Ireland Team Talk X: The Long Hard Road to a Semi. MOD WARNING POSTS #1, #1474, #5707

PMC83

Former Observer wrote: »

Not feeling super confident. Japan and Scotland will actually fancy their chances.

Feeling pretty confident, we are a good team and better then either of them, even if they throw the ball around a bit more then we do, neither team really have a plan B.

At the end of the day Scotland don't perform on the road and never win when it counts. Japan although host nation, are no great shakes either, everyone's thinking about the SA game from the last world cup, which while amazing was their last and only big scalp in 4 years.

AdamD

Japan are brutal

Former Former

I don't see any reason to think we wouldn't beat Scotland and Japan handily enough.

Jump_In_Jack

Scotland are well capable of beating Ireland.
They have loads of quality players.
Let's not be over-confident, even if Ireland put in a good performance I would expect Scotland to match us and it could take a bit of luck to decide it for the winning team.

Podge_irl

PMC83 wrote: »

Feeling pretty confident, we are a good team and better then either of them, even if they throw the ball around a bit more then we do, neither team really have a plan B.

At the end of the day Scotland don't perform on the road and never win when it counts. Japan although host nation, are no great shakes either, everyone's thinking about the SA game from the last world cup, which while amazing was their last and only big scalp in 4 years.

To be fair they beat Italy and drew with France in Paris.

Bar a miracle they are not going to beat Ireland though.

Jump_In_Jack wrote: »

Scotland are well capable of beating Ireland.
They have loads of quality players.
Let's not be over-confident, even if Ireland put in a good performance I would expect Scotland to match us and it could take a bit of luck to decide it for the winning team.

They have beaten us once in seven years by one score in Murrayfield. They are capable but its not very likely and if Ireland put in a "good" performance they won't need luck to win.

stephen_n

Jump_In_Jack wrote: »

Scotland are well capable of beating Ireland.
They have loads of quality players.
Let's not be over-confident, even if Ireland put in a good performance I would expect Scotland to match us and it could take a bit of luck to decide it for the winning team.

In the last 10 years we have played 13 times, Ireland have won 9 to Scotland’s 4. They have only beaten us once in the last 7 encounters which was at home. They have been comprehensively beaten in 3 of those 7 games. What in that suggests needing a bit of luck to best them?

PMC83

Jump_In_Jack wrote: »

Scotland are well capable of beating Ireland.
They have loads of quality players.
Let's not be over-confident, even if Ireland put in a good performance I would expect Scotland to match us and it could take a bit of luck to decide it for the winning team.

They are of course but unless in Murrayfield its very unlikely. My biggest critique with the Scots is they never show up when they need to. That second half against England in this years 6 Nations was amazing but where was that play at the start of the tournament? TBH I think they ride their luck a little bit, once the crazy passes and offloads don't stick they are in trouble.

sydthebeat

Jump_In_Jack wrote: »

Scotland are well capable of beating Ireland.
They have loads of quality players.
Let's not be over-confident, even if Ireland put in a good performance I would expect Scotland to match us and it could take a bit of luck to decide it for the winning team.

of course they are well capable... they are definitely more capable than they other 3 teams... but they are firm second favorites in our group.

ireland are 9 point favourites to beat scotland in the first game... and we are well worth that in my opinion.

I'm not expecting a huge amount from the world cup. We have SA or NZ in the quarter right? What if we are runners up in our group? Any better? We'll need a lot of luck to beat either of them.

Former Former

If we put in a good performance by our own standards, we will beat Scotland. They need us to have an off-day and play well themselves to win. That's not arrogance, it's the only conclusion you can come to based on the last few years.

Losing to Japan would be as big a shock as South Africa losing to them four years ago.

Podge_irl

Deleted User wrote: »

I'm not expecting a huge amount from the world cup. We have SA or NZ in the quarter right? What if we are runners up in our group? Any better? We'll need a lot of luck to beat either of them.

Same permutations whether we are runners-up or group winners. Winner of our group plays runner up of their group and vice versa.

bilston

I'm looking forward to seeing the Rugby Championship, it will give us a better picture of where we stand ahead of any potential quarter final...Argentina v New Zealand looks a really good tie to kick things off in 2 weeks.

I think this World Cup is a bit more open than 4 years ago. I don't think this NZ team has quite the same aura about them, but they will be rightly favourites and in fairness they could blow everyone away in the Rugby Championship so that aura could return.

AbusesToilets

I'm worried we'll run into a SA on an upswing, who will play with an intensity we won't match, ala England and Wales this year.

Jump_In_Jack

I hope Ireland can put in a performance to beat Scotland but I expect it to be close, Ireland will probably never be out of sight at any point and there shouldn't be more than 5 points between them in the end.
It could well be a tense and low scoring encounter where a couple of penalties could decide it.

For those that are looking at the record books to justify writing them off, take a closer look at the two current squads, I don't see much of a gap in quality between the two sets of players.
For example, a guess at a possible best 15 from either team,
15. Rob Kearney v Stuart Hogg
14. Keith Earls v Tommy Seymour
13. Garry Ringrose v Huw Jones
12. Bundee Aki v Duncan Taylor
11. Jacob Stockdale v Sean Maitland
10. Johnny Sexton v Finn Russell
9. Conor Murray v Craig Laidlaw
8. CJ Stander v Johnny Barclay
7. Josh van der Flier v Hamish Watson
6. Peter O'Mahony v Ryan Wilson
5. James Ryan v Jonny Gray
4. Devin Toner v Grant Gilchrist
3. Tadhg Furlong v WP Nel
2. Rory Best v Stuart McInally
1. Cian Healy v Allan Dell

The subs are very evenly matched also, and there will be a few quality players left out of each squad, showing strength in depth for both teams.

Hopefully Joe Schmidt can come up with the right game plan and the lads can execute it, and that may be the difference between them.

Cosmo Kramer

I have us ahead in 12 of 15 positions based on those two lineups.

Look, there's a small chance it could all click for Scotland on the day and they might sneak a win. But usually for them it doesn't, and the liklihood is we will beat them by five points plus.

Japan are focusing on beating the second best team in the group, as beating the best team (SA) didn't work out in their favour four years ago. If and when we get past Scotland, all of Japan's focus will be on beating Scotland to finish second in the group (and obviously beating the two lower seeds). I actually wouldn't be surprised if they sent out a weakened team against us.

It's all going to come down to one game in the quarters against NZ or SA. That game will define our tournament and, unfair as it may be, will either seal Joe's position as our greatest ever coach or take a bit of a shine off his time in charge.

Podge_irl

Jump_In_Jack wrote: »

For those that are looking at the record books to justify writing them off, take a closer look at the two current squads, I don't see much of a gap in quality between the two sets of players.

But you could say the same over the last few years and it didn't help on the scoreboard.

I don't see any reason to expect it to be close.

mark_way

I think a heavy defeat in a semi followed by a drubbing in the 3rd-4th place play-off would be a good result - because it would mean there's been progress. Eight iterations is quite few and the results are in. Ireland don't get past the quarters.

It's unusual to see teams without pedigree doing well in cup competitions that have been up and running for a reasonable amount of time, and Ireland don't have any kind of pedigree in Wolrd Cups. A semi would be an excellent result in light of this and would finally mean that Ireland was on a par with Argentina and Scotland as rugby nations.

aloooof

Cosmo Kramer wrote: »

Look, there's a small chance it could all click for Scotland on the day and they might sneak a win. But usually for them it doesn't, and the liklihood is we will beat them by five points plus.

Interestingly, the bookies have us as 9 point favourites.

Cosmo Kramer wrote: »

It's all going to come down to one game in the quarters against NZ or SA. That game will define our tournament and, unfair as it may be, will either seal Joe's position as our greatest ever coach or take a bit of a shine off his time in charge.

Joe will still be our greatest ever coach, even if we bow out in the group stages, but we know there'd be plenty with the knives out looking to frame it differently.

Shefwedfan

Jump_In_Jack wrote: »

I hope Ireland can put in a performance to beat Scotland but I expect it to be close, Ireland will probably never be out of sight at any point and there shouldn't be more than 5 points between them in the end.
It could well be a tense and low scoring encounter where a couple of penalties could decide it.

For those that are looking at the record books to justify writing them off, take a closer look at the two current squads, I don't see much of a gap in quality between the two sets of players.
For example, a guess at a possible best 15 from either team,
15. Rob Kearney v Stuart Hogg
14. Keith Earls v Tommy Seymour
13. Garry Ringrose v Huw Jones
12. Bundee Aki v Duncan Taylor
11. Jacob Stockdale v Sean Maitland
10. Johnny Sexton v Finn Russell
9. Conor Murray v Craig Laidlaw
8. CJ Stander v Johnny Barclay
7. Josh van der Flier v Hamish Watson
6. Peter O'Mahony v Ryan Wilson
5. James Ryan v Jonny Gray
4. Devin Toner v Grant Gilchrist
3. Tadhg Furlong v WP Nel
2. Rory Best v Stuart McInally
1. Cian Healy v Allan Dell

The subs are very evenly matched also, and there will be a few quality players left out of each squad, showing strength in depth for both teams.

Hopefully Joe Schmidt can come up with the right game plan and the lads can execute it, and that may be the difference between them.

Based on what are they matched? One Pro 14 win for Glasgow a few years ago? A dodgy win in Scotland during busgate

Leinster and Munster have beaten them in big match’s when it counted, ok Glasgow win in pro 14 but come semi etc they lose

Not trying to be cocky but anytime a Scottish team has come up against a firing Irish team they have lost, Ireland had awful 6 nations but still won in Scotland. Even the Scottish pundit on radio shows have said they can beat anyone at home but outside Scotland they are poor

The England second half? Well they didn’t win and England gave up the ghost at half time....30 points up and no 6 nations to win.....so it should really be discounted but it has given them confidence

Shefwedfan

Cosmo Kramer wrote: »

It's all going to come down to one game in the quarters against NZ or SA. That game will define our tournament and, unfair as it may be, will either seal Joe's position as our greatest ever coach or take a bit of a shine off his time in charge.

At province and international level joe has been the best coach in Ireland ever. Simple as that

How many trophies has he won now?

bilston

Cosmo Kramer wrote: »

I have us ahead in 12 of 15 positions based on those two lineups.

Look, there's a small chance it could all click for Scotland on the day and they might sneak a win. But usually for them it doesn't, and the liklihood is we will beat them by five points plus.

Japan are focusing on beating the second best team in the group, as beating the best team (SA) didn't work out in their favour four years ago. If and when we get past Scotland, all of Japan's focus will be on beating Scotland to finish second in the group (and obviously beating the two lower seeds). I actually wouldn't be surprised if they sent out a weakened team against us.

It's all going to come down to one game in the quarters against NZ or SA. That game will define our tournament and, unfair as it may be, will either seal Joe's position as our greatest ever coach or take a bit of a shine off his time in charge.

Joe already has that accolade nailed irrespective of what happens at the WC. 3 6Ns including a GS, two wins over NZ, a series win in Australia and a win in South Africa. Nobody else comes remotely close to him.

Cosmo Kramer

bilston wrote: »

Joe already has that accolade nailed irrespective of what happens at the WC. 3 6Ns including a GS, two wins over NZ, a series win in Australia and a win in South Africa. Nobody else comes remotely close to him.

I agree and didn't suggest otherwise. However, probably unfairly, if we go through a second World Cup under him without a semi final appearance it will certainly take a little bit of the shine off his record in charge.

Shefwedfan

Cosmo Kramer wrote: »

I agree and didn't suggest otherwise. However, probably unfairly, if we go through a second World Cup under him without a semi final appearance it will certainly take a little bit of the shine off his record in charge.

Of course will give some people the chance to get the boot in.....the rest of the fans who have seen the work he has done at international level and right through the game in Ireland will thank him and wish him well.....

That’s not even taking into consideration the work he done at Leinster before taking on the Ireland job....

No idea why this pops up every so often, let’s see what happens at World Cup and then discuss, no point trying to get boot in before a ball has even been kicked in anger

ClanofLams

Cosmo clearly isn’t trying to stick the boot in. Just stating the harsh reality that were Ireland to have a poor World Cup after a poor 6N the view of the more casual rugby fans will be something along the lines of Schmidt did a good job but time for a change now anyway.

Of course the more engaged fans will recognise his enormous achievements.

Neil3030

We'll soon be entering into an era with a first time head coach, a new captain and very soon new out half. Try enjoy this world cup, would be my advice.

jacothelad

ClanofLams wrote: »

Cosmo clearly isn’t trying to stick the boot in. Just stating the harsh reality that were Ireland to have a poor World Cup after a poor 6N the view of the more casual rugby fans will be something along the lines of Schmidt did a good job but time for a change now anyway.

Of course the more engaged fans will recognise his enormous achievements.

Is it true to say that we have enetered the last 3 RWCs on the backs of successful - ish 6Ns? We seem to peak too soon. Premature expectation as it were.

Neil3030 wrote: »

We'll soon be entering into an era with a first time head coach, a new captain and very soon new out half. Try enjoy this world cup, would be my advice.

At least there is a smooth hand over to guys in the camp. We aren't chucking a Hail Mary pass with completely new staff.

phog

@Munsterrugby

Confirmed ✅ | @IrishRugby team set for open training session at Thomond Park on Friday 19 July as part of their Rugby World Cup preparations.

A limited number of tickets will be made available to the public from 11am tomorrow >> https://www.munsterrugby.ie/2019/07/03/thomond-park-to-host-irish-rugby-open-training-session/ …

Buer

jacothelad wrote: »

Is it true to say that we have enetered the last 3 RWCs on the backs of successful - ish 6Ns? We seem to peak too soon. Premature expectation as it were.
.

2011 was a poor 6N campaign masked by the strong showing against England in the final game where we beat them up.

Aside from that we beat Italy with a last second drop goal and won in Edinburgh by a single kick. Lost at home to France and in Cardiff.

aloooof

Buer wrote: »

2011 was a poor 6N campaign masked by the strong showing against England in the final game where we beat them up.

Aside from that we beat Italy with a last second drop goal and won in Edinburgh by a single kick. Lost at home to France and in Cardiff.

That's our last home loss to France, which made it 8 losses from the previous 9 tests (the 2009 GS being the exception). We then had the 2 drawn games and we've since gone on to win 6 of the last 7.

Ireland have obviously been on a general upward curve in that time while simultaneously, France have disimproved, but I often think the 2 drawn games did a lot for the players psychologically, as France had a hold over us for so long.

molloyjh

Got an email about the new training gear from the IRFU. Turn the world green, it says. The stuff is all navy and grey. I mean seriously guys.....