All Blacks v Ireland part III - July 16 8.05am Ireland time

It would contribute massively to the marketability and long term interest in the game in Ireland. And aid the player pool pipeline. Our regional competition has been raked for revenue to the max. I am highly dubious that we can grow the game any further on the basis of what happens in an annual regional tournament. It’s a profitable endeavour, but it would be profitable even if we finish 3rd or 4th (which happens every couple of years anyway) while giving players we will need to depend on valuable starts ahead of the global quadrennial competition that really matters. Landsdowne Road will still be full and the ads will still run.

We’ll probably still beat England on Paddy’s Day no matter who’s playing,

What we have we hold is a small minded and unambitious mindset in anything. But Irish rugby seems dug in on this point. Such a shame when a bigger future is clearly possible.

Today was the biggest day in Irish rugby history, bigger than any grand slam or six nations. Doing more of this (winning on a global level rather than a regional one) is the most profitable endeavour the IRFU can engage in.

In order to continue to grow the game we need to do more of the rare and the extraordinary. How could one argue otherwise on such a remarkable day?

This isn’t a complicated point: Johnny Sexton shouldn’t start a six nations game in 2023. He will start against South Africa in France, health permitting.

Let’s do what we should to get this amazing team ready to do even more amazing things next year.

Sure, you are imprisoned within your orthodoxy. And it is a shame. We all can agree that we want more of this. We can skip the pints and the back slapping and the sense of self satisfaction one February, just one. It will be worth it, I promise.

The Limericks are flowing in the comments section of kiwi news articles after the match.

The thing about it is he’s not actually doing anything apart from being drunk. It’s not like he’s trashing something or being a dick. I was sent it by a few people and I really don’t know why anyone is interested.

I was very relieved the Bundee clear out wasn't reviewed, I don't think it would have ended well for us.

What is telling is that none of the NZ press and other commentary made any reference to what might have been blah blah blah.

They were not good enough on the day over the 80 minutes

Life is lived in real time, not in a darkened room salivating over slo mo replays.

GAA is Ireland's biggest sport and even with kids rugby they try their best to make it awkward. They start their season a week or two before Rugby finishes and end their season just after Rugby begins.

The attractiveness of Rugby for parents is growing though because kids have a chance to make a professional career out of rugby if they excel at it. The other attraction is that it's a game for all shapes and sizes.

The way to grow the game even further is to have third level scholarships country wide. That'll make it even more attractive to parents.

There's lots more money available if we concentrate on kids. It'll take some time obviously. There's lots of GAA money to be had and big grants from the government like what the GAA get.

I'm involved in coaching in both Rugby and GAA with kids. Rugby is no.1 for me and I'm constantly talking to parents about having their kids participate in Rugby for the winter.

Our club has grown massively over the last five years. We used to have 60-80 kids combined between all ages under 13, we are now over 300.

Success at international level is of huge benefit for selling the game and getting more people involved. In turn this will lead to more coaching opportunities for players. They'll have the chance to spend their whole lives in Rugby. This should be used as a selling point to the players to keep them focused during the off-season.

Right now we have the opportunity to have a great WC next year. I'd wrap Johnny in cotton wool like many have mentioned. This will be good in more ways than just making sure we have him in great shape for the World Cup. It'll mean that we can give opportunities to our other no.10's and find our best no.2 and he'll have confidence and be synced up with the team by the time the WC comes around.

Personally I think a man that plays a lot at centre could be our best flyhalf. He's gone to Connacht for two years but I'm not sure he'll get many opportunities to play at 10, that young man is David Hawkshaw. He captained and led Ireland to an under 20 grand slam playing 10. Unfortunately there was no room for him at out-half in Leinster with Johnny, the Byrne brothers and Frawley ahead of him in the pecking order so he played centre. I'd love to see him get opportunities at 10 but I could be totally wrong about how good he'll be. I thought when I seen him at under 20 level that he was the future at the position. Then a couple of months ago he got an opportunity to play there as a sub against Connacht in URC. Leinster struggled in that game until he came on and took over the game. I was so impressed by him in that game.

I realise the above is a ramble but just felt like posting something and got carried away. 😁