6N 2016: Ireland v Wales, 7 February

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IRELAND v WALES
7 February 2016
KO: 15:00 GMT
Aviva Stadium, Dublin

Live on RTE, ITV, FR2, DMAX, BBC(H)

Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
Touch judges: [tbc]
Television match official: [tbc]

A. Head to Head

123 Played 123
52 Won 67
4 Drawn 4
67 Lost 52
1,365 Points 1,461

B. Recent Form

29 August 2015
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
10 – 16 to Wales

8 August 2015
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
21 – 35 to Ireland

14 March 2015
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
23 – 16 to Wales

8 February 2014
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
26 – 3 to Ireland

2 February 2013
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
22 – 30 to Ireland

C. Teams

IRELAND

S Zebo; A Trimble, J Payne, R Henshaw, K Earls; J Sexton, C Murray; J McGrath, R Best (capt), N White; D Toner, M McCarthy; CJ Stander, T O’Donnell, J Heaslip.

Replacements: S Cronin, J Cronin, T Furlong, D Ryan, R Ruddock, K Marmion, I Madigan, D Kearney.

WALES

G Anscombe; G North, J Davies, J Roberts, T James; D Biggar, G Davies; R Evans, S Baldwin, S Lee, L Charteris, A-W Jones, S Warburton (capt), J Tipuric, T Faletau.

Replacements: K Owens, G Jenkins, T Francis, B Davies, D Lydiate, L Williams, R Priestland, A Cuthbert

Maul finally worked for Ireland

Now they will have the last chance

Stander MOTM over Roberts. I disagree, unsurprisingly .

Awful result.

NOBODY WINS!

Like kissing your sister

sod it no slam

mikey_dragon wrote:Stander MOTM over Roberts. I disagree, unsurprisingly .

Really? How on earth wasn't Robert MOTM

Yep - a draw is a fair result. Exciting finish and credit to both sides there.

Intense but dull as dishwater.

That last weekend of last year seems an awful long time ago.

mikey_dragon wrote:Awful result.

Perfect result

Fair result - hard game!
It's what happens when an immovable object is hit by ... Another immovable object. Two great defences. Two fairly blunt attacks.

wales606 wrote:

mikey_dragon wrote:Stander MOTM over Roberts. I disagree, unsurprisingly .

Really? How on earth wasn't Robert MOTM

Very odd call.

Entertaining but low quality game. Pretty much sums the 6N's up

wales606 wrote:NOBODY WINS!

Like kissing your sister

Haha!!

A draw is worth absolutely f-all to us. That's the grand slam over!!

wales606 wrote:NOBODY WINS!

Like kissing your sister

I thought that was a victory in Wales (and Norfolk)?

Well, that was actually a lot better than I was expecting from Ireland before the game; a better performance and a better result.

Think us not winning is down to a few poor exits from our 22 that gave Wales cheap territory and a nightmare 10 mins or so from Nathan White at the scrum. Thats the margins. When we went to 13-0 up we needed to be ruthless and we weren't!

Right result, nothing between the two.

Best 12 - 12 battle I have seen in many years, absolutely brilliant with Roberts showing his true class and coming out on top. He was easily my MoTM.

Earls was again fantastic defensively.

Thanks to both teams for giving us a high quality high tempo game. Its supposed to be an entertainment business and that was the most entertaining match of the weekend

Draw seems fair to me. Ireland tried more, made more ground but made more mistakes. Wales hardly made an error all game and Roberts was immense in defence.

On the evidence of the first round of Games the 6N winners are going to be in either Red or Green.

Sgt_Pooly wrote:

wales606 wrote:

mikey_dragon wrote:Stander MOTM over Roberts. I disagree, unsurprisingly .

Really? How on earth wasn't Robert MOTM

Very odd call.

Entertaining but low quality game. Pretty much sums the 6N's up

That was another Ireland-Wales classic. The best the NH can offer these days.

Lucky that Wales capped Garces before the game.

mid_gen wrote:Intense but dull as dishwater.

That last weekend of last year seems an awful long time ago.

Dull? No that was yesterdays game.

A draw with Ireland away isn't a bad result, but both teams basically cancelled each other out.

TJ wrote:

mid_gen wrote:Intense but dull as dishwater.

That last weekend of last year seems an awful long time ago.

Dull?  No that was yesterdays game.  

Both dull. But today's was a higher quality of dull

NH rugby really is in a dark place

Wales for the Grand Slam!!!

Schmidt has to go. He got Garces' back up with his comments about how he reffed the scrum and as a result he favoured Wales all day. Disgrace from Schmidt. Kidney never would have been so amateurish

I am furious with that performance to be honest. We tried to play rugby in the wrong areas of the pitch for some bizarre reason and it didn't pay off. For those who cry for more "expansive rugby" that is what happens when you do not dominate territory and the set piece primarily. It is clear once again that the skill levels required for that sort of game are not there for a good portion of the team. We lack the pace, speed of thought and most importantly the platform from which to play that sort of game.

Also it is quite clear that Robbie Henshaw was the wrong option at 12 for this game as he was totally exposed by Jamie Roberts. He is being utilised as a Jamie Roberts-lite at the minute which is a total waste of the guy's talents and he will inevitably come second best in these encounters. If you want such a player look no further than Stuart McCloskey who I am convinced would have met and matched the challenge.

As for our kicking game... the less said the better to be honest. Murray and Zebo are seriously off form in this regard. Zebo clearly offers us a lot of attacking intent at 15 but if he can't get the basics right then Rob Kearney is the better option.

The error count today was so much lower than the other two games and it wouldn't be surprising to see one or both of these teams go on to win their next four games. Considering the injuries, retirements and the very short preparation time you have to give enormous credit to Schmidt and his coaches for getting that level of performance with very little build-up. Same for Gatland! The coaches have really done an astonishing job with these teams. Take a bow  

Just imagine what these coaches could do with a proper build-up and a club season that is structured to give us a good lead-in to the tournament. Suddenly these coaches would actually have the breathing space to focus on attack as well as defence. Imagine what that would be like eh?

Earls was rubbish in defence. One pen for the tip tackle and after Heaslip turned over the ball he knocked himself out with his pathetic attempt at rucking; directly led to Wales' last penalty. Useless player.

Decent result seeing as I expected a Welsh victory.

Just one question for Joe. Zebo? Really? Drop the dead wood Joe.

Rubbish. Really not impressed with that. Thought Ireland were better and showed more intent.

Wales = drift attack. Draw the man before shipping along the line, FFS.

gog1992 wrote:A draw is worth absolutely f-all to us. That's the grand slam over!!

Daft comment but then again you thought Roberts should have been dropped so not a surprise

Pity we didn't wake up until we were 13 points down. Like watching the Cardiff Blues.

The Good
Roberts superb, in defence and attack
JD2 ditto
Preistland did very well off the bench
Rob Evans and Samson Lee did well in the scrums
Faletau was very good
Though Tom James did very well in a game with few chances to shine, did well in defence and clever at the breakdown.

The Bad
Gareth Davies' slow passing, bad box kicking and a few sloppy errors cost us
Neither Tipuric or Warburton managed to put their stamp on the game
North still not quite 100%
Another slow start to the 6Ns

See the armchair experts out in force again

Riskysports wrote:

Both dull. But today's was a higher quality of dull

Well the first draw of the 6ns, but both teams put their bodies on the line.

I think Ireland can feel more hurt than Wales, being 13 nil up at one time. then Letting Wales back in.

But Well played Wales, for coming back into the game. in fact well played both teams for a cracking game.

Well, a better result than I expected, and but for errors we might have won it.

A good game for the spectators, as is usual when these two sides meet. Refreshing after yesterdays dross.

Time to reward provincial form and get rid of the Munster chaff, aside from Stander they were all poor.

greygoose wrote:Earls was rubbish in defence. One pen for the tip tackle and after Heaslip turned over the ball he knocked himself out with his pathetic attempt at rucking; directly led to Wales' last penalty. Useless player.

The pen was not a pen, it was a perfectly good tackle. So he puts his body on the line and gets a hit, the penalty was not his fault.

Dull my backside, that first half was fantastic, high tempo, quality rugby. The weather closed in and made things more difficult in the second half. Think O'Donnells injury tipped the breakeven balance in favour of the Welsh towards the end, our backrow was horribly unbalanced. Cheers to the Welsh anyway for a thoroughly enjoyable game!

Notch wrote:See the armchair experts out in force again

We always know best immediately after an intense nail biting game...

Rory_Gallagher wrote:I am furious with that performance to be honest. We tried to play rugby in the wrong areas of the pitch for some bizarre reason and it didn't pay off. For those who cry for more "expansive rugby" that is what happens when you do not dominate territory and the set piece primarily. It is clear once again that the skill levels required for that sort of game are not there for a good portion of the team. We lack the pace, speed of thought and most importantly the platform from which to play that sort of game.

I would disagree. Ireland did not play panicky rugby under their posts - they ran the ball back at Wales and did so well - making ground consistently and making some good breaks. almost paid off for them and I doubt Ireland would have won a kicking duel

Leaving the ground disappointed.Both Welsh scrum halves too slow and their box kicking abysmal.It's a painful contrast when Sexton gets the ball rather than Priestland.We must have someone better in Wales.If only Jonny was Welsh.Perhaps we can retain him as our backs coach when he retires.Fair play to Stander and Roberts who were blydi huge for 80 minutes.Still taking too much contact in our back play.Boys went well up front.

Rory_Gallagher wrote:

Notch wrote:See the armchair experts out in force again

We always know best immediately after an intense nail biting game...

Too true!

To be fair, I'm extremely glad I wasn't near a keyboard or smartphone of any kind immediately after the Ulster game on Friday

greygoose wrote:Time to reward provincial form and get rid of the Munster chaff, aside from Stander they were all poor.

Nonsense - Earls was excellent and Murray did ok, Zebo was poor but only because Schmidt failed to pick a natural 15 and put a winger there - not his fault

Your interpretion isn't relevant though, Billy, is it? He gave away the penalty through bad technique, that's all there is to it.

Not as bad as i thought it was going to be. Draw was a fair result. Tempo and effort levels were something else from both sides.

Ireland actually looked the more creative side (not saying much) but as TJ said committed more errors in the process of trying to play. We got some great quick ball but just lacked a little bit of creativity but at least we tried and even threw in an occasional offload

Wales are physically immense all over the park but they really do lack a bit of craft

Irish standout players: McGrath, Stander, Heaslip and Sexton.

greygoose wrote:Earls was rubbish in defence. One pen for the tip tackle and after Heaslip turned over the ball he knocked himself out with his pathetic attempt at rucking; directly led to Wales' last penalty. Useless player.

Disgraceful comment. Ger Earls taught Keith how to tackle similar to the montage in Rocky IV by chopping wood and being a manly lumberjack type. How many cows have you ever tip tackled, Keith Earls does ten before breakfast. You are clearly an anti-Munster racist and I am referring your comment to the European Court of Human Rights.

I still cant help but feel that had Ireland started McCloskey at 12 with Henshaw 13 and Payne at 15, that attacking intention from Ireland may have paid dividends. I am actually impressed at the way Ireland approached the game.

Heaslip and Stander worked very well together as well.

greygoose wrote:Earls was rubbish in defence. One pen for the tip tackle and after Heaslip turned over the ball he knocked himself out with his pathetic attempt at rucking; directly led to Wales' last penalty. Useless player.

Agreed, Earls isn't a great player, never has been, never will be. Connacht's Healy should be playing instead of him.

Hardly nonsense, earls was directly responsible for two avoidable penalties. Zebo has no place at fullback. Murray was ponderous and tactically awful.

greygoose wrote:Your interpretion isn't relevant though, Billy, is it? He gave away the penalty through bad technique, that's all there is to it.

And yours is?