IF THE PREMIER LEAGUE title race is a bit of a damp squib owing to Chelsea’s ruthlessness and Manchester City’s decline, the same criticism can’t be levelled at the second tier of English football.
After another dramatic weekend and with just ten rounds of fixtures left, four teams all sit on 66 points with Bournemouth holding top-spot on goal difference. Six goals behind are Derby while Watford and Middlesbrough are both well in contention in their quests to claim the crown.
Just one point further back is Norwich while Brentford round out the top-six.
Meanwhile, Mick McCarthy’s Ipswich will still fancy their chances of promotion – their 61 points is good enough for seventh place.
Typifying the drama and intensity of the division, Derby seemed certain to take control of the table on Saturday when they led Birmingham by two goals with the the clock ticking towards injury time. But, Paul Caddis scored from the penalty spot to pull a goal back for Brum before Clayton Donaldson grabbed an equaliser deep in additional time.
It followed Friday night’s goal-fest as Bournemouth layed down a marker and thumped five past a hapless Fulham with Brett Pitman and Matt Richie both scoring twice.
Elsewhere across Saturday, Boro’s loss away to Nottingham Forest enabled Watford to leap-frog into third after Troy Deeney’s leveller ensured they picked up a point against Wolves.
Norwich moved into fifth thanks to a 4-1 away win over Millwall while Ipswich failed to jump into a play-off place, only managing a point against Brentford. Ireland’s Daryl Murphy continued his terrific campaign by netting his 22nd of the season but it was his compatriot, former Irish international Jonathan Douglas, who made it 1-1.
Speaking afterwards, Mick McCarthy said:
It is a bonkers league with Derby drawing today and Middlesbrough losing. It is going to go to the last game, the last minute.”
More positives than negatives to take from the game, the win could of went to either team, and remember Lancaster is in his third season Joe’s in his first so Ireland have plenty of room for improvement. To run New Zealand so close and narrowly lose to a very good English side in Twickenham in your first six games is good going in my book, onwards and upwards the future is looking good for Irish rugby.
I don’t think Lancaster cares if he wins the six nations. He only has eyes for the World Cup with a group of talented “young” players.
Ireland only seem to want to win the six nations with the backbone of what has been there for ten years.
Can’t see the Italian game bringing in much new blood. Maybe Ryan on the bench but I don’t think much else.
Watch Lancaster at the final whistle….he cares
Ken he cares but your right to an extent! Lancaster has one eye on the World Cup
Ken you’re right. He cares enough, but more so in how it sets up preparation for the World Cup.
Nations such as England and France have their eyes on a bigger prize, the World Cup, and tend to use the Six Nations as a platform for that. It’s really a glorified training exercise for them.
Ask French and English rugby fans if they would rather have four Grand Slams or one World Cup, and most will opt for the latter.
Lessons learned. Overall, it was an excellent match and the English really were something else to watch. We’ll pay the French with Saxon coin in a few weeks time.
A draw would have been a fairer result. Joubert decisions in the end let us down. A clear penalty not given near the end was crucial.
I’m really disappointed that this overheated babble about Joubert has distracted from Irish weaknesses and English strengths on the day. That tackle looks a lot worse when you watch it on endless replay. The man’s a pretty fair ref and this traditionally isn’t a sport where we moan about the ref in the first place.
Fergal, yes Ireland had some problems on the day, notably sextons kicking. In the end however, it came down to a bounce of the ball and refereeing errors. England by no means were better than Ireland. Plus it is very much in Irelands hands still to win the This tournament outright.
It’s not so much the Farrell tackle that is the issue re Joubert. It is the hand use in the scrum (used by a white player to flick the ball back) and the ridiculous positions of the English players when we mauled inside their 22. Watch it again. Each should have been a penalty to us but Joubert chose to not notice these blatant infringements happening right in front of him, which is unacceptable.
Hilary – the hand in the scrum DID NOT happen right in front of Joubert, he was on the other side of the scrum – it was only on the reverse TV angle we could see it, not the angle from Joubert’s side. It happened on the side that, mon dieu, Mr. Poite was policing!
Joubert has form as a home towner. Remember his disgraceful performance in the World Cup final, absolutely robbed France.
This year’s 6 Nations is turning into the BOD farewell tour. Would any other serious rugby nation allow this to happen? I admire BOD hugely both as a player and as a person however Ireland is 18 months away from a World Cup that he will not play in. This means that the first opportunity his successor will get to play in a meaningful match is 6 months before the tournament takes place. Maybe his successor isn’t Irish-qualified yet hence the desire to run BOD out there no matter what?
@Keano
Completely agree with you. It certainly seems like the long goodbye. O’Driscoll has been the best player ever to wear the green but he seems to be calling the shots in terms of him playing or not.
He missed training last week because he was sick. Yet he starts. POC was sick before Scotland game and didn’t play.
Is it more about breaking records or been the best choice at outside centre?
@ Frank
Is that all you can contribute?
The comments section is for people’s opinion. How about you say you don’t agree rather than calling someone an idiot?
O’Driscoll was sick at the start of the week, where as O’Connell took ill the night before the match and didn’t sleep, what an idiotic comparison to make completely undermines the legitimacy of your argument.
@Sean
All I’m saying is, if a player other than O’Driscoll was in the same situation I think the chances of them playing would be far less.
Is there pressure on the management team to pick him even if he is not 100% as it is his last 6 nations?
As I said O’Driscoll has been the best ever player to wear the green shirt but he is not going to be around for long more. Is it right to pick him to start if not 100%.
Is all conjecture anyway none of us where there when these decisions were made.
@Mark no matter how you put your point across no matter how correct you are people will think you an idiot.
The 11th commandment is Brian O’Driscoll is god, can not be replaced, is infallible, he can walk on water.
Ireland may win the 6 nations but as is the story every RWC the other nations will take the big spoils.
Brian O’Driscoll should have graciously stood down in 2013.
Joe Schmidt missed an opportunity to build a squad for the RWC by focusing on winning the six nations.
@ Chris
Well done. Personal abuse because you disagree with my views. Sorry for offending you. I’ll leave one this with the Moderators.
7 comments in and no mention of Zebo!?!
Whoops!
So refreshing to hear actual opinions from the Irish manager, a welcome change from Kindney’s waffling
What? Ireland lost? I never would have known with the lack of coverage!! Surely The Journal doesn’t need to milk this story anymore? How are the Italians, who’s a threat, will the French game be a championship decider?
It hasn’t even been a week since the match. It’s still fair game for commentary and reporting.
I know it’s been less than a week but I can’t understand why Sexton and Murray’s brain farts during the game need to be reported on over and over again. Surely The Journals lazy attempt at a witch hunt could be time better spent offering alternatives to how Ireland can still win the championship?
England butchered three try opportunities .????
The harsh reality was that if England had a 10 with a bit of vision; who wasn’t so play-by-numbers; we’d have played as well as we did and lost by 10-15. Right now, in attack we are playing against our opponents AND our own midfield; compounded by a lack of pace out wide which might compensate.
If me Granny had balls she’d be my Grandad, you could make the same sort of arguments for Ireland, if our centers threatened the line as well as they defend or if our 10 played to his full potential we may have won by 10 points, we lost by a score in a tight game against the English side that we played on the day, they are the facts, any if’s are completely pointless.
That 53rd minute scrum had England in trouble and going backwards… Murray missed a tackle and then got his defensive line wrong… two many missed tackles (22?)..
Do we really have to keep picking over the entrails of this game, its getting tiresome, its over finished,lets move on we have work to do, lets focus ahead to Italy and the French game which although formidable is not as daunting a task as in prevous years.
There were positives, both the scrum and line out were perfect as of won all our own throws and feeds. We are probably the strongest in the 6 nations by some distance in that area at the moment. But the negative is that we just didn’t seem to be threatening enough in the backs. I know we’re missing Earls Bowe Fitzgerald and Zebo and Marshall at 12 might make a difference re go forward ball. But we just didn’t look dangerous in those areas against England.
Actually think it’s an excellent article and nice to see JS give us some real insights and reality into his thinking …
Lot to be positive about… Lot to work on but I feel the team are a different mindset now
French game is actually a huge one now for both sides but again we are away n while French looked a shambles we all know how they turn these situations around
Agree with the comments on BOD n really feel we are wasting development time for his replacement …. That’s not a critisism of bod btw …
Despite the bod topic i would not buy into Ireland don’t have an eye on the WC….looking at the potential of this side n a hot therm hemisphere tournament I would imagine JS is very aware of it….. Think we tend to forget how short a time he is in the job
Yawn……get over it…..
In the past now lads…on to the next match..