Ireland Team Talk/Gossip/Rumour Thread V

jm08

Deleted User wrote: »

Who are these paceless wingers?

Easier to say who are the paciest - Earls, Gilroy, Zebo.

Pink Fairy

Bazzo wrote: »

leakyboots

jm08 wrote: »

Yet Earls has nearly as many caps in the centre as he does on the wing.

I think his defence is very strong and if size is an issue (which I don't think it is) with all these giant wingers like North etc., wing isn't the best place for him.

One major problem with a lot of the wingers used by Schmidt, they have no pace and their positioning needs to be spot on as they are unable to cover any errors made through being too slow.

This 'Earls isn't a centre' is one of those phrases being bandied about on here incessantly as fact. Earls is fine in the centre, he's better on the wing but more than capable of doing a job at centre.

aimee1

leakyboots wrote: »

This 'Earls isn't a centre' is one of those phrases being bandied about on here incessantly as fact. Earls is fine in the centre, he's better on the wing but more than capable of doing a job at centre.

He is capable of doing an job but not an overly good one. IMO defensively he isnt great in the centre.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

aimee1 wrote: »

He is capable of doing an job but not an overly good one. IMO defensively he isnt great in the centre.

This is exactly it. There is a big step down from Payne to Earls at 13.

Maybe in other teams and under other coaches Earls is an acceptable choice at 13 but given the importance of Payne in Schmidt's team Earls is not a good substitute.

I know people will now jump in with "BUT SCHMIDT OBVIOUSLY THINKS HE IS BECAUSE WORLD CUP!!!" but for me those matches prove my point.

aimee1

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

This is exactly it. There is a big step down from Payne to Earls at 13.

Maybe in other teams and under other coaches Earls is an acceptable choice at 13 but given the importance of Payne in Schmidt's team Earls is not a good substitute.

I know people will now jump in with "BUT SCHMIDT OBVIOUSLY THINKS HE IS BECAUSE WORLD CUP!!!" but for me those matches prove my point.

It is only at that level that he is found out though. Zebo at full back is another. At pro12 and even ERCC to an extent they are fine, but jump up a level and they look like they arent natural to the positions.

leakyboots

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

This is exactly it. There is a big step down from Payne to Earls at 13.

Maybe in other teams and under other coaches Earls is an acceptable choice at 13 but given the importance of Payne in Schmidt's team Earls is not a good substitute.

I know people will now jump in with "BUT SCHMIDT OBVIOUSLY THINKS HE IS BECAUSE WORLD CUP!!!" but for me those matches prove my point.

I thought he did well against France in attack and defence. Argentina... there's not many in that backline who can hold their heads high from that game.

Payne ain't all that in attack (how many tries does our backline score?...), solid and all defensively as he is. Both players have their strengths... I'd have Payne over Earls for sure, but the hysteria by some on here when Earls is mentioned as a candidate is hilarious.

He went through a Six Nations at 13 before and did fine in his 4 matches (gained 197m, av. 8 m per run, 7 line-breaks, 12 defenders beaten - backline scored 9 tries).

Bazzo

I don't think it's that most people think Earls is a bad centre, it's that we have better alternatives.

There's also the fact that taking Earls off the wing arguably weakens our wings because he's one of the best wingers we have.

leakyboots

aimee1 wrote: »

It is only at that level that he is found out though. Zebo at full back is another. At pro12 and even ERCC to an extent they are fine, but jump up a level and they look like they arent natural to the positions.

Zebo has only played a handful of games at 15 and he's been 'found out'. No chance to grow into a position?

Go and look again at RK's performance last weekend at FB and compare it to the things bring levelled against Zebo the previous weekend. I made a point of focusing on Kearney for the game 'cos I was genuinely surprised by the reaction of some here on Zebo's performance, it was mixed but a lot of positives I thought. Kearney had a shocker. And he's been churning out sub-par performances for a while now.

leakyboots

Bazzo wrote: »

I don't think it's that most people think Earls is a bad centre, it's that we have better alternatives.

There's also the fact that taking Earls off the wing arguably weakens our wings because he's one of the best wingers we have.

I'd agree with all of that fo' sho'

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Bazzo wrote: »

I don't think it's that most people think Earls is a bad centre, it's that we have better alternatives.

There's also the fact that taking Earls off the wing arguably weakens our wings because he's one of the best wingers we have.

I'm not a huge fan of his on the wing either but given injuries/age/WhateverGilroyIsDoingWrong we don't have a lot of options open to us on the wing.

Moving Earls would also mean for the 3rd match in a row we've got a different person out on that wing, presumably it's Zebo, and we're back to questioning why McFadden is on the bench.

Noopti

leakyboots wrote: »

I thought he did well against France in attack and defence. Argentina... there's not many in that backline who can hold their heads high from that game.

Payne ain't all that in attack (how many tries does our backline score?...), solid and all defensively as he is. Both players have their strengths... I'd have Payne over Earls for sure, but the hysteria by some on here when Earls is mentioned as a candidate is hilarious.

He went through a Six Nations at 13 before and did fine in his 4 matches (gained 197m, av. 8 m per run, 7 line-breaks, 12 defenders beaten - backline scored 9 tries).

Are you saying Payne ain't all that in attack or our backline ain't all that in attack? Payne seems to always bear the brunt of any discussion about our attacking ineptitude.

Having said that, he is a far more potent line breaker when hitting the line from full back. Which is to be expected as he thrives with more space, something which is in very rare supply as an international 13 these days.

aimee1

leakyboots wrote: »

Zebo has only played a handful of games at 15 and he's been 'found out'. No chance to grow into a position?

Go and look again at RK's performance last weekend at FB and compare it to the things bring levelled against Zebo the previous weekend. I made a point of focusing on Kearney for the game 'cos I was genuinely surprised by the reaction of some here on Zebo's performance, it was mixed but a lot of positives I thought. Kearney had a shocker. And he's been churning out sub-par performances for a while now.

If you read the whole of my post, I said that they look like they arent natural to the position. If they have a weakness in an unfamiliar position then yes they can be found out. Its not a criticism of them either BTW.

Zebo was good against Wales especially offensively but he also had some moments which were pretty poor. I thought he was way out of position for the Davies kick through which Trimble carried over and a few contestibles by Biggar and Murray were he got nowhere near them. RK wasnt at his best on Saturday but he wasnt as one dimensional offensively either.

The Black Stags

NEWS!

http://www.the42.ie/ireland-new-zealand-chicago-2016-november-2607861-Feb2016/


"Ireland will face the All Blacks in Chicago this November"

leakyboots

aimee1 wrote: »

If you read the whole of my post, I said that they look like they arent natural to the position. If they have a weakness in an unfamiliar position then yes they can be found out. Its not a criticism of them either BTW.

Zebo was good against Wales especially offensively but he also had some moments which were pretty poor. I thought he was way out of position for the Davies kick through which Trimble carried over and a few contestibles by Biggar and Murray were he got nowhere near them. RK wasnt at his best on Saturday but he wasnt as one dimensional offensively either.

I thought that was Trimble's ball all day long and he took an age to turn and get back there. Contestibles... the imperious-in-the-air Kearney jumped into his own man twice and didn't win any of his aerial contests... turned over ball three times (did pick a great line for one of those to be fair but then ruined it with the blind offload)... sliced kick to touch, a knock on...

My point isn't necessarily the errors, they're obvious and unfortunate, it's the microanalysis that Zebo went through the previous week was absent this week. Some posters were saying Kearney had a good game!

The general reaction I got all that week from Zebo's performance was he did a few things poorly and then some very good things, which you'd expect from a fella who's not a natural 15. Kearney seems to get a pass for performances like last weekend which are happening all too frequently now. He gets lauded for running into contact and placing a ball back, something you take for granted off any player... but then gets turned over a few times in a match and not a word. It's bizarre.

I'd hope creating competition for him like Zebo or whoever at 15 will force Rob to up his game, given we're not going to win the 6N (are we definitely mathematically out?) some tweaks like a change at 10/15 v Italy/Scotland should be made.

Utah_Saint

The Black Stags wrote: »

NEWS!

http://www.the42.ie/ireland-new-zealand-chicago-2016-november-2607861-Feb2016/


"Ireland will face the All Blacks in Chicago this November"

Great! Travelling to a whole other continent to take a pasting from the AB. ;-)

Pink Fairy

Utah_Saint wrote: »

Great! Travelling to a whole other continent to take a pasting from the AB. ;-)

Same as the last time so?

aimee1

leakyboots wrote: »

I thought that was Trimble's ball all day long and he took an age to turn and get back there. Contestibles... the imperious-in-the-air Kearney jumped into his own man twice and didn't win any of his aerial contests... turned over ball three times (did pick a great line for one of those to be fair but then ruined it with the blind offload)... sliced kick to touch, a knock on...

My point isn't necessarily the errors, they're obvious and unfortunate, it's the microanalysis that Zebo went through the previous week was absent this week. Some posters were saying Kearney had a good game!

The general reaction I got all that week from Zebo's performance was he did a few things poorly and then some very good things, which you'd expect from a fella who's not a natural 15. Kearney seems to get a pass for performances like last weekend which are happening all too frequently now. He gets lauded for running into contact and placing a ball back, something you take for granted off any player... but then gets turned over a few times in a match and not a word. It's bizarre.

I'd hope creating competition for him like Zebo or whoever at 15 will force Rob to up his game, given we're not going to win the 6N (are we definitely mathematically out?) some tweaks like a change at 10/15 v Italy/Scotland should be made.

Fairly sure RK was bodychecked by a French player for one of those collisions. Trimble was slow for the kick through v wales but Zebo was still the far side of the posts when In other similar incidents recently in other games the full back is 25m or more closer to where the ball bounced.

RK hit the line in moves similar to leinster 2011-2013 and threw a bad offload on one. Sliced kicks and knock ons are inevitable given the conditions. He is playing well off his best but that doesnt automatically translate to playing poorly. He is playing somewhere in between. Of the two games so far Zebo has been the better player.

Zebo also had a kick out on the full from a pass back into the 22 against wales so these things happen.

jm08

Zebo also was getting treatment for his knee from 4 minutes into the game which was bound to have affected him (considering he was not selected to play v. France because of the injury).

jm08

Noopti wrote: »

Are you saying Payne ain't all that in attack or our backline ain't all that in attack? Payne seems to always bear the brunt of any discussion about our attacking ineptitude.

Having said that, he is a far more potent line breaker when hitting the line from full back. Which is to be expected as he thrives with more space, something which is in very rare supply as an international 13 these days.

Payne made 16 tackles v France, passed 2 times and ran 7.
McFadden made 5 tackles, missed 3, kicked, passed and ran 1 each time.

I don't blame Payne for the lack of attack, its how Ireland are set up.

jm08

Bazzo wrote: »

I don't think it's that most people think Earls is a bad centre, it's that we have better alternatives.

There's also the fact that taking Earls off the wing arguably weakens our wings because he's one of the best wingers we have.

He is a waste as a winger as he rarely touches the ball out on the wing. He hits lots of rucks like a train, though!

wittycynic

While not entirely feasible for the England game, against Scotland and Italy I would like to see:

Dillane given a start at lock at the expense of Toner, who has been very poor.

McCloskey given a start at 12, with Henshaw moved to 13.

Payne moved to 15, as Kearney really has done little of note in recent internationals to justify his position as a nailed-on starter. The France game was yet another disappointing outing for him.

Off the bench, giving Ruddock at 20, Marmion at 21, Jackson at 22, and dare I say Olding at 23, some decent game time would be a shrewd use of our last two games in terms of deepening our squad, and giving a golden opportunity to some talented players to stake their claims for regular spots in match day 23s.

errlloyd

wittycynic wrote: »

While not entirely feasible for the England game, against Scotland and Italy I would like to see:

Dillane given a start at lock at the expense of Toner, who has been very poor..

He was in many people's team of the week in week 1? Did absolutely nothing wrong in week 2, made a bag load of tackles? One completely brainless penalty I guess.

McCloskey given a start at 12, with Henshaw moved to 13.

Analysed to death elsewhere, I am sure lots of us would like to see it, but Jared Payne is one of the highest tacklers in the entire 6n at this point, and definitely the reason we didn't lose to wales and get mullered by France. (Where he played on injured).

Payne moved to 15, as Kearney really has done little of note in recent internationals to justify his position as a nailed-on starter.

Three tries in his last 5 international appearances right.

Off the bench, giving Ruddock at 20, Marmion at 21, Jackson at 22, and dare I say Olding at 23, some decent game time would be a shrewd use of our last two games in terms of deepening our squad, and giving a golden opportunity to some talented players to stake their claim for regular spot in match day 23s

Not gonna argue with you here, the bench should be used earlier, but Olding isn't anywhere near the bench. He's atleast the 4th Ulster centre in line (Payne, Marshall, McCloskey ahead).

its_phil

errlloyd wrote: »

Analysed to death elsewhere, I am sure lots of us would like to see it, but Jared Payne is one of the highest tacklers in the entire 6n at this point, and definitely the reason we didn't lose to wales and get mullered by France. (Where he played on injured).

Payne was excellent but before France got in our 22 in the second half 1% possession had been played there. Payne or no Payne, France were no where near good enough to muller us. Hardly any attacking threat really outside of a couple breaks and the scrum.

Cronin The Destroyer

Would be great to see payne play for 40 mins in a game and then be substituted by McCloskey. You'd really get a sense of the unique talents each player brings to the team and how they effect the game plan.

aimee1

http://www.englandrugby.com/news/rbs-nations-jones-retains-matchday-squad/

england retain the same squad for the ireland game.

wittycynic

errlloyd wrote: »

He was in many people's team of the week in week 1? Did absolutely nothing wrong in week 2, made a bag load of tackles? One completely brainless penalty I guess.



Analysed to death elsewhere, I am sure lots of us would like to see it, but Jared Payne is one of the highest tacklers in the entire 6n at this point, and definitely the reason we didn't lose to wales and get mullered by France. (Where he played on injured).



Three tries in his last 5 international appearances right.



Not gonna argue with you here, the bench should be used earlier, but Olding isn't anywhere near the bench. He's atleast the 4th Ulster centre in line (Payne, Marshall, McCloskey ahead).

I'll try to address those in turn. My view of Toner is that he has been pretty ineffectual around the park. Has offered little as a ball carrier and hasn't been a force at breakdown. Defence and line out work has been reasonable but I don't think that compensates for the other deficiencies.

As for Payne, yes, he has been a superb defender and he is a class act. What do I want to see from a 13, apart from defensive excellence? An eye for a gap, and vision in distribution that puts others into positions where they can break defences. My reading of Payne is that he hasn't been spectacular at either. He is a great 15 and there are other options to explore at centre. Why not move him and see just how good the likes of McCloskey are?

Kearney has plenty of ability, but I don't think many would attempt to argue he's anywhere near his best currently. I'd say Payne is playing better rugby, and so should be given a run at 15 where he can accommodate some experimentation at centre.

The Rape of Lucretia

Bazzo wrote: »

I don't think it's that most people think Earls is a bad centre, it's that we have better alternatives.

We do. Surely there is no argument but that both Henshaw and Payne are significantly better in the air than Earls? How could we consider playing him there if they are fit.


There is as case for him on the wing, but not really for Ireland anymore. He is a good wing of a certain style - the darting finisher from 20-30 yards out and a good nack to squeeze in at the corner. But these are not qualities we are looking for. Zeebs no better. He simply isnt tall enough or strong enough in the air to deliver for us.
The lack of Bowe is hurting now - Dave is decent, but not at Bowe level at contestibles, and we are seriously blunted now on one wing. McFadden is possibly the best of a bad lot now but I have no great confidence in him either.
How is Gilroy in the air ?

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

The Rape of Lucretia wrote: »

We do. Surely there is no argument but that both Henshaw and Payne are significantly better in the air than Earls? How could we consider playing him there if they are fit.

Pretty sure the Earls at centre conversation is coming from the idea that Payne is injured and might not be available for the England match. I don't think anyone is suggesting dropping Payne, at least not for Earls anyway, I hope.

wittycynic

The Rape of Lucretia wrote: »

We do. Surely there is no argument but that both Henshaw and Payne are significantly better in the air than Earls? How could we consider playing him there if they are fit.


There is as case for him on the wing, but not really for Ireland anymore. He is a good wing of a certain style - the darting finisher from 20-30 yards out and a good nack to squeeze in at the corner. But these are not qualities we are looking for. Zeebs no better. He simply isnt tall enough or strong enough in the air to deliver for us.
The lack of Bowe is hurting now - Dave is decent, but not at Bowe level at contestibles, and we are seriously blunted now on one wing. McFadden is possibly the best of a bad lot now but I have no great confidence in him either.
How is Gilroy in the air ?

In no universe is there a sensible argument for selecting Dave Kearney ahead of Keith Earls. The latter is one of the most naturally gifted wingers we've produced in the last twenty years, the former is an example of how much Leinster's star has waned.

jm08

The Rape of Lucretia wrote: »

We do. Surely there is no argument but that both Henshaw and Payne are significantly better in the air than Earls? How could we consider playing him there if they are fit.

Since when does a centre have to be good in the air? Fullback and wingers yes (if you are playing this kick chase game). One thing Payne is terrible at is kicking, which is something you would want your centres able to do.

There is as case for him on the wing, but not really for Ireland anymore. He is a good wing of a certain style - the darting finisher from 20-30 yards out and a good nack to squeeze in at the corner. But these are not qualities we are looking for. Zeebs no better. He simply isnt tall enough or strong enough in the air to deliver for us.
The lack of Bowe is hurting now - Dave is decent, but not at Bowe level at contestibles, and we are seriously blunted now on one wing. McFadden is possibly the best of a bad lot now but I have no great confidence in him either.
How is Gilroy in the air ?

Its a bit late now to decide that he isn't up to playing on the wing for Ireland, since he has just signed a new 3 Year Central Contract extension with the IRFU.

The Rape of Lucretia

Pink Fairy wrote: »

I think Trimble has lost a yard of pace these days

A yard of pace is not all its crackup up to be though.

For those who dont remember the old units of yards of speed:

1 yard of pace = 0.9144 (m/yd) x 2.04 (stride length in m) / 22 (meter line to try line) x 9.81(m/s2) = 0.00864m.

Or 9mm in a sprint from the 22 to the try line. Sure, we have all seen close calls for a touchdown where fractions matter, and a few millimeters can make all the difference between touching on the line or being short. But all in all, not really convinced that losing 8mm in such a sprint is enough to make a difference to a player holding their place or not or even their overall effectiveness on a rugby pitch.

WarZ

wittycynic wrote: »

In no universe is there a sensible argument for selecting Dave Kearney ahead of Keith Earls. The latter is one of the most naturally gifted wingers we've produced in the last twenty years, the former is an example of how much Leinster's star has waned.

Keith Earls is not one of the most naturally gifted wingers Ireland has produced in the last twenty years. He's never even started a Lions test and he has to compete for his place in Irish 15 when all players are fit. He is perhaps the most overrated player Ireland has produced in the last decade but the hype has died down in recent years.

Mahatma Geansai

wittycynic wrote: »

In no universe is there a sensible argument for selecting Dave Kearney ahead of Keith Earls. The latter is one of the most naturally gifted wingers we've produced in the last twenty years, the former is an example of how much Leinster's star has waned.

I just had a look at Earls' stats and I have to say I'm surprised that he has amassed 47 caps. He'd probably have 70/80 caps but for his terrible injury record. When fit, he has been a first-choice international since 2010.

Dave Kearney is a hard-working provincial winger who has been very fortunate to get the international opportunities he has.

1eg0a3xv7b82of

The 23 man squad below could beat England if
A) Schmidt lets them play
White and Furlong just do their jobs.

mcgrath
best
white
toner
ryan
stander
odonnell
heaslip
murray
sexton
earls
mccloskey
Henshaw
trimble
payne

cronin
cronin
furlong
dillane
ruddock
marimon
jackson
gilroy

CatFromHue

Gilroy on the bench only works if someone in the starting 15 can cover centre, which Earls and Payne can.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Leandro Round Billboard wrote: »

The 23 man squad below could beat England if
A) Schmidt lets them play
White and Furlong just do their jobs.

As opposed to now, when he makes them stand still with their hands behind their backs?

CatFromHue

Just on the style of play thing.

I thought we did try and run it a bit more but we let ourselves down with some sloppy play.

Granted it was terrible weather but we did drop/knock on alot.

ClanofLams

This was probably covered in the aftermath of Saturdays match but Paddy Jackson needs to bench from here on. Madigan is average at international level and will be in France next season. Past time for Jackson to get experience.

1eg0a3xv7b82of

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

As opposed to now, when he makes them stand still with their hands behind their backs?

Yes, you describe it perfectly. Shovels for Hands is another good analogy.
Schmidt needs to Change the back line to something more dynamic and tell the players they can offload without fear of reprisals.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Leandro Round Billboard wrote: »

Yes, you describe it perfectly. Shovels for Hands is another good analogy.
Schmidt needs to Change the back line to something more dynamic and tell the players they can offload without fear of reprisals.

Sean O'Brien said during the World Cup they haven't been banned from offloading, they just know better than to try one unless it's 100% guaranteed to be successful. This idea that Schmidt has a list of things they're not allowed do is ridiculous.

France had a load of offloads during that match and they didn't make it into our 22 until the 60th minute and their try was hardly the height of skillful rugby.

aimee1

Leandro Round Billboard wrote: »

Yes, you describe it perfectly. Shovels for Hands is another good analogy.
Schmidt needs to Change the back line to something more dynamic and tell the players they can offload without fear of reprisals.

No coach is going to hold it against a player for moving off script to play what he sees in front of him. On ATH last night, they showed 4-5 examples of Ireland moving the ball but having shockingly poor execution. The move on our own 10m line a few minutes after the french try was desperately trying to force the game when there was still time.

We are kicking far less and we have been more expansive. If accuracy levels were higher then we would be 2 from 2. Of the players available [realistically] we have enough ability to win in twickenham. But only by improved accuracy. IMO thats what has hurt us more then anything so far.

The Rape of Lucretia

wittycynic wrote: »

In no universe is there a sensible argument for selecting Dave Kearney ahead of Keith Earls. The latter is one of the most naturally gifted wingers we've produced in the last twenty years, the former is an example of how much Leinster's star has waned.

Dont get me wrong. Earlsie is useful backup to have, and with the current injury spate, he could yet have a role to play. His versatility stands to him, in a Madiganesque kind of way, of being able to fill in more or less competently in a variety of positions, but not really well enough in any to command a starting spot.

Its more a question of style though. We just arent looking for the type of skills he has. We have moved on from the days of Darce/BOD moves and tricks in midfield creating openings for Hickie or Horgan to finish. Chasing and contesting an up and under is clearly more to Dave's strength, and in line with the advanced game Joe has brought to the table.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

aimee1 wrote: »

We are kicking far less and we have been more expansive. If accuracy levels were higher then we would be 2 from 2. Of the players available [realistically] we have enough ability to win in twickenham. But only by improved accuracy. IMO thats what has hurt us more then anything so far.

The irony (maybe) of it all was that we should have kicked more on Saturday. The couple of times Sexton put up a big kick the French backs were all over the place trying to deal with it. Maybe the extra attention they were giving Johnny made it difficult to do it more, I don't know, but the conditions in Paris weren't ones for open free flowing rugby.

The Rape of Lucretia

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

The irony (maybe) of it all was that we should have kicked more on Saturday.

I think this point has been pretty well demonstrated and accepted beyond argument.
When you think back on the last couple of years triumphs, the memories are of Rob soaring imperiously to reclaim go forward ball, defenders being kicked to and pounced on and forced to concede a penalty, turnover or choke tackle maul, corss field kicks being plucked by Bowe or Trimble, box kicks by Murray, or the likes of the advantage hail Mary being plucked from the air by Hench.
Am confident Joe will have seen this very clearly on Saturday, and out kick rate will be upper dramatically for England. Once bitten twice shy - the ball in hand strategy has failed for us now three games in a row. Joe is the master adapter.

ClanofLams

aimee1 wrote: »

We are kicking far less and we have been more expansive. If accuracy levels were higher then we would be 2 from 2. Of the players available [realistically] we have enough ability to win in twickenham. But only by improved accuracy. IMO thats what has hurt us more then anything so far.

We haven't a notion of winning over there, be lucky to stay within 10.

stephen_n

jacothelad wrote: »

Plenty of centres play in both positions. It's not unusual at all.

When was the last time Marshal played on the wing? When if ever would he have trained as a wing in the Irish setup? As opposed to a wing with 29 caps, who is very familiar with the systems and has trained there in the recent past.

aimee1

ClanofLams wrote: »

We haven't a notion of winning over there, be lucky to stay within 10.

so why bother showing up so. Of course we have a chance. We have a good defence for starters. Match that with some accuracy in attack and we can win

1eg0a3xv7b82of

aimee1 wrote: »

No coach is going to hold it against a player for moving off script to play what he sees in front of him. On ATH last night, they showed 4-5 examples of Ireland moving the ball but having shockingly poor execution. The move on our own 10m line a few minutes after the french try was desperately trying to force the game when there was still time.

We are kicking far less and we have been more expansive. If accuracy levels were higher then we would be 2 from 2. Of the players available [realistically] we have enough ability to win in twickenham. But only by improved accuracy. IMO thats what has hurt us more then anything so far.

I understand fully what you are saying and if the ref and scrum actually did their jobs we would have won also but we didnt and this is a very poor french team.
Schmidt most definitely has banned offloads unless they are 100% and we all know the most devastating offloads are not gimmes.
Schmidt needs to understand you will not always get quick ruck ball and if you dont offload where does that leave you, Losing to a bad French team when it was easier win.

ClanofLams

aimee1 wrote: »

so why bother showing up so. Of course we have a chance. We have a good defence for starters. Match that with some accuracy in attack and we can win

Obliged to show up I'm afraid.

Too many injuries. No scrum. Limited attack. No chance.