6N '25 Ireland v France Match Thread: Sat8th Mar 2:15 Farewell & Adieu to you POMs, Murrays & Healys

Italy isn't a dead rubber. We have to go out a d assume the Scots will beat France. 5 points is a must

so we are down to “well the coaches think Sam is better” and not that the fact he is a poor international 10.

I’m basing this off his 6N performances across all his matches, from multiple intercepts thrown to multiple missed kicks out of hand and at goal, to having no ball in hand threat, to being a poor tackler and defender.

If Jack Crowley had performed this poorly in four 6N games I would have expected him to be dropped.

I will always believe what I’m seeing with my own eyes and not what a journalist tells me I’ve seen.

McCarthy's was ridiculous (on his part). It was brain dead. It was almost akin to a slap in the face to his team mates. But, when I take a deep breath, it was obviously just a disastrous decision under pressure.

Professional sport is all about making the right decisions under pressure. McCarthy's superiority in other areas is undermined by his failure in this area. I would pick Ryan ahead of him.

Nash yellow card was much more unfortunate. He had dropped for the tackle & it was more absorbing than attacking. Had it been a pen only, I wouldn't have been overly surprised but I also concede that a yellow wasn't outrageous.

When you add 2 years onto all those ages for the next RWC I think we are in massive trouble already for that competition because there isn’t the time to develop the next crop of players with enough experience playing against teams that are in the top 5 in the world, and that’s before you question the actual desire of the mgt to do it.

The question is this - In 12 months we have gone from being 21 points better than France to 15 points worse than them. What players can we bring it that will turn that around? and what changes can we make that will make us RWC contenders because this side is on a downward trajectory currently.

indeed, South Africa has the same problem, their team is even older than the irish one, that s why Erasmus has announced extra games for 2025 in order to shape a new team…

I was shot down after the World Cup for suggesting a lot of the players wouldn't make it to 2037 and there was a dire need to rebuild. If there was a bit more of a spread of ages then we could have dealt with it by evolution and it's nearly every position there is a question mark over.

How many of those U20 players have broken into the senior team to be a started within 5 years? Is it one?

While it might have been an idea in certain positions back then it’s most certainly a necessity in many positions now.

Props, 6, 7, 10, are all an issue currently, and midfield, is quickly becoming a problem with the age profile.

We need to realize we are possibly in a post Furlong era now. His days of being consistently available seem gone and his lack of game time is a problem now. If he gets back it’s hard to see him lasting long without another injury

The bottom line is we need more top level players. The IRFU need to invest in ALL four URC teams, we have the blueprint with Leinster, we need to copy it, starting with the schools.