How’s it a Ponzi scheme ?
Brilliant for all the Irish in America too. A very distant relation of mine was one of the founders
Of the Shannon rovers pipe band. They played before the game. He left Ireland in the 1920s.
Neale knows that his smug South Dublin head drives Shinners and barstool republicans mental.
He pretends to be oblivious to it, which makes it even better.
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England look to be building a serious team now. Pollock is an animal.
I’d have England, France and South Africa ahead of Ireland, New Zealand and the Aussies.
When push comes to shove the French will win fuck all in international rugby and you can see England repeating their 2003 World Cup win in 27.
Ireland will be coming with a team for 2027
Did 1% of the Chicago population know this match was on I wonder?
I’d have major doubts about Farrell. We desperately need to produce another o Driscoll or an outstanding back three player.
Watch will Jordan. He’s like the wind. It makes all the difference in big games. Just watched back the quarter final in 23. The individual brilliance New Zealand had to create tries. We simply don’t have that anymore.
Who’s going to break through in the meantime? Would anyone in the know here be able to hazard a guess as to the starting 15 in the 2027 rugby World Cup quarter-final? Hugo Keenan back at full-back and maybe a bolter like Gleeson (Munster) or Izuchuckwu (Ulster) but this team needs 4 or 5 to emerge to freshen it up. Who are they?
I read something like 8-10 percentage of people in Chicago have Irish ancestry so I’m going to guess yes they did.
It’s mad I saw another poster slag off playing this game in Chicago and the same fella was praising the nfl for playing a game in Dublin a few weeks ago.
My sister lives in Chicago now. She was delighted. Caught up with friends from all over during the weekend for all I doubt she’s ever watched a game of rugby in her life.
I guess people will always find the negatives in something no matter what.
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That’s the danger of reading too much into that O’Byrne Cup win for Munster over Leinster recently. We all know Crowley isn’t international class & we need to either fast track Caspar or revert to Penguin Pender. When I was dissecting the highlights a while ago, I also noted the midget Munster scrum half conveniently buying his direct opponent’s obvious dummy for the last try to avoid getting trampled over. You won’t do anything at international level with a tiny chap at the base of the scrum. I think we’re in dire straits because the Leinster core are way over the hill & those meant to be pressurising them to take their places aren’t at the level.
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They said the same about young Osmond until
He was given the chance in hampden today
Good that she met her friends and I hope it helped with any homesickness.
But it’s a bizarre spot to play a game and I can’t think I of a less rugby city on earth. Except for most of the other cities on earth
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2031 World Cup is on there.
My understanding is the Chicago bears are leaving soldier field because it’s city owned. The host cities for the 2031 World Cup are announced soon enough so I guess there’s an effort to build connections and it would be worth fortunes to the city to get a few games.
My understanding is the met life isn’t an option for Ireland in November because they have two nfl teams play there. So Chicago makes sense because of the big Irish population.
Lolz
Hard to look past SA and their “programme”
RORS O’Connor is very downbeat after “the rematch”, very downbeat.
Another big whinge about sexton no doubt
Any word from this Waterson fella ?
Bewildering capitulation should occupy Farrell’s thinking over the coming days and weeks
Johnny Watterson
Last 20 minutes in Soldier Field felt like watching an Irish team of the past
One of the confounding aspects of how the last 20 minutes unfolded in Soldier Field on Saturday was its fever dream quality. It felt like watching an Irish team of the past.
The drooped Irish shoulders, the hands on hips, the negative body language as New Zealand ran in three late tries.
It looked like a screenshot from decades ago, long before Irish management bought into the notion that player loads, physical strength and fitness relate to mental acuity and are just as important elements to winning matches as tactics and ability.
It was a throwback to the days when fans could set their watches by the moment Test matches began to crumble in front of their eyes. Usually, those fractures began to appear in the last 20 minutes.
It was expected to happen, especially against the stronger nations. Back then, it was an aspect of Irish team character to shake any side up for much of the match but rarely sustain that level and win the match.
New Zealand was a case in point, with close-but-no-cigar moments until 2016.
No question, the current players are fitter, stronger and have long ago kicked off the flaw of caving at the end of the match. Which makes the capitulation on Saturday so bewildering.
But that’s exactly what happened and why it should occupy Andy Farrell’s thinking over the coming days and weeks.
New Zealand replacements Tamaiti Williams and Wallace Sititi scored tries in the 62nd and 67th minutes, with scrumhalf Cam Roigard adding another on 77 minutes in their scorched-earth phase of the game.
Three tries in 15 minutes against a New Zealand team that was not firing was a more than disappointing way to end the game for Ireland.
Williams’s score arrived just after Garry Ringrose had shot up and hit Beauden Barrett with a tackle that didn’t stick and the players bounced off each other.
French referee Pierre Brousset stopped play to have a closer look to see if there had been head contact, which there was not. No foul play but an All Black penalty was awarded.
The tap-and-go from five yards out from hooker Codie Taylor was all muscle and grunt, but New Zealand got in at the second phase as Williams slid in under Irish players.
Having become used to bodies firing out hard to protect the Irish line, the New Zealand try looked all too easily worked.
Five minutes later, after a strong attacking counter from Ireland, a scrum was won on the New Zealand five-metre line. But the All Blacks broke out, setting up phases and began running a counterattack.
Ringrose sprinted out of the Irish line but was sidestepped, as was James Lowe who was coming up hard on his man.
That allowed replacement Damian McKenzie the chance to break on the right with space in front of him. He found Sititi inside, who ran in untouched by the Ireland defence, Caelan Doris on his shoulder just as he crossed. New Zealand went 19-13 ahead with the conversion.
Roigard’s score was the most illuminating moment of the poor Irish finish.
The scrumhalf was surrounded by Irish bodies at a New Zealand scrum on the Irish five-metre line. First, he cut inside replacement scrumhalf Craig Casey and the same move took out flanker Josh van der Flier, whose hands glanced off the All Black’s legs.
Doris, who was moving across, also got a hand to him but momentum was with Roigard who got over the line too easily.
Three Irish players were beaten in one move for 26-13 with less than four minutes remaining.
Switching off for a moment mentally, a lack of edge, a deflated, beaten mindset or rusty at Test match level? Whatever it was, it’s a state they have not been in for some time. It is essential they identify it and stop the fever dreams from happening again.
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