‘Emerging’ Ireland LiteAce Tour II '24 v Pumas Oct2 3pm, v WestForce Oct6 12pm, v Cheetahs Oct9 12pm

Ireland haven't played well so far, but are now ahead. Lovely penalty touch finder from Prendergast leads to a lineout 15m from the Cheetahs posts. Culhane makes a huge carry over the gain line and O'Connell follows up the next phase with the try. Try is converted.

What reason did they give for giving them a penalty after Foley was tackled on the line?

There was absolutely zero release from the tackler surely?

17-7 to Cheetahs. They're beating our forwards up. Edogbo struggling with the pace of the game.

Foley should have finished it anyway tbh, superb break from Gavin.

17-12 at half time. Ireland forwards concede a free kick from a 5m attacking maul for not being lined up correctly at the lineout. Referee had warned them the throw prior about it too.

Difficult first half to judge. Pack has gotten a bit of a shoeing and haven't given the backs much to work with. Culhane has made some impressive carries and Prendergast some decent kicks.

This team is very young today, and they’ve played well but feel a win here is beyond them (despite the tight score line now) because we look like we’re visibly tiring.

Excited about a lot of these young players though - it’s been far from perfect tonight but you see the flashes from guys like Usanov, O’Connell, Gavin, Edogbo, Culhane, O’Connor and of course Prendergast to make you feel the future is looking good.

I like Devine a lot but his technique when passing off his left side is pretty awkward.

That **** hit on Tector there is an obvious card. Absolutely zero effort and wrapping and looked high.

Ben O’Connor is so frustrating - he’s so talented and gets in good positions, but multiple times fails to throw the pass when guys are in great position. This was an issue during the 6N too.

And now a few phases later - we’ve conceded. Very frustrating.

Did the tackler release on our little break before we turned it over?

Love the commentators but they could give it a rest about the prize money

Ouch! Your on 🔥

Soroka has had an absolutely brilliant second half.

Hugh Gavin deservedly MotM - he gets the enormous prize of 10,000 Rand (€512!) 😂

yeah same.

Enjoyable game and a good win, especially down their couple of most experienced players.

Agreed! Great way to finish the tour.

Honestly can't remember my feelings after the last one (for comparison) but I think the Irish management would be calling this one a huge success. Can see why Ulster fans would be pissed off to be without some of their guys, particularly with Wilson's limited involvement and Izzy not playing today, but overall there's a very sizeable group of players who'll take lots away.

Frawley will have the Irish ten jersey. for the summer tour in 2025 when Crowley is away with the lions.

Thought Prendergast's range of passing this evening was class, he really dictated the play in the second half. I think a tour like this will be really beneficial to him. There isn't pressure which allows him to push his skillset to the limit. I think he'll have more of an understanding where his game is right now (like he will need to practise his crossfield kicks more at training). But he looked really good.

I thought Aungier and Usanov were huge positives too, both really put themselves about. Would liked to have seen more of Wilson, but he should get opportunities with Ulster.

Kendellan and Culhane did a nice job leading the team. From a Munster perspective, I think Kendellan will continue to put pressure on Hodnett for that 7 position.

Crowley 100% goes on Lions tour....

Gatland isnt picking the squad anymore...

Irelands 1 - 15 will be selected...at a minimum....

Ended up watching all three games today.

I kind of look at these games like minor league baseball where the age and academy level/experience matters a lot. In other words Izuchukwu and kendellan better be good. The other things i look for are how dominant you are in contact (especially for forwards) and physical profiles.

Of the older guys Izzy looked great as expected. Ditto for kendellan although i sometimes think he's a bit of a tweener fit wise. Soroka is very interesting, although also maybe too short for top top level lock and not like an insane athlete at 6. Him and Sheridan are quite similar to me. Both very hard edged.

Other guys.. Smyth is probably my favourite leinster guy from last u20s. Absolute beast physically. Edogbo wins in contact almost every time, and is a very quick leaper in the lineout. He did make mistakes today which is kind of irrelevant. Could possibly play for ireland, especially if his listed height is close to real. Culhane is interesting, reminds me of deegan a bit. Usanov was EXTREMELY impressive. He is not so dominant in contact that i'm a firm believer but still. Those are the main ones that popped out.

In the backs, prendergast and gavin should be internationals. Prendergast needs to round out his game some. The best out halves are a threat to run and he frankly isn't. Gavin is a prototypical modern centre. Postlethwaite wins collisions which is again very important. Devine looks really good to me as well.

I'm probably completely blanking on other guys. Disappointed wilson didn't play more.

Edit: o connor is a weird one. Doesn't seem instinctive to me and not quite as athletic as he was supposed to me. He hasn't played a ton of rugby though. Could they try him at centre? Ward showed enough to me that he could he a real contributor in 15s

O'Connor doesn't have half the passing game or awareness needed to be successful at centre. I get what you're saying though. Looking at him I'd think right wing would be his best bet.

Could be wrong but I think Prendergast chooses not to go himself rather than not being a running threat, which could be down to the lack of bulk. Looking back to some of the things he did at u20s, he was much more of a threat to the line when it was more of an even keel physically. Realistically he could be one of the biggest outhalves in world rugby after a couple more years of S&C so I'm fine with some extra self preservation in the early stages.

Also Culhane strikes me as Doris 2.0 so hopefully he can stay injury free and continue developing.