Ireland Wolfhounds (v England Saxons)

rossie wrote:
There's a lot of stereo typing in the last paragraph there. If you are applying previous seasons form then Rodney would be nowhere near the Ireland squad. However the change to the scrum laws have helped him immensely and the same applies to archer. So much so that he and botha are interchangeable now.

I don't think its stereotyping really but even if that were true you must agree that the odds are against him being able to scrummage effectively with a tiring Tuohy or some backrowers thrown in the second row behind him?

If you don't think you are stereo typing archer then I assume that you don't think that Rodney has earned his call up and that he would also struggle against Saxons.

All 4 Irish provinces have scrummaged well this season. In fact its been very rare that they have been under significant pressure against foreign opposition.

Rodney isn't named in the team so I'm fairly sure the coaches think he would struggle and based on the saracens game they'd have a point.
Likewise Archer while not being embarrassed any more is not exactly dependable although is being given a chance to prove himself. Afaik he gave away a penalty against Aus when their scrum was down to 7 men so he still has a ways to go.
Even so I think with a top notch pack around them both Archer and Rodney could do ok but in this case as I already said there will either be a tired Tuohy or a lightweight backrower behind Archer and the combination in particular is what really worries me.

Randon thoughts on the team.

Really happy for Diack shows that the project player system is working with him and Straus now IQ and Ah You on the fringes. White and Payne next season touch wood.

Herring is making more progress and is now considered fourth choice Hooker in Ireland, will be interesting to see how this affects Sherry when he comes back. Varley while playing well this season had a mare last year in the sportsground and I think that's sunk any chance he has of earning more senior caps.

Felix Jones has being doing well and is good to see him recalled.

Marmion is the Wolfhounds squad Yay! while Henshaw is also there. That's two Connacht academy lads in the extended squad showing that the academy is beginning to feed into the senior team which can only be a good thing for Ireland.

Is the wolfhounds game being televised? I couldn't see it on any of the channels.

connachtexile wrote: Is the wolfhounds game being televised? I couldn't see it on any of the channels.

It's on SKY

connachtexile wrote: Is the wolfhounds game being televised? I couldn't see it on any of the channels.

Is on Sky Sports 1 @ 4:45 on Sat

A win by the Wolfhounds then against a tough England side in a game were the weather played a big part. Here's my breakdown

1. Dave Kilcoyne - did well and was defensively sound but nowhere close to knocking Healy of the no. 1 spot for Ireland.

2. Rob Herring - Another impressive performance in a game were the wind played a big part he make all his throws as was good around the park. Not as dynamic as Strauss is around the looses but by no means a liability.

3. Martin Moore - a lot of hype and again did well, showed inexperience at this level though and shows he still has a lot to learn.

4. Ian Henderson - some big tackles and showed up around the park. Still have no idea if he is a flanker or a second row.

5. Dan Tuohy - Another good game and the line out worked well tonight. Solid.

6. Rhys Ruddock - Led by example and should push POM hard for the no. 6 shirt.

7. Tommy O'Donnell - another good performance and while i think he will be sorry he didn't have any big ball carrying runs he was part of a backrow that dominated the breakdown. Don't think he did enough to usurp Henry from the 7 shirt though.

8. Robin Copeland - was impressive shows he has a good brain with all that bulk. Munster have got an asset.

9. Isaac Boss - Man of the match and deserving of it.

10. Ian Madigan - did really well and mixed up his game in bad conditions. Showed how tuned in he was by scoring the second try.

11. Craig Gilroy - worse player on the pitch for Ireland. Knocked on twice costing us a try and missed at least one big tackle. Not at peak yet so makes JS's job that little easier by dropping him.

12. Cave - Impressive in a position he doesn't play often. Not the paciest but has great positioning and him and Henshaw made a great pairing.

13. Henshaw - Best performance so far by Robbie in a green shirt. Won't hurt his chances in getting picked in the Irish 23 at all.

14. Fergus McFadden - hungry for work and sharp as a tack. Great work.

15. Felix Jones - Didn't get to do much in attack but cleaned up the ball well in defense. Solid.

16. Richardt Strauss - Was massive in the loose making some big hits looks back to his best.

17. Jack McGrath - Solid again and did his job well but again nowhere near knocking Healy off the No. 1 spot.

18. Sean Archer - his best performance in a green shirt so far making some big tackles when he came on.

19. Robbie Diack - Only got a 10 min cameo but showed up well.

20. Jordi Murphy - Did well at the breakdown and gave a solid performance.

21 Kieran Marmion - Did well and communicated brilliantly when the forwards mauled 10 yards. A good debut.

22. Ian Keatley - Played well and kept England pinged back.

23. Simon Zebo - came on for Gilroy and looked dangerous. One class run by him in broken play.

Pretty much agree with all your ratings, a very solid performance by all except one obvious exception who was more rusty than anything. Was impressed by some good tackles by Kilcoyne but surprised the sub th caused him a lot of trouble before McGrath came on. Scrum remained solid and indeed improved with substitutions which I didn't expect as outlined above and was pleasantly surprised.

Was watching Henshaw much more than Cave and thought he did very well, expected some defensive slip ups as he's still learning but no, he was very solid, always looking for the offload when he had the ball. Being substituted might be an indication that he'll take a sub spot against Scotland?

Madigan kicked well and kept England pushed back but didn't offer so much with ball in hand. If he is 5-10m from the gain line he seems to just shovel the ball on, whereas when he receives the ball close to the opposition he seems much more dangerous. A couple of times this left the player receiving his pass in an awkward position, the try being the most obvious example. Hope that makes sense.

Even though the wolfhounds won the game England could have won it easily if Burns had kicked properly, that has to be a concern considering the Irish back row did seem to dominate the breakdown as you said.

Madigan kicked well and kept England pushed back but didn't offer so much with ball in hand. If he is 5-10m from the gain line he seems to just shovel the ball on, whereas when he receives the ball close to the opposition he seems much more dangerous. A couple of times this left the player receiving his pass in an awkward position, the try being the most obvious example. Hope that makes sense.

I think I get your meaning but I wonder how much the wind was a factor in how he played the game? The pitch wasn't great and the conditions were icy all would have being factors to consider.

Crap conditions for either Robbie or Marmion. But. Have to say Robbie was immense in defence and was dangerous when he did get ball. Marmion really bossed the pack around and looked comfortable with the step up. Good night for our lads and very proud.

Id put more the blame for Saxons try on Jones pass - thought he was rather poor last night

Henshaw made some monster tackles- the one on Calum Clarke was a personal fav

Delighted Marimon got capped!

It was best iv seen Madigan play this season

Have to say I was mighty impressed by Tommy O'Donnell and Copeland. Hadn't seen either play much before. Looking like Munster could have a serious back row over the coming years.

I've seen a lot of TOD so probably why I wasn't as impressed as I know he could do that and has regularly. Copeland impressed me though but still think it's an odd move to Munster. He would have being better off going to here or Ulster imo.