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[2020 Six Nations] France vs Ireland (31/10/20)
- Thread starter Groundhog
- Start date
They’re centers not wings. Fickou has been tried on wing and he’s not a wing. Hope they give a specialist wing his chance.
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What happened to Alivereti Raka? He looked like he could be a real weapon for France but he seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth. Is he injured?
Think I saw his name in the 42 group but he’s a bit way off in the pecking order apparently. Galthie wants to stick with the same group and not disrupt too much he might move Fickou to wing and bring in Arthur Vincent as centre.
Well Fickou has moved to the wing, which I'm fine with as he's a more effective centre. Bouthier has also returned fit.
I'm happy enough to see Fickou move out wide. Think he's definitely a centre, Vincent is a talent but doesn't have the same experience. Still expecting a loss by 10 or so points but am hopeful we'll actually pull it off. Any win is a good result though.
Bench is ok. Bit early to say it could turn a game. Chat brings a lot when he comes on in the loose and scrum. Bamba and Gros are excellent scrummagers bit shy in the loose but growing. Castet is on a par at Toulouse with Baille and could fit in there.Taofefinua makes up numbers. Haven’t seen enough of Cretin to say. Serin is not my preferred choice would pick Couilloud instead. Retiere and Ramos are good picks esp. Ramos who can kick and cover 10.
Two oustanding backrows are Sekou Macalou (injured) and Jordan Joseph. Joseph has been excellent with Racing. Still only 20 his time will come hopefully. Great prospect at 8 with Macalou at 7 when fit is a step ahead of Ollivon and Cros...
Our pro clubs are in danger. Many will not survive 2021.
Two oustanding backrows are Sekou Macalou (injured) and Jordan Joseph. Joseph has been excellent with Racing. Still only 20 his time will come hopefully. Great prospect at 8 with Macalou at 7 when fit is a step ahead of Ollivon and Cros...
Our pro clubs are in danger. Many will not survive 2021.
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Off topic but a lot are in same boat and I think we will see a shock or change in the game once we through this. Possibly a rethink of the whole picture.
Curls
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Ultimately though winning a 6 nations title would be nice this has to be a stepping stone to 2023.
A lot of big names are missing but we're still competitive and optimistic of winning in Paris. That's a good place to be in.
Front row are not setting the world alight but are solid enough performers.
Herring is solid for Ulster but is yet to show he's 100% worthy of Rory Bests shirt in either camp. Not sure where Kelleher is and am surprised he's not playing.
Beirne and Ryan in the second row are solid. Henderson would probably push Beirne to the bench, but Beirne will tackle his heart out and get in at the breakdown. Ryan is still getting his mojo back but he's already world class, just needs to get back there.
Back row Connors and Doris both hard workers either side of the ball. Good to see 2 young guys putting their hands up too. Stander as always will be there doing the business. POM will probably not make it to 2023 and his discipline is something perhaps that let's him down. I often feel he came to rugby 10-15 years too late.
Half backs....IMO given how things were Murray should not have gone to Japan. He was comfortably number 4 or 5 on the form ladder in the season before and was a gamble that came back to haunt Joe. He NEEDS a good game this week or else I don't know if Farrell can keep him over others.
Sexton at 10 is still a world class player but there needs to be a clear succession plan. Byrne is an able replacement and has shown that in blue but he needs to be more than that now. ROG didn't pass the torch to Sexton, Sexton took it and beat him about the head with it. We need somebody to do that to Sexton now but there's no clear candidate.
Centres are 2 good players in a partnership that just has not worked thus far. They'll both match up ok to the French midfield but with Leinster Ringrose is the utility man for Henshaw and the same in Green for Aki. I think he and Aki are too similar in some respects.
Back 3...glad to see Keenan retained as he's a reliable finisher as is Conway. Stockdale will either get blitzed under the high ball or punish loose French kicking. Certainly will look to expose him.
What I like about the current squad is that guys in this team like Healy, Ryan Connors, Doris, Sexton, Henshaw and Keenan view trips to France as 4/5 point opportunities. Gone are the days where trips to France were slim in returns. These guys are used to winning. Having said that I feel the Ireland camp suffers a clash of cultures and expectations in some respects. That was evident in the last minute against Italy. There's anecdotal evidence of it from half time against the All Blacks in Japan too. The way forward to 2023 will be interesting especially if current trajectories in Irish rugby continue.
A lot of big names are missing but we're still competitive and optimistic of winning in Paris. That's a good place to be in.
Front row are not setting the world alight but are solid enough performers.
Herring is solid for Ulster but is yet to show he's 100% worthy of Rory Bests shirt in either camp. Not sure where Kelleher is and am surprised he's not playing.
Beirne and Ryan in the second row are solid. Henderson would probably push Beirne to the bench, but Beirne will tackle his heart out and get in at the breakdown. Ryan is still getting his mojo back but he's already world class, just needs to get back there.
Back row Connors and Doris both hard workers either side of the ball. Good to see 2 young guys putting their hands up too. Stander as always will be there doing the business. POM will probably not make it to 2023 and his discipline is something perhaps that let's him down. I often feel he came to rugby 10-15 years too late.
Half backs....IMO given how things were Murray should not have gone to Japan. He was comfortably number 4 or 5 on the form ladder in the season before and was a gamble that came back to haunt Joe. He NEEDS a good game this week or else I don't know if Farrell can keep him over others.
Sexton at 10 is still a world class player but there needs to be a clear succession plan. Byrne is an able replacement and has shown that in blue but he needs to be more than that now. ROG didn't pass the torch to Sexton, Sexton took it and beat him about the head with it. We need somebody to do that to Sexton now but there's no clear candidate.
Centres are 2 good players in a partnership that just has not worked thus far. They'll both match up ok to the French midfield but with Leinster Ringrose is the utility man for Henshaw and the same in Green for Aki. I think he and Aki are too similar in some respects.
Back 3...glad to see Keenan retained as he's a reliable finisher as is Conway. Stockdale will either get blitzed under the high ball or punish loose French kicking. Certainly will look to expose him.
What I like about the current squad is that guys in this team like Healy, Ryan Connors, Doris, Sexton, Henshaw and Keenan view trips to France as 4/5 point opportunities. Gone are the days where trips to France were slim in returns. These guys are used to winning. Having said that I feel the Ireland camp suffers a clash of cultures and expectations in some respects. That was evident in the last minute against Italy. There's anecdotal evidence of it from half time against the All Blacks in Japan too. The way forward to 2023 will be interesting especially if current trajectories in Irish rugby continue.
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Right...Vive la France!
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Oooooh ahhhh Up the lads
Allez!
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Glad we don’t need a huge score as we don’t really have the bench to do it. Still not expecting much, a win let alone one by 7+ points would be huge.
Also hasn’t been talked about here but hugely impressive for Healy to make it to 100 caps considering the injuries he’s had. He’s certainly seems to be on the decline now but he’s really has some career.
Also hasn’t been talked about here but hugely impressive for Healy to make it to 100 caps considering the injuries he’s had. He’s certainly seems to be on the decline now but he’s really has some career.
France must win the game and with a 32 points difference to win the 6 Nations. Crazy task to accomplish considering the opposition.
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Will be interesting to see if they try. Because if they try their could be turnover ball aplenty for Ireland.
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I have a bad feeling that in this game France are going to France and catastrophically implode whilst trying to go for a huge win
Could listen to POC talk rugby all day
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Who’s interviewing Farrell there? Said multiple times Ireland need 4 tries...we don’t.
Probably some English guy trying to play psychology games
Paul "Breeding" O'Connell
