Ireland Squad Nov 2018 - Who’s going to play errr England?

First topic message reminder :

Italy 3 Nov - Chicago - Ireland 54-7
Argentina 10 Nov Dublin - 28-17
New Zealand 17 Nov Dublin 16-9
USA 24 Nov Dublin - 52-14

November Total - 150-47

Frontrowers
Rory Best 112 (c)
Rob Herring 6
Sean Cronin 63
Niall Scannell 10

Tadhg Furlong 26
Andrew Porter 9
John Ryan 15

Finlay Bealham 8
Cian Healy 81
Dave Kilcoyne 23
Jack McGrath 51


Locks
Tadhg Beirne 3
Iain Henderson 40 USA
Quinn Roux 7
James Ryan 11
Devin Toner 61

Backrowers

Dan Leavy 10
Josh van der Flier 11
Jordi Murphy 23
Sean O’Brien 51
Peter O’Mahony 50 (vc)
Rhys Ruddock 20
Jack Conan 10
CJ Stander 26


Scrumhalves
John Cooney 3
Kieran Marmion 22
Luke McGrath 6

10s
Jonathan Sexton 76 (vc)
Ross Byrne 2
Joey Carbery 14

Centres
Garry Ringrose 15
Robbie Henshaw 36
Will Addison 2
Bundee Aki 10
Sam Arnold 1
Stuart McCloskey 3

Back three
Andrew Conway 8
Keith Earls 70
Rob Kearney 86
Jordan Larmour 7
Jacob Stockdale 12
Darren Sweetnam 3

Wow oh wow oh wow

Great game

Expected Ireland to win; didn't expect them to dominate to the extent they did. A genuine contender has emerged for next year's World Cup.

Severe vulnerabilities have been exposed in the All Blacks during the last two Saturdays. Interesting times.

So according to Hansen were number 1?

Well done Ireland and fans, well deserved, congratulations

Good game boys, commiserations to New Zealand. Who are still consistently the best in the world, but they've got big time competition right now. Would love to see them again at the World Cup.

One of the biggest performances I've ever seen. Congratulations the guard is changing. NZ didnt look like scoring and I continue to think they are creaking....sets us up for a huge RWC 2019

Deserved man of the match.

Well done Ireland!

ebop wrote:Well done Ireland and fans, well deserved, congratulations

Cheers fella. One hell of a game

Awesome stuff lads! Congratulations!!

Well done Ireland

First time in a long time that the ABs were kept tryless

Hopefully not a year to early

Great win for Ireland. Amazing intensity in that game.

Ireland doing well in the women's cricket too. Winning 72-6 over NZ. Sorry... that should be 72 for 6.

Tonight I scared the sh1t out of my dog twice, much to Mrs Maine Man's displeasure. When stockdale scored and at the end. What a performance.

Well done Ireland! Huge win.

Can we send Collapse on holiday for a few months though.......

To match the intensity of the All Blacks and even better it was something special. That is an amazing win for Ireland.

Well Done Ireland.

Good Stuff.

Awesome Ireland, easily the best Ive seen from them in my fifty plus years. Too good on the day, Id say deserved faves at next years world cup. ABs will have to bring a tighter game to beat this, flinging it around so much aint going to cut it.

Andy Farrell is proving the master defensive coach, the primary reason Ireland won.

The halfback pass at the end was ridiculous though. You run the time down in that position...ALWAYS.

One out of two from England and Ireland, average result. Third AI loss since 2003. Not all bad.

Makes next year interesting, neutral ground for all potential winners, that doesnt happen often.

Well done Ireland. Too good.

Not a bad result for a friendly.

The Oracle wrote:Well done Ireland! Huge win.

Can we send Collapse on holiday for a few months though.......  

Who needs a supporter that blabs that much then picks them to lose

Lucky the team and its real fans arent made of hay.

eirebilly wrote:To match the intensity of the All Blacks and even better it was something special. That is an amazing win for Ireland.

Best win in their history. Only one loss in all comps. for Ireland since the beginning of the summer internationals in 2017. A run not too dissimilar to that which England had in 2002-2003 on their way to winning the World Cup.

Taylorman wrote:

The Oracle wrote:Well done Ireland! Huge win.

Can we send Collapse on holiday for a few months though.......  

Who needs a supporter that blabs that much then picks them to lose

Lucky the team and its real fans arent made of hay.

Ha sore loser. Typical.

Brodie who?

4th game in a row v NZ the Ireland forwards dominate.

#porkknuckle

On the interviews after the match.

Ireland players and staff, absolutely ecstatic and respectful of the All Blacks.
All Black players and staff, very humble and congratulatory towards Ireland.

Proper test match and full respect from both squads.

Well played.

But for me if you take a player out in the air is a straight Yellow, why the different rules today?

Pot Hale wrote:Not a bad result for a friendly.  

Yes they need to enter the world of semi and World cup finals to be taken as a serious long term threat. Theyre certainly on track for that though.

England and Ireland both look strong for next year of both fully fit.

Did think their set pieces started to flail towards the end but not enough time to break Irelands defence down, always my main concern. Andy Farrell is the king of defensive coaches.

Just finished watching the recording ...

Well done Ireland - great result

Collapse2005 wrote:

Taylorman wrote:

The Oracle wrote:Well done Ireland! Huge win.

Can we send Collapse on holiday for a few months though.......  

Who needs a supporter that blabs that much then picks them to lose

Lucky the team and its real fans arent made of hay.

Ha sore loser. Typical.

Brodie who?

4th game in a row v NZ the Ireland forwards dominate.

#porkknuckle

Good win Collapse. Pity you couldnt back them. No, Im not a sore loser, Ireland played great, and for now, you can chirp till your hearts content, probably alone.

After watching all the games today the gulf between NZ and Ireland and the rest of the rugby world is massive.

All other games were stop start. Patches of intensity then lulls. Ireland vs New Zealand was just intense the whole game.

TightHEAD wrote:Well played.

But for me if you take a player out in the air is a straight Yellow, why the different rules today?

You could also make the argument that a tackle with no arms is a penalty

Look, Barnes was reluctant to give penalties towards the end, he was also obviously reluctant to yellow Kearney. I thought he had a good game all round, things will never be perfect. I think he wanted one of the two teams on the pitch to win it for themselves, it would have been a harsh enough yellow given that Kearney had just about left the ground when he collided with the All Black (I forgot which one).

tigertattie wrote:After watching all the games today the gulf between NZ and Ireland and the rest of the rugby world is massive.

1 point last week?

Scottrf wrote:

tigertattie wrote:After watching all the games today the gulf between NZ and Ireland and the rest of the rugby world is massive.

1 point last week?

Yeah and SA beat them in Wellington.

I would say other teams lack consistency.

Scottrf wrote:

tigertattie wrote:After watching all the games today the gulf between NZ and Ireland and the rest of the rugby world is massive.

1 point last week?

Yeah I thought England were nearly as tough for us, and they have more key players out. From what Ive seen Ireland NZ and England in one group. Slightly below SA and Wales, France, then Scot, Argie. Then the rest.

Taylorman wrote:

Pot Hale wrote:Not a bad result for a friendly.  

Yes they need to enter the world of semi and World cup finals to be taken as a serious long term threat. Theyre certainly on track for that though.

England and Ireland both look strong for next year of both fully fit.

Did think their set pieces started to flail towards the end but not enough time to break Irelands defence down, always my main concern. Andy Farrell is the king of defensive coaches.

Most of us Irish will spend the next year worrying we have peaked the year to early. Surely Sexton or Furlong for player of the year. Let's me honest it was most likely going to come down to this match and who won it.

Irish Boys nominated have really outdone themselves.
1. Grand Slam (on what use to be considered the difficult year for winning the 6N)
2. Champions Cup
3. Beat New Zealand
4. Pro 14 Champions

Biltong wrote:

Scottrf wrote:

tigertattie wrote:After watching all the games today the gulf between NZ and Ireland and the rest of the rugby world is massive.

1 point last week?

Yeah and SA beat them in Wellington.

I would say other teams lack consistency.

Yep, but the Wellington effort is what keeps them in good stead for the World cup. NZ and SA will clearly qualify, with one of Scotland and Ireland to play quarters. SAs experience in World cups and more time under Rassie could easily see them winning either.

Taylorman wrote:

Scottrf wrote:

tigertattie wrote:After watching all the games today the gulf between NZ and Ireland and the rest of the rugby world is massive.

1 point last week?

Yeah I thought England were nearly as tough for us, and they have more key players out. From what Ive seen Ireland NZ and England in one group. Slightly below SA and Wales, France, then Scot, Argie. Then the rest.

Watching this game v the Scotland/South Africa game was such a big difference in standard. While SA have improved they are a bit behind. England though if they can sort out their play after their early starts in games they will be fine. In SA this summer they had massive leads just to lose it. Sort that and they are up there.

NZ were dreadful today couldn’t string 5 phases together.

Very unusual.

Brendan wrote:

Taylorman wrote:

Pot Hale wrote:Not a bad result for a friendly.  

Yes they need to enter the world of semi and World cup finals to be taken as a serious long term threat. Theyre certainly on track for that though.

England and Ireland both look strong for next year of both fully fit.

Did think their set pieces started to flail towards the end but not enough time to break Irelands defence down, always my main concern. Andy Farrell is the king of defensive coaches.

Most of us Irish will spend the next year worrying we have peaked the year to early.  Surely Sexton or Furlong for player of the year.  Let's me honest it was most likely going to come down to this match and who won it.

Irish Boys nominated have really outdone themselves.
1. Grand Slam (on what use to be considered the difficult year for winning the 6N)
2. Champions Cup
3. Beat New Zealand
4. Pro 14 Champions

I think an Irishman should win POTY, Im just not a big fan of Sexton in terms of a great 10. Thats my own opinion. For me hes a great decision maker and does things well, and has good consistency. At 33 hes suddenly world POTY doing basically what hes always done?

I just think the winner should stand out a bit more as an individual, Furlong clearly the best tighthead prop, and mean around the field.

For me Sextons like a poor mans Carter. Good at all aspects of 10 play, great at none. A great team man, not a stand out as an individual, a position where there arent currently many great ones around. Barrett, Sanchez, Sexton. Not a great crop at the moment.

Id give it to Furlong on that basis. Just my opinion.

Wonderful Wonderful Copenhagen!

TightHEAD wrote:NZ were dreadful today couldn’t string 5 phases together.

Very unusual.

NZ commentary team full of praise for the Irish win. Breaking down some of the skills..perhaps to steal a few for next year

Sexton a poor mans Carter by only being good at all aspects and not great?

I would give Sexton a hell of a lot more credit than that, I would say he is currently the best 10 in world rugby.

Taylorman wrote:

Brendan wrote:

Taylorman wrote:

Pot Hale wrote:Not a bad result for a friendly.  

Yes they need to enter the world of semi and World cup finals to be taken as a serious long term threat. Theyre certainly on track for that though.

England and Ireland both look strong for next year of both fully fit.

Did think their set pieces started to flail towards the end but not enough time to break Irelands defence down, always my main concern. Andy Farrell is the king of defensive coaches.

Most of us Irish will spend the next year worrying we have peaked the year to early.  Surely Sexton or Furlong for player of the year.  Let's me honest it was most likely going to come down to this match and who won it.

Irish Boys nominated have really outdone themselves.
1. Grand Slam (on what use to be considered the difficult year for winning the 6N)
2. Champions Cup
3. Beat New Zealand
4. Pro 14 Champions

O

I think an Irishman should win POTY, Im just not a big fan of Sexton in terms of a great 10. Thats my own opinion. For me hes a great decision maker and does things well, and has good consistency. At 33 hes suddenly world POTY doing basically what hes always done?

I just think the winner should stand out a bit more as an individual, Furlong clearly the best tighthead prop, and mean around the field.

For me Sextons like a poor mans Carter. Good at all aspects of 10 play, great at none. A great team man, not a stand out as an individual, a position where there arent currently many great ones around. Barrett, Sanchez, Sexton. Not a great crop at the moment.

Id give it to Furlong on that basis. Just my opinion.

The way these awards often work is that they might give it to Sexton precisely because he is 33 and has been consistently in the top three tens in the world for the past ten years. Whether that meets the criteria or not is another matter. I agree on Furlong, he is the best all round tighthead, outstanding scrummaging and devastating in the loose. If there is one other Irish player that might be in contention it's O'Mahony. Man of the match today and outplayed Pocock at the breakdown in one of the Australia tests. Easily one of the best breakdown operators on the planet. Murray would also be worth a shout if he hadn't missed so much of the season.

Also from the ABs they point of view they got their final warning and never did it again.

Ireland need to learn to score tries if they want to push on.

eirebilly wrote:Sexton a poor mans Carter by only being good at all aspects and not great?

I would give Sexton a hell of a lot more credit than that, I would say he is currently the best 10 in world rugby.

Probably is, though there are only two or three good 10’s at the moment, but is he the best player in world rugby? Hes not far off it.

He might win it, he ran the side well tonight.

Artful_Dodger wrote:

Taylorman wrote:

Brendan wrote:

Taylorman wrote:

Pot Hale wrote:Not a bad result for a friendly.  

Yes they need to enter the world of semi and World cup finals to be taken as a serious long term threat. Theyre certainly on track for that though.

England and Ireland both look strong for next year of both fully fit.

Did think their set pieces started to flail towards the end but not enough time to break Irelands defence down, always my main concern. Andy Farrell is the king of defensive coaches.

Most of us Irish will spend the next year worrying we have peaked the year to early.  Surely Sexton or Furlong for player of the year.  Let's me honest it was most likely going to come down to this match and who won it.

Irish Boys nominated have really outdone themselves.
1. Grand Slam (on what use to be considered the difficult year for winning the 6N)
2. Champions Cup
3. Beat New Zealand
4. Pro 14 Champions

O

I think an Irishman should win POTY, Im just not a big fan of Sexton in terms of a great 10. Thats my own opinion. For me hes a great decision maker and does things well, and has good consistency. At 33 hes suddenly world POTY doing basically what hes always done?

I just think the winner should stand out a bit more as an individual, Furlong clearly the best tighthead prop, and mean around the field.

For me Sextons like a poor mans Carter. Good at all aspects of 10 play, great at none. A great team man, not a stand out as an individual, a position where there arent currently many great ones around. Barrett, Sanchez, Sexton. Not a great crop at the moment.

Id give it to Furlong on that basis. Just my opinion.

The way these awards often work is that they might give it to Sexton precisely because he is 33 and has been consistently in the top three tens in the world for the past ten years.  Whether that meets the criteria or not is another matter.  I agree on Furlong, he is the best all round tighthead, outstanding scrummaging and devastating in the loose.  If there is one other Irish player that might be in contention it's O'Mahony.  Man of the match today and outplayed Pocock at the breakdown in one of the Australia tests.  Easily one of the best breakdown operators on the planet.  Murray would also be worth a shout if he hadn't missed so much of the season.

Yes POM was great, as he was Lions tour. Hes not nominated though so cant win it.

Brendan wrote:

Taylorman wrote:

Scottrf wrote:

tigertattie wrote:After watching all the games today the gulf between NZ and Ireland and the rest of the rugby world is massive.

1 point last week?

Yeah I thought England were nearly as tough for us, and they have more key players out. From what Ive seen Ireland NZ and England in one group. Slightly below SA and Wales, France, then Scot, Argie. Then the rest.

Watching this game v the Scotland/South Africa game was such a big difference in standard.  While SA have improved they are a bit behind.  England though if they can sort out their play after their early starts in games they will be fine.  In SA this summer they had massive leads just to lose it.  Sort that and they are up there.

Brendan, England have two issues..
1. Key players out injured regularly (which needs to be looked at) thus new youngsters have to be blooded...who then seem to get injured...its a horrible vicious circle.
2. Eddie Jones. He has been unlucky with injuries, I will admit that....but I think most England fans just don't get him. Does he even have a plan, a tactic etc. All this..media play "Japan..we're going to smash you off the park" rubbish.

Ireland have structures, which they are brutally efficient but they also have incredibly talented, physical players who can play outside of those structures! They will go right to the end stages next year...no doubt
England don't seem to have anything like that....just a group of players..but I just don't see any real plan...

Taylorman wrote:

I think an Irishman should win POTY, Im just not a big fan of Sexton in terms of a great 10. Thats my own opinion. For me hes a great decision maker and does things well, and has good consistency. At 33 hes suddenly world POTY doing basically what hes always done?

I just think the winner should stand out a bit more as an individual, Furlong clearly the best tighthead prop, and mean around the field.

For me Sextons like a poor mans Carter. Good at all aspects of 10 play, great at none. A great team man, not a stand out as an individual, a position where there arent currently many great ones around. Barrett, Sanchez, Sexton. Not a great crop at the moment.

Id give it to Furlong on that basis. Just my opinion.

Sexton though is constrained to a good degree by the system at Ireland.  Indeed, you can see his more gung ho attitude coming to the fore when Rory overrules his more aggressive instincts and commands that he kicks for the posts rather than kicking to the corner.  
Ireland is a more attritional side than the side Sexton plays his club rugby with (Leinster).  He serves the commands of his boss (Joe)  All players do.  Joe was saying after the game that he was satisfied his players kept to the system in the end game.... ie, kept the discipline to the priority of sturdy defending rather than trying to join the ABs in the more freeform attacking stuff.  The ABs wanted to unsettle and cause panic and errors.    Joe is a very demanding and methodical coach.  You really don't try to stamp too much of your own personal instincts on the team.

Sexton isn't fireworks but he can play a much more incisive attacking game.  Heck of a player though.  His defending often impresses me the most.  Always full on getting his sleeves rolled up in his duty there.

A great win for Ireland.

Are the Abs losing there sparkle? They had a narrow win against England last week, then lose to Ireland this week.

The Abs usealy bonce back from narrow wins one week to blowing teams away the following week.

Brendan wrote:

Taylorman wrote:

Scottrf wrote:

tigertattie wrote:After watching all the games today the gulf between NZ and Ireland and the rest of the rugby world is massive.

1 point last week?

Yeah I thought England were nearly as tough for us, and they have more key players out. From what Ive seen Ireland NZ and England in one group. Slightly below SA and Wales, France, then Scot, Argie. Then the rest.

Watching this game v the Scotland/South Africa game was such a big difference in standard.  While SA have improved they are a bit behind.  England though if they can sort out their play after their early starts in games they will be fine.  In SA this summer they had massive leads just to lose it.  Sort that and they are up there.

Brendan, England have two issues..
1. Key players out injured regularly (which needs to be looked at) thus new youngsters have to be blooded...who then seem to get injured...its a horrible vicious circle.
2. Eddie Jones. He has been unlucky with injuries, I will admit that....but I think most England fans just don't get him. Does he even have a plan, a tactic etc. All this..media play "Japan..we're going to smash you off the park" rubbish.

Ireland have structures, which they are brutally efficient but they also have incredibly talented, physical players who can play outside of those structures! They will go right to the end stages next year...no doubt
England don't seem to have anything like that....just a group of players..but I just don't see any real plan...

Great game good win I'm here toasting you boys! Bubbling nicely for double grandslam and a crack at world cup. I'm not looking forward to the Ireland England game in Feb, hopefully some of our injuries get back playing so we can give you a run for your money.