Forgot that, poor on my part, misremembered the whole thing; forgot what I was annoyed about
Just the 9 changes from the 6N defeat to France
But not much in the way of new blood
Gerry “Thorndawg” Thornley gets how big this test match is…,
“This match has been referred to as the Super Bowl of Rugby and a smiling Farrell said it was a privilege to be here.”
Cormac izichuku
He’s injured I think.
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How he juggles an injury to an outside back be interesting.
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Crowley get screwed again
He’s not even in the squad. Don’t think he’d be considered for that second row spot either.
As per Mattie Williams, when discussing this test match can we refer to New Zealand as New Zealand and not the A** B***** please.
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What is that all aboiut? 
I see the All Black second row is Holland and Barrett.
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Looks like a healthy option for them
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Haters be damned. Rugby World Cup starts in Chicago
Johnny Waterson
Rugby has its fair share of sceptics. There are people who only see the class aspect, the fee-paying schools and the blue-chip texture of the IRFU.
They don’t like the fact that one of rugby’s main points of difference with the rest of the planet is that it is not soccer.
They don’t like the old school crests and the club ties, the kind of cultural glue that holds the sport together.
They don’t like the battle imagery and the warrior memes that lionise openside flankers and tighthead props and inflate their status as latter-day gladiators.
They don’t like that rugby players pretend they are not hurt, while football players pretend that they are; and they don’t like that laws, not rules govern the sport because, like having to throw the ball backwards to go forwards, it is another rugby conceit.
Most particularly, the haters dislike that every international match commands serious attention and that the week leading up to a Saturday Test consumes print, online and television media for a seven-day run-in.
The haters disrespectfully call these matches mere friendlies. They argue that the exceptionalism of rugby breeds arrogance and a sense of privilege that demand attention the sport should not get.
That means hater heads will be spinning over the next four weeks, with a smorgasbord of matches taking place, kicking off with Ireland playing against New Zealand, highlighting another tetchy point that feeds into the animus: the ease with which fans cough up air fares to support the boys in green.
Japan, Australia and South Africa follow as more grist to the mill, and these matches are far from friendlies.
Ranking spots
The outcomes, especially against New Zealand and world champions South Africa, will determine ranking spots.
The ranking will shape how Ireland fare in the draw for the next Rugby World Cup (RWC), which is in Australia in 2027 – and boy do the Irish team need a leg-up there.
According to World Rugby, rankings are calculated using a “points exchange” system, where sides gain or lose points based on the match result.
Other criteria include the relative strength of each team, the margin of victory, and an allowance for home advantage.
When the November matches were organised, the IRFU anticipated that the World Cup draw would take place shortly afterwards, this time in Sydney on Wednesday, December 3rd.
Beating the top teams over the next month means potentially avoiding them in the early stages of the 2027 tournament.
Traditionally, the RWC format had 20 teams that were divided into four pools of five teams. The top two teams from each pool would then progress to the quarter-finals – the first round of the knockout phase, and the very point where Ireland traditionally come unstuck.
In the new format of 24 teams, the biggest RWC in the sport’s history, each team will be seeded according to its ranking. The 24 teams are sorted into four bands of six teams based on their position, which will currently line up as South Africa, ranked one in the world, New Zealand, Ireland, France, England and Argentina.
For Ireland, this month is a four-match shoot-out to maintain or improve their current third position in the world rankings.
In 2027, there will also be a knockout round of 16 after the pool phase for the first time. The top two teams from each pool will progress to the round of 16, while the four best third-place teams will also advance.
“The introduction of a round of 16 will deliver even more knockout rugby, ensuring every match counts and every team has the chance to make history,” said World Rugby chair Brett Robinson.
While the number of nations has increased, players will not be asked to play more games.
For example, when South Africa won the competition in Paris in 2023, they played seven games: four in the pool stage, a quarter-final, a semi-final and a final.
If they were to reach the final of RWC 2027, they would still only play seven games, three in the pool stage, then a Round of 16, a quarter-final, a semi-final and a final.
All but one place in the next tournament has been decided, with a final qualification tournament taking place in Dubai in November.
Four nations face off for the last place including Namibia, Belgium, Samoa and Brazil, meaning every team will be known when the draw takes place in December.
Speaking in 2023, former Ireland and Munster outhalf Ronan O’Gara picked up on the joyless craic of hating the sport after the All Blacks beat Ireland in the RWC quarter-final.
“You can see the way some people don’t like the Irish rugby team,” he said before going on to explain how it has changed over the years and appeals “to the normal Joe Soap”.
He spoke of a team that was “genuine, normal, that represents the working-class people of Ireland as opposed to just the elite private schools”.
Not everyone sees it the way Rog does. So, for the haters holding their noses, spare rugby the unserious “friendly” tag for the November Test series.
Because the World Cup in Australia does not begin for Ireland in 2027 but tomorrow in Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois.
November would be an exceptionally bleak month if it wasn’t for the November rugby games.
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Oh Johnny, the build up to the RWC started when the last one ended
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Jesus an absolute evisceration there from Johnny Vs the awkward squad cc @Kyle
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Harder to get knocked out in the groups than to qualify for the next round by the sounds of things. Basically guarantees the top 10 cannot get knocked out by a shock result; the scutchings to the Namibias and Uruguays of this world guarantee progression
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Johnny fucking Waterson. He wouldn’t eviscerate a bag of chips
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Where are we at with the 4 year cycle? Building up full steam?
I haven’t commented on rubby in months and you want to drag me back in? … i read 5 or 6 lines of that tripe and your man is fixated with soccer ball. Dripping with insecurity like most rubby enthusiasts… looks like he’s doing a lot of explaining