Ireland v South Africa

[Teh Mite]

Ireland v South Africa

V

6th November, Lansdowne Road
​

 

[lynam1104]

First Intentional game in the new Landsdown so Ireland would be hoping to win it, witch despite out forum during g the summer tour i think we can. If the back line flows like the leinstet back line did against racing then we should be on par or better. In the pack is where i can see the SA advantage with no POC I think they will struggle while DOC has shown great leadership while POC has been out hes not on the same level, the entire SA pack is better than ours on paper but if the lads front up we might be able to stop them in the back row and front row(doubt it). If we do manage that we should win out back line is much better and we know Sexton can kick the points basically it's up the the pack to front up and stop the SA pack.

 

[Teh Mite]

I think the whole Bok team is better man-for-man on paper. That said, the P Divvy element is a factor - Like him or loathe him, Kidney is infinitely better at putting a team together and making that team play for each other.

I wouldn't want to call this one.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Agree with Bullit,
SA has massive amounts of talent, but then just don't work properly on the pitch.
No John Smit means one more forward getting stuck in around the pitch (not saying Smit isn't a good player, just that he's looked f***ed for a while now, and needs a rest)

I think this'll be VERY close. South Africa will be out for blood though, after losing last year. Ireland have got to hope that there's a crapload of mist/fog again so that Steyns kicking is affected

 

[lynam1104]

I think that Sexton is better than Steyn, currently most of Ireland's 11 are on better form than Habana, at 12 D'Arcy i think is on good forum but De Villiers is better, BOD not at his best but still a great player his deference will be enough to stop Forie and in attack he has his mind but not the pace, at 14 Tommy Bowe was one of Ireland's best players and for the O's whose game plan suites him more, and if they field Steyn then after last week we know whose on top if it's Aplon i wouldn't compare the two because i don't think ive seen enough of Aplon. They win all over in the pack though
Edit on olyy's point funny how the fog didn't effect Sexton is't it.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Edit on olyy's point funny how the fog didn't effect Sexton is't it.

Thought that at the time, wasn't complaining though :lol:
It was odd how Steyns kicking from hand was falling way short as well, in it
Obviously not used to bad weather in Cape Town

 

[lynam1104]

Thought that at the time, wasn't complaining though :lol:
It was odd how Steyns kicking from hand was falling way short as well, in it
Obviously not used to bad weather in Cape Town

Are you insulting Irish weather?

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Nah, it's lovely...if you're a fish

 

[lynam1104]

dam i can't think of a witty comeback you win.

 

[Boggle]

Jacque Fourie won't be playing as far as I can tell, he might be injured for an entire season.

I'm just peeved at the the fact that -this- is the year we're finally doing a grandslam tour again and it's the year the Boks have been playing like utter crap, not to mention that somehow PDV keeps screwing up and getting away with it.
At the moment I have no idea what to make of our chances, we could very well win all our games, and we could lose them all just as easily.

I hate this.

 

[lynam1104]

so who would repalce Fourie hes the only good SA 13 i can think of. They could win all thier games... with a different coach not P Divvey he will chose a bad team somwgere along the line. I hope it's the first game hopefully he will play the orange Scrum half whats his name? not the in form Hoggard oh and i would like Zane what ever his last name is at FB that would really further our chances.

 

[Boggle]

Well I can see De villiers using the WP combination of Jean de Villiers and Jean De Jonge.

De Jonge is still a good player at 13, De villiers was pretty great against the sharks on the weekend, and he really should be playing at 12, it just ups his game so much when he's playing in the correct position.

 

[lynam1104]

Ahh forgot about De Joung he is a very good player from what ive seen he has nice feet, a good partnership even if they are both 12's.

 

[Feicarsinn]

If Leo Cullen is fit (which he should be) I'll be pretty confident of a win. Our backs are sharper, our forwards are good (it'll be interesting to see how Kidney plays the front row actually. Healy and Buckley are immense in the loose but Ross and Court are a very good scrummaging unit.) and should be able to achieve parity. Sexton is a far, far better player than Steyn to boot (hah, punny). However without Leo our second row doesn't look fantastic and I'd be worried about securing possession.

Ireland by 10.

 

[lynam1104]

Hmm i bit hopeful thinking would you play Leo and DOC in 2nd row or would you have different players?

 

[Feicarsinn]

Hmm i bit hopeful thinking would you play Leo and DOC in 2nd row or would you have different players?

Leo and Donncha are the best second rowers we have, bar none. They're the obvious choice to take the 4 & 5 shirts if fit.

I really don't think I'm being that hopeful at all. South Africa are a team in decline who don't appear to have adapted very well to the new law interpretations. In contrast, our boys finally seem to be hitting form with the likes of D'arcy, Kearney, Sexton and Fitzgerald all looking like new players. We actually have some options in the front row for once with at least two men fighting it out for each spot. Their lineout is very strong, but we have some quality players in that department too. Our backrow can certainly go toe to toe with theirs, especially if Sean O'Brien and Jamie Heaslip hold their current form and we can get Ferris back.Our coaching staff is light-years ahead of theirs at the moment as well, which is a massive advantage.

Maybe it'll be closer, but I still think we should take a good win.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

In last year's game South Africa ***** slapped the Ireland scrum all day long but they were quite poor in open play. I haven't seen enough from them to think that their backs have improved to give them a cutting edge. I'm also unsure whether they'll give their all under their hopeless head coach- a poor tour could rid the of the PdeV plague.

In the last meeting, Ireland were also bereft of ideas behind the scrum. Alan Gaffney did a lot of good getting Johnny Sexton up to international speed but his coaching of a back line leaves a lot to be desired - look at how Leinster's try scoring totals dropped dramatically during his tenure there and how it's increasing equally dramatically under the new coaching setup.

Hopefully Ireland go with the only decent scrummaging tighthead we have (Mike Ross) and try to get the ball in their backs hands in open space. If they do that, I predict a comfortable Ireland win by 10-15 points.

 

[Feicarsinn]

I'm very happy with how Mike Ross is operating this season. He's been brilliant in the tight and none too shabby in the loose, that is, a lot less lazy than last year. He should start if we want to be competitive in the scrum.

If John Hayes plays I'm going to shoot Deccie Kidney.

 

[lynam1104]

shoot john hazyes frist that way we don't have to shoot Decci

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Ross has been terrific. It's barely been acknowledged but he made a key carry right before Sean O'Brien's try on Saturday and was right on Richardt Strauss' shoulder for the hooker's score. I don't know whether his conditioning has improved or the fact that he's getting a run of games is boosting his confidence but whatever it is, hopefully it'll continue. He wasn't bad last season putting in a lot of solid performances but he's really got his ass in gear now. At 30 he's still got another 3 or 4 years of quality rugby ahead of him too.