Irish Post mortem

First topic message reminder :

This thread is going to be painful and its time the gloves came off so if you dont like it just ignore it. But Im absolutely sick to the back teeth about what I heard tonight all of which blamed the defeat on ROG and Murray. Heres my take on it



1. Lets get one thing straight -Wales have a better team 1 to 15. I only found this out today but its clear. Their strenght and physicality was superior. They owned the break down which is where they won game. Our half backs were under severe pressure and were forced to change there plans at the last second every time. Warburten murdered us here.

2. Roberts absolutely killed us. And it wasnt in the 10 channel. BOD and Darcy are now the most ineffective centres in top tier Interantional rugby. For the second try Darcy shouted at players that he had the blindside covered - by f**k did he.

3. Front row - Irelands front row has been a revelation in the last 6 months and I am loathed to even think about criticising any player here. Cian Healy and Mike Ross have brought Ireland to this top table and simply have been brilliant. Didnt go well today.

4. Back row - Irelands best weapon in the games where we have turned up. One player has been absent - Heaslip. P. O'Mahony now has to be looked at as a replacement. You cant live on reputation. Would SOB have done so well against Australia if they had a natural 7 Pocock playing??? Not a criticism of SOB as he is not a natural 7. I believe you can live without a natural 7 as long as you commit men to the breakdown.

5. ROG and Murray - ROG had a terrible game - two over cooked kicks in the first half lost us good field position. Some sympathy for Murray as the break down was a mess because we didnt commit numbers and failed to secure our own ball. Pack was going backwards at the rate of knots all day. Did Sexton and Reddan make any difference - imo no- reddans first contribution was 2 poor box kicks into mid field and sexton first kick was an aimless kick into mid field which led to the third try.



Why we lost - the game was lost in the pack. Wales totally dominated here slowing down our ball at best and turning it over at best. Everything Preistland touched turned to gold. Roberts was a human wrecking ball.



Reirements


2. BOD great season in 09 for GS but is just falling off tackles now and not making breaks. Possibly move to 12 but I think should now retire

3. ROG - will retire

4.DOC - times up -great servant

5.Darcy - time to step aside - one of Irelands best ever 12s if not the best

McFadden will have to displace D'arcy and Fitz at 12 before he gets a shout. When he first emerged he was playing 13, then he seemed to be a 12, then he was moved to wing to accomodate leinsters injury concerns. I really feel for the guy as he has been shipped around far too much.

Yeah Conway does look very talented also, but I haven't seen enough of him. Would he be able to break into the Leinster team anytime soon?

Rory_Gallagher wrote:Yeah Conway does look very talented also, but I haven't seen enough of him. Would he be able to break into the Leinster team anytime soon?

I think Conway will be a first team player in a year or two, I think Schmidt is looking to turn Fitzgerald into a center so that’s one less competitor for the back 2 positions, Horgan (legend) won’t be around for many more seasons either.

Here’s a good Conway stat, he’s the joint top try scorer at the U-20 world cup with AB Zack Guilford.

ulster says yes to progressive back play..... : )

conway has genuine pace and hopefully will see more game time this year.

looking forward to the WC semi's but dont want to talk about it too much as it hurts that we aint there. Bring on the HC, 6 nations and the Rabo Direct action. One crumb of comfort is that we have lots of rugby to look forward to. Losing a final in May means you have the whole summer to mull over what might have been

That's good news about Conway. Do you think he is a bigger prospect than Kearney jr for example? I was actually talking to Conway's cousin not too long ago, funny that.

I must say I was pretty impressed with Dave Kearney last year. I didn’t rate him highly but he proved that he’s a very useful player to have around. I still can’t see him breaking into the HC squad though, maybe in another year or two. I do think Conway will be a mainstay of the team in a few years though, he’s a special player. In his first season he burst onto the scene with a couple of impressive cameo’s and then faded back a little last year, but Schmidt is a great man for giving youth a chance when it’s ready, and when Conway is ready he’ll be a class player. We could have really done with him in at the start of the season but he’s injured, should be back soon. Shaggy too.

How long can Shaggy go on for? He was in superb form towards the end of last season.

I wonder could if we see him in an Ireland shirt again? Look at the impact SBW has had in the RWC. That ability to offload out of the tackle is so hard to defend against and Horgan is still one of the best.

Was talking to Shaggy 2 weeks ago and he aint finished.

Good shout on Dave Kearney.

In my mind shaggy would have been good for us in the world cup
especially against the usa, he was one of our form wings all off last year.

Dont think there is much need for him in the ireland squad going forward, but he has at least another heino cup medal to collect

How long is he contracted for Boyne?

Shaggy was really pushing for a world cup place towards the end of the season wasn’t he? Crying shame about the injury.

Boyne, did he tell ya when he’d be back with Leinster? I read that it was supposed to be at the end of last month? Tell him I miss him!

Mickado wrote:Tell him I miss him!

Tell him i miss him more

You clever Tallaght bollix!
Man, I’ve been in RathGOR too long already…

Street smarts, you wont learn them down in colmans or bijou.

No only in the plex or the dragon(tallaght one, not the gaybar one)

D24tress wrote:Street smarts, you wont learn them down in colmans or bijou.

No only in the plex or the dragon(tallaght one, not the gaybar one)

I'll have you know that Colmans are Munster through and through (like most south side pub owners in Dublin). Family orginally from Tipp. The sons went to school in Roscrea. The bar manager is from Tipp. Usually a decent crowd in there for Munster games in the little bar.

Now none of this attic in RathGOR Poopie pleaasseeee...

Fact.

The plex was my stomping ground as a teen alright, “met” many’s a buurd round beside the back door of the place.
Could count the amount of times I’ve drank in the Dragon on one hand though, I’m a Molloys man.

Comans is a good boozer though and in fairness Bijoux does the most amazing liver n fois grais parfait with toasted brioche you’ve ever tasted.

Sin, I asked the bar manager to stick on a Leinster game at the start of the season, he just handed me a sliotar and told me that’s the only sport they watch in there. Now, I know he was only messin, but I was under the impression I could watch a match in there, I’ve yet to bother. And there’s no L in the name, just like Tipp.

Mickado wrote:Sin, I asked the bar manager to stick on a Leinster game at the start of the season, he just handed me a sliotar and told me that’s the only sport they watch in there. Now, I know he was only messin, but I was under the impression I could watch a match in there, I’ve yet to bother. And there’s no L in the name, just like Tipp.

No problem watching a Leinster game in there as long as you don't cheer on Munster's opposition when they are playing. They got rid of all those Leinster supporters that used to that somehow.

I've never seen a Munster crowd down there cheering on Leinster's opposition, so you should enjoy a game there.

I’m at all the home games, but I might tip along to watch an away game there alright.

My granddad worked there 60 odd years ago, so I’ve kinda got to like it.

Sin é wrote:
No problem watching a Leinster game in there as long as you don't cheer on Munster's opposition when they are playing.

Surely if you were watching a Leinster game then Munster wouldn't be playing, unless it was Leinster v Munster in which case you'd expect Leinster fans to cheer on Munsters opposition?

roddersm wrote:

Sin é wrote:
No problem watching a Leinster game in there as long as you don't cheer on Munster's opposition when they are playing.

Surely if you were watching a Leinster game then Munster wouldn't be playing, unless it was Leinster v Munster in which case you'd expect Leinster fans to cheer on Munsters opposition?

You'll find that both sets of supporters will watch both teams in the Heineken Cup - and without Sky they will go to the pub to watch them. Its more a Munster thing I suppose, because Comans (no L ) would be close to places that would have a lot of flat dwellers / students / people living away from home.

The Munster Supporters Club meet in Dublin (Break for the Border) and always watch Leinster's/Ulster's game if they are on before/after it.

break for the border. jaysus

suppose the connaught supporters meet in Club M.

dublin_dave wrote:break for the border. jaysus

suppose the connaught supporters meet in Club M.

they meet in the Dawson lounge, makes it seem like there are more of them!

dublin_dave wrote:break for the border. jaysus

suppose the connaught supporters meet in Club M.

I don't think the D4ers liked it when Munster used to meet in Searsons on Baggot Street They used give us free food and stuff!

Not many pubs in the centre of Dublin who are prepared to show rugby (let alone Munster playing it) on a Saturday afternoon and are capable of accommodating the no. of Munster supporters who turn up.

Irish posters beating themselves up thread has the most postings...what a surprise...

Only the Agoragphobic support society (i.e the Virtual Pub) probably has more posts.

leinster support is changing sin e. was driving down sherrif street and there was a young lad in a leinster tracksuit wheeling a giant tyre down the street for the Halloween bonfire.also you now the dart into the city centre from howth picking up rugby fans at Howth Junction, Kilbarrack and Harmonstown. The Leinster marketing department have a lot to answer for in attracting the riffraff.

just like ryanair allowing the riff raff to afford flying. Long for the days of 220 pound return to Heathrow, a half empty plane and a free copy of the Irish times.

The Towers in Ballymun should be well able to accommodate the red hordes for HC games on a Sat. Im sure they have a back room away from the soccer mad locals watching the premiership on Iraqi tv

Dave, do you seriously think that young fellow on Sherrif Street bought the track suit

Munster have gone the other way - the fellow presenting the Gardening Programme on RTE was wearing a Munster polo shirt one night