Well as bad as we feel about losing on Saturday to NZ, I'd say the French feel even worse this morning.
Not for me. Despite how poor the 2019 WC was, I wouldn't have given up what happened in 2018 for it and it's the same here. Too much brilliant stuff has happened over the last 18 months or so for me to wish it away to get a result against NZ over the weekend.
I didn't realise that just over half the squad of 33 were aged over 30, it does mean we need to rebuild over the next 2 years, I had thought that the age profile was younger. We could be in trouble in 5 years time I we dont
Two Test tour of SA, I think.
Genuinely thank you because I was not going to watch SA v France if you hadn't made feel embarrassed about
If he'd nailed that penalty, we were well set up for a drop to win it. Barnes was really good all night, but there were two stone cold penalties at the death he should've given.
Aye, that would be one criticism I'd have of the management. Sexton should have been off around 70 minutes. But you can understand why he was kept on. I'm not sure it was down to sentiment either, more a case of if someone cam turn this around its him, but I think the moment he tried that dink in behind was the moment I thought they needed to consider a change.
I'd agree with all of that. I'd prefer to have left VDF on over POM but VDF hasn't had as good a year as last year.
I hope that Baird or Bierne can wrestle that 6 Jersey from o mahony now.
Need to look at a new 9 too. Doak maybe or hopefully Gunne is fast tracked at Leinster.
Also Johnny should not have been on the field for the last 10 minutes.
Match thread a predictable cesspool. I was surprised VdF was subbed for Conan. Thought POM had a fairly quiet game, and I'm guessing Farrell wanted him to stay on for the lineout.
Looked like sentiment won out in keeping Sexton on at the death. Can understand it, but game was crying out for a injection of energy.
(Wrong thread)
For goodness sake don't bring facts into the conversation
And we completely replaced the forwards early in the second half.
Reading posts like this, I wonder if it's a cry for help. I would suggest some form of counselling might help.
Why would it?
And of course, all the very understanding fans on this forum, would have been perfectly happy losing to Scotland and exiting the world cup.
Also lets forget that 6 subs were used before the 50th minute in the game.
Crucially of course, the decisions were made without the amazing hindsight that the intelligencia are using today.
Would be starting himself and Ryan for Leinster and ireland Going forward
There in lies the problem, afraid to make changes in case we'd lose to the mighty Scots.
Our final was beating Scotland, something we do in most 6Ns
We weren't playing a bad team or even a Fiji or Japan. We were playing the no. 5 team in the world. You don't take the fifth best team in rugby lightly.
Before the Scotland game I suggested some changes, maybe use the bench as starters and bring on a mixture of starters and 3rds to the bench.
It was says we needed to go full bore, any team with a plan to win a world cup would have a second string team that could beat Scotland in a pool game, esp if it's the last pool game before knockout rugby.
We didn't or at least we didn't trust our benchers to start.
Agree. We should have lost to SA due to our dysfunctional line-out. They just weren't able to punish us. The ABs did.
The harsh reality is that everything we did in the last couple of years, the series win in NZ, the grand slam, will now always have an asterisk beside it.
Ireland played Scotland and South Africa in their last two matches. Who else played two serious opponents in their last two games?
I haven't heard anybody complaining about it.
I'm attributing those fixtures to how jaded we looked in the last twenty minutes last night.
We need to find a balance between bringing in new players and building momentum. A large portion of the squad dont need replacing so I wouldnt worry about that, for now the ones who obviously wont make the next RWC we should move out and the rest keep for now until they start dropping off but in the meantime gradually give a replacement minutes whenever we can.
There does have to be serious questions about what the F happened to our line out. This has been an issue since the Italy warm up game and yet nothing had changed 8 games later, Scotland looking like an anomaly, the line out worked perfectly in the 6N and before it so what on earth happened?
You're very much wrong. Scotland moaned about it. And why would France moan about the draw?
Keep going for the 6Ns with minimal changes would be my guess.
Who do we tour next summer? Between that and particularly next Autumn we'll see a few new players come in, but it's normally fairly gradual.
It's literally only Ireland you hear complaining about the draw. You don't hear NZ, SA or France moaning about it
So do we give what's left of this squad one more year and start the rebuild in '25 or start now?
We have lots of younger players in the squad but the back row outside of Doris is old, obviously our half backs are pretty much gone and Bundee and James Lowe are at the end of their careers too.
O'Mahoney was one of our best players in this World Cup.
I refuse to criticise any player. I'm blaming World rugby for making a shames of the schedule in the pool stages.
It's ridiculous that only one top team would have their two toughest games at the end of the pool stages.
Time to replace farrells coaches I think, o connell not cutting it with the line out and our scrum is always in bother, thought we had a world class front row? O mahony offers no ballast, gain line or jackel threat, furlong on last legs too, fast track big Joe and baird or beirne to 6 and use conan more too
