Hate to say I told you so
There wasn't one poor performer today. A great team performance.
Who got player of the match? I think I'd have given it to Crowley.
We all think Bundee is finished and he comes on and shows us all we are wrong.
Now to do what's extremely difficult. Let me hear you all, 'Swing low, sweet chariot'. 🤣
Doris. Deservedly so.
Beirne, Conan & TO'B are my runners up.
Crowley was good but I don't know what game whoever selected the POTM shortlist was watching to exclude Beirne.
Doris, Beirne, McCloskey all excellent, as they have been all tournament.
One person who deserves plaudits is Paul O'Connell. The lineout looked an absolute shambles only a few months ago and it was near flawless during this championship.
There was a widespread wish to get him out of that role but he's managed to fix it. Lineout was a serious platform for us this season and even when everything went wrong against France, the lineout still stood tall.
Seeing as I and others were critical of him over the last while I have to give huge kudos to POC for turning the lineout around. It was consistently good all tournament and a testament to his coaching that he could right the wrongs there
Two of us with the exact same thought at the same time. Considering we disagree on nearly everything else I think we can safely call this one correct.
Goodman too to be fair. Hopefully Fogarty can do the same now.
Lord
What an awful reflection of Ireland
Blaring out Sweet Caroline at the end and bloody Zombie
Certainly different to the tunes when Ireland beat Portugal 🤣🤣🤣
Scrum was much improved in the last 2 games in fairness. TOT propping at LH is a very interesting proposition. He can make himself a banker for the RWC squad given that he can prop both sides to the level required.
All three matches on the final day of the 6 Nations are on the same day, they have been since the start. The schedule for the 2027 competition is already set. Dublin has loads of time prepare.
Would have liked to see Tommy O'Brien out there, pity his international career ended after Paris.
Undoubtedly. The turn around has been incredible, and we could be even better with Baird fit.
Sure he'll always have the few caps won't he
All in all I have no idea what to take away from this tournament. 35 players used which is good. 4 wins out of 5 has to be a good result.
But 2 great performances, 2 pretty abject ones and not entirely sure what to think about the French game.
I'd still expect us to lose to France, NZ or SA but there was nothing even close to consistency in the performances.
Our aerial game is pretty dire. France and Scotland had us on toast for the most part. We could do with more variation in our attacking kicks, we don't test teams enough with dinks and chips.
I dont think France would have had it so easy if we had met later but thts pure speculation on my behalf!
Tom O'Toole has been quietly very impressive.
People keep talking about moving Osbourne to 12. Right now he's one of the best full backs in the game.
I think the most important thing is kids learning how to take tackles. You can learn body position when you are young and flexible.
A mate asked me to fill in J2 numbers when I was 38. Hadn't played in 20 years. Ended up having to start! Stick me at 14 where I won't see the ball! Got hammered. Totally forgot how to hit and get hit. Broken nose, two black eyes, a broken finger, and only for the grace of Bod, I could have broken my neck. Muscle memory forgot me! Never again. Lol
where are we with Ireland 10 - is Frawley now no 2 behind Crowley and possibly Byrne no 3? Does Prendergast not make WC squad?
Hes showing his value as a utility bench option but did frawley play 10 at all in either of his bench appearances?
No
You never know...
I have a bet with a Munster mate that Munster will start a game with Wood 10 and Crowley 12 before the end of 26/27 season....
Great win, I remember well the excitement of winning a triple crown and given how this 6N started this is one of the sweetest
Andy Farrell and the coaching ticket have the final say and have confounded the doubters
Crowley yo-yo has hopefully brought him to a new level and if he can maintain consistency from here we’re in a good place
McCloskey has been immense, so too JGP and the depth of Ireland has been greatly enhanced
If I was told post France game that we would be worst case 2nd at this precise moment I would have assumed delusion
Great way to end a phenomenal 6N
are you calling the BP win against Wales abject?
He's really not. He's not even the best full back in Ireland.
He's played really well and has shown he's more than capable of filling the role but let's calm down a bit here. The difference between him and Keenan is night and day.
Yes. Are you saying it was a good performance?
If we are going to continue using our outhalf as almost a third centre I think Frawley as second choice could make sense, although I've never been convinced personally.
Of course, that's entirely dependent on JGP playing huge minutes as none of the other options have shown the ability to run the game as primary playmaker. I don't like Casey and Prendergast together because it leaves us with too many weaknesses to hide in defence, Casey and Frawley together is nightmare fuel.
Hard to know where Prendergast sits, his game doesn't fit with what we're currently asking of our 10. He's a good option to have and has some good experience for his age now, but I think his defence needs to improve quite a bit to pressure Crowley again. The way the game is currently, being clinical from redzone opportunities is huge, and I think being able to run at Sam for five yards and quick ball is too much of an easy out for opposition teams.
