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

Wollwead

Dr.Evil wrote: »

Can we be optimistic and say that we have our first game done, and we got a needed win? I know it's not as emphatic as it should of been and the performance wasn't there, but at least a win will give them something. A bit of belief goes a long way, and that's a feeling you only got from scoring more points than the other team. Hopefully the win settles their heads, we can condemn the whole team and squad already, or we can just have a bit of hope and try be optimistic for a change.

Eh no, positivity works both ways here all the negative signs are there a la 2007. These players are professionals, we should be in a mind set looking forward to having a good craic at oz but thats out of the question imo. Too many of our consistant under performers of the last year are again underperforming and the people that make the decisions are blinded and won't make the simple bloody changes needed. Let's just see what team is picked for oz and that will tell us all we need to know. How can we be positive now? We're in hell!

KELTICKNIGHTT

tolosenc wrote: »

They seemed to miss the bit where Sexton created the first try with a well timed inside pass... Or did you just cherrypick evidence to suit your agenda.

What exactly did ROG do to merit selection today. Sexton missed a few kicks, but never by much. Rog missed his first by some distance.

them few kick that sexton missed badly are what count in game as whole,sexton was only player who helped make trys today
as was said today,ireland should have went back to basics specialy when weather changed with slippy ball,this ball excuse is same ball used in 6 nations and other games,maybe nerves was more too blame,but which ever is picked for number 10,they cant miss at much againist aussies

MCD.

Ireland by 20-40

Sanity_Saviour wrote: »

Kidney really has ruined what was once a world class team and transformed it into a ragtag bunch of underachievers. By starting with a XV with half the team having no chance of starting he has eliminated any continuity and essentially consigned the nation to reliving the utter disaster of '07.

Individually D'arcy offers literally nothing to attacking impetus, Buckley is naught short of a joke at this level, Murray cannot be picked simply on potential, Geordan has been past it for about 6 years now and Jennings is there purely on sentimentality. If we want to beat Italy Kidney must stop holding on to 2009 and let form pick the team i.e get Bowe in at centre? give McFadden a real go? or even try Sexton at 12 so ROG can concentrate on what he does best.

To be fair the team has never really performed to its supposed potential either under declan or eddie, or if it has its been in glimpses (2009 against France or in Croker against England).

The comment about G. Murphy is out of order, on Kearneys recent form I would much prefer him Murphy at 15. Kearney hasn't been at the races for a long time (granted he has had a few injuries) but following the lions tour, when he was sensational at times, he simply hasnt performed. Murph should always have been the "second option" ahead of the likes of earls and Luko for 15.

As for Jennings, he has never performed at international level, for an alleged quality 7 he was completely out gunned today. Again he hasnt really been given a chance at I. level but when given a chance he certainly doesn't help his case for selection.

I kind of agree with you won the Rog at 10 and Sexton at 12, i think it would be interesting, but the WC is not the time to try it out, if it was a genuine option it would have been tried extensively in the warm ups. Even still to select Sexton at 12 would be harsh on McFadden who has earned a start, now whether the managment planned to let Darce have the first two games and let mcfadden have a go against italy and russia is irrelvant, Darce has proved himself completely impotent in attack and something has to give. My only worry is that they ll plat Wallace at 12 against the Aussies now.

mfceiling

Lads in all the hullabaloo going on....who got man of the match?

Thanos

Ireland by less than 20

mfceiling wrote: »

Lads in all the hullabaloo going on....who got man of the match?

POC

Bogsnorkler

mfceiling wrote: »

Lads in all the hullabaloo going on....who got man of the match?

POC, should have been Best imo.

Stev_o

Ireland by less than 20

Should of been Clever.

Leslie91

USA

Bogsnorkler wrote: »

POC, should have been Best imo.

Ferris was the only one who stood out. POC worked v hard as per usual, Best did OK.

Worst players in order - D'Arcy, DOC, Jennings, BOD, Bowe (hands).

ambid

Ireland by less than 20

Stev_o wrote: »

Should of been Clever.

That's a good idea. He was excellent.

KELTICKNIGHTT

MCD. wrote: »

To be fair the team has never really performed to its supposed potential either under declan or eddie, or if it has its been in glimpses (2009 against France or in Croker against England).

The comment about G. Murphy is out of order, on Kearneys recent form I would much prefer him Murphy at 15. Kearney hasn't been at the races for a long time (granted he has had a few injuries) but following the lions tour, when he was sensational at times, he simply hasnt performed. Murph should always have been the "second option" ahead of the likes of earls and Luko for 15.

As for Jennings, he has never performed at international level, for an alleged quality 7 he was completely out gunned today. Again he hasnt really been given a chance at I. level but when given a chance he certainly doesn't help his case for selection.

I kind of agree with you won the Rog at 10 and Sexton at 12, i think it would be interesting, but the WC is not the time to try it out, if it was a genuine option it would have been tried extensively in the warm ups. Even still to select Sexton at 12 would be harsh on McFadden who has earned a start, now whether the managment planned to let Darce have the first two games and let mcfadden have a go against italy and russia is irrelvant, Darce has proved himself completely impotent in attack and something has to give. My only worry is that they ll plat Wallace at 12 against the Aussies now.

we had 2 coaches , Eddie o Sullivan and kidney,so dont think its all coach fault ,do ireland lack leadership on field or they just can play together only for there provinces ??

Cpt_Blackbeard

Cpt_BlackBeard's detailed game analysis:

1. Court - Good
2. Best - Very Good. Best I've ever seen him play.
3. Ross - OK
4. DOC - Good.
5. POC - Very Good.
6. Ferris - Very Good.
7. Jennings - Bad. He still hasn't proved he is up to this level.
8. Heaslip - Bad. Living off reputation and would be dropped for SOB if Wallace was fit.
9. Murray - OK. Was very good at times but suffered due to lack of protection from his forwards.
10. Sexton - Bad.
11. Earls - OK.
12. D'Arcy - Bad. Is he up to this level any more?
13. BOD - Bad. The only responsibilities of a captain he took on was to call heads/tails before kickoff.
14. Bowe - OK. Good tries but his handling was terrible.
15. Murphy - Bad.

16. Flannery - OK
17. Buckley - Super Extra Brilliant. He stood up in the scrum, at LH. :eek:
19. Leamy - Bad. He was anonymous.
20. Reddan - OK.
21. ROG - OK.
22. Trimble - Bad. Why did he kick that ball away?

Aidric

Stev_o wrote: »

Should of been Clever.

He would have been the clever choice.

mrboswell

USA

Leslie91 wrote: »

Ferris was the only one who stood out.

I hope that Heaslip and a fit O'Brien will share some of the workload with Ferris. His history of returning from injury, playing a blinder and getting injured again a few games later is worrying. I hope he lasts the distance..

onlyrocknroll

Aidric wrote: »

He would have been the clever choice.

That's a very clever pun.

KELTICKNIGHTT

Cpt_Blackbeard wrote: »

Cpt_BlackBeard's detailed game analysis:

1. Court - Good
2. Best - Very Good. Best I've ever seen him play.
3. Ross - OK
4. DOC - Good.
5. POC - Very Good.
6. Ferris - Very Good.
7. Jennings - Bad. He still hasn't proved he is up to this level.
8. Heaslip - Bad. Living off reputation and would be dropped for SOB if Wallace was fit.
9. Murray - OK. Was very good at times but suffered due to lack of protection from his forwards.
10. Sexton - Bad.
11. Earls - OK.
12. D'Arcy - Bad. Is he up to this level any more?
13. BOD - Bad. The only responsibilities of a captain he took on was to call heads/tails before kickoff.
14. Bowe - OK. Good tries but his handling was terrible.
15. Murphy - Bad.

16. Flannery - OK
17. Buckley - Super Extra Brilliant. He stood up in the scrum, at LH. :eek:
19. Leamy - Bad. He was anonymous.
20. Reddan - OK.
21. ROG - OK.
22. Trimble - Bad. Why did he kick that ball away?

AGREE with your analysis
im amazed with all the players from all 4 provinces we have and we cant do better,in last 10 years we seem not too be able too get them together
its defo more than management,seems too be both players and management,was a time i thought we had a chance againist Aussies but not now,maybe a miracle might happen like wales today even doe they play better as a team than Ireland does

CrowdedHouse

USA

Who are the clever people voting 'less than 20' hours after the match is over

chancer12

Why was Trimble put on for Murphy? Kearney is our no 15, more messing with people's heads from Kidney. Messing Earls around has had a hugely negative effect on his performance and now Kearney is being sidelined for a mediocre Murphy.

Thought Murray was v average and really don't know why he's there, bit tired of hearing about this 'young' talent. He's only a year younger than Earls who has more than 20 caps. Reddan may not be the best scrum half in the world but he certainly upped the pace of the game when he came on. While its nice to see young players get a break the RWC isn't the place to give it to them. The Leinster side who defeated the Dragons on Friday would have done a better job than the national side today and that has to be down to the management. These players all play much better for their provinces. V disappointed

KELTICKNIGHTT

chancer12 wrote: »

Why was Trimble put on for Murphy? Kearney is our no 15, more messing with people's heads from Kidney. Messing Earls around has had a hugely negative effect on his performance and now Kearney is being sidelined for a mediocre Murphy.

Thought Murray was v average and really don't know why he's there, bit tired of hearing about this 'young' talent. He's only a year younger than Earls who has more than 20 caps. Reddan may not be the best scrum half in the world but he certainly upped the pace of the game when he came on. While its nice to see young players get a break the RWC isn't the place to give it to them. The Leinster side who defeated the Dragons on Friday would have done a better job than the national side today and that has to be down to the management. These players all play much better for their provinces. V disappointed

same as in o sullivan time,management
its not just management,its players and management,both are too blame
we see how they do againist the aussies weekend,but if theres a coach change too happen,need too come from outside ireland,because any irish management in last couple of made overall difference,i thought we had a good chance in world cup till the test matches but i seen over seas media saying ireland is a dark horse ,hope they right

irishbucsfan

“In the first 20 minutes I felt lethargic. I spoke to a few of the lads and they felt the same. Our legs were heavy,” he said.

“Maybe it was the travelling or nerves as that was my first World Cup game. I was nervous last night and today.

“But as the game went on I felt more explosive and powerful. There were some big collisions was great and the knee felt great.”

Stephen Ferris.

CIARAN_BOYLE

Ireland by less than 20

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Stephen Ferris.

Nice to hear his knee felt great. Today was the first time he managed the full 80 since his injury I think.

BERBA

USA

Sexon was pitiful today , his place kicking was brutal. ROG needs to start against Oz

donfers

props: healy (if fit) ross
hooker: best
locks: poc doc
torn between sob(7), ferris, heaslip and ferris, jennings(7), sob(8), maybe the bench is exactly what heaslip needs, has he become complacent?

9/!0: really tough call, probably boss/sexton but if Sexton shows the same "form" in the aussie game as he did tonight and in warm-ups I'd whip him off at half-time, against australia we certainly won't be able to pass up three or four kickable pens and we won't be bale to afford brutal kicking from the hand as their loose runners will do huge damage

wings: trimble, bowe

centres: d'arcy simply has to be dropped, mcfadden would be my choice to come in, but unfortunately both he and bod are 13's, one of them will have to move across to 12, that man should be BOD but I'd say Kidney doesn't want to discomfit out legend so it'll be mcfadden at 12

full back: earls, hugely underrated in this position in my view

cython

BERBA wrote: »

Sexon was pitiful today , his place kicking was brutal. ROG needs to start against Oz

On the subject of place kicking, ROG kicked 1 from 2, which while it is better than Sexton's conversion rate, is far from an accurate sample to say whether he would have been better over a larger number. Especially when the likes of Wilkinson had a shocking day yesterday. That said, it would likely be wiser to go with ROG in that respect alright.

Kayless

Just seen this on RTÉ

15. Geordan Murphy - Ireland's full-back dropped some easy balls and was not involved in the best attacking play. 4

14. Tommy Bowe - Scored two tries, and had the physique and speed to give Ireland two tries. 7

13. Brian O'Driscoll - The captain missed some tackles and also dropped a few balls. Class shone through for Bowe's second try, but a poor day overall. 4

12. Gordon D'Arcy - Switch moves rarely worked in his favour as he couldn't get the footwork going in the heavy traffic, and the intercept at the end capped a poor start to his RWC 2011. 4

11. Keith Earls - Made an enterprising early break and few errors on a difficult day for wingers. Most of the good attacking came through Bowe. 5

10. Jonathan Sexton - Missed chances, couldn't get Ireland moving in the backs and did not have the range of kicking to make it a hard day for the USA's back three. 4

9. Conor Murray - Much was expected of Ireland's young scrum-half and he started well but he struggled to put shape and rhythm on the game after getting charged down. 5

1. Tom Court - Had a soft opponent but delivered lots of excellent ball through his aggressive scrummaging and part of a solid effort in the tight. 7

2. Rory Best - Hit his lineout targets all day and sneaked over for a try. Bigger challenges lie ahead but he is likely to have done enough to hold his place. 6

3. Mike Ross - Not sighted in general play but part of Ireland's most effective unit. 6

4. Donncha O'Callaghan - Busy around the field as O'Connell dominated the air. 5

5. Paul O'Connell - Imperious in the air and at the heart of Ireland's effective - if slightly underused - maul. 7

6. Stephen Ferris - Ireland's most effective forward he showed up constantly for midfield carries and dominated Clever and co in the collisions. 7

7. Shane Jennings - Not prominent around the field as Ireland struggled to secure their own ball and rarely threatened the US on the deck. 5

8. Jamie Heaslip - Good lineout support for O'Connell, but not as effective at the breakdown as he needed to be. 5

Subs:
Tony Buckley - Got stuck in to the carrying work, but Ireland's scrum became less stable when he came in. 5
Eoin Reddan - One poor pass behind his team-mates but otherwise reminded Declan Kidney that he has plenty of qualities worth having. 6
Ronan O'Gara - Put himself in the frame for a start in a week's time with an assured display. Kicked well and got the backline moving better. 7

Stev_o

Ireland by less than 20

Bowe a 7 :eek:

trackguy

BERBA wrote: »

Sexon was pitiful today , his place kicking was brutal. ROG needs to start against Oz

Was Sexton really 'pitiful?' I was frustrated by the few missed kicks too but I'd trust him to bounce back from that - he always has.

I didn't like the kicking options he took in attack but to be fair, the pack did not create good, quick ball in the first half.

I suspect he is more a victim of the team's failure to create quick ball.

ROG hardly amazed the masses either when he came on (for the same reasons).

The team was very poor today.

vinny chase

USA

Stev_o wrote: »

Bowe a 7 :eek:

Thought that as well!

Articulate quote on him too:

Scored two tries, and had the physique and speed to give Ireland two tries

He was really poor today for me, though I'd say it's just rustiness from the amount of time he's spent out of rugby.

Think he's a big game player, so I'd still be looking for him to have a big tournament!

irishbucsfan

Kayless wrote: »

2. Rory Best - Hit his lineout targets all day and sneaked over for a try. Bigger challenges lie ahead but he is likely to have done enough to hold his place. 6

What a joke. Lineout was perfect, our front row dominated theres, he scored a try, and he was the most obvious front row player in the loose.

Don't know what more was expected from him really. A 6 is a very low rating.

catseye2

Can't see darcy keeping his place so am scared to think we could have earls back in the centre to let Trimble back in. No point today in taking Murphy off other than letting him know he wasn't playing next week.

Stev_o

Ireland by less than 20

It doesn't matter who we put in the 12 shirt now we are f*cked their regardless. Im a fan of Wallace but he's not the person we need at 12. We will be embarrased in all our next games our gameplan is so f*cking obvious. Oh look it's one of backrows out in the 12 channel wonder what they are going to do. We desperately need a 12 to get over the gainline and we simply don't have one in this squad or at home.