All the pack should be around for 4 or 5 years Iād say. Backs are fairly old alright.
Beirne and Conan would be around the 30 mark too. Not a major problem with the World Cup only 18 months away and plenty of youth in reserve but Gerry was well wide of the mark classing it as a young Irish team. The Irish team of the early 2000ās was an actual young team.
Itās a relatively young pack.
I think the team feels young. A big change in personal since the 2019 World Cup and with so many big games behind closed doors it feels like tonight was their first big away test.
Youād be delighted for Joey Carbery.
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To be fair if Sexton had of been on the field as captain that kick would have gone to the corner and as sure as jaysus Ireland would have got the try and won.
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Joey Carbery is a fraud.
Grand Slam gone up in smoke. A disaster.
Feel for Faz, Murray and OāMahony really let him down when they came on.
Jamison, Mack and Bundee were best for Ireland.
It was a decent effort from Ireland and it played out as most rugby people expected - Ireland to give it a good rattle, die with their boots on, but ultimately come up short against a France side who are the best in the world at the moment. Irish wins in Paris donāt come about too often - thereās been just 5 in the past 90 years. Just tall an order to topple this mighty French side.
Soccer types like @Thomas_Brady and @dodgy_keeper who invest so much in the fortunes of the Ireland rugby team are just crushed again, no matter how many times a rugby sage like @gilgamboa urges caution and a dose of realism.
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Both Aviva games
Thereās a massive change imo. In the past we could beat England or France with a perfect performance. Weāre everything would go right and weād win well.
Even NZ in the autumn we done a lot wrong but we still hammered them for a finish.
This Irish team is a little different. They are able to roll with the punches and dig in when they are being outplayed which is admirable.
I donāt think itās the most talented off 1-15s but I think we will become a very good side fairly soon.
Henderson should come in for James Ryan and possible Coombes for Conan and switch Doris to 8.
That would seriously beef up the Irish 1-8 and allow us to implement our game plan a little more and give the creative players more time.
9 and 10 need sorted too imo. Thatāll be huge going forward.
Iām very optimistic tbh.
Fair play to Farrell Iād huge doubts about him but heās doing a very good job.
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Ireland are defo playing a more confident brand of rugby ā¦it was Frances muscle that was the difference as opposed to flare
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Not a great game until second half.
Winner in the last minute made the night tho
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Ya rob Kearney was correct In his analysis about the speed of the ball. When itās slow itās nearly impossible for Ireland to do anything only kick it in to the air as they donāt have lads that can carry it into traffic and create quick ball.
A return to form for stocdale would be huge. As heās a big unit and can break tackles. Just something a little different is all we need.
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They had some serious piano lifters out there. France had changed their entire Front 5, early in second half. One small criticism of the Ireland brains trust is they should have emptied the bench earlier.
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In fairness Sheehan was on in the first half and the drop off to Healy and bealham is big.
I dunno why they took so long to bring in Henderson. Conan was also struggling too. Pom going off meant weād very little freshness.
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@ChairmanDan id also disagree with your point about Ireland going for the sticks. Imo they should have gone down the line.
The French looked a little tired at that stage and invariably if Ireland secured the line out ball theyād have probably gotten another advantage quickly enough.
Imo it was a poor call.
What fucking idiot liked that post? @larmister I donāt know who the fuck you are but donāt think youāll get away with lurking around here and then liking tripe like that without getting noticed.
āIreland will be a good team soonā - yeah no doubt theyāll peak just perfectly for the World Cup. Have you ever heard such shite in your life?
This is the man who said Coach Ole would win the PL in the next 2 seasons. He knows about horses.
@ChairmanDan has been a very good judge of todayās events. Ireland are the 2nd best team in the Northern hemisphere. Thatās as good as it will get for them and they should be happy with that. They may well sneak in a 6 Nation Championship this year or next. Today wasnāt bad.
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Who do we think will be number 9 come the World Cup (assuming no injuries)?
Doak looks very good and Casey can improve under a good coaching ticket in Munster.
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I meant the French. Think they have England at home though.