RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland
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Look at Gary Ringrose! Ioane with better tackle stats (fewer misses for roughly the same attempted).
Papali'i hasn't missed a tackle.
Sexton and Mo'unga similar missed tackle stats, but Sexton is making far more tackles than Mo'unga.
Gibson-Park misses a fair amount too. Must be his early Kiwi training
Brett Igoe has got some great material on his X account. Looks at both Irish and NZ attack and defence strategies. Some great insights.
https://x.com/brettruganalyst/status/1711439400456933782?s=20
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As another 'neutral' in this one, I think Ireland probably win this game 7 times out of 10. That means the ABs have a pretty decent chance, but if Ireland play as well as they have against Scotland / SA then i back their defensive organisation and discipline, as well as their kicking and attacking game to be too much over 80 mins for the ABs. I also think the Irish are mentally strong enough to cope with going behind early. All that said, only a fool writes the ABs off completely.
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To any of the Irish posters on here, I've seen some talk about Irish fans countering the Haka. Will it be the Fields of Athenry or Zombie as the backing song to the Haka at the weekend do you think?
@stodders said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
To any of the Irish posters on here, I've seen some talk about Irish fans countering the Haka. Will it be the Fields of Athenry or Zombie as the backing song to the Haka at the weekend do you think?
I personally dont give a rat's what they do. All the important stuff happens after the first whistle.
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Come on Foz you got this. Don't be conservative in the selections.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in [RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland]
My only doubt about Roigard is if we are leading by two points and need to defend and his lack of experience in a tight game.
Yeah, and this is based on the probably wrong assumption that we are actually leading and that Christie is going to pull off one miracle tackle after another that Roigard will somehow be unable to do.
Picking Christie is pretty vintage Foster.
A player that you know is bang average but conforms to a notion of safety first or some other nonsense.@Frank said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
Yeah, and this is based on the probably wrong assumption that we are actually leading and that Christie is going to pull off one miracle tackle after another that Roigard will somehow be unable to do.
To be clear we don't know what the scoreline is likely to be when Smith comes off and there's a risk Christie will fuck up as well. On balance, Roigard's the better bet.
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If Smith is going well and we are ahead I'd probably leave him on. No need to be robotic regarding subs.
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@Derm-McCrum said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
Apparently Jimmy O'Brien ate a Kimberley Mikado with his coffee this morning so it looks like he's not in the squad.
None of that makes any sense to me.
Ploise exploin ...
@booboo said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
@Derm-McCrum said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
Apparently Jimmy O'Brien ate a Kimberley Mikado with his coffee this morning so it looks like he's not in the squad.
None of that makes any sense to me.
Ploise exploin ...
Eating biccies cos you're not in the squad. But it's ok - he squeezed onto the bench in the 23 geansaí so relax as you were.
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To any of the Irish posters on here, I've seen some talk about Irish fans countering the Haka. Will it be the Fields of Athenry or Zombie as the backing song to the Haka at the weekend do you think?
@stodders said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
To any of the Irish posters on here, I've seen some talk about Irish fans countering the Haka. Will it be the Fields of Athenry or Zombie as the backing song to the Haka at the weekend do you think?
How would we know? Besides it's not countering the haka - it's an Irish singalong that the NZ team dance to along with a beaudacious rapper.
Crowd Zombie feat/Aaron S. and the Unzedders
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@MiketheSnow Ryan was on the bench against Scotland. Henderson started.
So Ryan out, McCarthy in is the only change.
Strong, settled team. They are battle hardened, but they have also played a fair bit too. Compare the NZ backrow playing minutes to Ireland's:
Image taken from this post on X:
https://x.com/Selfimprove_Man/status/1712014608557338881?s=20
@stodders said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
@MiketheSnow Ryan was on the bench against Scotland. Henderson started.
So Ryan out, McCarthy in is the only change.
Leinster's Jimmy O'Brien is in the 23 instead of Henshaw or McCloskey - brings more versatility to the backline.
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The RWC 2019 Stumblers vs 2023 Hopers
Cian Healy vs Andrew Porter
Rory Best vs Dan Sheehan
Tadhg Furlong - same
Iain Henderson - same
James Ryan vs Tadgh Beirne
Peter O'Mahony - same
Josh van der Flier - same
CJ Stander vs Caelan DorisConor Murray - Jamison Gibson Park
Johnny Sexton - same
Jacob Stockdale vs Mack Hansen
Robbie Henshaw vs Bundee Aki
Garry Ringrose - same
Keith Earls vs James Lowe
Rob Kearney vs Hugo Keenan
Replacements
Niall Scannell vs Ronan Kelleher
Dave Kilcoyne - same
Andrew Porter vs Finlay Bealham
Tadhg Beirne vs Joe McCarthy
Rhys Ruddock vs Jack Conan
Luke McGrath vs Conor Murray
Joey Carbery vs Jack Crowley
Jordan Larmour vs Jimmy O'Brien -
Much amusement that Gregor Paul of the NZ Herald seems to have misunderstood the long-standing joke between Irish and SA fans about Josh van der Flier being from Wicklow in South Africa. :backhand_index_pointing_down_light_skin_tone:
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Much amusement that Gregor Paul of the NZ Herald seems to have misunderstood the long-standing joke between Irish and SA fans about Josh van der Flier being from Wicklow in South Africa. :backhand_index_pointing_down_light_skin_tone:
@Derm-McCrum said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
Much amusement that Gregor Paul of the NZ Herald seems to have misunderstood the long-standing joke between Irish and SA fans about Josh van der Flier being from Wicklow in South Africa. :backhand_index_pointing_down_light_skin_tone:
The secret to reading Gregor Paul articles is to ensure you enjoy the fish'n'chips that they are wrapped around as the grease and torn paper will hopefully make the article a thoughtful but unfinished "what if" rather than something that should be put straight into the bin.
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In case it hasn't been mentioned ...
https://twitter.com/AllBlacks/status/1712034563697045611?t=1XHU4Qh6RvC3NV32ZhaRnQ&s=19
6pm CET Thursday = 2am AEST = 4am NZST
All is right with the world.
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You know you're up against it when one of your own legends is tipping the green machine:
"I’d love to think the All Blacks have got one in us to get one over the Irish, but it’s a game that if it was played 10 times, the All Blacks could win three or four."
He must have been speaking to @Dodge
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@Derm-McCrum said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
Much amusement that Gregor Paul of the NZ Herald seems to have misunderstood the long-standing joke between Irish and SA fans about Josh van der Flier being from Wicklow in South Africa. :backhand_index_pointing_down_light_skin_tone:
The secret to reading Gregor Paul articles is to ensure you enjoy the fish'n'chips that they are wrapped around as the grease and torn paper will hopefully make the article a thoughtful but unfinished "what if" rather than something that should be put straight into the bin.
@PecoTrain Oh dear. Takes all of 2 seconds to check that one, even if your entire career wasn’t based on knowing everything going on in Rugby. Guess he thought he was too good to be Irish.
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Mystic Meg is going with his heart, but his head is telling him differently:
When it came time to making a final prediction, the legendary scrum-half was reluctant to go against his home country, even as he acknowledged that he doesn’t know if they will be good enough to beat Ireland.
"My prediction is New Zealand and as you can see, I’m not totally convinced that is going to happen. I hope in my heart that New Zealand can find that performance, but Ireland are the best team in the world and the only way you can beat the best team in the world is to play out of your skin. New Zealand need to find that right now.”
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@Derm-McCrum said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
Much amusement that Gregor Paul of the NZ Herald seems to have misunderstood the long-standing joke between Irish and SA fans about Josh van der Flier being from Wicklow in South Africa. :backhand_index_pointing_down_light_skin_tone:
The secret to reading Gregor Paul articles is to ensure you enjoy the fish'n'chips that they are wrapped around as the grease and torn paper will hopefully make the article a thoughtful but unfinished "what if" rather than something that should be put straight into the bin.
@PecoTrain said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
@Derm-McCrum said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
Much amusement that Gregor Paul of the NZ Herald seems to have misunderstood the long-standing joke between Irish and SA fans about Josh van der Flier being from Wicklow in South Africa. :backhand_index_pointing_down_light_skin_tone:
The secret to reading Gregor Paul articles is to ensure you enjoy the fish'n'chips that they are wrapped around as the grease and torn paper will hopefully make the article a thoughtful but unfinished "what if" rather than something that should be put straight into the bin.
Eating fish and chips off your mobile phone? Is that a New Zealand thing now? Pretty small portions.
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(a) We are a better team than in the series last year.
(b) Ireland were well on top in the 1st game last year, until Sexton got a head knock and went off.
@Tim said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
(a) We are a better team than in the series last year.
(b) Ireland were well on top in the 1st game last year, until Sexton got a head knock and went off.
I'm outraged. What are you suggesting should happen JJ Sexminx in the match?
