2016 Summer Tour to South Africa.

[Fan with smartphone]

Jackson is ultimately the man running the game not the TMO though. The call is his, though the guidance from TMO was pathetic. I say look at the laws because there have been far more potentially dangerous situations since this was changed. If you are jumping and don't get the ball, hit the man - that is a tackle. Because of the various changes around this players are jumping for the ball in situations where they have a low chance of getting it, but knowing that they can still stay "well I might have got it." What are the chances? A million to one. So you're saying there's a chance type of thing.

[Dave Cahill]

Well bad refereeing calls aside, we've had enough chances to win this game at least once.

[Donny B.]

Joe becoming the new Kidney with the use of the bench. Waits until 10 minuted from time to bring on Dillane and Rudduck. WTF!!!

[TerenureJim]

Hard to play against 16 players especially when by the laws of the game you should be playing 14. I'm starting to get sick of the IRB and the increasingly suspicious narrative of a lot of 50/50's going to the team you imagine they're picking to support for whatever reason.

Sorry I know this is a conspiracy mad rant but we can only come up against these marginal calls so many times before you think they genuinely are out to get you.

[Ruckedtobits]

Hard to play against 16 players especially when by the laws of the game you should be playing 14. I'm starting to get sick of the IRB and the increasingly suspicious narrative of a lot of 50/50's going to the team you imagine they're picking to support for whatever reason.

Sorry I know this is a conspiracy mad rant but we can only come up against these marginal calls so many times before you think they genuinely are out to get you.

+1
Terrible series of biased decisions, but ultimately poor executions by Marshall and Jackson lost us tries in each half.

Notwithstanding that Jackson should notbe allowed anywhere near a top level rugby match again. He either does not know, or will not apply equitably, the Laws of the game.

[Made Of Ale]

The last penalty decision was terrible too. De Klerk tackles then rolls all over it and somehow it's an SA penalty.

Absolutely gutted.

[simonokeeffe]

Yeah Joes use of the bench is a puzzlement
Best guess is too much faith and belief in the powers of the starting side

2 things to kick us when we're down
1. Reddan was lethargic off the bench
2. Not to crash a bandwagon but Cronin makes his break and Matt Healy whose strengths are pace and finishing is jogging up behind him with his bucket and spade

Jackson bottled all the 60/40 calls. Missed 3 offences in build up to their try on the break starting with Stander tackled well off the ball

[TerenureJim]

Harsh on Reddan he was v quick at the breakdown and to break.

Don't know how that was an SA penalty at the last breakdown.

[simonokeeffe]

Harsh on Reddan he was v quick at the breakdown and to break.

Don't know how that was an SA penalty at the last breakdown.

Not much use being quick to the breakdown if you take too long to pass and guys making runs have had to check themselves/their runs

Not to speak ill of the dead etc

Ruddocks was a stone cold braindead penalty. Guy is on the ground and he just ploughs into him

[Oldschool]

Without a doubt we missed Payne and Henshaw.
That aside -Agree Joe was very slow to use the bench.
The ref just wasn't interested in a SA loss.
The yellow card decision was patently wrong.
It spoiled O'Halloran's big day and left us with our nth choice FB on the pitch.
Refs have to be subject to sanction for making decisions like that.
Hopefully Roland will pick refs who can ref.

[Ruckedtobits]

Cape Town is the big opportunity for a win...........

A series win would be phenomenal but highly unlikely. A win would do wonders for our Ranking position.........

Certainly didn't believe 2 months ago that we could coome so close or be good enough to give ourselves two chances to win the series. However, there were a number of players who demonstrated that they have enough talent to grace a green jersey, without yet having enough precision to execute every opportunity they create.

We have got depth at international level, but players (and fans) must recognise that Pro12 standards and skills are insufficent for success at this level. Equally, players will have recognised that the fitness levels required in the last 20 mins of international rugby are in the super-human category.

IMO, Irish tactical acumen in defence and attack was ahead of the S. Africans but execution was behind. Defensive pattern was improved but dropped in final quarter in each game as physical effort told.

Today was our poorest performance of the three and several players looked shattered at the end. However, the biggest factor in todays game was the poor refereeing of Jackson which was a travesty of fairness.

[tate]

we were not at the races today at all. Jackson was shite and the yellow for le roux is mind boggling. i personally disagreed with stander being sent off but if that's the law then that's the law. so where was the f%~king law today? proving itself an ass as per f%~king usual.

i am fed up with refs siding with the "bigger" team too, it happens all the time. lower ranked team gets dicked in any marginal call. so well done world rugby, you got what you wanted and SA win again

did anyone else think that the final penalty faf got should have been to us because he didnt roll away? last shot i saw of him was his arse between reddan and the ball


ranting about jackson aside, that was a piss poor boks team which we should have beaten. best is not a good captain in terms of speaking with the ref. wee PJ was disappointing after two good games, centres mixed the sublime and the ridiculous. we missed henshaw but especially payne in the backs. subs came too late

oh and what happened to our defensive line?? it wilted big time today. we were giving them all kinds of space, whoever their 10 is looked like he was going to sh!t himself in the first game because we were in his face, so instead of continuing that we sat back and let their big focks gather up a head of steam and barrel into us

[Donny B.]

Joe's worst game in charge of Ireland. From 55 minutes on, the team was wrecked but he left players with real impact on the bench until 10 minutes from time when we were two scores down. He let his team down today cause as bad as we were,they were shite too and the game was there to be won.

[Fan with smartphone]

Last thing I'm saying about the yellow and then I'm moving on.

The idea of making the call depending on outcome is ludicrous. Neck, shoulder, 'top of the back': it's all dangerous. Not to be overly dramatic, but if a player has a life-changing injury (and O'Halloran was pretty lucky to escape some type of injury today), what are we going to say to him? "Ah don't worry about it, he got a red card for it." If a stretcher is called for TOH - is it a red card then? That's my annoyance with the laws.

My annoyance with the TMO is for making up a new part of the human anatomy between the thoracic and cervical spines.

My annoyance with Jackson is for readily accepting the top of the back as a ridiculous way to side-step what I understand is a hard call to make.

Hard luck out there.

[simonokeeffe]

On the Boks though, theyve effectively detransformed their team to win matches

When injuries came up they bypassed numbers 24 to 32 in their squad so theres going to be controversy over that back home and trouble for them in the RWC

[kermischocolate]

Last thing I'm saying about the yellow and then I'm moving on.

The idea of making the call depending on outcome is ludicrous. Neck, shoulder, 'top of the back': it's all dangerous. Not to be overly dramatic, but if a player has a life-changing injury (and O'Halloran was pretty lucky to escape some type of injury today), what are we going to say to him? "Ah don't worry about it, he got a red card for it." If a stretcher is called for TOH - is it a red card then? That's my annoyance with the laws.

My annoyance with the TMO is for making up a new part of the human anatomy between the thoracic and cervical spines.

My annoyance with Jackson is for readily accepting the top of the back as a ridiculous way to side-step what I understand is a hard call to make.

Hard luck out there.

This- the outcome of an "offence" and the "intent" of an offence should be irrelevant. Simply make a judgement on what actually happens and decisions would be much more consistent.

[tate]

i was under the impression that action, not consequence or intent was the instruction refs were given. was i wrong? or have they just changed it again

[Dave Cahill]

In what is a major shock to precisely nobody except perhaps Glen Jackson, Willie Le Roux has been cited.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

In what is a major shock to precisely nobody except perhaps Glen Jackson, Willie Le Roux has been cited.

Hope they don't invite Jackson to the hearing and ask him to just sit and listen at the back, god knows where he'll end up.

[Fan with smartphone]

My understanding Tate is that they still distinguish between back and neck - hence some of today's problems.

I'm trying to move on here but I do think you have a point about best. He is a superb captain and I'm happy that he is slowly shedding a little of his politeness in the interests of speaking up for his team, but he still needs a thing for this type of situation. Martin Johnson had the big eyebrow as his thing , Warburton asks closed questions so the ref thinks it is his own idea and O'Connell had a big sigh (Poite was like his kryptonite mind you). Given that joe is also polite (refusing to possibly comment and all that) I'm going to suggest removal of the scrum cap for rory. A kind of a uh oh, the scrum cap is off, he didn't just go there type of thing

This started as an attempted joke, but I'm half serious now. No big conspiracy theory like, but too many times we're getting a raw deal.