Thats kind of my point, finishing 4th 10 years ago was worth more as there were 4 competitive teams. Our loss on Thursday was our worst in 23 years in the 6 nations. If we were competitive I wouldn't be concerned but we were annihilated.
Well to be fair, any handicap France have will be too short, this will be a repeat of Italy last year for them.
still trying to wash the soap off his hands from friday night.
We have 3 provinces in the top 6 of the URC…it’s not even remotely comparable.
From the As only Bryn called up
Zac Ward was brutal against England A. I imagine he isn't in the coaches considerations at all after that performance. Bryn was one of the few Ireland players to actually impress.
That's good to see. Hopefully he'll be involved.
Pick him. 20
Where is Zac?
ireland were -20 on first announcement. i absolutely jumped at the as i think thats at least 10 points too wide.
Italy are coming full of confidence, knowing this will be their best chance to beat ireland in Dublin in over 10 years. They have cappuozzo returning. They have a forward pack who do not stop working, unlike some italian packs that have wilted before. menonello is world class. Brex will be missed but mazza could come in for his debut and would be a handful.
ireland are going through a crisis of identity really. Are we to continue with a poor kick chase strategy (no speed, no physicality) or do we return to multi phase style against a pack which is willing to tackle itself to death?
i think ANY win here will be a a result for us.
Bryn Ward has been called up
Someone needs to have a chat with the bookies
France are only 11 points higher than us on the handicap away to Wales🤔
Ire - 19
France -30
We are not loosing to Italy at home on Sat, we've 2 extra days prep & i fully expect to see a reaction from this team.
Will all our issues be resolved...no
Will we win...yes
I'm sure many will disagree but I'm going to say it anyway and it'll probably be different to what a lot think.
The worst two backs were Stockdale and Prendergast, both horrendous. Stockdale, high balls forget about it, awful tackler. About the only thing he has is a bit of speed and strength when going forward. There's no.llsve for him in this Irish team.
Prendergast is just too bad defensively, missed tackles at crucial moments like the one where Jalibert cruised by him. What he was at when he intercepted the pass I just don't know, the pass to O'Brien was the worst option. Kick it if you have the chance, if not go to ground so the forwards can set up a clearance.
He's grand and looks good against weaker opposition but he's a liability in a tight game against an elite opponent.
The best backs. Osbourne stood out out for me, looks really good and composed both with and without the ball. A very talented and smart rugby player. He was solid defensively and seen thing very well when we had the opportunity to move forward.
There is nothing exciting about McCloskey but he's consistent and trustworthy. I think we have younger talents that will be better than him soon but he won't let you down.
O'Brien got a lot of criticism for a couple of high balls but besides that he had a decent game I think.
The worst forwards,
Joe McCarthy was a challenger to Stockdale for worst player on the field. He was overpowered by the French all through, lost a couple of balls, did absolutely nothing of note.
I never thought I'd ever say this but Dan Sheehan was very poor, seemed lost and couldn't get going with ball in hand. He has to get credit for his throwing to the lineout though.
The best forwards,
Caelon Doris never stopped trying and he made metres every time he went into contact.
Tadgh Beirne, like Doris, never stopped trying, had a few good runs and he was excellent at the lineout.
Some are saying Cian Prendergast played well. I'm a Connacht fan and maybe I'm being a bit critical because this performance wasn't up to the level he shows for us but I thought he was just about okay on the might.
There's a few that had okay nights but we need to be giving opportunities to players who came in and played well. And we need to replace those who were awful.
There was a period where, as bad as France were, they seemed to reserve their best performance of the 6 Nations versus us.
I remember the last game of the 2014 6 Nations, and we were clinging on by our fingernails to close it out at the death (possibly still carrying some doubts from what had happened vs NZ the previous November).
Was watching a clip of the Wales v England 2015 game, All the fanfare and top players they had but all was not well in the regions. We're not far from that precipice with only 1 province seemingly able to deliver players and even that could end
Right wingers rarely get a pass from Ringrose who nearly a;ways cuts back in off his right foot rather than pass to a player on the outside. Baloucoune would be lonely.
Loughman was at best average.
I mean yes of course Wales are practically a walk over now whereas France were a tough side but one you’d be confident of beating. The big difference in Andy Farrells favour is we have yet to lose to a side that finished bottom half of the table whereas Schmidt lost to Wales & Scotland in 2017 who finished 4th and 5th and in 2016 lost to France who finished 5th. Personally , I find this worse than losing to a quality French side that we saw in Thursday, granted both suck!
Yes the Schmidt era has a significant gloss from France blowing hot and cold for the entirety of it but the collapse of Wales is on a whole other level. France could still show up throughout that period and notably ran England close in 2017 away from home, while currently Wales are utterly spent as a competitive force.
It’s not necessarily a case of dropping TOB, it’s more about wanting to see Baloucoune get a run in the team.
Stumping for a majority Ulster backline wouldn't be a terrible idea imo. Replace Ringrose with Osborne or Hume. Put Stockdale at 15, Baloucoune on the wing. I'd like to see Doak get a spot on the bench too
In that case I agree but I suspect it’s a single digit handicap, unless there are some surprise results this week that might influence the handicap.
We’ll definitely be underdogs but I doubt it’ll be 2 score underdogs unless Ireland are dreadful this weekend and/or England are impressive. I suspect it’ll be like 7-8 points underdogs
Just for the sake of clarity, by "2 score underdogs", I meant in the 8-14 point region so we're not a million miles apart there.
I've not dropped Stockdale from my own team. I have moved him to 15, where he has been excellent this season. Moved Osbourne away from fullback also, which just isn't where he is best suited. But yep, I do think Farrell drops him completely to get Lowe in and keep Osbourne at 15. Wrong call imo.
TOB was poor last week, but he has been good this season. I don't think he is dropped after 1 poor game, especially for Baloucoune who I don't think has ever been excellent for Ireland to my mind and probably isn't busy enough for Farrell. Who knows though, I think the backlash and general sentiment around puts a few positions up in the air.
Yep, I agree with you but with the back 3 players that are out, and unless he shocks us and names Ward/Kenny (both of whom were poor for the A team), I can see Lowe starting this.
The other thing that I don't see happening, but would be a possible curve ball would be 11 Stockdale 14 TOB 15 Crowley. Again I don't see it happening but would be possible if he wants to keep the wingers the same as last week, and add a second playmaker. Frawley is completely out of the reckoning after that performance on Friday in my opinion.
Brex out for the Italians (big loss) however Capuazzo and Varney back for the game.
Giles from Buffy?? 😉
its like most sayings, there is an equal and opposite version for most sayings. ill take your above and counter it with "the best ability is availablity".
reminds of the saying "fortune favours the brave" being countered with "fools rush in where angels fear to tread" or "better safe than sorry" or again, in a similar vein, "Look before you leap" versus "He who hesitates is lost"
"Many hands make light work" compared to "Too many cooks spoil the broth"
"Absence makes the heart grow fonder" …... "Out of sight, out of mind"
i could go on…..
All the playmakers so 😋 Love how far Italy have come, honestly wouldn't begrudge them a win
Giles often said that the stock of an injured player in a team that is underperforming is always higher than those that play.
If we’re trying to be positive we can’t ignore the impact of the Lions tour on those who travelled. They have had minimal downtime since pre-season 2024 so they must be fatigued, especially mentally, which may account for some of the poor start . They will recover, but probably not until next season when they will have a proper break and pre-season
Tbh, if we play like we did in the last 30 minutes we should be okay…but that first 50 was frighteningly bad that I certainly won’t be counting my chicken. That first 50 will sting for awhile I suspect.
Replacing Stockdale with Lowe just means Lowe dodged the Paris bullet and gets rewarded with playing Italy at home for his poor form. It would be a pointless change.
