Summer tour to Australia

[Oldschool]

Great to get a win down in Australia. It hadn't happened in my lifetime and while I thought we could get it done this time around, to actually go out and get the job done against a good Australian team was a super achievement. Well done the lads.

Super performances from Furlong, O'Mahony and Sexton in particular, but there was a lot of good showings out there. Niall Scannell took his chance well, Ringrose reinforced why he should be an automatic selection at No13 and Robert Kearney was the next thing to flawless.

I have to say that I think Conor Murray is running out of gas and we're doing nothing to help him out. So much has been made about having a back-up to J10 [moving Joey Carberry around, dropping Sexton for the first test] but we are nowhere with regards to either a] relieving Murray of some of the load he carries or b] having somebody to step in for him if he takes a bang.

12 points up with 14 minutes left to play is a pretty ideal situation to expose a player to a big-time game. Its was a super win, but I'd be happier if Cooney got some minutes.

Scannell was subbed after 8 minutes in the 2nd half having

Messed up a clearout on Pocock 5 m from the try line(it was mostly Kearney)
Giving away a peno for maul entry
Throwing an offload to an Aussie

All in the first 5 minutes of the 2nd half.

He adds plenty of power around the pitch and is a step up on Herring and Cronin in that regard. He has to iron out the mistakes but a run of games will help him do that.

You've once again demonstrated the problem that is epidemic in Munster.
One good? performance and ye big him up as if he's the next coming.
Do us all a favour and just park it.

[ronk]

Next week is our best approximation for a RWC quarter final that we’ll get. Let’s see what they can come back with.

We should only rotate if we’re planning on rotating for the RWC crunch games.

What???

Seriously- we should just do whatever is required to win the series. Having got this far, the win is now paramount- above any other goal.

The first two games offered all the chances necessary for experimentation. If you can test points and prove systems in winning- well be our guest. But win first!


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We both want the same thing

[Oldschool]

The first two games have pointed up a few things.
Ireland. Our scrum is not as dominant as we think and it's not just a personnel thing.
Added to that I've no idea what Porter was penalised in the scrum for but I'm pretty sure that the ref didn't either.
Which brings up the whole issue of officialdom.
A few punters posting here have often slated Wayne Barnes (a bit ott but not without some justication).
Jaysus but give me Wayne Barnes every time over what I've seen in the last two tests.
The TMO has been a disgrace.
The YC for Jack McGrath was correct.
The TMO demonstrated that he knows what's what when making that call so how come he didn't pick up on other similar offences, that's what makes him guilty in my book. It's a bit more than inconsistency.
He should be grilled by Alain Roland and suspended pending a review of his performance.
Ireland now know what they're up against to win a RWC.
We saw what NZ have been allowed to get away with over the years.
The only(ha ha) thing Ireland need to add to their armoury is to convert more of the chances they are creating, easier said than done but we're close very close to making that happen.
I was going to talk about Australia but I'll leave that to them.
At least they've stopped patronising us which says it all.

[ronk]

International experience at high level is good for most players. Delahunt, Cronin, Tracy, Scannell, Herring could all expect to be better players with a years exposure as starting international players.

Optimum strategy with Best would appear to be to keep him in place as long as his form holds up until the RWC.

Scannell is a good player who might be the next Irish hooker, but so might a few other guys

[Hippo]

As if it ever needed saying, the difference Sexton makes to the team is enormous. I thought he was superb yesterday. Munster's new 10 has a long way to go to match that level of performance but of course it's very early in his development.

[Twist]

Thought I had posted this before but I don't see it here so apologies if this is a repeat but.....

The Healy chat is a bit concerning. I haven't seen any footage of the alleged hit on Genia but if he's out what do we do at LH? Does Porter take the LH bench spot?


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[Oldschoolsocks]

Thought I had posted this before but I don't see it here so apologies if this is a repeat but.....

The Healy chat is a bit concerning. I haven't seen any footage of the alleged hit on Genia but if he's out what do we do at LH? Does Porter take the LH bench spot?


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If he was wearing black or gold he’d need to have hit Genia with a baseball bat to get a citing let alone a ban. However, as he’s playing for Ireland...

[TerenureJim]

International experience at high level is good for most players. Delahunt, Cronin, Tracy, Scannell, Herring could all expect to be better players with a years exposure as starting international players.

Optimum strategy with Best would appear to be to keep him in place as long as his form holds up until the RWC.

Scannell is a good player who might be the next Irish hooker, but so might a few other guys

I'd do a Keith wood on best rest him in November and 6N if he wants and then get him back up to speed with RWC warm ups so he can go out with a Big Bang in Japan.

[wixfjord]

As if it ever needed saying, the difference Sexton makes to the team is enormous. I thought he was superb yesterday. Munster's new 10 has a long way to go to match that level of performance but of course it's very early in his development.

If we can keep Sexton fit we can win a World Cup.

The team is just so much better with him.

Ringrose, a much better POM performance and Furlong made a huge difference yesterday, but our attack is miles better with Johnny at 10.

[ronk]

International experience at high level is good for most players. Delahunt, Cronin, Tracy, Scannell, Herring could all expect to be better players with a years exposure as starting international players.

Optimum strategy with Best would appear to be to keep him in place as long as his form holds up until the RWC.

Scannell is a good player who might be the next Irish hooker, but so might a few other guys

I'd do a Keith wood on best rest him in November and 6N if he wants and then get him back up to speed with RWC warm ups so he can go out with a Big Bang in Japan.

Wood was broken and patched up to hold together through the RWC.

He probably should and would have retired earlier with injury but he had one target to keep going.

Best has one injury that should be ok. He’s not showing signs of breaking down and he’s never been the mad impact player that Wood was.

[Oldschool]

As if it ever needed saying, the difference Sexton makes to the team is enormous. I thought he was superb yesterday. Munster's new 10 has a long way to go to match that level of performance but of course it's very early in his development.

If we can keep Sexton fit we can win a World Cup.

The team is just so much better with him.

Ringrose, a much better POM performance and Furlong made a huge difference yesterday, but our attack is miles better with Johnny at 10.

Unfortunately the southern hemisphere rugby world probably think the same, know what to do about it and can get away with it.

[Oldschool]

International experience at high level is good for most players. Delahunt, Cronin, Tracy, Scannell, Herring could all expect to be better players with a years exposure as starting international players.

Optimum strategy with Best would appear to be to keep him in place as long as his form holds up until the RWC.

Scannell is a good player who might be the next Irish hooker, but so might a few other guys

I'd do a Keith wood on best rest him in November and 6N if he wants and then get him back up to speed with RWC warm ups so he can go out with a Big Bang in Japan.

Wood was broken and patched up to hold together through the RWC.

He probably should and would have retired earlier with injury but he had one target to keep going.

Best has one injury that should be ok. He’s not showing signs of breaking down and he’s never been the mad impact player that Wood was.

Best is your thinking man's 2 whereas thinking didn't really come into it for Woodie.

[cormac]

Thought I had posted this before but I don't see it here so apologies if this is a repeat but.....

The Healy chat is a bit concerning. I haven't seen any footage of the alleged hit on Genia but if he's out what do we do at LH? Does Porter take the LH bench spot?


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There's nothing in that Healy/Genia incident.

https://twitter.com/andymcgeady/status/ ... 2524674048

[Twist]

Thought I had posted this before but I don't see it here so apologies if this is a repeat but.....

The Healy chat is a bit concerning. I haven't seen any footage of the alleged hit on Genia but if he's out what do we do at LH? Does Porter take the LH bench spot?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There's nothing in that Healy/Genia incident.

https://twitter.com/andymcgeady/status/ ... 2524674048

Bit of a reach for Cheika to call that a "king hit"


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[artaneboy]

Thought I had posted this before but I don't see it here so apologies if this is a repeat but.....

The Healy chat is a bit concerning. I haven't seen any footage of the alleged hit on Genia but if he's out what do we do at LH? Does Porter take the LH bench spot?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There's nothing in that Healy/Genia incident.

https://twitter.com/andymcgeady/status/ ... 2524674048

Jaysus! Is that it- seriously? Less than feck all there. Sorry for Genia, very unlucky for him- but I’d be outraged if that led to a citing.

TBH I’m not even happy at the chat from the Aussies on it. ‘Give a dog a bad name’ vibe about it...


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[LeRouxIsPHat]

Delighted with that. It's funny, I hadn't realised how off the pace we were physically last week but then seeing how much we improved in that regard yesterday really drove it home. All of the changes made big differences. The front row was far more powerful in every respect (thought Scannell was excellent regardless of what was said above...and told you Furlong looked tired ) and Toner did a phenomenal job at the breakdown. Ryan did as well, his engine is just frightening. Add in POM getting some brilliant steals and Leavy getting more go forward and there was just far more momentum plus we kept the scoreboard ticking over a bit better.

The interplay with backs and forwards was much better, we were far more unpredictable and direct (as opposed to lateral). I don't blame Joey and praise Johnny for that though, thought it was mostly down to the platform that the forwards provided. Ringrose did make a big difference on both sides of the ball though, he just reads everything so well and has so much variety to his game in attack that defenders are afraid to commit. He's another with a ridiculous engine, just bounces up after every tackle and gets straight back into position, really crucial in that last few minutes.

Genia was obviously a big loss for them but regardless of that we were so good at slowing them down and counter rucking that he would have struggled too. I was going to single people out for counter rucking but pretty much everyone did it, even Rob was getting stuck in and he had a really impressive game overall.

I really can't think of many negatives (bar Jack's stupid penalty and the gap we opened for Beale early on). It was an excellent performance and the only reason Australia were still in was because of the ref. His leniency towards them was nothing short of a farce and there were some very questionable calls against us. Our defence was much better with Ringrose out wide and I wouldn't expect Henshaw to make the mistakes he made last week whenever he turns out at 13 again. Our maul defence needs work, was hoping Beirne would get through to the ball like he did for the Scarlets. but that's about the height of it in terms of concerns I have.

Watching England yesterday made me realise how lucky we are to have Joe's "system". When England's big players don't perform (they're particularly reliant on Billy Vunipola) they turn into a rabble very quickly. The way we play is just so much more intelligent and conducive to building a squad. Last week they brought in Brad Shields fresh off the plane from NZ and expect him to perform miracles as an early sub in the second row, and then to take over from former captain Robshaw yesterday, whereas we could bring in Tadhg Beirne to fit into a role that he's obviously been well prepared for.

[Oldschool]

Something that Joe and the IRFU are going to have to address for the RWC is the need for more acclimatization time.
Yesterday's team could quite easily have come a cropper against Oz last week.
That extra week of adjustment for jet lag was very significant imho.
The evidence to support this is the failure of the bench last week to turn up, most obviously (but by means the only failure) J10 missing touch.

[ronk]

Thought I had posted this before but I don't see it here so apologies if this is a repeat but.....

The Healy chat is a bit concerning. I haven't seen any footage of the alleged hit on Genia but if he's out what do we do at LH? Does Porter take the LH bench spot?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There's nothing in that Healy/Genia incident.

https://twitter.com/andymcgeady/status/ ... 2524674048

Jaysus! Is that it- seriously? Less than feck all there. Sorry for Genia, very unlucky for him- but I’d be outraged if that led to a citing.

TBH I’m not even happy at the chat from the Aussies on it. ‘Give a dog a bad name’ vibe about it...


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Genia trips Toner as he lands. It’s that collision that somehow does it but it’s off camera. Accident

[ronk]

.

Watching England yesterday made me realise how lucky we are to have Joe's "system".

We’re a bit more interchangeable alright but we still have key players who we depend on.

We have good skills but some of what Oz are able to do is way beyond us. We were better when we were a bit simpler because they ate up moves that took time to develop.

We tried to do something similar at the start by showing blitz and then sitting back into a drift. They cut us right open.

[dropkick]

He adds plenty of power around the pitch and is a step up on Herring and Cronin in that regard. He has to iron out the mistakes but a run of games will help him do that.

You've once again demonstrated the problem that is epidemic in Munster.
One good? performance and ye big him up as if he's the next coming.
Do us all a favour and just park it.

What has this got to do with munster? I don't campaign for players to play for Ireland because they're form Munster so no need to get worked up.