Ire vs Wal on Sat- a chinese girl's thoughts

huan.W

EDIT: after the Match

So Ireland lost. I'm really gutted. I hoped Ireland to win.

While memories are still fresh, I'm gonna give me analysis on the heartbroken defeat.

IMO, the reasons are mainly the following:

1. Lack of passion, aggression and determination. This is the key reason. They didn't put Wales under pressure. This contrasted with the first half of the French-England game. If you have watched the latter, you know how much these mean. They might have been too nervous about losing. Wales seemed fearless.
2. Experience wasn't used. After Ireland scored a try in the opening 5 minutes in the second half, they immediately gave up the ball possession, which led to a try by Mike Phillips. The experience didn't help them to hold onto the ball at all.
3. Bad decisions. When Wales scored their 1st try, that was only 4 mins in the game. Ireland shouldn't have panicked. They did the right thing to gain ball possession and territory and got a penalty. They kicked to touch in hope of a try, understandably, to keep the momentum and scoreboard even. BUT, when the attempt failed, due to Wales sacrifice of a penalty, ROG should've gone for 3 points rather than another attempt, just to get the points on the score. Instead, he kicked it to touch again. This time, it failed once more. A few minutes later, they got another penalty, he chose to do the same, AGAIN, which only ended up in nothing. Those three attempts really affected the whole 1st half, leaving them to chase, with low confidence.
4. Poor kicking. As I said before the game. Ireland has to kick precisely and accurately to put the Welsh in their own half. Their FB is not that great and could be under pressure from kick and chase. However, I only saw the ball being kicked aimlessly down through the middle and not chasable by either Earls or Bowe, and it played to Wales' hands for a counter attack.
5. Scrum half is way too slow. Murry was very slow in arriving the ruck, leaving the ball exposed a few times. Ball wasn't recycled quickly so no space was created. When they were in front of the Wales line, they could only do pick and go because ball was slow. Momentum was never generated.
6. Poor set-piece. Line out were lose and scrums were shaky. No platform was created from the front row play for an attacking rugby (though I don't think DK was going to play attacking rugby at all).
7. No support. When Kearney made that brilliant line break, the support was too slow and ball was turned over. At the ruck, numbers should been put in there.
8. Weak defense, missed tackles and numerous handling errors. If O'Connell didn't knock on the ball at 68 min and scored a try Ireland were still in the games. Earls, as I always think, is a good finisher but a bad defender. Bowe always has to do much more as a wing than earls.

I'm sure we could go all day long to talk about the what-ifs, should'ves and could'ves. We feel the pain but so did the players, much more. My consolation goes to BOD POC ROG and some others for whom this is probably their last WC. I will put the disappointment aside and continue to support them. I'm confident they will come back stronger in 4 years.

As to the France-England game, that was very exiting and intense. The French are moody players. You never know when they are gonna turn up. Maybe the defeat to Tonga was a wake up call. When they were written-off by a lot of people (not me though) they were also ready to give us a surprise. I really enjoyed their play and I don't the Welsh are very happy to meet them. France is their bogey team.

I really look forward to Aug-SA game. Think the Auzzi will win it, like the French did today.

BTW, Heneiken Cup will soon kick off too.

PREVIOUS POST:

Hi, this is the 1st time I've posted but have been here for a while.

I'm a super rugby fan:-) Just can't wait for the Saturday match Ireland vs Wales! I have been to a few forum sites to see what the Irish and Welsh fans say. I tried to post my thoughts on the game on 'nowrugby' Wales section. Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to do so despite I have registered.

I think you guys here might be interested. Below is what I was going to post there.

"Hi, I'm Huan, a girl from China. Having been on and off living in Europe for many years, I have become a super Rugby fan. Rugby has overtaken football and basketball as my No.1 sport. I admire the intensity, physicality, spirit, no-diving-nonsense and genuine sportsmanship about it.

Here are some of my thoughts on Welsh rugby and this world cup.

I have long-fancied Welsh rugby for its exiting and flying champagne rugby style. I like the likes of Shane Williams, James Hook, Jamie Roberts, Alyn Wyn Jones (very passionate, I saw him crying during the Anthem in this year's 6N) etc, and some new comers.

I like watching your national team play, esp this young team with a lot of athletes. However, I'm a bit disappointed about your clubs. They never seemed to play to their potential. It really is a shame. Heard there are some financial, management, WRU problems. Really hope you guys can go further in the Heneiken Cup (which is my favourite cup rugby competition).

As the Saturday clash with Ireland concerned, IMHO, chance is 50/50. As a neutral, I just want both sides to turn up on the day and deliver their best. Both teams are close to a ‘complete team' with some minor weakness in a couple of positions. It'll be a tight match. Ireland has headache in their midfield(being BOD and Darcy aging)/ 10-13 channel. Scrums are a bit inconsistent and backs are not as fast. However, they are really good at slowing down and turning over the ball, are strong in the maul, quick in ruck and very experienced. They may also have mental superiority from beating Welsh players week in and week out at club level and a better history over past 10 years in 6N. Although the new guys in your team can avail of the unknown quality to the Irish, they may as well chock under pressure due to lack of experience. I know Gatland may target O'Gara, which he has been doing for years in the 6N which wasn't always successful. You may argue Wales now have stronger and faster guys like GN and JR. Unfortunately Ireland have got better and faster guys in their backrow too who can protect him or mitigate the threat by doing the same on SW. What matter most is which side will execute their game plan faster. If Ireland does this first, I would think Wales will be huge trouble coz the Irish know how to control or even close the game. Not quite the other way around, unfortunately. Wales depend more on momentum than experience and have to be comfortably ahead on the score board come the last quarter should they hope for a win.

I saw some comments trying to justify the Welsh backrow combo Lydiate, Warburton and Falatau are better than SOB, Ferris and Heaslip. TBH, I actually think the latter is marginally better (I know some may hate this).Warburton may be a great out and out 7. However his partnership with the other two has been a bit short. I know SOB has just recently settled at playing at 7 but his work with Heaslip has been very solid, with the latter transformed to a ground dog. Ferris has been playing at 6 for Ireland for quite a while. SOB is very explosive which can suck in defenders and tears Welsh defence line. Wales can do the same to Ireland. However, I think Ireland backrow edges it out because Heaslip has seemed to be underestimated by Welsh fans in that he doesn't look as sharp as before, mainly due to the change of style: ball carrier to ground dog. So for me, he is more a No.7 while also doing 8's job. They don't need another fancy ball carrier and runner having had SOB and Ferris. Heaslip is a very smart and experience backrow. If you have watched the Heneiken Cup final, you will defo notice the subtle stuff he did in Sexton's two try. He shouldn't be ignored.

As for the backline, I do think the Welsh one is better on paper. However, it really depends how much pressure they can take under high ball and ‘kick and chase', which can be crucial for counter-attack. While I'm confident in Priestland's kicking ability, ROG seems a mater in dictating the pace of the game, exp under pressure. Priestland did enough against SA but it still needs time and games to prove the consistency. Jamie Roberts has hit form, could beat Darcy comfortably. GN can target Earls, with a mismatch in size, though the same goes to Bowe vs S. Williams. How the FB performs will decide the backline performance in my opinion.

Forwards, 1-5 are quite even, with the only exception O'Connell vs A.W. Jones, which can decide the lineout. I really think Wales should put more effort in lineouts. They were quite poor during this year's 6N. Also, Ireland seemed used to mauls from lineouts and does it very well. They constantly bettered England who IMO are quite good in the mauls too and did well against the Italians in the 2nd half (poor in the 1st when Healy was intimidated). It looks like they know some subtle arts which comes from experience (can be seen from the Australian game). I wouldn't call it illegal though just some subtlety.

Ref is just so important. The ref appointed for Sat game was in two of Ireland' pool game, which can be good or bad depending on if he has a predetermined idea on their scrum. It is imperative the Welsh do well in their 1st scrum to gain the advantage. Heard that the weather is forecasted wet on the day. It could be in Ireland's favour. Some may take the Fiji game as the evidence. I think they shouldn't be carried away by the score. I watched that game 3 times and couldn't see much challenge/pressure from the Fijian, who even didn't try to defend. And, most of the tries came from running from the deep. I remembered the game between Munster and Australia last Autumn on a very wet day. Both were kind 2nd string team. The Aussi team had some excellent runners, young and dynamic (some are in current WC team). But they just couldn't hold onto their ball. Unforced handling errors were everywhere because they tried to play some running rugby. On contrary, Munster players were very patient and defend really well. This should be a good alert to the Welsh. Just be patient and don't try to rush into tries.

Sorry this looks very long. It's just some objective (I think) opinions and advice from a very enthusiastic rugby fan who comes from a non-rugby country. Last but not least, I'm a bit disappointed to see some of the Welsh fans here use abusive and inappropriate language and pictures. I think they should show some decency: give your opponent credit they deserve. As a fan, you are entitled to your support and confidence of your team, but not by talking down or abusing your rival (this is typical ‘ah Q mentality' in our culture).

I'm sure by saying this it may hurt some people's achilles heel and they may attack me by some abusive words towards my country, its political system, democracy, etc. I wouldn't care coz it's a RUGBY forum and I'm here only to talk about rugby.

Good luck, Wales! Good luck Ireland! "

Above is what I was going to say to the Welsh fans there. I'm very happy to see no fans here behave like some of those there who make me very disappointed.

I will cheer for both Ireland and Wales come Saturday.

yeppydeppy

tl:dr - I suspect a troll.

wixfjord

yeppydeppy wrote: »

tl:dr - I suspect a troll.

You should probably read it then, more sense and logic than some of the ****ehawks on here.

Thud

send your CV into RTE they could use a new pundit

krissovo

Send me your number, I think you could be the perfect woman

On a serious note that is a very good analysis of the game. Its very "backs" biased as its going to end up with Ireland trying to keep the ball up their jumpers and the Welsh throwing it around.

SomeFool

Thomond2006 - we've found your soulmate

Cool_CM

huan.W wrote: »

Above is what I was going to say to the Welsh fans there. I'm very happy to see no fans here behave like some of those there who make me very disappointed.

You might have to revise that statement if you stick around for when certain Irish teams play against each other!
Welcome to the rugby forum!

huan.W

Cool_CM wrote: »

You might have to revise that statement if you stick around for when certain Irish teams play against each other!
Welcome to the rugby forum!

I hope not....

While I can understand fans have biased opinons on or blinded support of their teams, I personally don't like inappropriate words being used.

I also support Leinster but never talk down Munster. I just prefer Leinster's style. I cheered for Munster during their HC finals:-)

There is no Rubgy team in China........ But heard the army play rugby as their fitness training.

that's easily the best first post anyone's ever had on the forum.

Please stick around!

Dangerous Man

Good analysis.

decisions

There is some good stuff it that, you better stick around in the future.
One of the best posts I have read in a while.

Quint2010

Excellent balanced post. Think you fancy Ireland to sneak it.

Cool_CM

Deleted User wrote: »

that's easily the best first post anyone's ever had on the forum.

Speaking of first posts, has anybody gone back to the start and read the threads from the 2003 World Cup?
They make for very interesting reading!
Did eirebhoy make the first post in the rugby forum?

shmadyo

Best analysis I've read in a long time, you'd give Gerry Thornley a run for his money!

How long have you been watching rugby again?

Kayless

great post, best analyst yet... keep it up

thomond2006

SomeFool wrote: »

Thomond2006 - we've found your soulmate

PM sent

Judgement Day

Jeez lads, if that wasn't someone taking the piss I'll eat my hat. There's not a Chinese or any other girl on the planet who could have written that.

Cill Dara Abu

Do China have a rugby team?

decisions

It turns out they do.

huan.W

Quint2010 wrote: »

Excellent balanced post. Think you fancy Ireland to sneak it.

Maybe

huan.W

Thud wrote: »

send your CV into RTE they could use a new pundit

Thanks for your suggestion but my rugby CV will be blank. I don't think they'll hire me

thomond2006

huan.W wrote: »

Thanks for your suggestion but my rugby CV will be blank. I don't think they'll hire me

George Hook's was.

huan.W

shmadyo wrote: »

Best analysis I've read in a long time, you'd give Gerry Thornley a run for his money!

How long have you been watching rugby again?

Since early 2006. Before that, I even didn't know there was such a sport called Rugby......

SkySter

Jeez! Don't know what to make of that? Impressive if genuine. Couldn't see myself logging onto a Chinese forum as a newbie and making those kind of comments about table tennis!

wixfjord

Judgement Day wrote: »

Jeez lads, if that wasn't someone taking the piss I'll eat my hat. There's not a Chinese or any other girl on the planet who could have written that.

Won't you let us believe JD you big cynic!

JBnaglfar

Cill Dara Abu wrote: »

Do China have a rugby team?

Yep, ranked 61 in the IRB rankings.

huan.W

SkySter wrote: »

Jeez! Don't know what to make of that? Impressive if genuine. Couldn't see myself logging onto a Chinese forum as a newbie and making those kind of comments about table tennis!

It won't take you 5 years to make good analysis about table tennis.:-) It's a very simple and straight forward sport (not sure it's really sport by my standard:-)

One of the most important reasons I love Rugby is that it is a great team sport which Chinese are terrible at. We can be brilliant in individual sports which demand skills rather than physicality like diving, table tennis, badminton, Gymnasium etc, because we can spend years training. There are usually no amateurs in almost all sports that are competed in a level above provincial. Potential kids are selected locally and trained centrally and some good ones will be sent to the provincial and then national training centres. It takes years and years... I kind feel sorry for those kids. Some of them do that simply just to make a living as they are subsidized by the government. If they can't afford to go to schools they will opt to join the army or sports for some small income. Very sad.....

huan.W

JBnaglfar wrote: »

Yep, ranked 61 in the IRB rankings.

I think it's actually hong kong. They play sevens there. Recent 2-3 years, there are some people in mainland China who have started watching or playing some very low level rugby just for fun. Although, GAA has got ahead of rugby there already. Worth mentioning here:-)

huan.W

thomond2006 wrote: »

George Hook's was.

I thought he coached the USA? He said that himself.

Any chance of a few pics?

of your favourite player obviously..

thomond2006

huan.W wrote: »

I thought he coached the USA? He said that himself.

aah humour fail on my part..

huan.W

Deleted User wrote: »

Any chance of a few pics?

of your favourite player obviously..

Maybe later. I can post some photos taken in the 2009 HC final in Murray field- if not spot by some Irish people there:-) I was questioned by a Leinster fan there after the game wether I was a genuine Rugby fan:-)))

Hazys

huan.W wrote: »

Maybe later. I can post some photos taken in the 2009 HC final in Murray field- if not spot by some Irish people there:-) I was questioned by a Leinster fan there after the game wether I was a genuine Rugby fan:-)))

You should have asked the Leinster fan the same question :pac:

ha, don't worry. I was only messing around! Look at the right hand side of the quoted text there.

I'm not an actual internet creep.

wixfjord

Deleted User wrote: »

Any chance of a few pics?

of your favourite player obviously..

a/s/l?

huan.W

Hazys wrote: »

You should have asked the Leinster fan the same question :pac:

Maybe he was just jealous of my new Leinster jersy

huan.W

wixfjord wrote: »

a/s/l?

what does a/s/l mean please?

huan.W

huan.W wrote: »

what does a/s/l mean please?

age/sex/location.

Ignore him, he is an actual internet creep.

wixfjord

Deleted User wrote: »

age/sex/location.

Ignore him, he is an actual internet creep.

Neil3030

Not specifically mentioning The Tullow Tank until the FOURTH paragraph, OP?

As powerful as your country may be, that's still a very foolish move.

yeraulone

Deleted User wrote: »

Any chance of a few pics?

of your favourite player obviously..

^^ He doesn't look like a rugby player to me!

MungBean

Deleted User wrote: »

^^ He doesn't look like a rugby player to me!

Looks like a young Rory Best to me.

paul71

How do I inspire this type of interest in rugby in my wife, she is Czech and ignored/did not understand rugby until she saw SOB taking off his jersey.

Not sure that is the best reason for her to start watching....:o

huan.W

Neil3030 wrote: »

Not specifically mentioning The Tullow Tank until the FOURTH paragraph, OP?

As powerful as your country may be, that's still a very foolish move.

Apology, just tried not to be biased and give a balanced analysis on both teams. He is among top 3 of my favorites:)

.ak

paul71 wrote: »

How do I inspire this type of interest in rugby in my wife, she is Czech and ignored/did not understand rugby until she saw SOB taking off his jersey.

Not sure that is the best reason for her to start watching....:o

Let's be honest, it's the only reason we all watch.

huan.W

paul71 wrote: »

How do I inspire this type of interest in rugby in my wife, she is Czech and ignored/did not understand rugby until she saw SOB taking off his jersey.

Not sure that is the best reason for her to start watching....:o

Like Sony Bill Williams?;)

paul71

huan.W wrote: »

Like Sony Bill Williams?;)

She hasn't seen that yet, thank god!:D:D

decisions

pickarooney

MungBean wrote: »

Looks like a young Rory Best to me.

Simon Geoghegan?

yeraulone

pickarooney wrote: »

Simon Geoghegan?

could be the young Declan Kidney