The Dew Drop Inn Virtual Rugby Pub

First topic message reminder :

Welcome to the Virtual Rugby Pub - a place where you can come in for a sly beverage and discuss whatever's on your mind, or just eavesdrop on the regulars if you fancy a break from all the rugby chat.

The only rule in this pub is one of mutual respect for everyone in it, oh and no defacing the pictures of Chris Paterson, Steve Thompson and Jonny Wilkinson above the bar!


So pull up a chair....what'll it be?



Old Pub: https://www.606v2.com/t20595p950-the-dew-drop-inn-virtual-rugby-pub#807868

Some stellar HC performances too. All I said is he has been the best 13 this season. I know he won't get picked but wouldn't mind seeinghim in the squad. O'Malley has been solid as well so I wouldn't be disappointed if he got game time.

Eoin Griffin has been the best 13 this season?

Eh no.

Thomond - unless you mean to play him why put him in the squad? I don't think he has done enough personally. The Pro 12 is a dangerous barometer with things so fraught with post RWC squad rotation. He had a great game against Quins but was it the same in the other matches. Also, the current climate in Ireland is to big up any young player who does remotely well. I feel that the role of the "young player" in our defeat to Wales was over stated and also worth bearing in mind that any Connacht player who shows any form will get massive praise from the fans when they have seen their team lose a dozen matches in a row.

Just my opinion and I don't care if you don't agree with it Willy. Stag being in the squad would acknowledge his good play.

There is an argument that inviting players to train with the squad is a good experience for them, but Kidney does this every year without including them in the squad. He includes a lot of players in training camps.

red_stag wrote:Thomond - unless you mean to play him why put him in the squad? I don't think he has done enough personally. The Pro 12 is a dangerous barometer with things so fraught with post RWC squad rotation. He had a great game against Quins but was it the same in the other matches. Also, the current climate in Ireland is to big up any young player who does remotely well. I feel that the role of the "young player" in our defeat to Wales was over stated and also worth bearing in mind that any Connacht player who shows any form will get massive praise from the fans when they have seen their team lose a dozen matches in a row.

Bigging up our youngsters is a huge problem in Ireland. Provincial wide as well. Personally up here I fear we're going to ruin Luke Marshall with our hype.

LOOK, WHY DON'T YOU JUST PICK LEINSTER WITH FERRIS, BEST, MURRAY AND O'CONNELL!

And Paddy Wallace at 12 !!!

Thomond wrote:Just my opinion and I don't care if you don't agree with it Willy. Stag being in the squad would acknowledge his good play.

Thomond, not having a go just debating a point mo chara

"Acknowledging good play" is done by awards IMO not by international call ups. I don't see Griffin playing any role in Irish national team over the next 18 months and therefore has no business in the squad. I'd more more inclined to look at Nevin Spence, Darren Cave and Eoin Griffin who are all young but much more likely to feature.

Exactly. An invitation to Griffin would show the kid he is on the right track without filling his head with Poopie.
Thomond I think he and O'Halloran are fantastic prospects but they are no different to at least six or more others from the other three Provinces.

Actually I would. Add Trimble and Ryan, that would be alright.

Healy, Best, Ross, Ryan, O'Connell, Ferris, O'Brien, Heaslip, Murray, Sexton, Fitzgerald, McFadden, O'Malley, Trimble, Kearney

red_stag wrote: I don't see Griffin playing any role in Irish national team over the next 18 months and therefore has no business in the squad. I'd more more inclined to look at Nevin Spence, Darren Cave and Eoin Griffin who are all young but much more likely to feature.

Thank you Notch I meant Eoin O'Malley.

So you don't want Griffin to get picked but Eoin Griffin should get picked? Interesting....

I'd have been all for O'Malley and McFadden as the starting centres for Ireland...they have a good understanding and compliment each other however they are vulnerable defensively.

Griffin took O'Malley to the cleaners tonight so I'm not sure why people are so against giving him a shot.

Cave, if paired with the right partner could do an excellent job too. He has an all round skill set and a great rugby brain.

Everyone bigs up their own players. We are annoyingly renowned for it in rugby and cricket. Very few come out unscathed when thrown in the deep end.

Worst thing is when a young player is bigged up; fails consistently (or is just mediocre) and management/selectors keep persevering with him when you can see the confidence is shot. On the flip side - you get the odd player who rises to the occasion and has 'star' written all over him. It's a very risky business.

Not bad Glas... not bad.

I would like to see a settled combination given they are few outstanding individuals. So if it is to be Cave, Wallace plays 12. O'Malley I would probably prefer to see with McFadden.

I suspect it will be Earls with D'Arcy/Wallace.

Line. Wise words.
I really do think Cave should get a chance to show what he is about. I think the better the team he is in the better he will play.

Notch wrote:
I suspect it will be Earls with D'Arcy/Wallace.

So do I....and that would be a huge mistake for me. The Welsh, English, French and perhaps even Scottish midfields will make mincemeat out of either of those combinations in my opinion. Those 3 are good enough to beat Italy and thats about it. The same applies to McFadden and Earls as a pair, it just doesn't work...not enough brains and not enough brawn.

So who would be your centres Rodders?

What is really so bad about Earls at 13? Amazing hands against Connacht for the Sean Scanlon try. He will be there against Castres and Northampton lets wait and see what happens first. He has also had some great displays for Munster and Ireland at 13.

Overall I will be happy enough with any centre pairing we come up with. Breaking up the Darcy, O'Driscoll pairing was the priority this year and with BOD injured thats already taken care of.

I think McFadden at 12 and Cave at 13 could work very well.

Yes but can you see the conservative Kidney putting in a complete new paring?
Ivstill think you will see either Wallace or D'Arcy at 12.
13 will be down to who trains with the above the best.

No I see Kidney going with D'arcy and Earls...but on what basis?

D'arcy wasn't able to outshine the Ulster Ravens pairing. Paddy Wallace has hardly played since the summer and shouldn't be near an Ireland shirt.

The English midfield had a field day against D'arcy and Earls in August and I'd back them to do it again. Wales will be licking their lips.

Wales will be:

15-9 Byrne, North, Davies, Roberts, Halfpenny, Priestland, Phillips
1-8 Bevington, Bennett, Jones, R Jones, Davies, Lydiate, Warburton, Faletau
16-23 James, Rees, Day, Tipuric, Williams, Jones, Williams.

Glas a du wrote:LOOK, WHY DON'T YOU JUST PICK LEINSTER WITH FERRIS, BEST, MURRAY AND O'CONNELL!

+ Jennings at 7 => 6-N is ours.

And sack that clueless gobshite Kidney.

Have to say Gibbo. You cheapen yourself every time you talk about Kidney. I genuinely stop talking about it every time you enter the conversation as its always just a torrent of insults towards Kidney rather than any rugby talk #respectforall

Personally I think Ireland needs a foreign coach and should always have a foreign coach.

red_stag wrote:What is really so bad about Earls at 13? Amazing hands against Connacht for the Sean Scanlon try. He will be there against Castres and Northampton lets wait and see what happens first. He has also had some great displays for Munster and Ireland at 13.

He' just not smart enough Stag. Instinctive is grand on the wing, but we need intelligence at 13. Its whats made us look better for the last 10 years. Im sticking by O' Malley. Great defence today. Had to be - Griffin is making a name for himself.

Was disappointed that Isa took all the kicks. Although - as per, he nailed em all in rough weather . But, Madigan must start kicking in the PRO12, asap.

Maybe v Munster. A handy game like.

Roberts and Davies is a monsterous midfield.

My feeling is that with BOD out, if we play anyone other than Cave or less likely Spence at 13 then we'll be exposed defensively in midfield. All of our other centre options struggle with head on tackles against big men on their weaker shoulders.

If we play Cave at 13 then we need a bit of pace at 12 thats why I think McFadden and him would work well. If you had Sexton at 10 you would see Leinster loops galore.

I really like O'Malley but he was exposed again today by Griffin and he needs to work on his defence.

red_stag wrote:Have to say Gibbo. You cheapen yourself every time you talk about Kidney. I genuinely stop talking about it every time you enter the conversation as its always just a torrent of insults towards Kidney rather than any rugby talk #respectforall

Personally I think Ireland needs a foreign coach and should always have a foreign coach.

.

Moi? Cheapen myself? I just say it like I see it. This Ladyboy is not for turning.

Gibson you though O'Malley did well today? I thought Griffin had a much better game and burst though O'Malleys attempted tackles at least twice.

Really like the look of O'Hallaran too. He's better than Carr imo.

Agree on O'Malley. I'm a big big big fan of his.

However are out and out brains really needed for a 13? A strike runner with good hands is not a bad thing and it is no surprise that a lot of wingers can also play 13. However you need the right man at 12 for that to work.

I suspect Kidney wont lose any sleep over any of the two previous statements but I do think his final selections at 12/13 will have a big bearing on our chances of the six nations.
We are fortunate that expectations are lower in the year we are away to England and France but we surely need to be effective in midfield to be sure of being in with a shout of the championship.
I still think D'Arcy will be 12. Who will be 13?

Gibson wrote:

red_stag wrote:Have to say Gibbo. You cheapen yourself every time you talk about Kidney. I genuinely stop talking about it every time you enter the conversation as its always just a torrent of insults towards Kidney rather than any rugby talk #respectforall

Personally I think Ireland needs a foreign coach and should always have a foreign coach.

.

Moi? Cheapen myself? I just say it like I see it. This Ladyboy is not for turning.

Fine. Very hard to actually debate with someone who just insults Kidney all the team. Criticise = fine. Insult = not cool and not you #playingtothecrowd

I've seen it now on 4 separate occasions and I know you well enough to know its all tongue in cheek but every time now I've just not wanted to bother when the old "biased and cluessless Kidney has let his country" down line gets trotted about.

Brains are needed in every position stag..to varying degrees of course.

You need brains in midfield, someone to coordinate the attack and defence. If you go with Earls then you need brains inside, and brawn so thats D'arcy and Wallace out.

Unless Cave and Earls can renew their old partnership then there is no one to partner Earls with that won't leave us exposed imo.

roddersm wrote:Roberts and Davies is a monsterous midfield.

My feeling is that with BOD out, if we play anyone other than Cave or less likely Spence at 13 then we'll be exposed defensively in midfield. All of our other centre options struggle with head on tackles against big men on their weaker shoulders.

If we play Cave at 13 then we need a bit of pace at 12 thats why I think McFadden and him would work well. If you had Sexton at 10 you would see Leinster loops galore.

I really like O'Malley but he was exposed again today by Griffin and he needs to work on his defence.

Rodders,
I allude to Stag's sharp posts back a bit. He's spot on. We laud our kids beyond any real knowledge. I watch em develop from the Academy. Love it. But, we exaggergate their potential mostly. Ulster postersare possibly the worst at this. Too many new Superstars disapppear. Same with us lot to a lesser extent...

Just sayin.

Every player should have a fotoballing brain. It's why the All Blacks do so well. All of them are footballers, great hands good passing and can spot a gap.

For me, the ideal partnership is something we don't really have which is a big strike runner at 13 and an intelligent footballer at 12.

Evening all,


Cracking evening of darts on the telly at the minute. Really exciting stuff. James Wade v Adrian Lewis on now should be a cracker, wade has taken the first set against the throw.



LET'S PLAY DARTS!!!!!!!!

I love you Hughie

Notch wrote:For me, the ideal partnership is something we don't really have which is a big strike runner at 13 and an intelligent footballer at 12.

We need to sign Frank Lampard from Chelsea. It will take care of our "intelligent footballer at 12" problem. See Link:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/4940708/Frank-Lampard-has-higher-IQ-than-Carol-Vorderman.html

In addition this is a market leader in the world of strike running - http://maplefishing.com.au/reels/strike-runner/

Thomond wrote:Every player should have a fotoballing brain. It's why the All Blacks do so well. All of them are footballers, great hands good passing and can spot a gap.

Totally agree. Every great player thinks for himself. And the team.

Stag, he is not called Fat Frank for nothing would be useless...

Notch wrote:For me, the ideal partnership is something we don't really have which is a big strike runner at 13 and an intelligent footballer at 12.

Except for the fact that many of the best partnerships had the smarter footballer at 13: BOD and D'arcy, Carling/Gibbs and Gusgott, Nonu and Smith, Little and Bunce. What matter is that the partnership has a the right balance of brains, skill, pace, size and power.

Gibson I disagree..I don't believe we do hype our young players in fact the opposite. I think we are too quick to hilight the inadequacies of our young players but are oblivious to those of our established players. We're not willing to young players a fair a chance and unfaily measure their performances against those of the 'golden generation' at their peak rather than against the likes of BOD, Horgan, O'Gara etc. when they were starting out.

hughie1986 wrote:Evening all,


Cracking evening of darts on the telly at the minute. Really exciting stuff. James Wade v Adrian Lewis on now should be a cracker, wade has taken the first set against the throw.



LET'S PLAY DARTS!!!!!!!!

First semi was epic hughie, but looks like Wade might steamroller Lewis in this one.

Evening all, hope you're all having a good 2012 so far.

Only saw the last three sets Pete of the first, gutted to see The Wizard knocked out.



This is comical now. Too much of a breeze to throw haha

They are having a tin bath mate, just get on and check the feckin things.

Once the women walk off the stage my interest in darts drops off.