NZ Tour 2022 - Māori June 29th, NZ July 2nd, NZ July 9th, Māori July 12th, NZ July 16th, KO 8.05am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119233965#Comment_119233965

Agreed 100%! However, the last time that I phoned to cancel my Sky Sports sub for that reason, they gave me a decent offer that enabled me to watch BT and Premier Sports for not too much more. So if you've got the time to spend listening to crap music on "hold" then it's definitely worth the effort. (my last negotiations with Sky were all done by text using the following number: 086 180 3131.)

Bloer

Sowakula is coming off a terrific SR season.

I guess him and Cullen Grace both offer something very different.

What would will be the starting All Blacks back row in the 1st test?

sydthebeat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119238406#Comment_119238406

what it should be:

6. A Ioane 7. D Papalii 8. A Savea 20. Sotutu

what it probably will be:

6.Cane 7. Papalii 8. Savea 20. A Ioane

swiwi_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119237198#Comment_119237198

Ioane is to Samoa what Ryan is to Irish. Lots of them and not necessarily related.

RichieRich_89

Cane at 6? Has he been playing there?

That'd be a pretty small 6/8 combo.

Bloer

I guess it’s finding a way to fit both Cane (captain) and Papalii (form player) into the team.

They would be lethal at the breakdown.

Ioane, Sowakula and Sotutu would probably be better ball carriers.

They’ve got options!

sydthebeat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119238554#Comment_119238554

yeah fair point, i was probably shoe horning him in there somewhere as he was named team captain.

if they go Akira, Cane, Savea i feel they are leaving one of the most in-form players out o fteh squad and foster will cop a lot of flak if they dont perform.

maybe they will go with Cane on the bench....

ljsulster

I have a plan folks,

How about we intentionally lose the series so we can’t say we’ve peaked early, struggle our way to third next six nations and then magically start winning at the World Cup

Dont know how Schmidt never thought of this.

StevenToast

A series win in NZ is a bigger achievement than a six nations grand slam.....

Optimistic about our chances, test series will go 2-1 to New Zealand.

Maori games impossible to call.

My God those marketing types really churn out some dreadful sh1te!

It appears that the Irish team will be "debuting" the new Irish jersey for the 2022/23 season on June 29 during the midweek match against the Maori All Blacks before "donning" it for the first test match against New Zealand at Eden Park on July 2.

Hence we get this utter sh1te from "a spokesperson for Irish Rugby" who really should be deeply ashamed of him or herself!

"The design of this year’s kit heroes the strength and unity of Irish players, fans and supporters against tough competitors, as both the Men’s and Women’s teams prepare for key test matches this summer. The Ireland Rugby Home Test jersey features Canterbury’s strongest ever neckline, first seen on The British and Irish Lion’s Test jersey last summer.  A subtle hoop pattern gives the jersey a modern twist, reminiscent of the stripes worn by the first ever Irish test rugby team who took to the field against England in February 1875. Deep Mint is used as a bright, energising new shade of green across both the Men’s and Women’s jerseys."

Thanks, IRFU and Canterbury, but I'm sticking with my all-purpose Lidl Green jersey with shamrock!

arsebiscuits1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119242759#Comment_119242759

Someone used synonyms to describe a product they're trying to sell????!!!!!

Colour my shocked. SHOCKED I say.

Seriously. I know Boards can be a place full of whingers. But this might be one of the more petulant ones

Serbian

I like your optimism. Honestly, it would be a massive massive result if we won one of the matches in New Zealand. I don't see it personally, I think New Zealand are a different beast at home, but I would love to see us nick one of the games and stay competitive in the other two.

We should be winning the Māori games realistically but you never know.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119243084#Comment_119243084

I make no apology for having higher standards than you appear to have!

That said, it's good to see that the IRFU marketing people appear to have pitched their rhetoric at the right demographic.

sydthebeat

https://giphy.com/gifs/alexanderirl-alexander-irl-d3YQCPcckxQiYibe

...

stephen_n

Think we need the rugby to start!

Red Silurian

Does anybody know if it's possible to get the ladies jersey in a mens size? The vodafone logo on the mens one stands out a bit too much for my liking

TheRona

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119242759#Comment_119242759

It might not bother you what kind of construction goes into a rugby jersey, but a company that had the tagline 'The World's Toughest Activewear' obviously takes it seriously. Not entirely sure why you're worked up by them being proud of a jersey that won't tear easily at the neckline. Weird thing to single out.

Dubinusa

If we lose all matches, what then?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119243962#Comment_119243962

Actually I'm thrilled at this exciting revelation! I know that it will save literally thousands of lives and that the many non-playing purchasers of these world-class rugby jerseys will get a shudder of justifiable pride as they flaunt their world-class necklines in their local pub.

(As I wrote above, it's evident that the marketing pitch has been targeted at a certain demographic and they are swallowing it up, hook, line and sinker!)

sydthebeat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119244045#Comment_119244045

from a practical sense, new zealands odds for rwc 23 will shorten and our might lengthen slightly. Apart from that, nothing much. review and move on to 6N 23

we're bookies favourites to loose the series 3 - 0

even winning one game will be a success

AbusesToilets

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119244045#Comment_119244045

Take a break and go again next season. Being honest, that's not an unlikely occurrence. Have to hope that we're competitive in every game and that we can see some new players tested out.

Shehal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119244045#Comment_119244045

It comes down to the manner of the losses. During the summer the onus is on the SH teams to win so all the pressure is on NZL.

Downlinz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119244045#Comment_119244045

Time to bid farewell to a few of the older players in the squad and experiment a bit in the year of the RWC. We've gone all in with an older and experienced side and results are essential when you do that.

molloyjh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119246249#Comment_119246249

Why do people post objectively incorrect rubbish like this still? I don’t understand it. We’ve brought in younger guys all over the park and have dropped guys in favour of others in numerous positions. How does this cliche still have any traction at all?

If we lose all 3 games then we need to, as Shehal said, review them in the context of what happened. We could lose all 3 by 1 point or all 3 by 20+ points. Those 2 things are not in any way equal at all. We could get lucky with injuries and have strong squads in all 3 games. We could get unlucky with injuries in a couple of key positions and be massively weakened as a result (we do not have the depth some seem to think we have).

Clegg

On the 42 rugby podcast, Murray Kinsella gave his team for the first test. He wasn't giving any inside info on this, but rather what he thinks Farrell will go for.

I thought it was interesting that he thinks there's a fair few players that, if they fail to perform, will be bombed out of the squad entirely. It's make or break for a few of the fringe players in their mid 20's.

His co-host Gavan Casey and he both think H Byrne and Joe McCarthy could be potential bolters for the second and third tests.

Kinsellas picks for the first test match up with mine other than the centres. Aki has been really poor for Connacht in recent performances, especially the Champions Cup QF round of 16 against Leinster. He was caught out defensively on so many occasions. Would prefer Henshaw on recent form. Though both hosts were right point out that Ireland form is different to provincial form and Aki has always performed well in green.

Porter, Sheehan, Furlong

Ryan, Henderson

POM, VDF, Doris

JGP, Sexton

Aki, Ringrose,

Lowe, Keenan, Hansen

pickarooney

Did he mention who might get bombed out if the squad? Like, if Aki continues his recent form Henshaw will come in (reasonable) or if the scrum continues to malfunction Porter gets dropped (OK but who comes in?) Hansen gets rotated out if he doesn't set the world on fire (bit of a big ask for a new player). POM has his usual immense game against the ABs or else Conan comes back in? Henderson swapped for Beirne if the partnership doesn't front up?

Everyone else there probably has enough credit in the bank to allow for a sub par performance.

jacothelad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119243962#Comment_119243962

I think someone using "heroes" as a verb deserves all the opprobrium we can muster. Who proofread that bilge?

clsmooth

I’m enjoying the build up to this but struggling to see us win a test unfortunately. I’m usually quite optimistic when it comes to Irish rugby but it’s a huge ask to go over there at the end of our season especially since a lot of our key players didn’t have a great end to the season. They made an excellent point on the 42 podcast on how NZ will have lots of tape on us and we can only analyse their club teams.

NZ haven’t lost at home since 2018 against South Africa. The year before that they lost to the Lions after SBW rightly got himself sent off. Interestingly both those loses came in Wellington as did the SA draw pre 2019 World Cup which was seen as a huge turning point for their World Cup success in the Chasing the Sun documentary. Beyond that you have to go back to 2009 for their last home loss when South Africa beat them.

I’m well aware this NZ team isn’t as strong as the early 2010s team and is ‘in crisis’ after losing away to us and France in the autumn again after a long season for them. The 6 nations showed France and ourselves were the best teams in Europe over that 6 months so in hindsight those losses weren’t that surprising. We had the opportunity to ambush them in November and I get the feeling they will be paying us back.

I have no doubt the team is going over to win the series but if we managed to sneak one game, be competitive in the other two and see the development of a couple of younger players such as Coombes, Casey, Lowry and McCarthy, I’d be over the moon. Would be great to get a win over the Maori in one of the games too.

Former Former Former

The overwhelming probability is that we will lose all three tests. We can get tactics and selection absolutely spot on and we'll probably still lose all three. Away wins in NZ, for any team, are very, very rare.

This tour should be judged on how much we learn, not on results.

BlueAndWh1te

The tour is a seriously tough test that will show us how big the gap is going into the World Cup. Hopefully it’ll answer some questions in terms of selection and tactics but it will definitely teach everyone involved a lot no matter how badly it goes.

stephen_n

Think the first test is our best crack at a win. NZ like us can be slow starters and always seem to get stronger as the tests go on. A win in that first test would be huge.

From an Examiner report about the team's reception in Auckland:-

"....since arriving last week the travelling party has been reminded of Ireland’s winless record on New Zealand soil as well as the All Blacks’ lengthy unbeaten streak at Eden Park by an advertising campaign staged by a sports betting agency here.

One of the green-backgrounded hoardings refers to a quartet of New Zealand-born but Irish-qualified players in the squad – Bundee Aki, Joey Carbery, Jamison Gibson-Park and James Lowe. It has a shamrock above the words: “4 Kiwis On The Team. That Might Help Your Odds A Little”.

Looks as though the Kiwis are worried!

TRC10

Putting Carbery in the same bracket as JGP, Lowe and Aki is somewhat disingenuous.

If Carbery is fair game, so are Tu'ungafasi, Taukei'aho, Laulala, Sowakula, Fakatava, Fainga'anuku, Tuivasa Sheck and Reece.

TheRona

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119247426#Comment_119247426

Apparently the billboard was only going to say 3 kiwis, but they didn't want to upset Joey Carbery.

They also thought it would be funny getting wound-up Irish supporters researching the birth places of the entire All Black's squad just so they could rehash the same tired old argument about plundering the South Sea Islands etc etc.

TRC10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119247537#Comment_119247537

Not wound up, just stating facts.

The Kiwis are in a glass house when it comes to slagging off others for naturalised players. NZ just get them younger.

TheRona

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119247561#Comment_119247561

Pull yourself together, man. A billboard for a betting company in NZ literally got you researching the birthplace of the entire All Black's squad, most of whom you wouldn't have been able to name beforehand. I think they had the desired effect.

Yeah_Right

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119247561#Comment_119247561

We've been accused of raiding the Pacific Islands for 30 odd years now. No one in the NH seemed to understand that Islanders had been moving to NZ since the 60s and that a lot of the PIs in the ABs were NZ born. I remember an article in a UK paper talking about the NZRU rading the islands of Fiji, Samoa,Tonga and Tokoroa. Tokoroa is a town in south Waikato 🤣

Kiwis are just enjoying throwing the imports tag back at all the NH teams and supporters who ignorantly accused us of it for years.

TRC10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119247982#Comment_119247982

most of whom you wouldn't have been able to name beforehand.

That's actually not true

A few of them I had to check, I'll admit. But everyone knows Fakatava, Reece, Sowakula and Taukei'aho moved over in their late teens/early twenties. Some of us do actually follow NZ rugby.

Former Former Former

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119248019#Comment_119248019

who ignorantly accused us of it for years.

"Ignorantly" implies it isn't true though?

I mean, NZ absolutely have benefited hugely from Pacific islanders qualifying through residency and continue to do so. I don't personally have much of an issue with it but it's the truth like.

TRC10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119248019#Comment_119248019

I'm not talking about lads born in NZ to Fijian/Samoan/Tongan parents, or even lads who moved to NZ with their families as kids.

I'm talking about the 15/16/17 year olds brought in on rugby scholarships to schools and qualifying on residency. I don't have an issue with it, until Kiwis have a go at Ireland for doing the same thing, just with guys a few years older.

TheRona

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119248137#Comment_119248137

Well if that's your criteria, you already broke your own rules with your list of players above. Time to do some more research.

TRC10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119248173#Comment_119248173

As I said, when you call Joey Carbery a kiwi, you then make loads of the lads in the NZ squad fair game.

TheRona

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119248178#Comment_119248178

Definitely. Next time the All Black's are in Ireland, you can whack up a billboard about how much they're increasing their chances of winning with all the Irish players they have in their squad.

TRC10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119248182#Comment_119248182

The most famous All Black of all time is literally Irish

TheRona

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119248193#Comment_119248193

Put that on a billboard then. I don't expect you'll find any kiwis crying over it!

BTW, I doubt you'd get any major percentage of people to name Gallaher as the most famous All Black of all time, but that's another conversation. Most people I know here (who follow rugby) didn't know about him, or that he was Irish until a recent documentary about him. It would be well known in NZ, though.

TRC10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119248205#Comment_119248205

I don't expect you'll find any kiwis crying over it!

And thus, we're past dealing in facts and you've decided to make it personal.

TheRona

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119248215#Comment_119248215

Is it not a fact that there are 4 kiwis in the Irish squad? Did Carbery give up his NZ Citizenship? I have no idea.

I'm not making it personal at all, I just don't understand why you're bothered by a billboard by a betting company on the other side of the world.

Dubinusa

I'd be delighted with a win. Any kind of win. Beating the kiwis and their imports down under will be great! Lol.

I hope that Porter can improve his scrum. But, I really think Farrell should play the likes of Timoney, Coombes and Prendergast in one test match.

aloooof

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119248230#Comment_119248230

But, I really think Farrell should play the likes of Timoney, Coombes and Prendergast in one test match.

I think you could see that exact back row start a Māori game. Tho I would like to see them involved in a Test, tho not all together.