RWC Quarter Final: Ireland - Wales (08-10-2011, 18:00)

[TRF_Olyy]

Let's look at the latest stats as in pool stages, Ireland had 17 points, Wales had 15 points. However when it comes to PF Wales were the second top scoring team with 180 points, second only to NZ, Ireland only managed to score 135. When it comes to TF again Wales scoring 23 tries to Ireland's 15. When it comes to tries against, Wales 34, joint with Ireland and England second only to South Africa.

It will be a close game, but Wales have a 54% victory rate against Ireland. Both teams are equally matched and can preform, but I think Wales will have the upper hand here.

All the best to them though, ceart go leor!

Points against

England conceded 1 try, best in the tournament

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

I love statistics but it doesn't say anything... Did you know Georgia has the best kicking ratio when it comes to conversions at the World Cup?

 

[Johnsy]

Hoping for a nice dry hard pitch. If Wales can win their own line out ball and not mess up receiving restarts we will win. They haven't run too many plays off first phase and by all accounts they have a few saved for this game. O Gara or Cooper. I know who I'd rather defend against. D arcy is a poor mans Scott Gibbs o Driscoll is tired. Tommy bowe however is class and the biggest danger. Holding the man in possession off the floor was a great tactic by the Irish but going to ground early at a cost of a yard or two is a quick fix. Byrne will play we need that boot and he has just about got those angles back when entering he line. It's blasphemy but half penny should start Shane should come on after 60 and use those quick feet when all around are tired and he hasn't been bashed up by trying to be first receiver for most of the game. Priestland will start as he got that guarantee from Gats at the start. I would take hook as he is a better distributor and goal kicker.Rhys needs to quicken his pass. Scott should pip JD. JD reminds me too much of tyndall far to predictable and butchers opportunities that any of the kiwi centers nail 100% of the time. Hopefully Wales will realize all ball is good ball regardless of it being slow and commit numbers to the breakdown especially in the first twenty we will win. Get Luke jumping at two like he did against sa. Worry about having good tail ball late on. I've no doubt the Irish will have our jones jones calls worked out by now. Keep it simple so if that lanky dragons fag can't jump higher than anyone else he should be shot. End of the day if we can live with that awesome Irish back row who are second only to the kiwis we have a gd chance Ryan jones has to play. We need that nous

 

[TRF_Olyy]

While the Irish backrow is very very good, I think Wales should have the upper hand at the breakdown through Warburton
Ireland won't be playing a 7, whereas Warburton is on fantastic form and his establishing himself as one of the best 7s going
Heaslip is better than Faletau though, and Ferris is on fierce form - hopefully Lydiate will be fit for the match because he's better than Powell or Jones atm

 

[dullonien]

Yeh, Lydiate must start if fit, because he can keep O'Brien quiet by tackling him out of the game. I believe we've got the tools to keep Ireland quiet, but I'm not so sure they've got the tools to keep us quiet if we play well. I haven't seen anything from Ireland yet to suggest that they can fully compete with Warburton at the breakdown, or compete fully with our pace and power out wide. Once again, I can see Warburton, Roberts and North being the difference in this match, those three are on fire!

 

[timrees]

Would you **** off! 34000 people in 12 months for a population of 4 million is ****ing tough. Especially when it's pretty much all young people. Jobs market in the UK is tight but at least there is stuff out there. There is nathin' here.

I find the choice of language offensive. Do you find it totally necessary to use such language to get your point across?

 

[monkeypigeon]

Points against

England conceded 1 try, best in the tournament

Yeah, but England and Wales didn't have to deal with Russia. Easy to beat but absolutely intent on scoring tries. Funnily enough they got none against USA but two against Ireland and three each against Italy and Australia.


I think Wales will win due to superiority at the breakdown and Ireland being down to their third choice hooker (seeing as Best's injury looks bad) - Cronin's never played in the Heineken Cup, hasn't played Pro12 rugby except with Connacht, so the quality is a major step up and I doubt he'll be able to handle it.

There's alot of talk about the Wales backline but I'm not hugely concerned about it. The Irish backs have been a bit unimaginative going forward but have defended very well. SO long as there's no loosing kicking I don't think that will change.


Obviously I'll be cheering hard for Ireland but either way I'll be cheering for the winner of this quarter. I watch alot of the Welsh teams (being in the Pro12 and all) and the Irish and Welsh guys seem to get on really well off the pitch (see Lions tours) and have fairly evenly matched for the last few years, so I hope that if Ireland can't do it, that Wales manage to get to the World Cup final and do the job!!

Edit: though Wales do have an advantage with Warbby at 7, I don't think it'll be as huge as poeple think, Ireland have been without a natural ball-getting 7 for years and have still managed to deal with teams that have had such players (except New Zealand). I'm more concerned about Jamie Roberts than Wales' pace and power out wide. Most teams have pace and power outwide, we have solid defence in the back three.

 

[dullonien]

Dullonien I have to slightly disagree with you on somethings, I think the packs are both equally equipped and well Warburton will argubally have 1 of the biggest tests in his test career containing an on-form O'Brien and well Ferris is in magical form.

While you mention Wales may target O'Gara, facts show O'Gara delivers more often when he is the one targeted. But the added bonus now is O'Gara is probably in some of the best form he has ever shown in a green jersey, and well if he doesn't start then we have Sexton who is in great form and well I think his poor goal-kicking has overshadowed his good form in the other areas of his game.

In the back's D'Arcy and BOD will be a match for anyone and well Wales back 3 are in good form but are up against a back 3 that are just as dangerous.

And well you talk about bench options but while you mentioned a possible Welsh bench with a few returning from injury Ireland have a bench who are on form also and can contribute.

Same can be said of O'Brien, can he contain Warburton at the breakdown? Ferris is in great form aswell, but so are Lydiate and Faletau, Ryan Jones aint too bad either.

I was talking about O'Gara's defense, there's every opportunity Wales will cause havok running through O'Gara. North has been used to very good effect attacking the 10 channel in the pool games, and I can see it continue. Afterall, the Irish backrow will have their hands full keeping the Welsh backrow quiet, and the Irish centres have a little thing called Jamie Roberts to worry about, as well as Hook/Williams/Davies. I'm not sure Ireland can babysit O'Gara like they used to when Wallace would cover for him defensively, but we'll wait and see. It's a pitty Sexton is struggling with the boot at the mo, I feel he's a much better player than O'Gara in most other aspects of the game, especially defensively.

I still don't think D'Arcy and O'Driscoll have been playing all that well this world cup. They've been solid and steady, but nothing special. O'Driscoll still has his moments, but his presence is waning slightly (especially at the breakdown after the rule change). D'Arcy has only just got some sort of form back, but that could disappear again easily. As for the back three, Bowe is good, but at this moment in time North is better. He's stronger, faster and has better feet, his support play has also been second to none. Earls and Halpenny are about equal, as are Byrne and Kearney (both returning from injury problems and poor form).

I still feel Wales' bench will be far superiour. Trimble is no match for Shane/Halfpenny. Sexton is a good option, but out of form with the boot, which is a big deal imo. We have a quality centre, or two in reserve. Our backup prop is of a very high quality who has been doing great in Gethins absense, and Bradley is another top performer despite a slight dip of form. Then there's our former Captain. Lloyd Burns is possibly the real weak link, but even he had a great game today! I don't think Irelands bench quite stacks up in comparision. But I'm probably making too big a deal of it anyway.

 

[dullonien]

Obviously I'll be cheering hard for Ireland but either way I'll be cheering for the winner of this quarter. I watch alot of the Welsh teams (being in the Pro12 and all) and the Irish and Welsh guys seem to get on really well off the pitch (see Lions tours) and have fairly evenly matched for the last few years, so I hope that if Ireland can't do it, that Wales manage to get to the World Cup final and do the job!

Fair play, I'll be doing the same if Wales loose. Not gonna happen though

 

[monkeypigeon]

Earls and Halfpenny always have cracking battles actually. Not convinced by North, I can see that he's a good player but I think there's a bit too much hype there (oppinion, don't bite off my head).

Trimble is a match for Shane/Halfpenny. If Shane Williams was half the player he was 5 seasons ago he'd be starting and Trimble is on the form of his career, but just doesn't seem to be getting the nod for some unknown reason.

I agree about the front row quality coming off the bench though. Huge gap in quality. Sexton looked good with the boot today when he came on so I'm not overly worried.

 

[dullonien]

Earls and Halfpenny always have cracking battles actually. Not convinced by North, I can see that he's a good player but I think there's a bit too much hype there (oppinion, don't bite off my head).

Trimble is a match for Shane/Halfpenny. If Shane Williams was half the player he was 5 seasons ago he'd be starting and Trimble is on the form of his career, but just doesn't seem to be getting the nod for some unknown reason.

I agree about the front row quality coming off the bench though. Huge gap in quality. Sexton looked good with the boot today when he came on so I'm not overly worried.

Shane might still start, but I know what you mean. He hasn't showed anything slose to the form of '08 in a while now. He's still easily capable of scoring some wonder try's though, as the 6 nations prooved. Still have him over Trimble anyday of the week. Trimbles an ok player, but nothing special imo. Halfpenny and Earls do have some awesome battles, just have to wait and see if Halfpenny starts, I think he might, because Gatland likes to reward good performances, and will have no problems benching Shane if he thinks Halfpenny is the correct choice.

I can't wait 7 days for this game, it's gonna kill me!

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Yeah, but England and Wales didn't have to deal with Russia. Easy to beat but absolutely intent on scoring tries. Funnily enough they got none against USA but two against Ireland and three each against Italy and Australia.

I know I know, I'm just doing the tabloid deal of trying to make our poor form look decent by pulling stats out of the bag with no context

 

[monkeypigeon]

I can't wait 7 days for this game, it's gonna kill me!

Ummm, I'm almost glad I have exams during the week....only almost, because if I didn't I'd just distract myself with FIFA12.

I was saying the same about Trimble until 2 months ago, He's got me convinced that HE GOT THE POWER!!! (que music)

 

[BladeMode]

My bet is on Wales. I have been seriously impressed with the way they have been playing. Every single game in this WC has been excellent. I would love to see Wales against the Kiwi's as I actually think they could give the Kiwi's a go. Their whole game structure is just bloody awesome. And it looks like they now have self believe to actually finish off opponents. The Irish reminds are ok. But I cant see them going through.

 

[Jockstap]

It will be a close game, but Wales have a 54% victory rate against Ireland.

Ya but Ireland have an 83% victory rate in the last 10 years so na na na na na.

Yeh, Lydiate must start if fit, because he can keep O'Brien quiet by tackling him out of the game.

LOL, good luck with that

Now don't get me wrong the Welsh have been playing well, but they haven't played a proper test team yet, ok they lost to a Springboks side playing their first game of the season, but let's be reaslistic here.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

This thread is brilliant, all the Welsh fans think they'll win no problem and The Irish fans think exactly the same about Ireland. There is no real conversation that doesn't involve Olyy or Ezequiel who are agreeing with each other that something one of the Irish or Welsh people said sounds good but doesn't have anything to do with the match.

 

[TNT88]

This thread is brilliant, all the Welsh fans think they'll win no problem and The Irish fans think exactly the same about Ireland. There is no real conversation that doesn't involve Olyy or Ezequiel who are agreeing with each other that something one of the Irish or Welsh people said sounds good but doesn't have anything to do with the match.

Agree, this game is going to have awesome atmosphere. But some very unhappy fans after.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

This thread is brilliant, all the Welsh fans think they'll win no problem and The Irish fans think exactly the same about Ireland. There is no real conversation that doesn't involve Olyy or Ezequiel who are agreeing with each other that something one of the Irish or Welsh people said sounds good but doesn't have anything to do with the match.

Sounds good!

 

[j-dawg]

Either way, one of these Celtic nations will go boldy where no Celtic nation hath gone before.

 

[Jockstap]

Either way, one of these Celtic nations will go boldy where no Celtic nation hath gone before.

Yup, it's new territory for Ireland, the problem is I don't know who I'd rather face in the Semis, the French who are playing terribly but have a great record against us, or the English who we have a great record against in recent years but always have the mental chops for the big games.