Ireland Pool 2019 RWC

[LeRouxIsPHat]

I don't think Beirne is as good as POM in the lineout (his one man lift with Healy is pretty special) but it's not like our lineout has been amazing with POM in it and both Beirne and Ruddock are good in that department anyway. I like the idea of Beirne at 6 and think he's looked quite sharp (yellow against Scotland was a poor decision IMO) but NZ can be put under pressure at the lineout (England and SA have both been firing jumpers up against them at 2) and POM could be very important for disrupting them, but he could still do that off the bench of course. As I said last week I think the bench suits POM right now, I'd expect him to have a big half an hour in him in a quarter final, and it would be good to have a leader to come off the bench if Best is taken off and with Johnny's fitness usually a concern.

Given the injuries and the need to give Ringrose a rest there probably isn't any other selection worth talking about but I think Conway is unlucky to lose out to Earls. Maybe the only other thing to note is that Robbie is more likely to play 13 in a QF because if he was going to be at 12 then Farrell could have played at 13, but it's hard to know.

Samoa were well able to defend close to the ruck against Japan so if we don't move the ball and add a bit of subtlety then we could be in for a really tough game. I actually think that the idea of us playing one out runners has been blown out of proportion recently, although certainly think it has been in an issue in the past. There has been variety to our game but have struggled with the one out runners because we're taking the ball static and have been very slow to get into our shape so players have gotten isolated. Not sure how easy that is to fix but if we're fit and can make a few good carries early on then I'd expect confidence to return and hopefully those one off carries will give us a better platform when we do use them.

[FLIP]

Aki has been a liability all world cup.

[tingman]

Aki has been a liability all world cup.

Harsh call though

[Peg Leg]

Perry got the Aki call correct, everything else, not so much.

[FLIP]

Aki has been a liability all world cup.

Harsh call though

No way, clear red. Thick as oatmeal.

EDIT: How was that not a penalty for the Samoan player being offside and not moving out the way after the tackle?

[Ruckedtobits]

It's the only call which hasn't gone our way and I suspect it won't be the only RC in this game. Larmour and Earls showing the value of footwork in breaking the gainline. Our maul is our attacking key but security of passing now becomes essential.

Our pack can create the possession opportunities but Joe has to decide whether we can afford to defend mid-field with one short.

[FLIP]

Much better.

[tingman]

Good performance - back on a horse and when you consider 2015 we go into a QF in rude health.
Great stuff from Johnny and Larmour. Big shift from from back row. Hopefully the Scots get a shot
tomorrow.

[dropkick]

Better Aki get a red this week than next week against NZ. I say NZ because I would be stunned if that other game goes ahead.

Excellent performance all round.

[Twist]

I've no problem with Aki getting a red in that match but the automatic ban seems out of proportion to the wrongdoing on his part.

That aside, it was so enjoyable to watch a game without that knot in the stomach that's been there since the Japan match started to go wrong!

I still think our attack was too blunt though. That long period around 50-58 mins where we were trying to bludgeon over the line was poor. SA will handle that all day. NZ will infringe at will and be awarded a penalty for it. We need to be less predictable there. We threw a few awful passes into the ground too.

Really good performances from Larmour, Sexton, Beirne, Furlong. Line out was good, solid scrum. Lovely stuff!



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[hugonaut]

Very comprehensive win all over the pitch and on the scoreboard. Well done the lads.

In terms of the opposition performance, you have to take into account that Samoa had nothing to play for and they were pinged off the face of the earth by the referee – they had a 17-5 penalty count against them. They were under pressure in terms of territory and possession all match so the count was always going to be lopsided, but the ref was bloody hard on them.

It's the second or third time I've said this, but we're a good team when Sexton is on the pitch, an average one when he's not.

With Sexton
24-3 [after 57 mins] vs Scotland | 3 tries
21-0 [after 40 mins] vs Russia | 3 tries
33-5 [after 51 mins] vs Samoa | 5 tries

78-8 [148 mins] | 11 tries

Without Sexton
3-0 [23 mins] vs Scotland | 0 tries
12-19 [80 mins] vs Japan | 2 tries
14-0 [40 mins] vs Russia | 2 tries
14-0 [29 mins] vs Samoa | 2 tries

43-19 [172 mins] | 6 tries

[FLIP]

Better Aki get a red this week than next week against NZ. I say NZ because I would be stunned if that other game goes ahead.

Excellent performance all round.

Better we have Ringrose and Henshaw in the centers. Aki was a red card waiting to happen, and has played poorly.

[hugonaut]

Better Aki get a red this week than next week against NZ. I say NZ because I would be stunned if that other game goes ahead.

Excellent performance all round.

Better we have Ringrose and Henshaw in the centers. Aki was a red card waiting to happen, and has played poorly.

Aki was amongst our two or three best players in the warm-ups, but this tournament has been very difficult for him. Injured early against Scotland, a really off-colour performance against Russia and now sent off against Samoa. I feel for him. He got himself into the best shape of his career and isn't lacking effort, it's just not working out for him.

[Twist]

18 tries and none from Stockdale. You'd have got decent odds on that

[Logorrhea]

Wouldn't overstate the red card. It was unlucky. the ref followed the protocol but a red card for a collision like that is harsh, the following suspension is daft. Aki has been solid for us and did alright today up to that tackle. Henshaw in the first half was really poor in comparison (thought he improved). Aki will be a big loss.

Thought the performance was alright. Only negatives for me was Luke and Joey off the bench (they were poor) and Stockdale offered nothing again.

edit: Also thought the ref, and how he dealt with the TMO and his assistants was really good.

[fourthirtythree]

Wouldn't overstate the red card. It was unlucky. the ref followed the protocol but a red card for a collision like that is harsh, the following suspension is daft. Aki has been solid for us and did alright today up to that tackle. Henshaw in the first half was really poor in comparison (thought he improved). Aki will be a big loss.

Thought the performance was alright. Only negatives for me was Luke and Joey off the bench (they were poor) and Stockdale offered nothing again.

edit: Also thought the ref, and how he dealt with the TMO and his assistants was really good.

I quite enjoyed the first TMO referral, you could hear him after it saying "I don't know why you brought that up mate" (IIRC) which is as stern an on camera rebuke as I've heard a TMO get. And he deserved it.

The TMO was right though in his reviews of the Stockdale and Aki incidents and the ref was spot on for both and the communication was exemplary.

As has been pointed out I enjoyed not watching a game with a knot in my gut. I knew Ireland had that one, and was confident in them from the get go and even the red card didn't put me off that feeling.

[Oldschool]

18 tries and none from Stockdale. You'd have got decent odds on that

It looks like Stockdale is working on his defence and perhaps is overcompensating at the expense of his offence.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

I've no problem with Aki getting a red in that match but the automatic ban seems out of proportion to the wrongdoing on his part.

Agreed. No complaints whatsoever but I thought he was unfortunate because it all happened so fast and the alternatives were to either get out of the way or stand tall and let the Samoan run into his chest. I do think Bundee leads with the shoulder too often but in this instance I really can't blame him for doing so.

Thought Berry was excellent, as he always is, and hope he gets the final if Australia aren't involved. Himself and Luke Pearse have communicated really well during the tournament and it makes a really positive impact. He let a few very obvious side entries go but that almost seems to be a directive at this stage, it's utter madness that hasn't been clamped down on and I suspect that a very high profile injury in the knockout stage might end up being the catalyst for change.

Actually there was one other incident that was missed and I haven't seen anyone comment on it elsewhere so doubt it'll be cited, but Porter stuck his head through the legs of one of the Samoans at a ruck and lifted him up on his shoulders in a really dangerous way, not sure how it was missed.

I couldn't believe how easy the game was for the most part so am trying not to read too much into it, but it's great that we looked fit and confident again and fingers crossed we can carry that into next week. I don't really buy the idea that this is the best squad we've ever had, but the one guy (I hope) that we lost today is in the position where we do have great depth and there's genuine competition for places elsewhere and decisions to be made. Contrast that to four years ago where we had a brutal game against France and lost POC, POM, SOB, Sexton and Payne leading into the Argentina game. We might not be in the shape of 12 months ago and there are certainly question marks around the team, but all things considered we're in a good place going into next week.

I'm not ready for this to be Rory and Joe's last week with the team

[leinsterlover73]

With the Scottish game confirmed as going ahead,Ireland v South Africa is still very much in the melting pot!

[dropkick]

With the Scottish game confirmed as going ahead,Ireland v South Africa is still very much in the melting pot!

Yes I didn't expect it to happen. Should be a cracking game. The first game that feels like a proper knock out game.