Ireland vs England, Sunday 1st March 3pm; RTE/BBC

theboy1

aimee1 wrote: »

in an ideal scenario sexton doesnt come off. I thought madigan did well when he came on. I would be surprised to see any unforced changes now

Yes but the bench is meant to be used in the absence of an ideal scenario.

Madigan did not do well when he came on and was probably the biggest factor for England coming back into it.

aimee1

theboy1 wrote: »

Yes but the bench is meant to be used in the absence of an ideal scenario.

Madigan did not do well when he came on and was probably the biggest factor for England coming back into it.

What did he do wrong?

errlloyd

aimee1 wrote: »

What did he do wrong?

One out on the full and one forced pass were his two mistakes. He didn't cause Irish momentum to slip, the inevitable change of the game made Irish momentum slip.

theboy1

aimee1 wrote: »

What did he do wrong?

Loose kicking x3,poor hands x2.

It would be unfair to expect a substitute to reach Sexton's performance but the team was noticeably poorer with Madigan in it.

I think Keatley,although no messiah himself, would be am better option.

aimee1

aimee1 wrote: »

What did he do wrong?

His kicking from hand wasn't really good enough.

Swiwi.

errlloyd wrote: »

One out on the full and one forced pass were his two mistakes. He didn't cause Irish momentum to slip, the inevitable change of the game made Irish momentum slip.

Why inevitable?

19543261

England

Jett Gorgeous Key wrote: »

His kicking from hand wasn't really good enough.

Sexton had two or there very poor kicks as well.

aimee1

errlloyd wrote: »

One out on the full and one forced pass were his two mistakes. He didn't cause Irish momentum to slip, the inevitable change of the game made Irish momentum slip.

one out on the full fair enough but that happens, and england had lineout on their own 10m line as opposed to their own 22 like, Keatley kicked very poorly from hand in the opening 10-15 in Rome. I dont see Madigan being left out. JS said in interview shown today from earlier in the week that continuity now is crucial so I think with a title and a slam at stake, it will be minimal changes.

Ireland as a team have a tendency to allow teams come onto them late in games so it was nothing new today

crazygeryy

is man of the match always someone on the home team?and who chooses the man of the match?

Clegg

So, Jordi Murphy, lads.

Think he deserves some credit.

hadoken13

Solid, professional performance by Ireland. Never really under much pressure and always looked like we were going to win it. The Wales game is massive now.

aimee1

Clegg wrote: »

So, Jordi Murphy, lads.

Think he deserves some credit.

TOD too, thought he came on and did very well.

spiralism

Since we blew that game against NZ a year and a half ago, we've got very very good at closing out games. Three times in the past four games we've held on when past Irish teams would have blown at least two of them.

Peregrine

crazygeryy wrote: »

is man of the match always someone on the home team?and who chooses the man of the match?

No, it can be anyone. Host broadcaster(RTÉ).

thebaz

Clegg wrote: »

So, Jordi Murphy, lads.

Think he deserves some credit.

great performance - totally sound guy - delighted for him.

Well done Ireland , but seriously Sexton , what a player . and Henshaw came of age - delighted - awesome performance.
Murray is the best 9 in World rugby right now. class

spiralism

Lapin wrote: »

Aer Lingus want €359 to get to Edinburgh for the last game and Ryanair are looking for €295.

Feck the pair of them. I'll just get the ferry.

€96 Return if i want to make the trip. Living abroad does have it's advantages

Manofthewest

England

Swiwi. wrote: »

Might just have to put a sly tenner on Ireland to win the RWC...

Done that February of last year win they were 20/1. 8/1 now behind NZ, ENG and SA.

Great game today and so many brilliant performances, but Henshaw was fantastic.

Sangre

Scotland game is sold out though isn't it?

Swiwi.

thebaz wrote: »

great performance - totally sound guy - delighted for him.

Well done Ireland , but seriously Sexton , what a player . and Henshaw came of age - delighted - awesome performance.
Murray is the best 9 in World rugby right now. class

It's funny, IMO Murray is the best 9 in world rugby for Ireland's game plan...and Aaron Smith is the best 9 in world rugby for NZ's style of play. They are both class.

Bridge93

England

Sangre wrote: »

Scotland game is sold out though isn't it?

Not fully no

Podge_irl

Sangre wrote: »

Scotland game is sold out though isn't it?

Yup. Me and 67,799 people bought tickets

errlloyd

Sangre wrote: »

Scotland game is sold out though isn't it?

137e are the cheapest seats.

http://www.viagogo.ie/Sports-Tickets/Rugby-Union/RBS-Six-Nations-Tickets/E-538184

degsie

What happened at the last play, though England had a try, sorry but was at the bar

Tim Robbins

Swiwi. wrote: »

It's a huge issue fore Ireland. Much of the gameplan is built around the excellent Murray/Sexton combo, either of those unavailable due to injury, and it becomes very difficult to play like that. It is basically a carbon copy of SA in 2007, replacing Fourie du Preez with Murray and Butch James with Sexton (although Percy Montgomery and Butch James kind of made a Sextron hybrid).

Madigan played to his level, so I'm not going to criticism him, but as we all know Sexton >>>> all other Irish flyhalves.

Much of the game plan is built around gaelic football. Kicking the ball and trying to field it better than someone in the opposition.

Pretty much every back out there has played GAA and it is ironic that after years of rugby schooling, we use GAA skills to win international rugby matches.

Swiwi.

spiralism wrote: »

Since we blew that game against NZ a year and a half ago, we've got very very good at closing out games. Three times in the past four games we've held on when past Irish teams would have blown at least two of them.

On the flipside, the more I see Ireland play, the more I am impressed with how NZ came back in that game. My respect for Ireland continues to grow. Said SA would win - wrong. Said England would win - wrong. When will I learn :pac:

twinytwo

Wang King wrote: »

France tried kicking to Zebo as they thought he was a weak link... They were wrong....England looked at that game and said, yes! we'll kick to Zebo too, ....what's that Einstein said about doing the same thing and expecting different results..

well if you think about kicking ball to us and hoping to get anything/much from it is retarded.

We have 3 FB's on the pitch 2 wingers that can put fairly decent shifts at FB and a 9/10 that are as solid as cian healys thigh under the high ball:pac:.... every single one of them can jump and catch..... so im ammused when teams repeatedly kick the ball to us

twinytwo

Swiwi. wrote: »

On the flipside, the more I see Ireland play, the more I am impressed with how NZ came back in that game. My respect for Ireland continues to grow. Said SA would win - wrong. Said England would win - wrong. When will I learn :pac:

feel free to be wrong the next time we play NZ:D

Wang King

degsie wrote: »

What happened at the last play, though England had a try, sorry but was at the bar

Joubert called the final pass to Nowell as forward

aimee1

Swiwi. wrote: »

On the flipside, the more I see Ireland play, the more I am impressed with how NZ came back in that game. My respect for Ireland continues to grow. Said SA would win - wrong. Said England would win - wrong. When will I learn :pac:

so your backing wales in two weeks time then ......

Bridge93

England

Paddy Power have Ireland as early 2 point favourites.

19543261

England

Wales to be embarrassed again. Hope we demolish them.

errlloyd

Tim Robbins wrote: »

Much of the game plan is built around gaelic football. Kicking the ball and trying to field it better than someone in the opposition.

Pretty much every back out there has played GAA and it is ironic that after years of rugby schooling, we use GAA skills to win international rugby matches.

Some people (potentially not you) have been saying this as if rugby owes the GAA something, and it's bothering me. I concede we are using GAA skills, but I wish people would stop saying it all the time as if it's what makes us good. Catching the ball above our heads is literally the only skill that the players get from GAA, if they'd actually spent all the GAA time playing rugby instead they'd be much better at other things, like passing, tackling and catching the ball in every situation that doesn't involve catching it over your head.

The reason the All Blacks are (and will always) be better is because kids there play Rugby growing up.

matthew8

England

I'd say we'll beat Wales. They're good but we match up well to them usually. Bigger challenge than today I feel.

Swiwi.

aimee1 wrote: »

so your backing wales in two weeks time then ......

No. Ireland are too good. In particular, Wales don't have a good enough forward pack.

Aongus Von Bismarck

Rory Best is a great player. It's not a glamorous position, but he bosses that role. I wouldn't like to be seeing him facing me as I tried to make a running break.

awec

GDK_11

English Fan opinion!!

Ireland were excellent today thoroughly deserved their win. Sexton is the stand out 10 in world rugby never mind the northern hemisphere. The scrum held up very well, thought that would be dominated by england, seemed they may get on top towards the end but the game was well gone by that point.

From an English perspective very few positives. Goode did well bar the try and the back line made some good runs individually, not as a unit unfortunately. Never rated Haskell even after the first two games, he's guaranteed to give away penalties under pressure. Lawes and parling should improve england as will wood. Agreed with ROG that ford can be very special in a couple of years, lacks the experience.

Hopefully ireland go in and complete the slam now, definitely deserving of it and I think we could all agree that it would be slightly annoying if Wales snatched another one.

hadoken13

errlloyd wrote: »

Some people (potentially not you) have been saying this as if rugby owes the GAA something, and it's bothering me. I concede we are using GAA skills, but I wish people would stop saying it all the time as if it's what makes us good. Catching the ball above our heads is literally the only skill that the players get from GAA, if they'd actually spent all the GAA time playing rugby instead they'd be much better at other things, like passing, tackling and catching the ball in every situation that doesn't involve catching it over your head.

The reason the All Blacks are (and will always) be better is because kids there play Rugby growing up.

It's not really that - the backs on the team who make really good, high-ball catches played GAA as a kid and this helped in their development.

Pudsy33

Will this move us up the rankings?

heybaby

Warren Gatland

Awesome result and vital we continue to build momentum. At times we completely controlled that game. Only gripes would be almost 30 missed tackles and is there not scope within our game plan to play a more attacking game?

Yes defensively we are terrific but going forward i think we lack a cutting edge, our backs as attackers, have been anonymous. Attacking creativity i believe is the only aspect of our game that could do with enhancing, if we can manage that then i believe we would be a serious threat in the RWC.

Well done Ireland.

theboy1

spiralism wrote: »

Since we blew that game against NZ a year and a half ago, we've got very very good at closing out games. Three times in the past four games we've held on when past Irish teams would have blown at least two of them.

I suppose that's true but on the flipside it should be a worry that in a few matches we seem to let go of commanding positions and end up defending frantically when we should be comfortable.

Although a lot of that has to do with injuries and just pure exhaustion.

Aongus Von Bismarck

Pudsy33 wrote: »

Will this move us up the rankings?

No.

It does send out a message ahead of the world cup. We find ourselves with a serious squad of rugby players.

Bridge93

England

We'll go back to third comfortably

Tim Robbins

errlloyd wrote: »

Some people (potentially not you) have been saying this as if rugby owes the GAA something, and it's bothering me. I concede we are using GAA skills, but I wish people would stop saying it all the time as if it's what makes us good. Catching the ball above our heads is literally the only skill that the players get from GAA, if they'd actually spent all the GAA time playing rugby instead they'd be much better at other things, like passing, tackling and catching the ball in every situation that doesn't involve catching it over your head.

There's a bit more do it than that. In gaa you are man to man and trying to catch a ball first which may not be over your head. It is not just hand to eye, but there's odd little push in the back, niggle etc to give yourself a bit of an advantage, as well as how high you can jump.

You are also kicking the ball out of your hand a lot and trying to do it accurately.

The reason the All Blacks are (and will always) be better is because kids there play Rugby growing up.

I think it's because their coaching is way better - at all levels.

aido79

GDK_11 wrote: »

English Fan opinion!!

Ireland were excellent today thoroughly deserved their win. Sexton is the stand out 10 in world rugby never mind the northern hemisphere. The scrum held up very well, thought that would be dominated by england, seemed they may get on top towards the end but the game was well gone by that point.

From an English perspective very few positives. Goode did well bar the try and the back line made some good runs individually, not as a unit unfortunately. Never rated Haskell even after the first two games, he's guaranteed to give away penalties under pressure. Lawes and parling should improve england as will wood. Agreed with ROG that ford can be very special in a couple of years, lacks the experience.

Hopefully ireland go in and complete the slam now, definitely deserving of it and I think we could all agree that it would be slightly annoying if Wales snatched another one.

Fair play to you. At least you're not a sore loser. I watched the game with an English guy who's excuse for their loss was that the referee was French( He was actually South African). Not sure we were watching the same game.

Peregrine

Pudsy33 wrote: »

Will this move us up the rankings?

Yes, back to third. England had taken 3rd place when they beat Wales in Cardiff.

Fireball07

Great win. Really professional performance in a thoroughly absorbing contest. Few really negative opinions in here which is weird, I thought we were excellent throughout although England gave away way too many penalties, won't be happy with that.

Murray was absolutely class, his kicking game is top-notch as well as the way he bosses his pack. His half-break that set Henshaw away, before Goode saved them was excellent, did well to get his hands free. The real highlight obviously was the kick for the try which was beautifully measured.

Scrum was very solid, I know a few people had worries but we beat them up, Best bounced back from two under-par performances to show what he can do, class act. Toner excellent. Considering we played most of the game without SOB & Heaslip, our back row were excellent- fair play to TOD and Jordi. Sexton class as per usual, missed him when he went off. Zebo put in a huge shift as well, such an asset under the high ball and always made yards in contact.


But Henshaw was a well-deserved man of the match, the standout player even before his try which was ridiculously good to finish in those circumstances. For such a young player to step up so well... he's getting better and better and I don't see why it would stop now.

Henderson had a huge impact defensively when he came on, I thought, made a lot of big hits.

kuang1 wrote: »

Said it before in a different thread, but Ireland by 8+.
Joe has consistently brought results since Twickenham last year, he nearly pulled it off that day too.
This Irish team fears no one. The days of having to get yourself into an aggressive frenzy in the changing room before playing one of the 'BIGGER' teams (because deep down you actually fear them) are long gone.
A team that is marshaled well, with confidence based on achievements, knows they can beat anyone.

I expect joe to surprise us all today.
With England left wondering what the f*** just hit them.

Henshaw MOTM.

Good call, sir.

Aongus Von Bismarck

Nim wrote: »

Yes, back to third. England had taken 3rd place when they beat Wales in Cardiff.

Oops. I hadn't realised that.

When is Andrew Trimble due back? My player of the tournament last year.

HankSchrader

Haven't read all the posts but Ireland really have put down a marker for the WC

58mins and England got their 2nd score on the board. What Ireland did was bring intensity mixed with a consistent game plan to the pitch.

I was suspect about this game as England are the only other side in the NH that have a great chance of winning the WC. We put it to them and came out on top. You have to admire Schmidt.

I could go on all day (too many guinness mixed with stereotypical Irish put-downs) but I really think Ireland have a fantastic chance of a WC final...plus I am delighted for my fellow Athlone man Robbie Henshaw, great work ethic and overall good mentality.

Can't wait for the WC

PS well done to thomond2006 on the bets

GDK_11

aido79 wrote: »

Fair play to you. At least you're not a sore loser. I watched the game with an English guy who's excuse for their loss was that the referee was French( He was actually South African). Not sure we were watching the same game.

One thing being patriotic, another being completely blind. Very disappointed but at the same time very realistic the best team won on the day. Now to sneak away from my girlfriends jubilant family and cry myself to sleep :-)