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Difficult not to get carried away by Saturday night and, overall, the weekend points to a showdown with Wales. Ranking them in difficulty, Saturday's game was #2 out of the five so to get over it with a victory was a great achievement.
I only watched the 1st half of Scotland vs. Wales because the game was over by then. It was a complete mis-match and dreadful for the neutral fan. If Ireland can put more than 20 points on the board, they will beat them, regardless of how much the Scots drag it down. Italy away will be tough, but if the forwards can take the hits and break even , we will win that one.
The one match that could be a bit sticky, if we are complacent, will be England. The English pack is good but lacking form. If they come good and bring in Shaw for Borthwick they will be awkward to deal with. If they bomb in Cardiff and decide to have a back three shoot-out with us in Croke Park, it could be a bit hairy yet.
One worry from Saturday is the amount of lineout ball O'Connell called on himself. I am surprised that Donncha was not used more often and it also seems to be a comment that our back row is not too lineout friendly. Neither Heaslip nor Ferris look light enough for regular lifting. Wallace is used very rarely, even by Munster (though this could be because Quinlan is good option). Having said all that, O'Connell was immense on Saturday in taking clean ball.
Anyway, it is onwards and upwards for now.
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4 comments:
I think everyone's getting a tad carried away. First off, France tore us apart at will with many first up tackles missed. O'Gara was left exposed and the Welsh will do exactly what the French did. Im a huge D.Wallace fan but he's no Martyn Williams when it comes to shoring up the 10-12 channel. Plus Nigel Owens gave us everything - he must be shortsighted cos he didnt once ping us for offside. A different ref could have meant a different result.
That said, both France and Ireland were excellent and I cant see Italy, Scotland or even England troubling us or them. But I do see the welsh with their wide game (and of course the brilliant Martyn Williams) making our pack look a bit onepaced. At least BOD was back to something like his best - clearly Somebody (kidney i hope) has told him to stop kicking.
Wales are obvously going to be tough opposition, but good and all as they are I'd rate France as a better team. I think all 3 games between Ireland, Wales and France will be home wins, which means no Grand Slam, and the championship decided on points difference. France play Italy on the last day, and can rack up a big score and take the title!
What a match on Saturday, though! The journalists' comparisons with a Munster style win ring true.....hanging on when under pressure, and taking the opportunities when they come. It was a really really good day to see Brian O'Drisoll have such a good game and a great score He truly is/was class and I thought we'd all seen the end of that. You'd still put him in the team, but it wouldnt generate the excitement of his glory days when you'd be expecting some bit of magic.
Meanwhile, Tomás was kicking the ball away
far too much for my liking in the first half when we were on the ropes. I thought, if thats the plan, at least give it to ROG to do the actual kicking and let him find touch sometimes.
Kearney under the high ball is brilliant. It takes some balls to jump up into the places he goes to get them.
Anyway, hope nothing goes wrong in Rome, then it'll be a game worth watching v England in 3 weeks. Can't wait.
McDaid, your man-love for Martyn Williams is unsurpassed, except perhaps by Jonathan Davies.
D'Arcy will shore up the 10-12 channel as he will be back by the time the Wales game comes around.
I think it is time for some defensive creativity such as bringing Luke Fitz in to stand at 10 on opposition set piece ball.
When Leicester beat us in TP in 2007 they used a variety of players (especially Rabeni and Tuilagi) to cover Ian Humphries weaknesses - and it worked. O'Gara was up for the game and did his best in tackling, but has neither the bulk or technique to bring down guys running at him. From my observations of Munster games, Wallace has never been his "Minder", Quinlan usually fulfills that job.
Credit to the Leinster Ladyboys who scored all 3 tries. O'Leary was very average - we had 3 big (pairs of) boots in ROG, Wallace & Kearney outside him, and France are not the team to kick against. Bring back Stringer? Why not. France were excellent and we beat them, and yes room for improvement, but I am optimistic of a Grand Slam - the Kidney factor. As Kev says it could come down to points difference. Again. Why is the 6 nations the last big tournament to not have the bonus points system? It is time.
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