[2019 Six Nations] Wales v Ireland (16/03/2019)

[oj121]

Have the Welsh been flagged even once for offside today?

Yes and were warned one more at its a yellow so dont use that one!

 

[Jockstap]

Well no pressure for the WC now, staying positive.

 

[munstermuffin]

That's not why people think he's massively superior though. Everyone has their bad games but Sexton is massively superior at his best than those two.

This is the thing. At their best Sexton is much better. On form though it is scary how bad our 9 and 10 are

 

[Rinkadink]

Have the Welsh been flagged even once for offside today?

Not until the last 7 minutes of regular play which is laughable given offside pens that Ireland conceded. Very poor reffing display, summed up at the end of the game when ref stopped Ireland and had to check if there was time for them to kick to touch from a penalty! Review will be interesting for sure...

But Ireland were never going to win that anyway, Wales good for the grand slam. Very well done, huge boost going into the world cup and on the opposite end Ireland must be really worried.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

This is the thing. At their best Sexton is much better. On form though it is scary how bad our 9 and 10 are

Yep. Although I think it's wrong to class them equally out of form. Murray hasn't really done a good thing all tournament, Sexton played well against France and his time against Scotland.

If we had another game next week I'd still start Sexton while Murray wouldn't be in the 23.

 

[munstermuffin]

Some questions that need to be asked.

Can we afford to play with seven forwards, given that Best doesn't do anything?
Is O'Mahony anything other than a luxury player?
Is SOB still up to it?
Is Beirne at the level of an elite international lock (first question where the answer isn't 'no' but he definitely didn't prove it today)
Should Murray even make the World Cup squad on this form? (Probably not)
Does Aki have a good enough all round game to be an international 12? (Not really but in fairness he's a good Henshaw backup)
Should Larmour be starting? (Maybe, our actual back three were good during the tournament but Larmour offers a lot)
Should Ryan be captain? (Yes)
Why is it that we won't take Murray and Sexton off? (One of life's great mysteries)

To be fair on them.
POM was poor today but 1 of our better forwards all season.
On SOB. Unlikely to go to REC due to competition and transfer.
On Beirne. Played well in a beaten up pack. Anyone judging him on just today really knows nothing on rugby.
On Murray. I think it's unfair to single him. It's both him and Sexton. Both are drivers and voth have been absolutely posion to us this championship.
Aki and Henshaw are similar. Hard to say Henshaw would've made a difference. In conditions and in a team sapped of confidence it is hard to produce.
Larmour is not better than any of our back 3 yet. Has had chances and shown he still has parts to learn but on right track.

 

[Leinster Fan]

Hadleigh Parkes of all people catching Jacob Stockdale summed it up. Wales really wanted it, we wanted the competition to be over.

 

[Jimbo]

That's not why people think he's massively superior though. Everyone has their bad games but Sexton is massively superior at his best than those two.

Trouble is he is generally playing on the front foot which allows him to be quality most teams don't get the same forward domination, today he was on the back foot and looked shocking, do u have many examples of when he has been on fire behind a pack which is either being dominated or even on parity, I certainly don't think he's superior behind a struggling pack.

 

[ncurd]

Sorry Ireland were never voting for you to have a RWC again....didn't think you hated us THAT much

Fair playnto Wales you can only won the games in front of you. Just wish someone other than us made you work for it.

 

[Hanley!]

Is O'Mahony anything other than a luxury player?

I don't get this. He wins Man of the Match awards frequently for Ireland (deservedly so). He was the best player on the field in the November win against the All Blacks that tricked so many fans into believing we were unstoppable. If we're going to question the selection of certain Irish players he should be well down the list.

 

[munstermuffin]

Yep. Although I think it's wrong to class them equally out of form. Murray hasn't really done a good thing all tournament, Sexton played well against France and his time against Scotland.

If we had another game next week I'd still start Sexton while Murray wouldn't be in the 23.

That fair but for me I would class both as completely off and wouldn't start either.
Agree Sexton was good vs France. Not sure I'd say he was good vs Sco. Not poor just competent. At the moment on form neither are within an asses roar of international standard

 

[munstermuffin]

I don't get this. He wins Man of the Match awards frequently for Ireland (deservedly so). He was the best player on the field in the November win against the All Blacks that tricked so many fans into believing we were unstoppable. If we're going to question the selection of certain Irish players he should be well down the list.

100% agree. Had a poor game but certainly has tons of credit in bank

 

[oj121]

POM is a xxxx but anyone calling him a luxuary and arguing his position must be drunk! He was just out muscled on the ground by his opposite today and sometimes thats just how it is. You sometimes cant beat the other man as they want it that much more.

 

[Hanley!]

Yep. Although I think it's wrong to class them equally out of form. Murray hasn't really done a good thing all tournament, Sexton played well against France and his time against Scotland.

If we had another game next week I'd still start Sexton while Murray wouldn't be in the 23.

I'd start neither of them. Maybe they'd have a reaction to being dropped and it'd motivate them to play better. I know they should both be self-motivated and will no doubt want to give their best performances for the big games, but it still can't be good for the mindset of a player to know that they're undroppable.

I only got to see the second half today, but for my money Sexton had a worse game than Murray. Though I fully agree Murray has been worse over the course of the tournament. Sexton is inconsistent right now, whereas Murray is just in the midst of a run of bad form. He needs to pull himself out of it or we need to start thinking about the dreaded Plan B.

 

[oj121]

Martyn Williams made a good point. Wales have done this without arguably the best no.8 in the world(opinions will vary but he is world class). They have played with no 8 and missed a huge ball carrier. Also missing their best ball winner in Ellis Jenkins.

 

[bushytop]

Not gonna make a big deal... you (the Welsh 23) manned the **** up, you deserve every accolade and more.

Alun Wyn Jones... you've made me gay!

 

[Leinster Fan]

To be fair on them.
POM was poor today but 1 of our better forwards all season.
On SOB. Unlikely to go to REC due to competition and transfer.
On Beirne. Played well in a beaten up pack. Anyone judging him on just today really knows nothing on rugby.
On Murray. I think it's unfair to single him. It's both him and Sexton. Both are drivers and voth have been absolutely posion to us this championship.
Aki and Henshaw are similar. Hard to say Henshaw would've made a difference. In conditions and in a team sapped of confidence it is hard to produce.
Larmour is not better than any of our back 3 yet. Has had chances and shown he still has parts to learn but on right track.

POM has been decent this tournament but he but he can really struggle to influence games and is well capable of going long periods without really doing anything. I'd still have him in the team but he shouldn't be held up as the unstoppable ***an that he often is. At his best he's the best player on the pitch but the rest of the time he's a bystander. And his carrying/tackling is very poor by any standard, both in the impact and the amount.

 

[truthteller]

alun wyn jones the greatest welsh forward ever, maybe the greatest british forward ever

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Martyn Williams made a good point. Wales have done this without arguably the best no.8 in the world(opinions will vary but he is world class). They have played with no 8 and missed a huge ball carrier. Also missing their best ball winner in Ellis Jenkins.

Yup,
Tipuric was a passenger again today (which makes the rest of the sides performance even more impressive) - think he won one penalty but realistically it should've gone the other way.
Bin him off, bring back Faletau and Jenkins and Wales' pack gets a whole lot scarier.

 

[truthteller]

wales second team including the load of great injured players is ...halfpenny steff evans scott williams owen watkin luke morgan patchell rhys webb faletau ellis jenkins aaron shingler dan lydiate luke charteris cory hill jake ball samson lee ryan elias wyn jones etc these are seriously class players