Ireland v South Africa

[Conal]

i think the game would have been diffrent if poc and anyone but best where playing

i think only tonight have i realised how crucial to our front 5 poc is

 

[Peat]

Best's throwing went to **** during the game but thats due to the pressure of dealing with dodgy pods and Matfield and Smith lurking. Most hookers would crumble there. Best wasn't the problem. POC and Hayes missing though....

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Does anyone know where I can find some nice photo's of the match? I am looking for a nice photo of Lambie and Daniel making their debut

 

[durbutter]

I called it. i said; the SA forwards would beast us. Thats what happened. that was the difference.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Best's throwing went to **** during the game but thats due to the pressure of dealing with dodgy pods and Matfield and Smith lurking. Most hookers would crumble there. Best wasn't the problem. POC and Hayes missing though....

Best is just as bad for Ulster when the pressure is on.

 

[gingergenius]

Wow. Ireland couldn't have organised their opening game in a new stadium any worse.

Off the pitch - the fact it's called Aviva; the fact it's significantly smaller than Croke Park; the fact they ballsed up the ticketing so badly that the smaller stadium was only half full...

On the pitch - the crappy atmosphere throughout most of the match says it all. That stadium was quiet. Ireland were absolutely dreadful - these Springboks should have been taken to pieces by any international team worth their salt. I don't quite understand how it got so close, because there was no way Ireland were good for a draw.

I say this every international match, but Cian Healy should never be close to being capped. Anything he does well in the loose (which was nothing today) is completely undone by his inability to scrummage. I don't think I've ever seen a prop go backwards so consistently at international level. He'd get pushed around by Newcastle. Buckley was no better - it's a sorry state that accross 4 provinces there's not one single prop worth his salt, it lets the rest of the team down, considering on paper at full strength it's a class side from 4-15.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

i think only tonight have i realised how crucial to our front 5 poc is

In a way,
But Cullen did a fine job in O'Connells absence in the 6N, and I think if he's given the nod next week there should be an improvement in that area

 

[RoosTah]

Noticed there was a pretty poor crowd to this, which I thought was a bit unusual, because Ireland seem to pack out games against the All Blacks and Wallabies. Are the Irish Rugby public not all that interested in South Africa matches? and if not, why?

 

[King_D'Arcy]

1. Healy - not good enough. Idiotic knock ons and scrummaging is still shite. 2/10
2. Best - no comment. 1/10
3. Buckley - Rubbish 3/10
4. DOC - anonymous 4/10
5. MOD - I've always said it and always will say it; he will never ever ever be an international standard 2nd row. 2/10
6. Ferris - Decent 7/10
7. Wallace - Past it. Sean O'Brien please 4/10
8. Heaslip - Was alright but in a pack that lacked leaders needed to take charge and didn't do it. Same goes for DOC. 6/10
9. Reddan - South Africa's 16th man. 0/10 (I would go into negative marks but I wouldn't know how low to go)
10. Sexton - Wasn't given a chance to shine. Did what he could. I'd start him against NZ alongside Stringer (uuuggghhh) 6/10
11. Fitzgerald - Rugby brain. Totally deserves the 11 jersey. His return is the one bit of optimism I can take from this game. 8/10
12. D'Arcy - Pretty crap. Past it I'm sorry to say. 4/10
13. BOD - Relatively alright I guess... 6/10
14. Bowe - Try. 7/10
15. Kearney - I gave Bowe 7 because he scored a try and didn't do much wrong. Now Rob Kearney on the other hand will not receive the same treatment... This man, famed for his ability to win the high ball against anyone, absolutely point blank refused to challenge a 4 foot, 5 stone winger in a scrum cap posing as a fullback for the up and under on several occasions. This simply perplexes me. His decision making was crap. I thought he was on his way back to his old form but he had possibly the most nervous of games out of all the players today. 3/10

O'Gara - 8/10
Stringer - 8/10
Court - 8/10

 

[King_D'Arcy]

Noticed there was a pretty poor crowd to this, which I thought was a bit unusual, because Ireland seem to pack out games against the All Blacks and Wallabies. Are the Irish Rugby public not all that interested in South Africa matches? and if not, why?

Irish rugby has a very loyal fan base. When this new stadium was built the loyal Irish rugby fans were naturally excited about it. The Irish Rugby Football Union decided to take advantage of the supporters excitement. The greedy union attempted to exploit the fans loyalty by introducing a ticketing scheme for these Autumn internationals whereby one cannot just by a ticket for one match but must buy tickets for at least 3 of the 4 international matches at a cost of €350 for 3 tickets. Of course, being in the middle of our biggest economic recession ever, most people simply cannot afford these excessive prices.

 

[Sam Owen]

Finally seen this game, very good game.

I thought both teams can play better however the 'boks deserved their win.

 

[RoosTah]

Irish rugby has a very loyal fan base. When this new stadium was built the loyal Irish rugby fans were naturally excited about it. The Irish Rugby Football Union decided to take advantage of the supporters excitement. The greedy union attempted to exploit the fans loyalty by introducing a ticketing scheme for these Autumn internationals whereby one cannot just by a ticket for one match but must buy tickets for at least 3 of the 4 international matches at a cost of â'¬350 for 3 tickets. Of course, being in the middle of our biggest economic recession ever, most people simply cannot afford these excessive prices.

Wow... that kind of cynicism reminds me quite a lot of the ARU. The difference is that the ARU have the NRL and AFL offering better deals every week, so it seems even dumber down here :S .

Looked like it was a good game though. Was really hoping Ireland would get up though (usually I'd back the SH teams every time, but being that I hate South Africa and have Irish heritage, I could hardly do that on this occasion lol).

 

[lynam1104]

We lost that in the front 5 simple as that we had no set piece to work off.

Next week for Samoa we should try a few new things like BOD at 12 and Earls at 13 i also want to see Stringer and Sexton play together. Next week SOB has be at 7 i think Leamy deserves time at 6 or 8 doesn't really matter. Fitz and Ferris were Ireland best players. Ireland were all over the place in the fist half they needed more control instead Sexton just tried flinging the ball, the in the second half he kicked to much he needed to find that balance. Stringer looks like he did back in his prime and should start.

 

[coonor]

I think changes have to come. Kidney needs to be tough on players and show that if you play rubbish you don't get in the team. I think if we can just play a team that will give a solid set piece our backs will be able to run rapid. I think that our ball protection is awfull. We need to go through the phases using are strong ball carriers to draw in players at the breakdown and then realease our backs when they have the space.

 

[munstermuffin]

@Peat: How can't you blame Best, he has never been a good player throwing darts and well simply didnt deserve his start today as we had 2 better hookers on form. Also Hayes wasn't missing, he was dropped but Court did enough to impress me when introduced.

As for everyone sayin POC was a loss well of course he is a loss for any team but every team has injuries and well all going well Paulie may get a few mins for Munster against AUS or possibly delay a week or 2 but plan is he will feature against The Ospreys in H'Cup.

Also Dunc you can joke about ROG but well I think if you watch Munster's games this year it is noticeable that ROG's defense has improved massively and his attack has been altered by Tony McGahan and he is now attacking the line which is helping keep the ball & Tempo up.

But I really hope we test Earls at 13 with BOD at 12.

 

[Intercept King JDV]

Well done Boks!Can't believe that was only Juan Smith's 1st try in test rugby, thought he had scored a few already...and not least an intercept try

Zane Kirchner had a solid-ish game at 13 IMO, his drawing-in of the defender and off-load to Aplon for the try was great to see.

 

[durbutter]

I said it would happen. For Ireland to lose at home to such a weakend boks team says a lot.......

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Well done Boks!Can't believe that was only Juan Smith's 1st try in test rugby, thought he had scored a few already...and not least an intercept try

Zane Kirchner had a solid-ish game at 13 IMO, his drawing-in of the defender and off-load to Aplon for the try was great to see.

Eoin Reddan was at fault for both tries. He was very slow in getting the ball away from a poor lineout for Smith's try and was ball watching (thus leaving a massive gap) for Aplon's score. Reddan won't start a big game for Ireland again assuming other scrum halves are fit.

 

[Conal]

reddan my have shot himself in the foot for ireland selection to me he looked to a source for most of our problems
is it me or does he always take a few steos before passing? while stinger just passes it straight to the the outhalf?

 

[munstermuffin]

Snoop I agree with that Reddan is behind Stringer and IF Stringer continues his form then TOL deserves to be kept out because Stringers pass is a gem.
Also I think Johne Murphy deserves a chance and well Mike Ross should be given shot like let's see what they can do for us.
Also Varley and Cronin have to be our 2 hookers now.
I like Paddy Wallace but don't see what he'll offer us in fairness at this stage.