Ireland Team Talk XI: Team of nervoUS MOD warning Post 1

Richie_Rich89 · 22-09-2020 7:30pm

Buer wrote: »

Furlong is one guy and wasn't around at the weekend. Ryan is a great player but he's not a monster. He's a big unit but would still give us several kilos to most other test locks. The Irish and Leinster websites have him as 106kg which is almost certainly incorrect but I still wouldn't put him at any more than 112kg.

That would be very light for a test lock. You'd be hard pressed to find too many others who are coming in under 115kg.

Our back rowers are fairly average in size. Conan is a solid size but Doris isn't carrying much bulk and relies more on dynamism and identifying space. Stander is the closest we have to it in terms of someone who is very robust physically and is heavier than people would expect. Ruddock would be the other.

Connors and VDF are very lightweight for top level flankers. They're completely dependent on work rate and technique. POM isn't a big bloke eithter and again relies more on smarts than power. We've guys like Penny coming through who simply aren't going to cut it at test level ever due to their size. Hodnett and O'Sullivan in Munster are great athletes but again, very small. Josh Murphy is someone that could potentially put on another few kg and be an option. Coombes is another. But they're probably not as talented rugby players as others.

I was listening to OTB last night and had to laugh when Barnes or Toland (can't recall which) was discussing how NZ overcome this issue with an incredibly high skill level. When they won in 2015, their pack was filled with guys who had brilliant skills but they were also monsters physically; four of their front five were 120kg+.

We're never going to compete with teams regularly with power and are going to have to be smarter and more accurate to win games. It's nothing new. We've always been smaller than a lot of other teams.

I wouldn't describe players who are 100-105kg (or several kilos heavier in JvdF's case) as "very lightweight" if they're opensides. I'd say most top opensides would maybe weigh in between 102 and 108kg. A lot of them are around 105 kilos and tipping the scales at only just over 100kg isn't a barrier to making it to the top if you consider Michael Hooper.

They'd obviously have to hit pretty hard pound-for-pound if they're only 100-102kg, but openside is more about understanding the game and getting in the right positions to support play than just weighing a lot.

I thought Penny was looking very solidly build in the upper legs/glutes region in training photos, so I wouldn't be surprised if he's added a bit of mass on top of the 102 kg Leinster have him down as.

Of course, if you've got an openside who's only around 100kg, maybe size/mass would become more important at blindside and number 8.

UAEguy2020 · 22-09-2020 7:52pm

Guinness RFC wrote: »

Size becomes an issue when you don’t have an extremely well drilled, committed set of forwards who are athletes. For example would an Ireland U20’s side survive vs full Ireland side? No they’d be eaten alive physically despite being professional athletes who train together the same amount of time as the full senior squad. Size is a factor but it can be overcome with the right coaching, drilling of forwards and style of play. One way to counteract it is to hit rucks in 2’s and 3’s as opposed to individuals hitting on 3 separate entries. Double Hitting the ball carrier in a tackle by two players. Sure it sucks in more defenders but if you knock him backwards and win the resulting ruck by 3 teammates hitting it like ravenous animals it negates that. Commitment counts for everything but sometimes if it’s the larger team doing the things I said like Sarries wolf pack do then size becomes a factor.

If anything the Irish U20s pack showed you to a tee how to combat a big physical pack and could not have exploited the English pack any better if they tried! Size is a factor but as with anything in life it’s never one only factor that decides somethings, it’s multiple factors. Like at the weekend it was quite clear that Saracens have weaknesses in the back because everyone was in the defensive line yet you rarely saw Leinster try to exploit that and instead played right into Saracens hands. The other thing is like I said that Saracens pack wasn’t really that much bigger than the Leinster pack but the difference is when you run straight at a brick wall you will get put on your ass no matter the size of the player, put any of those Saracens players up against a competent u15s team and ask them run at a u15s pack alone without support and I promise you the u15s team will put them on their ass, size is important but using your brain is even more important.

AbusesToilets · 22-09-2020 8:12pm

Youre always going to lose a physical battle having one out runners against 2 man tackles. Leinster were brain dead in how they approached the game. I'd argue Leinster and Ireland's biggest deficiency is a mental one, in that they haven't shown an ability to adapt to pressure. Leinster needed leadership on the pitch to change up what they were doing. Very disappointed that guys like Sexton and Ringrose didn't manage that

UAEguy2020 · 22-09-2020 8:35pm

AbusesToilets wrote: »

Youre always going to lose a physical battle having one out runners against 2 man tackles. Leinster were brain dead in how they approached the game. I'd argue Leinster and Ireland's biggest deficiency is a mental one, in that they haven't shown an ability to adapt to pressure. Leinster needed leadership on the pitch to change up what they were doing. Very disappointed that guys like Sexton and Ringrose didn't manage that

Exactly!

I remembered during the 6N when Rob Herring ran on his own at 2 England front rows...and he got absolutely smashed and got put back like 2 metres...was wondering what did he actually think was going to happen? That the props were just going to step to the side and let him run under the sticks? Its definetly a mental one and honestly I still question to this day if that smashing by England in Dublin 2019 is still having a lasting impact on the team as they just look so out of touch during games, like at the weekend Leinster only retained the ball from their own maul on 55% of the occasion...this at this level is totally unnacceptable and just show they must not have thought about their approach that much considering keeping the ball in the maul when its going nowhere is playing right into Saracens hands.

Guinness RFC · 22-09-2020 8:59pm

Anyone else think overtraining might be an issue? In Ireland we rely on the same core players for international and European rugby. The pressure to constantly perform is there for these same players all the time. Sustaining that lifestyle and work ethic must be physically and mentally draining. I know they’ve just returned from 6 month hiatus but I think it holds true.

In England they have such depth that one player drops off for a 6 month injury they replace him with someone arguably better. They seem to be more relaxed and not as tight as the Irish players. I think fatigue may be a factor.

New Zealand excel here - they sustain those high levels of pressure, lifestyle, expectation and small population size and overcome them time after time.

AdamD · 22-09-2020 9:05pm

Leinster conceded 7 scrum penalties and won none, that's why they lost the game, the rest is just noise.

irishbucsfan · 22-09-2020 9:14pm

AdamD wrote: »

Leinster conceded 7 scrum penalties and won none, that's why they lost the game, the rest is just noise.

Saracens had the put-in to 13 scrums. Leinster had 4 (and won all of them I believe).

The game is far more nuanced than you seem to believe it is. Leinster's half backs were totally outplayed by Wigglesworth and that allowed the Saracens' scrum dominance to impact the scoreboard. If Leinster hadn't completely overplayed the ball in their own half and Saracens had made those mistakes, the scrum penalties wouldn't have had such an impact.

AdamD · 22-09-2020 9:54pm

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Saracens had the put-in to 13 scrums. Leinster had 4 (and won all of them I believe).

The game is far more nuanced than you seem to believe it is. Leinster's half backs were totally outplayed by Wigglesworth and that allowed the Saracens' scrum dominance to impact the scoreboard. If Leinster hadn't completely overplayed the ball in their own half and Saracens had made those mistakes, the scrum penalties wouldn't have had such an impact.

The game is usually quite nuanced yes, but 7-0 on scrum penalties pretty much throws everything else out the window. The gulf in class everywhere else would need to be massive to overcome that

irishbucsfan · 22-09-2020 10:00pm

AdamD wrote: »

The game is usually quite nuanced yes, but 7-0 on scrum penalties pretty much throws everything else out the window. The gulf in class everywhere else would need to be massive to overcome that

They had that gulf in class on their own put in. Leinster gave them the put in to more than 3x the number of scrums that Saracens conceded to Leinster. Turn those tables, which the actually quality of either scrum is irrelevant to, and what you're saying doesn't hold true at all.

Put it another way. Saracens won a penalty on ~50% of their own put in. If they had the put in 4 times, that would have been two penalties in the entire game. The gulf in class absolutely does not need to be massive to overcome that.

The idea that only the scrum was the problem is very easily dismissed.

UAEguy2020 · 22-09-2020 10:41pm

Guinness RFC wrote: »

Anyone else think overtraining might be an issue? In Ireland we rely on the same core players for international and European rugby. The pressure to constantly perform is there for these same players all the time. Sustaining that lifestyle and work ethic must be physically and mentally draining. I know they’ve just returned from 6 month hiatus but I think it holds true.

In England they have such depth that one player drops off for a 6 month injury they replace him with someone arguably better. They seem to be more relaxed and not as tight as the Irish players. I think fatigue may be a factor.

New Zealand excel here - they sustain those high levels of pressure, lifestyle, expectation and small population size and overcome them time after time.

I wouldnt say overtriaining but I would say over coached. That again is why I have been relativly happy from what ive seen from Farrell's Ireland so far as you can clearly see the players are much happier and dont look as stressed.

What New Zealand get absolutly right is they play exactly whats infront of them and by doing that they dont have to worry about getting smashed upfront as they can just kick the ball around and play percentages rugby.

OldRio · 24-09-2020 4:52pm

Pascal Gaüzère to ref Ireland v England.

Is there anything to be said for another Mass.

KIB4Life · 24-09-2020 7:50pm

typhoony wrote: »

still think he's been the 2nd best and consistent scrum-half behind Murray over the last 5 years, was unlucky to get injured and it took time for him to replace Blade as first choice.

Anytime Marmion was called upon he never let the side down. Coming on in the wing against Australia, his performance in the win over England in 17 and the victory over New Zealand. He was unfairly mistreated by Schmidt and he should have gone to the World Cup. I think Gibson Park should get game time in the Six Nations and November to see is he up to international standard I definitely would have him over McGrath.

UAEguy2020 · 24-09-2020 8:21pm

I’m worried that we have Barnes as the ref for the France game considering there is an incentive on England to have France win that match.

OldRio · 24-09-2020 8:35pm

UAEguy2020 wrote: »

I’m worried that we have Barnes as the ref for the France game considering there is an incentive on England to have France win that match.

What? Seriously?

UAEguy2020 · 24-09-2020 11:05pm

OldRio wrote: »

What? Seriously?

I know right, who'd have thought!

shootermacg · 25-09-2020 9:26am

UAEguy2020 wrote: »

I know right, who'd have thought!

Barnes has turned into a great ref. He used to be a penalty machine, but he's since relaxed and lets the game flow when possible. He seems to be enjoying himself these days and it shows in his decisions. Never was afraid to make the big calls either.

25-09-2020 10:36am

UAEguy2020 wrote: »

I know right, who'd have thought!

You. And that's it.

bilston · 25-09-2020 10:55am

shootermacg wrote: »

Barnes has turned into a great ref. He used to be a penalty machine, but he's since relaxed and lets the game flow when possible. He seems to be enjoying himself these days and it shows in his decisions. Never was afraid to make the big calls either.

He is empathetic with the players. I think most players appreciate that.

When he first started he wasn't like that. But, like anyone, he has matured and got better over the years. He may be the best in the business at the minute.

UAEguy2020 · 25-09-2020 11:14am

shootermacg wrote: »

Barnes has turned into a great ref. He used to be a penalty machine, but he's since relaxed and lets the game flow when possible. He seems to be enjoying himself these days and it shows in his decisions. Never was afraid to make the big calls either.

He is a great ref and under normal circumstances I wouldn’t mind him being the referee for this match, just under these circumstances it would have been better to have someone like Nigel Owens incharge where the result doesn’t matter to him. If neither Ireland win or France beat Ireland by a similar margin to England beating Italy than England win the championship.

It wasn’t just him as a referee but he just came across as really arrogant stuck up person that you could really talk to whereas nowadays he is very open, humble and easy to talk to on the pitch. Overall him and Nigel Owens are the best referees out there but like I said, my reasons for not wanting him as the ref are little to do with his referring abilities.

UAEguy2020 · 25-09-2020 11:15am

Malakai Some Revolution wrote: »

You. And that's it.

Look at the points table & the permutations and stop being a twat.

OneLungDavy · 25-09-2020 11:37am

UAEguy2020 wrote: »

He is a great ref and under normal circumstances I wouldn’t mind him being the referee for this match, just under these circumstances it would have been better to have someone like Nigel Owens incharge where the result doesn’t matter to him. If neither Ireland win or France beat Ireland by a similar margin to England beating Italy than England win the championship.

It wasn’t just him as a referee but he just came across as really arrogant stuck up person that you could really talk to whereas nowadays he is very open, humble and easy to talk to on the pitch. Overall him and Nigel Owens are the best referees out there but like I said, my reasons for not wanting him as the ref are little to do with his referring abilities.

It's an interesting point, he's an open England fan and very passionate about the sport in general. But don't France have a chance at the title too? His bias against both teams could cancel each other out

Paul Smeenus · 25-09-2020 12:07pm

Is there a ref in rugby who isn't a fan of their national team? No-one refs because they are dispassionate about the sport.

OldRio · 25-09-2020 12:16pm

UAEguy2020 wrote: »

Look at the points table & the permutations and stop being a twat.

And with that the button is pressed.

shootermacg · 26-09-2020 8:30pm

So I hear Donnacha Ryan kept Maro quite. It's been how many years since he left Ireland?
We need to take a step back and realize that younger isn't always better and some players get better with age. Not talking about backs really, they get worse...except for Handsome Rob.
Ireland could have had Ryan for at least another 3 years if he's been given a central contact.

The Lost Sheep · 26-09-2020 8:39pm

shootermacg wrote: »

So I hear Donnacha Ryan kept Maro quite. It's been how many years since he left Ireland?
We need to take a step back and realize that younger isn't always better and some players get better with age. Not talking about backs really, they get worse...except for Handsome Rob.
Ireland could have had Ryan for at least another 3 years if he's been given a central contact.

He didnt get contract he probably should have but wanted to go abroad and he was 33 when he left.

OneLungDavy · 26-09-2020 8:47pm

shootermacg wrote: »

So I hear Donnacha Ryan kept Maro quite.

If only player performances were that easy to decipher :rolleyes:

Buer · 26-09-2020 9:07pm

shootermacg wrote: »

So I hear Donnacha Ryan kept Maro quite. It's been how many years since he left Ireland?
We need to take a step back and realize that younger isn't always better and some players get better with age. Not talking about backs really, they get worse...except for Handsome Rob.
Ireland could have had Ryan for at least another 3 years if he's been given a central contact.

Ryan had a good game. He didn't keep Itoje quiet. Itoje was very good again but the Saracens team as a unit were clearly struggling to each the same intensity and pace again. The Racing pack did a number on them. Bird was brilliant alongside Ryan. They also emptied their bench at the right moment.

Owens refereed him also and didn't let him influence things as much, penalising him a couple of times.

Ryan would have been a very useful player to have around Ireland for the last few years. Racing manage him very well though. This was his 50th start in 3 full seasons. I think he has flourished in the challenge and the new environment. I'm not sure Irish rugby would have gotten the same quality out of him.

They weren't getting the best out of him before he left, to be honest. Whilst Ryan would have been of use, would he had been in the Irish side? He wasn't in it consistently before he left and that was before James Ryan emerged. They won the GS the year after he left. I think he'd have been great to have around the camp but, as much as people dismiss older players, we are just as bad for automatically elevating those who play outside of Ireland.

shootermacg · 26-09-2020 9:34pm

Buer wrote: »

Ryan had a good game. He didn't keep Itoje quiet. Itoje was very good again but the Saracens team as a unit were clearly struggling to each the same intensity and pace again. The Racing pack did a number on them. Bird was brilliant alongside Ryan. They also emptied their bench at the right moment.

Owens refereed him also and didn't let him influence things as much, penalising him a couple of times.

Ryan would have been a very useful player to have around Ireland for the last few years. Racing manage him very well though. This was his 50th start in 3 full seasons. I think he has flourished in the challenge and the new environment. I'm not sure Irish rugby would have gotten the same quality out of him.

They weren't getting the best out of him before he left, to be honest. Whilst Ryan would have been of use, would he had been in the Irish side? He wasn't in it consistently before he left and that was before James Ryan emerged. They won the GS the year after he left. I think he'd have been great to have around the camp but, as much as people dismiss older players, we are just as bad for automatically elevating those who play outside of Ireland.

I think seconds rows have a higher shelf life and this needs to be considered and the fact that it wasn't is more a reflection of the selectors.
No doubt Ryan would have been the better player to Toner over the last three years.

Way too may show pony admirers in Ireland. You really want a dogged soldier in the trenches, Ryan was exactly that. Joe for all his great points was keen to jettison Ryan...and Toner actually.

There are very few players (not counting South Africans) with dog in them left in the Irish team.

I think Leinster has flattered to deceive, plenty of good players, well drilled (we'll come back to that later), but zero world class operators.

This has fed into the international team, we've got a team of average internationals, great for the Pro14, not so good when it comes to the business end and have to face up to real players. I mean come on, how is Jordan Larmour an international?
Healy is a passenger, Porter is an international loose-head playing as a tight-head.

I've never rated Garry Ringrose.....ever. Henshaw is a full back playing 12. Dorris is about 10kg short of a back row.

Sexton is so far past it it's laughable, sure he is able to look good when every other part of the team is better than the other team, but when the pressure is on, he's kicking restarts out on the full. Or fumbling balls behind his own line.

Stockdale..I know, lets keep waiting for the guy to become more than average.

Peter o'Mahony, **** off and get gud.

There are plenty of old and irrelevant players in green. Donnacha Ryan isn't part of that group, he's happy doing the same job he's done for 10 years in France.

People saying Leinster missing a bit of dog, I totally agree, there's no dog like an old dog!

Finally.. my point is, people think youth is the answer, sure it is, just not in the second row.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y8uxJleq20&ab_channel=SquidgeRugby

SA had an answer to Japan...yueah...we'll just break them..how many do we break? All of them.

Buer · 26-09-2020 9:58pm

Sober up.

mfceiling · 26-09-2020 10:09pm

Fcuk me what did I just read?

thomond2006 · 26-09-2020 10:54pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GampCzWSW3A

UAEguy2020 · 26-09-2020 11:35pm

10kg short of a back row... so the likes of Kieran Read and Taulupe Faletau aren’t back rows?

Guinness RFC · 27-09-2020 1:22am

shootermacg wrote: »

I think seconds rows have a higher shelf life and this needs to be considered and the fact that it wasn't is more a reflection of the selectors.
No doubt Ryan would have been the better player to Toner over the last three years.

Way too may show pony admirers in Ireland. You really want a dogged soldier in the trenches, Ryan was exactly that. Joe for all his great points was keen to jettison Ryan...and Toner actually.

There are very few players (not counting South Africans) with dog in them left in the Irish team.

I think Leinster has flattered to deceive, plenty of good players, well drilled (we'll come back to that later), but zero world class operators.

This has fed into the international team, we've got a team of average internationals, great for the Pro14, not so good when it comes to the business end and have to face up to real players. I mean come on, how is Jordan Larmour an international?
Healy is a passenger, Porter is an international loose-head playing as a tight-head.

I've never rated Garry Ringrose.....ever. Henshaw is a full back playing 12. Dorris is about 10kg short of a back row.

Sexton is so far past it it's laughable, sure he is able to look good when every other part of the team is better than the other team, but when the pressure is on, he's kicking restarts out on the full. Or fumbling balls behind his own line.

Stockdale..I know, lets keep waiting for the guy to become more than average.

Peter o'Mahony, **** off and get gud.

There are plenty of old and irrelevant players in green. Donnacha Ryan isn't part of that group, he's happy doing the same job he's done for 10 years in France.

People saying Leinster missing a bit of dog, I totally agree, there's no dog like an old dog!

Finally.. my point is, people think youth is the answer, sure it is, just not in the second row.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y8uxJleq20&ab_channel=SquidgeRugby

SA had an answer to Japan...yueah...we'll just break them..how many do we break? All of them.

A most reasonable and accurate depiction of where Ireland are at than most other posts I’ve seen on this website in a long time if not a little exaggerated.

Don’t mind the one or two people always saying back the youth particularly one on Leinsterfans. He’s blinded by loyalty and the young second rows whilst very promising individually as a unit together would lack the ballast to be international class. We don’t need a second row who has speed, a break or good hands primarily. As a secondary skill they can be very useful but primarily you want your second row to be a big unit who is good at carrying, line outs and hitting opposition players. Everything else is just gravy.

As to players with dog in them I’m going to stick my neck out and say POM is one. He always comes good at pressure points in big games with a jackal or lineout steal. That is the one point I disagree with you on.

BonnieSituation · 27-09-2020 2:30am

bilston wrote: »

He is empathetic with the players. I think most players appreciate that.

When he first started he wasn't like that. But, like anyone, he has matured and got better over the years. He may be the best in the business at the minute.

He absolutely is. One of the things that annoyed me about England getting to the RWC final, obviously, outside of being in Tokyo when they were in the RWC final was the fact that Barnes wouldn't get to ref it and he was retiring at that point don't forget.

He's by far the best ref in world rugby these days and the maturity and improvement that has come over the years is staggering.

When you see the state of the decisions that Owens made today it couldn't be clearer.

I mean, I'd take Barnes reffing us v England before I would take Owens reffing us v Wa... anyone.

AbusesToilets · 27-09-2020 4:51am

Owens is poor ref, makes it up as he goes along. Ignores loads of offenses, until he doesn't. Usually timed to showcase himself at a climatic moment. See Landowne Rd 2018

Eod100 · 29-09-2020 8:38am

Kearney joining Western Force https://twitter.com/westernforce/status/1310836712092971021?s=19

aloooof · 29-09-2020 8:57am

AbusesToilets wrote: »

Owens is poor ref, makes it up as he goes along. Ignores loads of offenses, until he doesn't. Usually timed to showcase himself at a climatic moment. See Landowne Rd 2018

Not sure what match you're referring to? The only matches we had at home in 2018 that Nigel was in charge of was Italy in the Autumn Internationals.

I get some of the criticism he attracts, but he's set to be the first ref to officiate 100 tests in November. You don't get to that by being a bad ref.

Podge_irl · 29-09-2020 4:23pm

aloooof wrote: »

I get some of the criticism he attracts, but he's set to be the first ref to officiate 100 tests in November. You don't get to that by being a bad ref.

He wasn't a bad ref, but he's far, far from the top of his game these days.

AbusesToilets · 29-09-2020 5:19pm

aloooof wrote: »

Not sure what match you're referring to? The only matches we had at home in 2018 that Nigel was in charge of was Italy in the Autumn Internationals.

I get some of the criticism he attracts, but he's set to be the first ref to officiate 100 tests in November. You don't get to that by being a bad ref.

I wouldn't take longevity as a guarantee of quality. He lets far too much go in the game for my liking, seeming to prefer having things flow, rather than enforce the laws consistently. He's also quite arrogant, in that he will often get a call wrong and refuse to correct it upon advice from the TMO. Someone wrote it on another board, when he says "For me.." in such a conference, it's a dead give away his about to make up some nonsense.

Yeah_Right · 29-09-2020 10:54pm

4 of my 10 favourite games in the last 10 years were refereed by Owen's. That's enough for me to consider him a great. Not the best any more but still great.

And a damned site better than any of the rubbish France has.

Eod100 · 02-10-2020 3:30pm

Pool draw for 2023 RWC made in December. We're in band 2: https://twitter.com/Murray_Kinsella/status/1312036478978084866?s=19

kuang1 · 02-10-2020 3:41pm

I'm confused... Did we already know that the rankings from January this year would be applied?
Thought it was to be rankings as of early December?

arsebiscuits1 · 02-10-2020 3:46pm

Eod100 wrote: »

Pool draw for 2023 RWC made in December. We're in band 2: https://twitter.com/Murray_Kinsella/status/1312036478978084866?s=19

With the likely 4 and 5 band qualifiers unlikely to cause too much hassle to those bands above them the best case scenario for Ireland at this point in time would be

Wales
Ireland
Fiji
Europe 1 - Georgia/ Romania?
Namibia

Not seeing too many permutations of a "group of death" really. Australia being in tier 2 meaning they could be pitted against England, NZ or South Africa but can't see anyone in band 3 causing any upsets

guapos · 02-10-2020 3:46pm

kuang1 wrote: »

I'm confused... Did we already know that the rankings from January this year would be applied?
Thought it was to be rankings as of early December?

That's what I thought, pity as would have made November games more interesting.

Eod100 · 02-10-2020 4:28pm

kuang1 wrote: »

I'm confused... Did we already know that the rankings from January this year would be applied?
Thought it was to be rankings as of early December?

It was meant to be but with covid they've gone back to January. More detail here: https://www.world.rugby/news/590670/stage-set-for-rugby-world-cup-2023-draw

Eod100 · 02-10-2020 4:30pm

arsebiscuits1 wrote: »

With the likely 4 and 5 band qualifiers unlikely to cause too much hassle to those bands above them the best case scenario for Ireland at this point in time would be

Wales
Ireland
Fiji
Europe 1 - Georgia/ Romania?
Namibia

Not seeing too many permutations of a "group of death" really. Australia being in tier 2 meaning they could be pitted against England, NZ or South Africa but can't see anyone in band 3 causing any upsets

NZ/SA or even England plus Argentina wouldn't be great. Sure last year was meant to be a grand pool so who knows really!

AbusesToilets · 02-10-2020 4:45pm

Be nice to lose to someone new in the 1/4s. Perhaps England or SA this time out?

UAEguy2020 · 02-10-2020 5:15pm

https://www.world.rugby/news/590670/stage-set-for-rugby-world-cup-2023-draw

Just when you thought making a World Cup draw based on rankings 3 years out from a World Cup was bad enough World Rugby went one further today and decided take the 2023 World Cup pools should be made based on how you did in the 2019 World Cup &#55357;&#56834; you couldn’t make it up, what a shambles.

sydthebeat · 02-10-2020 5:54pm

guapos wrote: »

That's what I thought, pity as would have made November games more interesting.

I'm delighted

That means we can have no excuse in November to blood new players and try new things, in a meaningless competition.

No excuse of "won't someone think of the ranking points" to be used as a crutch.

I'd like to see guys like mcclosky and farrell get decent game time to see if they can be game influencers at test level

UAEguy2020 · 02-10-2020 5:57pm

What would be nice is if we win our group at least have a team in the KO phase that isn’t NZL or a really inform side. Like Wales get THAT French team in 2019, we never get a situation like that, it’s either NZL or a team in such good form that we question if we would prefer NZL...

Ireland Team Talk XI: Team of nervoUS MOD warning Post 1

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