As the form scrum half available to Ireland I went with Isaac Boss, or as I like to pronounce it, “Ayyyyeee-zaaaaak Bawwwwwssss” (in a Mark Robson voice, give it a try, it feels good).
There’s little doubt that the scrummaging power and lineout ability of Bob Casey would have been a huge asset tomorrow. The French front five are beasts and it’s here that they may lay down the platform for victory. Paul O’Connell in particular has fared poorly over the years against the French. While Leo Culllen will be a trump card in the lineouts its a big ask to upset the giants Nallet and Pape.
Unfortunately I fear the ponderous half back pairing will impact negatively on the undoubted potential of the back line and that Ronan O’Gara’s Paris ghosts will come back to haunt him. For attacking options we will be relying on a moment of genius from O’Driscoll, the ball carrying ability of the back row and the long booming kicks of the Kearnivore, who needs to up his performance in a big way if Ireland are to win.
I think it will finish something like
France 22 Ireland 10.
I’m from Leinster and I think Reddan is an embarrassment so any talk of bias can end right here. France will win by more than one try but less than two. France by 10.
The tackling on that first try was diabolical.
How could a guy wrapped up by two players like that not be brought to the ground and break out of both tackles.
Clancy is an awful official. He’s just ignoring the malfunctioning scrum for the most part. He should also be required to do an elocution course to enable the players to understand his instructions.
