Ireland can win the World Cup!

All they have to do is beat Italy and Russia. Then win a 1/4 final against Wales, beat perhaps France in the Semi and then, following some stunning performances from Australia in the other half, a match up against a team the comprehensively beat on Saturday.

HOWEVER

By the time we get to the kick-off between Ireland and Italy on Sunday 2nd, the Pool B table will porbably look like:

Aus -- Played 4 --15pts
Ire -- Played 3 --13pts
Italy-- Played 3 -- 10pts

All of a sudden the pressure is on, and should Ireland play as they have done in Most of their 2011 internationals they could be going home early again!

good luck with that one then.

I don't understand your point? Australia beating USA and Russia is not going to put extra pressure on Ireland.

LondonTiger wrote:
All of a sudden the pressure is on, and should Ireland play as they have done in Most of their 2011 internationals they could be going home early again!

Oh dear we didn't see that one coming. Thanks for pointing out how the pool system works.

No, but the fact that they have to beat Italy to qualify makes it a winner take all match. One that Ireland should win, but one which if not on top form they could well lose.

Personally I like it that nothing is cut and dried.

I'd say in fairness to the OP the point is fairly clear... he's saying that despite Ireland's heroics against the Oz, the match with Italy is still more or less a one-off cup game where the winner takes alll.

Hardly revelatory... but a good reminder nonetheless.

LondonTiger we have to beat Italy and Russia anyway. The group is in our hands and the pressure is on the other teams to secure bonus points and hope we slip up.

We haven't lost to Italy since 1999 so I'm not sure why you are so stressed out about this?

Maybe you should go and worry about how England will fair against Scotland and Romania.

i dont think ireland can or will win the world cup, im sticking with my original prediction, which was the allblacks.

i really don't understand why the Irish on this board are soooooo defensive... if anything LondonTiger was more or less complimenting Ireland on becoming a serious threat in this WC.

The fact that he mentioned the psychological perils therein and how things can still go either way is hardly deserving of ridicule and being told to sodd off and think of their own games.

Perhaps you lot have previous with LondonTiger that I'm unaware of?

I dont think Ireland fans should get too carried away with their win over Australia last week end. Yes it was one of the best performances that Ireland have put in for along time, but ther is along way to go yet, so i would say take one game at a time.

If Ireland play the same way in the rest of the tournament then any thing is possible.

Note i did say IF, Ireland play the same way.

But good luck to you.

Nos na Gaoithe wrote:i really don't understand why the Irish on this board are soooooo defensive... if anything LondonTiger was more or less complimenting Ireland on becoming a serious threat in this WC.

The fact that he mentioned the psychological perils therein and how things can still go either way is hardly deserving of ridicule and being told to sodd off and think of their own games.

Perhaps you lot have previous with LondonTiger that I'm unaware of?

LondonTiger has just posted on another thread that he doesn't reckon Ireland will reach the SF and thinks we will lose to Italy and then creates a thread entitled "Ireland can win the RWC"?

I suspect that this is WUM.

Majestic,the person building us up is English. The Irish aren't getting carried away,as Paulie said, consistency is the next step.

Hes a wum diddly wum dumb.

You see the English have been harping on about their world cup "pedigree", whist pointing to how we "never" do well at world cups. Throughout the last decade of receiving almighty woppings from Ireland (8/9), the World Cup and Ireland previous lack of good results therein had been a source of solace for them.

Not anymore.

I really hope we meet them in the semi final. We'll see who has pedigree then.

IF England make it that far. Which they wont. Cause France have a better team.

'revelatory'

New one on me.

Sounds like something you'd hear on a crap American sci-fi series.

Do you wake up each day Tiger, throw a dart at a board and just say ok let´s wum the hell out of these guys today?

In answer to your post. Yes, Ireland can win the World Cup. England can too as can Wales, SA, Australia, NZ, France and there are a few more left field ones I won´t bother going into.

roddersm wrote:

We haven't lost to Italy since 1999 so I'm not sure why you are so stressed out about this?

Very dangerous Rodders, very dangerous words. Ireland are about to find out just what gaining the spotlight means. If you, and more importantly Ireland, expect to play the way they did against Oz then you have another thing coming. Italy also took Oz on for half a match- their FULL side- and will have improved- and both are away from home, Italy with nothing to lose. Everyone will be gunning for Ireland as Ive said on another post.

For Ireland its now about consolidation, keeping their feet on the ground and consistency in the execution of everything they do. Easy to say, but with minds twirling around in the air, much harder to do.

...and for Italy, buoyed by a good battle with Oz, and a nine try victory over Russia, and Nick Mallet as coach, there is more than enough to suggest an upset is possible here if Ireland drop their guard, as all Italy will be hearing is how much Ireland are going to beat them by...the ultimate motivation...

Be very careful is all I'm saying. Its the type of match that could, and often does, bite people. Best for me to say no more on the matter...

Taylorman you are acting like Ireland have never won a game before. We have many of the most experienced and decorated players in the competition so I do not believe complacancy or pressure will be a problem for us.

I have massive respect for Italy and have no doubt they pose a serious threat to us. I do believe we are good enough to beat them though but I expect it to be a very close game.

Taylorman you are right in many respects, Ireland need to turn up against Italy and be in the right mindset. Don't get me wrong, I think if we play anywhere close to our potential that there shoudln't be an upset but if we think we have this group won before the game against Italy starts then we could well be in trouble.

Top this group and we then have as much chance as anyone in our half of the draw to make the final (assuming France don't beat NZ in the group of course). Then, I guess you could say anything can happen because it's the final, although I'd say that more confidently if it wasn't NZ in final.

I personally will be over the moon if we make the semis. I think if we get that far then the team will have a weight lifted from their shoulders and we can go out and throw everything at it without any consequences. Therefore, if we do get that far, anything could happen. Like I say though, we need to top the group first and then beat a very good Welsh team in order to have our best RWC to date and a shot at something even bigger.

Ireland are lucky.

If we don't make the final we will be considered chokers.

If we lose the final by 1 point due to a drop goal either taken by the opposition or missed by us because our 2 first choice kickers are off injured while players are throwing up on the sideline we will be labeled losers and chokers again.

If we win the final by 38 points we will be considered to have proved nothing as its at home anyway.

If we win the next 25 world cups it will be nothing because we are ranked number 1 anyway so its only expected that we win.

So NZ can't win no matter what happens.

Geez nganboy. If we win it we will win. Thats for sure. People can say whatever they want then.
I couldnt give a toss what they say ad ill know better.
Yes irish honeymonster. What i mean here is ireland have entered a new scenario for them.
Theyre looking at topping pool after a fantastic match.
Not sure if they have topped a pool before.
But in beating oz theyve set themselves up as THE team to beat.
They could subconsciously fall into the 'focus on the result rather than the solution' and fall into the 'why arent we winning' trap only to come out the end still asking it

I think it is an interesting point Taylorman made given the vagaries of the pool and bonus point system. Conceivably if Ireland trip up against Italy and aust get further bonus points, Ireland could finish third and be on an early plane home. That would be a shame, but they will be the favourites and it will be interesting to see if they can find consistency week in and week out - as favourites. Notwithstanding, I would expect Ireland to beat Italy on most days.

Yep. They certainly should win. My post was more about how its possible they could lose with the tricks the mind can play.
Italy will be firing for that one with a chance of qualifying.
Ireland meanwhile are taking rather a lot from one match.
An incredible amount of kudos has come their way and theyll be soaking in it.
Earthing themselves might not be as straightforward as saying it.
Still think theyll win.
just seen similar scenarios where the reverse is true.

nganboy wrote:Ireland are lucky.

If we don't make the final we will be considered chokers.

If we lose the final by 1 point due to a drop goal either taken by the opposition or missed by us because our 2 first choice kickers are off injured while players are throwing up on the sideline we will be labeled losers and chokers again.

If we win the final by 38 points we will be considered to have proved nothing as its at home anyway.

If we win the next 25 world cups it will be nothing because we are ranked number 1 anyway so its only expected that we win.

So NZ can't win no matter what happens.

Nganboy, you forgot to mention it is only in some circles, not the opinion of most.

I don't think people expect you to win, they see you as favourites.

Taylorman wrote:Ireland meanwhile are taking rather a lot from one match.

Actually no we are not taylorman. It is everyone else who is taking a lot from one match.

We are not the team to beat. That is NZ and will continue to be while they are in teh tournament. Australia, SA, England and France are all ranked above us.

But the fact is that we have now put ourselves in a better position to progress into the latter stages of the tournament. Whether we do or not is another thing but certainly it is in our hands now to reach a SF as we are up against teams ranked below us rather than above us.

No one in Ireland is taking anything for granted and our focus for now is purely QF qualification.

This myth that Ireland can only perform when we are underdogs is nonsence though. I can only think of 4 occaisions in the past 5 seasons were we lost to a team ranked below us in the IRB rankings, in a competitive game. Wales 2011, Scotland 2010, England 2008 and Argentina 2007.

Compare that to Australia, England, SA and France and I think you'll find that more than any other top 8 side, other than the Allblacks, that we win when we are expected to.

Well youll need to then.
Some teams are starting their knockouts one match early. Ireland italy could be one.
Samoa SA another.
Just makes it that much harder.

I think they're all knock outs Taylorman:

Scotland v Argentina
Scotland v England
Wales v Fiji

No one is out of the woods yet. My point is that if Ireland can't deal with the pressure of playing Italy then they have no business in the QF's anyway.

If Ireland get beat by Italy and/or Wales it will be because they were the better side not because we couldn't deal with the pressure or expectation. This Irish side is very experienced at KO rugby and know exactly what they need to do. Whether or not they are good enough, time will tell.

So funny to look back on this thread. Italy were easy. Wales, on any other day would have been also.

But the suspect Irish sporting psyche came home to roost in the QF's.

Why? Kidney, that's why.

roddersm wrote:
If Ireland get beat by Italy and/or Wales it will be because they were the better side not because we couldn't deal with the pressure or expectation. This Irish side is very experienced at KO rugby and know exactly what they need to do. Whether or not they are good enough, time will tell.

...Gibson what did you have to bring this thread up again for?!

Why? Kidney, that's why.

Care to expand?

Note my comment about us not being able to win even if we win.