Ireland v New Zealand (13/11)

[Leonormous Boozer]

Not sure how this weekend will go. Monumental game for the Farrell regime you'd have to think. Few decent performances now, albeit only one against a top side in England. A win here will really solidify him for the foreseeable. A loss and suddenly England is a fluke and the media and public who are already pretty lukewarm will turn on him.

In terms of changes, I could see JGP dropping out for Murray and Henderson maybe coming in to the side for someone. Lowe will probably be retained after Saturday. If Henshaw is only being reintegrated into the team across the week I don't think he will make the 23 to be honest.

Youre forgetting that Henshaw literally leaks testosterone out of every orifice in his manly body.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

I don't think I've watched a minute of that game since the final whistle, couldn't stomach the post-game at the time. I'm not watching that vid, honestly the worst single moment I've had as a fan of sport.

I see the build up to this week will be along the lines of "You're favourites", "No, you're favourites" and so on! We've had a bad few years since 2018, hard to tell if we're actually on an upward trajectory. Upping our game v England in Twickenham has often been how we paper over cracks and throwing the ball about against teams of Japan's level has never been beyond us.

Better for you and Irish posters here?

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Getting my crystal ball out here and this is our last chance to beat NZ before 2035.

Next possible meeting - 2023 RWC QF, need I say more?
Following that Joe Schmidt will take over after NZ's SF loss and Joe's 2023 Superrugby grand slam. This starts a period of dominance and a RWC threepeat before Joe realises it was always about Leinster for him and he comes home.

 

[jcahill1]

Getting my crystal ball out here and this is our last chance to beat NZ before 2035.

Next possible meeting - 2023 RWC QF, need I say more?
Following that Joe Schmidt will take over after NZ's SF loss and Joe's 2023 Superrugby grand slam. This starts a period of dominance and a RWC threepeat before Joe realises it was always about Leinster for him and he comes home.

Do we not tour NZ next summer?

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Do we not tour NZ next summer?

Forgot about that. Three wins so and my morning's work ruined.

 

[big ginger 8]

'One out-half isn't going to win you the World Cup, you need two' https://the42.ie/5596211

Some interesting thoughts from ROG.

 

[jcahill1]

'One out-half isn't going to win you the World Cup, you need two' https://the42.ie/5596211

Some interesting thoughts from ROG.

Yeah, as much as I am cheering on Sexton at the moment, I remember how much Best slowed down before the last tournament. I think potentially there's room for Sexton in the squad for 2023, but there just as easily could be a total collapse at some point. I will say I think Healy will be our sub tighthead in 2023, he's looked fantastic there for Leinster.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

I mean most RWC I have seen have been won by a team with literally 1 Fly Half

 

[big ginger 8]

I wouldn't bet against Sexton maintaining his current level until the WC. That said I still think we have to manage him and curate other options. Play him this week and most of the 6N but given how well the break seems to have done him this summer leave him at home and really throw the other lads in the deep end.

 

[Reiser99]

I wouldn't bet against Sexton maintaining his current level until the WC. That said I still think we have to manage him and curate other options. Play him this week and most of the 6N but given how well the break seems to have done him this summer leave him at home and really throw the other lads in the deep end.

For me it's quite simple. Could he be playing at the same level at the world cup? Possibly? Will he? Who knows. What we do know is that he is getting older and the reality is that chances of injuries increase and it's harder to maintain that level. Look at AWJ, hurts his shoulder and now he's out again. Yes it can happen to any player, but the older you are, the harder and longer it is to recover. Would I bet against it? No, but I wouldn't bet on it either. Ireland really need to make sure they have other options because it is a risk. We're worried about it in England with a couple of positions such as 9 which is almost completely reliant on Youngs. I know it's slightly different as he's not actually the form 9, but if he gets injured we are left with very inexperienced options. Some of those options are very promising, but you don't want to go into a WC not knowing how they'll perform.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

At this point of the last cycle we had two guys who looked like they had world class potential, one got caught up in a rape case, the other has been shattered by injuries to the point where he's a worse player now than he was after less than 10 pro games under his belt.

This time we have one kid who has potential and he can't stay fit. I don't think anyone has their head in the sand, thinking Johnny will play enough minutes to guarantee we do well at the world cup (he didn't at 33 or 29, so age isn't the only factor here either). Equally, we literally only have a few longshots when it comes to producing an international class 10 by 2023, which is basically a write off anyway with our draw. Focus on now and give guys chances when we can, like Argentina next week, I'd probably throw Harry in at the deep end with Johnny in reserve.

 

[Kiwiwomble]

I see the build up to this week will be along the lines of "You're favourites", "No, you're favourites" and so on!

I'm choosing to see it more as a big game where the result is far from a foregone conclusion, exciting, i can only hope its as good a game as that one, even if a different result

I can honestly say there were lots of kiwis that enjoyed watching the loss to SA more than the win the week before, a lot of us just want to watch a good game of code

 

[NZbloke]

We all want to see good games of rugby... unfortunately the refs play a big part in mucking up the game with pedantic refereeing & not giving a stuff about the offside rule.

Why would any kiwi enjoy us losing to the Boks or any other side ? - supporters of any team are never going to enjoy it when their team loses... but if another team performs better on the day & wins, all credit to them, doesn't mean you have to like it though

 

[Kiwiwomble]

We all want to see good games of rugby... unfortunately the refs play a big part in mucking up the game with pedantic refereeing & not giving a stuff about the offside rule.

Why would any kiwi enjoy us losing to the Boks or any other side ? - supporters of any team are never going to enjoy it when their team loses... but if another team performs better on the day & wins, all credit to them, doesn't mean you have to like it though

not true for everyone, these games are effectively friendlies, lots of people would rather see a good game we lose than a rubbish game we win like the first SA test

lots of us like rugby more than winning

 

[Five Meters Out]

"Lots of Kiwis" Womble!! How many? I'm with NZ Bloke 100% on this one. Who on earth enjoys a loss to the Boks? And 99% of Kiwi's won't enjoy losing to the Irish, even if it's a great game of flowing end to end rugby, which it won't be.

 

[Kiwiwomble]

"Lots of Kiwis" Womble!! How many? I'm with NZ Bloke 100% on this one. Who on earth enjoys a loss to the Boks? And 99% of Kiwi's won't enjoy losing to the Irish, even if it's a great game of flowing end to end rugby, which it won't be.

Im on another more All Black focused forum too and there was lots of good chat after the boks loss, much more than after the win, same with my rugby club, everyone was much more engaged after the loss than the win

Im not saying i enjoying the losing in its own right but i'll take an good game of rugby and a loss over a shitty game and a win

Enjoyable rugby+win > Enjoyable rugby+loss > shitty game+win

all changes in a RWC or something of course as we're playing for something...but for dead rubbers or effectively friendlies...i like watching good rugby

I'm not saying you or anyone else has to feel this way, but i and most of my friends do, especially if im getting up at 2am to watch it, the result is all that matters i'll just get up in the morning and check the result

 

[NZbloke]

not true for everyone, these games are effectively friendlies, lots of people would rather see a good game we lose than a rubbish game we win like the first SA test

lots of us like rugby more than winning

When I was playing sport had a very competitive mindset, if you have your foot on the oppositions throat keep it there & finished them off - one of the main reasons the ABs have the best win/loss record in the history of the game is because of their ruthless attitude throughout the years.

 

[Derpus]

not true for everyone, these games are effectively friendlies, lots of people would rather see a good game we lose than a rubbish game we win like the first SA test

lots of us like rugby more than winning

Have you ever actually met another Kiwi?

 

[NZbloke]

Im on another more All Black focused forum too and there was lots of good chat after the boks loss, much more than after the win, same with my rugby club, everyone was much more engaged after the loss than the win

Naturally there will be a bit more discussion about a team losing as it highlights plenty of areas where they need to be improve on in their next match - even if a teams wins there are always some areas they have to work on better too... doesn't matter how good any team is, if they're always looking to improve it makes them focus better & also keeps their standards up, same principal applies to anyone's job.

 

[Kiwiwomble]

When I was playing sport had a very competitive mindset, if you have your foot on the oppositions throat keep it there & finished them off - one of the main reasons the ABs have the best win/loss record in the history of the game is because of their ruthless attitude throughout the years.

im not sure what i said that was different to that, never said dont try and win

Naturally there will be a bit more discussion about a team losing as it highlights plenty of areas where they need to be improve on in their next match - even if a teams wins there are always some areas they have to work on better too... doesn't matter how good any team is, if they're always looking to improve it makes them focus better & also keeps their standards up, same principal applies to anyone's job.

it was quite literally more along the lines of "**** that was a good game, much better than last week"

some people really struggling with the idea that other people can think differently to them