Emerging Ireland to tour SA

[hugonaut]

Two good tries by EI in the second-half. But I hate to see Ireland play the game of time wasting. The entire ethic of the game is too important to be pi#$Ed on.

I agree. I don't like it in rugby, including when we do it.

[Dexter]

Two good tries by EI in the second-half. But I hate to see Ireland play the game of time wasting. The entire ethic of the game is too important to be pi#$Ed on.

I agree. I don't like it in rugby, including when we do it.

I hate it too, but until everyone starts doing it World Rugby won't react. South African teams have been doing it for years and nothing substantial has happened. Irish teams have been too "nice" and have paid the price.
I hope it's addressed, and soon, because Leinster and Ireland would be beneficiaries.

[tingman]

Any chance the TV bods could turn off the stadium microphone that's picking up that kid's screeching?!!!!

indeed - little monster - constant screeching gave me a pain in the hoop

[dropkick]

It was a great defensive display. It seemed to be wave after wave of Cheetahs attack but they couldn't break the Irish defence in open play. I read that EI had about 30% possession. That looked accurate. When they did attack they looked very good and in a different class to the Cheetahs but they couldn't get going. I thought the ref gave the Cheetahs a lot of soft penalties.


Only negative was the scrum. South African teams are really putting our props to the test but I also wonder if Irish scrummaging is too clean. If the opposition are bending the rules and you're playing by the rules then naturally they have an advantage. Sad to say but there's all kinds of illegal stuff going on in scrums.

[hugonaut]

It was a great defensive display. It seemed to be wave after wave of Cheetahs attack but they couldn't break the Irish defence in open play. I read that EI had about 30% possession. That looked accurate. When they did attack they looked very good and in a different class to the Cheetahs but they couldn't get going. I thought the ref gave the Cheetahs a lot of soft penalties.


Only negative was the scrum. South African teams are really putting our props to the test but I also wonder if Irish scrummaging is too clean. If the opposition are bending the rules and you're playing by the rules then naturally they have an advantage. Sad to say but there's all kinds of illegal stuff going on in scrums.

The Cheetahs' attack was incredibly blunt. This is obvious, but their only points came from two penalty tries, i.e. points that the referee decided to give them rather than they actually scored. Both penalty tries were legitimate, but I can't recall a game before where a team's only points came from that source.

We saw something pretty relatable with the Boks earlier in the Rugby Championship. A team with a massive pack and a legitimately talented backline playing a puke-rugby 2014 style of play, hoisting ball at every opportunity and struggling to put away a team they were clearly dominating because they couldn't put sufficient points on the board.

The South African commentators can rightly complain about Ireland slowing the game, faking injuries etc. but if that is their primary takeaway from the game they are indulging themselves. The Cheetahs hd enough ball and enough territory to win that game twice over. They were inept in a very predictable manner.

[paddyor]

I thought saffers complaints were very tongue in cheek. There was a bit giggling going on about it.

[jezzer]

Just got to watch it.

Given the age and size difference, I guess it's to be expected Ireland's forwards would be living on the edge a bit in terms of penalties. So despite him having given away 3 or 4 pens, i thought Ahern was really top class. Prendergast was huge also, despite his own smorgasbord of infringements.

Come to think, the Munster young'uns really came out of this trip with their reputations enhanced. With all the chest beating about how poor the senior side have been, maybe we'll see a bigger role for Ahern, Crowley, Barron, Nash along with Daly and Hodnett who are pretty established. All of them shone against admittedly poor enough opposition, including a pretty lamentable Cheetahs side who couldn't get out of their own way.

As far as EI helping identify possible bolters for RWC2023, i didn't see a ton of evidence for anybody we didn't know about already.

Ahern, Doak, Crowley, Osborne and Nash will have helped themselves to be considered in the larger squads for Nov and beyond but you wouldn't expect them to feature and even less so for the RWC. Doak and Osborne might have a sniff.

[Ruckedtobits]

The evidence from the performances of almost every player on the Tour who played for their Provinces this weekend is hugely positive as to the benefits of the exercise.

The vast majority who played looked more confident, stronger and more positive about their ability to play at least URC. A well worthwhile exercise, IMO.

[ronk]

A tour at this stage of the season inevitably challenged depth and gave people opportunities, but benefits may still take time to understand. It's as easy to say that some people lost out.

Loughman didn't get selected but is riding high. Josh Wycherley not so much. Players like Campbell and Edogbo got chances they had no hope of getting otherwise.

Guys like Deegan, Prendergast, Hodnett are well-enough known prospects. Did we really learn much about Doak or Osbourne?

Ahern was pulled out of 3 Munster games to play on tour. Deeny and McCarthy were pulled out of rotation for Leinster and maybe they got more gametime, but they missed on the other end.

Daly and Nash played well but Campbell and Phillips were playing for Munster. It was unexpected that Zebo, Earls and Haley would all get injured so quickly, in fairness.

The biggest thing to come out of this is the form of Crowley, and that was an accident after Frawley got injured. It also seems to have left Munster light for a run of games that turned into a near crisis.

Niall Murray wasn't on the Emerging Ireland radar. He toured SA anyway and had a huge game against Leinster. Hawkshaw also doing great for Connacht, he was lucky not to get picked.

We might see other effects later. So far I think it's overblown to say that it's done much for development.

[Ruckedtobits]

Who didn't benefit from being on this Tour, other than by injury?