Italy v Ireland

[Sir Speedy]

Heaslip, Fitzgerald and BOD all looked superb for Ireland today.
Parisse and Castro superb for Italy once more. Italy seemed to lose the plot when the latter went off.
Ireland v Wales game looking nicely set up to be Lions deciders for many positions.
ROG was **** poor again, and I feel he's just going to slip off the Lions radar.
Ireland's 3rd try was touch and go. Thought there were two cases for obstruction by Ireland leading up to it.

One thing I've also noticed is that the three best sides still haven't got into first gear yet. I'm sure the third weekend will change that though with some mouth-watering contests. Wales, France and Ireland won't be fearing anything; it really is the most open 6N for a while.

 

[MunsterMan]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Prestwick @ Feb 15 2009, 04:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

I think Heaslip would make a good winger!!! The guy has insane pace when he gets going![/b]

Oh the irony! :lol:

 

[gingergenius]

I take back everything I said about England last week. Because maybe it's not a coincidence that I've fallen asleep through the 2nd half of an Italy game 2 weeks in a row.

Dreadful game, made interesting only in the 1st half when Italy really ought to have been 12-0 up and I was hoping for an upset. Ireland looked awful, scored 1 very lucky try (Bowe's no Usain Bolt is he?) and 1 try, which, fair play to them, they ground out in a very unimaginative English manner involving slow ball and retreat.

Can't comment on the 2nd half because as I said, I fell asleep. Looks like Italy fell to pieces and maybe Ireland moved up a gear.

 

[Cymro]

Poor game of rugby really

Star men as Sir Speedy said were Heaslip, Fitzgerald and BOD for Ireland and then Castrogiovanni, Griffin and Parrise for Italy!

 

[MunsterMan]

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

Can't comment on the 2nd half because as I said, I fell asleep. Looks like Italy fell to pieces and maybe Ireland moved up a gear.[/b]

Unfortunately not. Ireland came out flying after half time and scored a try, and then like you fell asleep for 30 minutes, they woke up with 5 to go and scored two more!

 

[monkeypigeon]

A wistle happy Chris Whit who couldn't do anything about the scrum didn't help.

 

[Cymro]

Nigel Owens was meant to ref but had the flu!

 

[monkeypigeon]

I love Nigel Owens. Nothing makes me happier than a match refffed my Nigel Owens.

I miss Joel Judtge too (or however the hell you spell that).

 

[MunsterMan]

Just because Munster/Ireland tend to have great days with them reffing :lol:

Jutge (Munster/Leinster 2006, Ireland/England 2007)

Owens (Munster/Toulouse 2008, Munster/Gloucester 2008, Ireland/France 2009)

For example! Jutge was supposed to make a comeback in round 5 of the 6N but isn't. Must need some more time get rid of the rust!

 

[monkeypigeon]

I just think that Jutge is hillarious and does a good job.

 

[Nidhogg]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Sir. Speedy @ Feb 15 2009, 06:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Parisse and Castro superb for Italy once more. Italy seemed to lose the plot when the latter went off.[/b]

Wait, what? Castro was a penalty machine, and had an average game overall. Parisse didn't give away penalties, but he wasn't on song either. His carrying was hardly to write home about, never really getting past the first tackler in contact, or making an impact out wide. He threw a wild pass to boot, and his most impressive effort was pushing away a small Irish back. He wasn't bad, but he can do much better than that.

Actually, the entire Italian pack was just not good today. They could only slow down things, didn't put up their hands at the line-out and were outsmarted by the Irish pack Italy have to fear the Scotland game by now, who actually have decent halfbacks and backs who can break the line on occasion, rather than just shipping the ball on and ending up where they started, like the Italian backs.

Ireland have to feel confident ahead of the England game. Their pack was pretty stable, with Heaslip, Ferris and POC leading the charge. The backs were not up to much, but defended well and managed to click once or twice, which proved enough against the Italians, but if Englands defence do manage to click again, they might become unstuck and have to scrape out a win through the boot of O'canonlykickAra.

 

[shtove]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Camberabero @ Feb 16 2009, 05:37 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

No Tries Conceded

How can you concede tries to a side who doesn't know how to score ???

Ireland did his pretty good job against a very poor team.

For the italian medias the second half was a massive effort by the Irish to take the azzurri in their own half.......so you can immagine how the italians understand rugby :huh:

I appreciated the game because it showed how many difference there is between a good international side and a poor local one. Ireland played a compact game. Italy finished the fuel at 38th minute. That's All.

Congratulations and thanks because you did help us to understand once again we're not able to play this level. That's so important because a lot of people (also the Italian Rugby Union President Mr Dondi) belive that we can beat anybody [/b]

Yeah, it's disappointing.

Italy can keep possession. They can grind you up front. And they can move the ball around, but ...

Mid way through first half they had five minutes of possession and kept passing out wide - result? Moved back and forth between their 10 m line and half way. Ireland were comfortable keeping them in check.

Italy fans must have a lot of questions. Going out to slow the game - as Nidhogg points out - is not good enough.

 

[JohnBE]

how can you say O'Gara played badly?.. or **** poor.. he played quite well and pinned italy back in the second half

 

[shazbooger]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (JohnBE @ Feb 15 2009, 09:38 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

how can you say O'Gara played badly?.. or **** poor.. he played quite well and pinned italy back in the second half[/b]

They always say it. Regardless of how he does for Ireland or Munster he always has a **** game. You get used to it

What was it in the end +29 points or something. Lucky enough really as there were two intercepts in there.

Chris White should be shot. Not for the penalty count as both teams gave him the opportunity to ping them, but for not sorting it out good and early. THAT "tackle" in the first minute was a straight red. The scrums were a disaster and you have to blame the ref for that, get in and sort it out, threaten to send all the props off, do somthing ffs.

 

[MunsterMan]

In fairness he had a poor first half, had to run a lot more than usual due to Italy rushing up out wide and rarely got past the first tackler. If he had played well, we could have absolutely hammered them.

 

[monkeypigeon]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (MunsterMan @ Feb 15 2009, 09:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

In fairness he had a poor first half, had to run a lot more than usual due to Italy rushing up out wide and rarely got past the first tackler. If he had played well, we could have absolutely hammered them.[/b]

I agree, his kicking was below average in the first half, though we all know he hates that mitre ball.
My main problem was that he kept on running into dead ends. Which wasn't a good idea because the Italians will just turn the focking ball over or slow it down so it's not out for half an hour.

 

[shazbooger]

Meh its the age old debate. Slow ball means no time. No time makes you look like a bad player.

Things improved once Stringer came on. No pricking about just get the ball out fast.

Maybe O'Gara was brutal, maybe Dan Carter would have looked brutal if given that quality of ball.

 

[An Tarbh]

didn't see all the game unfortunately.

Ireland winning well without playing anywhere near up to par, definite positive.
O'Gara sorting his game out at the break, I was a little confused to see him restarting the second half but the try was scored on 41 minutes and he went off on 31, needed to think about that one though.
How it wasn't a straight red is beyond me, White taking the cop out option with the yellow
Castrogiovanni is a cheating prick, yes I know he's a Leicester player but there must have been at 4 penalties conceded by him in the first half and yet no sign of a card.
How much more blood will Paddy Wallace have to spill for Ireland in this championship, there's devotion to duty but this above and beyond!

 

[getofmeland]

Match Stats from todays Game [attachment=162:MatchFac...15.02.09.pdf]

 

[dullonien]

If people couldn't see O'Gara was terrible today, god knows whats wrong with you (looking at you JohnBE). In the first half, he kicked the ball out on the full, then promptly didn't send a restart 10m. Later on in the half, he had his kick charged down and got yellow carded. He was constantly running down blind alleys, getting turned over a few times, and knowing him missed quite a few tackles!

In the second half, he improved somewhat, put in a couple of decent touch finders etc. but still ran into dead ends and was generally average. Those two combined = poor, very poor.