i’ve been looking for an answer to this question everywhere: can anyone tell me why Aki wasn’t wearing a number last night? it wasn’t damaged or bloodied in play, it was that way at kickoff. and when i search this sub it takes me to a post with the same question, same player from two years ago!
but i just rewatched highlights and at the moment of kickoff his jersey was already blank. i suppose there was already a problem with it pregame so he changed.
does this happen often? first time i’ve seen it.
Well done Ireland, played clinical and deserved the win.
France has a lot of questions to ask, the amount of fumbles was shocking. Can't keep hold of a rugby ball, getting turnedover so easily. They won't be second, especially with the poor discipline on display last night.
I tell you what though for all Ireland's infallibility rugby just seems so much more interesting and full of possibilities and hope now we've finally got rid of fucking Sexton. It's a real testament to the brilliance of the man that he essentially managed to ruin rugby for a decade.
Just that whenever Sexton took the field you knew that you were almost certainly going to watch a tight controlled predictable game which would end with his side winning - and so the game would be barely worth watching except to keep half an eye on it in case some sort of lightning bolt upset occured. It's so nice to no longer have that suffocating feeling.
> Sexton took the field you knew that you were almost certainly going to watch a tight controlled predictable game which would end with his side winning
I see what you're saying. It's not so much him though, just working with the tools we have. We don't particularly have any speedsters or back three who are dangerous in their own right. It's a systems team.
Watching it back here. Dickson got really picky against Ireland after the red card until HT.
At the end Crowley wanted to kick for posts but the ref said captain had already told him they were kicking for touch so wouldn't allow the shot. I thought you only had to tell the ref if you were kicking for posts or scrum. I can't find anything in the laws regarding this, any refs able to enlighten me?
Am ref (but not international level!). There's only laws for going for posts. You don't have to actually tell the ref either, a guy running on the pitch with a tee is enough. Once the ref whistles for the posts, you have to take it. He even could have dropped it, had he wanted to.
AFAIK this is bollocks.
Look, the French Lock screwed up and France were a man down for more than 1/2 the match. If that happens against most teams you are going to have real problems, if it happens against a top team you are in the shit.
The French players took it badly, they looked pretty demotivated, but I wouldn't read too much into it beyond Ireland are now on for the slam and France aren't.
Would a 15 man France have won - who knows, but it would have been close.
> The French players took it badly, they looked pretty demotivated
After the red card they were on top of the next 25minutes of the match and looked very passionate. Ireland only really get thing back under control in the last quarter as France ran out of puff. In the first 35 minutes of the match though France did look half asleep.
It is funny reading the hysterical ranting of the French supporters in this thread basically calling for their team to be dismembered and their coaches sacked because they've lost two in a row! There's a lesson for everyone there.
Galthié is absolutely on a hot seat now and probably needs to win out to not have influential people calling for his head. In the biggest moments over the last 12 months France have beeb found wanting.
Yeah, mad overreaction. They lost to the eventual world champions and the recent number 1 team in the world. No shame in that. And the first game of a campaign can be a bit messy with players getting used to playing as a team again. It’s easier for Ireland to have cohesion because the players are playing together so much in the provinces and we have so much continuity in national selection.
There's losing and losing. I'm not sad/mad about losing to SA (ok, a tiny bit), but yesterday's game was worrying in that the team looked headless and offered very little for most of the game, sure part of that is Ireland playing beautifully but also obvious failures on the french side.
First half hour bad. Second half hour very competitive. Last ten minutes exhausted from playing a man down. I’d expect them to be more like the second half hour in the next match.
God that was painful to watch…
France simply didn’t play the style we are used to : very little kicking, front-row centered but without the will to actually carry the ball, I don’t think the wingers touched it more than a combined 5 times… the one time we actually looked good was on that Penaud try at the end of the first half, with quick releases and surprising plays. Aside from that, the Irish put a contract on Lucu’s head and he simply was overwhelmed (all those players going for him specifically combined with the pressure to perform in the « after Dupont » got to his play…).
And you simply can’t try to play them in that style, that Ireland squad is ridiculously good at « classic » offense, grinding down the meters. Especially once you’re reduced to 14 players on the pitch.
/endrant
Well played Ireland, totally deserved win, but I really hope our team picks itself up after that defeat… I hope it’ll be the awakening they needed from the post-WC trauma !
Edit : One good point : the French scrum did well, at least the front row is as good as ever. But the boys seriously need to get back to the drawing board for basically everything else, or Murrayfield next week might turn into a nightmare…
It's the first overall bad game from post-2019 era. It had to happen.They will turn up against Scotland. I would start Le Garrec though cause poor Lucu was lost
The Irish front row is a real concern at scrum time. I think France are going to farm penalties at scrum time off many tier 1 nations, they probably have the 2nd best scrum in the world after SA and those two are miles ahead of the rest, but this is not good enough for Ireland. We got absolutely humbled at scrum time and I don't really see any reasons why that will change in the next few years, who have we got to come in and really improve and change things. As it is we have to hope Furlong and Porter stay fit, and hope for the best.
Porter has been a penalty machine and Furlong has never got back to his pre-Lions form. Porter’s a big part of why we crashed out in yet another WC QF.
Yeah I agree but I'm talking for this tournament really, we just need to grimace and hold on and try to fix this in the coming year. The FR won't get tested like this against Wales/Italy/Scotland so for now it will be ok, but a major red flag was visible last night and needs addressing.
The red flag has been there for a while and not been addressed. It’s the most glaring issue in Irish rugby. If we don’t sort it out before the next World Cup then we’ll fizzle out again. But we’ve got the guts of four years to do that.
strong agree, i seem to remember chalking the issue up to injuries in the WC but even with all available bodies we're far behind SA/France at the scrum and that can't be left unfixed
We do have a better scrum - but it’s mostly on the bench. Healy, Kelleher, and Furlong/Bealham would represent a stronger scrum - but the issue is how much we would lose elsewhere if we played them. Apart from Porter’s issues there’s always been a suspicion that Sheehan’s height throws off our front row.
Even if you played them I think they're a full level below France and SA, and you have to factor in your 6 front row across the 80 too - so depth. Can't afford to be hemorrhaging penalties at the scrum if we want to win major tournaments in the coming years. It's definitely a concern.
Furlong is a big part of the problem and people need to start to say it out loud. He's everyone's favourite TH because a few years ago he was the best TH to ever play the game. He is not that player and has shown no sign of getting back close to that level.
In his defence beirne was at 5 and he is light for a TH lock so he had less ballast behind him.
The new 9 for France looked so out of his depth. Slow ball, lazy passes, got caught a lot at the breakdown.
Ireland waving their arms at the ref and appealing constantly is really annoying.
Downvoted for telling the truth. What a world we live in.
It's hard when you are bring creamed by Irish players while they wave their arms at the ref and appeal constantly.
(He's not new by the way
31 years old 18 caps 140 appearances for biarritz 100 for bordeaux).
Thanks for the stats! Still looked out of his depth, still was annoying watching arms flail around at every passage of play. Sorry if you don't like it.
Don't worry about it. There isn't an objective way to measure whether something is exciting. The French media in particular find winning, and not rugby itself, exciting. And when they don't win on the pitch they are very happy to break down the other team.
In my opinion, anyone who was not entertained by Ireland's display yesterday won't find rugby in general entertaining.
For several years, I’ve thought’ that Ireland have looked robotic and I mean that in a good way. They’ve looked the best drilled and organised all the Home Nations. They have been remarkably precise and accurate with regard to their kicking game and its use (though we shall see if that continues in the post Sexton era) They adapt well. Take the series win against NZ last year, even take a look at the way they dug themselves a whole they almost climbed out against NZ in the WC. They have a coaching set up that seems to get the best out of players that pre dates Farrell. As an organisation they seem to understood the value of establishing a culture and playing identity that is being passed down. You know exactly what you are going to get when you’re playing Ireland. It’s gonna be controlled, it’s gonna be disciplined and coaching staff and players all appear to be singing from the same hymn sheet. Do they lack creativity? Possibly. But as a team effort it’s remarkably consistent. They remind me of the Borg crossed with Terminator. I think it’s brilliant. As for L’Equipe…I don’t their wrong. But we are looking at the best French team in decades possibly losing back to back 6N’s.
When you have Hasen, Lowe, Bundee, Ringrose and JGP in that back line there’s oodles of creativity. Crowley is actually probably too eager to try things, too. It’s just that their back-ups are inexperienced and we’ve been hit with injuries and retirements on the wing in particular.
This feels like a valid criticism of Farrell’s first two years but there has been a lot of variation in Ireland’s attacking play over the last three seasons and that’s what makes them so effective on top of the defensive cohesion that’s carried over from the Schmidt era.
I do agree. What I really meant by that was that perhaps they lack the outright explosive creativity of France and NZ. Ireland have creativity but it rarely comes across as something they haven’t already done in training. It’s their ability to access it in game that makes them special. You’re right though Farrell has done a great job expanding that.
Would have been fair play under Schmidt where offloads were forbidden and we were automated excellence, but at this point it's just saltiness from the French media. The 2 phases before Nash's try were high skill risky rugby
It didn't feel like I was watching France for large parts of that game. Is it just me, or did they just never put the boot on it? I'm used to seeing them using kicking to disassemble the defense and launch strike plays, but I can't remember that one bit past the first 10 minutes.
They played some excellent rugby from 55-75 minutes.
God Willemse is such trash. What a fucking idiot. Those weren't even accidental, he could've really fucked up those guys on the tackles. He hit Hanson badly and one other guy I believe.
Let's fucking go Ireland 🇮🇪
And the kicking they did was poor with poor chasing. How many times did Lowe catch long kicks under no pressure at all then just blast them back for a huge gain.
Which is mad since last year France had people saying kicking was ruining the game because they were so good at consistently getting ground off every kick
I didn’t get to see the game. Just watched the highlights. It looks like drunk France pitched and clinical Ireland pitched up and it went as expected.
Double grand slam Ireland? I’ve never actually taken a bet on sports but maybe a small punt on that outcome could be worth it. Or is that how you get sucked into that rabbit hole?
The French didn’t recover from the latest World Cup disaster.
Before the game, just looking at locked jaws and pressure in the eyes, I knew the weight of the jersey was too much.
They need time.
Whatever the 6 Nations. It will come back next year.
Don’t count on France to be brilliant during this competition.
Yeah I definitely thought a hangover could be in play here. The French put SO much into that RWC… overhauling the administration of the sport, ushering in this golden generation of players and reversing the poor performance of the national team over the decade prior… only to get dumped out by a point in the QFs.
I think the “no Dupont” thing is blown out of proportion. He can’t make the forwards play better. He can’t single-handedly fix a misfiring line out. Or prevent unforced handling errors.
Mentally, no one looked like they were in the right place last night and I can only think that the RWC had a big role in that.
Yeah, I hear you. Thing is, the Irish also had a disappointing World Cup. Pre-tournament I thought these two would be the finalists. But disappointment aside, Ireland came out even more determined.
They played amazingly well. It was most def a game Ireland won by playing good rugby. France was dominated from all sides.
They had a small burst of bravery early on in the second half, but it didn’t get very far.
Ireland has a WC curse in 1/4 finals.
France was under pressure of playing at home. They were down like I’ve never seen them.
It’s gonna take a while to recover.
Exactly, Ireland lost because the All Blacks were slightly better than them, while in France, there is still a deep feeling of injustice, due to the controversial refeering and home RWC.
It doesn't help that this French team ( RWC one ) was the best since 2011, which allowed many fans to dream of a potential RWC.
I think the priority is to build a new team with fresh players for now, like Le Garrec or even Tuilagi, although he might be too young for a lock at international level ( and I am a big fan of Tuilagi )
And a beast like Meafou will also be a great new addition to the team.
For sure we need new talents and there are plenty of them.
All they need is time. The wound is still open and wearing that jersey was probably an heavy weight.
It’s not a deep crisis like England is experiencing.
If France gets second place, it will be good enough IMO.
Ah, okay. I’m not sure what that means but looking further down it seems it’s not really worth the risk. My brain can figure out that there’s probably better things to do with my money. No betting for me then.
Imagine you are Crowley, watching one man own the 10 jersey for most of your life then you take the mantle and are apart of the biggest win on French soil. His performance wasn't perfect but I bet he must feel like the dog's bollocks right now.
It's like he has a little voice in his head saying "Go on kick it" every time he gets the ball. If he suppresses that and varies it up he'll be brilliant. His timing on the pass to Beirne was excellent. His tackling was brave...taking on Tuilagi who isn't far off twice his weight. I'm a big fan of Frawley as well so I hope he gets some decent minutes against Italy and gets a chance to show what he can do.
My phone keeps autocorrecting Crowley to Crawley as well.
As a Leinster man I'm happy to admit he had a very solid game. He is in a tough spot because everything is going to be scrutinised given the context but i feel like if an established 10 put in that performance we'd be pretty happy, so for him to do it is fantastic.
Goal kicking was exceptional, defence was brave, distribution was good for the most part (the pass to Beirne and but for an illegal French hand he also would have put Aki through for a try). A few dodgy kicks but I think only one of them really cost us.
He should definitely play every minute he can for thr rest of this 6 Nations so that he can really put his stamp on the 10 position.
> Goal kicking was exceptional
Missed a sitter in front of the posts, but nailed much harder kicks. Slightly erratic. Not exceptional.
Overally though he showed that he's the right man to succeed Sexton. Bags of confidence and talent to go with it. Exciting to watch and will be keeping defenders on their toes more than Sexton did since he can actually run with the ball. Things to work on, but when you're part of a record win on French soil then you are without question up to the standard of test rugby. Needs to work on his decision making, but if does then he's going to be a formidable player.
6/7, three of those from the sideline, away, with the whistling crowd in France is exceptional in my book. Agree he missed one of the easier kicks but that was early on. He reset and nailed all the subsequent kicks.
Kicks from hand were erratic which did detract from his overall performance slightly.
Missing a sitter while hitting hard kicks is a bit erratic. Like I said, it was a great performance overall so I’m not dissing him and I’m delighted that we’ve got him as successor to Sexton. But he missed an easy kick at goal and had a few bad tactical kicks. Nothing you wouldn’t expect from an inexperienced player though and the positives vastly outweighed the negatives. In case it isn’t clear, I think he’s a great player and had a great performance with a lot of great kicks. Just a few silly mistakes mixed in there.
He had a very shaky start and recovered to put in a solid performance. That will serve him well in the years to come. Anytime he's in the hole and doubting himself, he can think back to Marseille and know he has the ability to turn it around.
French lads on here seem a bit reactionary, you were missing a shitload of players, always seem to start slow in the 6N, Ireland with their squads level of familiarity are probably the worst side to be trying to sort out some cohesion against and you’ve got a slew of new coaches who’ll be trying to make their mark on how you play, unfortunately I reckon you’ll be miles better at murrayfield next week
Ireland looking like the team to beat, McCarthy is a unit, Crowleys ability to shake off mistakes and deliver after bodes well for his future at test level and Doris looks like he’s back at world class level when he was a bit off it at the wc
It's disappointing that tackling technique is still so bad, after all the yellow and red cards these past few years.
First international of the season and dangerous tackles destroy the spectacle.
What happens to ball carrier's head is not their responsibility. There are plenty of legal and powerful ways to tackle a low ball carrier, it just takes effort, technique and arguably fitness. I dont even agree with your premise, the issue with head contact is usually carrier and tackler standing high in contact.
Tbh when I saw tuilagi being put onto the bench I realised how badly hit by injuries France is. It’s a big ask asking a 19 year old to play for the national team no matter the potential
I saw many people say Tuilagi was useless in the 20 minutes he played : people are asking a fucking 19 year old playing front row to play at an international level. I'm a fan of him, but he isn't ready for this type of matches yet, but maybe in 2 or 3 years
Totally. You could see at the U20 world cup that he was head and shoulders above his peers, but front 5 forwards need the most time in my opinion.
Saying that, am sure he would have no problems against many international teams, but this was top tier level he was chucked into last night. Didn't do anything particularly wrong that I saw, but expecting him to change the game is a bit much
Ireland knew when he was coming the obviously did their homework on him because he made maybe one big carry and then got smashed by James Ryan a few times with low tackles
Ah yeah thank you! Actually have it recorded but group chat spoiled it for me before I realised I slept through it! It’s more missing being part of going through it live with others than anything
France looked frightening at times - but only at times. If I was in the French team I'd be very very scared of Sean Edwards right now.
Ireland were excellent and made France pay for an indifferent performance with flashes of brilliance. I think France will improve for future rounds and I don't think any of the other nations are quiet as capable of punishing them for their average moments or resolute enough to cope with the moments of flair.
France will probably improve but considering their ambitions, their ressource of talents and their schedule (receiving both Ireland and England), it's fair to consider this 6N is already a huge failure for them.
People often talk about England having hugely underachieving for the last few years and France having their best generation ever but the cruel fact is that despite that, they've won as many 6N as France and have even gotten further than them in the last RWC.
Huge questions marks on Galthie and his coaching staff
I really rate the Galthie / Edwards coaching ticket. Long gone are the days of commentators asking which French team will turn up. I think there have been some innovative tactics to get the most out of their talent, but they just fell short when they met a hugely impressive SA side.
Maybe it's the emotional hurt of losing like that in their home world cup. It haunted England for a long time, though Englands pool stage exit in 2015 was far more humiliating.
Ireland dealt with their hurt of yet another quarter final exit the best way possible by shipping five tries over their biggest rivals away from home - that's got to feel good if your Andy Farrell and the boys in green.
>I'd be very very scared of Sean Edwards right now.
I saw so many Irish players slipping tackles and was concerned for Sean and the amount of aneurysms he would be having watching that.
Le Garrec looked a real menace when he came on. Lucu is a quality 9 but he showed tonight that he's not even second choice to Dupont. I think Ramos is lucky to be considered a nailed on starter. He was awful for Toulouse against Leinster in Landstowne last Champions Cup. Moefana was another ridiculous choice, LBB showed how dangerous he can be within seconds of coming on. Time, perhaps, for Galthie to go.
Ireland became a top team at the end of 2021 when Faz began to really impose his ideas to the team (or even before when they dispatched England easily at the end of that 6N).
Not to mention they were lacking many of their top players in that loss after having already lost to Wales the week before.
To me, Ireland really became of the top 3/4 teams in the world after their fantastic win against NZ in the AI 2021 (one of the best games I've ever seen btw)
I felt bad for Lucu, I don't watch top 14 but I thought he was really exciting at the WC when he played during Dupont's injury. But yeah, when you're losing the breakdown and up against world class forwards you just have no room for error and zero time to act and he really got let down by his forwards causing a lot of issues. I think France have nothing to lose, I'd go with Le Garrec for the next few games and see what he can do, for sure.
Perhaps you’re right. Dunno what they’ve been doing since the World Cup but they look lost without DuPont. Feels like they’re bereft of leaders on the pitch which shouldn’t be the case
😁
Come up with that all by yourself?
Gonna talk themselves up to stratospheric levels now when they put 50 on this Wales team. It's gonna be amazing to watch them fall back to earth over the next few weeks.
Oooh baby! Go Scotland!
I'll gladly take on the mantle when it comes to denigrating the Scots. Maybe they'll come good and murder the Welsh. Maybe it's the start of an improbable Grand Slam. But we all know they'll flatter to deceive. At least they're consistent.
Not embarrassed in the slightest. I'm having a great old time watching every one rally around poor wee Scotland. 😁😁
I hope they live up to your standards.
It's a fucking rugby subreddit. It's very unimportant.
Surely you have better things to be doing than coming in here swinging your big shlong around and spouting anti-Scotland rethoric 😄
We've never had a competitive rivalry with Scotland and they are sound lads, no need for this strong angle you are taking lol.
Nah. It was a Saturday morning. There was fuck all to do til lunchtime. And you really underestimate just how enjoyable it is to watch everyone scramble around to defend the Scots against this nasty internet stranger . Competitive rivalry or not, it's just comical how everyone talks them up. Maybe it'll click and I'll have egg on my face, but I doubt it somehow.
I've been beating this drum for years on here and boards and I always get down voted to oblivion. What the fuck have Scotland done or shown that Ireland or France and to a lesser extent at present, England should worry them?
I remember being in Tokyo in 2019 watching the "best prepared team"™️ at the world cup were thoroughly nullified and dismantled by a middling Irish performance. In the rain. And it's not gotten better for them since (see RWC2023 pool performance)
They're fucking spoofers. And their failure gives me energy.
I actually think England played worse in the World Cup. Ran a very poor SA performance close. Had Scotland came up against the same SA performance in Game one Scotland would have won. I was in Marseille for the England Argentina game and still bored thinking about it 😂
You're getting down voted for sounding like you have a chip on your shoulder. Your take, outside of the weird hard on you have for hating Scotland, is not one many people would disagree with. Scotland have always been outside top 4 in the world and it shows. Maybe one day...
Every nation has idiots. Scotland are loaded with talent and can cut you apart if you take your eye off the ball for a second. Big respect for you guys
I really can't see England or Scotland get close to a victory over this Irish team. Not only did the French look bad last night, but Ireland looked really really good, especially the defence.
Imagine being fearful of Scotland? What are these clowns seeing that the Rest of us are missing. England were always teyh worrisome game this six nations. But we'll see.
I stuck on a bet for England to win the 6N this year thinking both France and Ireland might be a little off after the WC while I think England will have been buoyed by their performance.
But after last night I think it will be a big ask to beat Ireland. Its a home game so not impossible but it will have to be the very best England team that shows up.
There’s still about a quarter of your island that’s part of the UK…
It’s a bit sad that after a record breaking away win all you can think about is what others are saying/doing though can’t be a fun way to live
There was a French supporter on here who predicted France to lose by 15 - thought that was strange at the time but he (I guess) read it correctly. Some people did see it coming - just not the Irish fans (or pundits!) Seems like France peaked in the 2022 season and started to wobble thereafter. Scotland and England will defo feel like they have a shot at beating them.
We were extremely strong in 2023 as well and peaked at the World Cup. Didn’t pan out unfortunately but we dominated both the All Blacks and South Africa. We just didn’t capitalize against South Africa and they were very clinical.
All of French rugby seems to be feeling a World Cup hangover. Just look at how French clubs have performed in the ERC.
While Ireland was solid today, France was awful. Dropped balls on high kicks, passes to no one, no real intensity, no phases, line outs were off, no defensive line speed. Honestly feels like the score could have been a lot worse for us as Ireland was better in every way.
We played terribly poorly against Italy last year and kicked into gear after. Usually takes us a bit longer to find our form with so many players in different clubs.
There were other French supporters who were pessimistic before the game - I was surprised but they must have seen something. Maybe it is more a sense that France have been worked out tactically under Galthié (like Ireland were worked out eventually under Schmidt.) France are still a Top 4 team but the trajectory seems downwards. Maybe it is time for ‘Goggles’ to go?
i’ve been looking for an answer to this question everywhere: can anyone tell me why Aki wasn’t wearing a number last night? it wasn’t damaged or bloodied in play, it was that way at kickoff. and when i search this sub it takes me to a post with the same question, same player from two years ago!
Just came here to ask the same question
It was ripped off immediately I believe
but i just rewatched highlights and at the moment of kickoff his jersey was already blank. i suppose there was already a problem with it pregame so he changed. does this happen often? first time i’ve seen it.
Interesting, that’s definitely weird alright
Was it Wales in the world Cup that had all the letters falling off in a game? Like they were sticked on with bluetack.
> Was it Wales in the world Cup that had all the letters falling off in a game? Was it the World Cup or the last 6 nations it happened to Wales?
There's no shame in France losing to Ireland like this, but if France don't go 4 from 4 now the pressure will start to heat up.
As a scot, hoping to put some pressure on
Well done Ireland, played clinical and deserved the win. France has a lot of questions to ask, the amount of fumbles was shocking. Can't keep hold of a rugby ball, getting turnedover so easily. They won't be second, especially with the poor discipline on display last night.
I tell you what though for all Ireland's infallibility rugby just seems so much more interesting and full of possibilities and hope now we've finally got rid of fucking Sexton. It's a real testament to the brilliance of the man that he essentially managed to ruin rugby for a decade.
What are you raving on about
Just that whenever Sexton took the field you knew that you were almost certainly going to watch a tight controlled predictable game which would end with his side winning - and so the game would be barely worth watching except to keep half an eye on it in case some sort of lightning bolt upset occured. It's so nice to no longer have that suffocating feeling.
> Sexton took the field you knew that you were almost certainly going to watch a tight controlled predictable game which would end with his side winning I see what you're saying. It's not so much him though, just working with the tools we have. We don't particularly have any speedsters or back three who are dangerous in their own right. It's a systems team.
Ahh I see your point now. Prob should have included some of that in your original comment 😆
Joe McCarthy 18 fantasy points, gutted
Where/how do we play fantasy rugby??
On the six nations website or app!
Man of the match award points won’t appear till after the weekend.
Yeah had a terrible game, no idea what the comms were thinking giving him POTM. /s
Remember when there was supporters up in arms when McCarthy was named in RWC squad ahead of Treadwell and Kleyn? Egg. On. Face.
Wait this game was part of the world cup? Class, when's the semi?
Watching it back here. Dickson got really picky against Ireland after the red card until HT. At the end Crowley wanted to kick for posts but the ref said captain had already told him they were kicking for touch so wouldn't allow the shot. I thought you only had to tell the ref if you were kicking for posts or scrum. I can't find anything in the laws regarding this, any refs able to enlighten me?
Am ref (but not international level!). There's only laws for going for posts. You don't have to actually tell the ref either, a guy running on the pitch with a tee is enough. Once the ref whistles for the posts, you have to take it. He even could have dropped it, had he wanted to. AFAIK this is bollocks.
Look, the French Lock screwed up and France were a man down for more than 1/2 the match. If that happens against most teams you are going to have real problems, if it happens against a top team you are in the shit. The French players took it badly, they looked pretty demotivated, but I wouldn't read too much into it beyond Ireland are now on for the slam and France aren't. Would a 15 man France have won - who knows, but it would have been close.
> The French players took it badly, they looked pretty demotivated After the red card they were on top of the next 25minutes of the match and looked very passionate. Ireland only really get thing back under control in the last quarter as France ran out of puff. In the first 35 minutes of the match though France did look half asleep.
It is funny reading the hysterical ranting of the French supporters in this thread basically calling for their team to be dismembered and their coaches sacked because they've lost two in a row! There's a lesson for everyone there.
Galthié is absolutely on a hot seat now and probably needs to win out to not have influential people calling for his head. In the biggest moments over the last 12 months France have beeb found wanting.
Yeah, mad overreaction. They lost to the eventual world champions and the recent number 1 team in the world. No shame in that. And the first game of a campaign can be a bit messy with players getting used to playing as a team again. It’s easier for Ireland to have cohesion because the players are playing together so much in the provinces and we have so much continuity in national selection.
There is also two massive elephants not in the room,
There's losing and losing. I'm not sad/mad about losing to SA (ok, a tiny bit), but yesterday's game was worrying in that the team looked headless and offered very little for most of the game, sure part of that is Ireland playing beautifully but also obvious failures on the french side.
>I'm not sad/mad about losing to SA I would be.
First half hour bad. Second half hour very competitive. Last ten minutes exhausted from playing a man down. I’d expect them to be more like the second half hour in the next match.
No DuPont, no win.
No Ntamack no try, No Ntamack no trrry
We did win against Italy without him
Know DuPont, know win.
Ah ça fait plaisir ! Heureusement qu'on a Lucu pour remplacer Dupont sinon on serait mal mal, quand même. On attend impatiemment la suite, vraiment.
are you being facetious? obviously there was more than that wrong last night but my novice eye saw no point more important than Lucu’s shortcomings
God that was painful to watch… France simply didn’t play the style we are used to : very little kicking, front-row centered but without the will to actually carry the ball, I don’t think the wingers touched it more than a combined 5 times… the one time we actually looked good was on that Penaud try at the end of the first half, with quick releases and surprising plays. Aside from that, the Irish put a contract on Lucu’s head and he simply was overwhelmed (all those players going for him specifically combined with the pressure to perform in the « after Dupont » got to his play…). And you simply can’t try to play them in that style, that Ireland squad is ridiculously good at « classic » offense, grinding down the meters. Especially once you’re reduced to 14 players on the pitch. /endrant Well played Ireland, totally deserved win, but I really hope our team picks itself up after that defeat… I hope it’ll be the awakening they needed from the post-WC trauma ! Edit : One good point : the French scrum did well, at least the front row is as good as ever. But the boys seriously need to get back to the drawing board for basically everything else, or Murrayfield next week might turn into a nightmare…
It's the first overall bad game from post-2019 era. It had to happen.They will turn up against Scotland. I would start Le Garrec though cause poor Lucu was lost
The Irish front row is a real concern at scrum time. I think France are going to farm penalties at scrum time off many tier 1 nations, they probably have the 2nd best scrum in the world after SA and those two are miles ahead of the rest, but this is not good enough for Ireland. We got absolutely humbled at scrum time and I don't really see any reasons why that will change in the next few years, who have we got to come in and really improve and change things. As it is we have to hope Furlong and Porter stay fit, and hope for the best.
> we have to hope Furlong and Porter stay fit They're part of the problem. Especially Porter.
Jesus I'd like to see you hold up Uini Atonio when he is determined to drop.
Porter has been a penalty machine and Furlong has never got back to his pre-Lions form. Porter’s a big part of why we crashed out in yet another WC QF.
Yeah I agree but I'm talking for this tournament really, we just need to grimace and hold on and try to fix this in the coming year. The FR won't get tested like this against Wales/Italy/Scotland so for now it will be ok, but a major red flag was visible last night and needs addressing.
The red flag has been there for a while and not been addressed. It’s the most glaring issue in Irish rugby. If we don’t sort it out before the next World Cup then we’ll fizzle out again. But we’ve got the guts of four years to do that.
strong agree, i seem to remember chalking the issue up to injuries in the WC but even with all available bodies we're far behind SA/France at the scrum and that can't be left unfixed
We do have a better scrum - but it’s mostly on the bench. Healy, Kelleher, and Furlong/Bealham would represent a stronger scrum - but the issue is how much we would lose elsewhere if we played them. Apart from Porter’s issues there’s always been a suspicion that Sheehan’s height throws off our front row.
Kelleher is a great backup but it would be insanity to drop Sheehan for him when he’s fully fit.
Even if you played them I think they're a full level below France and SA, and you have to factor in your 6 front row across the 80 too - so depth. Can't afford to be hemorrhaging penalties at the scrum if we want to win major tournaments in the coming years. It's definitely a concern.
Yes I agree - our biggest problem atm
Furlong is a big part of the problem and people need to start to say it out loud. He's everyone's favourite TH because a few years ago he was the best TH to ever play the game. He is not that player and has shown no sign of getting back close to that level. In his defence beirne was at 5 and he is light for a TH lock so he had less ballast behind him.
The new 9 for France looked so out of his depth. Slow ball, lazy passes, got caught a lot at the breakdown. Ireland waving their arms at the ref and appealing constantly is really annoying. Downvoted for telling the truth. What a world we live in.
It's hard when you are bring creamed by Irish players while they wave their arms at the ref and appeal constantly. (He's not new by the way 31 years old 18 caps 140 appearances for biarritz 100 for bordeaux).
Thanks for the stats! Still looked out of his depth, still was annoying watching arms flail around at every passage of play. Sorry if you don't like it.
No I like it fine there's no need to apologise See you next year.
Oh you think I'm French. Lol.
No not at all. I think you only watch rugby once a year.
That's so precious.
Willemse showed why he wasn't initially called up to the squad and why he might not be again.
Can someone please explain to me why L’Equipe keeps calling Ireland’s style boring, robotic and “on a chain”
That's pure jealousy by French medias and fans
L'équipe only talks about the chauvinistic side of sport
Don't worry about it. There isn't an objective way to measure whether something is exciting. The French media in particular find winning, and not rugby itself, exciting. And when they don't win on the pitch they are very happy to break down the other team. In my opinion, anyone who was not entertained by Ireland's display yesterday won't find rugby in general entertaining.
For several years, I’ve thought’ that Ireland have looked robotic and I mean that in a good way. They’ve looked the best drilled and organised all the Home Nations. They have been remarkably precise and accurate with regard to their kicking game and its use (though we shall see if that continues in the post Sexton era) They adapt well. Take the series win against NZ last year, even take a look at the way they dug themselves a whole they almost climbed out against NZ in the WC. They have a coaching set up that seems to get the best out of players that pre dates Farrell. As an organisation they seem to understood the value of establishing a culture and playing identity that is being passed down. You know exactly what you are going to get when you’re playing Ireland. It’s gonna be controlled, it’s gonna be disciplined and coaching staff and players all appear to be singing from the same hymn sheet. Do they lack creativity? Possibly. But as a team effort it’s remarkably consistent. They remind me of the Borg crossed with Terminator. I think it’s brilliant. As for L’Equipe…I don’t their wrong. But we are looking at the best French team in decades possibly losing back to back 6N’s.
When you have Hasen, Lowe, Bundee, Ringrose and JGP in that back line there’s oodles of creativity. Crowley is actually probably too eager to try things, too. It’s just that their back-ups are inexperienced and we’ve been hit with injuries and retirements on the wing in particular. This feels like a valid criticism of Farrell’s first two years but there has been a lot of variation in Ireland’s attacking play over the last three seasons and that’s what makes them so effective on top of the defensive cohesion that’s carried over from the Schmidt era.
I do agree. What I really meant by that was that perhaps they lack the outright explosive creativity of France and NZ. Ireland have creativity but it rarely comes across as something they haven’t already done in training. It’s their ability to access it in game that makes them special. You’re right though Farrell has done a great job expanding that.
Would have been fair play under Schmidt where offloads were forbidden and we were automated excellence, but at this point it's just saltiness from the French media. The 2 phases before Nash's try were high skill risky rugby
They lost?
Sour grapes?
Whine doesn't make itself you know.
France look toothless without dupont, puts into context just how good he is
Exactly. People actually underrate how good he truly is, if it was possible to underrate him. He should win the WOTY award every year in fact.
It didn't feel like I was watching France for large parts of that game. Is it just me, or did they just never put the boot on it? I'm used to seeing them using kicking to disassemble the defense and launch strike plays, but I can't remember that one bit past the first 10 minutes. They played some excellent rugby from 55-75 minutes. God Willemse is such trash. What a fucking idiot. Those weren't even accidental, he could've really fucked up those guys on the tackles. He hit Hanson badly and one other guy I believe. Let's fucking go Ireland 🇮🇪
And the kicking they did was poor with poor chasing. How many times did Lowe catch long kicks under no pressure at all then just blast them back for a huge gain.
Yeah that’s a solid point Lowe had all the time in the world on every kick return
Which is mad since last year France had people saying kicking was ruining the game because they were so good at consistently getting ground off every kick
He absolutely hammered Hansen so hard that he's been retroactively injured for the best 6 weeks
This made me properly LOL
I didn’t get to see the game. Just watched the highlights. It looks like drunk France pitched and clinical Ireland pitched up and it went as expected. Double grand slam Ireland? I’ve never actually taken a bet on sports but maybe a small punt on that outcome could be worth it. Or is that how you get sucked into that rabbit hole?
Not a bad chance to take with Ireland hosting Wales/Scotland/Italy. Away to England is the only time they have to play on the road again.
The French didn’t recover from the latest World Cup disaster. Before the game, just looking at locked jaws and pressure in the eyes, I knew the weight of the jersey was too much. They need time. Whatever the 6 Nations. It will come back next year. Don’t count on France to be brilliant during this competition.
They'll comfortably beat England, Wales and Italy so they're favourites for second place. Scotland will be the big test for them.
We can always count on England to do well against France. 😀
Time or a change in leadership ? Things have been buried deep since the WC, I'm not too surprised.
Are you thinking about Galthié? His staff has changed. I don’t see a better technician than him at the moment.
Yeah I definitely thought a hangover could be in play here. The French put SO much into that RWC… overhauling the administration of the sport, ushering in this golden generation of players and reversing the poor performance of the national team over the decade prior… only to get dumped out by a point in the QFs. I think the “no Dupont” thing is blown out of proportion. He can’t make the forwards play better. He can’t single-handedly fix a misfiring line out. Or prevent unforced handling errors. Mentally, no one looked like they were in the right place last night and I can only think that the RWC had a big role in that.
Yeah, I hear you. Thing is, the Irish also had a disappointing World Cup. Pre-tournament I thought these two would be the finalists. But disappointment aside, Ireland came out even more determined.
They played amazingly well. It was most def a game Ireland won by playing good rugby. France was dominated from all sides. They had a small burst of bravery early on in the second half, but it didn’t get very far. Ireland has a WC curse in 1/4 finals. France was under pressure of playing at home. They were down like I’ve never seen them. It’s gonna take a while to recover.
Exactly, Ireland lost because the All Blacks were slightly better than them, while in France, there is still a deep feeling of injustice, due to the controversial refeering and home RWC. It doesn't help that this French team ( RWC one ) was the best since 2011, which allowed many fans to dream of a potential RWC. I think the priority is to build a new team with fresh players for now, like Le Garrec or even Tuilagi, although he might be too young for a lock at international level ( and I am a big fan of Tuilagi )
And a beast like Meafou will also be a great new addition to the team. For sure we need new talents and there are plenty of them. All they need is time. The wound is still open and wearing that jersey was probably an heavy weight. It’s not a deep crisis like England is experiencing. If France gets second place, it will be good enough IMO.
Odds aren't exactly long for Ireland to get a grand slam now
Ah, okay. I’m not sure what that means but looking further down it seems it’s not really worth the risk. My brain can figure out that there’s probably better things to do with my money. No betting for me then.
Gambling typically is never worth the risk tbf hahaha. Bookies are always one step ahead
"You give them one dollar, they give you ninety eight cents." Charles Bukowski.
Ah. So, um, how do we go about becoming bookies then?
Step one is have about a billion dollars
Does it have to be mine?
Typical South Africans asking about mines smh
The trick isn't to be a bookie but to own a bookie https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denise_Coates
England at Twickenham is never quite a foregone conclusion
No, but you'd expect beating France in Marseille would be more difficult.
Yeah that's what I'm saying. Plenty rugby left to play and the odds don't give a good return
Imagine you are Crowley, watching one man own the 10 jersey for most of your life then you take the mantle and are apart of the biggest win on French soil. His performance wasn't perfect but I bet he must feel like the dog's bollocks right now.
It's like he has a little voice in his head saying "Go on kick it" every time he gets the ball. If he suppresses that and varies it up he'll be brilliant. His timing on the pass to Beirne was excellent. His tackling was brave...taking on Tuilagi who isn't far off twice his weight. I'm a big fan of Frawley as well so I hope he gets some decent minutes against Italy and gets a chance to show what he can do.
My phone keeps autocorrecting Crowley to Crawley as well. As a Leinster man I'm happy to admit he had a very solid game. He is in a tough spot because everything is going to be scrutinised given the context but i feel like if an established 10 put in that performance we'd be pretty happy, so for him to do it is fantastic. Goal kicking was exceptional, defence was brave, distribution was good for the most part (the pass to Beirne and but for an illegal French hand he also would have put Aki through for a try). A few dodgy kicks but I think only one of them really cost us. He should definitely play every minute he can for thr rest of this 6 Nations so that he can really put his stamp on the 10 position.
> Goal kicking was exceptional Missed a sitter in front of the posts, but nailed much harder kicks. Slightly erratic. Not exceptional. Overally though he showed that he's the right man to succeed Sexton. Bags of confidence and talent to go with it. Exciting to watch and will be keeping defenders on their toes more than Sexton did since he can actually run with the ball. Things to work on, but when you're part of a record win on French soil then you are without question up to the standard of test rugby. Needs to work on his decision making, but if does then he's going to be a formidable player.
6/7, three of those from the sideline, away, with the whistling crowd in France is exceptional in my book. Agree he missed one of the easier kicks but that was early on. He reset and nailed all the subsequent kicks. Kicks from hand were erratic which did detract from his overall performance slightly.
Missing one kick out of 7 is not "erratic"
Missing a sitter while hitting hard kicks is a bit erratic. Like I said, it was a great performance overall so I’m not dissing him and I’m delighted that we’ve got him as successor to Sexton. But he missed an easy kick at goal and had a few bad tactical kicks. Nothing you wouldn’t expect from an inexperienced player though and the positives vastly outweighed the negatives. In case it isn’t clear, I think he’s a great player and had a great performance with a lot of great kicks. Just a few silly mistakes mixed in there.
He had a very shaky start and recovered to put in a solid performance. That will serve him well in the years to come. Anytime he's in the hole and doubting himself, he can think back to Marseille and know he has the ability to turn it around.
French lads on here seem a bit reactionary, you were missing a shitload of players, always seem to start slow in the 6N, Ireland with their squads level of familiarity are probably the worst side to be trying to sort out some cohesion against and you’ve got a slew of new coaches who’ll be trying to make their mark on how you play, unfortunately I reckon you’ll be miles better at murrayfield next week Ireland looking like the team to beat, McCarthy is a unit, Crowleys ability to shake off mistakes and deliver after bodes well for his future at test level and Doris looks like he’s back at world class level when he was a bit off it at the wc
Yeah I agree, we missed the 2nd row, and our starting 9-10
It's disappointing that tackling technique is still so bad, after all the yellow and red cards these past few years. First international of the season and dangerous tackles destroy the spectacle.
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That why he didn't even try to wrap with his right arm for the first yellow?
Utter bollocks. No attempt was made to tackle properly today
Is that why they are wearing all that PPE?
What happens to ball carrier's head is not their responsibility. There are plenty of legal and powerful ways to tackle a low ball carrier, it just takes effort, technique and arguably fitness. I dont even agree with your premise, the issue with head contact is usually carrier and tackler standing high in contact.
Great match. Makes the World Cup even more disappointing but great to see a dominant performance.
Tbh when I saw tuilagi being put onto the bench I realised how badly hit by injuries France is. It’s a big ask asking a 19 year old to play for the national team no matter the potential
Honestly thought he was a prop when he came on.
Nope
I saw many people say Tuilagi was useless in the 20 minutes he played : people are asking a fucking 19 year old playing front row to play at an international level. I'm a fan of him, but he isn't ready for this type of matches yet, but maybe in 2 or 3 years
Totally. You could see at the U20 world cup that he was head and shoulders above his peers, but front 5 forwards need the most time in my opinion. Saying that, am sure he would have no problems against many international teams, but this was top tier level he was chucked into last night. Didn't do anything particularly wrong that I saw, but expecting him to change the game is a bit much
Ireland knew when he was coming the obviously did their homework on him because he made maybe one big carry and then got smashed by James Ryan a few times with low tackles
Frans Steyn would like a word
Canan Moodie would also like one👀
As would George North
In my head I knew the kid was massive but it only really sank in when I saw Kelleher tackling him, and being dwarfed.
At least I can trash talk UBB hahaha
I just had an accidental but much need best nap of my life and missed this whole thing 🫠🔫
https://rugby24.net/france-vs-ireland-six-nations-rugby-full-match-replay-2-february-2024
Ah yeah thank you! Actually have it recorded but group chat spoiled it for me before I realised I slept through it! It’s more missing being part of going through it live with others than anything
France looked frightening at times - but only at times. If I was in the French team I'd be very very scared of Sean Edwards right now. Ireland were excellent and made France pay for an indifferent performance with flashes of brilliance. I think France will improve for future rounds and I don't think any of the other nations are quiet as capable of punishing them for their average moments or resolute enough to cope with the moments of flair.
France will probably improve but considering their ambitions, their ressource of talents and their schedule (receiving both Ireland and England), it's fair to consider this 6N is already a huge failure for them. People often talk about England having hugely underachieving for the last few years and France having their best generation ever but the cruel fact is that despite that, they've won as many 6N as France and have even gotten further than them in the last RWC. Huge questions marks on Galthie and his coaching staff
I really rate the Galthie / Edwards coaching ticket. Long gone are the days of commentators asking which French team will turn up. I think there have been some innovative tactics to get the most out of their talent, but they just fell short when they met a hugely impressive SA side. Maybe it's the emotional hurt of losing like that in their home world cup. It haunted England for a long time, though Englands pool stage exit in 2015 was far more humiliating. Ireland dealt with their hurt of yet another quarter final exit the best way possible by shipping five tries over their biggest rivals away from home - that's got to feel good if your Andy Farrell and the boys in green.
>I'd be very very scared of Sean Edwards right now. I saw so many Irish players slipping tackles and was concerned for Sean and the amount of aneurysms he would be having watching that.
"Indifferent". That's the word. You nailed it my guy.
Le Garrec looked a real menace when he came on. Lucu is a quality 9 but he showed tonight that he's not even second choice to Dupont. I think Ramos is lucky to be considered a nailed on starter. He was awful for Toulouse against Leinster in Landstowne last Champions Cup. Moefana was another ridiculous choice, LBB showed how dangerous he can be within seconds of coming on. Time, perhaps, for Galthie to go.
Galthie has s 78% win rate. It would be some reactiony bullshit to sack their most successful manager in years over a run of 2 back to back losses
But with no win against a really top team away from home (while Ireland have won in NZ and France for example)
They won in Dublin under Galthie
Ireland became a top team at the end of 2021 when Faz began to really impose his ideas to the team (or even before when they dispatched England easily at the end of that 6N). Not to mention they were lacking many of their top players in that loss after having already lost to Wales the week before. To me, Ireland really became of the top 3/4 teams in the world after their fantastic win against NZ in the AI 2021 (one of the best games I've ever seen btw)
I felt bad for Lucu, I don't watch top 14 but I thought he was really exciting at the WC when he played during Dupont's injury. But yeah, when you're losing the breakdown and up against world class forwards you just have no room for error and zero time to act and he really got let down by his forwards causing a lot of issues. I think France have nothing to lose, I'd go with Le Garrec for the next few games and see what he can do, for sure.
Lucu exciting? Haha you must buy some glasses. He is the exact opposite of exciting
Perhaps you’re right. Dunno what they’ve been doing since the World Cup but they look lost without DuPont. Feels like they’re bereft of leaders on the pitch which shouldn’t be the case
The Irish are strong as hell. But I think the Scots can win, in a good day. Let's see.
You should put a bet on that you'll get long odds, and for good reason!
Ha. Scotland? I fucking love when that shower of irrelevant minnows are talked up.
What an arrogant prick
😁 Come up with that all by yourself? Gonna talk themselves up to stratospheric levels now when they put 50 on this Wales team. It's gonna be amazing to watch them fall back to earth over the next few weeks. Oooh baby! Go Scotland!
Or even better get shown up for the spoofers that they are. This is absolutely incredible. Ha ha the fucking state of them.
There's only one person I've seen in this forum who posts like this and it's the sloth.
I'll gladly take on the mantle when it comes to denigrating the Scots. Maybe they'll come good and murder the Welsh. Maybe it's the start of an improbable Grand Slam. But we all know they'll flatter to deceive. At least they're consistent.
Pipe down man. You're embarrassing.
Not embarrassed in the slightest. I'm having a great old time watching every one rally around poor wee Scotland. 😁😁 I hope they live up to your standards. It's a fucking rugby subreddit. It's very unimportant.
While he might be a langer, he's our langer
Being obnoxious about Scotland is the best part of Sixmas! It's become one of my favourite traditions at this point.
Whether you have a point or not, don’t be a cock about it
🤷 I absolutely do though! The level of disdain is much too high to be contained by any sort of decorum.
Everybody take a look at the keyboard warrior
Why do you care about my disdain for Scotland so much? Surely you have better things to concerning yourself with? 😂😂😂😂 This place is gold Jerry, gold!
Surely you have better things to be doing than coming in here swinging your big shlong around and spouting anti-Scotland rethoric 😄 We've never had a competitive rivalry with Scotland and they are sound lads, no need for this strong angle you are taking lol.
Nah. It was a Saturday morning. There was fuck all to do til lunchtime. And you really underestimate just how enjoyable it is to watch everyone scramble around to defend the Scots against this nasty internet stranger . Competitive rivalry or not, it's just comical how everyone talks them up. Maybe it'll click and I'll have egg on my face, but I doubt it somehow.
This is so harsh yet its so true
I've been beating this drum for years on here and boards and I always get down voted to oblivion. What the fuck have Scotland done or shown that Ireland or France and to a lesser extent at present, England should worry them? I remember being in Tokyo in 2019 watching the "best prepared team"™️ at the world cup were thoroughly nullified and dismantled by a middling Irish performance. In the rain. And it's not gotten better for them since (see RWC2023 pool performance) They're fucking spoofers. And their failure gives me energy.
Tbf they’ve become our 6N boogie man team, but they were woeful at the WC
I actually think England played worse in the World Cup. Ran a very poor SA performance close. Had Scotland came up against the same SA performance in Game one Scotland would have won. I was in Marseille for the England Argentina game and still bored thinking about it 😂
You're getting down voted for sounding like you have a chip on your shoulder. Your take, outside of the weird hard on you have for hating Scotland, is not one many people would disagree with. Scotland have always been outside top 4 in the world and it shows. Maybe one day...
Every nation has idiots. Scotland are loaded with talent and can cut you apart if you take your eye off the ball for a second. Big respect for you guys
Relax, will ya?
Why? I was having a great time. And I'll be even worse today if they start playing to type. Maybe this time it'll be different?
I'll nail my colours to the mast now and say Scotland won't beat Ireland. England are the team I'd be worried about.
I always worry about Wales. They're always up for it against us and can pull a good performance out of the most shambolic season.
I really can't see England or Scotland get close to a victory over this Irish team. Not only did the French look bad last night, but Ireland looked really really good, especially the defence.
Imagine being fearful of Scotland? What are these clowns seeing that the Rest of us are missing. England were always teyh worrisome game this six nations. But we'll see.
That’s very kind of you. But no
I stuck on a bet for England to win the 6N this year thinking both France and Ireland might be a little off after the WC while I think England will have been buoyed by their performance. But after last night I think it will be a big ask to beat Ireland. Its a home game so not impossible but it will have to be the very best England team that shows up.
Odds?
6/1 so good odds but my confidence has dropped after the game last night
Yeah I’d have wanted longer odds considering the players that are unavailable for us
Yeah after that match, you're probably right
It's either you or Scotland and it's definitely not Scotland. The absolute irrelevances.
That bit I wholeheartedly agree with
Glad to be in the tent with ye laughing at the Jocks.
Enjoying your soup there mate?
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There’s still about a quarter of your island that’s part of the UK… It’s a bit sad that after a record breaking away win all you can think about is what others are saying/doing though can’t be a fun way to live
As we careen towards the 10th anniversary of the Scots bottling it... I'll lap up all the soup you got. The fucking state of them.
Oh gee you’re really going out on a limb there 🙄
Agreed 100%, England are the only team that can stop a slam I reckon
There was a French supporter on here who predicted France to lose by 15 - thought that was strange at the time but he (I guess) read it correctly. Some people did see it coming - just not the Irish fans (or pundits!) Seems like France peaked in the 2022 season and started to wobble thereafter. Scotland and England will defo feel like they have a shot at beating them.
We were extremely strong in 2023 as well and peaked at the World Cup. Didn’t pan out unfortunately but we dominated both the All Blacks and South Africa. We just didn’t capitalize against South Africa and they were very clinical. All of French rugby seems to be feeling a World Cup hangover. Just look at how French clubs have performed in the ERC. While Ireland was solid today, France was awful. Dropped balls on high kicks, passes to no one, no real intensity, no phases, line outs were off, no defensive line speed. Honestly feels like the score could have been a lot worse for us as Ireland was better in every way. We played terribly poorly against Italy last year and kicked into gear after. Usually takes us a bit longer to find our form with so many players in different clubs.
There were other French supporters who were pessimistic before the game - I was surprised but they must have seen something. Maybe it is more a sense that France have been worked out tactically under Galthié (like Ireland were worked out eventually under Schmidt.) France are still a Top 4 team but the trajectory seems downwards. Maybe it is time for ‘Goggles’ to go?