Rugby World Cup 2015 Schedule Announcement

irishbucsfan

P_1 wrote: »

Ah yeah I forgot that the Jacksonville Jaguars are slowly trying to become the London [insert franchise name here]s.

The NFL matches are usually on in Wembely towards the end of October though

Sillynannies

exiledelbows

P_1 wrote: »

Ah yeah I forgot that the Jacksonville Jaguars are slowly trying to become the London [insert franchise name here]s.

The NFL matches are usually on in Wembely towards the end of October though

Nope, two a year now. One late September and one late October.

P_1

exiledelbows wrote: »

Nope, two a year now. One late September and one late October.

Oh yeah I forgot about that, annoyed I couldn't see my Steelers in Croker to be honest

Fits Morris

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

We got the dream draw to be honest. Our two relatively easiest fixtures up front to ease into the competition. Game with Italy then to ensure qualification. And then finally, all going well, a play off without huge pressure to get a winnable QF. Each game should present an ever ascending test, which is the ideal scenario for tournament.

First loss against Italy, second chance against France. First loss against France, second chance against New Zealand.

Should have huge support too.

It's a brilliant draw.

Ireland's fixture schedule will work against them in my view as the two toughest matches are last. That means whether Ireland win the group or not, the quarter-final will be the third match in a row where a supreme effort is needed.

This worked against Ireland in 2003 when the last two group matches were against Argentina and Australia and the players had to give everything. By the time of the quarter-final Ireland were a spent force and were fodder for France.

It's much more advantageous to have at least one of the tough matches early in the group in my opinion as it gives more recovery time.

If Ireland lose to France on the Sunday and finish second in the group, the quarter-final against New Zealand (who will have had an extra two days rest) will be the first quarter-final, with just six days recovery time. That could get ugly.

Even with a group win, a supreme effort will be needed for the third week in a row. That's not the situation you want to be in as regards scheduling.

Italy will have really tested themselves against France on September 19th but will have a 15 day gap between the Ireland game on October 4th. That's an advantage for them, I think.

Australia have a similar problem to Ireland as regards fixtures (albeit they'll have one day extra rest). That won't make a difference as far as actual qualification from the group is concerned but may prove a problem if they reach the quarter-finals. Wales and particularly England are better off in that regard.

Teferi

Players always talk of momentum and how important it is to build it up so I'm sure this schedule will suit them. 2 handy games to build it up before attacking the Italians and heading into the French game.

.ak

Yeah, Ireland are a different team now, especially the conditioning of our players. In 2003 and even in 2007 we were still a 60 minute team. Now our conditioning is up there with the best of them thanks to the provinces. Having France at the end means they'll be in the exact same boat as us.

Swan Curry

Having France at the end of the schedule could be an advantage.If they perform badly in the previous games,we could catch them out like Tonga did.