RWC Pool C: Ireland vs USA Eagles, Sun 11 Sep 7am; Pre/During/Post Match Thread.

theboss80

Ireland by less than 20

HAHA Brilliant on Network 2

conno16

fitz wrote: »

This is craziness.
Heaslip, even though he hasn't hit 100% since coming back from the ankle injury earlier in the year, is still performing above what Leamy is capable of.
To call for him to be dropped for an inferior player just to make a point is plain daft.

with full respect to our US friends, we wont need all cylinders to sweep them aside
all the big teams make these type of statements early in WC comps

fitz

conno16 wrote: »

with full respect to our US friends, we wont need all cylinders to sweep them aside
all the big teams make these type of statements early in WC comps

What kind of statement? That he spends too much of his free time (which he's free to do what he likes with) on Twitter, so he should be dropped for perceived complacency? Come off it...

BOD has an iPhone app, should we drop him in case he thinks he's too secure in his position? :rolleyes:

wixfjord

Stop feeding the guy under the bridge lads!

GerM

conno16 wrote: »

too much time hanging around down at juniors with his entourage / jay z

You mean too much time with his Leinster team mates having lunch after training and with his dog?

Really bizarre post.

conno16

difference is BOD always does his talking on the pitch.

heaslip, and to a lesser extent healy (mainly cause he's less articulate / intelligent i suspect) are doing too much talking down at juniors, krystle / lillies etc

Robotnic

USA

Happy enough with that! Sure no sign of P wallace sure what more can ya ask! point taken that Trimble has done more than Earls, but sure it wouldn be the same if there was nobody on pitch to make ya hoarse from shouting at the TV when they Drop the ball!!

Robotnic

USA

Oh and nearly forgot COME ON IRELAND!!!!!!!!
let's hope the fast ball Murray seemed capable of providing when he came into the warmups can spark some movement in the backline again, and we rack up the scores!!!

bamboozle

Ireland by 20-40

gOst wrote: »

Jes give the man a break there's a squad for a reason. I don't see any benefit playing Trimble against the US as he has been the best performing winger in the warm ups. He knows Trimble is in good form, similarly he knows Reddan and Sexton play well together.

As I see it you have two outcomes from playing Earls the US game
(1) Earls form continues from the warm ups, which would confirm Trimble should be starting
(2) Earls has a good game, gains some confidence and then decide whether his performance has improved sufficiently to challenge Trimble.

DK is the coach for the WC, nothing productive can come from continuously knocking every decision he* (*:the whole coaching staff) make. I'm not having a go at anyone in particular just the general negativity directed towards DK.

well your have our excellent form and results from the warm ups to back up your defence of Kidney...
we're playing sh1t, he needs to start our strongest team, he's successfully taken a squad of grand slam, heiniken cup winners & Lions tourists and combined them into a disjointed poorly performing team where clear favouritism is shown to certain players who have little consistent HC or international form over the last 18 months to justify their case for inclusion, you might say 'well he's the coach, he sees them train every day' which i'd generally accept however he had been seeing TOL train yet was insisting on starting him until the squad was announced.

Our WC is going to be so predictable now, handy win over USA, Murray will get an arm chair ride behind a storming pack - Murray hype will kick in further, against OZ our team will be undercooked and despite a heroic effort we'll lose, we'll beat Italy and lose limply to SA in the 1/4 final.

an even bigger worry is an injury to BOD or Darcy would see Earls coming back into centre with Trimble going onto wing. On current form Trimble should be our starting winger and Mcfadden should be the utility back on the bench.
Plus Flannery should be starting hooker, Best cannot guarantee a functioning lineout.

bamboozle

Ireland by 20-40

conno16 wrote: »

i would like to have seen leamy start instead of heaslip.
clearly heaslip has more to his game but is off form bigtime.
being dropped would give him a gentle kick up the ass and an extra week off to get his head around the oz factor
plus leamy would ravage into eddie's troops like no other

in my opinion heaslip needs to get his act together
too much time hanging around down at juniors with his entourage / jay z
and way too much time on twitter etc
a very talented player, would be a shame for him to waste it now just cause he feels hes made it

David900

fitz wrote: »

What kind of statement? That he spends too much of his free time (which he's free to do what he likes with) on Twitter, so he should be dropped for perceived complacency? Come off it...

BOD has an iPhone app, should we drop him in case he thinks he's too secure in his position? :rolleyes:

Don't forget its now available on android

GerM

bamboozle wrote: »

Plus Flannery should be starting hooker, Best cannot guarantee a functioning lineout.

Neither can Flannery. We lost 5 or 6 on his throw in approximately 100 minutes of game time in the warm ups despite him being a better thrower. No hooker can guarantee it. We need to get away from the idea that the hooker is the one factor in the line out. Mike Ross was lifting poorly. DOC and Ryan were jumping like slugs. Cullen was running a bad line out.

POC is the only part of the line out that can come away from the warm up games with his reputation still in tact I think. Set pieces live and die as a unit. If one part of that unit misfires, then the whole thing comes apart.

bamboozle

Ireland by 20-40

GerM wrote: »

Neither can Flannery. We lost 5 or 6 on his throw in approximately 100 minutes of game time in the warm ups despite him being a better thrower. No hooker can guarantee it. We need to get away from the idea that the hooker is the one factor in the line out. Mike Ross was lifting poorly. DOC and Ryan were jumping like slugs. Cullen was running a bad line out.

POC is the only part of the line out that can come away from the warm up games with his reputation still in tact I think. Set pieces live and die as a unit. If one part of that unit misfires, then the whole thing comes apart.

ok i'll rephrase, the lineout functions far better with Flannery starting at hooker.

Conas

Ireland by less than 20

Murray
Jenno

Good team for the opener to lay down a marker. It's a massive game for the two above. Jennings could very well start against Australia if he puts in a stormer here to counteract Pocock. I hope things go well for Conor aswell. The worry is both could become eager to impress and force things a little.

Trimble being dropped is a very very strange and a call I just don't agree with. I don't understand Deccie at all. He's been the form player, and to drop him is bad.

wixfjord

Happy with that team bar Ryan (why?) and Earls.
Two minor calls though.

We should really steamroll the US tbh.

Brewster

bamboozle wrote: »

GerM wrote: »

Neither can Flannery. We lost 5 or 6 on his throw in approximately 100 minutes of game time in the warm ups despite him being a better thrower. No hooker can guarantee it. We need to get away from the idea that the hooker is the one factor in the line out. Mike Ross was lifting poorly. DOC and Ryan were jumping like slugs. Cullen was running a bad line out.

POC is the only part of the line out that can come away from the warm up games with his reputation still in tact I think. Set pieces live and die as a unit. If one part of that unit misfires, then the whole thing comes apart.

ok i'll rephrase, the lineout functions far better with Flannery starting at hooker.

The hooking position is not up for debate, you can't throw Flannery back into competitive action straight away with no rugby this year. Did you watch England game? Thompson destroyed Fla who was forced to pop up a number if scrums.Best is the only serious hooking option just now. The key to a successful lineout lies with Paulie in the main.

marco_polo

Conas wrote: »

Murray
Jenno

Good team for the opener to lay down a marker. It's a massive game for the two above. Jennings could very well start against Australia if he puts in a stormer here to counteract Pocock. I hope things go well for Conor aswell. The worry is both could become eager to impress and force things a little.

Trimble being dropped is a very very strange and a call I just don't agree with. I don't understand Deccie at all. He's been the form player, and to drop him is bad.

Wouldn't read too much into it, I could be wrong but I would think that Trimble is still in pole postition for next week, I suspect he feels Earls needs the game more as Trimble is absolutely flying. Bowe hasn't much Rugby played either.

Edit: Actually just looking at RTE.ie and DK kinda said as much at the press conference

"We have three wingers who have been going well. Keith has had three games but two of those have been in the centre," said Kidney.

"He's only had one run on the wing and he's done well in that position in the past. Tommy comes back from injury and has played only one game.

"Andrew's losing out and he's unlucky. He's had four games and has done very well. It's a good position for us to be in."

Ireland by less than 20

Right, we're past the point of rationality.

The World Cup has started. COME ON IRELAND!

SomeFool

Ireland by 20-40

Happy with the team, expecting to see Timble in the second half with Earls at FB like the England game from the 6n myself. Would be disappointed with anything less than a good win here though, the Eagles are a Churchill cup standard team so should be put away comfortably. Big game for Murray but if you're good enough you're old enough I suppose.

Thanos

Ireland by less than 20

USA Team:

Team: B Scully; T Ngwenya, P Emerick, A Suniula, J Paterson; R Suniula, M Petri; M MacDonald, P Thiel, S Pittman, J van der Giessen, H Smith, L Stanfill, T Clever (capt), N Johnson.
Replacements: C Biller, M Moeakiola, S LaValla, P Danahy, T Usasz, N Malifa, C Hawley.

bamboozle

Ireland by 20-40

Brewster wrote: »

The hooking position is not up for debate, you can't throw Flannery back into competitive action straight away with no rugby this year. Did you watch England game? Thompson destroyed Fla who was forced to pop up a number if scrums.Best is the only serious hooking option just now. The key to a successful lineout lies with Paulie in the main.

eh yes i did see it and yet it is up for debate, flannery being popped in a scrum is down to our scrum being put under pressure, flannery was the one forward who was hitting rucks and showing up in the lose. I still expect to see flannery starting as the tournament goes on as he is miles ahead of best despite his lack of game time.
Best's game is littered with mistakes most notably his poor throwing.

smurphy29

Thanos wrote: »

USA Team:

Team: B Scully; T Ngwenya, P Emerick, A Suniula, J Paterson; R Suniula, M Petri; M MacDonald, P Thiel, S Pittman, J van der Giessen, H Smith, L Stanfill, T Clever (capt), N Johnson.
Replacements: C Biller, M Moeakiola, S LaValla, P Danahy, T Usasz, N Malifa, C Hawley.

Are there a couple of big players for the US missing there? I'm thinking the Sarries full back Wyles... and LaValla is considered one of their best I thought?

totallegend

I am in shock at the inclusion of Earls. Sorry, no, I'm not, nothing DK does in terms of selection shocks me any more. So long as Trimble starts against Australia, I'll be happy out again.

In terms of the Murray selection, I don't agree with it; if he tears it up against USA behind a totally dominant pack, what does that tell us? That he can play well against a sub-Celtic League team? Then again, it has to be said that Reddan has never really nailed down the jersey so f**k it, let's see how it goes and maybe this will be a stroke of genius...

Thanos

Ireland by less than 20

smurphy29 wrote: »

Are there a couple of big players for the US missing there? I'm thinking the Sarries full back Wyles... and LaValla is considered one of their best I thought?

Saracens full-back Chris Wyles is out with an ankle injury.

shuffol

Ireland by less than 20

Not surprised to see Earls included, on form he's a must have, he's the best finisher and counterattacker in the squad and has been our best back in the last 2 6N, yes he's useless in the center but I dont think we'l be seeing him there again. Much as I like Trimble I dont think he's got the same ability to beat players at test level as Earls does.

Surprised by Kidneys comments after selecting Murray, sounds like the scrumhalf position for the Australia game is wide open

Brewster

bamboozle wrote: »

Brewster wrote: »

The hooking position is not up for debate, you can't throw Flannery back into competitive action straight away with no rugby this year. Did you watch England game? Thompson destroyed Fla who was forced to pop up a number if scrums.Best is the only serious hooking option just now. The key to a successful lineout lies with Paulie in the main.

eh yes i did see it and yet it is up for debate, flannery being popped in a scrum is down to our scrum being put under pressure, flannery was the one forward who was hitting rucks and showing up in the lose. I still expect to see flannery starting as the tournament goes on as he is miles ahead of best despite his lack of game time.
Best's game is littered with mistakes most notably his poor throwing.

It was put under pressure because
Best was not playing, who is widely acknowledged as a superior scrummager!! Flannery is a fine player and we are lucky to have him on the bench but to talk of him replacing Rory after a couple of bit part performances in warm ups games in laughable quite frankly especially considering Rory's performances in latter games of 6 Nations.

bamboozle

Ireland by 20-40

Brewster wrote: »

It was put under pressure because
Best was not playing, who is widely acknowledged as a superior scrummager!! Flannery is a fine player and we are lucky to have him on the bench but to talk of him replacing Rory after a couple of bit part performances in warm ups games in laughable quite frankly especially considering Rory's performances in latter games of 6 Nations.

we'll have to disagree so, i dont buy the hype about best being a super scrummager, whether he is or not is secondary to the fact he cant consistently throw the ball straight into the lineout, this is something flannery can do and this is why i'd start him...

for what its worth GT in this mornings times notes his suprise Flannery isnt starting.

Wheeker

shuffol wrote: »

Not surprised to see Earls included, on form he's a must have, he's the best finisher and counterattacker in the squad and has been our best back in the last 2 6N, yes he's useless in the center but I dont think we'l be seeing him there again. Much as I like Trimble I dont think he's got the same ability to beat players at test level as Earls does.

Sorry, but I think this is total nonsense- Earls is NOT in form, he is NOT our best finisher and was NOT our best back in the last 2 6N.

Trimble IS in form. IMO, Trimble is a much more physical player who has a greater ability to break tackles & make line breaks. Also much better defensively. Trimble HAS to start against Australia.

fitz

Wheeker wrote: »

Trimble IS in form. IMO, Trimble is a much more physical player who has a greater ability to break tackles & make line breaks. Also much better defensively. Trimble HAS to start against Australia.

I'd agree with this, but I don't see why people are annoyed at Earls selection at wing for the US game. Give him a run at wing, so that he has a chance to settle in at that position. It strengthens our bench selection options for the Aus game.

Trimble, should start against Aus, and I expect that's what will happen.

Brewster

bamboozle wrote: »

Brewster wrote: »

It was put under pressure because
Best was not playing, who is widely acknowledged as a superior scrummager!! Flannery is a fine player and we are lucky to have him on the bench but to talk of him replacing Rory after a couple of bit part performances in warm ups games in laughable quite frankly especially considering Rory's performances in latter games of 6 Nations.

we'll have to disagree so, i dont buy the hype about best being a super scrummager, whether he is or not is secondary to the fact he cant consistently throw the ball straight into the lineout, this is something flannery can do and this is why i'd start him...

for what its worth GT in this mornings times notes his suprise Flannery isnt starting.

The only case for starting Fla would be to give him game time. There's no chance of him starting against Oz in my opinion! Game is all about opinions!