6 Nations 2021

[munster#1]

JGP's kicking has been excellent.

Lowe again getting shown up defensively though. Grim.

Lowe is not having the best of games.

[wixfjord]

JGP's kicking has been excellent.

Lowe again getting shown up defensively though. Grim.

Lowe is not having the best of games.

He's having a proper mixed bag.

Some excellent kicking and did very well for that almost try.

Combined with some really poor defensive work.

[LeinsterLeader]

Jaysus ye can't deny the heart on these guys. Every one of them. Totally out played yet still in it

"Balls like Bengali Tigers"

[wixfjord]

Mike Catt, what do you do all week?

[Twist]

Good point on HB defence especially considering their opposite numbers, VDF is going to be busy plugging any holes in that area
Goal kicking.
Today's game is likely to be won by goal kicking, given the conditions, this is another real weakness in the selection.

Sure enough, that missed early penalty ended up having a huge impact

[Dave Cahill]

Mike Catt, what do you do all week?

[Twist]

Immediately after the match one thing is really grinding my gears - why are we still kicking so many box kicks and up n’ unders? This isnt a rhetorical question, I really dont understand it.

[Dave Cahill]

Immediately after the match one thing is really grinding my gears - why are we still kicking so many box kicks and up n’ unders? This isnt a rhetorical question, I really dont understand it.

The problem isn't the kicking, it's what we do after the kick - its a good tactic if used correctly, a means to an end, but beyond it we seem so devoid of any other plan it has become the end

[LeRouxIsPHat]

I could pretty much copy and paste what I said after the Welsh game. Set piece very good, ball protection continues to improve, and some individuals really stood up.

Said before the game that I wanted to see those things again and we did. I said I’d be happy to see improvements in the systems even if individuals who aren’t good enough made mistakes again and that’s what happened. Lowe just can’t keep making the same errors over and over.

In terms of where the team is going though, our attack is letting us down massively. It’s very reminiscent of the last days of Kidney, just moving the ball sideways, running sideways, standing deep, and messing up simple switches. Just such basic stuff that we can’t get right and to me it looks like the players are bit lost when we go to move.

We have the platform now and guys tend to be in the right positions, so if we just do some of the basics better then there’d be a big improvement. The lads in the wide channels will still be able to clear out efficiently if the backs actually run a switch properly or if the first pod aren’t standing still off a ruck.

[riocard911]

After we'd weathered the last entry of France into our 22 with Ireland two points down, back in possession and only four minutes do go, JGP launching a box kick seemed kinda harebrained. Maybe it's just me....

[hugonaut]

The lineout and maul have improved a lot under O'Connell. The scrum looks strong. England will give it a good test, but it has been very stable and occasionally powerful, regardless of the many personnel changes over the last two games. So Johnny Fogs deserves credit for his end. Restarts were probably better than they have been in the last few games with Sexton at outhalf. In short, the set pieces are very solid and the coaches involved deserve credit.

It was a cagey, cagey game. I felt that they were the better, more threatening side and we stuck in and made the scoreline close without ever threatening to win the game. A brave performance from our lads, but a limited one.

[wixfjord]

After we'd weathered the last entry of France into our 22 with Ireland two points down, back in possession and only four minutes do go, JGP launching a box kick seemed kinda harebrained. Maybe it's just me....

We needed to find a way up the pitch though, and given France's defence and our lack of attack it was probably the only way to do it.

[LeinsterLeader]

Probably over simplifying it but I think at times we look like a less assured version of Munster. Very similar attacking style but Munster have more confidence in what they are doing and it shows.

[RoboProp]

Our complete and utter lack of imagination in attack is flabbergasting. We had so much ball and did so little of note with it. Also, any time Ringrose got good ball he carved them up. He should have been used more. Too much box kick, look for contact. Rinse, lather repeat

[blaker]

We have no attack game. Less than that we actually have an attack game that’s hurting us.

We won the scrum battle and edged the lineout one by taking some of their balls. We had hours of possession and acres of territory.

We fluked 1 try.

All we do is fire first phase ball to Henshaw who trucks it up. Next phase box kick. Zero subtlety or devotion.

Lowe got the ball in an attacking space once and managed to score bar his big toe. Earls was just there to chase kicks.

Expectation seems to be that ringer or Keenan will create something out of nothing.

Our passing is atrocious - there was one situation second half where we had a promising set up and just shovelled ball out the backs with every single pass too high or on inside shoulder - France just drifted out.

No grabbers, no chips over the top.

[lummix]

Would lowe be better at full back at international level?

Should porter be switched to loose head with an eye on the world cup.

[Ruckedtobits]

We played a much better team this week than last week; a team with a first-phase backline threat; a team with offloading skills and pace and power to capitalise on line breaks. We don't have individual players of that power and pace, so we must focus on our defence.

Our scrum and lineout were excellent. Yes, excellent, not merely adequate. Our scrum-half moved the ball quickly and, for the most part, accurately. However, neither 10, 12 nor 13 could escape the French defensive net and neither 11 nor 14 had the pace to get round the outside on their limited chances. Keenan learned today what Test matches at top leevel are like and survived, but didn't thrive.

Would Stockdale have been able to score where Lowe's right toe was bundled into touch? Who knows, but the hope, and experience suggest yes. Would Larmour have been able to dance into space that Earls couldn't find? Would Bundee have been able to battle through Ficaou when Henshaw found it impossible?

Certainly from what I've seen of Harry Byrne thus far, I find it difficult to imagine he would have opened any more spaces that Burns or Ross Byrne did today.

So, until we can find and polish some of the very raw talents like Aaron Sexton (pace and size), Hyde or Hume (size, power and handling), Harry Byrne, Jack Crowley or Ben Healy, Blade or Casey (quick hands and great acceleration), we'll just have to focus on conceding less points and working on our teamwork to optimise the training ground plays that we believe can yield tries from attacking field positions.

Sound boring? Maybe, but that's what brings victories in Irish rugby unless you have the rare occasions where we have a number of highly talented players come together. Winning Grand Slams in 2009 & 2018 were really rare events. Winning three Championship in five years were rare events and will never become the norm for Irish rugby. We lost a game against Wales, we should have won last week. This weekend, we got close enough to being in a position to win a game we wouldn't have deserved. Wales won both of their fixtures and we are certainly a better team than them.

Concede less, keep trying just as hard and keep giving young talented players a shot. There is no magic formula that can reproduce Grand Slams like 2018. It takes talent, experience and enormous hard work.

[blaker]

There’s limited value in analysing the arse out of a game where you lost against a materially better team but what’s concerning is the continuation of themes:
- complete lack of an attacking plan, or, at least, the complete failure to execute a plan.
- we’ve yet to see (please correct me here) a game where the coaches have clearly identified a route to victory and executed to that plan. Maybe Wales in the first corona 6N where we just bullied em but beyond that....
- there’s been no real effort to develop or move on from the tried and trusted. Ignore the half backs which deserves its own section but POM, Healy, Earls would ideally have been moved to bench/squad now with alternatives in.

We’re in serious trouble at halfback - much worse than 2 years ago. Marmion has dropped off the radar and McGrath can’t get a look in. Cooney is evidently persona non grata. At 10 Byrne has regressed and Carty is very variable. Hayley/Crowley are stuck behind a journeyman JJ while Joey is crocked. We probably need to make some big calls at a provincial and international level soon.

Farrell is staring at his tenure being dead on arrival. Bit like Kenny at the FAI - there comes a point where the fizz is all gone and luck just won’t go for you

[mildlyinterested]

Lack of raw talented athletes capable of being a difference maker at intl level in leinster and Irish rugby is a real worry.

[munster#1]

Ireland have been very underwhelming for the last 2 years, and this is despite have probably the greatest depth chart that we’ve ever had.

I know that it won’t happen, because a. Ireland do not have the funds to pay off Farrell and b. They do not have the balls, but I think it’s time to have Lancaster take the reigns.

He is a proven international coach, and has massively improved his reputation with Leinster.