irish punch up

thebaz

according to Tony Ward today , there was a pretty serious punch up at an Irish training session last week . No names mentioned -- i'd guess it was some old provincial beefs -- Leinster/ Munster or Munster / Ulster

Eoin

thebaz wrote:

according to Tony Ward today , there was a pretty serious punch up at an Irish training session last week . No names mentioned -- i'd guess it was some old provincial beefs -- Leinster/ Munster or Munster / Ulster

I heard that last week, but didn't find any articles referring to it. I think it was Neil Best, but they didn't say who the other guy was.

An Tarbh

I'd heard his name mentioned alright, muchado about nothing imo, nothing wrong with a bit of aggro in the training camp.

Got to give credit to Tony Ward, was quick off the mark with this story. :rolleyes:

mikedragon32

Kwality Indo journalism.

The guys should be training with a level of intensity now that would spark a few dust ups. Nowt wrong with it. They've had spats before on the training pitch and always played well in the match that followed.

besty

Exactly, no big problem with some intensity in training.

Eoin

Actually, the only other place I heard about it was "off the ball" on Newstalk. I think they wanted to see Denis Hickie armed with his Blackberry fight John Hayes who would be riding on an actual bull - or failing that, a three way knife fight between all three Bests to see who the best Best was.

thebaz

Yep - i agree i' have no problem with high intensity training -- whats needed given the provinces recent form and to tame any big headism as we head into 6 nations as favorites !
Still nothing like guessing whos involved , my immediate guess was Niall Best and Paul O'Connell -- wouldn't mind seeing that rumble -- BTW can you imagine if this happened in an Irish soccer camp , we'd have another over the top media Saipan affair

anyway heres the link :-
http://www.unison.ie/sportsdesk/stories.php3?ca=15&si=1765546

daveirl

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thebaz

Just seen the Irish team , and dropping Neil Best for Easterby , strikes me as punishment , as he had jumped ahead of Easterby , who is no bad player himself . The dust up , must have been serious , for players to get dropped , as I can not see how Best would have been dropped otherwise .

Actually dissapointed with irish team , Boss should be in for Stringer , and Murphy is unlucky , I now think Wales will win !

madds

EOS says he picks on form, and because of that Neil Best was dropped for Easterby who's playing well in a very good Llanlelli side. Boss hasn't been in the best of form lately either.

My opinion is that Dempsey is a little fortunate to get in ahead of Murphy, but I'm happy with the side we're putting out.

Ireland to win by 10.

An Tarbh

I don't agree with Best being dropped either, and if it is punishment for the dust up then's that just plain daft. Easterby has always been Eddie's favourite so it mustn't have taken much convincing for Eddie to bring him back in, even though his first contributions when coming on during the Autumn were to concede a penalty.

I know he's been in decent form but surely it makes sense to have continuity in the backrow right the way through to the world cup.

bugler

Best being on the bench has nothing to do with any 'fight' at training. Everyone knew in advance of the squad getting together that No.6 would be one of the trickiest choices. Best did excellently in the autumn tests but he had a slump in form (along with Ulster in general) for the HEC (the first game apart). Easterby has been doing very well for a high-flying Llanelli side and as mentioned he is highly rated by the coach.


Personally I'd probably have given Best the nod but it's hard to argue with the decision. Plus Best charging off the bench at the 60 minute mark should be a sight in itself.

thebaz

bugler wrote:

Best being on the bench has nothing to do with any 'fight' at training. Everyone knew in advance of the squad getting together that No.6 would be one of the trickiest choices. .

Are you in the know ?
Cause i'd be very surprised if Best saw it coming before the squad got together !
I fealt he had made the no. 6 jersey his !

Amz

I'd say it has a lot to do with Easterby's experience of playing in Wales against Welsh opposition. Might just have clinched it for him.

thebaz

theres a rumour that the fight itself was between Easterby and Best themselves -- worrying if true !! -- don't think its good if players vying for a position , try to take each other out -- players rivaling for positions in a team should respect one another --

Goodluck2me

Amz wrote:

I'd say it has a lot to do with Easterby's experience of playing in Wales against Welsh opposition. Might just have clinched it for him.

excellent point, id say you are right here.
i also dont mind there being intense rivalries for positions so long as it is resprectful and not endangerment. it makes people play out of their skin in matches if they think it could be their last.

Diamondmaker

madds wrote:

EOS says he picks on form, and because of that Neil Best was dropped for Easterby who's playing well in a very good Llanlelli side. Boss hasn't been in the best of form lately either.

My opinion is that Dempsey is a little fortunate to get in ahead of Murphy, but I'm happy with the side we're putting out.

Ireland to win by 10.

I think the Best Easterby call is a combination of everything ,emtioned EXCEPT any fight.

SE is captain of a Welsh side fresh from a 6/6 HEC run.
More experienced in every aspect including the players around him
Always was an Eddis fave as his foriegn base has not affected his selection

Best is deffo the Best impact sub of the 2 also.

I agree re Murphy:He has done nought to be "dropped" and Girv has not played in a while, so as much of a Girv fan as I am, I may have gone for Murphy based on how can Girv be the "in form" player when he has NO form. He has not played recently. Bit of a contradiction this call I think.

10 could be a good call too as I see a tight game with Ire just ahead (3-5). The Welsh loose play in chasing the game in the last 10mins will concede to the vastly experioenced Irish defence.
No repeat of the Welsh GS Ire performance will occur this year!

Sangre

Ireland to win by 10-15

daveirl

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bugler

I think the people who are surprised by the selection at 6 haven't been watching the HC, or at least Llanelli and Ulster in it. In that case they're freshest memory of Best is him smashing Waugh & co. and being named in world XVs, and their memory of Easterby is...well...not that anyway

There's simply no reason for believing there is any 'cause' for Best being on the bench other than form. Another rumour has started over on Planet Rugby: Best has been dropped because he's on steroids and the IRFU are afraid he'll be caught. Which doesn't make sense for a number of reasons but hey...

thirdmantackle

he's as likely to get tested sitting on the bench as he is on the starting 15...

madds

I'm looking fwd to seeing more of Trimble this season....think he's a smashing player and could do some real damage over the coming 6 weeks.

bugler

Trimble is in a very similar situation to N Best. He had a good autumn and then slumped along with Ulster in the HC. Arguably he will need to do well against Wales and then France to hold his place, though a lot hinges on Horgan's injury obviously.

buck65

We might see Best introduced at some stage as well as Jerry Flannery. These guys are seriously aggressive and should be playing.
Sometimes I think Steady Eddie is a little afraid to make the big calls , but like in the David Wallace case, will be eventually persuaded and then say he didn't pick him because of form blah blah blah.
Also Dempsey at 15 is a travesty with Murphy on the bench. Girvan is solid solid and predictable. Luckily we are playing Wales not France or England who would severely test this watery lineup.

zAbbo

buck65 wrote:

We might see Best introduced at some stage as well as Jerry Flannery. These guys are seriously aggressive and should be playing.
Sometimes I think Steady Eddie is a little afraid to make the big calls , but like in the David Wallace case, will be eventually persuaded and then say he didn't pick him because of form blah blah blah.
Also Dempsey at 15 is a travesty with Murphy on the bench. Girvan is solid solid and predictable. Luckily we are playing Wales not France or England who would severely test this watery lineup.

Yeah, who'd want boring predicatble Dempsey at FB, especially when Wales are effectively playing 3 OH's in Jones(10), Hook(12) and Henson(15)

Dempsey is very predicable under the high ball, in that he rarely if ever drops one.

Sangre

buck65 wrote:

We might see Best introduced at some stage as well as Jerry Flannery. These guys are seriously aggressive and should be playing.
Sometimes I think Steady Eddie is a little afraid to make the big calls , but like in the David Wallace case, will be eventually persuaded and then say he didn't pick him because of form blah blah blah.
Also Dempsey at 15 is a travesty with Murphy on the bench. Girvan is solid solid and predictable. Luckily we are playing Wales not France or England who would severely test this watery lineup.

Murphy is pretty bland once he puts that Irish jersey on.

damnyanks

Isn't their some limit on how much caffeine you can have anyways? I remmeber they gave us a list of banned substances. Something like 2 cups of coffee made you a cheat.

daveirl

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Flat

Diamondmaker wrote:

I think the Best Easterby call is a combination of everything ,emtioned EXCEPT any fight.

SE is captain of a Welsh side fresh from a 6/6 HEC run.
More experienced in every aspect including the players around him
Always was an Eddis fave as his foriegn base has not affected his selection

well put

I dont rate Best (6) highly... so he put in two big hits on southern hem opposition... So What! Its a 80 minute game, players like Easterby will mantain a higher rate of performance over the match duration, rather than putting in the big hit when the cameras are watching

Best to me doesnt look physically strong enough either coming from a rowing background (but thats an entirely different arguement)

And if it was Best and O'Connell in a training ground bust up he probably isnt fit to play because he would get a severe hiding of that man

Best is just a Chabal wannabe