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

Collectively those u20 Irish teams played great but when I look back over those last 5 years and try to pick out a potential super talented player in the backs I'm struggling to find even one. I wouldn't even put Prendergast in there as he had a poor JWC

Im a Leinster supporter. I don't really buy the hype around Sam and he'd a poor game yesterday. He's had cracking games for Leinster but urc and cc very different.

Id have been happy with Crowley in yesterday as he is a stronger defender. Whether it would have changed much I dunno. Management see something in Sam but whether this ceiling is sextonesque only time will tell. He's had on ok tournament.

Spare a thought for Frawley too. He didn't do much wrong much like Crowley.

I have said for years Ireland needs to build a squad by rotation. Not to build for the World Cup but to actually build depth for the now.
so I would have no problem with prendergast getting so much game time if we were doing the same in other positions

Rugby is a highly physical game where teams need large experienced squads, whether that be club or country.

due to having a player hierarchy in the squad we leave ourselves vulnerable to an injury, suspension or bad form really hurting us and even if we don’t hear it publicly player discontent. A player can give a brilliant performance but when player X is fit again they are dropped again.

We are constantly arriving in Irish rugby to a position where we arrive to play big important games and we have to pick Healy, Murray and herring as we need players with experience and we can’t throw young players into these cauldrons.
surely we can all agree that Irish rugby constantly arriving at this position means we need to rewrite the script.

Spare a thought for Frawley too. He didn't do much wrong much like Crowley.

His performance against NZ was the stuff of nightmares

We weren't hammered in the QF. A little bit better decision making during the game would have had us through

at this rate, prendergasts new team mates will be some team in the AIL

Ah yes, Craig Casey is ‘too small’—maybe tell that to the international teams he’s already played against? Or better yet, email World Rugby and demand they introduce a minimum height requirement just to save yourself from making another clueless comment.

we are a top 5 team now.

We used be top 3.

Top 4 I would say and any of the top 4 can beat each other on their day. If the top ranked team always won sport would be very boring.

World Rugby Rankings calculator

We still are top 3.

Just checked in on this thread to see what kind of reactive scutter hyperbole would be posted.

Listen we were down a few front line players yesterday and we just don't have the depth of replacements that the big Rugby countries like France have... That's the story.

True but our depth issue is largly self inflicted, fail to prepare well…you know the rest!

Blocking a player in that position without getting a YC isn't hard; putting your arm up high gives ref a really easy decision when there is no need.

POM blocked Bielle Barrey twice with pretend blocks to his kicks but followed through to make sure he stopped him. Hard decision both times for ref for a penalty and he didn't give either. Call it cute/cynical whatever you like but you win fcuk all without it.

McCarthy is lazy or braindead but unless he gets a radical attitude change he's not fit for test rugby

Well, I spotted it from my seat and called it at the time but somehow none of the officials or TMO saw it. 🤔

That was a statement performance by France. They came to the home of the 2 time defending champions and hammered them. Their forwards absolutely pummeled the Irish forwards into submission. And as we all know, forwards decide who wins. And as I've said before, Ireland simply doesn't have the pace in the backs to get them out of trouble or take advantage of any half breaks or disconnects in the defensive line.

As always in these threads, people are complaining about the ref but the reality is, Gardner was fine. Anyone who has seen matches he refs would know that he likes a fast game and favours the attacking team. In the first half he was trying to speed the game up which should have suited Ireland as it would tire the French pack. But Ireland kept insisting on huddles before lineouts and taking the knee. Maybe he could have given a YC in the first 20 but Ireland had all the possession and territory and did nothing with it. They can't rely on the ref to give them a helping hand. The clear out on POM was a 50:50 call for me as the French player who ran into the hole was still tackled and as I said, Gardner favours the attacking team.

It's a shame that Healy, POM and Murray didn't get a winning send off as they've been great servants but not everyone gets the fairytale ending.