RWC'15 Pool D: Ireland vs Italy, RWC. KO Sunday 4:45PM TV3/ITV1

bilston · 03-10-2015 12:46pm

I'm quite bullish at this stage.

I think we'll win by 25 points, something along the lines of 41-17 or some such scorelime.

thomond2006 · 03-10-2015 12:54pm

A margin of 30ish plus is very achievable. I'm not a fan of Keith Earls being moved to 13 given he's been on fire on the wing but I think he does offer more in attack than Payne. I think Sexton will give Earls a lot of line break opportunities.

Hippo · 03-10-2015 1:14pm

I think Earls should stay on the wing as well, he's so impressive there.

By the by, big performance now required from SOB, who might be under a little pressure now.

chupacabra · 03-10-2015 1:24pm

Smashing write up Losty. Our world cup starts here. Above all else I hope to god we come through this without any serious injuries. We've been lucky so far but that luck can only last so long. Ireland by at least 2 tries

03-10-2015 1:25pm

Hippo wrote: »

By the by, big performance now required from SOB, who might be under a little pressure now.

Go on...?

aimee1 · 03-10-2015 1:30pm

Hippo wrote: »

By the by, big performance now required from SOB, who might be under a little pressure now.

SOB? Why?

Tompatrick · 03-10-2015 1:54pm

Koobcam wrote: »

We don't need a bp win. Assuming we win, then we will have a better points difference and more tries scored that France. So basically, just win and we have the advantage if the French game ends in a draw (unless the French score 4 tries...)

Not sure if it matters massively if we face NZ in quarters. A loss against French and history against NZ would have the Irish team massively fired up against a NZ team that is not infallible. The Pumas in some ways could be a trickier tie.

pickarooney · 03-10-2015 2:21pm

bilston wrote: »

I'm quite bullish at this stage.

I think we'll win by 25 points, something along the lines of 41-17 or some such scorelime.

That's 24 points... :P

Celly Smunt · 03-10-2015 2:37pm

Tompatrick wrote: »

Not sure if it matters massively if we face NZ in quarters. A loss against French and history against NZ would have the Irish team massively fired up against a NZ team that is not infallible. The Pumas in some ways could be a trickier tie.

I'm feeling this way too, I have a feeling we're stronger than ever to take NZ on, but I feel that Argentina are actually a stride ahead of us. Looking at NZ last night, I'd take them over Argentina if we were to play tomorrow.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO · 03-10-2015 2:42pm

I don't think I'd read too much into New Zealand's performances so far. Their best performance was against Argentina, the best team they had to play in their pool, and they've maybe struggled to get a decent performance against two much weaker sides, which can happen sometimes.

Hippo · 03-10-2015 4:07pm

aimee1 wrote: »

SOB? Why?

I think Chris Henry is pushing him very close now.

Tox56 · 03-10-2015 4:20pm

total former wrote: »

We need to be realistic here. I'm all for not getting ahead of ourselves etc but...

We should HOCKEY this Italy team. Anything less than a 20 point margin will be a failure.

The other likely contenders for the RWC would put 50 points on them, we should be aiming to do likewise if we want to be taken seriously.

New Zealand couldnt even put 50 on Georgia yesterday, England couldnt get close to that against Fiji. Im all for high standards and expectations but I dont think a score like "35-10" for example would reflect particularly badly on us at this stage, or suggest we arent contenders

mfceiling · 03-10-2015 4:31pm

He's not.

I'm a huge fan of Henry but he's not pushing SOB...not remotely true.

efb · 03-10-2015 4:56pm

+21 the handicap- I can't see that myself!

mr. pleasant · 03-10-2015 5:12pm

Italy have been muck so far and i do not see them raise their game by much.

Ireland to be dominant, bonus point and 25 points or more ahead. 41-12.

Hippo · 03-10-2015 7:26pm

mfceiling wrote: »

He's not.

I'm a huge fan of Henry but he's not pushing SOB...not remotely true.

With respect, I think it is remotely true. I wouldn't have believed it a couple of months ago, but SOB has been comparatively quiet and Henry has looked really lively. At his best SOB is undroppable, but I don't think he's quite there atm.

Flipper22 · 04-10-2015 1:31am

Hippo wrote: »

With respect, I think it is remotely true. I wouldn't have believed it a couple of months ago, but SOB has been comparatively quiet and Henry has looked really lively. At his best SOB is undroppable, but I don't think he's quite there atm.

What's this based on, the Canada match? He was very good against the scots in the warmups (not that I'd put much store by the warmups). I really rate Henry but O'Brien has a lot of credit in the bank. I think it would take probably a season of averageness from SOB for Joe to consider dropping him, not a game, and certainly not a game against Canada.

.ak · 04-10-2015 8:06am

The difference between a middling sob and an on form Henry is huge, sob may not be at his best but he's still carrying over the gain line at will and still destroying rucks for fun.

As much as I like Henry, if anything it's his jersey that's under pressure. Murphy has been very good and adapts very well to any role Schmidt gives him. Henry had a stormer against Romania so he's safe, but I couldn't help notice how much Murphy changed his natural game for that fixture was really effective.

kuang1 · 04-10-2015 9:08am

Alright.
Today is here at last.
Let's go show the world what a true top 4 team looks like.

Pink Fairy · 04-10-2015 1:22pm

Excitement starting to build..... Unfortunately, Im stuck building a dolls house for my daughter's 2nd class project

sjb25 · 04-10-2015 1:28pm

Pink Fairy wrote: »

Excitement starting to build..... Unfortunately, Im stuck building a dolls house for my daughter's 2nd class project

Don't mind that write a note

aimee1 · 04-10-2015 1:31pm

feel confident about today. Think we will see a good performance, a step up in intensity and reckon we will get the TBP and win by 20-25 point margin.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO · 04-10-2015 1:31pm

CurryFlavoured · 04-10-2015 2:04pm

I'm confident here, think we'll win well. Its a good chance to show we mean business if we can beat Italy easily by 20-30, which I see us doing. I know that sounds arrogant but Italy have been cack so far.

aimee1 · 04-10-2015 2:05pm

CurryFlavoured wrote: »

I'm confident here, think we'll win well. Its a good chance to show we mean business if we can beat Italy easily by 20-30, which I see us doing. I know that sounds arrogant but Italy have been cack so far.

i think parisse back actually helps us too. Certainly wont lack for focus anyway

CurryFlavoured · 04-10-2015 2:10pm

aimee1 wrote: »

i think parisse back actually helps us too. Certainly wont lack for focus anyway

He only started training Tuesday, looks like he's playing out of desperation more than anything. Its a morale booster for Italy but I doubt we'll see a 100% fit Parisse.

Stheno · 04-10-2015 2:25pm

sjb25 wrote: »

Don't mind that write a note

Feck that, get the dog to eat whatevers currently building and send that in

Kermit.de.frog · 04-10-2015 3:38pm

Hour and a half build up on TV3? OTT?

ThisRegard · 04-10-2015 3:38pm

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

Hour and a half build up on TV3? OTT?

Yes, they've done it for every Irish game.

Stheno · 04-10-2015 3:39pm

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

Hour and a half build up on TV3? OTT?

They do it ever Ireland game.

God forbid we get to a semi final, they'll probably start the buildup at 8am

RWC'15 Pool D: Ireland vs Italy, RWC. KO Sunday 4:45PM TV3/ITV1

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