6N: Ireland vs France, Sat 9 Mar 1700 RTÉ/BBC

Podge_irl

VS

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Ireland

|

France

1|

Cian Healy

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Thomas Domingo

2|

Rory Best

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Benjamin Kayser

3|

Mike Ross

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Nicolas Mas

4|

Mike McCarthy

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Christophe Samson

5|

Donnacha Ryan

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Yoann Masestri

6|

Peter O'Mahoney

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Yannick Nyanga

7|

Sean O'Brien

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Thierry Dusautoir(c)

8|

Jamie Heaslip (c)

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Louis Picamoles

9|

Conor Murray

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Morgan Parra

10|

Paddy Jackson

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Freddie Michalak

11|

Keith Earls

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Maxime Medard

12|

Luke Marshall

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Wesley Fofana

13|

Brian O'Driscoll

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Florian Fritz

14|

Fergus McFadden

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Vincent Clerc

15|

Rob Kearney

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Yoann Huget

Irish replacements: 16. Sean Cronin 17. David Kilcoyne 18. Stephen Archer 19. Donncha O'Callaghan 20 Iain Henderson 21. Eoin Reddan 22. Ian Madigan 23. Luke Fitzgerald

French replacements: 16. Guilhem Guirado 17. Vincent Debaty 18. Luc Ducalcon 19. Sebastien Vahaamahina 20. Antonie Claassen 21. Maxime Machenaud 22. Francois Trinh-Duc 23. Mathieu Bastareaud

Date: Saturday, 9 March
Venue: Aviva Stadium
Kick-off: 17:00 GMT
Referee: Steve Walsh (ARU)
Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes (RFU), Greg Garner (RFU)
Television match official: Nigel Whitehouse (WRU)

An Ireland team reeling from successive defeats to England and Scotland face their most difficult annual task, a 6N match against France. Even at their height, Ireland have struggled consistently against a French team that has blown cold as often as hot over the last 10 years but nonetheless always seems to get the measure of whatever Ireland team is put in front of them. The real question is whether France somehow always raise their game against Ireland or whether the men in green have a mental stumbling block when it comes to Les Blues. One suspects it is the latter and that is a serious concern for a team in desperate need of a morale raising victory. A 6N that started so promisingly first stuttered in poor conditions against a simple but effective English gameplan before imploding bizarrely in a game against Scotland.

Ireland coach Declan Kidney now finds himself under growing pressure to produce results and performances and enters this game knowing defeat would signal Ireland’s worst 6N performance since the tournament that cost his predecessor his job. His opposite number finds himself in no better a position. Philippe Saint André is enduring a nightmare in his first 6N tournament, coming as a particular shock given France’s excellent performance in the Autumn Internationals when they convincingly put Australia to the sword. A loss to Italy in Rome on the opening weekend did not produce the motivational spur that PSA would have been hoping for and France continued to limp to defeat against Wales in Paris in an error-strewn game. France enjoy travelling to Twickenham about as much as Ireland enjoy travelling to Paris but there was a definite uptick in performance that was squandered in the last 30 mins of the game via some questionable substitutions. Nonetheless there were plenty of worrying signs for an Ireland team still trying to put in an 80 minute performance this championship.

In something of a U turn in expected policy, all French squad players took part in Top14 action at the weekend while their Irish counterparts were resting – though this didn’t stop Ireland picking up two worrying injuries to Declan Fitzpatrick and Paddy Jackson.

Selections

Kidney’s selection has an air of “last throw of the dice” about it but it is both refreshing and positive. In the move that has attracted all the media attention, Ronan O’Gara has been dropped from the squad entirely, with Ian Madigan taking his place on the Irish bench. Given their respective form for their provinces and ROG’s continued (often calamitous) mistakes when called upon to enter the international fray, the Corkman can have few complaints. It is a surprisingly bold move by Kidney, though perhaps not completely unexpected. One wonders whether ROG would have made the 23 for the Wales game had Paddy Jackson been fit, but alas we will never know. Jackson has been given a vote of confidence by the management and having recovered from a strain earlier in the week continues in the role in which he performed admirably against Scotland. Jackson paired up well with Marshall and his accurate passing on the gainline resulted in severl clean breaks for the Irish backs. Much has been made of his issues with the boot, though none of the three kicks he missed were easy. It is likely he will start as first choice kicker, but the shadow of Fergus McFadden will loom large should be have similar problems again this week. With Gilroy injured McFadden leapfrogs his provincial teammate Fitzgerald to start on the wing. One has to surmise that McFadden’s excellent record kicking penalties had an impact on his selection. Fitzpatrick has unfortunately found himself injured yet again, so Bent/Archer is drafted in to sit on the bench in his absence. That aside its an unchanged selection from the Scotland game. Kidney will hope the execution of some basic skills is better this weekend as too often the last pass was thrown poorly (or not at all) and momentum stalled in the opposition 22. Ireland will not enjoy close to the 71% possession and 78% territory they had against Scotland when facing the French so any opportunities must be taken.

PSA appears to be channeling the spirit of his predecessor “Mad Marc” Lievremont and has made a number of key changes to his team. Eternal conundrum Freddie Michalak starts at 10 – an odd reward for a truly terrible performance in the final 30 against England a fortnight ago - alongside Morgan Parra. The forward pack remains the same, justifiably given their performance two weeks ago. The Toulousain with phenomenal sideburns (also known as Médard) comes in on the wing while unfortunately for Irish fans Vincent Clerc retains his position despite a quiet 6N thus far.

Keys for Ireland

Ireland have, at times, produced better rugby than their standing in the tournament suggests. The addition of Marshall has added a key breaking threat with speed into the centre and he partners well with his provincial teammate Jackson. The pack have managed to provide the majority of poessession and territory in their last two games which gave Jackson a fantastic platform to release the talented Irish backs. Ireland's downfall has simply been errors – the last pass was not good enough against Scotland and there was far too many knock-ons against England – and their set piece which has struggled at key times. The return of Healy is massive in terms of what he can bring in terms of carrying in the oppostion 22 as well as his scrummaging.

With an exciting midfield Ireland will engineer breaks, they need to make sure they take full advantage of them. The lineout let Ireland down at key times against Scotland and they need to focus on simply securing the ball initially and not worrying so much about getting good tail possession. Perhaps most importantly, Ireland need to play the game for 80 minutes. In 5 games so far this season Ireland have managed to score a solitary try in the last 30 minutes of play and in fact have not put any points on the board at all in the final 20 minutes of a 6N game. Their final score consisted of a try at 43 mins in both the Scotland and Wales game and a penalty at 58 mins in the England game. If this pattern repeats itself Ireland will lose – France are simply too good and have too much firepower for Ireland to attempt to defend a lead that long.

Keys for France

Michalak and Fofana are France's two key men for very different reasons. In one they have the best player in his position in Europe who simply needs to be given the ball as regularly as possible, in the other they have a ticking time bomb who encapsulates the very meaning of the word flaky. France have a powerful scrum and an excellent backrow. Dusautoir at his best is simply the top flanker in the world – however he does not play at his best even remotely enough. Picamoles shows Ireland fans what exactly they are missing from Heaslip's game at the moment, he is very threatening in wide open spaces and will need to be contained. Parra is the ultimate game managing scrum half, he rarely makes mistakes and bosses his forwards superbly. France's downfall has similar roots to Ireland's – a number of mistakes at key times and a coach who has questionable selection and substitution policy.

Match-ups

Half-backs: Morgan Parra/Freddie Michalak vs. Conor Murray/Paddy Jackson

The French halfback selection is puzzling – Michalak was poor in the opening two games of the 6N when starting and dreadful against England when substituted on. France lost all semblance of control when Trinh-Duc left the field, a situation only amplified by Parra's withdrawl 10 minutes later. Parra and Michalak are not even a good partnership, both are too domineering in their position. Michalak will want more ball and more control over events than Parra will want to give him. Both are generals of their teams and may not mesh well with each other.

Murray has improved greatly this season in his primary job and has been getting the ball out quicker, though regressed at times against Scotland. This will need to be watched, unfortunately Reddan is not having a great season and thus the replacements bench may not provide solutions. I would personally take Jackson over Michalak any day and feels he much better accomplishes his primary goal which is to give his outside backs a platform to cause damage.

The French pair certainly has potential to hit great heights, but also to plummet deep lows. I feel the Irish pair will come out on top in this battle and that Michalak will struggle.

Centres: Wesley Fofana/Florian Fritz vs. Luke Marshall/Brian O'Driscoll

The match-up I am most looking forward to. Fofana is, without doubt in my mind, the best 12 in the NH. Once returned to his natural position after two games wasted on the wing he had a much larger impact on the game. Ironically his try against England was scored out on the wing, but he is able to pick and choose where to come into the game better from the 12 jersey. Luke Marshall is a similar player in terms of his size and pace and will seriously test Fofana in defence. However, his defence too will be key up against the Frenchman who will test it far more than the limp Scottish midfield. The key for both men will be trying to get inside balls and running at the 10 channel, where Ireland have an advantage in defence. Marshall will be better aided by both the man inside and outside him than Fofana and if he is able to win this battle that will be the reason. Ireland need to focus their efforts on simply keeping Fofana as quiet as possible.

Wings: Maxime Médard/Vincent Clerc vs. Keith Earls/Fergus McFadden

The biggest obvious gulf in class occurs here. Ireland wings will need to be on the top of their games to silence the French pair. Clerc has been very quiet all 6N, but appears to particularly enjoy tormenting Ireland. He has slowed and is no longer either as elusive or explosive as he once was, but his rugby brain is still very much there and he will try and drag McFadden out of position on the wing. Médard is a real try scoring threat with much better facial hair than anyone else on the pitch. Advantage France.

Backrow: Nyanga/Dusautoir/Picamoles vs. O'Mahoney/O'Brien/Heaslip

The Irish captain will need to put to rest any concerns about his form in this game if Ireland are to edge out an advantage here. Picamoles is lightning off the base of the scrum and will need to be watched carefully. Nyanga is no slouch either and the French backrow has a lot of pace and ability to hurt Ireland in ball carrying. The Irish backrow will need to be quick to tackle their opposite numbers off set piece ball and not let them build up a head of steam and get any offloading going. I feel Ireland have an advantage here in terms of hitting rucks and stealing possession and that is where they are going to have to try and hurt France. Deny them the ball and they can't score, let them get into their rhythm and it could be a long game.

Prediction

The opening 20 minutes will be key. Despite the best efforts of successive coaches, France are still mentally weak, particularly on the road. They will be deserate to cut their losing streak but will also be susceptible to pressure if they fall behind early. This is of benefit to Ireland who have started much stronger than they've finished in all games this season. If Ireland eek out a lead than they need to continue to attack France and not sit back like they have done at times. The bench provides real impact in this respect thanks to Ian Madigan, who is a try scoring and back releasing machine. Whether Jackson sees out the game or Madigan comes into the fray Ireland will be a much stronger offensive team than if ROG was in play. If Ireland cut out their errors than they will be halfway towards victory.

Ireland to start strongly and put some points on the board and Michalak to implode. France to come back at Ireland in the second half but fail to get over the line.

Ireland by 1-7 points.

Odds

Ireland evens
France 4/5
Draw 20/1
Handicap Ireland +1

ssaye

http://www.irishrugby.ie/matchdaytv/?play=media&id=14615

At 2:28 looks like Madigan doing chinups with a big weight around his waist.

Dominic Ryan trained too.

totallegend

France by +7

Nice work, some great insight there. Now that the preview is up, I can officially start getting excited.

Podge_Irl wrote:

Much better facial hair than anyone else on the pitch. Advantage France

That could be crucial.

RoundBox11

Glad to see jackson fit.

Not sure how i feel about the archer selection. I suppose i'd rather see him than Bent but on saying that we have seen Bent hold up the scrum against the Boks. Now might have been the time to call on John Andress perhaps?

I still think If Archer and Hagan were both getting equally regular and substantial gametime that Hagan would be a lot better. Thats for another conversation tho!

ed7890

France by +7

RoundBox11 wrote: »

I still think If Archer and Hagan were both getting equally regular and substantial gametime that Hagan would be a lot better. Thats for another conversation tho!

In the last 2 season Hagan has 16 starts, 17 caps off the bench. Archer has 17 starts, 16 off the bench.

.ak

ssaye wrote: »

http://www.irishrugby.ie/matchdaytv/?play=media&id=14615

At 2:28 looks like Madigan doing chinups with a big weight around his waist.

Dominic Ryan trained too.

I'd say the lads are like 'Quinny, quit hanging out around the changing room!' :P

PhatPiggins

Archer against Domingo or Debaty! Good luck to him

Teferi

France by a converted try. We don't have the mentality to beat France often for some reason anyway and with the state the camp is in at the moment I can't see us pulling it out of the bag although I remain hopeful.

donfers

Who will kick our goals - Jackson or Mcfadden? On a wet day taking the points will be essential, I can see another narrow defeat to be honest.

Jackson needs to show he has to mentality to deliver an excellent performance in a big game

its_phil

ssaye wrote: »

http://www.irishrugby.ie/matchdaytv/?play=media&id=14615

At 2:28 looks like Madigan doing chinups with a big weight around his waist.

Dominic Ryan trained too.

"They're doing lighter loads this week" he says as Mike McCarthy just starts benching 140kg. :eek:

pc7

France by +7

donfers wrote: »

Who will kick our goals - Jackson or Mcfadden? On a wet day taking the points will be essential, I can see another narrow defeat to be honest.

Looking like rain pretty much solid for the next 3 days and during the game

totallegend

France by +7

donfers wrote: »

Who will kick our goals - Jackson or Mcfadden? On a wet day taking the points will be essential, I can see another narrow defeat to be honest.

Jackson needs to show he has to mentality to deliver an excellent performance in a big game

Jackson will take the kicks, to begin with anyway.

I think he has the mentality. He played better the last day than the guy who replaced him.

P_1

Anybody going to the match bear in mind that Quinlan wants to see you in your seats nice and early

P.Walnuts

France by +7

Just noticed Steve Walsh is the ref.....

I wonder if the French will try and take advantage of Jackson's lack of kicking confidence at the moment...I wouldn't be surprised to see them being very cynical outside their 22 if we get any momentum.

P_1

P.Walnuts wrote: »

Just noticed Steve Walsh is the ref.....

I wonder if the French will try and take advantage of Jackson's lack of kicking confidence at the moment...I wouldn't be surprised to see them being very cynical outside their 22 if we get any momentum.

Actually who's going to be taking the kicks at goal? I wonder who has been practicing them during training?

P.Walnuts

France by +7

P_1 wrote: »

Actually who's going to be taking the kicks at goal? I wonder who has been practicing them during training?

I would be flabbergasted if Jackson wasn't kicking

.ak

P_1 wrote: »

Actually who's going to be taking the kicks at goal? I wonder who has been practicing them during training?

Both OHs were practicing in the Aviva yesterday.

You'd hope that so where some other options, ala McFadden.

Tox56

.ak wrote: »

Both OHs were practicing in the Aviva yesterday.

You'd hope that so where some other options, ala McFadden.

From the IT:

McFadden divides opinion. Some fans would ask why Luke Fitzgerald isn’t starting and why Marshall and Keith Earls are, or why McFadden isn’t at 12; Ulster supporters wonder why Andrew Trimble has tumbled down to sixth choice.

But none of them brings the kicking game of the 26-year-old from Kildare and none, including Ronan O’Gara, joined Jackson and Madigan in their kicking practice at the Aviva Stadium yesterday as McFadden did.

It's not very clear but I think that suggests it was just McFadden and the two OH's practicing

awec

France by +7

Delighted to see PJ starting

MolBee

.ak wrote: »

Both OHs were practicing in the Aviva yesterday.

You'd hope that so where some other options, ala McFadden.

Yep according to the Irish Times Jackson, Madigan and Mcfadden were all there practicing.

opinionatedfan

honestly don't have much faith in Jackson as a kicker.

anyone who watched him during the under 20s last year saw him miss some very easy kicks.

P_1

opinionatedfan wrote: »

honestly don't have much faith in Jackson as a kicker.

anyone who watched him during the under 20s last year saw him miss some very easy kicks.

He's a confidence player with the kicks. Personally I'd have McFadden taking the shots at goal and leave PJ free to focus on the other aspects of OH play

BQQ

Deccie's never been keen on McFadden.

Hard to believe he'd suddenly rate him over Trimble unless he needs someone to kick goals.

I'd be surprised if he's not kicking this weekend.

andrewdcs

France by +7

pc7 wrote: »

Looking like rain pretty much solid for the next 3 days and during the game

and getting a lot colder.... so if it was 1990s Ireland I'd be all "Yess!!"

but now I'm all "feck, high ball lottery! Heaslip cursing into his chest!"

I really really hope we win this, but my sick stomach says we will not. And a tough trip to Rome awaits.

Zzippy

Really hope Healy, and especially Ross, can last the 80 on Saturday. I really don't want to see a front row of Kilcoyne, Cronin and Archer pack down on a 5m scrum defending our own line!

ScissorPaperRock

.ak wrote: »

Both OHs were practicing in the Aviva yesterday.

You'd hope that so where some other options, ala McFadden.

Kidney said in the squad announcement that McFadden would be practicing his kick along with the outhalves

molloyjh

France by +7

Top class write up Podge. While I'm nowhere near as excited/nervous as I was for the England game I'm still looking forward to watching it (in one way, not in another!).

I reckon France, even with Flaky Freddie, will have too much for us. Our only hope is a massive shift from the lads like the England game 2 years ago. But while I like Jackson and Madigan I just don't see them being the guys to orchestrate that. And in many ways that's what we need from our out-half this weekend. There's not too many others who can drive a performance like that, especially not with those young lads inside or outside of them.

This is a huge game for both sides but I have a very genuine fear that we could be going into the Italy game as wooden spoon contenders. And with the issues we have right now and an Italian side at home with us in their sights it makes this game an absolute must win for Ireland. We need the boost before heading over there. I don't like the idea of going to Italy on the back of 3 losses, with the coach a dead man walking and morale in the camp beaten out the door.

molloyjh

France by +7

Zzippy wrote: »

Really hope Healy, and especially Ross, can last the 80 on Saturday. I really don't want to see a front row of Kilcoyne, Cronin and Archer pack down on a 5m scrum defending our own line!

One thing I don't get is why Cronin wasn't trusted as an impact sub in the Scotland game. He's a hooker who has scored 4 tries in 2 games for Leinster. His only real issue is his darts, but if you bring him in for 20 mins and get him to throw to the front for the handful of line outs he'll need to take he could be very effective.

Swiwi

Nice preview (or should that be dissertation), Podge, my iPhone battery was flat from scrolling it was that detailed

As Irishbucsfan pointed out during the Eng match, France read Wayne Barnes poorly, and they won't want a repeat performance with Stevie Walsh in charge. He's generally pretty harsh on rolling away from the tackle, and definitely doesn't take kindly to backchat etc, as Conrad Smith found out last weekend (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeEyo0lxFr0). I reckon Walsh will favour the Irish style of play if they go for quick ruck ball, but players like POM will want to let Heaslip do the talking to the ref.

Swiwi

Podge_irl wrote: »

Médard is a real try scoring threat with much better facial hair than anyone else on the pitch. Advantage France.

totallegend wrote: »

That could be crucial.

Although Steve Walsh is pretty proud of his hairdo, so he might see Medard as angling in on his pretty boy territory...

Podge_irl

Draw

Swiwi wrote: »

Nice preview (or should that be dissertation), Podge, my iPhone battery was flat from scrolling it was that detailed

Annoyingly, the bit that took me longest was getting that stupid table with the teams in it working properly.

molloyjh

France by +7

Podge_irl wrote: »

Annoyingly, the bit that took me longest was getting that stupid table with the teams in it working properly.

I hear that!

shuffol

Can anyboy tell me how many times Mcfaddens actually kicked for Leinster this season?

Podge_irl

Draw

shuffol wrote: »

Can anyboy tell me how many times Mcfaddens actually kicked for Leinster this season?

I'm not sure he has, at least not for a game. I think he has been limited to knocking over the odd kick towards the end of the game when Sexton/Madigan had gone off.

Still, I'm sure he continues practising it, has experience of doing it for years and never seems remotely phased by pressure. He had one bad game last year with the boot (in awful conditions if I remember correctly) and without that he would have won the golden boot. I certainly don't think he would be an automatic panacea to any kicking woes, but I would be confident in him kicking 80%, even in internationals.

.ak

He actually picked up an injury in that game and persisted with kicking. Pity, would've been good to see him pick up the golden boot when infact he's just a backup kicker.

donfers

Do people think that if we lose tomorrow that Kidney will resign soon after the game and foley/kiss will take charge as caretakers for the italy game, a game we will win thus enabling the IRFU to justify selecting those two as their management team going forward?

Zzippy

molloyjh wrote: »

One thing I don't get is why Cronin wasn't trusted as an impact sub in the Scotland game. He's a hooker who has scored 4 tries in 2 games for Leinster. His only real issue is his darts, but if you bring him in for 20 mins and get him to throw to the front for the handful of line outs he'll need to take he could be very effective.

Yep, no major problem with his darts, open play or scrummaging, just think Best is the best scrummaging hooker we have, and if Kilcoyne/Archer are on I'd rather see them pack down either side of Best than Cronin. But of a Kilcoyne/Cronin/Archer front row the one I'd be least worried about is Cronin...

opinionatedfan

Kilcoyne is a very dodgy scrummager, archer even worse.

both fine in the loose

Swiwi

donfers wrote: »

Do people think that if we lose tomorrow that Kidney will resign soon after the game and foley/kiss will take charge as caretakers for the italy game, a game we will win thus enabling the IRFU to justify selecting those two as their management team going forward?

No I dont. I think the IRFU will open the job to tender, but I would be surprised if Kidney didn't see out his tenure.

I personally think there would be a decent number of quality coaches, both Irish & International, who would like the challenge of getting the most out of what is potentially a very good pool of Irish players.

If .ak doesn't get the Edinburgh job he is sure to be available...

yimrsg

opinionatedfan wrote: »

Kilcoyne is a very dodgy scrummager, archer even worse.

both fine in the loose

Kilcoyne is grand in the scrums, he's easily eclipsed Du Preez this season. He looked very dangerous in the loose against Ospreys. Archer's improved too in the scrums (perhaps because Botha hasn't looked great for Munster) but his discipline this season has been poor.

ionadnapokot

will it take 2 or 3 bad kicks before a change of kicker would be made.
e.g
kick 1 difficult. missed:(
kick 2 moderate. missed:(

kick 3 moderate. Change to McFadden? missed:(

Kick 4 moderate missed:eek:

Bring on Madigan? at 15??

Kick 5 Difficult. converted :cool:

.ak

Swiwi wrote: »

If .ak doesn't get the Edinburgh job he is sure to be available...

Still no replies to my mail, but I'm sure they're just playing hard ball. :cool:

trouttrout

opinionatedfan wrote: »

Kilcoyne is a very dodgy scrummager, archer even worse.

both fine in the loose

Kilcoyne is simply not a "very dodgy scrummager". What are you basing it on? He's actually fairly competent at scrum time

Also, Archer has really turned a corner these last 4 or 5 months and in my mind deserves his place on the bench ahead of Bent given his recent form

opinionatedfan

very dodgy for international level.

he is grand in the P12 as you would expect, but everytime i've seen him in an ireland jersey he hasn't been good.
hopefully we won't have to see him and Healy can do his 80 minute act again.

Swan Curry

trouttrout wrote: »

Kilcoyne is simply not a "very dodgy scrummager". What are you basing it on? He's actually fairly competent at scrum time

Also, Archer has really turned a corner these last 4 or 5 months and in my mind deserves his place on the bench ahead of Bent given his recent form

He's turned a corner in that he can now scrummage without going backwards,that doesn't mean he should be benching for Ireland.Loughney,Andress,Bent and even Hagan are more deserving of the bench spot than Archer.

trouttrout

opinionatedfan wrote: »

very dodgy for international level.

he is grand in the P12 as you would expect, but everytime i've seen him in an ireland jersey he hasn't been good.
hopefully we won't have to see him and Healy can do his 80 minute act again.

What games has he been poor in for Ireland at scrum time?

opinionatedfan

trouttrout wrote: »

What games has he been poor in for Ireland at scrum time?

Scotland.

trouttrout

Swan Curry wrote: »

He's turned a corner in that he can now scrummage without going backwards,that doesn't mean he should be benching for Ireland.Andress,Bent and even Hagan are more deserving of the bench spot than Archer.

He's been doing much more than that for Munster since christmas

Bent had his chance to claim a spot for Ireland and was demolished by a Saxons scrum.

Andress is a better player alright, but he's out of the loop sadly

Archer is no international standard prop at the moment, but he's the form option of a bad lot imo

ed7890

France by +7

opinionatedfan wrote: »

Scotland.

You've been criticising his scrummaging since before the Scotland game.

trouttrout

opinionatedfan wrote: »

Scotland.

He conceded one penalty and won another that could have won us the game had ROG not butchered the chance. He was under pressure alright but you can't really call him a bad scrummager at International level based on a 25 minute appearance off the bench

He's not a destructive scrummager but he certainly isn't "very dodgy" as you proclaim

Grimebox

ssaye wrote: »

http://www.irishrugby.ie/matchdaytv/?play=media&id=14615

At 2:28 looks like Madigan doing chinups with a big weight around his waist.

Dominic Ryan trained too.

I think I hate Alan Quinlan