Ireland vs Wales 24th Feb 2:15

.ak · 25-02-2018 6:45pm

Sexton's often kicked despite being not 100% physically ready or nursing an injury. Nothing new there.

stephen_n · 25-02-2018 6:50pm

.ak wrote: »

Sexton's often kicked despite being not 100% physically ready or nursing an injury. Nothing new there.

Yes but if he’s struggling badly in the warm up and knows it’s not working, he himself should be making the call not to kick. That game could have been a much tighter affair and the kicks might have really mattered. Even the non attempted one, if he didn’t have the confidence to kick, then he should have let Murray do it. I’d say looking back on the game, he may come to that conclusion himself.

Burkie1203 · 25-02-2018 6:55pm

Jack Kanoff wrote: »

And, as I said during the game...did he have an issue?
It wasn't plainly apparent if it was the yips or a physical issue... yips... ok..they pass .. physical issue.... don't kick let someone else do it.
You see to have a problem with someone asking questions...does it offend you personally or something? I'll stop if so

Did you not see the captains run on Friday?

It's fairly obvious he had an issue of some sort.

tototoe · 25-02-2018 7:07pm

.ak wrote: »

I've seen a few comments like this bandied about. So much confirmation bias going on with Kearney. Thought he had one of his better games yesterday, support running was really good, very physical, made yards with most of his carries, that burst through off Sexton's shoulder was lovely, under pressure from 3 defenders and still gets a peach of a pass away.

What are people thinking he did wrong exactly yesterday? Been stood up by George North? Hardly a big issue, we saw players get stood up by worst Italian players two weeks ago and nobody is calling for heads. Was it because he lost a few 50/50 high balls? Do people think we have some automatic right to them? He got hands on the ball every time but got outmuscled on a few, that's the luck of the oval ball for you.

I heard in the stands a bunch of lads giving out about him before the game even started, and then EVERYTHING he did they lambasted. Even the one time when he got handed crap ball in the back field, had three red jerseys hounding him down, and decided to run it back and made a break on the outside. The lads said 'Ah ****s sake Kearney, you're paid to kick that' ... with three chasers breathing down his neck?! If he kicked it 14 players would be offside and if the ball didn't go far enough they'd all be taken out of the game.

Just madness the stick he gets. Thought he had a fine game yesterday, not perfect, but he worked hard and helped the side with more positives than negatives.

Larmour or Zebo are the only other real options and neither of them would've offered more IMO. He's our best fullback by a country mile and is in good shape, his form is getting better game by game. Anyone sharpening their knives for his demise will have to wait a while longer.

No mention of the penalty he gave away kicking the ball out of the ruck..or his DG attempt. He was not good yesterday..and hasn't been great for quite a while. He was beaten in the air a fair bit yesterday which is supposedly where his strengths lie.

irishbucsfan · 25-02-2018 7:13pm

Kearney very much looks a player finishing up alright but there's no change coming there until at least the summer I'd say, so probably worth setting expectations appropriately. The next in line were likely Zebo and Conway and both became unavailable for different reasons. I would love to see us try Carberry against Scotland but I also know that putting our apprentice 10 in from the start back there is probably not the answer. Larmour has a long way to go. Only option really is Conway and he hasn't been fit. Obvious answer would have been Zebo but there you go, c’est ça.

Burkie1203 · 25-02-2018 7:15pm

tototoe wrote: »

No mention of the penalty he gave away kicking the ball out of the ruck..or his DG attempt. He was not good yesterday..and hasn't been great for quite a while. He was beaten in the air a fair bit yesterday which is supposedly where his strengths lie.

Players give away penalties. It happens. On another day he gets away with that

The drop goal attempt was a shot to nothing after some broken play with not a lot else on. We got possession back from the 22 IIRC

Id like to see Conway there but he got injured

Interested Observer · 25-02-2018 7:25pm

It's a real shame Carbery won't be looked at at 15. He's played really well there for Leinster at the end of last season and the start of this one into until he got injured. Schmidt doesn't seem to be interested though.

tototoe · 25-02-2018 7:26pm

Burkie1203 wrote: »

Players give away penalties. It happens.

For sure, however if another player did the same they would get slated. Rob seems to be made of teflon in some quarters, and that's no directed at anyone, just a general comment. Personally I'm not sure how long more he is going to get away with living on past glories and being kept in the side based on experience yada yada...but as pointed out it's unlikely to change in this tournament. Unfortunate as that is, in my opinion.

Burkie1203 · 25-02-2018 7:33pm

tototoe wrote: »

For sure, however if another player did the same they would get slated. Rob seems to be made of teflon in some quarters, and that's no directed at anyone, just a general comment. Personally I'm not sure how long more he is going to get away with living on past glories and being kept in the side based on experience yada yada...but as pointed out it's unlikely to change in this tournament. Unfortunate as that is, in my opinion.

We gave away 4 penalties yesterday. 4. In 80 minutes. Nit picking.

Kearney was decent on saturday. I watched the match back this morning. We are top of the table with two bites at a title to come.

FrancieBrady · 25-02-2018 7:36pm

tototoe wrote: »

For sure, however if another player did the same they would get slated. Rob seems to be made of teflon in some quarters, and that's no directed at anyone, just a general comment. Personally I'm not sure how long more he is going to get away with living on past glories and being kept in the side based on experience yada yada...but as pointed out it's unlikely to change in this tournament. Unfortunate as that is, in my opinion.

Did he even mean to kick the ball out of his hands?

Ref had to award the penalty, I don't think Kearney meant to do it.

Interested Observer · 25-02-2018 7:37pm

FrancieBrady wrote: »

Did he even mean to kick the ball out of his hands?

Ref had to award the penalty, I don't think Kearney meant to do it.

He definitely meant it.

.ak · 25-02-2018 7:38pm

tototoe wrote: »

No mention of the penalty he gave away kicking the ball out of the ruck..or his DG attempt. He was not good yesterday..and hasn't been great for quite a while. He was beaten in the air a fair bit yesterday which is supposedly where his strengths lie.

Yeah the kick from the ruck was poor alright.

I think you're being unreasonable with the other criticisms though. Losing 50/50 balls despite his positioning being good isn't something you can beat him with. He got there, did the work to get in the air and got hands to all of those balls, the Welsh players always having advantage attacking the ball.

The drop goal was fine. Shot to nothing, and something he's nailed before. We get the ball back in that situation at a closer range.

EDIT: Actually was glad to see the DG attempt at the time. Poor execution, but good idea. As I said, he's nailed ones from the halfway line before in crunch matches, shows the sign of a good player attempting something like that, but apparently Kearney has blinkers on and just runs into contact. :rolleyes:

Neil3030 · 25-02-2018 7:39pm

I note a number of people ignore Rob's basics when criticising him, yet overplay Johnnie's basics when criticising him. I'm sure that's purely a coincidence of course.

.ak · 25-02-2018 7:40pm

Interested Observer wrote: »

It's a real shame Carbery won't be looked at at 15. He's played really well there for Leinster at the end of last season and the start of this one into until he got injured. Schmidt doesn't seem to be interested though.

Personally I think Carbery would be a target at 15 on the international stage. His positioning isn't good enough, despite it coming on well for Leinster. This is another step up however.

.ak · 25-02-2018 7:41pm

Neil3030 wrote: »

I note a number of people ignore Rob's basics when criticising him, yet overplay Johnnie's basics when criticising him. I'm sure that's purely a coincidence of course.

Funnily enough Johnny had a howler of a miss when attempting a DG against the French and nobody said anything.

Burkie1203 · 25-02-2018 7:44pm

.ak wrote: »

Funnily enough Johnny had a howler of a miss when attempting a DG against the French and nobody said anything.

Mainly because he isnt rob kearney

stephen_n · 25-02-2018 7:45pm

tototoe wrote: »

For sure, however if another player did the same they would get slated. Rob seems to be made of teflon in some quarters, and that's no directed at anyone, just a general comment. Personally I'm not sure how long more he is going to get away with living on past glories and being kept in the side based on experience yada yada...but as pointed out it's unlikely to change in this tournament. Unfortunate as that is, in my opinion.

Teflon? Every single thing he does wrong gets examined under a microscope and criticized from all angles. Not since Heaslip has any player drawn as much constant and undeserved criticism.

sydthebeat · 25-02-2018 7:48pm

Kearney is currently our best available full back. People have been calling for his head for the last 4/5 years but still he's picked continuously.

England have brown, who's can go from man of the match to a poor outing yesterday. Halfpenny is nothing special in open play but is solid and dependable, especially from the tee. Each of these players, including Kearney, has been questioned about deserving their jerseys. Each time their respective coaches select them.
Every full back can't be hogg, and you ask any player would they prefer a player of the tournament award, or a winners medal and you know which they would pick.

Anyway, a stopped clock is right twice a day, and eventually Kearney will not be there and those detractors can rejoice, but till then.....

tototoe · 25-02-2018 7:52pm

stephen_n wrote:

Teflon? Every single thing he does wrong gets examined under a microscope and criticized from all angles. Not since Heaslip has any player drawn as much constant and undeserved criticism.

Personally I've never really criticised heaslip, nor sexton yesterday. I just don't think kearney is up to it anymore and don't see where he played very/well yesterday..I just can't see it. It's not having a go at him, or a personal thing. It's based on his performance. The same can be said in reverse...that some people don't or wont criticise him at all.

The hard done by kearney thing isn't flying with me tbh but sure whatever you're having yourself. Everyone has an opinion

Burkie1203 · 25-02-2018 7:57pm

tototoe wrote: »

Personally I've never really criticised heaslip, nor sexton yesterday. I just don't think kearney is up to it anymore and don't see where he played very/well yesterday..I just can't see it. It's not having a go at him, or a personal thing. It's based on his performance. The same can be said in reverse...that some people don't or wont criticise him at all.

The hard done by kearney thing isn't flying with me tbh but sure whatever you're having yourself. Everyone has an opinion

What exactly did he do wrong yesterday

He made some really good recovery running ball back, he put Earls (i think) away with a lovely offload in the 2nd half, Murray ended up juggling the ball but if he caught it without having to check his run he was in, and he did loads of other good work in tight situations.

Id like to see Conway in there at some point but we had three of our 11-15 had 13 caps between them. Its a no brainer

sydthebeat · 25-02-2018 8:02pm

His strike running is still good, he would have had a try against Italy if it wasn't for pointes ridiculous positioning

awec · 25-02-2018 8:05pm

.ak wrote: »

Funnily enough Johnny had a howler of a miss when attempting a DG against the French and nobody said anything.

During an advantage and pretty much in front of the posts, no?

irishbucsfan · 25-02-2018 8:06pm

awec wrote: »

During an advantage and pretty much in front of the posts, no?

Yes it was. And people absolutely complained, questioning why we'd go for a drop during a penalty advantage, which is a fair criticism of it.

vetinari · 25-02-2018 8:14pm

Tbh if Kearney isn't winning the 50 50 up and unders, it becomes harder to justify him being picked.
Thought he had an okay game yesterday. We should really be looking for a more attacking threat from 15 though.
It'd be good to see Lamour as a sub option against Scotland potentially coming on to replace Kearney.
I don't think Kearney is irreplaceable on current form.

Interested Observer · 25-02-2018 8:19pm

I roared at my TV in frustration when Sexton tried that drop goal. I do apologise for not posting about it on here.

Christy42 · 25-02-2018 8:23pm

awec wrote: »

During an advantage and pretty much in front of the posts, no?

Surely missing it from right in front of the posts makes it worse? Johnny went for that because we would lose nothing if it went wrong. Rob went for his because we would lose nothing if he missed. Which is what happened.

awec · 25-02-2018 8:24pm

Kearney was ok I thought. I wouldn't highlight him as being good nor single him out for being bad. The drop goal was a bad decision and rubbish execution so criticism of that is fair game. He got owned in the air by Biggar more than once. He is a very different player to our other two back three players in that he offers no threat when he has the ball in hand and I think that makes him stick out for criticism a bit. However, there's nobody else right now to replace him and he's still decent. I think he offers a lot of intangible benefits with his positioning and instructing younger players.

Sexton I thought was great in open play. His kicking from the tee was brutal. His decision to tap and go near the line was a really rubbish decision that any other Irish 10 would have been hung, drawn and quartered for. If Keatley had done that for Ireland there'd be 20 pages of how he's just not up to it. It happened because his confidence to nail the kick was clearly gone, but this doesn't excuse it. Overall though he was quality, but he's always going to pick up some flak for missing his kicks. He's not the first and won't be the last 10 for this to happen to.

Christy42 · 25-02-2018 8:29pm

awec wrote: »

Kearney was ok I thought. I wouldn't highlight him as being good nor single him out for being bad. The drop goal was a bad decision and rubbish execution so criticism of that is fair game. He got owned in the air by Biggar more than once. He is a very different player to our other two back three players in that he offers no threat when he has the ball in hand and I think that makes him stick out for criticism a bit. However, there's nobody else right now to replace him and he's still decent. I think he offers a lot of intangible benefits with his positioning and instructing younger players.

Sexton I thought was great in open play. His kicking from the tee was brutal. His decision to tap and go near the line was a really rubbish decision that any other Irish 10 would have been hung, drawn and quartered for. If Keatley had done that for Ireland there'd be 20 pages of how he's just not up to it. It happened because his confidence to nail the kick was clearly gone, but this doesn't excuse it. Overall though he was quality, but he's always going to pick up some flak for missing his kicks. He's not the first and won't be the last 10 for this to happen to.

I would agree that Kearney was OK and nothing better but the drop goal was the right decision. Had it come off it was 3 points. As it was we got the ball back and lost 0 territory from the kick. I can't see why it was a bad decision.

Buer · 25-02-2018 8:39pm

sydthebeat wrote: »

Kearney is currently our best available full back. People have been calling for his head for the last 4/5 years but still he's picked continuously.

England have brown, who's can go from man of the match to a poor outing yesterday. Halfpenny is nothing special in open play but is solid and dependable, especially from the tee.

Just when you mention him, I thought Halfpenny was pretty poor yesterday aside from his excellent goal kicking. He was a non entity in open play, spilled one pass at a crucial time and was a bit suspect in defence. I thought his read for our first try was very poor and handed Stockdale the score.

penybont exile · 25-02-2018 9:14pm

Well played Ireland. Boss the breakdown ... win the game.

Looking down the pitch behind Anscombe at the end the robbery was definitely on if the pass had gone to Tupuric or cleared Stockdale.

Haven't seen a TV re-run or read anything on here .... Will do so and be back for some banter.

Ireland vs Wales 24th Feb 2:15

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