Ireland V Wales, Six Nations 2014

[Morf]

Charming prediction for next week from Dallaglio in today's Sunday Times: "I'd also wager a bet that England will pay a lot of attention to Sexton who is so important to Ireland. If they tackle hard and happen to get him off the field, things will be a lot easier."

Sounds like your encouraging England to go out to injure him Laurance. Classy.

COVER OUR EARS, COURTNEY, COVER YOUR EARS!

[dropkick]

Maybe I was harsh on Cuthbert. He is defensively weak though and a tanker would turn quicker than him. He is a good man to finish though, I'll give him that.

What he's good at he is very good at.

His weaknesses are glaring though.

He kind of sums up Wales. They're very good at some things but have big weaknesses. Fair play to Gatland. He might not be liked but he thinks outside the box and created an overall game plan that has been very successful.

[JB1973]

I'd say we have 1 world class player (North)

two who have been world class in gethin and adam but age and injuries have taken their toll on them

Then we have a group of international quality players who can be very good if they are on top form

halfpenny,cuthhbert,davies,roberts, phillips ,alun wyn jones, lydiate, felatu ryan jones Tupric and warburton have all at times played very well on the test match stage sadly many are not in their best form (phillips, lydiate,alun wyn and toby f) and others have been struggling with injury (warburton,roberts ryan jones and davies)

This has really hurt us this season.

we then have a 3rd tier of players who are and will only ever be ok at test level but will do a job if the better players are in form

james,hibbard,charteris,biggar,scott williams (i'd place ian evans and bradley davies in this level to)


Then you have the final tier who quite franly are not and never will be proper test match players and when they start there is a big drop off in quality

owens,coombs,webb,priestland and liam williams.

Hook and Tupric are players I''m unsure if they should be in tier 2 or tier 3


when you look at frankly is not a great deal of talent, I think it makes Gatlands success with wales even more remarkable

he has a style of play he believes in and he has picked players who fit that style (overlooking more talented players who don't
fit his game plan eg peel and byrne)

His game plan isn;t fun to watch but it does work, what let us down yesterday was not the plan but the execution, get that right and we will be successful

A week friday would be a good time to start

[suisse]

I thought that was an outstanding performance from Ireland, and maybe our best in the Championship since beating France in Croke Park in 2009. As Gerry likes to say, the "feel good" factor is very evident on-line (apart from a few idiots) and in the press. I don't get to watch Irish TV coverage over here (we get the BBC) but I enjoyed watching it back on the RTE Player, despite Tom's pink socks and tie combo. Hook's complete 180 on Schmidt is also very important, given a lot of Irish people get their rugby fix from Hook running his mouth off on the TV. From once claiming Schmidt had "lost the dressing room", Hook seems to realise now how crucial this guy is to Irish rugby.

And it is probably a lesson to a lot of non Leinster rugby fans on this board, and elsewhere. Every time Schmidt announced his squad and then his starting XV, there is "disappointment" at the decisions made. I hope you will trust this man now. He knows what he is doing and very often even Leinster fans questioned his decision making when he coached us, but he, almost always, was proved correct. Schmidt wasn't lucky as Leinster coach as some would have you believe. He took over a good team and made them the best the HEC has probably ever seen. You can't say the same for Ireland. Of course, you don't want to get too far ahead of yourself (just two games in), but the signs are very encouraging.

We are very lucky to have Joe Schmidt as our coach, and hopefully the rest of the country sees this soon, and trusts his decisions. He could lead us all the way.......

I'd also like to say that Andrew Trimble has fully justified his selection. I was very critical of his performances in the past but he was better on Saturday than he was against Scotland (he was solid in that first game). Dave Kearney, too, has taken his two chances very well and it will be hard to drop either of them when Bowe returns.

It is also probably significant in healing any provincial wounds that the tries were scored by Ulster players, the captain plus the best player on the field are from Munster, and the team is coached by a former Leinster employee.

Finally, John Plumtree. A terrific appointment. The controlled chaos at the breakdown, as Horgan put it, has destroyed the last 3 teams to turn up at the Aviva (I thought our counter rucking was brilliant against NZ too). Best is hitting his men, the maul is back and is a huge weapon, we have 6 great front row options in the match day squad and the discipline is superb. Schmidt, Plumtree and the much maligned Kiss deserve a lot of credit for the last 3 performances.

I can't f%~king wait for England away. Jesus, how are we gonna last the 2 weeks?

[[Jackass]]

Tipuric is your best back-row. Why he didn't start I've no idea. Falitau is pretty tidy when he gets going too. Al-Wyn Jones and Hibbard both top quality too.

To be fair the entire Welsh team is pretty strong and very young in a lot of areas, particularly the back line. I think Biggar is a better 10 though and you need to get rid of Philips.

Ireland definitely caught Wales with their pants down, they weren't expecting any of what we produced. The difference between Wales and Ireland over the last number of years has been the quality of coach if you ask me, and now that we've a top class coach and Gatland can rightly claim to be the best northern hemisphere coach over the last number of years, with the possible exception of Schmidt, it should make for an interesting one next time we meet.

Regarding the Irish performance, I don't think we were actually exceptional, we just controlled every aspect of the game in a very calm and efficient manner. It was a great performance for the basics. Our lineout was dominant, we destroyed their lineout, we attacked and won the scrum battle, we kicked and controlled territory, refused to play in our own half, competed well under the high ball, our discipline was immaculate, we were far more aggressive and competitive at the breakdown...BUT having said all of that, I don't think we oozed class and looked like a really classy side, we just did everything right, if that makes sense. There wasn't much slick interplay and whatnot, but we didn't need it. It was just a text book Joe Schmidt performance to be honest. We did everything we knew we needed to do and knew if we did them right Wales wouldn't get into the game, and we did it.

I'm in no ways being critical, it was as efficient and clinical a performance as you'll see, but if I know Joe from his time at Leinster, this Irish team can ramp up another two or three gears without question. Whether we can reach that in this tournament I don't know, we're already a very tough side to beat, but I know under Joe this team can reach a lot higher than that, which is encouraging.

[simonokeeffe]

Tipuric is your best back-row. Why he didn't start I've no idea. Falitau is pretty tidy when he gets going too. Al-Wyn Jones and Hibbard both top quality too.

To be fair the entire Welsh team is pretty strong and very young in a lot of areas, particularly the back line. I think Biggar is a better 10 though and you need to get rid of Philips.

Ireland definitely caught Wales with their pants down, they weren't expecting any of what we produced. The difference between Wales and Ireland over the last number of years has been the quality of coach if you ask me, and now that we've a top class coach and Gatland can rightly claim to be the best northern hemisphere coach over the last number of years, with the possible exception of Schmidt, it should make for an interesting one next time we meet.

Regarding the Irish performance, I don't think we were actually exceptional, we just controlled every aspect of the game in a very calm and efficient manner. It was a great performance for the basics. Our lineout was dominant, we destroyed their lineout, we attacked and won the scrum battle, we kicked and controlled territory, refused to play in our own half, competed well under the high ball, our discipline was immaculate, we were far more aggressive and competitive at the breakdown...BUT having said all of that, I don't think we oozed class and looked like a really classy side, we just did everything right, if that makes sense. There wasn't much slick interplay and whatnot, but we didn't need it. It was just a text book Joe Schmidt performance to be honest. We did everything we knew we needed to do and knew if we did them right Wales wouldn't get into the game, and we did it.

I'm in no ways being critical, it was as efficient and clinical a performance as you'll see, but if I know Joe from his time at Leinster, this Irish team can ramp up another two or three gears without question. Whether we can reach that in this tournament I don't know, we're already a very tough side to beat, but I know under Joe this team can reach a lot higher than that, which is encouraging.

the Warburton Tipuric quandry is starting to resemble the Corry Dallaglio one England had

[suisse]

I love when people post what would be their Irish team, if they were coaching the team. 6. O'Mahoney 7. Henry 8. Sean O'Brien. Or, 6. POM 7. SOB 8. Copeland etc. As if they'd have the balls to drop the "clown" Heaslip, as he is often referred to.

There is a reason why 3 Leinster coaches have made Heaslip their undisputed number 8 during their entire tenures, and why the current and previous Irish coaches have done exactly the same thing. They have made him captain, and he has been at the base of the scrum for the best European club team ever, not to mention a Grand Slam winning Ireland and the British and Irish Lions.

On Saturday, he made 11 tackles (joint most), missed none, took 2 line outs, and carried 10 times (only D'arcy ran more often). You just wish the same tired arguments would finally end because we all know that even if his fiercest critics went in to camp, they would do the same thing that every other coach has done; they'd pick Heaslip, and let him captain if POC was out. Claiming otherwise just makes them look idiotic.

[suisse]

Have a look at this clip and see what it meant to Heaslip as Paddy Jackson strolled home for the 2nd try.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-XGWHmIVeo

Arms raised, back bent over. Pure delight. It's a great shot (even before the Williams-Kearney incident). You can what it meant to them.

[Golf Man]

That was an excellent win and a real lesson in strangling an opponent. A very simple gameplan well executed and all that. All looks good so far.

I do think there has been a bit too much backslapping. We will have to show a lot more in the next game (and the subsequent two). We have blown Scotland and Wales apart by focusing on their packs - arguably they have the two worst packs in the competition, so this made sense and was brilliantly executed. We are not going to dismantle the English lineout in the manner that we did the Welsh, and are not going to dominate them physically either. Of course thats not to say that we can't get better them, just that its a much tougher assignment. 3 of our 5 tries have come directly from the maul - great great weapon to have, but its hard to see it being so effective against England. I still have some concern about the scrum - although Marler/Vunipola playing for England against us will help hugely.

In short we have shown very little in attack - a couple of individual breaks - a decent passing movement for Trimbles try v Scotland and a good break and off load for Kearneys try v Scotland (albeit desperate defending by Scotland). We will need to show more to beat England - its arguably where we should be targeting them, given their relative novices in the backline. Sexton has been in ROG mode for the first two games (break v Scotland aside) - maybe need to see a bit more Leinster Sexton.

Very happy with the pack so far and we have the best half backs (both individually and as a duo) in the competition (not sure I'd swap either of them for anyone at the moment tbh). 11 - 15 have been solid (Kearney and Trimble probably the stand outs). If we can get the backline going a bit more, then we can really start to look ahead

[Lar]

Any chance Williams will be cited for the dig at Jackson after he touched down?

[domhnallj]

That was an excellent win and a real lesson in strangling an opponent. A very simple gameplan well executed and all that. All looks good so far.

I do think there has been a bit too much backslapping. We will have to show a lot more in the next game (and the subsequent two). We have blown Scotland and Wales apart by focusing on their packs - arguably they have the two worst packs in the competition, so this made sense and was brilliantly executed. We are not going to dismantle the English lineout in the manner that we did the Welsh, and are not going to dominate them physically either. Of course thats not to say that we can't get better them, just that its a much tougher assignment. 3 of our 5 tries have come directly from the maul - great great weapon to have, but its hard to see it being so effective against England. I still have some concern about the scrum - although Marler/Vunipola playing for England against us will help hugely.

In short we have shown very little in attack - a couple of individual breaks - a decent passing movement for Trimbles try v Scotland and a good break and off load for Kearneys try v Scotland (albeit desperate defending by Scotland). We will need to show more to beat England - its arguably where we should be targeting them, given their relative novices in the backline. Sexton has been in ROG mode for the first two games (break v Scotland aside) - maybe need to see a bit more Leinster Sexton.

Very happy with the pack so far and we have the best half backs (both individually and as a duo) in the competition (not sure I'd swap either of them for anyone at the moment tbh). 11 - 15 have been solid (Kearney and Trimble probably the stand outs). If we can get the backline going a bit more, then we can really start to look ahead

Depends on whether Tom Youngs starts, his throwing is very erratic.

[Lar]

That was an excellent win and a real lesson in strangling an opponent. A very simple gameplan well executed and all that. All looks good so far.

I do think there has been a bit too much backslapping. We will have to show a lot more in the next game (and the subsequent two). We have blown Scotland and Wales apart by focusing on their packs - arguably they have the two worst packs in the competition, so this made sense and was brilliantly executed. We are not going to dismantle the English lineout in the manner that we did the Welsh, and are not going to dominate them physically either. Of course thats not to say that we can't get better them, just that its a much tougher assignment. 3 of our 5 tries have come directly from the maul - great great weapon to have, but its hard to see it being so effective against England. I still have some concern about the scrum - although Marler/Vunipola playing for England against us will help hugely.

In short we have shown very little in attack - a couple of individual breaks - a decent passing movement for Trimbles try v Scotland and a good break and off load for Kearneys try v Scotland (albeit desperate defending by Scotland). We will need to show more to beat England - its arguably where we should be targeting them, given their relative novices in the backline. Sexton has been in ROG mode for the first two games (break v Scotland aside) - maybe need to see a bit more Leinster Sexton.

Very happy with the pack so far and we have the best half backs (both individually and as a duo) in the competition (not sure I'd swap either of them for anyone at the moment tbh). 11 - 15 have been solid (Kearney and Trimble probably the stand outs). If we can get the backline going a bit more, then we can really start to look ahead

Trust in Joe. The fact that our maul has been our most potent weapon (almost our only weapon) won't have been lost on Lancaster and Farrell.

[Golf Man]

Not a hope Youngs is going to start unless Hartley gets injured

We have essentially been a bit of a 1 trick pony (albeit a very good trick) so far. Englands pack is really good - strong, solid in set piece, really abrasive. Its pretty obvious that we looked at Wales and saw their weakpoint and attacked it. Schmidt will presumably attempt the same with England. Their backline is very green and is the obvious target (with the exception of Mike Brown who has been excellent). I think Schmidt referenced possible changes - I think these will be needed in the backs to beat England. We should absolutely look to take them on up front, but it can't be our only weapon

[Edna Kenny]

I think Joe said after the game that they had set up for wet conditions and played accordingly, they spoke about changing the gameplan at half time but decided to keep going AFAIK. It wasn't a day for flashy back play but the good news is they have probably been able to keep their powder dry and will have a few moves for England. Joe spoke about his disappointment at the lack of support for Trimble when he made his break so it's really good to see he's always looking for something to improve. He uses his interviews to keep the team grounded and put pressure on everyone to improve, criticisms are usually saved for when he wins games.

The more time they have together the better they will get, they will be buzzing this week and come back refreshed on Wednesday.

Definitely not time to be getting carried away but it's the first time in a while that we have actually beaten a team that was considered better than us (probably Wales last year in fact). That is where we need to be, we should expect to win every game at Lansdowne Road. The 2 away games will be huge tests but there's definitely a feelgood factor now.

[Eoin Gubbins]

Hi everyone, I've started a blog, it'll cover a variety of sports but this weekend I've focused on the Ireland vs. Wales match (and I'll be focusing on Ireland's Six Nations campaign throughout). If you're interested, here's my post-match review: http://bit.ly/1bfRcyX

The blog is at www.dancinginthestreetsofdeportivo.com, and I'd appreciate any feedback at all (as the old gift grub sketch of Roy Keane used to say, no matter how negative or acerbic!) Thanks! Eoin

[fourthirtythree]

It wasn't the lack of support, he described it as incorrectly resourcing the ruck I think. The scrum half shouldn't have dived in but rather swung it out to Kearney ASAP.

I just don't see the personnel we have in the backs allowing us to cut teams apart without some changes in players. That said with Leinster Schmidt rarely had giant size or searing pace in the backs but depended on quick ball and interplay to bamboozle the teams we came up against.

I expect England will not be their own worst enemy unlike Wales were.

[kendalgerty]

Have a look at this clip and see what it meant to Heaslip as Paddy Jackson strolled home for the 2nd try.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-XGWHmIVeo

Arms raised, back bent over. Pure delight. It's a great shot (even before the Williams-Kearney incident). You can what it meant to them.

Yeah, the body language in the team is hugely positive. He was the same when O'Mahony won that crucial turnover in our 22 to end Wales' best spell of the game. It really broke Welsh spirits and you could see what it meant to him. Heaslip was right in O'Mahony's face, it was great to see. When you see that sort of reaction between players from rival provinces who wouldn't necessarily strike you as being bosom buddies, you get the sense that the camp is really tight.

I remember in our grand slam year, noticing it between O'Connell and Heaslip after Jamie won the match-winning penalty against France. O'Connell dragged him up from the ruck and was roaring in his face (in a good way!). It looked different to how things had been previously.

[kendalgerty]

I'd say we have 1 world class player (North)

two who have been world class in gethin and adam but age and injuries have taken their toll on them

Then we have a group of international quality players who can be very good if they are on top form

halfpenny,cuthhbert,davies,roberts, phillips ,alun wyn jones, lydiate, felatu ryan jones Tupric and warburton have all at times played very well on the test match stage sadly many are not in their best form (phillips, lydiate,alun wyn and toby f) and others have been struggling with injury (warburton,roberts ryan jones and davies)

This has really hurt us this season.

we then have a 3rd tier of players who are and will only ever be ok at test level but will do a job if the better players are in form

james,hibbard,charteris,biggar,scott williams (i'd place ian evans and bradley davies in this level to)


Then you have the final tier who quite franly are not and never will be proper test match players and when they start there is a big drop off in quality

owens,coombs,webb,priestland and liam williams.

Hook and Tupric are players I''m unsure if they should be in tier 2 or tier 3


when you look at frankly is not a great deal of talent, I think it makes Gatlands success with wales even more remarkable

he has a style of play he believes in and he has picked players who fit that style (overlooking more talented players who don't
fit his game plan eg peel and byrne)

His game plan isn;t fun to watch but it does work, what let us down yesterday was not the plan but the execution, get that right and we will be successful

A week friday would be a good time to start

Everyone has a tendency to see the galss as being not so much half empty as drained after a couple of bad games in a row. As Golf Man says, we're all seeing our players as superstas now - even Dave Kearney and Andrew Trimble look like superstars. Memories can be a bit short. Mike Phillips looks like a bit of a bellweather for the Welsh team. When he's on song he's obviously world class, but when he's plodding, whiny and off his game he seems to drag everyone down with him.

[Edna Kenny]

[quote="fourthirtythree"]
I just don't see the personnel we have in the backs allowing us to cut teams apart without some changes in players. That said with Leinster Schmidt rarely had giant size or searing pace in the backs but depended on quick ball and interplay to bamboozle the teams we came up against.

quote]

It's pretty much the same backline that took Northampton apart, except swapping the halfbacks with better players. Trimble/Fitz, Zebo/Kearney could be possible changes. They are well capable of cutting teams apart if they are accurate.

[Dave Cahill]

First back to back 6N wins since 2010