Ireland v Australia, Dublin, 16 Nov 2013

[WorkingClassRugger]

No that it is far from obvious :/

It did improve markedly with Kepu starting and Alexander in the stands. Our best scrummsging front row is the Tahs combination. It's really that simple. But Slipper stood up today which was very pleasing.

 

[Hawko]

One small issue that seems to be unnoticed is that of all the players in the maul try you would have to say that Cummins positioning, body height and body drive were as good as you will see anywhere. You'd think that with an extra 20kg and a few centimetres, he'd make a great 6.

 

[Ruggo]

Good game from our front row. Our starting front row put in the hard yards so I'm not buying into the man love for the replacements. I think we played OK but in reality there is still much more room for improvement. It was great to see us get the job done none the less and go back to back. All our boys did there jobs on the paddock.

 

[Ruggo]

Still don't understand why Lilo is not going to 10 when Cooper is replaced. To'omua at 12 has been a revelation this year while Lilo's best play by far for the Brumbies was at 10 and he does not look comfortable at 12 for mine,

I agree. Also logically, your suggestion causes the least disruption when the change is made.

 

[Scotty]

Still don't understand why Lilo is not going to 10 when Cooper is replaced. To'omua at 12 has been a revelation this year while Lilo's best play by far for the Brumbies was at 10 and he does not look comfortable at 12 for mine,

It seems when Cooper goes off the organisation of the backline really takes a knock. It might just be the end of game craziness, but I suspect Cooper is also much better at getting the troops in position than To'omua or Lilo.

 

[mjw]

Can anyone help ? Earlier this year I thought that Les Kiss moved from Irish defence coach to attack coach. Has he moved back to defence ?

 

[Quick Hands]

It seems when Cooper goes off the organisation of the backline really takes a knock. It might just be the end of game craziness, but I suspect Cooper is also much better at getting the troops in position than To'omua or Lilo.

Or perhaps just the fact that the starting 10 has gone off which brings with it subtle changes in running lines, passing technique and other individual skills. If we learnt anything from the Deans era it is that backline players need to play in the same position as often as possible, with the same players inside and outside them as often as possible. It's not coincidence that the Wallaby backline from 10-15 has been performing well as we've picked the same guys in the same positions for a few tests in a row.

 

[TOCC]

It did improve markedly with Kepu starting and Alexander in the stands. Our best scrummsging front row is the Tahs combination. It's really that simple. But Slipper stood up today which was very pleasing.

I think that's still a very debatable statement, one performance doesn't define a scrum, the Irish forward pack might have just had a really off game.. A constant improvement over time is what is needed, Kepu, Slipper, Robinson and Alexander have had equal shit games to good ones. I also think Moore is a better scrummager then TPN, TPN needs to get some runs back on the board after his layoff.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Really happy with that performance in the main. The biggest thing I noticed was our greater application at the breakdown. We protected our own pill well and even counter rucked a few times on theirs. This allowed Genia to (mostly) clear the ball quickly and get us on the front foot. The stand out try for me was Hooper's first (though the driving maul was also pretty special). What I liked about it was that the ball was transferred flat and quickly across the line and Fardy hit a pass at pace with a good straight running line and offloaded in contact. It was beautiful to watch and elegant in its simplicity. I've been banging on about that kind of footy all year and we saw some of it this morning. More of that please fellas.

I also thought our defence around the fringes was excellent. It's good also having To'omua really laying the hurt on and driving through the hips to sit blokes on their arses. He loves to tackle and has great line speed. It's clear to me now that this midfield combination is the one to carry us forward. And lastly, Izzy in the air is just majestic. I don't think we're going to see too much more bombing of the ball out his way.

What's important now is to keep that improvement going across the park. We owe the Jocks big time and I really want to see a ruthless display at Murrayfield next week. Keep that theme going, do the hard work and get the ball wide where our strikepower is.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

I reckon that there was still far too much aimless kicking (not all were Genia's to the box either) that gifted the Irish possession without effective kick chase pressure on the receivers.

 

[ChargerWA]

Surprised to read Beale's name in this thread looking to the future. Looking at our current back line he wouldn't get a start anywhere.

Bench injury cover would be about his lot these days. But I never want to see him in 10 for gold again.

 

[tranquility]

I know this is a little faux pas.

But would anyone be able to send me in a private message to a site that I get a replay of the match?

Didn't get a chance to watch it last night.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Interesting that when our forwards go missing as they have in the last few tests, they still managed to win a few G&GR MOM points. When the piggies stand up and do their job as they did last night, many award G&GR MOM points to the backs not the piggies.

 

[BDA]

One small issue that seems to be unnoticed is that of all the players in the maul try you would have to say that Cummins positioning, body height and body drive were as good as you will see anywhere. You'd think that with an extra 20kg and a few centimetres, he'd make a great 6.

He got through a lot of work Cummins. He often came in looking to get involved in the ruck and on several occasions I almost mistook him for hooper

 

[BDA]

I know this is a little faux pas.

But would anyone be able to send me in a private message to a site that I get a replay of the match?

Didn't get a chance to watch it last night.

Thanks in advance!

its up on youtube already

 

[tranquility]

its up on youtube already

Thanks bud!

Would you be able to send me the link? I can't find it.

Cheers

 

[A mutterer]

i'm happy with the score, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

i thought the irish had a bad night tonight and made us look better than we were at times. the first 20 i thought we looked pretty messy.

i like the width we played with. it's been a good feature of some of our tries particularly with some of the backs (and forwards) running hard and straight.

while i'm always going to like seeing the waratahs front row, i thought it looked more composed than earlier. it was good to see the forwards put in the effort across the 80 but still some more sting is required in our forward play. hopefully alexander stays out of contention after today.

 

[TOCC]

Quade didn't have the best kicking performance, so here he is after full time practicing his kicking... That's pretty impressive IMO

 

[Paradox]

At the moment he's shaping up as the best 12 we've had in a long time...

No one saw that coming. The missing piece to the puzzle. He's unselfish, hits like a train, straightens the attack, and passes/kicks well. Hope he stays fit.

 

[It is what it is]

Thought Horwill play a good tight lock's game last night.
His ball carrying needs improvement but his tackling, hitting and driving was impressive.