Ireland Team Talk X: The Long Hard Road to a Semi. MOD WARNING POSTS #1, #1474, #5707

kingofthekong

arsebiscuits1 wrote: »

For you to suggest our depth is not close is just bizarre

Locks and Back Row players that we have available to us this RWC:

VDF - One of the best opensides in Europe - Phenomenal workrate

POM - Captain of a test Lions side. Has his disbelievers but there's few teams in the world he doesn't start against

Conan - Reached a different stratosphere of standards the tail end of last season. One of the best 8s in Europe

Stander - One dimensional but what a dimension that is. Can build a test game plan around his physicality. Test capped Lion

Ruddock - Outstanding player and would have 30 more caps to his name if were not for how good a player POM is. Some unbelievable showings for Leinster this season

Jordi - Probably the best 6,7,8 in the world at the moment. I can't think of another player who has played all 3 positions to as high a standard as he has

Henderson - A freakishly gifted athlete with an unbelievable workrate and power game. Excellent skills and speed too.

Ryan - James. Ryan

Toner - The ruck hitting, line out gathering, hard scrummaging machine.

That's not to totally dismiss the players England have at their disposal. They're excellent. But your making it sound as if we've only got JCT players to pick from. We've got Lions, Pro14 & European Cup champions to pick from.

Honestly mate, it wont kill you to be at least a little positive. You'll live longer

VDF been in and out of injury last few seasons - clearly our best flanker - injury prone , fingers crossed he doesnt pick one up

POM - wouldnt make any other team in the TOP 5 in World rugbys backrow on current form - hes only there on name

Stander - fairly average season losing his place to Conan because of this

Conan - good form - Nz, SA, Eng, Wales all probably have better options

Jordi - was playing in the quarters last wc were our pack got absolutely smashed and out muscled by Argentina - not effective at international level bar a couple moments - good at pro14 level

I forgot we arent allowed to bring up valid talking points about our squad that got handled by Eng and Wales in the six nations

this is a forum for discussion if you want to read glowing comments about the squad all the time then log off the internet lol

kingofthekong

stephen_n wrote: »

Think you’re vastly underplaying the depth we have in our pack too. If Ryan’s out Henderson comes in. I’d agree we are going to be light on backrow cover if VDF is injured but I’d take Ruddock ahead of the curry brothers or Lawes any day of the week.

To take Ruddock over the England starting 7 and a Lawes who had an outstanding 6 nations means your Irish and bias , i'm Irish and not bias but some people on this forum massively overate our players

Shefwedfan

kingofthekong wrote: »

VDF been in and out of injury last few seasons - clearly our best flanker - injury prone , fingers crossed he doesnt pick one up

POM - wouldnt make any other team in the TOP 5 in World rugbys backrow on current form - hes only there on name

Stander - fairly average season losing his place to Conan because of this

Conan - good form - Nz, SA, Eng, Wales all probably have better options

Jordi - was playing in the quarters last wc were our pack got absolutely smashed and out muscled by Argentina - not effective at international level bar a couple moments - good at pro14 level

I forgot we arent allowed to bring up valid talking points about our squad that got handled by Eng and Wales in the six nations

this is a forum for discussion if you want to read glowing comments about the squad all the time then log off the internet lol

Sure we might as well stay at home :P:P


VDF had a knee injury, that was the main injury. After that I think he had a minor knock but was back playing soon after

Conan wipped the floor with all these better English and Welsh players all season......

We didnt get out muscled by Argentina, the problem was they ran around us.

Ireland is number what in World, won a Grand Slam last year, a tour in Australia, beat NZ again in November.....lost 2 games, yes 2 games in 6 nations. One away. Had a nightmare with injuries during the tournament with 2 critical player never actually been full fit....

But sure yeah, we are s**t...

:P

This fantastic England team, take Billy Vunipola out of the team and see what happens
Wales, yeah they are great......at home.....lets see how good they are away from home. Every other occasion they bottle it. Remember France v Wales in first match of 6 nations? they got ass handed to them....France handed them the second half....>Scotland should have beaten them at home as well.....

Yes we are not the finished article and I would love Leavy to be on the plane but the current options for Ireland are extremely good

aloooof

kingofthekong wrote: »

your Irish and bias , i'm Irish and not bias

Simply asserting this doesn't make it so.

kingofthekong wrote: »

...some people on this forum massively overate our players

Perhaps. But put simply, we have the strongest strength in depth we've ever had. In 2011, we brought Tom Court and Tony Buckley. In 2007 we brought Bryan Young and Brian Carney (remember that!). It'll almost certainly be the strongest squad we've ever brought to a RWC. You could probably make a decent 15 of players who'll miss out.

Former Former

TBH I don't know if England are any better off, but we have very questionable depth in most positions.

If we say that the first-choice XV is:

Healy Best Furlong
Ryan Toner
POM Stander VDF
Murray Sexton
Earls Henshaw Ringrose Stockdale
Kearney

then I think only Henderson and Aki can come in at the same level of quality versus the guy they would replace. If Jack McGrath gets back to form/fitness/whatever, he could go into that category and maybe Conan too. Beyond that, I think there's a big drop-off in pretty much every position.

That's not to say the others are bad players, or that they wouldn't come in and do a job, but in terms of real quality alternatives challenging for a jersey, we are pretty thin IMO.

If we get the same level of injuries as we did in 2015, the end result will likely be the same.

Shefwedfan

The great England team is all based on 1 result against Ireland when we had a bad day, England had us lined up for months after we trashed them at Twickeham and we didnt get to the run of the game. Still with 20 odd mins left we still had a chance.

After that they fell apart in Wales, and didnt bother showing up for Scotland in second half.

Wales won a slam but got hammered by France who then threw away the match. A french team which Ireland walked over. Scotland could and should have beaten them at Murrayfield

So I am not 100% sure where the love in for all things Welsh and English is coming from?

Bill Vunipola is the main guy as I have mentioned, he is hardly had an injury free few years, he has admitted himself his arm is weak and he has to protect it as it got broken twice, that goes in a warm up and england are fecked. Simple as that

arsebiscuits1

kingofthekong wrote: »

VDF been in and out of injury last few seasons - clearly our best flanker - injury prone , fingers crossed he doesnt pick one up

POM - wouldnt make any other team in the TOP 5 in World rugbys backrow on current form - hes only there on name

Stander - fairly average season losing his place to Conan because of this

Conan - good form - Nz, SA, Eng, Wales all probably have better options

Jordi - was playing in the quarters last wc were our pack got absolutely smashed and out muscled by Argentina - not effective at international level bar a couple moments - good at pro14 level

I forgot we arent allowed to bring up valid talking points about our squad that got handled by Eng and Wales in the six nations

this is a forum for discussion if you want to read glowing comments about the squad all the time then log off the internet lol

I'm quite glad I'm not you to be honest.

It takes a lot of effort to be this pessimistic about a team you supposedly support.

stephen_n

kingofthekong wrote: »

To take Ruddock over the England starting 7 and a Lawes who had an outstanding 6 nations means your Irish and bias , i'm Irish and not bias but some people on this forum massively overate our players

Lawes is a donkey and not the brightest one at that. I think you are biased alright, just not towards Ireland. But hey that is your opinion and you’re entitled to see things however negatively as you wish.

Shefwedfan

kingofthekong wrote: »

To take Ruddock over the England starting 7 and a Lawes who had an outstanding 6 nations means your Irish and bias , i'm Irish and not bias but some people on this forum massively overate our players

Who is the starting 7 for England?

aloooof

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Who is the starting 7 for England?

It's Tom Curry, isn't it? He had an extremely good 6 Nations, to be fair to him.

mark_way

arsebiscuits1 wrote: »

For you to suggest our depth is not close is just bizarre

Locks and Back Row players that we have available to us this RWC:

VDF - One of the best opensides in Europe - Phenomenal workrate

POM - Captain of a test Lions side. Has his disbelievers but there's few teams in the world he doesn't start against

Conan - Reached a different stratosphere of standards the tail end of last season. One of the best 8s in Europe

Stander - One dimensional but what a dimension that is. Can build a test game plan around his physicality. Test capped Lion

Ruddock - Outstanding player and would have 30 more caps to his name if were not for how good a player POM is. Some unbelievable showings for Leinster this season

Jordi - Probably the best 6,7,8 in the world at the moment. I can't think of another player who has played all 3 positions to as high a standard as he has

Henderson - A freakishly gifted athlete with an unbelievable workrate and power game. Excellent skills and speed too.

Ryan - James. Ryan

Toner - The ruck hitting, line out gathering, hard scrummaging machine.

That's not to totally dismiss the players England have at their disposal. They're excellent. But your making it sound as if we've only got JCT players to pick from. We've got Lions, Pro14 & European Cup champions to pick from.

Honestly mate, it wont kill you to be at least a little positive. You'll live longer

LOL, he's not even the best one of those at Ulster.

D14Rugby

Anyone who'd take Lawes over Ruddock needs their head checked. The guy just puts in a couple of late hits a game and that's it, absolutely zero rugby brain.

Shefwedfan

aloooof wrote: »

It's Tom Curry, isn't it? He had an extremely good 6 Nations, to be fair to him.

Who only started because Underhill was injured

mark_way

Deleted User wrote: »

South Africa are a much more competent team than they've been the last few years. Australia were poor but they still have plenty of talent and would trouble most teams. With the names missing from South Africa I think the tests between them and NZ are going to be wars.

That first pool game has huge consequences for our world Cup but I'm no where near as confident about facing South Africa in a semi and I'm not even certain it will be them at all.

South Africa lost 57-0 to the All Bllacks less than two years ago, so they can be completely written off.

aloooof

D14Rugby wrote: »

Anyone who'd take Lawes over Ruddock needs their head checked. The guy just puts in a couple of late hits a game and that's it, absolutely zero rugby brain.

Imo, it's kinda pointless to compare them; Lawes is primarily a 2nd row who occasionally plays 6. Ruddock is a 6 who occasionally plays 7 or 2nd row in a pinch.

However, I also think you're underestimating Lawes here though. He came off the bench in the last 2 Lions tests.

aloooof

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Who only started because Underhill was injured

And played brilliantly. You're advancing the case for England's strength in depth.

sydthebeat

mark_way wrote: »

South Africa lost 57-0 to the All Bllacks less than two years ago, so they can be completely written off.

:D:D:D:D:D:D

aloooof

mark_way wrote: »

South Africa lost 57-0 to the All Bllacks less than two years ago, so they can be completely written off.

And beat them in Wellington a year later.

mark_way

aloooof wrote: »

And beat them in Wellington a year later.

Irrelevant. You base it on one heavy defeat under different management two or three seasons prior to the competition in question. Ask Venjur.

Shefwedfan

aloooof wrote: »

And played brilliantly. You're advancing the case for England's strength in depth.

But England have no idea who the starting team is, biggest problem the fans have with EJ is he has no idea who the team is....this has never been cleared up


Plus the Irish team has played against all these players and won.....lots of time....one win in Lansdowne doesnt change that

swiwi_

There are always 1 or 2 posters in this thread who don’t have a glass half empty...their glass is bone dry.

Shefwedfan

swiwi_ wrote: »

There are always 1 or 2 posters in this thread who don’t have a glass half empty...their glass is bone dry.

Normally that fan is standing with you, 2 mins in and opposition score a try and it’s all over....

PTH2009

Need a rugby fix quick and watching old Irish WC footage on YouTube/DVDs etc

Really looking forward to the world cup but same time scared of 2007 happening all over again

We need big performances In these warm up games and dont get too many injuries

Scotland the first day out in Japan will be nerve wrecking

RugbyLover123

If you think some are being negative about Ireland on here, have a listen to Green & Gold podcast from Tuesday ha!

D14Rugby

RugbyLover123 wrote: »

If you think some are being negative about Ireland on here, have a listen to Green & Gold podcast from Tuesday ha!

I listened to 10 minutes of those ***** once when we were playing down there and had to turn them off, they're shocking.

Squidgy Black

Mother fcuker wrote: »

Gang, it's just easier for me to do this as opposed to answering individual posts, so apologies as such, it's time management.

I work with a lot of retired and have a few friends who are active law enforcement. There are a lot who come from some sort of military background. Although I was told by an old FTO I know that a lot are not passing the psychological test due to PTSD.

.....

That's grand and all but dya reckon we'll be able to fight through our PTSD and make it past the quarter finals?

Former Observer

My mind is turning to mush, I feel delusional. I thought I saw Joe Schmidt at least twice today, once going up the escalator in Merchants Quay with a baseball hat, then again later coming out of Dino's with a different coloured baseball hat. Swear to phuck I saw Donnacha Ryan in Merchants Quay too. But I also Jeremy Corbyn and Mads Mikkelsen in TK Max. I think my brain has rotted in my skull.

D14Rugby

Former Observer wrote: »

My mind is turning to mush, I feel delusional. I thought I saw Joe Schmidt at least twice today, once going up the escalator in Merchants Quay with a baseball hat, then again later coming out of Dino's with a different coloured baseball hat. Swear to phuck I saw Donnacha Ryan in Merchants Quay too. But I also Jeremy Corbyn and Mads Mikkelsen in TK Max. I think my brain has rotted in my skull.

The Joe schmidt sightings are possible if not probable, Ryan less so but not impossible, and I wouldn't put money on the last two.

RugbyLover123

D14Rugby wrote: »

I listened to 10 minutes of those ***** once when we were playing down there and had to turn them off, they're shocking.

I don’t usually listen to it but there’s very little else on at the moment

ionadnapokot

PTH2009 wrote: »

Need a rugby fix quick and watching old Irish WC footage on YouTube/DVDs etc

Really looking forward to the world cup but same time scared of 2007 happening all over again

We need big performances In these warm up games and dont get too many injuries

Scotland the first day out in Japan will be nerve wrecking

Other than that Australia game in 2011 and maybe the France game in 15 there isn’t allot to be happy about!

How about some classic Mike Gibson instead? Intro and commentary by Bill McLaren.
https://youtu.be/gjGrNxCVDt4

On the WC nerves:
6N cured me. It obliterated my expectations!
Can’t help but feel that the last day of the 6N captured where each of the teams are at.
Scotland will continue to play with abandon with Ireland relying on misfiring playmakers to optimise possession dominance and implement power plays.

Think a first choice Scotland have the beating of Ireland. Then I will be a bundle of nerves 6 days later against Japan.

Dog Botherer

D14Rugby wrote: »

I listened to 10 minutes of those ***** once when we were playing down there and had to turn them off, they're shocking.

I wouldn’t listen for the analysis alright, but they’re great fun when the Aussies are playing crap. For some reason i really enjoy professional rugby players being called “absolute poo”.

sydthebeat

We absolutely need to see signs of alternative tactics in the warm up games, because the attritional way we currently plan simply isn't suited to a high intensity competition.

aloooof

Shefwedfan wrote: »

But England have no idea who the starting team is, biggest problem the fans have with EJ is he has no idea who the team is....this has never been cleared up

Before the 6 Nations, I'd have agreed with you, but they had a pretty settled team throughout, it was more or less the following when all were available:

Back 3: Daly, Nowell, May
Centre: Tuilagi, Slade
Halfbacks: Farrell, Youngs
Back row: Vunipola, Curry, Wilson
2nd row: 2 of Itoje, Kruis and Launchbury.
Front row: Sinkler, George, Vunipola.

2nd row situation is very like Ireland with 2 out of 3 from Ryan, Henderson and Toner. They're all such a high calibre, it pretty much makes no odds.

The biggest question marks are the injury profiles of Tuilagi and Billy V. But outside of that, it'd be a surprise if there's much change from the above when they start the RWC.

stephen_n

aloooof wrote: »

Before the 6 Nations, I'd have agreed with you, but they had a pretty settled team throughout, it was more or less the following:

Back 3: Daly, Nowell, May
Centre: Tuilagi, Slade
Halfbacks: Farrell, Youngs
Back row: Vunipola, Curry, Wilson
2nd row: 2 of Itoje, Kruis and Launchbury.
Front row: Sinkler, George, Vunipola.

2nd row situation is very like Ireland with 2 out of 3 from Ryan, Henderson and Toner. They're all such a high calibre, it pretty much makes no odds.

The biggest question marks are the injury profiles of Tuilagi and Billy V. But outside of that, it'd be a surprise if there's much change from the above when they start the RWC.

If Tualagi and Billy V stay fit England have a good shot at winning the RWC. If both got injured early on, I don’t think they will get past the semi.

D14Rugby

aloooof wrote: »

Imo, it's kinda pointless to compare them; Lawes is primarily a 2nd row who occasionally plays 6. Ruddock is a 6 who occasionally plays 7 or 2nd row in a pinch.

However, I also think you're underestimating Lawes here though. He came off the bench in the last 2 Lions tests.

Lawes can do a job in a system where it's very much if this you go here or if this you go here. Which is the Jones and gatland system. Ruddock could drop into any system and do a job

aloooof

stephen_n wrote: »

If Tualagi and Billy V stay fit England have a good shot at winning the RWC. If both got injured early on, I don’t think they will get past the semi.

It's a fair call. Just had a look at their fixtures, and the order isn't favourable for them with their 2 hardest tests up last: Tonga, Usa, Argentina, France.

I know Ireland can start tournaments poorly, but if we can get passed Scotland and Japan, at least it gives players a couple of weeks recovery to come back from any more minor injuries.

Eod100

Former Observer wrote: »

My mind is turning to mush, I feel delusional. I thought I saw Joe Schmidt at least twice today, once going up the escalator in Merchants Quay with a baseball hat, then again later coming out of Dino's with a different coloured baseball hat. Swear to phuck I saw Donnacha Ryan in Merchants Quay too. But I also Jeremy Corbyn and Mads Mikkelsen in TK Max. I think my brain has rotted in my skull.

Thought he'd be more of a KCs man, Lennoxes at a push maybe..

Shefwedfan

stephen_n wrote: »

If Tualagi and Billy V stay fit England have a good shot at winning the RWC. If both got injured early on, I don’t think they will get past the semi.

Without Farrell England ain't winning it either....


About 3-4 teams can win the WC, including Ireland, if they have no injuries to critical players.

stephen_n

aloooof wrote: »

It's a fair call. Just had a look at their fixtures, and the order isn't favourable for them with their 2 hardest tests up last: Tonga, Usa, Argentina, France.

I know Ireland can start tournaments poorly, but if we can get passed Scotland and Japan, at least it gives players a couple of weeks recovery to come back from any more minor injuries.

Yeah and we get minutes for Carberry and Carthy as well hopefully. Which even given the weaker opposition, it’s still in tournament which is better than warmups.

Shefwedfan

stephen_n wrote: »

Yeah and we get minutes for Carberry and Carthy as well hopefully. Which even given the weaker opposition, it’s still in tournament which is better than warmups.

Unless either Carberry or Sexton is carrying an injury I think they should concentrate on getting those two minutes on the pitch.

andymx11

I watched the 2015 quarter final for the first time since 2015.. I kept expecting us to win once Nordi got that try.. ugh FML.. happy Friday

molloyjh

To this day I honestly believe we would have won had Mads converted that kick to take the lead. Argentina were losing the heads and bordering on getting a yellow. That miss (it was a tough kick from memory so not blaming him) let them off the hook a bit and both teams knew it.

molloyjh

Quiet lunch time today so I took a stab at the 31 man squad and how we'd select the sides for the warm-ups & pool games. 31 really is a tough number, but I think this makes at least some sense. Nobody starts more than 4 games in the 10 weeks. I tried to match things up in terms of the opposition and the combinations in as much as I could. The side selected to face England is a bit on the weak side, but do we really care? 10 of the starting 15 (15 of the 23) are in the final 31 and it gives a few guys right on the fringes a chance (Kleyn and Ruddock in particular).

All of the final 31 get plenty of gametime too so everyone should be as prepared as possible. There's loads of competition for places across the squad with only a few lacking (13 and the back 3 specifically), but with a 31 man squad I'm not sure how much more we could do. Obviously we could have to deal with a number of injuries over the course of the 10 games, but 6 of the 14 omitted are involved in 3 warm-up games so hopefully that should cover us. And should see us peaking coming into the QF with any luck.

Guys like Kleyn, Ruddock and Farrell are unlucky to miss out but thems the breaks. I think given the opposition they are likely to face, Beirne brings a bit more than Kleyn. Murphys versatility gets him the nod ahead of Rhys and unless we bring 8 front rows instead of 9 (which I don't think really works in terms of minutes played at the RWC) then there just isn't room for Farrell.

Italy|England|Wales|Wales
McGrath|Kilcoyne|McGrath|Healy
N Scannell|Herring|Cronin|Best
Bealham|Porter|J Ryan|Furlong
|||
Dillane|Toner|Henderson|Toner
Ryan|Kleyn|Kleyn|Ryan
|||
POM|Ruddock|Ruddock|POM
O'Donnell|VDF|O'Donnell|VDF
Conan|Stander|Conan|Stander
|||
Cooney|L McGrath|Marmion|Murray
Carbery|Sexton|Carty|Sexton
|||
D Kearney|Conway|D Kearney|Stockdale
R Scannell|Aki|R Scannell|Henshaw
Farrell|Ringrose|Farrell|Ringrose
Earls|Larmour|Conway|Conway
Kearney|Haley|Addison|Kearney
|||
|||
Herring|Cronin|Best|N Scannell
Kilcoyne|Healy|Healy|Kilcoyne
Furlong|Bealham|J Ryan|Porter
Kleyn|Beirne|Beirne|Henderson
Ruddock|Murphy|Murphy|Conan
|||
L McGrath|Cooney|L McGrath|Cooney
Byrne|Carty|Byrne|Carbery
Henshaw|Farrell|Larmour|Addison



Scotland|Japan|Russia|Samoa
Healy|Kilcoyne|McGrath|Healy
Best|Cronin|Herring|Best
Furlong|Porter|J Ryan|Furlong
|||
Toner|Beirne|Toner|Beirne
Ryan|Henderson|Ryan|Henderson
|||
POM|POM|POM|Murphy
VDF|Murphy|Murphy|VDF
Stander|Conan|Stander|Conan
|||
Murray|Marmion|Marmion|Murray
Sexton|Carbery|Carty|Sexton
|||
Stockdale|Stockdale|Larmour|Stockdale
Henshaw|Aki|Aki|Henshaw
Ringrose|Addison|Henshaw|Ringrose
Earls|Larmour|Earls|Earls
Kearney|Kearney|Addison|Larmour
|||
|||
Cronin|Herring|Cronin|Herring
Kilcoyne|McGrath|Healy|Kilcoyne
Porter|J Ryan|Porter|J Ryan
Henderson|Toner|Beirne|Ryan
Conan|Stander|VDF|POM
|||
Marmion|Murray|Murray|Marmion
Carbery|Carty|Carbery|Carbery
Addison|Kearney|Ringrose|Aki



Player|Starts|Benches|Total
Healy|3|3|6
Kilcoyne|2|4|6
McGrath|3|1|4
Best|3|1|4
Cronin|2|3|5
Herring|2|3|5
Furlong|3|1|4
Porter|2|3|5
J Ryan|2|3|5
Toner|4|1|5
Ryan|4|1|5
Henderson|3|2|5
Beirne|2|3|5
POM|5|1|6
VDF|4|1|5
Stander|4|1|5
Conan|4|2|6
Murphy|3|2|5
Murray|3|2|5
Marmion|3|2|5
Sexton|4|0|4
Carbery|2|4|6
Carty|2|2|4
Henshaw|4|1|5
Aki|3|1|4
Ringrose|4|1|5
Addison|3|2|5
Stockdale|4|0|4
Earls|4|0|4
Kearney|4|1|5
Larmour|4|1|5
|||
N Scannell|1|1|2
Bealham|1|1|2
Dillane|1|0|1
Kleyn|2|1|3
Ruddock|2|1|3
O'Donnell|2|0|2
Cooney|1|2|3
L McGrath|1|2|3
Byrne|0|2|2
R Scannell|2|0|2
Farrell|2|1|3
Conway|3|0|3
D Kearney|2|0|2
Haley|1|0|1

andymx11

Jesus fair play - great post. Will Sexton be fit for England game ?

molloyjh

I think so. I think hes due back in and around the Italy game.

aloooof

molloyjh wrote: »

To this day I honestly believe we would have won had Mads converted that kick to take the lead. Argentina were losing the heads and bordering on getting a yellow. That miss (it was a tough kick from memory so not blaming him) let them off the hook a bit and both teams knew it.

I remember thinking the same thing at the time, that kick would've brought us level. But we had put so much effort into getting back to that point even, we seemed to run out of gas afterwards.

AdamD

I think we'll put out a slightly stronger team to play Japan than that.

molloyjh

AdamD wrote: »

I think we'll put out a slightly stronger team to play Japan than that.

Possibly, but I dont think we need to. That pack shouldn't need to worry about the set peice really. And they'd be pretty deadly in the loose against Japan. And the back line should have more than enough to handle them. Theres a decent mix of experience from 11-15.

molloyjh

aloooof wrote: »

molloyjh wrote: »

To this day I honestly believe we would have won had Mads converted that kick to take the lead. Argentina were losing the heads and bordering on getting a yellow. That miss (it was a tough kick from memory so not blaming him) let them off the hook a bit and both teams knew it.

I remember thinking the same thing at the time, that kick would've brought us level. But we had put so much effort into getting back to that point even, we seemed to run out of gas afterwards.

Had we nailed that kick we would have maintained momentum and put the pressure on Argentina. The fatigue wouldnt have hit as hard then I dont think. And the Argies would have likely lost a man to the bin.

All_in_Flynn

molloyjh wrote: »

Quiet lunch time today so I took a stab at the 31 man squad and how we'd select the sides for the warm-ups & pool games. 31 really is a tough number, but I think this makes at least some sense. Nobody starts more than 4 games in the 10 weeks. I tried to match things up in terms of the opposition and the combinations in as much as I could. The side selected to face England is a bit on the weak side, but do we really care? 10 of the starting 15 (15 of the 23) are in the final 31 and it gives a few guys right on the fringes a chance (Kleyn and Ruddock in particular).

All of the final 31 get plenty of gametime too so everyone should be as prepared as possible. There's loads of competition for places across the squad with only a few lacking (13 and the back 3 specifically), but with a 31 man squad I'm not sure how much more we could do. Obviously we could have to deal with a number of injuries over the course of the 10 games, but 6 of the 14 omitted are involved in 3 warm-up games so hopefully that should cover us. And should see us peaking coming into the QF with any luck.

Guys like Kleyn, Ruddock and Farrell are unlucky to miss out but thems the breaks. I think given the opposition they are likely to face, Beirne brings a bit more than Kleyn. Murphys versatility gets him the nod ahead of Rhys and unless we bring 8 front rows instead of 9 (which I don't think really works in terms of minutes played at the RWC) then there just isn't room for Farrell.

Italy|England|Wales|Wales
McGrath|Kilcoyne|McGrath|Healy
N Scannell|Herring|Cronin|Best
Bealham|Porter|J Ryan|Furlong
|||
Dillane|Toner|Henderson|Toner
Ryan|Kleyn|Kleyn|Ryan
|||
POM|Ruddock|Ruddock|POM
O'Donnell|VDF|O'Donnell|VDF
Conan|Stander|Conan|Stander
|||
Cooney|L McGrath|Marmion|Murray
Carbery|Sexton|Carty|Sexton
|||
D Kearney|Conway|D Kearney|Stockdale
R Scannell|Aki|R Scannell|Henshaw
Farrell|Ringrose|Farrell|Ringrose
Earls|Larmour|Conway|Conway
Kearney|Haley|Addison|Kearney
|||
|||
Herring|Cronin|Best|N Scannell
Kilcoyne|Healy|Healy|Kilcoyne
Furlong|Bealham|J Ryan|Porter
Kleyn|Beirne|Beirne|Henderson
Ruddock|Murphy|Murphy|Conan
|||
L McGrath|Cooney|L McGrath|Cooney
Byrne|Carty|Byrne|Carbery
Henshaw|Farrell|Larmour|Addison



Scotland|Japan|Russia|Samoa
Healy|Kilcoyne|McGrath|Healy
Best|Cronin|Herring|Best
Furlong|Porter|J Ryan|Furlong
|||
Toner|Beirne|Toner|Beirne
Ryan|Henderson|Ryan|Henderson
|||
POM|Beirne|POM|Murphy
VDF|Murphy|Murphy|VDF
Stander|Conan|Stander|Conan
|||
Murray|Marmion|Marmion|Murray
Sexton|Carbery|Carty|Sexton
|||
Stockdale|Stockdale|Larmour|Stockdale
Henshaw|Aki|Aki|Henshaw
Ringrose|Addison|Henshaw|Ringrose
Earls|Larmour|Earls|Earls
Kearney|Kearney|Addison|Larmour
|||
|||
Cronin|Herring|Cronin|Herring
Kilcoyne|McGrath|Healy|Kilcoyne
Porter|J Ryan|Porter|J Ryan
Henderson|Toner|Beirne|Ryan
Conan|Stander|VDF|POM
|||
Marmion|Murray|Murray|Marmion
Carbery|Carty|Carbery|Carbery
Addison|Kearney|Ringrose|Aki



Player|Starts|Benches|Total
Healy|3|3|6
Kilcoyne|2|4|6
McGrath|3|1|4
Best|3|1|4
Cronin|2|3|5
Herring|2|3|5
Furlong|3|1|4
Porter|2|3|5
J Ryan|2|3|5
Toner|4|1|5
Ryan|4|1|5
Henderson|3|2|5
Beirne|3|3|6
POM|4|1|5
VDF|4|1|5
Stander|4|1|5
Conan|4|2|6
Murphy|3|2|5
Murray|3|2|5
Marmion|3|2|5
Sexton|4|0|4
Carbery|2|4|6
Carty|2|2|4
Henshaw|4|1|5
Aki|3|1|4
Ringrose|4|1|5
Addison|3|2|5
Stockdale|4|0|4
Earls|4|0|4
Kearney|4|1|5
Larmour|4|1|5
|||
N Scannell|1|1|2
Bealham|1|1|2
Dillane|1|0|1
Kleyn|2|1|3
Ruddock|2|1|3
O'Donnell|2|0|2
Cooney|1|2|3
L McGrath|1|2|3
Byrne|0|2|2
R Scannell|2|0|2
Farrell|2|1|3
Conway|3|0|3
D Kearney|2|0|2
Haley|1|0|1

Great effort, however I don’t think we will play a ’second string’ against Japan. I think it will be full team first 2 games and then rotate heavily.