Hate the TV pictures
Its hard to think of any player who you could say had a good first half.
Because you don't want to. Whatever problems we have, are down to 16 handling errors and 12 turnovers conceded and a lineout that malfunctions, which has the square root of fook all to do with Sam Prendergast.
Well we can't be any worse in the second half???
Incredible to think this side started as favourites as NZ. From beating the Springboks in SA to this. Never seen a team decline so much in 4 games.
4 weeks in and we still can't do the basics. Shocking stuff.
I'm like a c*nt after that half of sh*t. Where's the leadership on the pitch? Doris is a fabulous player but as a captain I don't see him being the right fit. Just shows how much influence Sexton had on this team. SP has been a mixed bag, good kicking out of hand but poor in defence. But any 10 would struggle to look good out there with how lacklustre the pack are. Lowe and Bealham should be subbed at HT.
All the slickness and precision seems to have gone out of the phase attack since Goodman replaced Catt. Not good.
But he should learning his profession at Leinster not Ireland. I think he has potential but that’s all it is. I am not criticising Pendergast
Pendergast is finding out today how Crowley felt against New Zealand and playing behind a set of forwards who are playing poorly
saying that I would be happy for him if he comes out in the second half and proves me wrong.
Thought Prendergast was one of our better players being honest. People need to stop with the over analysis. He's not going anywhere folks, he's going to be either on bench or starting from here on out.
Can't get over the handling errors. Will someone get Byrne out of the backrow please!?
I do think there is a yard of pace gone from this team. We are very pedestrian. Getting to rucks that half second slower etc.
If we can get any decent possession we will win this.
He's missed 4 tackles, kicked away a ball just outside their 22, gone too long on his restarts and conceded a turnover. Early days for him and his line kicking has been great but he's not having the best game.
we are very inaccurate. Our moves are telegraphed and lack fluidity. We cannot manufacture any overlap.
Prendergast is doing ok. The posts calling him great and the posts calling him awful are both over egging it. Hes grand, a bit of a problem in defence but not THE problem.
The pack is offering very little. This garbage of Beirne at 6 needs to stop. It doesn’t work, it has never worked. Unfortunately our bench is fairly meh for reasons beyond all comprehension so moving him now won’t be as impactful as it should be.
We look like the team at the end of a long season waiting on a sun holiday.
He kicked the ball away after we went side to side numerous times and got nowhere.
Restarts lengths are usually a team tactic so hard to know if they are too long or not.
Haven’t seen Lowe or Bealham have such poor games in a while. Australia haven’t had to do too much as we can’t stop spilling the ball or consistently win our lineouts but they’ve look dangerous when they had a sniff. Been happy with SP so far, apart from the missed conversion
Even if starting at Leinster he'd still have to move up to international.
He made the one real tackle he had to make.
It's ridiculous, SP is not the problem. If Crowley was there he wouldn't be the problem either.
Our line lineout and handling is a shambles.
I did not miss a kickable penalty and I did not miss those tackles. It was a contentious selection and he will have more eyes on himself. That is reality. And I said he was marginally in the positive column - most of his teammates are well in the negative column.
I'd argue that going side to side and getting nowhere isn't a great reflection on your fly half. He's being picked to unlock defences after all.
Keenan has been excellent. Defensively sound, and has been fizzing with the ball in hand
I think SP is far more positive then negative in that 40 minutes. He is getting us into great positions from his kicks to touch but he ain't the one screwing up the lineout or dropping simple passes. Some of his passing out wide got us into great position but again others have knocked on etc.
Beirne at 6 isn't working. We need a change there but POM isn't a ball carrier of note which is what we need IMO. Conan is a big miss IMO.
Except for choosing not to pass twice when a pass might have led to a try
But he's made a couple of mistakes as well.
We've a few players, who were World class, 31 + and looking like their best days may be behind them. Then a group below World class like Bealham also well into the 30s.
Many on the go since the 2018 slam, almost 7 years ago.
Well we had Keenan get to within a metre but he dropped the ball. We had a few other half breaks too down the left.
Every time we got some momentum someone dropped the ball. Can't blame the 10 for that.
I think Osborne is now a better player. He was outstanding in South Africa.
Is Donnacha Ryan still with ROG at La Rochelle? We need a new lineout coach... ..
We're playing without a 6.
Beirne in open play is doing everything the locks are doing. That passage of play that ended with bundee hogging the side line just reinforced that were without a heavy carrier out wide.
Pom needs to come on for both line outv security and to keep width in our forwards
True that. It's a real team malfunction.
His kicks to touch are generally from dead ball, any outhalf should be capable of doy that.
Like awec has said, he's not the problem today.
He was stripped in fairness, and I couldn't see where the knockon was in that sequence towards the end when he regathered the kick
