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- Ireland Fixtures
| Fixture | Details |
|---|---|
| All times are local | |
| International Match | |
| Saturday , June 8 | |
| USA vs Ireland | 01:30 |
| Saturday , June 15 | |
| Canada vs Ireland | 20:00 |
| More International Match fixtures | |
- Table
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wales | 5 | 8 |
| 2 | England | 5 | 8 |
| 3 | Scotland | 5 | 4 |
| 4 | Italy | 5 | 4 |
| 5 | Ireland | 5 | 3 |
| 6 | France | 5 | 3 |
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Comments
munster30 says...
@ norm
totally agree with your comments here norm. its the stagnation and the unwillingness to try new things that is breaking my heart. There no hiding where Im from but I dont see the point in all the arguing about what province our international team is made up from. I just want to see the best players playing in their best positionsregardless of where they are from. this means no O leary and definitely no O Callaghan starting.
We are blessed with 3 excellent provinces and Connacht are rapidly improving so there is no excuse for not using the talent available to us.
Its just the misplaced loyalty of Kidney that is breaking my heart.
His attitude of bad players overnight i made in my last note drives me insane!
The national squad is not where you molly coddle and cajole players like O Leary. If your not good enough or in form, tough s%^t. Your a big boy, go and work on your game, there are planty of lads who can take anyones place in the team. I just wish kidney would give them the chance.
I do think we would be better off getting rid of him now. It will be the same old story for his entire tenure. Same 15, same 7 subs bar injuries. Poor old Marshall, Cave, Muldoon, Ruddock, Downey et all would be better off looking for an Welsh/Scottish/English grandfparent! Wouldnt that be a role reversal?!!!
Posted 16:00 08th March 2012
griffi60 says...
As an Ulster fan it is getting quite annoying seeing our players get overlooked. Marshall is having an absolute blinder this season, he's so sharp and quick around the ruck and off the back of scrums, surely worth at least 15 mins at the end of a 6N game to see if he can play at that level. I think centres are Ireland's big problem at the moment, not sure how BOD will come back after such a long lay-off, Darcy is no longer international standard and I don't think Earls is the answer. I'd be reluctant to put Bowe at centre as I think he is our only world class option at wing. Haven't seen Downey play but I hear good things, and at 13 I think Cave deserves a chance, he was having a great season until his foot injury. What do people think?
Posted 12:59 08th March 2012
munster30 says...
@ norm and adamk and blametheref
I have to agree with adamk here. EOS gets no credit for that grand slam and he was a very large part of it. Yes he messed up badly in the World Cup and lost the players in the next six nations (he admits all this in his book) but the game plan and the moves that won the championship had his fingerprints all over it. More so than Kidneys I would say when you look at the back moves.
Ireland haven't produced any offensive back line moves consistently since then. Go onto Youtube and watch some of our tries from EOS era. Slick passing, great lines and tries tries tries! Mostly from the platform of set pieces but tries none the less.
I do think EOS should have won more with the team but you have to give him credit for raising the bar in Irish Rugby and he played a large part in getting us that grand slam.
Compare the 2 coaches. EOS had a free flowing, try scoring disciplined team for the most part and had 2 poor years 2007 and 2008.
Kidney has had one good year (using IMO O Sullivans team) and has been on a downward slide since.
We all blamed EOS for having a set 15 and not bringin through talent but Kidney is worse, the talent has been brought through the provinces but he just won't use them! D'arcy and O leary are 2 excellent examples. D'arcy has been Ok but past his best for a few years while O Leary has been picked above Marshall and Redden. And while I do agree that coaches have to build players confidence they cant do this at the expense of other players who are in better form and deserve their game.
finally, great to see all the Irish fans here engaging in a logical, sensible debate with no cheap shots and silly stuff. If only Kidney read these threads :(
Posted 12:57 08th March 2012
spike19 says...
pog_mahone,
come on now you cant really tell us that McCarthy is a good selection it reeks of conservatism. Tuohy is a bigger ball carrier and better in the line out being 6ft6inches he is a lock. McCarthy is 6ft4inches and is a back row/Lock.If we do have line out issues how is he going to compete with Richie Gray who is 6ft10inches?
Not to mention the fact that Tuohy at 26 is the future of Irish rugby!
Toner is another player for the future and is a serious line out operator.
Province partiality is irrelevant here and if any of the four deserves more players in the Ireland set up it is most certainly not Connacht but Ulster guys like Tuohy, McAlistair, Faloon, Marshall, Cave, Gilroy and I'm from Leinster!
Posted 11:58 08th March 2012
adamk says...
@ aucknz13
Are you being serious? As much as EOS was terrible, that GS was all his doing. Aside from the GS, Kidney has been the most unsuccessful coach for Ireland since the professional era. Our win/loss ratio is terrible.
Posted 10:51 08th March 2012
pantreac says...
Again another dreadful selection by Kidney! He kept selecting O'leary when he was injured and now selects him when he hasn't played one full match? Boss should have been selected instead to start with Reddan coming on when the defences are tiring. I don't agree with Ryans or Earls selection either. I cannot see what Ryan offers as a sec row. I haven't seen him catch a ball or dominate a line-out only tap the occasional ball his set piece scummaging is not too good either . His play around the field is not directed he is a loose cannon giving away penalties by trying to make-up in enthusaism for what he lacks in thought or instinct for the game. He will I think continue in the O'Connell mould of giving away far too many penalties. Earls is very, very fortunate to be selected again. He touched the ball in the sec minute, and gave away possession on the French 22 then did not appear again until the 61st minute, I thought he had been subbed! The Scots have the best sec row partnership in the 6 nations and unfortunately instead of selecting Toner to combat their height in the line-out we have two mediocre lineout players! I am a fan of O'Callaghan and appreciate his none stop battling for the ball but a line-out forward he isn't. So not to optimistic about this weekends game but of course wish Ireland well.
Posted 09:21 08th March 2012
pog_mahone says...
spike19. Because he's good. McCarthy is the lineout banker for Connacht and the Connacht lineout works well, he's big strong, abrasive, a great carrier and tackler. I would rate him as the most consistent player in Connacht week over week. Take off the big 3 goggles and give him a chance before passing judgement.
I on the other hand am shocked that O'Leary is in there, why not start blooding Marshall to see what he can offer at that level.
Posted 08:24 08th March 2012
blametheref says...
@munster30
In a lot of ways I agree with you about O' Leary's selection and though I'd have been happy to see Boss on the bench I'm quite happy to see O' Leary being given a vote of confidence. He's a very experienced player who plays well with ROG and it's probably the right time to bring him back into the fold, especially in view of another No.9 injury. I think some of us have to give Kidney some credit at times and in this case he was brave enough to drop O' Leary so it has to be seen as a brave move to re-select him if he feels he's up to it. Half the battle with players is showing faith in them at crucial times in their career when most would write them off.
@Cabhan
I agree with you regarding Dan Tuohy, he's been left out in the cold for too long. As said below, I feel Devin Toner should be on the bench, mainly because if this is a tight match with 15 to go, the Scots have better forward replacements who could win this match especially with scrums near our posts, so if ROG was to come on to close out the game he could kick the Scots back into their 22 and to have Toner there to pinch a line out or two could be a crucial advantage which could make a telling difference or create a match winning score. Toner's not bad in the loose also, so I don't get McCarthy's selection over him and after that Dan Tuohy
Posted 08:06 08th March 2012
atg77 says...
Scotland have had more recovery time, more ball carriers in the forwards and a deadly back three. On a five game winning streak, they are definately the more desparate team. Scotland by three.
Posted 00:55 08th March 2012
aucknz13 says...
Interesting there are so many Kidney knockers. How many other coaches have won grand slams with Ireland?
Great to see Ryan starting although I feel sorry for POC
Posted 00:38 08th March 2012
Cabhan says...
Agree with what a lot of you are saying. I'm neutral when it comes to what province the player comes from when selecting an Irish team, but surely to God the lads in Ulster must be disgusted with Kidney. No Tuohy or Marshall? Its truly bizarre to be picking a seriously out of sorts O' Leary on the bench. Any time I've seen him off the bench for Munster this year hes had a shocker. His confidence is gone. As for Tuohy, I would have had him in the starting 15 from the start of the 6N. DOCs days are numbered and hes now a squad player with Munster where Tuohy has been one of Ulsters stand out performers all season.Don't know what D'Arcy has to do to get dropped either.
Posted 17:19 07th March 2012
munster30 says...
Putting Tomas O Leary on the bench is absolute disgrace!!!
He was dropped for the world cup and Boss was picked instead of him. Now after not showing any signs of improving he is suddenly deemed to be back in the pecking order despite the fact that Boss has looked good when he has played for Leinster.
And after watching O Leary play in the Wolfhounds and against the Dragons his selection just beggars belief!!! What a slap in the face to Boss, and Marshall up in Ulster.
I can just hear Kidney with his tried and trusted line "he hasn't become a bad player overnight". No Declan, it took him a good few months to become as bad as he is right now but by this logic he certainly won't become a good player overnight either!!!!
I'm sure he'll also trot out the usual "he's flying at training" excuse. Which is great to hear Deccie, we must be top of the Six Nations training table so. Whatever ye do with him in training is not translating into match performances!!!
The sooner Kidney is given the elbow and a coach is brought in who will actually pick, and more importantly drop, players in and out of form the better. This irish team will continue to stagnate because of Kidneys misplaced loyalty to players who have served him in the past.
Anyone taking any bets that we outscore Scotland in the try count but concede too many penalties and end up losing by one or two? Hope I'm proven wrong but we seem to be giving away as disproportionate amount of penalties under Kidney.
Posted 17:05 07th March 2012
blametheref says...
This team should be able to beat Scotland, there were a few good calls in putting Best as Captain, D.Ryan starting, O' Leary on the bench and not putting ROG at 10 and Sexton at 12, though my preference would have been to have Downey at 12 with D'arcy on the bench instead of McFadden who I feel is a very ordinary player....I don't get the Mike McCarthy selection at all on the bench, as Devin Toner should have been selected specifically for this game because if our line out goes badly, the way it did against France, Toner would be a much better asset than McCarthy to be able to bring on especially against this good Scottish line out.
If there's a potential banana skin for Ireland, it's the scenario where we are not leading with 15 minutes to go, as this game will be played at a frenetic pace by the Scots and in the forwards they have the better bench with good offloaders, which in that event could see them pinching this match at the death.
My feeling is Ireland are good for at least 3 tries in this game, so for Scotland to win they will have to match that first, which against this Irish selection I don't see happening
Posted 15:43 07th March 2012
melkdave says...
Same team again except for the injuried players and i bet if they where fit they would start .To tell the truth im even surprised D.Ryan is starting is L.Cullen injured?? .He seems much more like a Kidney type player you know experianced(no disrespect to said player just a little joke born out of frustration lol) and the bench doesnt ozze confidance for me either.No D.Tuohy / D.tone or I.Boss./P.Marshal all i think in form players .No expermentation either ie ROG at 10 Sexton at 12 to hopfully get a cutting edge back into the backline.I think Scotland will get a W this weekend and reward for the way they have played so far this season.Kidney is just to conservative and imo has a bunker mentality atm .For what its worth (not alot lol)this would be my Ireland team given present injuries
1)C.Healey 2)R.Best 3)M.Ross 4)D.Touhy/D.Tone 5)D.Ryan 6)S.Ferris 7)P.O'Mahony 8)S.O'Brian 9)I.Boss 10)J.Sexton 11)A.Trimble 12)J.Downey 13 T,Bowe 14) K.Earls 15) R.Kearney
16)S.Cronin 17)T.Court 18)D.Youhy /D.Tone 19) J.Heaslip 20)E.Reddan 21)ROG 22)F.McFadden
Posted 15:00 07th March 2012
theshaw says...
Seriously this DK fella is soooo boring, clearly he should be putting Marshall and Tuohy at least as subs?/ Big Devin too
Posted 14:34 07th March 2012
adamk says...
That's right Kidders, play it safe, keep the RWC15 seedings alive and you'll get your final year...
Ugh.
Posted 14:19 07th March 2012
spike19 says...
Why the hell is Mick McCarthy in their??
What about Dan Tuohy he was in the original squad.
Posted 14:03 07th March 2012
curates_egg says...
One thing you can certainly rely on is that Kidney will not surprise you at all, ever. #bunkermentality
Posted 14:01 07th March 2012