South Africa v Ireland, 18 June

Sin é wrote:

SecretFly wrote:Well, I love the old coot as a character - the players will be entertained by him anyway - he plays that grumpy granddad role well  - just hope he gives value for money on training.

I've heard of him being mentioned in this role before.  Can anyone remember any of the sides he was linked to? - AP sides I seem to remember.

Did the SRU get in Wayne Smith or someone like that for a few weeks?

Had a good laugh at the Irish Times report from Cumiskey who couldn't resist having a few digs at Munster. He claimed that Penney left Munster because Munster didn't want to renew Simon Mannix's contract (which isn't true as Penney did commit to a 1 year contract extension).

Leo is going to survive with Leinster - he is a wily old fox. Graham Henry is just a PR exercise.

Golden wrote:

Sin é wrote:

SecretFly wrote:Well, I love the old coot as a character - the players will be entertained by him anyway - he plays that grumpy granddad role well  - just hope he gives value for money on training.

I've heard of him being mentioned in this role before.  Can anyone remember any of the sides he was linked to? - AP sides I seem to remember.

Did the SRU get in Wayne Smith or someone like that for a few weeks?

Had a good laugh at the Irish Times report from Cumiskey who couldn't resist having a few digs at Munster. He claimed that Penney left Munster because Munster didn't want to renew Simon Mannix's contract (which isn't true as Penney did commit to a 1 year contract extension).

Leo is going to survive with Leinster - he is a wily old fox. Graham Henry is just a PR exercise.

Its not to favourable to Munster alright.


"Only Foley and scrum coach Jerry Flannery were retained following the appointment of Rassie Erasmus as director of rugby. Erasmus will oversee team selection and all on-field coaching, primarily attack, while fellow South African Jacques Nienaber was hand-picked to tighten the Munster defence.
Foley remains the head coach in name but his responsibilities have been curtailed to coaching lineout and breakdown."




Is that true? Massive demotion if it is. Im surprised Foley stayed on with such a reduced role.

marty2086 wrote:

SecretFly wrote:

Golden wrote:Just thought I'd drop it in here as this is where all the traffic is. 

Graham Henry is working with Leinster as a coaching consultant. Should be great for Leo and Girve.

From.... a year ago or from next season? ....by post, express mail, e-mail, facebook or twitter?

I'm suspicious of Graham - I think he must be earning a lot of loot doing armchair consultant from his own home for teams all over the world.  He gets sent the weekly videos - he gives a few wisecracks about the idiot at 15 and collects the fee.

Is he going to be resident in Ireland?

Hes doing a review of last season and will be in Dublin in August for a few weeks to observe training etc and will give feedback on training and tactics

rodders wrote:

Sure the only attacking tactic Leinster have had for the past 2 seasons is to give the ball to Teo and hope he creates something now he's gone...seems like a waste of a consultancy fee to me.

Golden wrote:Well do you know what is included in Foleys remit?

“Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time”– Confucius

I used a quotation by Confucius to describe the enormous achievement of Irish Rugby in coming out on top in Cape Town.

It was always going to be a tight affair with the Irish side having a point to prove, sending a young but exciting side out to face a completely new Springbok outfit with little experience left over from the 2015 RWC.

The bookies had written off the Irish side, and had actually anticipated a win by a margin in excess of 15 points. I was, however, more skeptical than the rather sombre mood that embraced the Irish media, and believe that the issues off the field played a big part in preparing for the first Test.

Appointments such as Head Coach and Captain are of the utmost importance for moving forward, especially in a relatively young and inexperienced Bok side. That being said, one cannot take away the enormity of this occasion for the Irish players and supporters, as it has not been an easy run in with a disappointing Six Nations campaign and early World Cup exit.

However, this weekend will be an entirely different affair.

Ellis Park is a special place to play but daunting for any opposing team. The Irish will have a lot more to deal with and will find it tough to prepare for; namely the altitude, the crowd and fortress of Ellis Park.

I have been carefully following the South African media, with some calling their performance in Cape Town “the worst in the history of South African rugby”.

There were some who claimed that the defeat to Ireland was worse than that which was suffered at the hands of Japan.

I, however, view this a little bit differently, and believe as set out earlier, that the Irish side that went over to South Africa was a lot better than people gave them credit for, and they were extremely well coached. I was also slightly more optimistic about the South African team and their performance.

I saw glimpses of good things to come.

The Springboks work at the breakdown in the first 40 minutes, as well as the speed at which they were able to get ball out of the loose phases, was extremely encouraging for them, and at times it appeared that they were building a combination or two of something really good coming off.

I accept that the combinations may not have come off in the First Test, but many of these players were playing together for the first time.

The Irish side on the other hand will unfortunately be missing Irish player of the year, CJ Stander, whose presence will definitely be missed this weekend.

This weekend’s rugby promises to be another mouthwatering occasion to witness a wounded Springbok side looking to bounce back in
a venue that is a cauldron, and if Ireland are to win the Test Series, it is going to take a far stronger performance than the one on display in Cape Town

eirebilly wrote:Herself is a wonderful woman, stocking the fridge with beer as I type this.

Really looking forward to this game. Its been a while since I have been excited about the selections and balance of an Irish team (last week excluded).

eirebilly wrote:All that said, I expect the Boks to come out on fire in the second half, they are the team with everything to lose here. That could be good for Ireland if the game opens up.