[2019 Six Nations] Ireland vs England (02/02/2019)

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Can Zebo play for Ireland, or is the rules the same as englands?

 

[big ginger 8]

Can Zebo play for Ireland, or is the rules the same as englands?

There's no official rule against picking him but it won't happen. Don't think a player playing abroad has been picked since Sexton returned.

I'd rather try one of Addison, Consay or Larmour anyway.

 

[Nudger]

Really struggling to remember the last time we:
Looked that cohesive
Looked that aggressive
Looked like we wanted to win so much
Looked like nothing (like the early yellow) was going to put us down
Looked to put kicks and passes to space/players with options so frequently
Looked like scoring was the only thing that mattered.

Are we gonna wake up to a WADA investigation headline?

2003

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

Just a little video

 

[TRF_Olyy]

There's no official rule against picking him but it won't happen. Don't think a player playing abroad has been picked since Sexton returned.

I'd rather try one of Addison, Consay or Larmour anyway.

Imagine having both Addison and Haley available and still playing Henshaw at 15
#SchmidtOut

 

[corny]

Can Zebo play for Ireland, or is the rules the same as englands?

I think he's been a bit loose with his tongue about Schmidt since leaving Ireland. Can't see him getting near the squad even if the IRFU gave the go ahead.

 

[Hanley!]

Can Zebo play for Ireland, or is the rules the same as englands?

I fancied Zebo for that spot a couple of years ago, but he's gone now and I don't see the need to make an exception for him.

We have plenty of options at fullback anyway. Kearney, Conway, Larmour, Addison. Schmidt just didn't pick any of them. The Henshaw experiment was a failure - at least on first viewing - but that doesn't mean Ireland have a crisis at fullback. I've seen others panicking online saying that we need to parachute Zebo back into the team. There's no reason for it right now.

 

[Nudger]

If England got an Underhill-Curry-Vunipola backrow together I'd be terrified. There's a potentially great team there.

Wilson was top class hill like in his understated work rate

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Zebo is a good player to have at fullback cause he covers half the width of the pitch just standing there, the fat ****

 

[corny]

After sleeping on it, not too despondent today.

England beat us up on the ground in the pack - and from that everything else followed. If we'd a starting 8 of Healy, Cronin, Furlong, Ryan, Henderson/Beirne, SOB, Leavy, Stander that'd have worked out the English forward defense a lot harder - and narrower - so wouldn't have left the same big white wall across the pitch.

We have the players to perform better against what England brought yesterday. Joe's gonna learn. Question is, would our changes change the result or just the scoreline.

Either way, much better finding out now than in October.

I had it dealt with pre game. Been telling anyone who'd listen England were going to win. Unusual feeling cheering for Ireland but being secretly delighted you were right (i like being right).

People were getting carried away with the GS and beating NZ. Great achievements but its not easy to keep that going, especially when you have little if anything in hand of the opposition. We'll be better when we've a point to prove and there's a bit of dog about us.

Interestingly i think the same fate awaits Leinster in the Champions Cup. They've been outworked in more than one important game this season and that spells trouble in my eyes.

 

[Nudger]

I'd give CJ a pass this game. His eye is smashed to smithereens by all accounts.

They all found it tough to make yards. We're used to seeing Healy, Furlong, Stander and Ryan smash people out of the way. As Murray said post game "they were more pumped than we were".

He looked like he had done 15 rounds when he came of

 

[Leinster Fan]

Can Zebo play for Ireland, or is the rules the same as englands?

Technically he could be picked, it'll never happen though. Sexton had a whole load of things in his favour, obviously he was by far and away our best 10 in a way that Zebo isn't at 15, as well as that he had a clause in his contract saying that Racing had to release him for more or less everything internationally (for example he didn't go back to play for them during rest weeks in the Six Nations), and he was and still is Schmidt's favourite player and the perfect player to implement his gameplan.

Zebo is none of those things. Him and Joe don't give the impression of liking each other at all and the way he was dropped from the squad after his move was announced even though he was still in Munster showed that Joe was glad to be rid of him imo.

Tbh if we're looking at ex-Munster players at Racing Donnacha Ryan is far more likely to end up in green again. (There's even a decent argument for him to start next week if Toner is injured because Roux and Dillanne aren't really at that level).

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Just a little video

High level arrogance. Ask @munstermuffin what he thinks about Ger Gilroy?!

Some of the comments in the Irish press were distasteful. It's fine to think Ireland would win the game, I did too, but give proper reasoning and not tabloid tripe like the clip shown demonstrated.

I don't think you're making this inference but I'd be very surprised if England used poor journalism as motivation. I think that would do a disservice to England's players who are better than needing irrelevant outsiders to get them up for a game. England won because they played out of their skin and had a brilliant game plan which accentuated their skills and limited Ireland. Hopefully though the manner of England's victory puts some of these hacks in their place and teaches them some humility.

Small point but England did a lap of honour after the game. It was a great win and well deserved but it was only 1 of 5 games for them in the Championship. I didn't take offence to it and applauded them in their victory but do a lap of honour after winning a championship, not a game.

 

[General Melchett]

Is it any coincidence that England's performance last night coincided with John Mitchell's arrival? Looks to me like he has made quite an impact already.

 

[ratsapprentice]

Is it any coincidence that England's performance last night coincided with John Mitchell's arrival? Looks to me like he has made quite an impact already.

He was with us in the Autumn too.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Small point but England did a lap of honour after the game. It was a great win and well deserved but it was only 1 of 5 games for them in the Championship. I didn't take offence to it and applauded them in their victory but do a lap of honour after winning a championship, not a game.

I think it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't, situation - if they'd have gone straight down the tunnel you'd get the English press saying they're were arrogant and aloof ignoring the travelling fans.
I, personally, like to see the players staying out on the pitch after the game regardless of result/importance of match - the fans travelled across the sea to support the team at great expense and really made themselves heard out there.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

High level arrogance. Ask @munstermuffin what he thinks about Ger Gilroy?!

Some of the comments in the Irish press were distasteful. It's fine to think Ireland would win the game, I did too, but give proper reasoning and not tabloid tripe like the clip shown demonstrated.

I don't think you're making this inference but I'd be very surprised if England used poor journalism as motivation. I think that would do a disservice to England's players who are better than needing irrelevant outsiders to get them up for a game. England won because they played out of their skin and had a brilliant game plan which accentuated their skills and limited Ireland. Hopefully though the manner of England's victory puts some of these hacks in their place and teaches them some humility.

Small point but England did a lap of honour after the game. It was a great win and well deserved but it was only 1 of 5 games for them in the Championship. I didn't take offence to it and applauded them in their victory but do a lap of honour after winning a championship, not a game.

Called thanking the travelling supporters.
Most teams in England do it after an away win a few even after a loss, to thank the supporters.

 

[munstermuffin]

High level arrogance. Ask @munstermuffin what he thinks about Ger Gilroy?!

Some of the comments in the Irish press were distasteful. It's fine to think Ireland would win the game, I did too, but give proper reasoning and not tabloid tripe like the clip shown demonstrated.

I don't think you're making this inference but I'd be very surprised if England used poor journalism as motivation. I think that would do a disservice to England's players who are better than needing irrelevant outsiders to get them up for a game. England won because they played out of their skin and had a brilliant game plan which accentuated their skills and limited Ireland. Hopefully though the manner of England's victory puts some of these hacks in their place and teaches them some humility.

Small point but England did a lap of honour after the game. It was a great win and well deserved but it was only 1 of 5 games for them in the Championship. I didn't take offence to it and applauded them in their victory but do a lap of honour after winning a championship, not a game.

Don't get me started on Gilroy all I will say is an absolute clown up there with best of gutter journalists.

But agree with Snoop England won due to being superbly prepared and hungrier.

 

[Leinster Fan]

Interestingly i think the same fate awaits Leinster in the Champions Cup. They've been outworked in more than one important game this season and that spells trouble in my eyes.

Interesting that you say that, I'm not sure I agree. I think we got wakeup calls against Toulouse and Munster. I think we saw a response to that against Toulouse at home where we really just blew them away. If anything if Ireland have a middling Six Nations it could help us because they'll come back into Leinster absolutely determined to make up for it. I think we could easily lose a game to Racing or Saracens in the knockout stages but if we do it'll be as a result of them being the slightly better team on the day of two roughly equal teams, not because we took our eye off the ball like some of the other games we lost this year (or the close ones like Bath away).

But that's for another thread anyway

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

I think it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't, situation - if they'd have gone straight down the tunnel you'd get the English press saying they're were arrogant and aloof ignoring the travelling fans.
I, personally, like to see the players staying out on the pitch after the game regardless of result/importance of match - the fans travelled across the sea to support the team at great expense and really made themselves heard out there.

I agree with you and @Tigs Man.

I'm not saying don't salute your fans, every winning team does and should. Usually it's a case of walking back out to the middle of the pitch and acknowledging the support. I'd say there were at least 10000 England fans at the game. It was a fantastic win.