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TUTORIAL 4: THE MAUL
Former British & Irish Lions flank Richard Hill explains 'truck & trailer.'
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Ireland
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- Ireland Fixtures
- Ireland Results
| Fixture | Details |
|---|---|
| All times are local | |
| International Match | |
| Sunday , June 16 | |
| Canada 14 - 40 Ireland |  |
| Sunday , June 9 | |
| USA 12 - 15 Ireland | |
| Saturday , June 8 | |
| USA 12 - 15 Ireland | |
| More International Match results | |
- Table
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | France | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Ireland | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Italy | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Scotland | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Wales | 0 | 0 |
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Comments
blametheref says...
No probs Norm...I think it's al debatable about Downey, with him going to Munster that is in itself a good endorsement, but if he had at least been tried for Ireland it could put to bed some of the contoversey as to whether he's up to the task...I believe he is...As for Paddy, well I'm 100% with you on that call
Posted 20:39 08th February 2012
melkdave says...
The one thing DK has been very remiss in is getting good back up for his 1st line backs Why wasnt Downey or Cave been brought through We all know D'Arcy hasnt shown any form years.Yet DK has ignored them Munster fans will remember B.Murphy he to was ignored none of them given a chance The same can be said for Trimble started as a center but pushed out to the wing even when D'Arcy wasnt playing well.Lienster fans think DK is biased towards Munster players but his biggest blindspot has been the Lienster center partnership of D'Arcy and BOD imo it hasnt really worked for 3-4 yrs now at least.Even the slam year Ireland struggled and if S.Jones had made that pen well there wouldnt have been a slam .Ireland like England have been to conservative in their selections .
Posted 17:51 08th February 2012
rugbyjarhead says...
Remember when england played wales a while back MJ brought in Joe worsley to contain Jamie Roberts and it worked. He marked and tackled him all day and nullified the main aspect of his game. Ireland have got big tacklers in ferris and maybe heaslip and obrien. Perhaps a similar tactic would have worked. I just did not see anything that suggested DK had worked out a way for nullifying the welsh strike runners. Its one thing not focusing too much on the oppositions game plan but surely you have to acknowledge their strengths and adapt your defense to suit them. meh!!! Ireland to finish fourth.
Posted 09:25 08th February 2012
crunchfit says...
@ThinkingGame
Our game plan / style of play hasn't really changed for a couple of years. That wasn't just a game plan for the Welsh match.
As much as I like Kidney as a person, the job he and those under him are currently doing is simply not good enough. He just doesn't seem to be able to update his game plan to the current times and to players outside Munster, which doesn't work when the current best back line is mostly Leinster players and Munster players are no longer the majority in the forwards. He is just too slow to change. Paddy Wallace staying in the side and Andrew Trimble being kept out show this perfectly. So does the repeated choice of out of form / overaged forwards. Not only is he not fixing problems, he is making them worse by starving younger, better players of game time. The mistakes he is making are obvious and I really cannot understand / believe that he is still the Ireland coach. It is really making being an Ireland fan much less pleasant. I, for one, will not be attending Ireland games until Kidney et al. are gone.
Posted 18:57 07th February 2012
pog_mahone says...
melkdave "Hard to know what DK can really do given most people thought that was the best Ireland team apart from D'Arcy avilable."
Picking the team is the first part of his job - pass. Getting them to blend is the second part of his job - fail. And developing a game plan to secure a home win is the third part of his job - fail.
Posted 15:59 07th February 2012
jose_jones says...
@ Norm
Blame the ref only said Darcy was good going forward,.. and he was right,.. going toward the Wales lne he looked quite handy,... it was his defence that smelled like a fishermans apron.
Posted 09:07 07th February 2012
blametheref says...
@Norm
I never blamed ROG for losing the match. I said that it was crazy bringing him and Reddan on in the crucial pitch of a match like this with 3 minutes to go. ROG's drop out after the try was not a good one, can you not accept that? The Welsh forwards were getting the better of us, and when the conversion was being taken the plan should have been discussed to put a (not obvious beforehand) high deep hanging drop down the middle and have fast runners like Bowe and Kearney running on to it and pin the catcher deep in his 22. Instead we got a risky drop out from ROG close to the 10 metre line the object of which was that hopefully an Irish forward might collect or for Wales to knock on, way too risky! So your view obviously is that ROG's drop out was fine, well then why did Wales end up on our 22 seconds later? But the big point is, Ireland lost the match 5 minutes earlier and not ROG. As for D'arcy, I never said he was brilliant but he was good going forward with some beautifully timed passes. But with North attacking him and Mc Fadden in tandem with Roberts and Davies both players could not cope with the pace and sheer weight difference of these 3. The telling point is that no other players in the Irish squad would have made a better fist of the centres' dilemma on the day. Ireland needed O' Mahony on for the last 15 minutes to act as a true 7 and back up the centres or put more pressure on Phillips, not saying it would have made a difference but was a better option than O' Brien at that juncture.
The size and weight disparity of our centres is a problem and it's a bad reflection on Ireland that they have ignored James Downey over the past 4 years, bringing him on technically and into the Irish squad. On Saturday we paid the price for not having a big tackling carrying centre, at least on the bench, against France we are going to pay the price, again!
Posted 08:14 07th February 2012
melkdave says...
Hard to know what DK can really do given most people thought that was the best Ireland team apart from D'Arcy avilable.Irelands big problem is they reley on a rampaging pack for the go forward and the backline is well light weight in that regard even with BOD who imo shouldnt return to the test team .A quick remady is to get some more dynasism into the pack if possable and a 12 who gets over the gain line but DK is to conservative i feel for that .Hell his still using the same players as O'Sullivan mostly
Posted 21:41 06th February 2012
danielmakk says...
This result only adds weight to the argument for the blooding of new players. I'd rather lose a few matches with young players knowing that some talented youth is being given valuable experience, than lose matches with an ageing team and gaining literally nothing positive whatsoever.
For those berating Kidney, copy the link at the end of my post, go to page 4 and listen to the Eddie O'Sullivan interview. I actually feel that this further warrants him being given the boot. Yes he is under pressure to pick tried and tested to ensure a respectable finishing place, but, his failure to blood youth shows he's more concerned with the preservation of his own personal career than the long term good of Irish rugby.
http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/sixnations/highlights.html
Posted 14:34 06th February 2012
Snowy1985 says...
He might not but I certainly have!
Time you went Declan, be a big man and walk away, you're stuck in a game plan that worked 3/4 years ago.
Posted 14:30 06th February 2012
ThinkingGame says...
Before the Irish fans get too stuck in to their coach they should ask if the kicking game wasn't a deliberate strategy to make Wales' midfield cover some extra ground to soften their legs up. It may well be that this tactic and conservative approach kept the score respectable, where an open game might have seen Ireland seriously undone.
Posted 13:22 06th February 2012
adamk says...
Who's call was it to kick the ball away anyhow? Every time we had possession we kicked it away. Even a 5 year old would know that you don't kick the ball way to runners like Halfpenny, North, Davies and Roberts. Wales essentially had two mobile back-row units!
Posted 12:41 06th February 2012
DaveJ says...
Get rid of this clown, he has some of europes best at his disposal and he has them playing with no confidence or proper game plans. One underperformance too many, time for him to go
Posted 11:19 06th February 2012
blametheref says...
The main problem was that Wales had just too many big, skilled and pacy backs and they targeted the smaller Irish centres and knew with a bit of guile and persistance they could get the better of them, especially with the brilliant George North running amok like a yester-year Jonah Lomu. D'arcy played well going forward but with Mc Fadden as a partnership in defence couldn't stave off the big runners. The wisdom of bringing on Reddan and ROG with 3 minutes was sort of crazy as ROG's restart after the Welsh try was totally the wrong option in my opinion where instead it would have been better probably to put a high hanging drop down the middle and have runners there to pin Wales in their 22 to close out the match. Instead Rog put up a normal safe drop out which made it over the 10 yard line and really was risky for a breakout which happened and led to the penalty. I feel O' Mahony should have been brought on at 7 in the last 15 minutes as O' Brien never put enough pressure on Phillips who seemed to have all the time in the world to run affairs for most of the day....Wales deserved the win because they were bold as against Ireland who were too conservative, a now common trademark of Kidney teams. Ireland kicked far to much ball away and to a team that were going to run it all day made no sense...Ireland have a big problem in the centres where every option we have in the squad are light players who at this level cannot hold off pacy big running opposites. Against France we are going to face the same problem with France having the big and skilled Fofana and Rougerie in the centre and Malzieu on the wing...one thing is for sure and that is Ireland are going to be taken apart in this area of the field by France, the bad part is that Ireland have the ability to then beat Italy, Scotland and England which unfortunately will save Kidney's job!
Posted 10:12 06th February 2012
Stoigen says...
@caramba 13
On current form I can't see England defeating Ireland I mean they only just got past a Scottish side which did everything they could to lose a game they should have won. The try they scored was a piece of opportunism. The Scots as I pointed out were wasteful and Italy in Dublin will provide another victory.
And as for a Kidney replacement? Well Mike Ruddock is the current coach of The Wolfhounds and he led Wales to an unlikely Grand Slam in 2005. However Kidney's contract runs out in 2013 and he will likely see out his tenure. I just can't stand his reluctance to blood new players.
Posted 09:38 06th February 2012
froggy73 says...
Kidney sums up the Irish mindset in rugby: too much optimism. I believe that before looking at winning the tournement (especially with a loss already in your bag), maybe you should keep quiet, work and focus on the next game coming to you only.
Posted 08:57 06th February 2012
pog_mahone says...
What else is Kidney going to say? He may not, but many of us have.
Posted 08:33 06th February 2012
J_HDK says...
Until next week when we lose to france.... Or even if we win in france that wil just make the Oh what might have been taste in our mouths even more sour
Posted 08:15 06th February 2012
caramba13 says...
@Stoigen
I'm afraid you are wrong: Ireland will win only against Italy. 'Unlucky' loss against Scotland and slaughtered by England. That way Kidney goes and the whingers are satisfied. But, oh!, who do we replace him with? Schmit? Whatever happened to that other 'wonderful' Leinster coach... Cheika was it?
No, Kidney is the best we have for the moment: we just don't have any good centres at the moment. Maybe a more enterprising backs' coach could work some magic with what we've got ... or we just go back to playing 10-man rugby with ROG kicking all day long.
Posted 07:53 06th February 2012
Stoigen says...
Here's what will happen for Ireland in the next 4 games.
A loss in Paris followed by victories in the next three games. The win at Twickenham will keep the wolves at bay for Kidney. Who will then use the same squad over and over.
I hope I'm wrong.
Posted 06:50 06th February 2012