The Crunch: Ireland v England Sunday 10th February 2013

aka L'O'Choc: Irelande v Angleterre Dimanche le 10me Février 2013After going AWOL again yesterday, the French have most likely reduced the 6Ns title to a single game to determine the title.

Such a shame.

Discussion about the game - not about France going walkabout as originally intended.

Teams:

Greater Dublin Representative XXIII

15 - Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster/42)
14 - Craig Gilroy (Dungannon/Ulster/2)
13 - Brian O'Driscoll (UCD/Leinster/121)
12 - Gordon D'Arcy (Lansdowne/Leinster/72)
11 - Simon Zebo (Cork Constitution/Munster/4)
10 - Jonathan Sexton (St.Mary's College/Leinster/35)
9 - Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster/15)
1 - Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster/36)
2 - Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster/63)
3 - Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster/25)
4 - Mike McCarthy (Buccaneers/Connacht/7)
5 - Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster/24)
6 - Peter O'Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster/10)
7 - Sean O'Brien (UCD/Leinster/23)
8 - Jamie Heaslip (Dublin University/Leinster/53) Captain

Replacements:

16 - Sean Cronin (St. Mary's College/Leinster/23)
17 - David Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster/3)
18 - Declan Fitzpatrick (Dungannon/Ulster/3)
19 - Donncha O'Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster/91)
20 - Chris Henry (Malone/Ulster/5)
21 - Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne/Leinster/48)
22 - Ronan O'Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster/126)
23 - Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster/35)

The Perfidious Albion

15. Alex Goode (Saracens, 7 caps)
14. Chris Ashton (Saracens, 30 caps)
13. Brad Barritt (Saracens, 12 caps)
12. Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester Rugby, 1 caps)
11. Mike Brown (Harlequins, 12 caps)
10. Owen Farrell (Saracens, 13 caps)
9. Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 29 caps)

1. Joe Marler (Harlequins, 6 caps)
2. Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 5 caps)
3. Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 36 caps)
4. Joe Launchbury (London Wasps, 5 caps)
5. Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers, 13 caps)
6. James Haskell (London Wasps, 46 caps)
7. Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, capt, 13 caps)
8. Tom Wood (Northampton Saints, 10 caps)

Replacements
16. Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints, 43 caps)
17. David Wilson (Bath Rugby, 23 caps)
18. Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 5 caps)
19. Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 16 caps)
20. Thomas Waldrom (Leicester Tigers, 4 caps)
21. Danny Care (Harlequins, 38 caps)
22. Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers, 54 caps)
23. Manusamoa Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers, 17 caps)

Its looking like a GS decider as it will be Englands hardest game as their other away fixture is against the rudderless Welsh unless the top 3 each lose a match the French are going to be very good in their next match they have so much talent.To win the Irish have to play at max intensity for the 80 minutes which I don't think they are capable of.

rosbif wrote:Its looking like a GS decider as it will be Englands hardest game as their other away fixture is against the rudderless Welsh unless the top 3 each lose a match the French are going to be very good in their next match they have so much talent.To win the Irish have to play at max intensity for the 80 minutes which I don't think they are capable of.

I'd like to believe that, but the tackle stats say differently....

Dont think France or Wales are out of it yet. Really would be quite surprised if anyone completes a grand slam this year. It will be won on points difference.

GunsGerms wrote:Dont think France or Wales are out of it yet. Really would be quite surprised if anyone completes a grand slam this year. It will be won on points difference.

At least one of them will be at the weekend

Jenifer McLadyboy wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:Dont think France or Wales are out of it yet. Really would be quite surprised if anyone completes a grand slam this year. It will be won on points difference.

At least one of them will be at the weekend

You'd think but its still possible to lose two and win the championship. May not have happened before but if it was ever going to happen I think this year would be the year given that the supposed worst team has already beaten the tournament favorite.

GunsGerms wrote:

Jenifer McLadyboy wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:Dont think France or Wales are out of it yet. Really would be quite surprised if anyone completes a grand slam this year. It will be won on points difference.

At least one of them will be at the weekend

You'd think but its still possible to lose two and win the championship. May not have happened before but if it was ever going to happen I think this year would be the year given that the supposed worst team has already beaten the tournament favorite.

I see France getting a kick in the hole and putting Wales to the sword. Wales will then have to stop the rot away in Italy before visiting Murrayfield.

Who ever wins out of Scotland or Italy this week could trouble Wales.........

Winner of Ireland England may not win the championship but France look like the only ones who can stop them. Or could Italy.......... Nah. They could well win 3 though.

PS-A will revert to another national stereotype by making wholesale squad changes whilst Wales will follow their own stereotype by following their morbid belief in confidence. So they'll get mushed repeatedly until the hwyl is revived. So that'll be Cardiff v the Sais.

Ireland will be buoyant in Blackpool next weekend. And the crowd will be baying for tasty English blood. But the nasty English in turn will be wanting to stamp its heavy heel on the local insurrection,

Scotland will be brave but will they be haunted by thoughts of 'noble losers' tags. Meanwhile the Italian army will be worried about finding a forward gear on the tank twice in succession.

greytiger wrote:PS-A will revert to another national stereotype by making wholesale squad changes whilst Wales will follow their own stereotype by following their morbid belief in confidence. So they'll get mushed repeatedly until the hwyl is revived. So that'll be Cardiff v the Sais.

Ireland will be buoyant in Blackpool next weekend. And the crowd will be baying for tasty English blood. But the nasty English in turn will be wanting to stamp its heavy heel on the local insurrection,

Scotland will be brave but will they be haunted by thoughts of 'noble losers' tags. Meanwhile the Italian army will be worried about finding a forward gear on the tank twice in succession.

Blackpool? Wha?

Tasty English blood?!? Fi fi fo fum, Id rather drink warm beer.

Love the title questions Jenifer!

Previous matches with a dominant Ireland have seen the men in green winning a 'bare fist fight' with the English pack and any other unfortunate back who strayed into the contact area, with the exception of Croker match where we were totally outplayed.

The Irish have found some emerging talent consistently and added to their squad more organically as opposed to the total demolition and subsequent rebuilding of the English management and playing personnel. I like Declan Kidney too, he gets some flak from certain quarters, is that a provinical thing? Anyway, I like his understated modesty.

On matchday anyone's guess is going to be as good as the next. When I obseverve the England squad at the moment I see a group of people that are really buying into something and an excellent team ethic, which is to Stuart Lancaster's credit. They seem to be getting their heads around this gainline gameplan. If they (pardon the term) 'execute' the gameplan on the Irish and recycle quick ball then England will probably win through the penalty count or grinding them down by moving them around the park. If Ireland can knock England back and upset their rhythm, they have the players that can take the ball the length of the pitch and Zebo will probably be the quickest man on the pitch next Sunday.

So I guess I'm saying I don't know but I know as much as the next man/woman/gay/lesbian/transexual/cross-gendered person. Beating Ireland is always a joy though because if it's the reverse my Grandad is always too willing to take the pish or burst into song etc.

So bare fist fight at the breakdown it is then! Who's going to win????

If Mike Ross is not fit and ready for this our goose could be cooked.

The only area I think we are superior to England in is at the breakdown and on defence.

This is going to be one tough game. Need a full Lansdowne roar

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:If Mike Ross is not fit and ready for this our goose could be cooked.

The only area I think we are superior to England in is at the breakdown and on defence.

This is going to be one tough game. Need a full Lansdowne roar

You think you superior to England at the breakdown and defence? I wouldn't pick those two areas personally!

I would say both sides are pretty evenly matched.

GunsGerms wrote:

greytiger wrote:PS-A will revert to another national stereotype by making wholesale squad changes whilst Wales will follow their own stereotype by following their morbid belief in confidence. So they'll get mushed repeatedly until the hwyl is revived. So that'll be Cardiff v the Sais.

Ireland will be buoyant in Blackpool next weekend. And the crowd will be baying for tasty English blood. But the nasty English in turn will be wanting to stamp its heavy heel on the local insurrection,

Scotland will be brave but will they be haunted by thoughts of 'noble losers' tags. Meanwhile the Italian army will be worried about finding a forward gear on the tank twice in succession.

Blackpool? Wha?

Tasty English blood?!? Fi fi fo fum, Id rather drink warm beer.

For as long as International sport has been played GG, young Englishmen have been going to Blackpool for a weekend of fun even though there's a danger of being mugged by the locals.

Plus if you don't like warm beer then you probably have had your taste buds dulled. Try some English fare like Balti, tikka masala or an old-fashioned Biryani.

beshocked wrote:

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:If Mike Ross is not fit and ready for this our goose could be cooked.

The only area I think we are superior to England in is at the breakdown and on defence.

This is going to be one tough game. Need a full Lansdowne roar

You think you superior to England at the breakdown and defence? I wouldn't pick those two areas personally!

I would say both sides are pretty evenly matched.

I agree to be honest, I think England are probably better at the breakdown if the NZ and Scotland game are anything to go by. Ireland were terrible at the breakdown for 40 minutes v Wales and tend to give away a lot of pens.

Defense. Both teams have weaknesses out wide but defend quite well everywhere else.

greytiger wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:

greytiger wrote:PS-A will revert to another national stereotype by making wholesale squad changes whilst Wales will follow their own stereotype by following their morbid belief in confidence. So they'll get mushed repeatedly until the hwyl is revived. So that'll be Cardiff v the Sais.

Ireland will be buoyant in Blackpool next weekend. And the crowd will be baying for tasty English blood. But the nasty English in turn will be wanting to stamp its heavy heel on the local insurrection,

Scotland will be brave but will they be haunted by thoughts of 'noble losers' tags. Meanwhile the Italian army will be worried about finding a forward gear on the tank twice in succession.

Blackpool? Wha?

Tasty English blood?!? Fi fi fo fum, Id rather drink warm beer.

For as long as International sport has been played GG, young Englishmen have been going to Blackpool for a weekend of fun even though there's a danger of being mugged by the locals.

Plus if you don't like warm beer then you probably have had your taste buds dulled. Try some English fare like Balti, tikka masala or an old-fashioned Biryani.

Nothing wrong with Indian food, love that. Warm beer is pi$$ though. Id be afraid it would dull my taste buds rather than the other way round.

beshocked wrote:

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:If Mike Ross is not fit and ready for this our goose could be cooked.

The only area I think we are superior to England in is at the breakdown and on defence.

This is going to be one tough game. Need a full Lansdowne roar

You think you superior to England at the breakdown and defence? I wouldn't pick those two areas personally!

I would say both sides are pretty evenly matched.

I think they are evenly matched sides but believe Ireland have a better defence and are exceptionally effective at the breakdown (1 guy in causing a lot of disruption in contrast to throwing in a few) where as I feel England will get ascendancy in the scrum, kicking game and also the lineout.

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:

beshocked wrote:

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:If Mike Ross is not fit and ready for this our goose could be cooked.

The only area I think we are superior to England in is at the breakdown and on defence.

This is going to be one tough game. Need a full Lansdowne roar

You think you superior to England at the breakdown and defence? I wouldn't pick those two areas personally!

I would say both sides are pretty evenly matched.

I think they are evenly matched sides but believe Ireland have a better defence and are exceptionally effective at the breakdown (1 guy in causing a lot of disruption in contrast to throwing in a few) where as I feel England will get ascendancy in the scrum, kicking game and also the lineout.

I just wonder if you watched England's last two games or not. I can understand your point of view if not. England took NZ and Scotland apart at the breakdown IMO. England's defence is also very underrated. Great line speed in general though susceptible to the counter attack by a pacy back three.

Both sides are closer than you think. I don't think your lineout,kicking game and scrum as bad as you think either.

Personaly if I were irish Id be very concerned by just how much Wales managed to dominate territory and possession in that game..and that was against a third choice second row and makeshift backrow. Ireland are much less likely to get off to such a flyer in this game, are they capable of getting and retaining the ball against a side whos tails are up?
Given the amount of pressure on their 22 they did a reasonable job of keeping the try count down, but that was only done through persistent infringing. Wales kept choosing to kick for the corners, and england level or with only a small deficit will keep banging them over from 40 metres (assuming Robshaw isnt making the calls anyway) and chew that up.
The backs looked lightweight in defence too, aside from BOD who exerted himself epically. Will he be able to last 80 minutes like that two weeks in a row?
Indeed the work put in by the front row was ridiculous too looking at the tackle stats. I suspect a few might be sleeping through this weeks tactical slideshow presentations and skipping scrum practise for a massage and ice bath.
England on the other hand just had a jolly old run around in the customary beating of Scotland at Twickers. With Tuilagi likely to be back the only place the squad is light on cover is prop.
How do Ireland play this? try the arm wrestle again which they lost so badly last year? Utilise Sextons kicking game against Farrell, 36, Goode and Brown? Run it up the middle into the brick wall that is Barrit?
Try the fancy stuff and leave themselves open to punishment ?

I can see this being a high scoring game

GunsGerms wrote:

greytiger wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:

greytiger wrote:PS-A will revert to another national stereotype by making wholesale squad changes whilst Wales will follow their own stereotype by following their morbid belief in confidence. So they'll get mushed repeatedly until the hwyl is revived. So that'll be Cardiff v the Sais.

Ireland will be buoyant in Blackpool next weekend. And the crowd will be baying for tasty English blood. But the nasty English in turn will be wanting to stamp its heavy heel on the local insurrection,

Scotland will be brave but will they be haunted by thoughts of 'noble losers' tags. Meanwhile the Italian army will be worried about finding a forward gear on the tank twice in succession.

Blackpool? Wha?

Tasty English blood?!? Fi fi fo fum, Id rather drink warm beer.

For as long as International sport has been played GG, young Englishmen have been going to Blackpool for a weekend of fun even though there's a danger of being mugged by the locals.

Plus if you don't like warm beer then you probably have had your taste buds dulled. Try some English fare like Balti, tikka masala or an old-fashioned Biryani.

Nothing wrong with Indian food, love that. Warm beer is pi$$ though. Id be afraid it would dull my taste buds rather than the other way round.

Dublin = Dubh Linn = Black Pool

I'm a bit lost here but I assume Grey is talking about Dublin anglicised version of Dubh Linn which translates as Black Pool. Once upon a time there were two visible rivers in Dublin. The Liffey and the Poddle which is now mostly underground. They both met in the centre of dublin to form a stinking cesspit, now known as government buildings.

Firstly I am concerned by Ireland at the breakdown in the second half even if England do not have a Tipuric who is the standout 7 in the NH.

"Persistant infringing". Think you were watching a different game. Ireland conceeded 3 penalties in the 1st half. Their tries were the result of a badly under performing Welsh pack. It was like taking candy from a baby.

"The backs looked lightweight in defence too, aside from BOD who exerted himself epically. Will he be able to last 80 minutes like that two weeks in a row?"

Sexton was probably our most effective defensive back. Even Gilroy and Zebo the main concerns were very solid. You sure you watched the same game?

This is Irelands cup final and that how they will approach it. To win they will have to raise their physicality and bully England. Cant see them winning any other way.

PSW I love the optimism. I still look at the potential Irish side and think it looks bloody good.


BOD shows yet again that the old boy still has a hell of lot of skill.

After seeing Scotland's Maitland and Hogg doing well against Brown and Goode I am quite a bit worried about the exciting Irish back three.

This is the Irish at home vs England. Ireland are going to be really psyched up for this game.


To win I think England need to just keep the scoreboard ticking. Not be phased by conceding tries.

As always it's up to the forwards to lay the platform.

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:
How do Ireland play this? try the arm wrestle again which they lost so badly last year? Utilise Sextons kicking game against Farrell, 36, Goode and Brown? Run it up the middle into the brick wall that is Barrit?
Try the fancy stuff and leave themselves open to punishment ?

A bit of both. We need to front up but we aren't going to win an armwrestle against a much bigger English pack. We need to play high tempo and try and produce space for our very quick back 3, try and create mismatches with Gilroy and Zebo up against slower forwards, try and attack through the middle with Sexton, O'Brien and O'Mahoney.

England start as favourites but I think we aren't without a chance as long as our set piece doesn't get demolished.

Nz had a howler, and beating scotland at any facet of the game should be taken with a pinch of salt. Ireland easily have the better breakdown with pom, heaslip, sob, healy, bod, d'arcy, and best (who leads the heineken cup stats in poaching turnovers) are all brilliant in that area. England will have Ireland in general physicality, and possibly the scrum depending on who's picked. Other than that, its an even contest. Best needs to sort out his throwing, which I expect him to, and England need to sort out scramble defense, which was fairly dreadful for scotland's first try. Great game on the cards.

greytiger wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:

greytiger wrote:PS-A will revert to another national stereotype by making wholesale squad changes whilst Wales will follow their own stereotype by following their morbid belief in confidence. So they'll get mushed repeatedly until the hwyl is revived. So that'll be Cardiff v the Sais.

Ireland will be buoyant in Blackpool next weekend. And the crowd will be baying for tasty English blood. But the nasty English in turn will be wanting to stamp its heavy heel on the local insurrection,

Scotland will be brave but will they be haunted by thoughts of 'noble losers' tags. Meanwhile the Italian army will be worried about finding a forward gear on the tank twice in succession.

Blackpool? Wha?

Tasty English blood?!? Fi fi fo fum, Id rather drink warm beer.

For as long as International sport has been played GG, young Englishmen have been going to Blackpool for a weekend of fun even though there's a danger of being mugged by the locals.

Plus if you don't like warm beer then you probably have had your taste buds dulled. Try some English fare like Balti, tikka masala or an old-fashioned Biryani.

Aww and there was me thinking that you had a command of the Irish language. Dublin or Dubh Linn actually means Black Pool.

Hugo124 the way you describe your side you would think that Ireland have the best backrow in the world! They don't.


Oh right NZ had a howler. Mccaw and co suddenly became absolutely rubbish did they? I hate all this downgrading of the England win. You would think that NZ put out a U16 side from some of the comments floating around!

Scotland have a pretty appalling backrow too don't they.

Is it too much to ask that you actually accept that the English backrow isn't actually that bad? Or maybe the Irish backrow aren't the deities you seem to think they are?

If Ireland are a side of two halves still - one good, one not so rosey, then in order to make their limitations work to their advantage against an England that looks to have few areas of weakness, then the two halves better take place within 4 quarters rather than the method used against Wales!

If England have a full half of free strike running aided by aimless kick-aways, like Wales enjoyed, then Ireland won't hold out. They'll crumble under the much more potent looking English and it will be humiliation again for a second year running.

So Ireland will have to try and do an all out session of attack in both halves to keep a lid on English momentum, to break up the dangerous rhythm they so easily now get into.

Tough tough game for the Irish. A lightweight side against well, what's quickly becoming a cliched Bulldog side in many ways. Ireland simply have to keep the game more mobile and attack minded. They simply can't risk long periods of 'designed' defensive sponge work

SecretFly wrote:So Ireland will have to try and do an all out session of attack in both halves to keep a lid on English momentum, to break up the dangerous rhythm they so easily now get into.

Tough tough game for the Irish. A lightweight side against well, what's quickly becoming a cliched Bulldog side in many ways. Ireland simply have to keep the game more mobile and attack minded. They simply can't risk long periods of 'designed' defensive sponge work

I concur.

GunsGerms wrote:Firstly I am concerned by Ireland at the breakdown in the second half even if England do not have a Tipuric who is the standout 7 in the NH.

"Persistant infringing". Think you were watching a different game. Ireland conceeded 3 penalties in the 1st half. Their tries were the result of a badly under performing Welsh pack. It was like taking candy from a baby.

"The backs looked lightweight in defence too, aside from BOD who exerted himself epically. Will he be able to last 80 minutes like that two weeks in a row?"

Sexton was probably our most effective defensive back. Even Gilroy and Zebo the main concerns were very solid. You sure you watched the same game?

This is Irelands cup final and that how they will approach it. To win they will have to raise their physicality and bully England. Cant see them winning any other way.

If Sexton is the frontline defence then good luck to you. But I stand by my statement, it was BOD who put in the most tackles (13) of any back in that game, several of them flying out of nowhere to smother an attack.

Persiatnt infringing...I said when the opposition were getting at you ...after the last Ireland try they conceded 10 in 38 minutes, and two yellow cards. Thats persistent, without it they probably wouldve conceded more tries. Their defence relies on spoiling, which is being heavily penalised in this competition. Fortunately for Ireland Wales were so in total panic mode by that point and kept kicking to the corner rather than taking the three points. if they start defending like that from the off against a side thats not letting them walk right through them Ireland could be in big trouble (and crackered). They conceded 16 in the Argentina game too. 15 and a yellow against SA. They are a penalty heavy side. Farrell and England love that.

rodders wrote:

SecretFly wrote:So Ireland will have to try and do an all out session of attack in both halves to keep a lid on English momentum, to break up the dangerous rhythm they so easily now get into.

Tough tough game for the Irish. A lightweight side against well, what's quickly becoming a cliched Bulldog side in many ways. Ireland simply have to keep the game more mobile and attack minded. They simply can't risk long periods of 'designed' defensive sponge work

I concur.

Agreed. what they have is the quality to hurt anyone when given the chance to play. Mind Scotland had that too, just liked BOD in the centres and a Lions front row.

Indeed, Ireland need to be on the front foot for more than 50% of the game and in possession for more than 50% because we give up too many yards in defence.

If we can keep the possession and territory stats in our favour we'll probably win. Thing I'm worried about is our scrum in that regard. We certainly need to get on top of the breakdown, we need to contest it without getting penalised- who's the ref?

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote: if they start defending like that from the off against a side thats not letting them walk right through them Ireland could be in big trouble (and crackered). They conceded 16 in the Argentina game too. 15 and a yellow against SA. They are a penalty heavy side. Farrell and England love that.

This is where I'm worried and where the refs interpretation will have a big, big impact.

Our defence is quite passive, its based around swallowing up ball carriers and isolating them for turnovers rather than most international teams who blitz and try and force errors/kill momentum on the gainline. If we start getting penalised we start playing the game in the wrong areas and leaking points, because we're also giving up yards. It becomes exceptionally hard to win games if the ref takes a dislike to our strategy at the breakdown.

My biggest worry for the rest of the tournament is our defensive strategy because in the middle of the park we sit back and Basteureud and Tuilagi will relish having a crack at us up the guts. It works if the ball they get back is so slow as to be useless but if we're not allowed to do that...

I know England mushed it last year but I though the Irish scrum was pretty strong? They certainly held their own against. The Wales "Lions 2009" front row

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:I know England mushed it last year but I though the Irish scrum was pretty strong? They certainly held their own against. The Wales "Lions 2009" front row

Well, last year was fairly unrepresentative as we played the vast majority of the match without a specialist tighthead on the field at all. But in general we can be got at. Wales had the better scrum on Saturday, but committed a lot of technical offences which let us away with a few pens. They got on top of us there in the last 20 mind you.

One other funny thing was looking at the stats England vs Scot and Wales vs Ireland were not so different - just the score was. (Wales stats superior in pretty much every respect except for the score). This does suggest that Ireland are very good at taking the chances that come their way, and Wales are still rubbish at converting pressure into points.

I think the current England team will cause more problems throughout than Wales did, but loosing Morgan will have an impact.

O'Driscoll v Tuilagi is a mouth watering clash. Given the way BOD outclassed Davies this is arguably a Lions no13 show down...... the master v the apprentice, brains v brawn, age v youth..... and every other cliche you can think off......

Give the poor O'Driscoll a break Rodders! I hope the two of them have a meeting mid-week and decide not to make this a showdown but instead sit back and let the other lazy basterauds in the teams do the work on this one.

The two 13s should roll out the picnic cloth and have some tea and cucumber sandwiches.

....assuming Tuillagi gets picked.

I do think BOD made Fatlands choice a bit easier last weekend. If he gets the captaincy then Tuillagi will have to make do with starting just the second and first tests after BOD gets the inevitable injury 10 minutes in.

If darcy is out will he go to 12 with earls outside him?



Although I hear there could be an Irish center crisis all 3 who played at the weekend are being treated for injuries, which sums up the sheer volume of physical work they were having to do. Ross Heaslip and Kearney are all at the Drs too.
Although none sound too serious if just half those end up missing the game its a huge hole in an already reduced Ireland line up. That could be the deciding factor between the teams, where the hell would Ireland find 3 new test centers from?

from any of four extant provinces????...... needs must if it happens and then nobody really can tell where a needs must player eventually goes - back to the doldrums pretty quick or surprising onwards and upwards in a International geme he's taken to. Who knows where a centre might come from... the beauty of Ireland these days is that nobody knows anything really. It's all a dream

Forget it fly, we can't fool these guys man, we've been rumbled....there are no centres in Ireland, they emmigrated with the TH props during the flight of the earls......

One of the blasted Earls remained and still thinks himself O'Driscoll.

I don't see why people expect any one side to dominate this years 6 nations. I'm delighted to say this looks like a really close competition.

Indeed, I can imagine that next week will see wins for Scotland and Wales with Ireland upsetting England... or Italy, France and England emerging victorious.

Despite speculation of Sundays game being a title showdown and the winner being on for the Slam, it's still anyones tournament. Think it will be a three-horse race between Ireland, England and the winner in Paris obviously but Italy could cause some more carnage in Rome.

More open - from evidence - than virtually any 6N I can remember. Nothing clear at all. Form will inevitably dip or grow for at least three of the sides...it virtually always does shift for a number of sides through the competition. But there is more real danger now from more sides (virtually all 6) than has really ever been the case before.

I said a few months ago that it would be England first, Ireland second, Wales third and France fourth. It's still as good a guess as any!

My initial guess had Wales beating Ireland (though ultimately finishing behind us) and Italy getting the wooden spoon, so back to square one for me!

I think England will win the slam, but Ireland will beat France to get 4 wins from 5.

Its really gonna be a cracker of a game but. I do feel that Ireland will edge this. There confidence is high and moral is strong after beating the GS champs. The youth of Ireland are exceptionally talented and that combined with experience will get the job done.

I think we're gonna lose in Dublin yet again, to be honest.

Wouldn't it be interesting if it was a draw and Italy beat Scotland. How nuts would that be if Italy were the only team that could do a slam after two weeks.

Can see England winning this one. They always raise their game against Ireland, though not always to best effect. But it's nearly always a bloody battle.

England probably have the edge in a number of areas. O'Driscoll notwithstanding, the midfield is going to be a problem. And I'm secretly thinking of putting a fiver on Mike Ross exiting the game prematurely. At which point, goodnight Irene.

Not the best time for Ireland to be losing some of these guys, hopefully they pull through. I'm surprised, I didn't think the game against Wales was that physical.