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

[Reiser99]

Ireland (possible) v Wales: Rob Kearney; Keith Earls, Garry Ringrose, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale; Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray; Cian Healy, Rory Best, Tadhg Furlong, James Ryan, Tadhg Beirne, Peter O'Mahony, Seán O'Brien, CJ Stander.

Replacements: Niall Scannell, David Kilcoyne, John Ryan, Ultan Dillane, Jack Conan, Kieran Marmion, Jack Carty, Jordan Larmour.

Thornley's prediction with bench. Would have liked Joey there, Jonathan will have to play 80.

That would suggest Leavy hasn't proved his fitness right?

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

That would suggest Leavy hasn't proved his fitness right?

Yeah, he's hardly played this season, last time I remember him was v Bath but that could be wrong. Not too surprising.

 

[truthteller]

World number 2 V world number 3

Man alive this is a hard game to call....can barely see weaknesses in either team
Wales will look at the every tiny perceived weakness...the only areas to attack in that irish side is maybe earls and kearney...ringrose is tidy , aki but slow turning in defence got a bit of a hiding off tuilagi but hes a one off
sexton can throw his toys when it aint going his way
stockdale world class going forward but sometimes all fingers and thumbs going back
the irish props are beasts theyre the best players...best is a bit past his best ....beirne is one heck of a lock but totally inexperienced at this level ryan too inexperienced
omahoney good lineout forwaard good breakdown ..stander the big carrier....obrien strong not the smartest but solid enough

The welsh .....the main weakness is 10...anscombe is inaccurate, he has pace and skills but makes mistakes...he is a lot less accurate a goal kicker as sexton that may make the difference?.who knows they may go biggar..their back row is class tbh but not the biggest so irish may target collisions....the irish props have edged the welsh a few times in regions and tests, they seem to squeeze the extra yard...the irish also clear out rucks mercilessly , sometimes illegally as they tend to clear way beyond the ball carrier and hold on to the tackled man....but heyho theyre smart the way they play the ref...wales are a tad naive in this area as the all blacks usually expose them often with pure filth just to silence the cardiff crowd.

The welsh have the edge in the threequarters...north 38 test tries, jon fox davies is world class 15 test tries, parkes looks quality, liam williams having a great run, adams on fire....gareth davies is one to watch hes been pretty quiet playing to orders but he is one hell of a player....63 first class tries is a lot for a young scrum half he is lightning quick, i suspect he will do damage....irish should target the welsh lineout which has been ropey...also maybe the driving maul with the props....
But psychologically Ireland are champs, theyve done the all blacks twice in 2 years and beaten everyone else too
The welsh have beaten everyone bar ireland and the all blacks, the doubts from that may creep in if they fall behind

IF I had to bet Id go with Wales at home
If it was in dublin Id go ireland
But the welsh crowd is the loudest in the world, that stadium is epic the way its right on the pitch, but the irish have a good record at cardiff they seem to thrive on the passion
schmidts last season has not been mentioned much, the man is a legend, hes won absolutely everything several times, the heinken cups are his greatest success imo
hes a very very shrew operator
Then you have Gats the puppet master, edwards the taskmaster, neil jenkins the kiking legend ....youre talking seasoned legends......

Its on the day but alun wyn jones and his boys have the cards in thier favour ever so marginally
but anything is possible, sexton is world class and if the orish start well its easily possible to see them steal the grand slam away

 

[TRF_Olyy]

That second half performance against Scotland won't cut it though and we can't play that bad against Ireland or we will be punished .

Ireland's second half vs France left a lot to be desired as well,

Could well be a close and hard fought first half and then a basketball score in the 2nd

 

[munstermuffin]

Ireland (possible) v Wales: Rob Kearney; Keith Earls, Garry Ringrose, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale; Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray; Cian Healy, Rory Best, Tadhg Furlong, James Ryan, Tadhg Beirne, Peter O'Mahony, Seán O'Brien, CJ Stander.

Replacements: Niall Scannell, David Kilcoyne, John Ryan, Ultan Dillane, Jack Conan, Kieran Marmion, Jack Carty, Jordan Larmour.

Thornley's prediction with bench. Would have liked Joey there, Jonathan will have to play 80.

Really thought Porter and Herring would appear on bench. Other than that no real shocks

 

[bushytop]

Really thought Porter and Herring would appear on bench. Other than that no real shocks

Did I miss something last week and Henderson get injured or something? For as good as I think Tadhg Beirne is, I thought Henderson came back in and looked great?

 

[munstermuffin]

Did I miss something last week and Henderson get injured or something? For as good as I think Tadhg Beirne is, I thought Henderson came back in and looked great?

Did his usual...Come back play well and then be made of glass and break .... AGAIN

 

[bushytop]

Did his usual...Come back play well and then be made of glass and break .... AGAIN

Ahh right... shame, great player.

 

[Tooting Carmen]

Wales name unchanged side. I'd prefer to have Tomos Williams as substitute scrum-half, but other than that it is fine.

Wales team to face Ireland: L Williams (Saracens); North (Ospreys), J Davies (Scarlets), Parkes (Scarlets), Adams (Worcester); Anscombe (Cardiff Blues), G Davies (Scarlets); R Evans (Scarlets), Owens (Scarlets), Francis (Exeter Chiefs), Beard (Ospreys), AW Jones (Ospreys, capt), Navidi (Cardiff Blues), Tipuric (Ospreys), Moriarty (Dragons).

Replacements: Dee (Dragons), Smith (Ospreys), D Lewis (Cardiff Blues), Ball (Scarlets), Wainwright (Dragons), A Davies (Ospreys), Biggar (Northampton), Watkin (Ospreys).

 

[JonoCymru]

Usually cringe when I see Francis starting (The knock on machine) but credit where it's due he's had a great campaign.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

@Moof is Beirne a lineout caller?

 

[truthteller]

Usually cringe when I see Francis starting (The knock on machine) but credit where it's due he's had a great campaign.

francis has been a revelation, the welsh scrum has been superb and hes popping up more around the field....however i do think the furlong is better in the loose....rob evans is good around the field though, him and healy are pretty much on a par that will be a war lol

 

[truthteller]

Wales name unchanged side. I'd prefer to have Tomos Williams as substitute scrum-half, but other than that it is fine.

Wales team to face Ireland: L Williams (Saracens); North (Ospreys), J Davies (Scarlets), Parkes (Scarlets), Adams (Worcester); Anscombe (Cardiff Blues), G Davies (Scarlets); R Evans (Scarlets), Owens (Scarlets), Francis (Exeter Chiefs), Beard (Ospreys), AW Jones (Ospreys, capt), Navidi (Cardiff Blues), Tipuric (Ospreys), Moriarty (Dragons).

Replacements: Dee (Dragons), Smith (Ospreys), D Lewis (Cardiff Blues), Ball (Scarlets), Wainwright (Dragons), A Davies (Ospreys), Biggar (Northampton), Watkin (Ospreys).

liam fit massive news, heck of a player

I cant help but feel wales have held something back this season so far....they were appalling first half in france, they always start slow but came back from 16-0 to win and they even had 2 great looking tries disallowed....they sent a second team to rome....they won the game after an hour then fell to sleep....surely a first team if fired up would have scored half a dozen tries as they usually do against the iti's....then the mighty english clash....they were solid for an hour or so then really turned the screw....scotland they were brilliant for the first half then again fell asleep at the wheel for the next 40? strange....why arent they putting in 80 minute performances ? that backline is underachieving I really think the welsh have a big edge in their threequarters

 

[munstermuffin]

@Moof is Beirne a lineout caller?

Has called for us in some Pro14 games. Big difference between that and here but well has some experience.

 

[truthteller]

will ireland demand the roof be open despite the pouring rain? seems a shame that

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

If it's wet we should close the roof, dry ball suits us more.

 

[munstermuffin]

Rumours are Wales request to close the roof has been rejected by Schmidt. Forecast is for it to be horrific in Cardiff at 3pm Saturday and Ireland seem to want it that way.
Both teams have to agree for the roof to be closed.

 

[Groundhog]

Team is as expected.
Ireland (v Wales)

15. Rob Kearney
14. Keith Earls
13. Garry Ringrose
12. Bundee Aki
11. Jacob Stockdale
10. Johnny Sexton
9. Conor Murray

1. Cian Healy
2. Rory Best (captain)
3. Tadhg Furlong
4. Tadhg Beirne
5. James Ryan
6. Peter O'Mahony
7. Sean O'Brien
8. CJ Stander

Replacements

16. Niall Scannell
17. Dave Kilcoyne
18. Andrew Porter
19. Quinn Roux
20. Jack Conan
21. Kieran Marmion
22. Jack Carty
23. Jordan Larmour

 

[munstermuffin]

15. Rob Kearney
14. Keith Earls
13. Garry Ringrose
12. Bundee Aki
11. Jacob Stockdale
10. Johnny Sexton
9. Conor Murray

1. Cian Healy
2. Rory Best (captain)
3. Tadhg Furlong
4. Tadhg Beirne
5. James Ryan
6. Peter O'Mahony
7. Sean O'Brien
8. CJ Stander

Replacements

16. Niall Scannell
17. Dave Kilcoyne
18. Andrew Porter
19. Quinn Roux
20. Jack Conan
21. Kieran Marmion
22. Jack Carty
23. Jordan Larmour

I kind of expected Porter back. Dillane dropped and I think his may be linked to Tadgh will be calling the lineout and if he goes down we have no other caller so Roux makes sense.
Sean O'Brien back for a big game.

 

[truthteller]

Rumours are Wales request to close the roof has been rejected by Schmidt. Forecast is for it to be horrific in Cardiff at 3pm Saturday and Ireland seem to want it that way.
Both teams have to agree for the roof to be closed.

crikey thats such a negative decision by ireland...personally i think it should be up to the home team, its their roof if they want to shut it they should be allowed to...damn thing cost a fortune yet most of the time away teams ban them from using it because theyre scared of a bit of atmosphere