Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

swiwi_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118154942#Comment_118154942

I’m not even Irish :)

bilston

3 wins over NZ in the last 5 years.

Every Irish girl and boy rugby fan under the age of 16 has a very different experience of Ireland v NZ than the rest of us!!

Freddie Mcinerney

Up there with the Munster win.

Clegg

I really didn't see the performances over the last two weeks coming. We were pretty poor in the Six Nations barring the England win and performances in the summer tests were patchy.

What I really liked about today was that we beat New Zealand playing a style of rugby which the All Blacks would be be happy to utilise themselves. It's also a continuation of what we saw last weekend. There were fewer offloads, but the structure was the same. Lots of forwards acting as decoys and passing options to create gaps for the backs to run into.

The victory in 2018 was the best I've ever seen Ireland play with regards to accuracy and intensity. Every tackle was vicious and ruck smashed with complete legality. We squeezed them to death in that game. It was the very peak of our time under Sxhmidt. But with hindsight that plan was too taxing on the forwards and by the time the World Cup came around we had a lot of the pack over the hill and unable to continue performing to that level of excellence.

Today feels a bit different to me. We're getting more in an attacking sense from the forwards and backs. Where once we beat teams with intensity and unerring accuracy, we're now getting around them with good handling and passing ability. The intensity is still there, but we're seeing much more in an attacking sense.

I think we're not the finished article yet either. There's much room to improve in decision making and accuracy near the opposition line. We coughed up a few golden chances to score trys.

bilston

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118161734#Comment_118161734

Agree, plus history has taught us that we don't want to be the finished article either in the middle of a WC cycle. We need a bit more impact throughout the 23 and that could easily have cost us.

Your point about the attritional nature of the 2018 gameplan is fair. Today at half time we had made less than 40 tackles, NZ had made 140+. No surprise that we scored 15 unanswered points in the third quarter. However the NZ bench was nearly the difference maker and that I think is an area where we can improve, and matches like next week will help develop that depth.

Also it was massive that Carbery saw that home as well today.

connachta

That was amazing to constrict All-Blacks out-of-breath.

Only us and South-Africa (once only England) are able to do that on the last 5 to 10 years

For next week. Probably won't be as many changed but the licence to do so is there.

Porter

Herring

Bealham

Henderson

Baird

Beirne

PoM

Timoney / Coombes

Murray

Carbery

Conway

McCloskey

Aki / Henshaw

Baloucoune

Larmour

Kilcoyne

Sheehan

OToole

Dillane

Conan

Casey

Byrne

Zeboooo

TRC10

"It was only a friendly"

roverjoyce

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118161709#Comment_118161709

Lets all forget about the 1 match that counted

VayNiice

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118162011#Comment_118162011

It saddens me the number of bitter cretins who flood to the rugby forums with this same line when ireland do well.

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118161709#Comment_118161709

It will be impossible to explain to anyone of a certain vintage just how important chicago was, and just how heartbreaking all the close run games before that were.

aloooof

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118162097#Comment_118162097

I think it’s pretty clear now how much of a psychological win the Chicago game was. They lost their aura.

I firmly believe the same will happen when we win a RWC QF.

TRC10

The composure and belief in our own skill to spin the ball wide, not on a pre-planned move, to capitalise on an overlap under advantage against the best team in the world and score in the corner, is something you'd rarely see from Ireland.

2 years ago, that ball would never have gone wide. It would have been up the jumper and maybe Sexton or Murray would have put up a 50:50 bomb.

ersatz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118162253#Comment_118162253

This shows a real evolution form Joe's style, still with the discipline around the ruck but there's a lot more freedom with the ball and a lot more dynamism to individual play. Much of what Sexton was doing today we've seen before but we haven't seen the sort of intricacy and creativity when the ball goes further out. Keenan, Lowe and Ringrose are all making good decisions and playing with a lot of freedom, each of them played creative roles at different times today and then very few players got isolated and turned over due to the, it happened maybe once when it's generally a real risk with the sort of variety they played with.

Hats off to Catt too, he's clearly doing something right.

We've seen before that the only way to beat the ABs is to force them into mistakes through relentless pressure. It saps their confidence and takes the sting out of them. Ardie dropped a ball today, this a very rare occurance.

And a word for Carbery. He didn't do much wrong when he came on and nailed his kicks (unlike Johnny). Today will stand to him.

Must love hardship

I thought Gibson Park was poor today. Missed 2 tackles and didn't deal with at least 2 high balls that were sent in his direction.. one that lead to a NZ try.. box kicks poor also.. still not a fan.

Hopefully Doak can get a look on soon

Apart from that I think we've had a great 2 weeks. Better than we all envisaged..

sydthebeat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118163075#Comment_118163075

If you thought JGP had a poor game today you need to go and learn a lot about rugby

Neil3030

Conan is a walking meme.

Must love hardship

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118163152#Comment_118163152

Sorry I've a different opinion that you.. you must be right and have superior knowledge than me.

sydthebeat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118163192#Comment_118163192

Nope. You have a different opinion than all the main commentators on the game.

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/international/ireland-29-new-zealand-20-ireland-player-ratings-1.4728256 

https://www.balls.ie/rugby/ireland-v-new-zealand-player-ratings-491311

https://www.rugbypass.com/news/ireland-player-ratings-vs-all-blacks-autumn-nations-series-rugbypass/

So maybe take a second look at the game and revise

TRC10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118163171#Comment_118163171

On a serious note.

Conan surely is one of the best no.8s in the world right now?

Savea probably would be no.1. Vermuelen, Himeno and Alldritt there or there abouts too, but Conan should be right up there after the year he's had.

randomname2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118163192#Comment_118163192

There are good games and there are perfect games. Did he have a perfect game, no, very few players ever do. A good game, yes in my opinion. Good speed, some great flat passes. I also think he will be eclipsed by done of the younger players soon enough but I don't know if any of the up and coming scrum halves would have performed better tbh.

Dubinusa

JGP is better suited to the style we are playing. His tempo, quick distribution and decisions are fantastic, right now. I don't think we'd have won if Murray started.

Neil3030

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118163202#Comment_118163202

Certainly in the conversation. Curry worth a mention too.

Bazzo

A sneak peak of Andy Farrell's post match speech where boards got a mention

Interested Observer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118163075#Comment_118163075

I have no idea how someone could have watched that game and the style/tempo we played at, and how successful our approach was, and concluded JGP was poor. He should be nailed on #1 choice now at 9.

VayNiice

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118163075#Comment_118163075

He was one of our best players I thought. Consistently excellent passing, put in some pinpoint accurate kicks too. I really don't think we would be playing the way we are without him.

Murray was a massive backward step when he came on, straight back to box kicking.

Blue4u

When Sexton does retire I do think we have to look seriously at Hendo as captain, he has two Lions tours under his belt, a couple of WC's and showed again yesterday he is a quality quality player

Dubinusa

I think Henderson would be a great captain. If not him, Ringrose?

Tommysocks11

Wonder what did Joe schmidt make of it yesterday, surely impressed by our offloading game that he frowned upon, yes I think Murrays time is up, box kicking straight away with no incline to be inventive, jpg and doak are the future, as good as stander was I think conan is a way better footballer as cj was basically just a battering ram

Blue4u

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118163882#Comment_118163882

I think Ringrose, even with the performance yesterday, is in a battle with Aki for a starting position v Henshaw

For me at the moment Hendo is the starting second row with Baird, Ryan, Beirne all fighting it out to join him