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

What’s happening here, online and on social media is beyond criticism, it’s targeted bullying, and it reeks of something deeply unpleasant. He’s a young player, still developing, and instead of being given the space to grow, he’s being subjected to cruel, anonymous attacks from someone who should know better.

There’s something particularly cowardly about a middle aged man ho has likely never played at his level hiding behind anonymity to tear down a young athlete. It’s not constructive; it’s not fair; it’s just mean spirited. This isn’t the kind of robust debate or fair critique that sports thrive on, it’s an attempt to humiliate, to shake confidence, and to harm.

Young players should be nurtured, not knocked down by bitter voices who have nothing to offer but negativity. If you had any integrity, you'd put your name to their words and make a reasoned argument. But you don’t, because deep down, you know your just being nasty. And that says more about you than it ever could about Sam Prendergast

There's a bit of a melt down after one loss, and a few average performances during the 6N.

Andy Farrell's appointment for the Lions was always going to make this 6N difficult. To target a WC 2 years away we need to expand panel; that you be fine with AF in charge; he'd be given leeway but with SE in charge is was a bit of a poison chalice.

SE couldn't really experiment and benefit. If Ireland blooded 6-7 new players or whatever and finished 3rd he be forever the guy who fcuked up a historic 3 in a row team, if it led to Ireland getting a WC final or whatever it'd be Af getting the plaudits.

All risk and no reward for SE.

Everything amount his selection/gameplan wreaked of someone hamstrung by AF's instructions and a conservatism not to drop the baby.

Tough week in camp ahead and unless SE does a 180 his only goal this week will be to win and not ruin his own future prospects as a head coach (for Ireland or elsewhere) by losing in Rome. Very hard to see him being bold, brave eve if it would be the right move to inject a bit of competition and life back into the squad.

In fairness, in winning the 6Ns last year we were poor against England and Scotland, we were piss poor v NZ in the AIs, failed to score in the 2nd hald v Argentina and dragged ourselves though to a wain having being behind at halftime v Australia, this season we have been misfiring right throughout the 6Ns and failed to put a BP win against a poor Wales team.

He didn't deserve player of the match against Scotland, JGP was head and shoulders above everybody else. Sam was second best.

He got one against Clermont too when he was actually shocked he got it, that day Porter was phenomenal.

The player of the round is a joke, it's a fan vote and it's obvious that Leinster fans piled in on Sam because JGP only got 8% of the vote and I'd guess most of his votes were not from Leinster fans.

Yeah I've said a few of those in my time, particularly the "Ireland are good" and "Andy is good", mainly because I'm an Ireland fan and we're in our most successful period ever of international rugby.

If you have a different perspective whereby our most successful period ever of international rugby is a bad thing, then I guess that's your prerogative.

However, I could say all of the above a million times over and it would never come close to this beauty;

Yes I honestly believe Sam is possibly the worst 10 to have ever played in green. He has nothing, literally nothing to offer. 

If you genuinely believe that, it would go a long way to explaining why you have the take on things that you do. You don't believe it though, you certainly want it to be true but you know it's nonsense, and yet you still posted it.

Is it time to stop and ask yourself why?

Yes I was happy with the AIs besides the loss to New Zealand. But it's New Zealand, they can beat anybody at anytime. I wasn't happy with the performance against Wales but they only lost by six to Scotland so it's not as bad as I thought.

Munster fans on boards know more about rugby than Ronan O'Gara for one it seems.

Jack Crowley is a good player with limitations.

Sam Prendergast is a good player with weaknesses that need addressing. He place kicking is very much ahead of JC, even at 22. The distance on his touch finders are well above JC's too.

One thing you could say for Crowley though, he always makes his tackles and that's where SP really needs to improve. Can struggle to find touch regularly with ball in hand though.

Wales were held scoreless by France

He is taking on kicks that Crowley wouldn't even look at. And look at the misses he has had - conversions in the corner and very long range pens, and always has the range - two off the post, with the exception of one last minute kick with the match already won

The Wales game was their first one after their coach change, he's a keeper if he got them to that level after a few days in camp. Maybe Ireland should be seeking him out.

Wow, there is overblown self-righteous drivel and then there is this.

Sam P has some pretty glaring inadequacies in his game. They are blindingly obvious to anyone outside of a certain bubble. If you think this is all agenda-driven bitterness from Munster fans, then just take a look at what the international media say, and the consensus pretty much is that the guy is way out of his depth.

Gaslighting people for having an opinion on the ability of the player just adds to the whole toxic narrative around him.

I think we will persist with him for another 12 months though, out of stubborness if nothing else, and then he may be cast aside. Or he will become a better defender and more of a threat with ball in hand. I think the latter is less likely but you never know.

He actually is no longer under 70%. He is 70.83%. Jack was 74% last year. But overall this season Sam has been the far better kicker. In the URC Sam is 91% and Jack is 29%

You mean like the from halfway to win it against Castres that he turned down and subsequently missed touch from the hands..yes rose tinted!!

I think its clear from this that Jack Crowley is not good enough to start for Munster and we can all agree Billy Burns is the best option given his 74% success rate

I posited that Prendergast takes on more difficult kicks than Crowley. Its clearly true, he has a longer range. And here is a specific example of him turning down a kick that Prendergast often takes on. and when its out of his range that's the right call. Thats not a slight on Crowley, players have different strengths. It seems to some though that any admission that there may be strengths to Prendergast's game that mark him ahead of Crowley in even one aspect of the game would make their head explode. The comment on the touch kick is that all players make mistakes!!

What it seems to boil down to is many people cannot hold two things to be true at the same time. Ireland are permitted to have two talented outhalves at the same time you know.