[November Tests 2017 EOYT] Ireland vs. South Africa (11/11/2017)

[SomeOke]

I don't think Vented is in particularly good form, neither is Rohan, our form 12 is probably Marius Louw. There has to be some sort of cut off in terms of caps over debutant.

Serfontein was playing well but sadly the lure of money has snagged him.

 

[JohnKA]

Marius Louw is still a rough diamond and according to the Sharks AM prefer playing 12 , but i guess this is going to come down to i am a AM fan and you a DDA XD

I don't think Vented is in particularly good form, neither is Rohan, our form 12 is probably Marius Louw. There has to be some sort of cut off in terms of caps over debutant.

Serfontein was playing well but sadly the lure of money has snagged him.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

https://shop.irishrugby.ie/images/m...te-professional-jersey-p4579-4153_related.jpg

I think we'll be wearing this, it's a pity we couldn't play last year when we'd have been wearing a sexy red wine coloured jersey!

 

[SomeOke]

I like AM and I'd probably prefer to see him over Kriel but I was under the impression Am was a 13, he played wing for the Kings when he was with them, so I suppose I assumed he was more of a 13/14 than a 12/13.
To me a 12 has to be a secondary distributor, or a first phase ball runner, I don't really consider Am to be either.

In the end I would actually be totally fine with DDA getting dropped so he could find form again at domestic level. The vitriol he receives just annoys me sometimes. The same goes for Pollard, don't hate on a guy who has been mostly injured for the past 2 years.

 

[JohnKA]

AM played some games at 12 for the Sharks this currie cup , he is very creative and in a interview he said that he enjoys playing 12 , i prefer him at 13 ...

Mostly bashing DDA because he is way out of form and does not belong there for now but i guess we should bash AC for picking out of form players ... DDA does not pick himself and who would say no to playing for the bokke

 

[MikeTheNative]

It's a similar situation with Cuthbert and Wales where he kept being picked despite being out of form and low on confidence. He continued his poor form for Wales and everyone started to get on his back.

 

[sharkfan]

I don't know how Kriel keeps getting selected. He is one of the most average centres amongst the tier 1 teams. At least De Allende can run over people and slide tackles now and again. Kriel literally gets the ball runs sideways dummies and then gets tackled every single time.

Yes, there's nothing special about him, very average. He and DDA were good back in 2015, and after both had a good performance against the all blacks in the home game of the RC, they were seen as the next big center pairing to replace Jean De Villiers and Jaque Fourie. But injuries and a drop in form were very disruptive in them developing a true partnership in midfield.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Ominous feeling yet to go away. Losing this would be the worst loss so far this year I think, I could see injuries to Best, RK and Sexton putting us on the back foot. I think we're the better team 1-23 overall but that hasn't stopped us losing before.

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

In the England thread the idea of core positions and the depth of players in these positions is being discussed and it raised a question for me: is there any nation in the world that relies on one player not to get injured more than Ireland rely on Murray?

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

While Conor Murray is clearly Ireland's best scrum half by quite some distance, in March Ireland did beat a Grand Slam chasing England team without an injured Murray in the squad.

 

[Groundhog]

In the England thread the idea of core positions and the depth of players in these positions is being discussed and it raised a question for me: is there any nation in the world that relies on one player not to get injured more than Ireland rely on Murray?

Yes. Ireland's reliance on Sexton is a whole lot higher than our reliance on Murray, especially without Jackson.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Scotland and Russell.
Ireland and Sexton. (Much more important than Murray, easily our/the world's best player)
I think England would fall off as much without Farrell to be honest. (Losing Murr, not Sexton)
Aus and Foley, they have one 10 in that country.

 

[unrated]

Springboks should target Stander as retribution for his late tackle on Lambie that caused him to move to France.
That game last year might just have been his last International appearance.

Our overall history vs Ireland is good the recent recent history between Ireland and South Africa has favoured Ireland.
Springboks are at a low point in their history. Ireland have been playing well, game is at home and their supporters are confident of a victory.
I still think we can win Ireland at home but our confidence has been dented as a result of results under AC.
Id say this is Irelands to lose but Boks by 8.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Springboks should target Stander as retribution for his late tackle on Lambie that caused him to move to France.
That game last year might just have been his last International appearance.

Jesus Christ I didn't think he hit him that hard, that's 9,000 km!

 

[SomeOke]

CJ Stander makes me sad, Heineke Meyer told him he was too small, but since AC has taken the reigns the likes of Kriel and Kolisi have cemented their places in the springbok line up, and they're both shorter than Stander, and not bigger either.
I have no doubt had he stayed in SA he'd be capped for us already but what can you do. I still wish him well.

What's the weather like in Dublin today?

 

[Leinster Fan]

What's the weather like in Dublin today?

Cloudy but as I say this it's just started to to rain. Could just be a shower though.

 

[SomeOke]

Cloudy but as I say this it's just started to to rain. Could just be a shower though.

Hmm I think the one aspect where we categorically can't compete with the Irish is the kicking battle so that's not great for us.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Scotland and Russell.
Ireland and Sexton. (Much more important than Murray, easily our/the world's best player)
I think England would fall off as much without Farrell to be honest. (Losing Murr, not Sexton)
Aus and Foley, they have one 10 in that country.

Yeah, plus Marmion is a very able deputy at scrum-half in my opinion.

 

[munstermuffin]

Whatever the opinion of AKI. This could be the hardest hitting 10-12-13 axis Ireland has ever had

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

I don't know if it is my eyes but the clash of kits is awful.

Awful by DDA. I hate ragging on players, but really.