Where to start?

Another shocking display against Georgia - this was a great game for the neutral, but in the end we were lucky to get out with a win. Not getting the bonus point means we now have to beat France, and probably Argentina too to avoid an All-Blacks team who would embarrass us. But EOS says it wasn't as bad as the Namibia "performance". Hardly the point, even if it were true.

Given that he picked his strongest team again, and they haven't performed, he has backed himself into a corner. Flannery in against France, but would he have done this if Best not injured, and will our scrum suffer? Back row needed drastic surgery, but hasn't happened. Pack has been fairly awful, particularly in the loose - we need players like Gleeson, Cullen, Jennings but they aren't even in the squad. We have no-one to replace Leamy who has been also below par.

Stringer shocking, deserved to be dropped, but hardly helped by the 8 in front of him. Reddan gets his first start having played no warm-up games, against France who have to win, in Paris, for a mis-firing team who now have to win too. Serious pressure, sink or swim. Murphy desperately unlucky, Hickie too - Trimble will surely be targetted by French back 3, he is defensively weak I think. Chabal is on fire, he'll remember Thomand Park last year - this is payback time. O'Gara not right in the head, but again, no-one better to come in. Dempsey and O'Driscoll the only 2 players who've been anyway close to their best.

Hook on newstalk after the game was priceless. We hear EOS being interviewed, then back to George for comment and he's apoplectic, saying that O'Sullivan has clearly lost his mind, that what he's saying makes no sense, he's hysterical etc.

I'd generally go into any game we play with some optimism, but i have absolutely no hope that we'll beat either France or the Argies. The best prepared team we've ever sent to a World Cup (remind anyone of Woodward and the Lions last year?), and probably the most talented too, will be going home in disgrace. Print this post