Yep, that's exactly the call I see people proposing. He's a bit unlucky to miss out for November.
Rugby 2018 Discussion
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I think that predicted squad is very close to what it will end up being, the only thing I would dispute is that I'm fairly sure Schmidt will take five half backs so one of Marmion or Byrne will be included (if it's Byrne then Marmion will probably go ahead of Cooney anyway given Cooney's USP as a makeshift 10 will be less valuable). If that is the case then I suspect Chris Farrell might be the one to miss out which would be desperately unlucky given that he's been really good whenever called upon.
There are probably also question marks about hooker (Best is a concern and Schmidt has never seemed that enamoured with the other options) and the back row due to the number of choices (maybe Jordi Murphy, who Schmidt really likes, gets in due to his versatility ahead of the excellent Rhys Ruddock) but it's nice to be so confident about the make up of the squad with a year to go although we'll probably still go out in the quarters.
There are probably also question marks about hooker (Best is a concern and Schmidt has never seemed that enamoured with the other options) and the back row due to the number of choices (maybe Jordi Murphy, who Schmidt really likes, gets in due to his versatility ahead of the excellent Rhys Ruddock) but it's nice to be so confident about the make up of the squad with a year to go although we'll probably still go out in the quarters.
@unchanged_lineup Get your green and gold on in spirit and think about how good it would be for Ireland if the Wallabies could beat the All Blacks by 15+ in Japan
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If All Blacks lose by 15 in Japan to Australia that is very bad for Ireland as they will be facing an angry All Blacks team
What's the story with Conor Murray's injury, anyone heard anything? Whole thing seems a bit strange
On a side note going to the NZ game in the Aviva, can't wait!
Nice!
Murray says he's 90%. He did an interesting interview about it. It sounds like players want to keep quiet about injuries for insurance reasons, amongst others. Sexton talked about it in another interview.
https://www.independent.ie/sport/ru...-he-targets-latenovember-return-37454274.html
New Zealand 37 Australia 20
Beauden Barrett's try in the 2nd half was a thing of beauty. Ben Smith's try appeared to warrant closer inspection due to a hint of obstruction from Aaron Smith. Whatever the rights and wrongs of Ben Smith's try, the better side won and the officiating didn't cost the Wallabies. Tolu Latu has now been needlessly yellow carded in consecutive test matches.
Beauden Barrett's try in the 2nd half was a thing of beauty. Ben Smith's try appeared to warrant closer inspection due to a hint of obstruction from Aaron Smith. Whatever the rights and wrongs of Ben Smith's try, the better side won and the officiating didn't cost the Wallabies. Tolu Latu has now been needlessly yellow carded in consecutive test matches.
Definite obstruction on the Smith try. Aussies weren't that bad, just seemed to falter at the key stages. Ioane is just ridiculous, him and Folau are so quick and athletic.
ABs massive favourites for the November test in Ireland. We'll need a very strong ref to get anything out of it - they got away with murder last time in Dublin.
The frustration with the obstruction from Aaron Smith is the Wallabies had a try disallowed two years ago in Auckland for something similar to what Aaron Smith did today.
Cheika, rightly, spoke about how the Wallabies lack patience and composure on attack. Two tries were scored, they nearly score two more but the Wallabies have a horrible habit of going wide before going forward. Side to side attack is becoming very easy to defend. Stephen Larkham doesn't seem to be able to fix the issues on attack which is worrying given his pedigree as a player but as we know great players don't always make great coaches.
I think you guys are a fair chance of beating them (on my birthday btw). Ireland are a better team than the Springboks and the Boks outplayed New Zealand for long periods a few weeks ago in Pretoria.
If you're good enough to score a minimum of 30 points, they're there for the taking. Deny them the ball for long periods, play in the right areas of the field and put them under pressure and they can wilt like any team.
I agree with you about a strong ref. Jaco Peyper lost the plot two years ago. I won't say he lost control because he had no control of that game. Is Wayne Barnes a strong enough ref for the game?
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Honestly, given Ireland's history with him, he's probably the top ref around at the moment.
As an aside, it's interesting how quickly the game changes. ABs would have had a few reds today for some of the incidents from that match, like clotheslining Simon Zebo.
Honestly, Rugby in Australia is dying a slow painful death. Parents no longer want their kids playing full contact sport, and its virtually an exclusive game to private schools of Sydney and Brisbane. AFL has started infiltrating these schools as well so its only going to push number even further down. Honestly, unless the Australian team starts poaching more Rugby League Players or islanders, Australia will fall to Argentina/Italian level if not worse.
It was so blatant as well. Looked more like NFL than rugby union. Refs def need to work on their consistency. ABs are good enough, they don't need help from the refs as well. Standard of refereeing in world rugby is a bit in the toilet at the minute.
On a happier note, Cheetahs and Kings looking good in the Pro 14 this year even though the results and the crowds haven't been there so far. Provincial rugby is on the up, the standards seem much better than a few years ago. Much better defensive work and ball handling skills.
On a happier note, Cheetahs and Kings looking good in the Pro 14 this year even though the results and the crowds haven't been there so far. Provincial rugby is on the up, the standards seem much better than a few years ago. Much better defensive work and ball handling skills.
I can't really understand the people on twitter I've seen saying they reckon it's ok. It's a blatant, pathetic attempt at cheating. He even looks at him before blocking.
I'm baffled by Cheika ignoring Paenga-Amosa who is probably the only Australia hooker who can actually throw consistently. He's a great scrummager too from what I've seen with the Reds. Their lineout is awful due to the inconsistency from the hookers and the lack of good targets due the obsession with playing Pocock and Hooper together.
It's almost as annoying to watch as a neutral as the mess their backs are defensively due to the shuffling of responsibilities due to the lack of defensive prowess of Foley and Beale. It's obnoxiously predictable.
If Paenga Amosa played for the Waratahs, Cheika would have shown more faith in him.
Thoughts Irish fans
In general, the consensus is delight and that we don't have a B team anymore. This is all without a ball being kicked of course, and it could all go horribly wrong, but that's probably unlikely and instead it seems like the culmination of years of squad building by Schmidt and the provinces. Leinster are the key drivers at club level at the moment but the other provinces are also providing key squad members, which is a great situation. It's not that long ago that my team, Connacht, hadn't provided an international player in almost a decade.Thoughts Irish fans
I think we were delighted years ago too with the one or two world class players pushing on decent squads to great results, but this seems another level. We arguably have great depth everywhere bar scrum-half at the moment, as well as a production line of young players coming through.
On a gossip note, I see that the rumours are still flying around that Cronin punched Henshaw in a training session and he won't start for Ireland again while Schmidt is coach. We'll have to wait and see.
Just hoping for a decent performance today. Not much depth in our backline and I think they will get dominated. Good to see Vermulen back.
IRB refs can just feck off, feck right off.
I almost brought these tickets thinking that it was clearly going to be played in Dublin. Why are they playing in the US.Thoughts Irish fans
What happened?
Clear shoulder charge to the head by Farrell at the end of the game, reviewed by TMO but Garner said no penalty, should have been a penalty and at least a yellow. Game finished 12-11 England.
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you have a case for no arms but to claim that's a shoulder to the head is just biased whinging
Yeah, I've just seen Brian O'Driscoll defending it and everyone asking him which match he was watching. That's crap. I know it's a slomo, but him remembering to try to wrap a second after the charge is hilarious.
Shoulder to shoulder for me. Still no wrap though.
Fearsome contact all the same. Cheating but brave by Farrell.
oh yes it was a certain penalty, its was the comment about to the head I was talking about, typical of modern Rugby where they care more about the hit than actually tackling
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This was my favourite
Yeah, Gus has a pretty generous interpretation of what is and what isn't a shoulder charge. To me it was a penalty at full speed and a penalty on the replay. Malcolm Marx forgetting how to throw the ball at lineout time and their own inaccuracy with the ball cost the Springboks too, which can't be blamed on Gus Gardner.
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Bless that man and his dark fruits
Owen Farrell has not been cited for his alleged no arms tackle that could have cost England victory against South Africa on the weekend.
Yeah, an almost universally grim reaction around the place as far as I see it. Some over the top ones too: "Gus Gardner has single-handedly thrown the tackle laws up in the air".