Ireland Team Talk X: The Long Hard Road to a Semi. MOD WARNING POSTS #1, #1474, #5707

WeleaseWoderick wrote: »

The result and nature of the second half in particular is definitely worrying but I'd be holding off the panic until after the second Wales game.

If we're not seeing things going the right direction at that stage, it might point to a bigger underlying issue.

Nonsense though to suggest that the team should be in peak condition for the England game. They're professionals with a single goal at this point i.e. winning the World Cup. All training up to now will have been with that goal in mind and not towards putting in a full blooded win at all costs performance in Twickenham.

I wasn't expecting the team to be humming. But I also wasn't expecting them to look like they only just met up after the summer break an hour before kick off on Saturday

England were able to look semi competent in their first game

99problems1 wrote: »

Lose by 40+ points....it's just a pre season nothing game!

But if we had won by 40+ points everyone would be claiming we're back to our best and that the 6N was just a blip!

What would you have said if they won by 40?

Shefwedfan wrote: »

I have talked to a number of England fans, they are are worried because they seem so far ahead of Ireland in terms of prep. Are they peaking too early is the concern. I think it was mentioned as well on the BBC? or maybe I was dreaming.


England are also a month out from playing any rugby in anger with just 1 game against Italy.....

I was expecting Ireland to be where Wales where against England at Twickenham a few weeks ago. Not in worse shape then the 6n

England didn't peak at the weekend v Ireland. Not even close

Burkie1203 wrote: »

Ryan and Zebo are not world class players

Zebo is flaky and a bit of a one trick pony at times and not a good defender. He went for the money. Rules are IRFU ones anyway.

Shefwedfan wrote: »

I have talked to a number of England fans, they are are worried because they seem so far ahead of Ireland in terms of prep. Are they peaking too early is the concern. I think it was mentioned as well on the BBC? or maybe I was dreaming.


England are also a month out from playing any rugby in anger with just 1 game against Italy.....

They can get better as they've said themselves. The settled squad is what they have over everyone else they've played but they look in very good nick. They also have a tougher group to deal with but the question is will they be at their peak near the end of October. That's very hard to gauge and injuries and individual performances will affect them like every other team.

Deleted User wrote: »

I think we'll go full strength this week anyway and will see how things look before the final game at home.

Full strength is not as clear cut as it once seemed imo.

Stockdale or Larmour or Conway?
Aki or Henshaw?
Stander or Conan?
POM or Ruddock or Beirne?
Toner or Henderson?
Best or Cronin or Scannell?

There is form on the one hand, and there is proven class on the other. And I agree in general that you don't just pick on form, you give a lot of weight to those who have proven their worth for you in the past. But when their form deteriorates so much over a period of months and there is no sign of it improving, it really does leave the coach in a quandry.

Burkie1203 wrote: »

https://twitter.com/sineadkissane/status/1166287840575205377?s=19

Probably to provide injury updates and to respond to a couple of days of (entirely justified) castigation by the press of Saturday's performance.

Unlikely to generate anything of serious interest.

There also seems to be a lot of dismissal of Saturday's performance as "just a pre-season" game, and nothing to get too worked up about.

Unfortunately, I don't think it's realistic to relegate the performance to insignificance for a couple of reasons.

(I) It's further evidence of our serious downward trajectory since the November internationals last year. It was always unlikely that we would be able to sustain 2018's performance levels into the following year, but drop off in quality has been far greater than anyone could have imagined.

(ii) It's a record defeat, and one of Ireland's worst performances of the professional era. We've played England regularly since 1875, across 135 tests, and this is the biggest gap there has ever been between the two sides in terms of performance. That's terrifying so close to a world cup. Even our dismal teams of the 1990s were able to contain England better than this.

(iii) Everytime we got the ball we looked like we were going to lose it. Everytime they got the ball they looked like they were going to score. And that's more or less what happened. What is the most difficult part to swallow is that this (albeit to a lesser extent) was the case in the England and Wales games in the Six Nations. Then we were toothless in attack and consistently exposed in defence, particular out wide. Nearly six months on it looks as though nothing has been done to address the problems, which suggests Schmidt has no idea how to fix them.

(IV) Out of form players are repeatedly being picked based on their supposed class, and overall our pack (especially our back row) is simply too light for international rugby. It's clear to even the casual observer that the like of Murray, Best, POM, and others are not firing, and largely haven't across the past season. The backrow in particular needs the insertion of greater bulk to give it a chance to avoid being overpowered. It was terrifying watching some of the England backs run at talented but lightweight backs such as Ringrose and Larmour. We need a balance of physicality in this team or we'll be beaten up repeatedly.

Deleted User wrote: »

Funny you mention a tighthead. Furlong would very possibly be my choice.

Not jumping to conclusions either way.

James Ryan ftw