled and the other players will determine by how much we can win.

We'll kick a lot for territory - and we need Keatley for that - but Joe will have some Italy-specific wrinkles to open them up or find gaps. That's where we'll find out about IK, will he identify the opportunities in the game to spring those little Joe surprises and will he execute?

I'd say Zanni & Parrisse will be running at him from the off. So I'm hoping Murray will be carrying some of the load in the tactical kicking & the back row will do a bit of baby sitting.

[the spoofer]

Keatley is a better touch finder and defender than Madigan.I think Madigan will go down as the most overhyped Leinster player of all time.The hype did him no good in the end.Leinster don't trust him enough to play him at 10 but you expect the national team to.

I see what you are saying, and agree The IK is better at the touch finders than IM. But there is not much wrong with Madigans defence, in fact both defend well for outhalfs and IM playing so much at 12 probably has him the better defender.

Also, the only place Madigan is mentioned as overhyped is on Munsterfans. His career had been burning slowly behind Sexton, and he failed grab the 10 jersey when Sexton left. More hoped for than hyped. (If you are looking for an overhyped player take a look at JJ)

I hope IK puts in a MOTM game and ends the battle of the Ians.

I call bullshit.

[All Blacks nil]

What we need from the outhalf in this game is solid game management and a strong temperament. Madigan has been chopped and changed a lot - he's suffered from the utility player curse. He's a confidence player and he's had a few games that looked like a player with less than full confidence. The missed placekicks and touchfinders recently are kicks he would nail in his sleep when he's ticking nicely.

Keatley is a very even-tempered guy. You won't get a 9/10 test-level performance from him, but you won't get worse than a 5/10. You know and he knows he'll be solid. He might not be error-free or miss-free, but he'll stay composed and he'll keep things moving forward. All Ireland needs to avoid is getting rattled and we'll get over the line in Rome. Keatley is not likely to get rattled and the other players will determine by how much we can win.

We'll kick a lot for territory - and we need Keatley for that - but Joe will have some Italy-specific wrinkles to open them up or find gaps. That's where we'll find out about IK, will he identify the opportunities in the game to spring those little Joe surprises and will he execute?

I'd say Zanni & Parrisse will be running at him from the off. So I'm hoping Murray will be carrying some of the load in the tactical kicking & the back row will do a bit of baby sitting.

[All Blacks nil]

What we need from the outhalf in this game is solid game management and a strong temperament. Madigan has been chopped and changed a lot - he's suffered from the utility player curse. He's a confidence player and he's had a few games that looked like a player with less than full confidence. The missed placekicks and touchfinders recently are kicks he would nail in his sleep when he's ticking nicely.

Keatley is a very even-tempered guy. You won't get a 9/10 test-level performance from him, but you won't get worse than a 5/10. You know and he knows he'll be solid. He might not be error-free or miss-free, but he'll stay composed and he'll keep things moving forward. All Ireland needs to avoid is getting rattled and we'll get over the line in Rome. Keatley is not likely to get rattled and the other players will determine by how much we can win.

We'll kick a lot for territory - and we need Keatley for that - but Joe will have some Italy-specific wrinkles to open them up or find gaps. That's where we'll find out about IK, will he identify the opportunities in the game to spring those little Joe surprises and will he execute?

I'd say Zanni & Parrisse will be running at him from the off. So I'm hoping Murray will be carrying some of the load in the tactical kicking & the back row will do a bit of baby sitting.

Of course Murray will take some of the tactical kicking responsibility, one of the stronger parts of his game.

As a former back row defensive babysitting of your outhalf is always part of the brief. You don't want your most important player in a tactical sense having to constantly face physical mismatches

Also as a ball carrier you are always looking for a mismatch, be it a physical or a speed advantage. So yes the back row do and will babysit.

[OTT]

As a former back row

Explains your knowledge on Heaslip's worth to a team.