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Ireland Team Talk/Gossip/Rumour Thread VIII - MOD NOTE POST #4781

Steve

Continuing on from the previous thread....

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Buer

Paul Smeenus wrote: »

Was in Brisbane for a brief visit - really liked what I saw of it, and sport generally seems much more a part of life there than in Melbourne.

Interesting. I've family in Melbourne and visited a number of times. After a couple of visits I came to form the opinion that, rugby aside, Melbourne is the sporting capital of Australia by a distance.

Bridge93

yeah I would've thought the same. The tennis and F1 are staged there and half the AFL seems to play in Melbourne. The cricket ground is the most impressive stadium I've ever been in in both appearance and history.

I suppose Brisbane would have a bigger presence in rugby, league and football. Loads of the currently very successful Melbourne league team seem to originate from Queensland and not locally

Zzippy

The Rape of Lucretia wrote: »

That would be grotesque.

Has Aki ever even confirmed he would swallow his disappointment at not making it as an AB and lining out for Irl ?

Mod: We get it, you don't like project players. This is a general warning, dragging threads off topic by moaning about project players will not be tolerated. Project players will play for Ireland. Get over it. That goes for everyone.

Paul Smeenus

Bridge93 wrote: »

yeah I would've thought the same. The tennis and F1 are staged there and half the AFL seems to play in Melbourne. The cricket ground is the most impressive stadium I've ever been in in both appearance and history.

I suppose Brisbane would have a bigger presence in rugby, league and football. Loads of the currently very successful Melbourne league team seem to originate from Queensland and not locally

Could well be the case - I've zero interest in tennis or F1 and so that would have bypassed me.

Buer

Bridge93 wrote: »

yeah I would've thought the same. The tennis and F1 are staged there and half the AFL seems to play in Melbourne. The cricket ground is the most impressive stadium I've ever been in in both appearance and history.

10 of 18 AFL teams are from or near Melbourne. Used be a higher proportion but the AFL have opened up a couple of new teams elsewhere in recent years. The sport is completely dominated by the city.

Throw in the Melbourne Cup which is the biggest of them all in Australia as a single event. A city of 5 million people pretty much closes down and goes on the lash for a week.

Synode

Australian Open (tennis) is played in Melbourne too

mfceiling

Lads you're killing me with your dislike of Sydney. I lived there for 15 months and I loved it (99 - 01).

Went to a few games there and really enjoyed the crack with the NSW Warrath supporters. I would go back in a heartbeat.

molloyjh

mfceiling wrote: »

Lads you're killing me with your dislike of Sydney. I lived there for 15 months and I loved it (99 - 01).

Went to a few games there and really enjoyed the crack with the NSW Warrath supporters. I would go back in a heartbeat.

Was there for the Lions 4 years ago. Didn’t think it was anything special. They were really funny about drink too, more so than other places we visited. At one point 4 of us (2 couples) tried to get into a bar after going for dinner. Naturally we had a few drinks over dinner but we were fine. Doorman tried to refuse us entry because we’d clearly had drink in us. I think we had 3 drink over dinner! We managed to get him to see sense, walked in and there were was all of 3 other people in the place. He was basically trying to turn business away.

It was just another city really. Melbourne has character in spades. Sydney was as vanilla as cities go.

thomond2006

Niall Scannell out of the Munster game with a thumb injury. Hopefully he's good to go for the AIs as it's a big opportunity for him. I see Rory Best is back for Ulster on the bench but for the AIs at least Ireland should be looking to the likes of Scannell and Tracy. Best can be brought back for the Six Nations.

mfceiling

molloyjh wrote: »

Sydney was as vanilla as cities go.

Ah molloy noooo....

The opera house, harbour bridge, bondi beach, the rocks, manly beach!! It will always be a favourite of mine. Getting a water bus across Circular Quay always brought a smile to my face. Some lovely cafes down the side streets off Oxford St.

Oh sorry Ireland thread...eh Stockdale to the wing and as you were.

Buer

mfceiling wrote:

The opera house, harbour bridge, bondi beach, the rocks, manly beach!! It will always be a favourite of mine. Getting a water bus across Circular Quay always brought a smile to my face. Some lovely cafes down the side streets off Oxford St.

Sydney is a nice city. Completely different feel to it though. Doesn't have the CBD that Melbourne has and is more of a sprawling, beach prominent metropolis.

I liked what I've seen of Brisbane but would find the climate too much long term. Suncorp is a cracking stadium though. All the cities are worth a visit, in my mind.

Neil3030

Feck tourist destinations, where am I least likely to be eaten by a great white python spider?

mfceiling

Neil3030 wrote: »

Feck tourist destinations, where am I least likely to be eaten by a great white python spider?

Tallaght...

Bridge93

Sydney was my favourite too having lived there as a student. Drink laws are a bit mad. Bars and clubs terrified in recent years with the drunk violence around that 'King Punch' game. Maybe overcompensated with their strictness and lockout laws now

Only got a few days in Melbourne and Brisbane, the latter on route to Cairns by car. Never doing anything like that again... Jesus that was rough

wp_rathead

The Australian Tour just got even more interesting with their win over NZ

Sanjuro

mfceiling wrote: »

Lads you're killing me with your dislike of Sydney. I lived there for 15 months and I loved it (99 - 01).

Went to a few games there and really enjoyed the crack with the NSW Warrath supporters. I would go back in a heartbeat.

I lived there in 2003, there for the World Cup. I can understand why people wouldn't be mad about Sydney. There were parts of it I have very fond memories of, however. Some great nights out in Newtown and King's Cross.

Burkie1203

Backrow for SA is going to be interesting

I think Ruddock has played himself very much into contention for the 6 shirt.

If SoB isn't available (i suspect he will be though) then will it be VDF or TOD. TOD has been Munsters best backrow performer by a distance the last few weeks. VDF had been good but not too eye catching.

Stander v Conan for the 8 shirt. Stander will get the nod but he hasnt been overly impressive so far this season.

Buer

I'd go with Stander, VDF and Ruddock but would expect Stander, SOB and POM. The return of Best has hit POM's chances though as his leadership qualities won't be as required.

I don't think SOB or POM have any right to a spot on form although SOB has come back in from injury previously and deliverered top class showings. POM just hasn't really got going this season yet. Ruddock could rightly feel very disappointed if he doesn't make the team.

CIARAN_BOYLE

Does anyone have a site with stats that covers a players contribution to the lineout.

Espn scrum has stopped including these stats in their page.

My sense is that Ruddock has done decently at lineout time recently. As the lineout is POM's strength if I am right and Ruddock has been contributing it eases the argument for POM.

Erik Shin

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

Does anyone have a site with stats that covers a players contribution to the lineout.

Espn scrum has stopped including these stats in their page.

My sense is that Ruddock has done decently at lineout time recently. As the lineout is POM's strength if I am right and Ruddock has been contributing it eases the argument for POM.

15 tackles and 0 missed yesterday....he must be doing something right for Joe to be picking him

thomond2006

If it's a 37 man squad are we looking at:

FORWARDS (21)
Best, Scannell, Tracy
Healy, McGrath, Kilcoyne
Furligind, Archer, J Ryan
Henderson, Toner, J Ryan, Dillane, Treadwell
POM, Ruddock, SOB, VDF, TOD, Stander, Conan

BACKS (16)
Murray, Marmion, Cooney
Sexton, Carbery, Byrne
Henshaw, Scannell, Aki, Marshall
Earls, Stockdale, Sweetnam
Zebo, Conway, TOH

Injured: Heaslip, Kearney, Leavy, Payne, Ringrose

Former Former

thomond2006 wrote: »

If it's a 37 man squad are we looking at:

FORWARDS (21)
Best, Scannell, Tracy
Healy, McGrath, Kilcoyne
Furligind, Archer, J Ryan
Henderson, Toner, J Ryan, Dillane, Treadwell
POM, Ruddock, SOB, VDF, TOD, Stander, Conan

BACKS (16)
Murray, Marmion, Cooney
Sexton, Carbery, Byrne
Henshaw, Scannell, Aki, Marshall
Earls, Stockdale, Sweetnam
Zebo, Conway, TOH

Injured: Heaslip, Leavy, Ringrose

I presume you're including Kearney and Payne as injured too?

Add Sean Cronin in and you're close. Third choice SH will be tight between Cooney and McGrath.

Luke Marshall would be very fortunate but we're very thin on centre cover.

CIARAN_BOYLE

Erik Shin wrote: »

15 tackles and 0 missed yesterday....he must be doing something right for Joe to be picking him

POM is a great player don't get me wrong.

POM is in my opinion in addition to being a great player the best lineoutout jumper in the back row in Europe (one or two exceptions who also play second row).

Ruddock (yesterday's man of the match against Glasgow) is also a great player. I think he may be in general in slightly better form than POM this season. I would probably still pick POM because he has that extra string to his bow in the lineout.

That said Ruddock can also jump in the lineout so I'm asking how he is doing at that recently. I'm not trying to run down POM at all.

[Deleted User]

Anyone else getting a 404 error when trying to go to the Leinster thread?

Wegians89

thomond2006 wrote: »

If it's a 37 man squad are we looking at:

FORWARDS (21)
Best, Scannell, Tracy
Healy, McGrath, Kilcoyne
Furligind, Archer, J Ryan
Henderson, Toner, J Ryan, Dillane, Treadwell
POM, Ruddock, SOB, VDF, TOD, Stander, Conan

BACKS (16)
Murray, Marmion, Cooney
Sexton, Carbery, Byrne
Henshaw, Scannell, Aki, Marshall
Earls, Stockdale, Sweetnam
Zebo, Conway, TOH

Injured: Heaslip, Kearney, Leavy, Payne, Ringrose

Archer ahead of bealham? I wouldn't count on dillane being in the squad, he hasn't hit form yet at all this season

thomond2006

Wegians89 wrote: »

Archer ahead of bealham? I wouldn't count on dillane being in the squad, he hasn't hit form yet at all this season

I forgot about Bealham. It's difficult to know between Archer and Ryan. Ryan is the man in possession with Ireland but Archer has just started ahead of him twice in Europe with Munster.

Bridge93

Was Archer in Japan over the summer?

Former Former

Bridge93 wrote: »

Was Archer in Japan over the summer?

No. Bealham, Ryan and Porter.

There's an argument to be made for Bent as TH cover too, wouldn't be the most forward-looking though.

bilston

thomond2006 wrote: »

If it's a 37 man squad are we looking at:

FORWARDS (21)
Best, Scannell, Tracy
Healy, McGrath, Kilcoyne
Furligind, Archer, J Ryan
Henderson, Toner, J Ryan, Dillane, Treadwell
POM, Ruddock, SOB, VDF, TOD, Stander, Conan

BACKS (16)
Murray, Marmion, Cooney
Sexton, Carbery, Byrne
Henshaw, Scannell, Aki, Marshall
Earls, Stockdale, Sweetnam
Zebo, Conway, TOH

Injured: Heaslip, Kearney, Leavy, Payne, Ringrose

McCloskey should be in there somewhere, definitely ahead of Marshall anyway.

Wegians89

thomond2006 wrote: »

I forgot about Bealham. It's difficult to know between Archer and Ryan. Ryan is the man in possession with Ireland but Archer has just started ahead of him twice in Europe with Munster.

I'd go with Ryan and one of bealham and porter.