Ireland A v USA

dc69

This game is on tonight at midnight on sky sports 1.

the team is
15 Denis Hurley (Cork Constitution/Munster),
14 Mark McCrea (Malone/Ulster),
13 Kieran Lewis (Garryowen/Munster),
12 Keith Earls (Garryowen/Munster),
11 Brian Tuohy (Cornish Pirates),
10 Johnathan Sexton (St Mary's College/Leinster),
9 Tomas O'Leary (Dolphin/Munster);
1 Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster),
2 Denis Fogarty (Cork Constitution/Munster),
3 Michael Ross (Harlequins),
4 Bob Casey (London Irish, captain),
5 Ryan Caldwell (Dungannon/Ulster),
6 Neil Best (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster),
7 Johnny O'Connor (Corinthians/Connacht),
8 Roger Wilson (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster).

Replacements:
16 Tom Court (Malone/Ulster),
17 Sean Cronin (Shannon/Munster),
18 Trevor Hogan (Shannon/Leinster),
19 Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster),
20 David Pollock (Dungannon/Ulster),
21 Frank Murphy (Leicester Tigers),
22 Ian Keatley (Clontarf/Leinster)


USA:
Chris Wyles (Old Mission Beach Athletic Club);
Takudzwa Ngwenya (Biarritz),
Paul Emerick (Newport Gwent Dragons),
Vaha Esikia (Las Vegas Blackjacks),
Justin Boyd (Texas A&M);
Mike Hercus (IBM, Japan),
Mike Petri (NYAC);
Mike MacDonald (Leeds Carnegie),
Mark Crick (Potomac Athletic Club),
Mate Moeakiola (Pukekohe, New Zealand),
Ben Wiedemer (Belmont Shore),
Brian Doyle (NYAC),
Todd Clever (Old Mission Beach AC) (capt),
Jason Lett (Boston Irish Wolfhounds),
Kort Schubert (Olympic Club)

any thoughts on this one?
England beat usa 64-10,I want to see a demolision tonight.

suppafly

zAbbo

Hmm, this is the match thread.

Any other midnight lurkers staying up to watch it?

davyjose

I'm working the late shift - gonna have a dig about online for it.

Crash

Can't find any sources online for it unfortunately.

Kristopherus

My fiver is @ - 14 with Paddy Power:D

Stev_o

Ah f**k might as well and might leave after the first half depending on how it is

Stev_o

Someone shoot that woman quick

zAbbo

Possibly two of the most emotionless anthems I've ever seen...

I thought it was a bloke singing, until I looked up.

Ireland by 25.

marco_polo

If the game is as good as that rendition of Irelands call I would say I'll be in bed by 12.15 :rolleyes:

Robbo

Anyone else see a career for Paul Emmerick in a Scorpions tribute band after he retires?

irishbucsfan

marco_polo wrote: »

If the game is as good as that rendition of Irelands call I would say I'll be in bed by 12.15 :rolleyes:

The singer was fantastic. Id say those canadian irish have never heard the song in their lives so you cant blame them for not singing

Crash

Keep the updates rolling please folks

zAbbo

Neil Best just crumpled the big prop...nice.

irishbucsfan

just about ghosted through the defence there. Nice to see

zAbbo

Very loose so far, lot's of space, needs a little bit of structure

marco_polo

irishbucsfan wrote: »

The singer was fantastic. Id say those canadian irish have never heard the song in their lives so you cant blame them for not singing

Yeah technically it was fine I suppose, but when it is sung without the backing of a largs crowd it really hammers home what an awful song it is.

Robbo

Sexton missed a pen from 40 yards.

I'm beginning to feel foolish for taking Ireland -22 points.

marco_polo

Nice hands from Sexton, try Lewis.

Extras missed

zAbbo

Set move off the back of the scrum, Sexton with a little reverse pass to Lewis running a great line.

A real training ground move, nicely finished.

kmart6

Nice try!

jdivision

Lovely set piece move, good hands by Sexton, great line by Earls, suspicion of forward pass to Lewis but still... nice try

trout

Robbo wrote: »

Anyone else see a career for Paul Emmerick in a Scorpions tribute band after he retires?

Winds of Change ... indeed.

I hope it's mildly entertaining.

zAbbo

Robbo wrote: »

Sexton missed a pen from 40 yards.

I'm beginning to feel foolish for taking Ireland -22 points.

I'm sure they'll clear that, the Eagles defensive lines are far too naive for a backline we've got here.

Robbo

trout wrote: »

Winds of Change ... indeed.

I hope it's mildly entertaining.

I've just realised it was Clever and not Emmerick who had the cheesey metal look about him for the anthems.

trout

Best just doesn't "do" friendlies. Blood injury to his last tackle. Is that Clever he clocked ? (/edit == yes)

Eagles seem to more comfortable with contact/collisions than I expected.
They also seem to be turning over ball and holding onto possession.

Kristopherus

Penalty try for IRE., but they've just given away a scorable peno. 12 - 6. 35 mins.

trout

Wow. I go for a whizz and missed some scores for both sides.
We may have a game

zAbbo

Yeah Best put a strong hit on Clever, I didn't see arms wrap, looked like he leads with the shoulder pretty hard.

In honesty it's a poor game so far.

trout

Best is having "words" with Clever again. I predict a card before the game is out.

The Eagles seem quite interested in playing hard and winning, they look very fired up ... some tasty tackles and hints of 'afters'.

Lots of awful handling and knock on errors though.

/edit - 7 mins injury time ?

zAbbo

Lineout looks a shambles from us, we're playing right into their hands by giving the ball away.

What's needed is to hold onto the ball, improve on the lineout and show a bit of patience!

irishbucsfan

It seems bad but we're threatening when we actually keep the ball. The lineout is woeful, needs to be sorted out, Casey has to do something.

Backs are good, Twohey made a great break as well, seems to be a good player

trout

Good Ireland scrum, quick ball, out, out and out to the far wing, making yards with each run ... and then a knock on.

Leads to lineout, Ireland maul ... very aggressive, physical defence from Eagles.

Brighter start to the second half

Sustained Irish pressure - need to turn it into points.

trout

No points. Turnover.

Zimbabwean born winger just made a 50 yard break ... some pace!

Penalty Eagles.

Game has gone very stop, stop, start, stop, stop, stop

3 points in it now.

trout

Try -I think it was Neil Best ... excellent close-in play.

Conversion was charged down - I've never seen that at international level. Great spirit from Eagles

17 - 9 to Ireland

marco_polo

trout wrote: »

Try -I think it was Neil Best ... excellent close-in play.

Conversion was charged down - I've never seen that at international level. Great spirit from Eagles

17 - 9 to Ireland

Did he start before Sexton began his run up? Still lightning fast all the same.

I agree with the commentator we were lucky to be awarded the try IMO, definate obstruction but those who backed Ireland minus the handicap won't complain

trout

Penalty Ireland - 20-9 now, 20 mins to go.

Expect subs on both sides now, lost what little momentum has built up.

dc69

trout wrote: »

Zimbabwean born winger just made a 50 yard break ... some pace!

That wasnt him,thats his opposite number.

Game an absolute disgrace,lineout a shambles,just complete chaos.Very disspointing.

No organisation or structure.

zAbbo

Very impressed with Keith Earls, what a talented player he looks like.

dc69

zAbbo wrote: »

Very impressed with Keith Earls, what a talented player he looks like.

yeah,he looks a good player.Cian healy doing well aswell.sexton ok,has v good hands but his service from oleary was shocking tbh.

These yanks are actaully just out to hurt people,every tackle they do is a dump.no need for it,sexton just got nailed.

trout

Gone to video ref - looks like Best has grounded.

Try Ireland ?

Yes - says Tony Spreadbury. Good man Tony

Missed conversion - and it looked kickable (to me). 25 - 9

zAbbo

Some of our play is a little forced, just because USA are a little ragged doesn't mean we have to score from first phase each time - a little bit of retention would help.

Running away with it now, 25-9

trout

Poor enough game, it has to be said.

I'm hoping there will be a moment of magic, from someone, anyone, to make it worth while staying up till this hour.

Ireland are pressing again - some good phases and yards being made. Eagles defence is very aggressive. These guys are well drilled and very comfortable close-in.

dc69

Good run from hurley.
The commentator keeps going on about the pace from the usa wingers but the fact is,if your ****,your ****.Pace aint gona change that,their defending was shocking.

trout

Ireland camped on Eagles try line - looking like another penalty try.

Excellent push over, touched down by Murphy. Good play. Excellent forwards try though ... made rubbish of the Eagles scrum.

Converted handily. Now 32 - 9

/Edit - Breakaway try - for Mark McCrea, showed a little pace and some good lines.
Backs try, some nice hands and loop passes.

39-9 ... wow!

Another try - Hurley showed good commitment, but the Eagles seem to have gone home already. No contest for the last 10 mins. Mind you, they charged down the conversion again, think it's yer man Clever again ... Sexton scored, 46-9.

Diamondmaker

Nice spin for the touch down !:D

marco_polo

Man of the match for Neil Best.

I am so going to regret watching this at work tommorrow morning. At least the last try makes it a little more worth it

zAbbo

We were always likely to put in 2-3 tries in the last 20minutes.

zAbbo

Easy in the end, but the lineout needs sorting, and Frank Murphy showed up a lot better than TOL.

Roll on saturday

marco_polo

Final try for Hurley. USA have put in a big effort and just have nothing left in the tank, which is a shame for them, we don't deserve to win by such a large margin.

Final score Ire 46 - USA 9

trout

Can't fault the Eagles effort - very physical. I;m surprised they let their heads drop so much, physically they looked as fit, it not fitter than their counterparts. Some very physical players, some very pacey players, and some skillful players.
All they need now is some players with more than one attribute. Quite one-dimensional.

If you hadn't seen the game, you would be fooled by the scoreline.

Looking forward to Saturdays games now.