@COYBIG: Don’t know about that. I was going to say fair play to the Irish. Before kick-off, I was thinking we’d win by 30 or 40. But the Irish really stuck it to us for a good 60 minutes. They’re a difficult team to break down. They even got in for a score there at the end, which was nice to see.
@bread of heaven: 30 or 40 haha c’mon mate but fair play to Wales, a very dominant performance and well deserved. I’ve never seen so many errors and penalties from Ireland since the dark days of getting scrapped by Italy in Rome(back in 2013 or 14, I’m not sure). They have a lot to prove at this World Cup and this Wales side have a good shout this year, deserve to be considered as serious contenders.
Honest to god that was the most embarrassing Irish performance I’ve seen since the 1990s. Absolutely shocking. There werent many out there who can hold their head up high and Schmidt is the worst out of them. Sexton was absolutely pathetic. 1 out of 10 and Schmidt left him on the pitch til the 73rd minute. He’s meant to be the world player of the year and he just looks toxic out there. Couldn’t even kick or pass today, only good for mouthing at his team mates. Shocking leadership from him. Nothing but a child out there, not a vice captain.
Best, furlong, stander, o brien, murray, Healy were all brutal as well. The penalty count from the two props, Healy in particular was scandalous. There’ll be plenty of non rugby fans delighted with that result but Ireland dug their own grave.
@Jim Demps: the bench did well when they came on. Killer and marmion especially but the main players out there didn’t stand up today. Brutal stuff and especially brutal from the coach.
Fair play to Wales, they did a complete number on us today. Wyn Jones was immense.
@Jim Demps: front row gave away 8…struggled in the scrum that’s why toner or roux are missed. Sexton and Murray by far and away the biggest worry they were full blown useless
@Jim Demps: add POM to the list, went missing against England, France and Wales, Murray and Sexton were useless all tournament. SOB is finished, we need Leavy back. Not a hope in the world cup
@Jim Demps: you’re fascination with David Kilcoyne is weird. I was in a pub once when Ireland were playing France and he was locked cheering on France!
@Jim Demps: You can add Beirne to that list. 1 turnover, when what we needed was a player hitting rucks and carrying hard. Roux coming on improved the ruck immensely, and I don’t remember Marmion kicking away possession once, whereas Murray defaults to it. Stander might talk about liking a big hit, but there is more to rugby than that (at least outside of Munster and South Africa).
@Havid Dickey: At least against Argentina we put up a good but futile fight back and had injuries partially to blame. Can’t find the same reasons today
@Jim Demps: well done Wales. yea, at 60 mins he should have subbed Sexton and Murray. The lack of leaders and composure by the team is alarming. Best is too slow but no one of note coming in. SoB and Beirne (sorry Jim) will struggle to make the RWC squad at this stage. God help Cronin if he threw like best today, the poor lad would be hung. Defo worst team performance in years. Not many over 3/10 today probably killer, scannell, Conan & larmour, possibly Kearney due to lack of contributions to the implosion. We were beaten in every facet of the game today. Roofgate was unnecessary distraction which blew up in our face.
@Jim Demps: both half backs were awful but at least johnny looked like he gave a $hit about how badly they were playing. Murray looked totally lackadaisical the whole match and didn’t look bothered his arse playing properly. Schmidt’s decision not to replace them was also utterly brainless.
@Jonny Martin: have to disagree, Argentina caned up because our system couldn’t handle the ball going wide at speed. The attrition of the French game covered up the short comings somewhat. This tournament has shown that our system struggles badly against aggressive line speed, which England and Wales both employed. You can look to your half backs to dig you out of a hole when the system malfunctions but teg form of 9 and 10 exposed us even more. Worrying months ahead.
@Jim Demps: I meant it was a distraction which backfired on us. The players are to blame for performance, didn’t play wet weather rugby, should have kicked to the corners, make Wales play, the didn’t have to do much for their scores.
@Jim Demps: Go away and have little rest for yourself and then out with your mates for a few pints.
Over time I have witnessed people like you and some of the other “expert commentators” on here either go from eulogising the likes of C J Stander (one of the many blow ins)to this type of withering and uncalled for criticism.
I certainly would not call myself knowledgeable to the extent that Im in tune with all the rules of the game but some of the comments on here both amuse and amaze me.
I have been to many Internationals since my first in 1967 when Jimmy Tydings Young Munster got his one and only cap on the wing so I have seen the good and the v bad.
Obviously Im of Senior Vintage
@Jim Demps: doubt many non-rugby fans care apart from a few wums. In fact I be more concerned with some of the so-called Rugby fans beside me at the France game – some behind me who didnt know the basic rules and a gentleman beside me who spent as much time away visiting the bar,toilet, on the phone as watching the game. Definitely a different vibe than the provincial rugby for me.
@@at: it’s bizarre how some players, no matter how poor they play, are considered irreplaceable. It breaks my heart to see this from our coach. What message does this send to the team. In no way am I saying we would have won that game if Schmidt had more belief in his replacements, what I am saying is that his belief that team does not function without certain core players does not help the team mentality
Up there for the worst performance during the Schmidt era, however this shocking 6 nations might’ve been the best thing needed to show this squad there’s still a lot of work to do if we want to compete in a World Cup
The worst Irish performance I’ve seen in a very long time. No point singling out individuals as a team they were not good enough. Wales in fairness played the conditions etc v well and in general played admirably especially in defense. A lot to fix before the wc with not a lot of time to fix it which is a concern. Congratulations Wales, to an extent back to the drawing board for us.
@Ian Verdon: When people said we were figured out against England, I didn’t buy in. But now, I’m inclined to agree. We had no answers to any facet of play, particularly the referee, which is the worst part of it in my opinion.
@Ian Verdon: not many would score 3/10, killer, Conan, scanell, larmour, aki (more due to lack of contribution to the disastrous performance). Entire front row should have been hooked at half time, half backs after 60.
@Dave Barry: Ah even if he was wearing green today we still would’ve lost, it was a very poor performance. Especially from the experienced lads who we used to rely on when we needed a pick up. I am a massive fan of Joe but he got it wrong today as he did vs England and he also needs to have a long hard looking at himself. It’s not the end of the world by any means but there’s some major work to be done both on and off the pitch.
@Dave Barry: I think the ref has Welsh heritage back somewhere, couple of decisions were suspect.Having said that Ireland were dire anyway, Sexton lost it
@Rochelle: you do talk nonsense sometimes. He is the world player of the year and just 4 months ago played Bauden Barrett off there pitch while controlling the game as against the All Blacks. His form continued with Leinster and he’s been off form since Christmas. Saying he has gone from the best player in the world to “in decline” in the space of a few months is just daft. He was bad today , as was Murray and pretty much every one of the starting 15. But he’ll be back.
@Ger: you’re ignoring the plain facts? He’s past it! Seems to spend his time mouthing off at his teammates or at the referee. WPOY was for 2018. This is 2019??
@Rochelle: He missed a month of rugby before the 6 nations through injury. . Pryor to Christmas he was in great form in the November Internationals and for Leinster bar that game against Munster. His age might explain him not hitting the ground running after injury the way he did when he was in his 20s but you don’t go into decline that fast in that short of period of time. Form is temporary. If he’s crap for the rest of the season id worry but I bet you he’ll turn it around.
@Tom Fahey: November is just a few months ago. You think you can be the best in the world in your sport in November and past it by March, 4 months? He’s not a butterfly.
@Rochelle: not sure time for change but certainly the automatic picks should feel they need to re-earn their places. They need to be dropped for a few games and feel the pain of being on the side lines to get them hungry. Having a few good games with the provinces may help but they need to feel the hurt of being dropped. Was an ideal opportunity for Marmion and Carty to get decent game time yesterday and yes, may be we might seen a different score…
Rory Best is finished. Stander was particularly bad too. Murray and Sexton were abysmal and should have been taken off at half time.
Schmidt oversees another defeat in a big game. One Grand Slam with this group of players is a very poor return. I hope Murray Kinsella and co call out this coach, the players and that performance. No sugar coating – call it what it was. A shambles.
@Treaty Bhoy: Schmidt’s stubbornness to use the bench is especially disappointing. Our front row were having a poor day in the scrum and the halfbacks were imploding since the start, should have been widespread changes on 50 minutes when the game was still somewhat in the balance.
Once again a lot of the changes made a positive impact but once again it was too late to matter.
@Treaty Bhoy: “shameful” , “gutless” , “shambles” , “abysmal”, “very poor” .. Get out from behind your account name and keyboard and perform at international level in Rugby…have another think for yourself before you decide who is the gutless one here…
Absolute terrible performance from Ireland ,sexton Murray shocking ,sob should not of been selected, ref not helping either but thats no excuse, well done wales deserved #WALvIRE
Been a disastrous 6 Nations from this Ireland team. They look a complete shadow of the team that they were in 2018. They all look like they have had enough of rugby, seem bored of the game and are playing very flat. When the opposition come at us with quick line speed it seems we have no plan. Completely rudderless. Teams look like they are happy to defend the many phases we go through. We have been very one dimensional. The fact that we didn’t take off our star players at half time when things were going terrible suggests management deep down still have a fear of brining on the bench. Some of the players need a long hard look at themselves. We keep thinking Sean O’Brien is still the same player he was in 2011. Sexton’s tantrums have also been embarrassing, not how champions carry on.
Shocking. Schmidt and Sexton imploded. We are back to square one going into the summer. Limited gameplan was found out big time. We should no longer consider Best, Sexton, Kearney or Murray as first choice. They don’t deserve it on form.
Ireland need to work on mental grit. Said it in the last article, this is the pressure Ireland will face in a WC.
They have to be able to handle being on the back foot.
The likes of New Zealand will believe in themselves even when 18 behind, and still gun for it.
@Artur Gurta: after commenting this before and after every match of the 6 nations do you finally feel some sense of achievement that you finally got it in someway right ? Hope at some stage you realise just how sad an individual you actually are.
@Artur Gurta: Do you actually have an issue with rugby or does the lift not go all the way to the top as other commenters have suggested ? And actually not from Dublin so won’t be crying into my “heino”.
Absolutely Shameful treatment of Carty and Marmion. Sexton and Murray were a disaster. Two great players on form but they clearly are in shockingly unbelievable bad form. Should have gone at half time.
@Mixer: What it says is that Murray and Sexton are nigh on untouchable. Marmion and Carty will see their late inclusion as “you’re not good enough to play even when they play this badly”.
Incredible how poor both were. Two super players on form. Game was gone at half time. Both carty and Marmion would have offered alot better as half time replacement.
And Conan as well. Stander was shocking.
Worst performance under Schmidt. Absolutely terrible while also not being helped by the ref. Dev hugely missed beirne was poor. Murray and sexton were useless. Jordan should have started. I could go on but best we forget about this quick
@Padraic Forde: I think that was probably his last competitive game, he hasn’t been the same player since returning from this injury and in a close call there’s little point bringing someone about to leave the country over someone who isn’t.
Fans are pathetic absolutely sucking up to them this time last year and now all the experts are out. Support your team. In the bright side at least England can’t win
@Johnny O Flaherty: Why is that the bright side? Rather England won than the Welsh. Ireland lost because halfbacks were ineffective, Beirne isn’t international quality, back row is one dimensional, and with Felix Jones in the coaching booth, is it a surprise Ireland has no attack?
@Joe Vlogs: I agree, I think Felix Jones has not been good for Munster or Ireland, aside from that I think flannery has also been a shocking coach at Munster… jobs for the boys
@Johnny O Flaherty: actually I think the real fans are the ones who will call them out when they play shit but will keep supporting them. The fair weather fans are the ones who will give up going to see the provinces and won’t show up for the summer series matches just because we didn’t play well in the Six Nations.
@Joe Vlogs: it’s sad that it’s true. You always notice that if Ireland are playing well attendance at the provincial matches goes up because people want to see those players, but as soon as they start losing attendance drops again. It would be great if people could say they played shit but still support the team whether they’re winning or losing
Starting Beirne backfired. It meant Ryan had to call the lineout for the first time. Beirne was the sole cause of two lineout losses as well. One turnover doesn’t justify this. Dillane, Henderson and Roux are and have been superior in this campaign. Our front row was a shambles. Back row non existent. Murray and sexton should have been replaced at the 50 minute mark. Our centres couldn’t get into the game nor could our wingers and Kearney. They didn’t do much wrong. They didn’t have the ball long enough to. The changes made a difference but why wait until the 70th minute. It’s baffling.
Top 2 teams in the world don’t lose like that. It is a reality check for us. A lot to do before September. Target most certainly off our back. Well done Wales
People will blame individual errors but really Ireland have been a long time very predictable in attack. Incapable of creating scoring chances. Going into a world cup if you shut down Ireland’s maul and disrupt the line out we are very very average .
@Anthony: predictable doesn’t necessarily mean ineffective. Teams have reacted now (protecting catcher receiving box kicks for example) and the lack of attention on the offside line means that defences are in our faces immediately reducing the opportunity to run set plays. The price of rigid systems is a reduced ability to play heads up rugby and adapt to different situations.
Typical Ireland, all the media hype and rubbish talked about them, winning 6 Nations in the years the Tier 1 nations are building for the World Cup. Well off the pace of the likes of England, Wales and Southern Hemisphere teams
@The Red Devil: It seems blindingly obvious but nobody wants to mention it. Could it be that the senior players wanted someone other than Farrell to take over? Either way the announcement was ill-timed.
The most dangerous thing about being named number 1 team in the world is to start believing you are the number 1 team in the world. The fall feels all the more painful.
@Shane McGettrick: its not trolling but fact is they were 1 or at very least joint top after new zealand to argue otherwise is childish. We have fallen since then. At no time did i say this team wont recover. I have no doubts we will be at the business end of the world cup. I wounded animal and all that craic.
@Doire: no, we we’re ranked second, that’s how ranking points work, you don’t judge based on a single test match. You’ve already made a fool of yourself talking about the anthem and the flag earlier so give it a rest mate.
Very disappointing. No one stood up to lead. The subs should have been brought on a lot sooner and the roof being open hurt us IMO. Hopefully the lads will learn from this because the World Cup is creeping up. Murray and Sexton both haven’t found form but I don’t think either deserve the abuse they’re getting from all the armchair critics. I’d rather try and LIFT the team. And remember you cant enjoy the highs without experiencing the lows. COYBIG!
Im afraid this is what happens when you dont pick players who are on form Sexton and Murray have been very poor since they came back from injury and were invariably left playing for entire matches when they were shockingly bad. Sexton should have been dropped after the English game and Murray too to be fair but Schmidt is afraid of change. Its Schmidt more than anyone else has to put his hand up for the underpowered displays in this 6 nations he left a malfunctioning half back pairing on for the entire 6 nations and that as much as anything affected morale within the whole team along with Sextons displays of petulance as well
Ireland were dreadful but someone should give Angus Gardner a basic course on the offside line . Wales spent 80% of rucks offside . He has no idea of how to ref a scrum either. Deserved win by Wales without doubt but in a closer game Ireland would have had no chance
Root and branch review of this year’s Six Nations badly needed.
Let’s not comfort ourselves with platitudes that it will be good for World Cup preparation.
Joe needs to treat Murray, Sexton, Healy and Stander, Aki & others the same way he dealt with Cronin.
Criteria should be your only as good as your last game. Stop the policy of allowing players to play their way back into form at the expense of younger talent!
The Irish subs were the only positives. Kilcoyne,Scannell and Porter made a huge difference in the scrum while Roux will probably keep Beirne out of the World Cup. Schmidt will have to examine the form of the provincial half backs in the Heineken cup very closely and pray that Murray and Sexton can find their best form.Toner and Leavy have been missed also.
@Ciaran Rice: Are you 10. The loss to Italy in ’13. The thrashing by Argentina under Joe at the RWC, the 60-0 loss to NZ in ’12. Scotland in ’10 was a travesty too.
Wales effective but limited. We were shocking across the entire tournament but started and particularly finished with serious lows. Really has the feeling of a team and system that peaked 12 months ago. I don’t think a single starter played up to scratch. Without being hyperbolic there’s serious shades of 2007 off this campaign so far.
A worse performance by Ireland I have not seen in many years, utterly toothless, lacking leadership and not one single player out his hand up, sexton rubbish, Murray rubbish, everything else fell apart from there, shocking, respect to Garland, a comprehensive win and flawless gameplay, we perform better as underdogs.
It happens… The bulk of the team which enabled us to be world beaters last season, have started this season very poorly. Murray, Sexton, Furlong, Ryan, Stander, O’Brien all WAY off form. Perhaps they weren’t as good as we thought they were last year, but equally I don’t think it’s time to write this group off just yet. Time will tell….
Am a bit sad as Wales are NOT a grand slam side.. England deserve the championship. Played 5th e best rugby.. … Ireland v poor but can only get better…
A lot of armchair warriors in here calling this guy brutal, or that guy useless, shame on you all, have a think about how brutal a game is for an international player, they go out there and play one of the most physical sports in the world, they’ve won 23 of the 26 games played. Ireland used to be a wooden spoon contender (most wooden spoons in the history of the comp) now we are beating the top nations and in 2nd/3rd place. We have loads of talent coming through, u20 six nations champions this year. Theres plenty of fair weather supporters here who have no idea how the difference in this team to what we had in the past. Get behind your team, instead of trashing them ffs, this is a rwc year…
@Neil Ryan:Mostly I think peoples problem with yesterdays performace was that its not hard to see our problems at half back at present and it wasnt addressed throughout the whole tournament. lack of confidence in those 2 pivotal positions fed throughout the whole team and yesterdays match is the result of it. Schmidt before would have dropped both of them for players performing better its not like we dont have anybody to step in there. But if the two guys in the position think they are untouchable then there is no major incentive to break your back to keep your place is there
@Jack Hackett:
Well said and lets not forget Wales were going for a grand slam and they are ranked No 3 in the world No 2 now at least we wont be overhyped going into the world cup.Will be interesting to see what the keyboard warriors will be saying come the end of the year.
This team and coach have given me hours and hours of great enjoyment I wont abandon them now and there is plenty of room for improvement
Question the players if you want, if it makes you feel better, if you like you need the pat on your back. But they went out today, do you honestly think they were there to do anything but their best for their country and for us. They’re not robots, it’s not a switch to just flick on. Today it wasn’t their peak but they are human, they are no different to you and me. If you class yourself a supporter you get behind your team when they need you most. Otherwise, ask yourself why you even bother supporting them.
Well the way I see it is like this. From the very beginning when the teams lined up for their national anthems you could see every one of the Welsh team belting out their anthem while the Irish anthem was‘ epic even known by half the team and the half that did know it would’nt be heard behind a newspaper. The same goes for the fans. Then they come out with Ireland and more fans know this than the national anthem. What a joke . The writing was on the wall there and then. Teach them the proper national anthem and make them sing it out loud whether they can sing or not. Hope this Ireland thing is not played at the World Cup.
I had the misfortune of paying £100 to watch that dire performance.
Wales scored their only try with a dry ball and then picked off Irelands mistakes clinically. Their defence was awesome and typified by 8 players attempting to charge down the Irish consolation try at the end.
I am not sure what the reasons behind not requesting the roof be shut for the match were, but if it was to reduce the noise it didn’t have much effect. Had it been shut i don’t know whether Ireland would have dented that Welsh defence but they would have played with a drier ball.
It was a lesson in how to defend and Ireland better learn how to break that defence if they want to go far in the world cup.
Hindsight is 20/20 but Joes halo is gone, leaving roof open was stupid, silly bugger bullshit mind games, we are not big enough to break down strong defensive lines and Sextons temperament now a big concern
Before this game I had a feeling Wales would hammer Ireland due to the fact that we were very inconsistent throughout this 6 nations. However as this a World Cup year in a way it was a good thing this has happened to us now instead of 6 months time.
This doesn’t take away the fact that discipline wise worst performance under the joe Schmidt era. Wales deserved it we got another reality check today. The hype after the New Zealand friendly by supporters especially on the 42.ie and media was ridiculous (I’m aware no such thing exists in rugby terms but it was essentially a friendly as nothing was on offer trophy wise etc) too predictable attacking wise hence got found out by England and Wales. This has to change.
“we have huge strength in depth from the bench” what a load of bullshit.
@tubbsyf: France beat England 22 – 16 last year. This year England won the same fixture 44 – 8.
France are no weaker this year. But England and Wales have raised the bar to a frightening level this year. We have to welcome the challenge of catching their superior squads again. So far Joe Schmidt has shown there’s no one better out there when given time for devising a plan to outsmart the crazy talented squads of England and Wales. Wales and England are miles ahead of us currently, but write Joe off at your peril going into WC.
The person who decided to announce before the 6 nations that Joe Schimdt was leaving Ireland is an idiot, this poor 6 nations is a direct result of that. Ireland should have won more Grand Slams under Joe, he is overrated. The all blacks should give the job to Warren Gatland won more Grand slams way better coach.
Joe should just go now, ireland are finished under him, bring in the new coach for the world cup
Disappointed that we lost by a big margin but i dont really care that much about the loss. It was always gonna be a big ask to beat Wales at home when they are looking for a grand slam. We tried a lot of new players and players with little international experience so Joe will have a good idea of the squad he is gonna bring to the RWC.
The Irish management need to look carefully at the back row. They were totally outplayed today and going into the match without a modern open side was a risk – O’Brien was dropped for France, presumably Levy is still injured or not fot enough – Tommy O’Donnell has never played badly for Ireland. Do we have a lineout and maul coach?
Sickening, unfortunately the same old story. Ireland hyped up during the years before the world cup. On the year that counts they falter. Even more so looking at the result of the England Scotland game
Wales top class and totally deserved that win, but how Schmidt looked at Sexton and Murray on the field for so long without making a change I’ll never know. Picked players on name over form this six nations and it has showed.
That was absolutely shockingly bad, the try at the end flattered us…
@COYBIG: Don’t know about that. I was going to say fair play to the Irish. Before kick-off, I was thinking we’d win by 30 or 40. But the Irish really stuck it to us for a good 60 minutes. They’re a difficult team to break down. They even got in for a score there at the end, which was nice to see.
@bread of heaven: shut up you cocky fool
@Paddy McGee: leave the guy alone and take your lumps.
Well done Bread
@Paddy McGee: Just mute it.
@bread of heaven: 30 or 40 haha c’mon mate but fair play to Wales, a very dominant performance and well deserved. I’ve never seen so many errors and penalties from Ireland since the dark days of getting scrapped by Italy in Rome(back in 2013 or 14, I’m not sure). They have a lot to prove at this World Cup and this Wales side have a good shout this year, deserve to be considered as serious contenders.
@bread of heaven: nice to see England’s little sheep have a day in the sun or should I say rain congrats
Honest to god that was the most embarrassing Irish performance I’ve seen since the 1990s. Absolutely shocking. There werent many out there who can hold their head up high and Schmidt is the worst out of them. Sexton was absolutely pathetic. 1 out of 10 and Schmidt left him on the pitch til the 73rd minute. He’s meant to be the world player of the year and he just looks toxic out there. Couldn’t even kick or pass today, only good for mouthing at his team mates. Shocking leadership from him. Nothing but a child out there, not a vice captain.
Best, furlong, stander, o brien, murray, Healy were all brutal as well. The penalty count from the two props, Healy in particular was scandalous. There’ll be plenty of non rugby fans delighted with that result but Ireland dug their own grave.
@Jim Demps: the bench did well when they came on. Killer and marmion especially but the main players out there didn’t stand up today. Brutal stuff and especially brutal from the coach.
Fair play to Wales, they did a complete number on us today. Wyn Jones was immense.
@Jim Demps: bit of an expert Jim I think joe would know how to manage a team
@Jim Demps: you seem to have forgotten about beirne. I can see why joe didn’t start him before
@Jim Demps: front row gave away 8…struggled in the scrum that’s why toner or roux are missed. Sexton and Murray by far and away the biggest worry they were full blown useless
@Jim Demps: i agree with everything but CJ wasn’t bad his team mates were
@Jim Demps: Jim go back to bed. You haven’t got a clue!!
@Jim Demps: Argentina at the ’15 RWC was worse imo.
@Jim Demps: add POM to the list, went missing against England, France and Wales, Murray and Sexton were useless all tournament. SOB is finished, we need Leavy back. Not a hope in the world cup
@Jim Demps: you’re fascination with David Kilcoyne is weird. I was in a pub once when Ireland were playing France and he was locked cheering on France!
@Jim Demps: You can add Beirne to that list. 1 turnover, when what we needed was a player hitting rucks and carrying hard. Roux coming on improved the ruck immensely, and I don’t remember Marmion kicking away possession once, whereas Murray defaults to it. Stander might talk about liking a big hit, but there is more to rugby than that (at least outside of Munster and South Africa).
@Havid Dickey: At least against Argentina we put up a good but futile fight back and had injuries partially to blame. Can’t find the same reasons today
@Jim Demps: well done Wales. yea, at 60 mins he should have subbed Sexton and Murray. The lack of leaders and composure by the team is alarming. Best is too slow but no one of note coming in. SoB and Beirne (sorry Jim) will struggle to make the RWC squad at this stage. God help Cronin if he threw like best today, the poor lad would be hung. Defo worst team performance in years. Not many over 3/10 today probably killer, scannell, Conan & larmour, possibly Kearney due to lack of contributions to the implosion. We were beaten in every facet of the game today. Roofgate was unnecessary distraction which blew up in our face.
@Jim Demps: both half backs were awful but at least johnny looked like he gave a $hit about how badly they were playing. Murray looked totally lackadaisical the whole match and didn’t look bothered his arse playing properly. Schmidt’s decision not to replace them was also utterly brainless.
@Jonny Martin: have to disagree, Argentina caned up because our system couldn’t handle the ball going wide at speed. The attrition of the French game covered up the short comings somewhat. This tournament has shown that our system struggles badly against aggressive line speed, which England and Wales both employed. You can look to your half backs to dig you out of a hole when the system malfunctions but teg form of 9 and 10 exposed us even more. Worrying months ahead.
@Jim Demps: England, Wales figured out the way to beat us, massive pressure and we crumble. Did Wales even make many line backs?
@Jim Demps: Beirne wasn’t much to write home about either
@Danger: era the roof made no difference. We were blown away. I’d probably agree with your summary there. V disappointing.
@John Peeters: none of the starters had a good game.
@Jim Demps: I meant it was a distraction which backfired on us. The players are to blame for performance, didn’t play wet weather rugby, should have kicked to the corners, make Wales play, the didn’t have to do much for their scores.
@Johnny O Flaherty: Today showed, once again, a six-day turn around is a big disadvantage. Even more so if travel is involved.
@Jim Demps: Go away and have little rest for yourself and then out with your mates for a few pints.
Over time I have witnessed people like you and some of the other “expert commentators” on here either go from eulogising the likes of C J Stander (one of the many blow ins)to this type of withering and uncalled for criticism.
I certainly would not call myself knowledgeable to the extent that Im in tune with all the rules of the game but some of the comments on here both amuse and amaze me.
I have been to many Internationals since my first in 1967 when Jimmy Tydings Young Munster got his one and only cap on the wing so I have seen the good and the v bad.
Obviously Im of Senior Vintage
@Nick Condon Sen: Well said.
@Nick Condon Sen: blow-ins? What about the team of us.
@Ray Hyland: the team of most of us
@Johnny O Flaherty: so why did we get slaughtered? Not just beaten but embarrassed?
@Jim Demps: doubt many non-rugby fans care apart from a few wums. In fact I be more concerned with some of the so-called Rugby fans beside me at the France game – some behind me who didnt know the basic rules and a gentleman beside me who spent as much time away visiting the bar,toilet, on the phone as watching the game. Definitely a different vibe than the provincial rugby for me.
@Jim Demps: who is killer?
@Nick Condon Sen: well said nick, when I see some of the comments, I wonder if some of the “supporters” in here have ever picked up a ball..
We should’ve left that roof closed
Unbelievable performance.
@Johnny B: they would have soaked the pitch anyway, the roof didn’t matter
@Man incognito: so what?? Wales had to play in those conditions as well.
@Man incognito: yea I blame the roof! Bloody roof! Roof-gate
Noel needed
@#JUSTICE4NOEL: best comment of the day!
@#JUSTICE4NOEL: I dream of a team of Noel Reids….
Carty should have been on at half time at least
@@at: it’s bizarre how some players, no matter how poor they play, are considered irreplaceable. It breaks my heart to see this from our coach. What message does this send to the team. In no way am I saying we would have won that game if Schmidt had more belief in his replacements, what I am saying is that his belief that team does not function without certain core players does not help the team mentality
@Brian Jones: yeah and we seem to see it every four years, players hanging on prolonging their careers for a WC.
Up there for the worst performance during the Schmidt era, however this shocking 6 nations might’ve been the best thing needed to show this squad there’s still a lot of work to do if we want to compete in a World Cup
The worst Irish performance I’ve seen in a very long time. No point singling out individuals as a team they were not good enough. Wales in fairness played the conditions etc v well and in general played admirably especially in defense. A lot to fix before the wc with not a lot of time to fix it which is a concern. Congratulations Wales, to an extent back to the drawing board for us.
@Ian Verdon: When people said we were figured out against England, I didn’t buy in. But now, I’m inclined to agree. We had no answers to any facet of play, particularly the referee, which is the worst part of it in my opinion.
@Ian Verdon: not many would score 3/10, killer, Conan, scanell, larmour, aki (more due to lack of contribution to the disastrous performance). Entire front row should have been hooked at half time, half backs after 60.
@Dave Barry: Ah even if he was wearing green today we still would’ve lost, it was a very poor performance. Especially from the experienced lads who we used to rely on when we needed a pick up. I am a massive fan of Joe but he got it wrong today as he did vs England and he also needs to have a long hard looking at himself. It’s not the end of the world by any means but there’s some major work to be done both on and off the pitch.
@Dave Barry: I think the ref has Welsh heritage back somewhere, couple of decisions were suspect.Having said that Ireland were dire anyway, Sexton lost it
The rapid decline of Sexton continues, as does his toxic temperament of turning on teammates when things aren’t going well. Time for a change.
@Rochelle: you do talk nonsense sometimes. He is the world player of the year and just 4 months ago played Bauden Barrett off there pitch while controlling the game as against the All Blacks. His form continued with Leinster and he’s been off form since Christmas. Saying he has gone from the best player in the world to “in decline” in the space of a few months is just daft. He was bad today , as was Murray and pretty much every one of the starting 15. But he’ll be back.
@Ger: Players can decline very quickly in their mid thirties, hes never had a 4 month period of form as bad as this one before.
@Ger: you’re ignoring the plain facts? He’s past it! Seems to spend his time mouthing off at his teammates or at the referee. WPOY was for 2018. This is 2019??
@Rochelle: He missed a month of rugby before the 6 nations through injury. . Pryor to Christmas he was in great form in the November Internationals and for Leinster bar that game against Munster. His age might explain him not hitting the ground running after injury the way he did when he was in his 20s but you don’t go into decline that fast in that short of period of time. Form is temporary. If he’s crap for the rest of the season id worry but I bet you he’ll turn it around.
@Tom Fahey: November is just a few months ago. You think you can be the best in the world in your sport in November and past it by March, 4 months? He’s not a butterfly.
@Rochelle: not sure time for change but certainly the automatic picks should feel they need to re-earn their places. They need to be dropped for a few games and feel the pain of being on the side lines to get them hungry. Having a few good games with the provinces may help but they need to feel the hurt of being dropped. Was an ideal opportunity for Marmion and Carty to get decent game time yesterday and yes, may be we might seen a different score…
A shameful, gutless performance.
Rory Best is finished. Stander was particularly bad too. Murray and Sexton were abysmal and should have been taken off at half time.
Schmidt oversees another defeat in a big game. One Grand Slam with this group of players is a very poor return. I hope Murray Kinsella and co call out this coach, the players and that performance. No sugar coating – call it what it was. A shambles.
@Treaty Bhoy: the team is led from the halfback, if they aren’t clicking then you haven’t a hope
@Treaty Bhoy: Schmidt’s stubbornness to use the bench is especially disappointing. Our front row were having a poor day in the scrum and the halfbacks were imploding since the start, should have been widespread changes on 50 minutes when the game was still somewhat in the balance.
Once again a lot of the changes made a positive impact but once again it was too late to matter.
@Treaty Bhoy: I think that is an over reaction. But I agree with Rochelle’s point.
@Rochelle: we could’ve won a tour in South Africa if he believed in bringing on subs for more than 5-10 minutes.
@Treaty Bhoy: “shameful” , “gutless” , “shambles” , “abysmal”, “very poor” .. Get out from behind your account name and keyboard and perform at international level in Rugby…have another think for yourself before you decide who is the gutless one here…
@Neil Ryan: Fully agree with you. Amazing how brave these faceless, one fingered keyboard tappers become, when they hide behind their screens.
Absolute terrible performance from Ireland ,sexton Murray shocking ,sob should not of been selected, ref not helping either but thats no excuse, well done wales deserved #WALvIRE
Out played and out classed..Ireland will go nowhere at the world cup when they persist to leave sexton and Murray on the field. Both had shockers..
Been a disastrous 6 Nations from this Ireland team. They look a complete shadow of the team that they were in 2018. They all look like they have had enough of rugby, seem bored of the game and are playing very flat. When the opposition come at us with quick line speed it seems we have no plan. Completely rudderless. Teams look like they are happy to defend the many phases we go through. We have been very one dimensional. The fact that we didn’t take off our star players at half time when things were going terrible suggests management deep down still have a fear of brining on the bench. Some of the players need a long hard look at themselves. We keep thinking Sean O’Brien is still the same player he was in 2011. Sexton’s tantrums have also been embarrassing, not how champions carry on.
Shocking. Schmidt and Sexton imploded. We are back to square one going into the summer. Limited gameplan was found out big time. We should no longer consider Best, Sexton, Kearney or Murray as first choice. They don’t deserve it on form.
Ireland need to work on mental grit. Said it in the last article, this is the pressure Ireland will face in a WC.
They have to be able to handle being on the back foot.
The likes of New Zealand will believe in themselves even when 18 behind, and still gun for it.
@Aaron Tynan: commenting on my own post, but by no means is it an easy thing to learn as it’s mental/mind thing. But they really need to work on this.
Also I think Joe is great, but he has to give his bench more of a chance. It felt too late when some of those lads came on.
@Aaron Tynan: and let his players play what’s on front of him. He’s become a late era Arsene Wenger: the system is everything.
Congrats to Wales, wonderful achievement, and there can be no doubt now that Gatland is truly one of the great coaches in rugby.
Men against boys. We didn’t even deserve to get 7 points. The corporate”fans” left half an hour ago. Rubbish performance from a team of chokers
@Artur Gurta: after commenting this before and after every match of the 6 nations do you finally feel some sense of achievement that you finally got it in someway right ? Hope at some stage you realise just how sad an individual you actually are.
@Artur Gurta: I think you have problems in the head department lad
@Artur Gurta: clown.
@Artur Gurta: MEN AGAINST BOYS. World cup? You’re having a laugh lads.
Enjoy crying into your heino LOL
@Artur Gurta: Do you actually have an issue with rugby or does the lift not go all the way to the top as other commenters have suggested ? And actually not from Dublin so won’t be crying into my “heino”.
@Artur Gurta: all the teams building up to the World cup will be seriously laughing at Ireland.
Lose again in the quarters. Shambles. End of.
@Artur Gurta: Who gives an s h 1 t what the corporate fans think? They’re not real rugby fans anyway.
Embarrassing…full stop
Great weekend for a certain patron saint. Parades worldwide and a Welsh Grand Slam.
The once great half back pairing of Murray and Sexton is over. Both were shown up today.
Its time to look at those that deserve their long awaited shots.
Wales deserved this today.
Absolutely Shameful treatment of Carty and Marmion. Sexton and Murray were a disaster. Two great players on form but they clearly are in shockingly unbelievable bad form. Should have gone at half time.
@Mixer: What it says is that Murray and Sexton are nigh on untouchable. Marmion and Carty will see their late inclusion as “you’re not good enough to play even when they play this badly”.
@Mixer: Should’ve hooked Murray and Sexton earlier. Thought Marmion and Carty looked bright when they got on.
@Dennis Laffey:
Incredible how poor both were. Two super players on form. Game was gone at half time. Both carty and Marmion would have offered alot better as half time replacement.
And Conan as well. Stander was shocking.
Worst performance under Schmidt. Absolutely terrible while also not being helped by the ref. Dev hugely missed beirne was poor. Murray and sexton were useless. Jordan should have started. I could go on but best we forget about this quick
SOB won’t be going to the World Cup I think the injuries has caught up with him. Not as dynamic as he used to be. Wales deserved that today.
@Padraic Forde: I think that was probably his last competitive game, he hasn’t been the same player since returning from this injury and in a close call there’s little point bringing someone about to leave the country over someone who isn’t.
Fans are pathetic absolutely sucking up to them this time last year and now all the experts are out. Support your team. In the bright side at least England can’t win
@Johnny O Flaherty: As long as England don’t win then you’re happy. Pathetic
@Johnny O Flaherty: Why is that the bright side? Rather England won than the Welsh. Ireland lost because halfbacks were ineffective, Beirne isn’t international quality, back row is one dimensional, and with Felix Jones in the coaching booth, is it a surprise Ireland has no attack?
@Jason Higgins: tiocfaidh ar lá
@Jason Higgins: tiocfaidh ar lá
@Jason Higgins: tiocfaidh ar lá
@Johnny O Flaherty: you’re bang on, 1/10 for some of the fans
@Johnny O Flaherty: Muppet
@ConPhoto: exactly fans are a disgrace going off to their matches with their giorgio Armani suits
@Johnny O Flaherty: at they backed Ireland hosting a World Cup
@Joe Vlogs: I agree, I think Felix Jones has not been good for Munster or Ireland, aside from that I think flannery has also been a shocking coach at Munster… jobs for the boys
@Johnny O Flaherty: actually I think the real fans are the ones who will call them out when they play shit but will keep supporting them. The fair weather fans are the ones who will give up going to see the provinces and won’t show up for the summer series matches just because we didn’t play well in the Six Nations.
@Sam Harms: hear hear
@Joe Vlogs: pipe down joe
@Joe Vlogs: it’s sad that it’s true. You always notice that if Ireland are playing well attendance at the provincial matches goes up because people want to see those players, but as soon as they start losing attendance drops again. It would be great if people could say they played shit but still support the team whether they’re winning or losing
@Sam Harms: agreed
Starting Beirne backfired. It meant Ryan had to call the lineout for the first time. Beirne was the sole cause of two lineout losses as well. One turnover doesn’t justify this. Dillane, Henderson and Roux are and have been superior in this campaign. Our front row was a shambles. Back row non existent. Murray and sexton should have been replaced at the 50 minute mark. Our centres couldn’t get into the game nor could our wingers and Kearney. They didn’t do much wrong. They didn’t have the ball long enough to. The changes made a difference but why wait until the 70th minute. It’s baffling.
@Anthony: Beirne isn’t an international player simple as.
Well Done Wales. Tenacious
Top 2 teams in the world don’t lose like that. It is a reality check for us. A lot to do before September. Target most certainly off our back. Well done Wales
This Ireland team aren’t as good as people are making them out to be.
Shocking management again #joeout
@Ao: What was the other shock? The loss against Eng. and after a stellar 2018. Rugby supporters are getting worse than footballs.
People will blame individual errors but really Ireland have been a long time very predictable in attack. Incapable of creating scoring chances. Going into a world cup if you shut down Ireland’s maul and disrupt the line out we are very very average .
@Bill Clay: long time??? It was only last autumn we were unbeatable
@Anthony: predictable doesn’t necessarily mean ineffective. Teams have reacted now (protecting catcher receiving box kicks for example) and the lack of attention on the offside line means that defences are in our faces immediately reducing the opportunity to run set plays. The price of rigid systems is a reduced ability to play heads up rugby and adapt to different situations.
Just play Leinster
@Ollie Watson: rubbish
SOB, Kearney, Sexton and Murray woeful. I don’t mind losing, but to the Welsh irks even more.
Typical Ireland, all the media hype and rubbish talked about them, winning 6 Nations in the years the Tier 1 nations are building for the World Cup. Well off the pace of the likes of England, Wales and Southern Hemisphere teams
Is it just me or have Ireland (Irish players) gone backwards since Schmit announced he was leaving
@The Red Devil: It seems blindingly obvious but nobody wants to mention it. Could it be that the senior players wanted someone other than Farrell to take over? Either way the announcement was ill-timed.
The most dangerous thing about being named number 1 team in the world is to start believing you are the number 1 team in the world. The fall feels all the more painful.
@Doire: but we weren’t named number 1 we were number 2
@Sam Harms: really Sam really. You pollution
@Doire: you’re embarrassing yourself now. That’s some third rate trolling mate.
@Shane McGettrick: its not trolling but fact is they were 1 or at very least joint top after new zealand to argue otherwise is childish. We have fallen since then. At no time did i say this team wont recover. I have no doubts we will be at the business end of the world cup. I wounded animal and all that craic.
@Doire: no, we we’re ranked second, that’s how ranking points work, you don’t judge based on a single test match. You’ve already made a fool of yourself talking about the anthem and the flag earlier so give it a rest mate.
@Shane McGettrick: your either irish or your not. Conditions should not change for players. This is our flag
@Shane McGettrick: we have 1 flag and 1 anthem. End of story
@Doire: Q. E. D.
@Doire: except if you’re NZ
Very disappointing. No one stood up to lead. The subs should have been brought on a lot sooner and the roof being open hurt us IMO. Hopefully the lads will learn from this because the World Cup is creeping up. Murray and Sexton both haven’t found form but I don’t think either deserve the abuse they’re getting from all the armchair critics. I’d rather try and LIFT the team. And remember you cant enjoy the highs without experiencing the lows. COYBIG!
Like or hate Gatland his record in charge of Wales is unreal. 3 Grand Slams in 6 years is some going
Im afraid this is what happens when you dont pick players who are on form Sexton and Murray have been very poor since they came back from injury and were invariably left playing for entire matches when they were shockingly bad. Sexton should have been dropped after the English game and Murray too to be fair but Schmidt is afraid of change. Its Schmidt more than anyone else has to put his hand up for the underpowered displays in this 6 nations he left a malfunctioning half back pairing on for the entire 6 nations and that as much as anything affected morale within the whole team along with Sextons displays of petulance as well
Ireland were dreadful but someone should give Angus Gardner a basic course on the offside line . Wales spent 80% of rucks offside . He has no idea of how to ref a scrum either. Deserved win by Wales without doubt but in a closer game Ireland would have had no chance
Worst performance by Sexton I have ever seen and Murray still too slow(no energy about him).
Oops!!!!
Root and branch review of this year’s Six Nations badly needed.
Let’s not comfort ourselves with platitudes that it will be good for World Cup preparation.
Joe needs to treat Murray, Sexton, Healy and Stander, Aki & others the same way he dealt with Cronin.
Criteria should be your only as good as your last game. Stop the policy of allowing players to play their way back into form at the expense of younger talent!
They’re class at beating New Zealand in friendlies though so it’s grand
The Irish subs were the only positives. Kilcoyne,Scannell and Porter made a huge difference in the scrum while Roux will probably keep Beirne out of the World Cup. Schmidt will have to examine the form of the provincial half backs in the Heineken cup very closely and pray that Murray and Sexton can find their best form.Toner and Leavy have been missed also.
Embarrassing. The worst Ireland performance I’ve ever seen.
@Ciaran Rice: you must have youth on your side Ciaran. It’s not too long ago this was the norm spring after spring for many a year
@@at: too right. Georgia 2007 comes to mind…. Shudder
@Ciaran Rice: Are you 10. The loss to Italy in ’13. The thrashing by Argentina under Joe at the RWC, the 60-0 loss to NZ in ’12. Scotland in ’10 was a travesty too.
And they are this decade alone.
The lads did us proud
@Tony O Neill: no, as professionals they certainly did not. This isn’t an under 14 school blitz
@Séamus O’Caolaidhé: Seamus tog out at international level, let’s see how tough you are without a keyboard…
Well done Warren.
world player of the year. Certainly a joke.
Third best team in Britain and Ireland now. Congratulations! The hype about this team and rogby in general is after well deserved.
Wales effective but limited. We were shocking across the entire tournament but started and particularly finished with serious lows. Really has the feeling of a team and system that peaked 12 months ago. I don’t think a single starter played up to scratch. Without being hyperbolic there’s serious shades of 2007 off this campaign so far.
Worst irish performance I’ve ever seen. Sexton out!!
@Paddy McGee: You must be new to rugby.
A worse performance by Ireland I have not seen in many years, utterly toothless, lacking leadership and not one single player out his hand up, sexton rubbish, Murray rubbish, everything else fell apart from there, shocking, respect to Garland, a comprehensive win and flawless gameplay, we perform better as underdogs.
World cup contenders? What a joke? Top 8 is realistic.
Murray, Sexton, O’BRIEN should have been substituted at 1/2 time. Losing is disappointing but not changing a terrible 9-10 combo is unforgivable.
To be honest I think Ireland sets too much meaning on what are effectively friendlies against tired teams before Christmas
@Peter Byrne: Tyre
It happens… The bulk of the team which enabled us to be world beaters last season, have started this season very poorly. Murray, Sexton, Furlong, Ryan, Stander, O’Brien all WAY off form. Perhaps they weren’t as good as we thought they were last year, but equally I don’t think it’s time to write this group off just yet. Time will tell….
Maybe they should do the unthinkable and think about dropping Sexton.
Am a bit sad as Wales are NOT a grand slam side.. England deserve the championship. Played 5th e best rugby.. … Ireland v poor but can only get better…
Jeez. World player of the year. What a joke.
Sean O’Brien disgraced himself re Gatland
Very disappointing, poor decision on the roof, poor management of the team, too many handling errors, lots to do for the world cup
@John O’Brien: Well done Wales
Hard to pick any positives out of that. Worst performance of the Schmidt era.
Ireland was bad but the ref did not help well done Wales
Ireland needs to look at the U20s for inspiration!
Not a great performance. But as Joe said you cannot write this team off. We are going through a bad patch but we will come good .
Christ on a bike!!
A lot of armchair warriors in here calling this guy brutal, or that guy useless, shame on you all, have a think about how brutal a game is for an international player, they go out there and play one of the most physical sports in the world, they’ve won 23 of the 26 games played. Ireland used to be a wooden spoon contender (most wooden spoons in the history of the comp) now we are beating the top nations and in 2nd/3rd place. We have loads of talent coming through, u20 six nations champions this year. Theres plenty of fair weather supporters here who have no idea how the difference in this team to what we had in the past. Get behind your team, instead of trashing them ffs, this is a rwc year…
@Neil Ryan: Well said.
@Neil Ryan:Mostly I think peoples problem with yesterdays performace was that its not hard to see our problems at half back at present and it wasnt addressed throughout the whole tournament. lack of confidence in those 2 pivotal positions fed throughout the whole team and yesterdays match is the result of it. Schmidt before would have dropped both of them for players performing better its not like we dont have anybody to step in there. But if the two guys in the position think they are untouchable then there is no major incentive to break your back to keep your place is there
There are a lot of fickle, fair weather “fans” on here.
I will use “We” as it should be “we” when Ireland win and “we” when Ireland lose.
We were well beaten by England and Wales in this championship.
However, we finished third, despite not playing well and lets not forget all that this squad has given in the last 5 years under Joe:
- 3 Six Nations including 1 beautiful slam last year.
- 2 first ever victories against the All Blacks.
- A first ever test series against Australia.
Some valuable lessons will be learned, we have Italy, England and Wales (home and away) before leaving for Japan in September.
We have plenty of time to get things right.
@Jack Hackett:
Well said and lets not forget Wales were going for a grand slam and they are ranked No 3 in the world No 2 now at least we wont be overhyped going into the world cup.Will be interesting to see what the keyboard warriors will be saying come the end of the year.
This team and coach have given me hours and hours of great enjoyment I wont abandon them now and there is plenty of room for improvement
Question the players if you want, if it makes you feel better, if you like you need the pat on your back. But they went out today, do you honestly think they were there to do anything but their best for their country and for us. They’re not robots, it’s not a switch to just flick on. Today it wasn’t their peak but they are human, they are no different to you and me. If you class yourself a supporter you get behind your team when they need you most. Otherwise, ask yourself why you even bother supporting them.
Well the way I see it is like this. From the very beginning when the teams lined up for their national anthems you could see every one of the Welsh team belting out their anthem while the Irish anthem was‘ epic even known by half the team and the half that did know it would’nt be heard behind a newspaper. The same goes for the fans. Then they come out with Ireland and more fans know this than the national anthem. What a joke . The writing was on the wall there and then. Teach them the proper national anthem and make them sing it out loud whether they can sing or not. Hope this Ireland thing is not played at the World Cup.
I had the misfortune of paying £100 to watch that dire performance.
Wales scored their only try with a dry ball and then picked off Irelands mistakes clinically. Their defence was awesome and typified by 8 players attempting to charge down the Irish consolation try at the end.
I am not sure what the reasons behind not requesting the roof be shut for the match were, but if it was to reduce the noise it didn’t have much effect. Had it been shut i don’t know whether Ireland would have dented that Welsh defence but they would have played with a drier ball.
It was a lesson in how to defend and Ireland better learn how to break that defence if they want to go far in the world cup.
Hindsight is 20/20 but Joes halo is gone, leaving roof open was stupid, silly bugger bullshit mind games, we are not big enough to break down strong defensive lines and Sextons temperament now a big concern
Before this game I had a feeling Wales would hammer Ireland due to the fact that we were very inconsistent throughout this 6 nations. However as this a World Cup year in a way it was a good thing this has happened to us now instead of 6 months time.
This doesn’t take away the fact that discipline wise worst performance under the joe Schmidt era. Wales deserved it we got another reality check today. The hype after the New Zealand friendly by supporters especially on the 42.ie and media was ridiculous (I’m aware no such thing exists in rugby terms but it was essentially a friendly as nothing was on offer trophy wise etc) too predictable attacking wise hence got found out by England and Wales. This has to change.
“we have huge strength in depth from the bench” what a load of bullshit.
Wales had so much to play for. They haven’t won a 6 nations in 6 years and knew an opportunity like this does not come around often.
They wanted it a lot more but this will be a perfect way to drum down hype going into World Cup which is the best way to be going into the WC.
@Stanley Baggins: yes mate, playing shamefully is a positive
@tubbsyf: France beat England 22 – 16 last year. This year England won the same fixture 44 – 8.
France are no weaker this year. But England and Wales have raised the bar to a frightening level this year. We have to welcome the challenge of catching their superior squads again. So far Joe Schmidt has shown there’s no one better out there when given time for devising a plan to outsmart the crazy talented squads of England and Wales. Wales and England are miles ahead of us currently, but write Joe off at your peril going into WC.
The person who decided to announce before the 6 nations that Joe Schimdt was leaving Ireland is an idiot, this poor 6 nations is a direct result of that. Ireland should have won more Grand Slams under Joe, he is overrated. The all blacks should give the job to Warren Gatland won more Grand slams way better coach.
Joe should just go now, ireland are finished under him, bring in the new coach for the world cup
@bob borrows: I think their hand was forced by pressure by Irish fans and media. Everyone on this was calling for clarity and confirmation.
Every cloud…. and all that.
Disappointed that we lost by a big margin but i dont really care that much about the loss. It was always gonna be a big ask to beat Wales at home when they are looking for a grand slam. We tried a lot of new players and players with little international experience so Joe will have a good idea of the squad he is gonna bring to the RWC.
Ouch…that hurt!
I
Ouch….!
The Irish management need to look carefully at the back row. They were totally outplayed today and going into the match without a modern open side was a risk – O’Brien was dropped for France, presumably Levy is still injured or not fot enough – Tommy O’Donnell has never played badly for Ireland. Do we have a lineout and maul coach?
Sickening, unfortunately the same old story. Ireland hyped up during the years before the world cup. On the year that counts they falter. Even more so looking at the result of the England Scotland game
worst ever
@Shane Oneill: “ever”, how long have u been following rugby buddy, can’t be long…
Embarrassing!! Have to question whether announcing Schmidt’s departure before the Six Nations has caused this?
Wales top class and totally deserved that win, but how Schmidt looked at Sexton and Murray on the field for so long without making a change I’ll never know. Picked players on name over form this six nations and it has showed.
Can Wales not read the Script ….what is wring with these people