Blue
Andrew Slack (58)
Still don't get what your idea was with the "van der" but as you were.Really?
You don't say?
Lions Watch
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the plastic paddy
John Solomon (38)
Is it possible to rob a bank by accident?
boyo
Mark Ella (57)
My post was largely due to some people believing that he is a Scot.
KevinO
Geoff Shaw (53)
Except the banks in Ireland have no money in them anyway. Leaves nothing to Rob.
JSRF10
Dick Tooth (41)
Was away on holiday over the weekend and only got to watch the game last night. POC is fortunate not to be cited, it was an accident but it was reckless, I thought he'd get two weeks. At least it means Munster still have a chance against Clermont!
Would be delighted if Joe Schmidt got the Ireland job, from my understanding the ball is in Leinsters court if they are happy to release him from his contract he'll take the Irish job. Unfortunately if they dont it looks like Les Kiss will get the job
Would be delighted if Joe Schmidt got the Ireland job, from my understanding the ball is in Leinsters court if they are happy to release him from his contract he'll take the Irish job. Unfortunately if they dont it looks like Les Kiss will get the job
JSRF10
Dick Tooth (41)
Paddy Jackson could be the big loser in Oldings development. All 3 of the young blokes (PJ, Marshall and Olding) are 10/12's and for me anyways PJ is the least talented and the most mentally fragile.
JSRF10
Dick Tooth (41)
I think he isn't as one dimensional as ROG, which ROG was world class at in fairness, he can take the ball to the line and he can be creative. However he just seems so brittle on the big occasion that I think Olding and Marshall will be Ulsters 10/12 combo in the next year.
Bardon
Peter Fenwicke (45)
PJ is a brave player, you only have to look at how many times he ended up with a bandage around his head for Ireland to see that. He's very good in terms of find gaps or putting someone through a gap in a defence.
But like ROG he's a defensive liability simply because the opposition will target him meaning someone always has to be there to cover him in defence. When he has to tackle it has to be low or he runs the risk of the guy breaking the tackle and getting in behind. The problem then with the low tackling is offload is the available to the next guy coming behind. Teams have exploited that a lot against Ireland when PJ was in our midfield.
I really like the look of Olding coming through. He's at the stage now where he needs games to develop further and those games need to ramp up in terms of their intensity. Hopefully he'll travel with Ireland while a lot of the first choice guys are away with the Lions. It's probably time for PJ to take a back seat next season so that Olding, Marshall and Cave can get more game time together.
However I hope that PJ sticks around as there's still plenty those guys can learn from him. It was just unfortunate for PJ that he came on the scene when bulk in midfield was becoming more and more important. Wonderful skill set and the heart of a lion but I always worried when he was in the Ireland squad especially under Kidney where we spent most of the time defending.
But like ROG he's a defensive liability simply because the opposition will target him meaning someone always has to be there to cover him in defence. When he has to tackle it has to be low or he runs the risk of the guy breaking the tackle and getting in behind. The problem then with the low tackling is offload is the available to the next guy coming behind. Teams have exploited that a lot against Ireland when PJ was in our midfield.
I really like the look of Olding coming through. He's at the stage now where he needs games to develop further and those games need to ramp up in terms of their intensity. Hopefully he'll travel with Ireland while a lot of the first choice guys are away with the Lions. It's probably time for PJ to take a back seat next season so that Olding, Marshall and Cave can get more game time together.
However I hope that PJ sticks around as there's still plenty those guys can learn from him. It was just unfortunate for PJ that he came on the scene when bulk in midfield was becoming more and more important. Wonderful skill set and the heart of a lion but I always worried when he was in the Ireland squad especially under Kidney where we spent most of the time defending.
Bardon
Peter Fenwicke (45)
Would be excellent if Schmidt too over for Ireland, if he's given a free hand in terms of his coaches and support staff. I hate it when a Union tries to put a dream team together and ends up with guys all pulling in different directions.
If Schmidt does take the post I hope that Leinster could tempt someone like McKenzie to take over there. Might not be the International gig he's looking for but it certainly would be a fresh challenge to get Leinster firing again next year.
Initially I thought I'd like a clean sweep of coaches etc. from the Kidney era. Now I've changed my mind slightly. The new head coach should definitely be an outside with Schmidt or McKenzie my preference. Then they should be able to pick the rest of the coaches. If they retain some of the Kindey era guys then so be it. As long as none of those guys are retained without the head coaches say so.
One thing is for certain whoever does take over I hope that they set a record in the first year for number of players used. Then in their second year I'd hope to have a more settled side as they build toward the WC, but not settled in the Kidney sense. Those who aren't performing need to be dropped for the inform guy no matter who they are. Not in an England sense of 1 bad game and you're out for years or guys being dropped even when playing well for the latest flash in the pan. More like the ABs way of if you do the business you keep the shirt but if your form dips for the national team then there's a queue of guys waiting to take the shirt from you and once they do then the same rule applies to them.
JSRF10
Dick Tooth (41)
From what I have read Schmidt wants to pick his own coaching team, not have to explain his tactics/selection to the board and have total control over players managed game time (i.e. none of this internationals only play 5 games of 8). The first two are obvious, the 3rd one is interesting as he has seen that one of the reasons Jonny Sexton left is that he didn't like this aspect of his contract at all.
Smal shouldn't be anywhere near the Irish set up, Kiss should only be considered as a defensive coach and Foley needs to go outside of his comfort zone and coach before he should be considered for Irish duty again. Personally I don't think Schmidt will retain any of them, on results none of them deserve and Schmidt is smart enough to know he needs a fresh start for the squad.
Smal shouldn't be anywhere near the Irish set up, Kiss should only be considered as a defensive coach and Foley needs to go outside of his comfort zone and coach before he should be considered for Irish duty again. Personally I don't think Schmidt will retain any of them, on results none of them deserve and Schmidt is smart enough to know he needs a fresh start for the squad.
Italophile
Bill Watson (15)
Munster and POC play away games outside Ireland. Plenty of opportunity to test his immunity from justice.
the plastic paddy
John Solomon (38)
The shit is hitting the fan over Schmidt's comments that POC should have been cited. It tends to make me think that he is not after the Ireland gig because if he was it might have been wise to have kept his counsel rather than piss off the whole of Munster, with no prospect of altering the Rabo citing commissioner's decision and all in relation to Ireland's best player and shoe in to be captain up until the next RWC. The last thing the Irish team needs is a coach who appears to have a provincial bias. I don't think Schmidt does myself and will be objective but there are plenty of Munster fans who do not trust him after this.
Bardon
Peter Fenwicke (45)
Schmidt has been talking yesterday about how he's clashed with the IRFU on a number of occasions. He said he hasn't been offered the job but he is meeting the IRFU either today or tomorrow and he'll probably know more on Friday.
He definitely won't be a yes man for the IRFU if he does take the job. I agree with you TPP that he wouldn't have any provincial bias, but his comments will be fodder for the conspiracy theorists.
Personally I think his comments weren't so bad. He felt that the incident was dangerous even though there wasn't any attempt by POC to injure Dave Kearney. His argument was that it was still dangerous and doesn't send the right message to parents of youngsters thinking of taking up the sport. He stressed that it's nothing against POC who he thinks is a top bloke, it just happens that POC is the one involved in this incident.
Schmidt is entitled and some would say he has a duty to speak out to ensure that his players receive protection from this kind of incident in the future.
If he's really after the Ireland job maybe biting his tongue would have been the smart thing to do. But for me I'm glad he didn't. If he had I would have wondered if he was the right man for Ireland. We need someone who's not afraid to say what they think and ruffle a few feathers. I think if he gets the job any thoughts of bias towards Leinster would be dispelled pretty quickly as he'll want to give everyone a fair shake.
As to the result in terms of POC himself I'm very glad. I said before that I thought it was accidental and that POC wouldn't be cited. That was more in hope than anything else. I'm glad he gets to play in Munster's semi final now as without him I think what is already a tough ask might have become impossible. I really hope that Munster at least make the final. If they manage to knock over Clermont it would be great to see them win the final.
As a Leinster fan I've really enjoyed the last 4 years for us in the HEC. It's nice to have some inter-provincial rivalry but I've never been a begrudger and I think it's important for Irish rugby as a whole that all the provinces are as competitive as they can be. A win for Munster wouldn't just lift the province it would also feed into the national team. There is a core of young players coming through who, unlike POC ROG DOC etc., don't have the experience of winning the HEC. Either winning or even experiencing the big occasion of the final itself would really give those guys a lift.
He definitely won't be a yes man for the IRFU if he does take the job. I agree with you TPP that he wouldn't have any provincial bias, but his comments will be fodder for the conspiracy theorists.
Personally I think his comments weren't so bad. He felt that the incident was dangerous even though there wasn't any attempt by POC to injure Dave Kearney. His argument was that it was still dangerous and doesn't send the right message to parents of youngsters thinking of taking up the sport. He stressed that it's nothing against POC who he thinks is a top bloke, it just happens that POC is the one involved in this incident.
Schmidt is entitled and some would say he has a duty to speak out to ensure that his players receive protection from this kind of incident in the future.
If he's really after the Ireland job maybe biting his tongue would have been the smart thing to do. But for me I'm glad he didn't. If he had I would have wondered if he was the right man for Ireland. We need someone who's not afraid to say what they think and ruffle a few feathers. I think if he gets the job any thoughts of bias towards Leinster would be dispelled pretty quickly as he'll want to give everyone a fair shake.
As to the result in terms of POC himself I'm very glad. I said before that I thought it was accidental and that POC wouldn't be cited. That was more in hope than anything else. I'm glad he gets to play in Munster's semi final now as without him I think what is already a tough ask might have become impossible. I really hope that Munster at least make the final. If they manage to knock over Clermont it would be great to see them win the final.
As a Leinster fan I've really enjoyed the last 4 years for us in the HEC. It's nice to have some inter-provincial rivalry but I've never been a begrudger and I think it's important for Irish rugby as a whole that all the provinces are as competitive as they can be. A win for Munster wouldn't just lift the province it would also feed into the national team. There is a core of young players coming through who, unlike POC ROG DOC etc., don't have the experience of winning the HEC. Either winning or even experiencing the big occasion of the final itself would really give those guys a lift.
the plastic paddy
John Solomon (38)
Great post Bardon.
Italophile
Bill Watson (15)
There seems to be a short-list of four for the Ireland job: Schmidt, Les Kiss, Shaun Edwards and A.N. Other.
JSRF10
Dick Tooth (41)
I heard that it was reported on Irish radio that Jake White and Link were going to be interviewed, didn't believe it myself as neither seem keen. If Schmidt doesn't get it we're screwed, Kiss has been responsible for the poorest part of our game. Edwards is seriously over rated and failed spectacularly in his only other head coach job.
Rassie
Trevor Allan (34)
Replace O Gara with Jantjies but just one thing to add (sort of). Its not the inside back’s job to tackle the big boys back, but rather to stop and hold them till the loose forwards arrive to assist. Idea is to tackle in such a way that they keep the opposition player on his feet as long as possible, so that the defensive line can reset. Northern hemisphere sides are employing a rugby league style of out-to-in defence and it is causing them problems. Significant problem this defence can create is the space it leaves in behind for the chip kick. The wings cannot cover any of it, because they are pushed up and in. Enter a guy like Berrick Barnes and your in trouble
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