Wales vs Ireland - 14/03/2015 14:30

[Logorrhea]

16-21 offer real strength. I've always thought Leinster at their absolute best had an unbelievable bench. Ireland are getting to that level. Cant wait till Trimble, D Ryan and Henry get back fit.

O'Donnell is of course unlucky but that's what happens when when you have a lot of depth available to you.

[offshorerules]

Joe is nothing if not reliable, I was going to say predictable but that would be harsh, with his selections. I think it will be a tight game but we will win if we play to our ability.

[flustered]

My biggest fear this weekend is the performance of the man in the middle Wayne Barnes! Not his biggest fan, hopefully we can stay on his good side!

Sexton playing is huge (as is Heaslip imo), the combination of Murray & Sexton is vital to any chance we have of winning. The longer they stay on the pitch (80 minutes) then Ireland can win this. I don't expect to see as much kicking (well not to Williams or Halfpenny at least), a lot of quick ball needed to try find the gaps in the Welsh defence (Payne will be very important this weekend I feel).

Ireland by 5-8 points.........hopefully!

[Logorrhea]

Disagree. I think we will kick the leather off the ball in the usual situations on the pitch, and complete or disrupt every kick. Regardless of how good they are under the ball, the likes of Tommy, Rob and Zebo can disrupt enough to cause mistakes. That's all we have to do.

I'm a huge fan of their back three. Three very talented players and Williams and Halfpenny are real good in the air. However I still think we'll stick to the script. Kick when field position or quality of ball dictates, and play more expansive when we have territory.

I think it'll be a two score game.

[All Blacks nil]

Three tactics I expect to see this weekend

1. More aerial kicking.
2. plenty of driving lineout mauls. Wales couldn't handle it last year.
3. Ireland attacking a little wider (more two out than one out) in an attempt to outflank the chop tackle and jackal defensive units. Scarlets mopped up v Leinster last weekend as leinster continually went one out. Joe's team won't make the same mistake.

I love watching the lineout battles between Wynn-Jones and POC. Masters of their trade and plenty mutual respect. not the flashiest element of the game but a highlight for me.

[olaf the fat]

Disagree. I think we will kick the leather off the ball in the usual situations on the pitch, and complete or disrupt every kick. Regardless of how good they are under the ball, the likes of Tommy, Rob and Zebo can disrupt enough to cause mistakes. That's all we have to do.

I'm a huge fan of their back three. Three very talented players and Williams and Halfpenny are real good in the air. However I still think we'll stick to the script. Kick when field position or quality of ball dictates, and play more expansive when we have territory.

I think it'll be a two score game.

Likewise
Kicking to the Wales back 3 can effectively take their impact out of the game if we can contest /chase every kick well.
however if we miss the same amount of tackles as we did against England we could be in trouble.

[Sionnach]

I love watching the lineout battles between Wynn-Jones and POC. Masters of their trade and plenty mutual respect. not the flashiest element of the game but a highlight for me.

FYI, it's just 'Jones' Alun-Wyn is his first name.

[simonokeeffe]

Wales will want to the ball alive as much as possible, Ireland will be trying to kick it dead when we go long

without getting too cliched POC will inspire us to victory, always upped his game even more on the big occasions so 100th cap, championship decider (apologies to mocker gods), probably his last game in Cardiff/2nd last 6n game
Saturday means POC 20th most capped international player of all time (tied with John Hayes), looks like Castro and Parisse will keep him out of all time top 10 even after world cup

[BarryP]

I hope Sexton is fit and the murmers I heard aren't true...

[johng]

probably his last game in Cardiff/2nd last 6n game

Definitely his last 6N game in Cardiff.

He will probably play in some of the 4 games we have scheduled in Cardiff between August and October 15 though. He may or may not play in the 6N 2016, but won't play in the 2017 6N (which would be our next 6N game in Cardiff)

[JB1973]

Wales will want to the ball alive as much as possible, Ireland will be trying to kick it dead when we go long

without getting too cliched POC will inspire us to victory, always upped his game even more on the big occasions so 100th cap, championship decider (apologies to mocker gods), probably his last game in Cardiff/2nd last 6n game
Saturday means POC 20th most capped international player of all time (tied with John Hayes), looks like Castro and Parisse will keep him out of all time top 10 even after world cup

POC is a genuine rugby legend, great player and I have all the respect in the world for this guy.

I hope we ruin his 100th cap celebrations though

[Logorrhea]

I hope we ruin his 100th cap celebrations though

Well doesn't that just go to show the kind of guy you are. All pretending to be nice but when it comes down to it you're ........... you're .......... well your Welsh!

[Peg Leg]

I hope we ruin his 100th cap celebrations though

Well doesn't that just go to show the kind of guy you are. All pretending to be nice but when it comes down to it you're ........... you're .......... well your Welsh!

[FACE WITH TEARS OF JOY][FACE WITH TEARS OF JOY][FACE WITH TEARS OF JOY]

[Peg Leg]

Stupid emoticons. That's laughing by anyone else's standards

[Peg Leg]

Stupid welsh....

[paddyor]

Stupid welsh....

d!%khead!

[paddyor]

This has me worried
http://www.the42.ie/analysis-wales-defence-ireland-six-nations-2015-1987469-Mar2015/

Good piece from Murray Kinsella. Shows the Welsh defense is a bit more fluid than last year. It won't be as easy to kick in behind the defenders as before. But it does show places we should look to attack. I think Charteris has shored up their lineup moreso than the change in hooker. I can't see us getting much ground there.

Expecting a tight game tomorrow. After the England game I thought we should win but my confidence is ebbing away as the game gets closer. We've won most of the winning streak at home so the Joe show hasn't really been on the road this past while. Also I think they'll be right up for this. A win for them puts them right back into contention for the championship. A little worried too about our composure coming into the game as favorites. This is set up for us to f*ck up(POC 100 cap, championship on the line) by arriving 20mins after the game is started.......

[Peg Leg]

This has me worried
http://www.the42.ie/analysis-wales-defence-ireland-six-nations-2015-1987469-Mar2015/

Good piece from Murray Kinsella. Shows the Welsh defense is a bit more fluid than last year. It won't be as easy to kick in behind the defenders as before. But it does show places we should look to attack. I think Charteris has shored up their lineup moreso than the change in hooker. I can't see us getting much ground there.

Expecting a tight game tomorrow. After the England game I thought we should win but my confidence is ebbing away as the game gets closer. We've won most of the winning streak at home so the Joe show hasn't really been on the road this past while. Also I think they'll be right up for this. A win for them puts them right back into contention for the championship. A little worried too about our composure coming into the game as favorites. This is set up for us to f*ck up(POC 100 cap, championship on the line) by arriving 20mins after the game is started.......

Turn over ball will be massive in this game for finding the space.
asshole

[nelly the elephant]

I hope we ruin his 100th cap celebrations though

Well doesn't that just go to show the kind of guy you are. All pretending to be nice but when it comes down to it you're ........... you're .......... well your Welsh!

[neiliog93]

Yeah I'd agree, don't really see any deviation from the kicking game. We kicked very effectively against Wales last year and it worked, and obviously we've done it a lot this year.

Part of it is that the Welsh defence is very fast and very aggressive, and generally very good. Warburton's also very good at getting over the ball at the breakdown. So by running the ball against them you play to their strengths. They get a turnover and bang, a try out of nowhere. If you kick the ball away you can pressurise their slightly dodgy line-out, or try to squeeze them up front to make sure their dangerous backs don't get fast ball (something we're capable of doing), forcing them into mistake. The way Wales are set up massively incentivises their opponents to play pretty negative rugby.