13-3 at the moment to Ireland, although there should be another 3 for Fiji once they restart, bad looking injury there for Leamy, never stops with him. Chance though for O'Brien to see if he's up to international rugby.
Great game from Sexton so far, some lovely breaks but no doubt the only Fiji excuse will be used against anything positive he does. One thing is for certain he looks extremely comfortable at this level.
Sexton was...well he was Johnny Sexton. A superb performance albeit behind a dominant pack. His goal kicking was perfect and I'd say Shtove was creaming himself when he saw the crosskick come off in the first half. Must start versus South Africa.
Buckley looked very good in the lose when he came on and we'll have to wait and see how Leamy gets on. Looked like a serious enough injury though.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (feicarsinn @ Nov 22 2009, 07:11 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>
Sexton was...well he was Johnny Sexton. A superb performance albeit behind a dominant pack. His goal kicking was perfect and I'd say Shtove was creaming himself when he saw the crosskick come off in the first half. Must start versus South Africa.[/b]
The boys in the studio assumed ROG will start next week. Interesting.
Overall, it was like the good old days under Eddie, when the team used to flow against limited opposition. Deccie seems to have added some steel for the big matches.
Sexton was fantastic, nearly flawless. I can only recall one situation where he didn't do the 100% right thing. Should start next week.
Earls was good too, and Ferris was looked to be playing pretty well. Hope he can compensate for missing the Lions tests by tearing Brussow and co. a new arsehole next week.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (MunsterMan @ Nov 21 2009, 11:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>
Sexton was fantastic, nearly flawless. I can only recall one situation where he didn't do the 100% right thing. Should start next week.
Earls was good too, and Ferris was looked to be playing pretty well. Hope he can compensate for missing the Lions tests by tearing Brussow and co. a new arsehole next week.[/b]
Hmmm. Hayes was getting a good grip and stopping his loosehead from binding. And one Fiji scrum blew apart so hard it looked like their hooker stepped on a landmine.
SA are variable in the front row. Hayes dealt with the Beast quite nicely in the third Lions test. And Smit is not up to much at tighthead.
Haha! WTF do I know about the scrum?
Back to Sexton - Humps the Elder and Gaillimh on BBC NI were sure ROG will start next week. Humps wasn't getting overexcited, and he knows his stuff. But do we have a Carter in the making? The only box I couldn't tick as excellent from this performance was defence because I simply didn't see him having to make any tackles - everything else clear as a bell. Had to duck out occasionally during the 90 mins (!), and I don't think defence has been a concern with Sexton before. Any views?
Hmmm. Hayes was getting a good grip and stopping his loosehead from binding. And one Fiji scrum blew apart so hard it looked like their hooker stepped on a landmine.
SA are variable in the front row. Hayes dealt with the Beast quite nicely in the third Lions test. And Smit is not up to much at tighthead.
Haha! WTF do I know about the scrum?
Back to Sexton - Humps the Elder and Gaillimh on BBC NI were sure ROG will start next week. Humps wasn't getting overexcited, and he knows his stuff. But do we have a Carter in the making? The only box I couldn't tick as excellent from this performance was defence because I simply didn't see him having to make any tackles - everything else clear as a bell. Had to duck out occasionally during the 90 mins (!), and I don't think defence has been a concern with Sexton before. Any views?
[/b][/quote]
All the commentators were saying that ROG would probably start next week.
But common sense would suggest that Sexton start + Kidney gave Sexton and O'Leary 30 minutes together and surely there's a reason for that.
RDIT: TOL was better than he's been in yonks when he came on. Mainly because there was no stupid box kicks.
Well as Sexy as Sexton's performance was we do have to remember the opposition was no great shakes. That's why I think it's really important that he gets to start next week. I don't want to have to go into another 6 nations with only one Outhalf who has proven himself against World Class opposition. Let's accept the fact that these games don't have a great amount of bearing on anything really and exploit the opportunity they present to blood new players.
Whoah, easy now! Sexton was very good but it was only one game against Fiji. He has a long way to go before he can come close to Carter's consistently excellent level. What I would be prepared to say is that if he continues his rapid rate of improvement, he'll reach levels I haven't seen in an Irish flyhalf for a very long time. He combines David Humphreys flair with Ronan O'Gara's tactical appreciation.
Any word on Jerry Flannery? I was being ****** on in the North Stand and couldn't see what happened to him.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (feicarsinn @ Nov 22 2009, 12:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>
Well as Sexy as Sexton's performance was we do have to remember the opposition was no great shakes. That's why I think it's really important that he gets to start next week. I don't want to have to go into another 6 nations with only one Outhalf who has proven himself against World Class opposition. Let's accept the fact that these games don't have a great amount of bearing on anything really and exploit the opportunity they present to blood new players.[/b]
World champions. From the SH. We've never beaten SH world champions. And ROG has played great against SA in Dublin. He'll accept this as his swansong, play a great game, and then hand over to the new guy. But life doesn't work that way.
p.s. We're going to need a nickname for Sexton for the next 5+ years, but his name is a problem. JaysuS?
