Women's Rugby World Cup - August 2017

Larbre34

Its a daft tournament really, it seems no matter how many games you loose you face another demoralising fixture that you are even less motivated to fulfil. Nevertheless, if we dont beat Wales on Saturday we finish 8th out of 12 and have to qualify for the next tournament. Potential for ultimate humiliation there. I wonder if the girls might be persuaded to shut out Tierney and work among themselves and with the likes of Briggs to put together a simple plan to win this one and end on a positive note before the long hard rebuild.

The media commentary is rightfully damning today, it will be very very interesting to hear comment from the players once the tournament ends at the weekend. Tierney is of course out of contract so thats that, but Anthony Eddy and David Nucifora will have to answer for their decisions.

The Lost Sheep

Larbre34 wrote:

Its a daft tournament really, it seems no matter how many games you loose you face another demoralising fixture that you are even less motivated to fulfil. Nevertheless, if we dont beat Wales on Saturday we finish 8th out of 12 and have to qualify for the next tournament. Potential for ultimate humiliation there. I wonder if the girls might be persuaded to shut out Tierney and work among themselves and with the likes of Briggs to put together a simple plan to win this one and end on a positive note before the long hard rebuild.

why is the tournament structure daft? It's like many tournaments and all teams play for ranking positions after the group stage.

Hastentoadd

molloyjh wrote: »

Weren't they prepared for the tournament very, very well though? Sure it wasn't anything he did. The player base isn't there, the players didn't perform and sure don't other Irish teams underperform at World Cups too.

The player base is probably stronger than it was when we beat NZ 3 years ago and when we won the 6Ns twice, including 1 GS. Everyone knows there are issues there, but Mr Excuses isn't up to it.

Just my opinion, but my impression of the Irish team is that they were not mobile. Watched the Ireland France game and you could see that the French back row had mobility while our back row were simply there to shore up gaps. Our girls simply did not have the physical or fitness level. All very fine and good to provide the 'heavies' but the game has moved on from that.

The Lost Sheep

Joy Neville to referee the final.

CIARAN_BOYLE

Has there been any discussion about the massive kick in the teeth for the English women coming after Saturday.

The rugby football union is going to move from having 50 women's players on a contract between xvs and 7s to having 17 the majority of whom will be 7s players.

Imagine world cup winning players going from professional to amateur after the tournament.

connemara man

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

Has there been any discussion about the massive kick in the teeth for the English women coming after Saturday.

The rugby football union is going to move from having 50 women's players on a contract between xvs and 7s to having 17 the majority of whom will be 7s players.

Imagine world cup winning players going from professional to amateur after the tournament.

A tech company has said they will hire all the others for a few months to give them time to sort themselves out.

irishbucsfan

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

Has there been any discussion about the massive kick in the teeth for the English women coming after Saturday.

The rugby football union is going to move from having 50 women's players on a contract between xvs and 7s to having 17 the majority of whom will be 7s players.

Imagine world cup winning players going from professional to amateur after the tournament.

There was a lot of discussion of it pre-tournament.

In reality they're doing exactly what Nucifora and Eddy are doing, they're just being more open about it. Instead of announcing "500k extra funding for womens rugby" before the 15s world cup and not being open about where the funding is going.

munsterlegend

LeinsterDub wrote: »

What? This is a bizarre comment.

No it's not. Game was over the 80 minute mark and in their own 22. An extra try was of no advantage to them whatsoever. Even the ref kept saying to them time is up.

Eventually the scrum half at around minute 84 realised ok this is a bit rediculous and kicked it out.

irishbucsfan

munsterlegend wrote: »

No it's not. Game was over the 80 minute mark and in their own 22. An extra try was of no advantage to them whatsoever. Even the ref kept saying to them time is up.

Eventually the scrum half at around minute 84 realised ok this is a bit rediculous and kicked it out.

Its the only major tournament they play in. Of course they're going to make the most of it.

munsterlegend

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Its the only major tournament they play in. Of course they're going to make the most of it.

Well they shouldn't have kicked it out then!

connemara man

https://twitter.com/Cumoski/status/901319859367280640

sullivlo

connemara man wrote: »

https://twitter.com/Cumoski/status/901319859367280640

I was just coming to post this.

Wow.

irishbucsfan

The IRFU have been running it terribly for some time now. Some of the things they've done via their two antipodean hatchet men has been disgraceful. But they don't care, there's money in 7s.

molloyjh

That's pretty damning all right. Much and all as it's important to hear I can't help but think it might have been better to leave publishing that until after the tournament is over. But still, it sounds like not much has really changed since Pau. People need to put pressure on the IRFU over this, and I don't just mean the players.

robbiezero

molloyjh wrote: »

That's pretty damning all right. Much and all as it's important to hear I can't help but think it might have been better to leave publishing that until after the tournament is over. But still, it sounds like not much has really changed since Pau. People need to put pressure on the IRFU over this, and I don't just mean the players.

I can see why it should have been left for another day, but in a week's time the world cup will have been forgotten about and irish ladies rugby will be back to the fringes of the media again. At least today it will be talked about in the panel of the tv discussions and some good may come out of it.

irishbucsfan

robbiezero wrote: »

I can see why it should have been left for another day, but in a week's time the world cup will have been forgotten about and irish ladies rugby will be back to the fringes of the media again. At least today it will be talked about in the panel of the tv discussions and some good may come out of it.

100%, absolutely worth publishing now. Could have been done sooner.

LeinsterDub

connemara man wrote: »

https://twitter.com/Cumoski/status/901319859367280640

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/international/ruth-o-reilly-the-guys-in-the-blazers-need-to-decide-if-this-is-something-they-are-serious-about-1.3198674?mode=amp
Same article online maybe easier to read. And less copyright infringey

CatFromHue

Tom Tierney comes out as incompetent in that.

While the IRFU made some issues a better coach would have made a huge difference.

LeinsterDub

Looking like a other defeat. This world cup has been an complete failure.

Strazdas

LeinsterDub wrote: »

Looking like a other defeat. This world cup has been an complete failure.

Defeat to a very average and ordinary team too. I suppose the only way is up from here though.

LeinsterDub

Strazdas wrote: »

Defeat to a very average and ordinary team too. I suppose the only way is up from here though.

Ireland beat Australia by pure passion and doggedness once we weren't in the running for the big prize the last thread holding the team and their performances together was gone. It's a shame as this team deserve better.

Strazdas

LeinsterDub wrote: »

Ireland beat Australia by pure passion and doggedness once we weren't in the running for the big prize the last thread holding the team and their performances together was gone. It's a shame as this team deserve better.

There's no questioning their spirit and heart. I think they were just a very poorly coached team in this tournament, the management looked clueless.

Dave_The_Sheep

“Yes. We actually got our act together, on email, got a little playbook together for Australia and Japan but they were never used. Never discussed as a group.

“A week later he was back on looking for us to put together the training plan for the Saturday session to see what attack options we wanted to run against France. And he wanted that the following day.”

O’Reilly said in a group email, to players and coach, that this request was unacceptable as it fell under the coaches’, not the players’, remit. Tierney responded to the group that she did not need to attend the camp that weekend.

Jesus wept.

irishbucsfan

He's gone now, just told RTE he's stepping down

Larbre34

Strazdas wrote: »

There's no questioning their spirit and heart.

Ah there was yeah. Any captain worth her salt would have intervened and done a Laurent Blanc.

This whole campaign was an utter disgrace.

irishbucsfan

Larbre34 wrote: »

Ah there was yeah. Any captain worth her salt would have intervened and done a Laurent Blanc.

This whole campaign was an utter disgrace.

Right. But they lost their captain before the campaign started.

LeinsterDub

Larbre34 wrote: »

Ah there was yeah. Any captain worth her salt would have intervened and done a Laurent Blanc.

This whole campaign was an utter disgrace.

What good would that have done. A captain's role isn't to lead a coup de tête

Hastentoadd

Wonder if there is a case for less physical and more mobile players. Seems the way rugby is going in both men's and women's rugby. Got the feeling from the Irish outings that they didn't have the same degree of mobility as the better teams. Just a thought

Larbre34

LeinsterDub wrote: »

What good would that have done. A captain's role isn't to lead a coup de tête

Y'know what, it is when needs be. And needs did be.

Tierney was by all accounts ignored in the dressing room by the end, Briggs was present and she and the 10 player leadership group who have won a grand slam and had a decent previous world cup could have and should have taken over. The next few days will be traumatic in its honesty.

Larbre34

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Right. But they lost their captain before the campaign started.

She was present with the group the whole time

First Up

LeinsterDub wrote:

What good would that have done. A captain's role isn't to lead a coup de tête

Hit someone in the head?

Hastentoadd

Larbre34 wrote: »

Y'know what, it is when needs be. And needs did be.

Tierney was by all accounts ignored in the dressing room by the end, Briggs was present and she and the 10 player leadership group who have won a grand slam and had a decent previous world cup could have and should have taken over. The next few days will be traumatic in its honesty.

So the players manage the team? In this day and age I don't see how that can lead anywhere. Then you have 10 voices over 1. And that just leads to utter confusion. So maybe Tierney wasn't the best choice but it never is the case that a player revolt solves anything. You can't have a debated strategy. That simply does not work

tayto lover

Women just like the men - over-hyped.

Larbre34

Hastentoadd wrote: »

So the players manage the team? In this day and age I don't see how that can lead anywhere. Then you have 10 voices over 1. And that just leads to utter confusion. So maybe Tierney wasn't the best choice but it never is the case that a player revolt solves anything. You can't have a debated strategy. That simply does not work

Nonsense, they sit down and agree to play a simple traditional approach and practice the set piece till the lights go out. These girls had the skills and experience to do at least that, blindfolded.

Squatter

tayto lover wrote: »

Women just like the men - over-hyped.

In this case, it might be a lot fairer to write that the women were let down badly by the men.

irishbucsfan

Larbre34 wrote: »

Nonsense, they sit down and agree to play a simple traditional approach and practice the set piece till the lights go out. These girls had the skills and experience to do at least that, blindfolded.

Except Tierney didn't do much scrum/lineout training because its not his style.

If the girls tried to freeze out management Nucifora would have kicked half of them off the squad.

CatFromHue

Squatter wrote: »

In this case, it might be a lot fairer to write that the women were let down badly by the men.

I think it'd be more accurate to say this team were let down by the administrators and had a poor coach.

LeinsterDub

First Up wrote: »

Hit someone in the head?

Can't tell if you're serious.

Hastentoadd

In my own opinion they were simply playing the one dimensional game you suggest anyway labre. There was no speed of break, it was just metres. So I agree its a time to appoint a coach who can teach them how to play modern rugby. But to say that you just teach them a couple of skills, primarily beating forward meter by meter, is just condoning what Tierney has already done, just under a player management scheme.

irishbucsfan

Larbre34 wrote: »

She was present with the group the whole time

Incorrect

First Up

LeinsterDub wrote:

Can't tell if you're serious.

That's the literal translation, although in French its a phrase meaning on a whim. Neither makes sense.

Squatter

CatFromHue wrote: »

I think it'd be more accurate to say this team were let down by the administrators and had a poor coach.

Which, effectively, is what I wrote.

Squatter

I have to say that the female rendition of the haka seems pretty lame. Also it went on for far too long.

jojofizzio

Squatter wrote: »

I have to say that the female rendition of the haka seems pretty lame. Also it went on for far too long.

Id have to agree...compared to the men they looked like they were doing the Macarena..

LeinsterDub

First Up wrote: »

That's the literal translation, although in French its a phrase meaning on a whim. Neither makes sense.

Sorry should have been Coup d'état

Excuse my ignorance, but are the rules in women's rugby different? Only a penalty for a shoulder charge tackle, and earlier a NZ player was told to release an attempted choke tackle.

Connacht15

jojofizzio wrote: »

Id have to agree...compared to the men they looked like they were doing the Macarena..

Well it still frightened me!:D

The Lost Sheep

Basil3 wrote:

Excuse my ignorance, but are the rules in women's rugby different? Only a penalty for a shoulder charge tackle, and earlier a NZ player was told to release an attempted choke tackle.

Laws are not different.

Scythica

Good game tbh so far

Squatter

Good game so far. Good call by Joy - definite yellow.