The Rugby Thread

[Cormack74]

Although of course England will have to start turning up and Borthwick will have to make some 'proper' selection decisions and pick on merit if we are to be one of them.

Persevering with Farrell whether at 10 or 12 is all well and good if this was the world cup of loyalty, but it's not and whilst England aren't going to win the tournament, they would have a far better chance of making it to the semis (where France can put another 60 points on us ) with more pragmatic thinking.

Care / Ford (or Smith) / Tuilagi / Lawrence isn't the worst backline we've ever fielded (although what possessed Borthwick to go for May when Watson was ruled out heaven only knows when there is plenty of future talent to pick from).

Someone like Adam Radwan could have destroyed tired defences on warm French days / nights in the last 20 minutes of these games.

Anyway back to Farrell

Apparently the reason he was timed out on the 'shot' clock was because he was still arguing with the referee after the clock had started.

Now I'm not a generally a fan of Andrew Brace, but I think he actually had one of his better games and for Farrell to forego 3 points in a tight game because he was basically haranguing Brace was unforgivable.

Hopefully once our WC journey is over, Borthwick will be brave enough to clear the decks and start the process of a proper re-build using our 'exciting' players as the template.

But I won't hold my breath . . .

[Irishnev]

Let’s see vs France or SA, I fully expect ye to beat Fiji

[Buzzo]

Yeah I tho k England will beat Fiji, then the other three are harder to call.

The nerves you had about playing us are more justified for this weekend, if any team has been going under the radar it’s the All Blacks.

[Irishnev]

Yeah I tho k England will beat Fiji, then the other three are harder to call.

The nerves you had about playing us are more justified for this weekend, if any team has been going under the radar it’s the All Blacks.

It’s New Zealand in a World Cup, what more is there to say, they are like Brazil in football…… always in the mix for a World Cup. It’s not their best side but that doesn’t make them bad plus they’ve got a lot of injured guys back

If we get a relatively clean bill of health with injuries then we can beat them. We’ve won 3 of the last 4 and we seem to be getting better game on game. The first half vs ye was the best we played since the third test vs them last year. We’ve yet to put together a full 80 mins.

It will be fierce and I’ve no doubt Joe S will have an inside track on how to beat us. I know we can win but again we need a lot to go our way. If we play our best then I don’t think they can beat us but let’s see

[Cormack74]

Wayne Barnes is your ref Nev.

I'm not a fan of his, but he does control games (even when he's getting things wrong ).

[Cormack74]

Blimey

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/2023/10/10/marcus-smith-sprinting-england-world-cup-daley-thompson/

Wing Henry Arundell has the fastest top-end speed within the England World Cup squad, yet in terms of raw acceleration (measured over 10 metres) Marcus Smith is the quickest, according to sprint coach Jonas Dodoo, who worked with the England team over 12 weeks this summer.

Not only does Dodoo confirm Smith as the fastest off the mark but his acceleration ranks at the “very high end” in his database of hundreds of athletes from rugby, football and the NFL. At Harlequins, Smith’s personal best 10-metre sprint time is 1.78 seconds. For context – and it is far from an exact comparison – Usain Bolt’s first 10 metres of his 2008 Olympic 100 metres final was measured at 1.85 seconds.

[Irishnev]

Wayne Barnes is your ref Nev.

I'm not a fan of his, but he does control games (even when he's getting things wrong ).

He reffed the third test away in NZ past year and missed a blatant red card from Andrew Porter. Our discipline has been excellent so hopefully we stay in his right side

[Irishnev]

15. Hugo Keenan (Leinster/UCD)(35)
14. Mack Hansen (Connacht/Corinthians)(20)
13. Garry Ringrose (Leinster/UCD)(56)
12. Bundee Aki (Connacht/Galwegians)(51)
11. James Lowe (Leinster)(25)
10. Johnny Sexton (Leinster/St Mary’s College) (Captain) (117)
9. Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster)(29)

1. Andrew Porter (Leinster/UCD)(58)
2. Dan Sheehan (Leinster/Lansdowne)(20)
3. Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Clontarf)(71)
4. Tadhg Beirne (Munster/Lansdowne)(45)
5. Iain Henderson (Ulster/Academy)(78)
6. Peter O’Mahony (Munster/Cork Constitution)(100)
7. Josh van der Flier (Leinster/UCD)(56)
8. Caelan Doris (Leinster/St Mary’s College)(35)

Replacements:

16. Ronan Kelleher (Leinster/Lansdowne)(25)
17. David Kilcoyne (Munster/UL Bohemians)(55)
18. Finlay Bealham (Connacht/Buccaneers)(35)
19. Joe McCarthy (Leinster/Dublin University)(4)
20. Jack Conan (Leinster/Old Belvedere)(40)
21. Conor Murray Munster/Garryowen)(111)
22. Jack Crowley (Munster/Cork Constitution)(9)
23. Jimmy O’Brien (Leinster/Naas)(6).

[Irishnev]

James Ryan out is a loss but Joe McCarthy is an absolute unit. Henshaw also still out so Jimmy O’Brien gets in for his versatility

[RichC]

Ringrose and Bundee is a great centre pairing.

[Irishnev]

Ringrose and Bundee is a great centre pairing.

Bundee is in the form if his life at 34 years young but the rugby world has been sleeping on Ringrose for me….. I think he’s great and should’ve been a test Lion

[Buzzo]

The fact that you have so many players who have come to their peak at that sort of bar is what gives me some mild hope for this Scotland team over the next say 2 W C cycles. Beyond that we are ****ed. 2 clubs and almost zero pipeline.

I’m reallly excited for you Irish - it’s there to be won for you. As you alluded to above Nev if every team plays to the best of their abilities then Ireland are definitely the best team. There’s obviously more to it than that and the other teams (well at least 3 of them) will also have a say.

But the way I look at of for you guys is ‘if not now, when?’.

[Buzzo]

Ringrose and Bundee is a great centre pairing.

Bundee is playing like a guy who knows this is his chance. He was ferocious on Sunday.

[Cormack74]

He is / he was.

I always thought he was a very poor man's Tuilagi but he's been top notch for a while now.

[Cormack74]

Here's a question for you Nev that occurs to me every time I watch Ireland: it occurred to me again on the w/e but I'd had a few so promptly forgot it.

How does a pretty average 'play' that everyone knows is going to happen manage to constantly reap reward, even if reward is just improved field position (never to be sniffed at in rugby).

I mean of course the famous Sexton wrap around

I sit at home (or elsewhere) telling anyone who will listen that it's about to happen yet the opposing team whoever they might, be are utterly bamboozled like it's the famous All Blacks hide the ball up your shirt trick done for the first time.

Astonishing