Ireland Under 20 2016

[Oldschool]

That was an entertaining game! Much better than last years.


The difference in physicality was massive. Every breakdown was a mess for Ireland and every Welsh player seemed to be ploughing through the Irish players and they didn't have to do much to score.
With that in mind, to only lose by 11 points was good going.


Although the team made plenty of mistakes, there were lots of good performances from Ireland. James Ryan looks something special and others like Poland also impressed.


There were plenty of mistakes, some costly but you'd expect that. They would want to work on their kicking game and tackling/defending though.

We played as individuals. Wales team played like professional players, we looked like we met in the car-park.

Thats my view too. Very individualistic but thats the way Carolan coaches. Results are not THAT important for them but more about player development.

WINNING is the only thing.
No team or coach should be allowed to take the field thinking winning is neither here nor there.

[goreyguy]

That was an entertaining game! Much better than last years.


The difference in physicality was massive. Every breakdown was a mess for Ireland and every Welsh player seemed to be ploughing through the Irish players and they didn't have to do much to score.
With that in mind, to only lose by 11 points was good going.


Although the team made plenty of mistakes, there were lots of good performances from Ireland. James Ryan looks something special and others like Poland also impressed.


There were plenty of mistakes, some costly but you'd expect that. They would want to work on their kicking game and tackling/defending though.

We played as individuals. Wales team played like professional players, we looked like we met in the car-park.

Thats my view too. Very individualistic but thats the way Carolan coaches. Results are not THAT important for them but more about player development.

WINNING is the only thing.
No team or coach should be allowed to take the field thinking winning is neither here nor there.

Irfu don't view 20s that way.. it's about development..

[wprathead]

WINNING is the only thing.
No team or coach should be allowed to take the field thinking winning is neither here nor there.

No it is not the only thing - primary role of u20s is to develop future professional players

[LeRouxIsPHat]

I'm struggling to see any common skills across tonight's team tbh.

[dropkick]

the handling was shite,

Weirdly, our handling in high speed offloads was sensational, but our general handling was terrible. It looked like we spent our week practising offloads, and then when the ball approached at normal speed we got spooked.

Players were probably nervous. Keenan dropping a few easy balls for example. When they didn't have time to think they were very good.


Also the backs were under a lot of pressure due to the breakdown and liberal refereeing of the offside line.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

The ref was terrible actually, and I don't mean that it cost us. Fair enough the yellow was a big blow and totally unwarranted, but it looked to me like our try from the maul was actually held up and there were several other mistakes.

[cormac]

The ref was terrible actually, and I don't mean that it cost us. Fair enough the yellow was a big blow and totally unwarranted, but it looked to me like our try from the maul was actually held up and there were several other mistakes.

think that yellow was a TMO call, I assume there was no big screen in Donnybrook

[Hippo]

The ref was terrible actually, and I don't mean that it cost us. Fair enough the yellow was a big blow and totally unwarranted, but it looked to me like our try from the maul was actually held up and there were several other mistakes.

think that yellow was a TMO call, I assume there was no big screen in Donnybrook

It was a TMO call, and all the less justifiable for that!

Quite impressed with Poland despite the silly intercepted pass.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

The ref was terrible actually, and I don't mean that it cost us. Fair enough the yellow was a big blow and totally unwarranted, but it looked to me like our try from the maul was actually held up and there were several other mistakes.

think that yellow was a TMO call, I assume there was no big screen in Donnybrook

Fair point, je suis désolé!

[neiliog93]

There was a TMO. They made the decision together.

[cormac]

There was a TMO. They made the decision together.

Not sure how the ref could have made the decision, he never saw it.

[Donny B.]

There was a TMO. They made the decision together.

Not sure how the ref could have made the decision, he never saw it.

There was a monitor in the corner of the pitch where Joanne and the lads were sitting.

[Ruckedtobits]

No U20 game in 6N should be about performance. If that is fundamental logic of IRFU, they should sent 20's on a Southern Hemishere tour. For as long as they play in the 6N tournament or the JWC, they owe it their opponents and the nation, to focus on winning. Any other rationale is a cop out by the Head Coach. Having watched a post-match interview, I am seriously pissed off once again to hear the mantra about "small margins". If that's all that's in it, why not focus on those margins in training? This team is better than that performance, but has no fear of mistakes - an outlook borne out of poor leadership

[Oldschool]

No U20 game in 6N should be about performance. If that is fundamental logic of IRFU, they should sent 20's on a Southern Hemishere tour. For as long as they play in the 6N tournament or the JWC, they owe it their opponents and the nation, to focus on winning. Any other rationale is a cop out by the Head Coach. Having watched a post-match interview, I am seriously pissed off once again to hear the mantra about "small margins". If that's all that's in it, why not focus on those margins in training? This team is better than that performance, but has no fear of mistakes - an outlook borne out of poor leadership

+1

[dropkick]

No U20 game in 6N should be about performance. If that is fundamental logic of IRFU, they should sent 20's on a Southern Hemishere tour. For as long as they play in the 6N tournament or the JWC, they owe it their opponents and the nation, to focus on winning. Any other rationale is a cop out by the Head Coach. Having watched a post-match interview, I am seriously pissed off once again to hear the mantra about "small margins". If that's all that's in it, why not focus on those margins in training? This team is better than that performance, but has no fear of mistakes - an outlook borne out of poor leadership

Ireland look to be trying to move away from win at all cost mentality at underage level, which is great IMO. It will allow the cream rise to the top because the players are given more freedom to make decisions. Creativity is something Irish rugby needs and making good decisions in real time is a talent not everyone has.


If Ireland did play it tighter we might have missed all the offloading sequences which tore the Welsh defence apart.


When he said small margins he might have had a point. Most of the Welsh scores came from sloppy Irish errors. Keenan made a few handling errors, Deegan made numerous knock on, Poland gave the intercept, poor CV clearance kicks and despite having a very tall pack and a decent thrower the lineout was a weak point.

[Dave Cahill]

If Ireland did play it tighter we might have missed all the offloading sequences which tore the Welsh defence apart.

That, for me, highlighted the big problem for Ireland on friday night. They were as dumb as a bag of sand. When they had to play instinctively, as in those phases you mention, they looked great. When they had to think about what they were doing, or make a choice, they invariably got it wrong.

[Oldschool]

Making the right decisions under pressure is what it's all about and winning is part of that pressure.
If there are no consequences then it's indulgence and indiscipline. That's the road to failure .
Nanny state rugby.

[Ruckedtobits]

Making the right decisions under pressure is what it's all about and winning is part of that pressure.
If there are no consequences then it's indulgence and indiscipline. That's the road to failure .
Nanny state rugby.

+1
Rugby without consequences is like a sloppy training session. If there are no consequences for mistakes, all teams do is practice rubbish. Too many commentators equate playing rugby to win, with playing rugby without ambition. That is not the equation. Understanding that failure to execute is letting down yourself, your team-mates and your supporters and is unforgiveable. When its accompanied by comments like "well at least he gave it a go", it's excusing laziness. Training is preparing for performance. Playing is execution of performance. Execution of performance is satisfying, and usually results in winning.

[goreyguy]

Disagree. A couple of players standout having gained their selection ahead of higher profile opposition. Matthew Byrne is one has been selected due to pace and try scoring. With Terenure, he was part of winning U.20 Club competition for last 2 seasons against UCD and L'downe squads who were favoured.

And he will probably make the academy but he isn't a clear standout talent who profiled to by a star at this level.

[dropkick]

Some stats from the match.

Ireland. Wales
522. Metres. 389
10 Turnovers won 6
86 Tackles. 127
12 Offloads. 6
8 Pens conceded. 11

The France Italy game is up on YouTube. Hard to know what to make of France because Italy were so poor. They scored one or two very good tries but most tries came from kicking to the corner and mauling over. Definitely a game Ireland can win.