RugbyRebels

It was very generous of your boys to let us win yesterday..
They covered it up well, as there were moments in the second half when I was convinced Ireland wanted to win it for themselves..

I take that you`ll be extending the same courtesy to your English guests when they visit in a few weeks..
Along with that wonderful ITV commentary team..

SerjeantWildgoose wrote:Now, ALEZ LES BLEUS

Shame on you y'aul fecker.
Soap an' water!

And there are two ells in Allez!

Dezolay, grand hom.

Tootafay mon pot!

SerjeantWildgoose wrote:Dezolay, grand hom.

Can`t wait till you lot play Italy..

SerjeantWildgoose wrote:Let's not pretend that Poite had any bearing on the result. I wonder what it was that Farrell did at Carton House to turn one of the stingiest defences on the planet into a bunch of gormless gonks that leak 3 tries off the only 3 visits The Jocks made to our 22 in the 1st half.

Devon was way off his best today, but Rory surprised even me with his fecking useless chucking into the line-out. There's a lot of crap talked about him being Lions captain, when I don't think he's even the best hooker in Ireland. He was completely absent as captain today - particularly in the last quarter when we needed a cool head to dictate where the game should be played.

I have no problem losing to a better side, but we were beaten today by a good Scottish side that fed off our weaknesses superbly for 30 minutes but who couldn't live with our scrum and couldn't live with us at all for the 1st 30 minutes of the second half. If we'd been able to rely on line out ball, our maul might have put a cricket score on them.

Positives? The scrum throughout and PJ in the 2nd half. That's about it, really.

few points serj...

1) we now average 3 tries conceded a game, since Farrell took over.
2) that's nonsense regarding rory not being our best hooker.
3) why wasn't the scrum more of a factor after 15 mins.. we should have crucified them there,

Sorry Hellov, but if Scotland were able to look at how the Argentinians unpicked us around the fringes and do the same thing, how come Farrell isn't able to spot it and put it right.

4 years ago I sat in Murrayfield and watched Rory throw 2 lineouts away inside the Scottish 22; last Saturday it was 3 and I have lost count of how many in between. If we can't rely on lineout ball, we can't play to our strengths which include our kicking game and our maul. If the opposition limit us to 6 scrums in the game, they have effectively countered our set piece and made room for their good (But not brilliant, except for Hogg) backs to take us apart. The failure to play the game in their half, where their strike runners would have been far less potent is down to a captain who didn't captain and a hooker who cant throw straight when it matters. That we so dominated them from the off in the 2nd half and looked capable of putting a cricket score on them, but then blew it can only be down to a lack of on-field leadership.

If Cronin were fit, I'd start him every time ahead of Rory; against Italy I'd give Niall the run.

SerjeantWildgoose wrote:Sorry Hellov, but if Scotland were able to look at how the Argentinians unpicked us around the fringes and do the same thing, how come Farrell isn't able to spot it and put it right.

4 years ago I sat in Murrayfield and watched Rory throw 2 lineouts away inside the Scottish 22; last Saturday it was 3 and I have lost count of how many in between. If we can't rely on lineout ball, we can't play to our strengths which include our kicking game and our maul. If the opposition limit us to 6 scrums in the game, they have effectively countered our set piece and made room for their good (But not brilliant, except for Hogg) backs to take us apart. The failure to play the game in their half, where their strike runners would have been far less potent is down to a captain who didn't captain and a hooker who cant throw straight when it matters. That we so dominated them from the off in the 2nd half and looked capable of putting a cricket score on them, but then blew it can only be down to a lack of on-field leadership.

If Cronin were fit, I'd start him every time ahead of Rory; against Italy I'd give Niall the run.

I'd start Niall ahead of Cronin even if both were fit. I quite like Cronin as an impact sub when the opposition are getting knackered and he has the gas to do some damage. Anyhow - it's all academic, since Schmidt won't drop Rory, although I do think he neds a "rest".

SerjeantWildgoose wrote:Sorry Hellov, but if Scotland were able to look at how the Argentinians unpicked us around the fringes and do the same thing, how come Farrell isn't able to spot it and put it right.

4 years ago I sat in Murrayfield and watched Rory throw 2 lineouts away inside the Scottish 22; last Saturday it was 3 and I have lost count of how many in between. If we can't rely on lineout ball, we can't play to our strengths which include our kicking game and our maul. If the opposition limit us to 6 scrums in the game, they have effectively countered our set piece and made room for their good (But not brilliant, except for Hogg) backs to take us apart. The failure to play the game in their half, where their strike runners would have been far less potent is down to a captain who didn't captain and a hooker who cant throw straight when it matters. That we so dominated them from the off in the 2nd half and looked capable of putting a cricket score on them, but then blew it can only be down to a lack of on-field leadership.

If Cronin were fit, I'd start him every time ahead of Rory; against Italy I'd give Niall the run.

my point 1 was supposed to be agreeing with you serj. our defence has been shite and yep, there were a lot of similarities between saturday and the world cup 1/4 final.

i imagine the gap between our rating of rory is so large that there's probably no point in debating it. i think he's a fantastic warrior who has occasional bad days at the lineout and who had one bad year (coincidentally, the last lions year). one point i will make is on game plan and rory's role in determining it ..... it's all schmidt. nothing happens when we have the ball on the field that he hasn't ordered.

I imagine it is. Not that I'll hold it against ye.

no bother

SerjeantWildgoose wrote:Sorry Hellov, but if Scotland were able to look at how the Argentinians unpicked us around the fringes and do the same thing, how come Farrell isn't able to spot it and put it right.

4 years ago I sat in Murrayfield and watched Rory throw 2 lineouts away inside the Scottish 22; last Saturday it was 3 and I have lost count of how many in between. If we can't rely on lineout ball, we can't play to our strengths which include our kicking game and our maul. If the opposition limit us to 6 scrums in the game, they have effectively countered our set piece and made room for their good (But not brilliant, except for Hogg) backs to take us apart. The failure to play the game in their half, where their strike runners would have been far less potent is down to a captain who didn't captain and a hooker who cant throw straight when it matters. That we so dominated them from the off in the 2nd half and looked capable of putting a cricket score on them, but then blew it can only be down to a lack of on-field leadership.

If Cronin were fit, I'd start him every time ahead of Rory; against Italy I'd give Niall the run.

Best not count in between since we regularly have the best line out in the competition as we did in the last RWC and that would make your point look empty.

Not empty at all - and there is a difference between regularly nailing a line out between the 10m lines and bottling it, which Rory does with far too startling regularity, when we're deep inside the opposition 22.

TEAMS

Ireland: R Kearney; K Earls, G Ringrose, R Henshaw, S Zebo; P Jackson, C Murray; C Healy, R Best (capt), T Furlong; D Ryan, D Toner; CJ Stander, S O’Brien, J Heaslip.

Replacements: N Scannell, J McGrath, J Ryan, U Dillane, J van der Flier, K Marmion, I Keatley, C Gilroy.

Italy: E Padovani, A Esposito, T Benvenuti, L Mclean, G Venditti, C Canna, E Gori, S Parisse, S Favaro, M Mbanda, A Van Schalkwyk, M Fuser, L Cittadini, L Ghiraldini, A Lovotti.

Replacements: O Gega, S Panico, D Chistolini, G Biagi, A Steyn, G Bronzini, T Allan, M Campagnaro.

if campagnaro isn't good enough to get in their side, then they have better backs than we do.

SerjeantWildgoose wrote:Not empty at all - and there is a difference between regularly nailing a line out between the 10m lines and bottling it, which Rory does with far too startling regularity, when we're deep inside the opposition 22.

Just nonsense. No point in arguing it.

hellovating wrote:if campagnaro isn't good enough to get in their side, then they have better backs than we do.

Or a worse selector! Though I'm struggling with the idea that Gilroy is in our top 3 wings.

Eugene Wrayburn wrote:

SerjeantWildgoose wrote:Not empty at all - and there is a difference between regularly nailing a line out between the 10m lines and bottling it, which Rory does with far too startling regularity, when we're deep inside the opposition 22.

Just nonsense. No point in arguing it.

What, exactly, is nonsense about the statistical evidence? Rory missed 2 line-outs inside the Scottish 22 in 2013 and another 3 in 2017 - check the fecking replays. I can't be arsed to, but if you check his games since, he's missed many more.

Try not to pontificate, Eugene. You can't carry it off with the weediest of characters so don't even start to try it on with me or I may have to bully you.

Eugene Wrayburn wrote:

hellovating wrote:Though I'm struggling with the idea that Gilroy is in our top 3 wings.

He's just ahead of Best in our top 3 hookers.

Oh, Best is his surname!

...all this time.....

SerjeantWildgoose wrote:

Eugene Wrayburn wrote:

SerjeantWildgoose wrote:Not empty at all - and there is a difference between regularly nailing a line out between the 10m lines and bottling it, which Rory does with far too startling regularity, when we're deep inside the opposition 22.

Just nonsense. No point in arguing it.

What, exactly, is nonsense about the statistical evidence? Rory missed 2 line-outs inside the Scottish 22 in 2013 and another 3 in 2017 - check the fecking replays. I can't be arsed to, but if you check his games since, he's missed many more.

Try not to pontificate, Eugene. You can't carry it off with the weediest of characters so don't even start to try it on with me or I may have to bully you.

I hadn't realized that by "startling regularity" you meant every 4 years. As you were.

Nor did I mean, state or even suggest every 4 years. Adding ill-considered pedantry to pontification is not doing much to enhance your anti-bullying credentials.

Now hand over your fecking dinner money!

It wasn't me gave Rory the shits - hon'st a Gawd!

Now wash your hands

Niall had better not feck up today. Eugene will give me a bucket of bollocks if he puts a toe wrong!