All Blacks v Ireland

[the gambler]

I can understand Heaslip's frustration but there is no excuse for what he did. From what I saw I would say 5 weeks is fair as I thought he was making contact with the thigh rather than the actual point of his knee but if that wasn't the case then he is very lucky.

For Ireland I thought Trimble was very good which surprised me after Thomo's spray but felt let down by Kearney. He had become one of my favourite players leading into the Lions tour but since then he has struggled every time I have seen him play. The first time was when I went to the opening game of the H.C and couldnt believe he was on the bench behind Nacwea but ever since I can see why Cheika made that call.

NZ look dangerous for the tri nations. I think they will win their games at home but struggle on the road.

 

[chief]

I think Ireland might have been in it had Heaslip done so. There was a possible try coming for Ireland. Who knew what might have happened.

 

[Lance Free]

Lance Free: I too saw the game. Let me ask please: assuming Ireland had preserved 15 players on the park for 80, do you think Ireland or Australia would have won on Saturday night in Perth if that Ireland team had played Oz instead of England?

Redshappy

Two things (although I guess its pure speculation):

I thought the ABs were looking ominous right from the start and if Heaslip had stayed on it wouldn't have made any difference to the result, just the score. Additionally, 'Ted' wouldn't have put all his reserves on that early either, so it's unlikely the Paddys would have scored 4 tries.

I think the Wallabies would have offered more than Ireland if it had been them instead of England in Perth. Scrummaging for the Wobblies would have also been an issue but the way they dominated every other phase of the game against the Poms suggests a similar result (not 66 points though). There were no suggestions early in the game that Ireland were any better than England.

 

[RedsHappy]

Redshappy

Two things (although I guess its pure speculation):

I thought the ABs were looking ominous right from the start and if Heaslip had stayed on it wouldn't have made any difference to the result, just the score. Additionally, 'Ted' wouldn't have put all his reserves on that early either, so it's unlikely the Paddys would have scored 4 tries.

I think the Wallabies would have offered more than Ireland if it had been them instead of England in Perth. Scrummaging for the Wobblies would have also been an issue but the way they dominated every other phase of the game against the Poms suggests a similar result (not 66 points though). There were no suggestions early in the game that Ireland were any better than England.

Thanks LF. Respect your points. I guess I conclude differently, on reflection. Whilst the ABs lapsed a tad in H2, it was admirable how the greens put on tries against the ABs despite a 14/13/14 man situation. And the ABs weren't playing or defending poorly then, they just got a bit complacent I thought. The greens' attack and defence and positional smarts struck me as way better than poor England's. I think it would have been very close if Ireland had been at Subiaco, not England, I think Ireland may have just won by 3-5 points. Somewhat, I make this point as, for me, the grand 'experimentation with youth' strategy has its limits and, as per Saturday, could lead to real disaster in some situations when not confronted by mediocre teams (as was England's).

 

[Scorz]

Never, Scorz. Just thought the idea of a Cantab outfit might stick in your craw a little!! Happy to see your contributions any day of the week...even Bledisloe week.

Sure does, but a bet's a bet... Am going to find on me-self since old Thomo's gone walkabout!

 

[PaarlBok]

Sure does, but a bet's a bet... Am going to find on me-self since old Thomo's gone walkabout!

Nice avator Broer. Thomo will be back, he is waiting when the Iere get stuck into the Aussies, pretty quick.

 

[Moses]

The Ireland v NZ Maori game looks pretty good

[video=youtube;YMitWaANpfo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMitWaANpfo[/video]

 

[Thomond78]

I'm actually starting to lose count of the number of easy pressure kicks to win/draw matches that Sexton has missed, lately. Because there's a loooooot of them...