France u-20 v Ireland u-20

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Coach Allen Clarke has named an unchanged side to the one which defeated Italy by a comprehensive 39 - 0 score-line last weekend in Dubarry Park.

Speaking of the game ahead, Coach Allen Clarke said: "We are aware that we have a much tougher game ahead of us on Friday than we had last weekend. That being said, we have prepared and planned well for this fixture. The team gelled well last weekend and we are focused on the task ahead."

The Ireland U-20 v France U-20 game will broadcast live on RTE 2 on Friday evening, coverage starting at 7.30pm..

IRELAND UNDER-20:

15: Andrew Conway (Blackrock College/Leinster)
14: Darren Hudson (St. Mary's College/Leinster)
13: Brendan Macken (Blackrock/Leinster)
12: Nevin Spence (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
11: Simon Zebo (Cork Constitution/Munster)
10: James McKinney (Queens University/Ulster)
9: John Cooney (UCD /Leinster)

1: Bryan Cagney (UCC/Munster)
2: Niall Annett (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
3: Jack O'Connell (Lansdowne/Leinster)
4: David O'Callaghan (UCC/Munster)
5: Ben Marshall (UCD/Leinster)
6: Rhys Ruddock (UCD/Leinster)(Capt)
7: Dominic Ryan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
8: Patrick Butler (Shannon/Munster)

REPLACEMENTS:

16: David Doyle (UCD/Leinster)
17: Stewart Maguire (Old Belvedere/ Leinster)
18 :Brian Hayes (Cork Constitution/Munster)
19: Robin O' Sullivan (Bective Rangers/Leinster)
20: Michael Heaney (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
21: Brian Kingston (Blackrock/Leinster)
22: Eoin Griffin (Corinthians/Connacht)

Taken from Leinsterrugby.ie hence all Leinster players are highlighted.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

IRELAND U-20 face a first real test of their Grand Slam credentials when they travel to face their French counterparts at Stade de la Chevaliere in Mazame tonight (RTÉ Two, 7.30pm).
Read more: http://www.breakingnews.ie/sport/?c=rugby&...u#ixzz0fJv5Q0Ii[/b]

The above line really bothers me. Yes, I'd like Ireland to win an under-20 Grand Slam but it's not the be all and end all. If 5 players from an under 20s setup go on to become regular internationals at senior level, it's generally a good return. I'd much prefer for Allen Clarke to try develop these players by allowing them express themselves than play 10 man rugby in the hope of winning a competition which is ultimately meaningless.

[/rant]

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

7 minutes in, Ireland lead 3-0.

Edit 1 - Frank Sheahan is a decent commentator but his pronunciation of players names is shocking!

Edit 2 - now 3-3 after 12 minutes.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Outstanding counter attacking try for France. Conversion missed from wide on the right.

8-3 to the home side, 22 minutes gone.

Edit - Ireland earn a penalty from the restart. Kicked by McKinney. 8-6.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Now 8-9 to Ireland. We're coming into it a bit more now.

French fullback Julien Fritz who's been the best player on the pitch, has gone off injured.

Edit - 8-12. McKinney nails an excellent kick just before the half time break.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Half time thoughts:

The French maul is their best weapon. Their back three are talented counter attackers when given the chance but the game plan seems to be to put snow on the ball at every opportunity. Their 10 is useless - poor kicker, poor passer and takes too much on himself.

Ireland have been okay. In Jack O'Connell we may finally have a tighthead! Zebo is having another good game - solid under the high ball, putting in big hits and attacking with real purpose. Macken, Hudson, McKinney, Annett and the flankers have looked impressive too.

Edit - 11-12, a minute into the 2nd half.

 

[shtove]

Snoopy wins the TRF Grand Slam For Talking To Myself thread.

Keep it up!

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (shtove @ Feb 12 2010, 08:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Snoopy wins the TRF Grand Slam For Talking To Myself thread.

Keep it up! [/b]

Trying to boost my post count!

14-12 to France after Ireland fail to deal with a couple of kicks. 53 gone. Ryan has given away three penalties leading to 6 points.

Now 17-12. France beginning to dominate the lineout and they just bullied Ireland in the last scrum.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Ireland kick a penalty after a good spell of pressure. 17-15. 20 to go.

Poor passing from the scrum half is holding the backline back.

Edit - 20-15. Annett gives away a silly penalty.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Full time, 20-15 to the home side.

Thoughts:
Conway is an exceptional runner; it's best that he moves to the wing in the long run. Spence explodes onto the ball but seems unwilling to pass to the detriment of the outside backs; he too is a winger. Macken has everything in his locker except a pass off his left hand. Kingston passes extremely well off both sides an threatened the French defence but suffered from terrible service from his scrumhalf John Cooney. Zebo and Hudson were very steady out wide. McKinney controlled affairs when he was on the pitch.

The scrum and lineout were magnificent in the 1st half and a shambles in the 2nd. The tight 5 didn't impose themselves. The backrow are all excellent players. If Stewart Maguire was an average sized player he wouldn't be close to the Leinster academy; he clearly can't scrummage.

The result is obviously a negative but the performance of 5 or 6 individuals is of far greater significance in the long run. In that regard, it was a useful exercise. With a new scrum half and a distributor at 12 (by accomodating Spence on the wing), this could be a seriously good team.

 

[cyRil]

Well there's luvlee.

 

[shtove]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (snoopy snoopy dog dog @ Feb 13 2010, 09:38 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Full time, 20-15 to the home side.

Thoughts:
Conway is an exceptional runner; it's best that he moves to the wing in the long run. Spence explodes onto the ball but seems unwilling to pass to the detriment of the outside backs; he too is a winger. Macken has everything in his locker except a pass off his left hand. Kingston passes extremely well off both sides an threatened the French defence but suffered from terrible service from his scrumhalf John Cooney. Zebo and Hudson were very steady out wide. McKinney controlled affairs when he was on the pitch.

The scrum and lineout were magnificent in the 1st half and a shambles in the 2nd. The tight 5 didn't impose themselves. The backrow are all excellent players. If Stewart Maguire was an average sized player he wouldn't be close to the Leinster academy; he clearly can't scrummage.

The result is obviously a negative but the performance of 5 or 6 individuals is of far greater significance in the long run. In that regard, it was a useful exercise. With a new scrum half and a distributor at 12 (by accomodating Spence on the wing), this could be a seriously good team.[/b]

Thanks for that. I've no idea about those players. Who's the star?

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Macken and Conway are the most hyped. There are quite a few excellent prospects on the team although there are 3 or 4 others who probably won't make it beyond AIL level in the long run.

 

[munstermuffin]

Snoop can you tell me about that Butler at 8 and Zebo on wing. Did I hear Zebo is from Cork Con as he's never been mentioned for Academy spot on Munster.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Zebo is indeed with Con. I wasn't really aware of him until last week so I could be way off the mark in my opinion of him. From what I've seen, he has bags of talent. He's blindingly quick, tries to get involved in the action, has a good boot on him, makes his tackles and has dealt with every high ball that has come his way. He seems to have quite a large frame too. The knock on him, from what I've heard is that he doesn't fancy doing the dirty work although my impression is that he does, albeit on limited evidence thus far. With good coaching, he could be an option for his province down the line but the road will be blocked for a while by Johne Murphy, Denis Hurley and Ian Dowling. If he's patient he stands a chance.

Butler was marked out as a fantastic prospect a couple of years ago in Rockwell. I think he's starting regularly for Shannon. Denis Leamy is the obvious comparison but I feel Butler may be a slightly less powerful ball carrier yet a more intelligent player who won't tuck the ball under one arm and will look to offload. His defence is very strong. In Butler, Brian O'Hara and Peter O'Mahony, Munster have a backrow with potential to carry them forward for the next 10 years+.

A lot was made of the small Munster representation in this squad but I think a few years from now they'll have just as many "graduates" from this team as Leinster will.

 

[King_D'Arcy]

I wasn't impressed at all by the Irish team. That was a seriously beatable French side. There were a few occasions where if the player with the ball had just passed it was a certain try, but players were more concerned with making themselves look godd than with doing the best for the team. Conway was particularly guilty of this. There were gaps opening up all over the place but Ireland never spotted them. Not a rugby brain amongst them. They just panicked whenever they got momentum and threw away posession.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (King D'arcy @ Feb 13 2010, 11:07 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

I wasn't impressed at all by the Irish team. That was a seriously beatable French side. There were a few occasions where if the player with the ball had just passed it was a certain try, but players were more concerned with making themselves look godd than with doing the best for the team. Conway was particularly guilty of this. There were gaps opening up all over the place but Ireland never spotted them. Not a rugby brain amongst them. They just panicked whenever they got momentum and threw away posession.[/b]

Disagree. Last week the reason Ireland scored so many tries was that players were unselfish - Conway in particular drew the last man on a couple of occasions before putting a winger throuh the gap. McKinney also did this. Against France, Macken was always looking to pop the ball up. The back row always turned and looked for support.

The reasons Ireland lost are they gave away stupid penalties, the pack didn't impose themselves and support runners didn't help the players who broke through the French defence quickly enough.

 

[munstermuffin]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (snoopy snoopy dog dog @ Feb 13 2010, 11:28 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (King D'arcy @ Feb 13 2010, 11:07 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I wasn't impressed at all by the Irish team. That was a seriously beatable French side. There were a few occasions where if the player with the ball had just passed it was a certain try, but players were more concerned with making themselves look godd than with doing the best for the team. Conway was particularly guilty of this. There were gaps opening up all over the place but Ireland never spotted them. Not a rugby brain amongst them. They just panicked whenever they got momentum and threw away posession.[/b]

Disagree. Last week the reason Ireland scored so many tries was that players were unselfish - Conway in particular drew the last man on a couple of occasions before putting a winger throuh the gap. McKinney also did this. Against France, Macken was always looking to pop the ball up. The back row always turned and looked for support.

The reasons Ireland lost are they gave away stupid penalties, the pack didn't impose themselves and support runners didn't help the players who broke through the French defence quickly enough.
[/b][/quote]
Agree with Snoop and well it was clear Ireland had the game to beat the French and it will be down as a lost opportunity.

Thanks for that update Snoop as I think I will follow that Zebo's path as I think he should be given a few ML games next season especially with the World Cup on the horizon.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

Ireland Under-20 coach Allen Clarke has retained the opening team that started against both Italy and France and has made just one change to the replacements bench where Shannon's Duncan Casey takes the place of UCD clubman David Doyle.[/b]

I'd have made a couple of changes. Tiernan O'Halloran deserves a shot on the wing (though it'd be harsh on Darren Hudson) and the scrum half should be swapped for his Michael Heaney.

 

[munstermuffin]

Anyone know is Sky or RTE will have this game or is it even on tv?