"I started a joke, that started the whole world ......" | Ireland v New Zealand.

TedBundysDriver

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121240275#Comment_121240275

They failed yet again on the biggest stage. All the moral victory talk is cringe on steroids. Champions and the very best produce when the pressure is on end of story.

Xander10

I see the usual clowns have arrived to spew the usual bile.

Time to log out

downtheroad

Lining up in a figure 8 for the Haka. Literally living off of the day out in Chicago.

NZ have long forgotten that match, and rise to the big occasion. We will write a play about it.

Absolutely devastated at the result. NZ are just clinical.

VayNiice

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121240277#Comment_121240277

What a load of ****

MojoMaker

Jungle drums suggested POC is falling on his sword today.

Sad end for another great servant.

ujjjjjjjjj

Watched it back this morning, up early....

Kiwi tactical kicking was superb. They clearly looked at our defence and saw how well we have held a line and how good our defence is and also looked at our back 3 and saw kicking long gave little advantage. So they kicked into that bit in the middle and rolled the dice. I wonder was Schmidt the tactical brains behind this ?

We didn't handle it very well.

Our lineout very very poor and we also put virtually no pressure on theirs. Coaching has to be questioned here and specifically our lineout coaching.

Porter got several scrums wrong, Barnes correct on those calls but also feel NZ had done some good analysis here and had identified his tendency to turn those hips in.

TMO call on the Aki head hit certainly controversial and marginal. Otherwise the officials and Barnes spot on, he had a very good game.

All in all our mistakes at set piece were the controllable that cost us the game. The Kiwi kicking game we probably could have done little to counter so for me set piece failure cost us the final.

Talk it round all you want but that for me is the bones of it.

Well done NZ.

Dont Be at It

I know people are getting annoyed by the term 'bottled it' etc, but as much as it pains me to say it we did a bit. Obviously not the same extent as previous years but enough to matter. We started very nervy and by the time we settled we were 13 points down - against a team pretty much your equal this is near unsurmountable lead.

Serious questions need to be asked over the line out. We got the wake up call against south africa and seem to have ignored it.

Three scrum penalties against a pack not known for having a big scrum. And Porter getting getting pinged for the same infringement 3 time - ffs, man. Even Murray giving away that penalty - what are you doing!

Also as has been said here already, our rucks were well off. Clear outs, particularly in the second half were noticeably slower. NZ were clinical in that department.

Sexton should have been subbed off with 15 left as well. He offered nothing in the last 10. A fresh sniping Crowley could have asked questions off a tiring nz defence. But the damage was done in the first 20. Nz are the last team you want to be chasing.

Knockout rugby seems to be a serious mental block for Irish teams of late.

Leslie Purkiss

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121240356#Comment_121240356

you can’t handle the truth.

Vinnie222

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121240305#Comment_121240305

He didn't matter what backup outhalf was on the bench, Farrell was never going to replace Sexton . Sexton should have been pulled off at 60 mins .He had nothing more to give

Dont Be at It

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121240372#Comment_121240372

Good synopsis.

Although I really think we could have struggled against Argentina given the effort last night took. Impossible to know for sure obviously

lawrencesummers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121240372#Comment_121240372

I was making that point before the game.

NZ kicked like that against SA in their win during the championship, they have 3 very good kicking options in the barretts and Mo’ounga and they identify empty space to kick into

giveitholly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121240339#Comment_121240339

Conan was injured. Were u following the world cup at all?

Brief_Lives

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121240362#Comment_121240362

I have that bellend blocked, I suggest you do the same. You will never see his posts except if quoted.

Incredible game last night, even if most of our pack didn't turn up. Another 4 years until we try and prove ourselves again, on the biggest stage.

Hermy

I know people are getting annoyed by the term 'bottled it' etc, but as much as it pains me to say it we did a bit.

It's the exclusive use of the term, without expanding on the point as you have done, that's annoying.

There's no denying that Ireland were well below par last night while New Zealand were on song.

Yet despite that, one of the greatest sides in the history of team sport could only manage to eke out a 4 point victory against us.

Yes we struggled with the pressure but that's what pressure does.

But to merely say we bottled it is to miss so much of what's involved in competing at the elite, or indeed, any level.

blackdog1

Scrum penalties were bad calls. Lomax was boring in and porter was just following him in but I saw no one talking to Barnes about it. Need a forward captain. Savea slowing ball down at the end , Barnes says no clear release..Well that's a penalty then. Whitelock last play of the game was part of the tackle and no clear release but Barnes gave him the penalty. At the end of the day though all blacks were rattled at the start but our line out malfunctioned and gave them confidence. We had our chances but didn't take them and gave them gift of tries.

Mr Disco

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121240450#Comment_121240450

The whole game was Ireland team & management bottling it. Sexton looked scared shitless coming onto the pitch. He was hopeless and cost us any chance of winning the game. He should have been hauled off at half time. He could barely move after 60 minutes and yet was left on. Baffling. Farrell scared to take the old man off

Hermy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121240459#Comment_121240459

Well I'm sure when you take over as head coach you'll be able to address all of those issues.

Mr Disco

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121240472#Comment_121240472

Wow what a clever man ! You just showed me !

honestbroker

Need to remember that the "spine" of this team have been beaten in European finals and semi-finals over the last 5 or 6 years by LAR and Saracens on a regular basis.

LAR especially seem to have their number.

This translates into poor decision making at crucial points in a tight game.

Musicrules

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121240450#Comment_121240450

This New Zealand team aren't one of the greats, nowhere near it. Probably the worst New Zealand team at a World Cup actually but they're on the way to the final. It hurts because it was there for us and unfortunately, we did bottle it. The expectations, quarter final hoodoo, whatever it was, we didn't handle the pressure. We choked.

Hermy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121240478#Comment_121240478

I mean the New Zealand side generally rather than this specific selection.

FintanMcluskey

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121240450#Comment_121240450

In the build up to the game this was billed as the weakest New Zealand team in history.

They played with 14 men for 20 minutes.

Ireland were billed as the best in the world.

Ireland either bottled it or arent actually the best in the world?

dmakc

On some level NZ must read into Ireland's inferiority complex in how our nation stops the clock to champion ourselves when we beat them in friendlies.

I think it was the OTB Saturday host (edit: John Duggan) I remember claiming that our series win v NZ was "the greatest Irish sporting achievement eve". Beating the "4th ranked team in the world" at the time when we were "1st". This mindset of placing NZ on a pedestal like a big brother is just baffling.

As for RWC 2023 performance, someone already summed it up here perfectly, we're a top 4 team in a tournament of 8 legit nations. And still can't get past the final 8 stage. Wouldn't write off a SF appearance next time out though as rugby seems to be going only one direction in nations 5-8.

ButtersSuki

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121239580#Comment_121239580

There were plenty of comments throughout the thread of the “player x is 💩”, “player y should be taken off” ilk during the game based on nothing but provincial bias. They don’t have to explicitly state where they’re from to be entirely obvious what is driving the motivation behind the comment.

Hermy

The build up to the game is just talk.

When it comes down to it you're only as good as your next game regardless of what the pundits say.

We've had an incredible run of form this past two years but for whatever reason we ran out of road last night.

lawrencesummers

This NZ team is capable of winning the World cup outright.

What Joe smidth has done with them in a short period of time is just remarkable because under foster they were a pity.

The will jordan and Ardie Savea scores where down to identifying areas of weakness in our defence, how to create them and how to attack them.

walshb

The bottle job analysis-comments are embarrassing

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121240325#Comment_121240325

Says the poster who said 'the ladyboys are back' when Leinster lost to LAR in May. All your posts say very little for you.

dmakc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121240450#Comment_121240450

Sorry but comforting ourselves with "only losing by 4pts to one of the greatest sides in the history of team sport" is simply an massive excuse for Ireland. History of the AB team has nothing to do with it, those 15 players in black are still writing their story and Ireland were heavily backed to beat them.

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121240482#Comment_121240482

So work it out there Fintan.

The weakest New Zealand team in history(that isn't factual BTW) upped their game incredibly to just about beat the current best in the world.

Happens in sport. We'd have gotten fed up with 'sport' if it didn't happen. It's what it is all about.