Ireland vs Wales - WELSH TEAM ANNOUNCED AT 11:50 THIS MORNING...!

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Ireland Six Nations 2012 Squad

15 -Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster)
14 - Tommy Bowe (Ospreys)
13 - Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster)
12 - Gordon D'Arcy (Lansdowne/Leinster)
11 - Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster)
10 - Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary's College/Leinster)
9 - Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster)
1 - Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)
2 - Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster)
3 - Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster)
4 - Donncha O'Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster)
5 - Paul O'Connell (Young Munster/Munster) Captain
6 - Stephen Ferris (Dungannon/Ulster)
7 - Sean O'Brien (Clontarf/Leinster)
8 - Jamie Heaslip (Naas/Leinster)

Replacements:

16 -Sean Cronin (St. Mary's College/Leinster)
17 - Tom Court (Malone/Ulster)
18 - Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)
19 - Peter O'Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster)
20 - Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
21 - Ronan O'Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster)
22 - Fergus McFadden (Old Belvedere/Leinster)



WALES SQUAD

BACKS

Scrumhalf
Mike PHILLIPS (BAYONNE)
Lloyd WILLIAMS (CARDIFF BLUES)
Rhys WEBB (OSPREYS)

Flyhalf
Rhys PRIESTLAND (SCARLETS)
James HOOK (PERPIGNAN)

Centre 3/4s
Jamie ROBERTS (CARDIFF BLUES)
Jonathan DAVIES (SCARLETS)
Scott WILLIAMS (SCARLETS)
Gavin HENSON (CARDIFF BLUES)
Ashley BECK (OSPREYS – Uncapped)

Wing 3/4s
George NORTH (SCARLETS)
Leigh HALFPENNY (CARDIFF BLUES)
Alex CUTHBERT (CARDIFF BLUES)
Harry ROBINSON (CARDIFF BLUES)

Fullbacks
Liam WILLIAMS (SCARLETS – Uncapped)
Lee BYRNE (ASM CLERMONT AUVERGNE)

FORWARDS

Tightheads
Craig MITCHELL (EXETER CHIEFS)
Adam JONES (OSPREYS)

Looseheads
Ryan BEVINGTON (OSPREYS)
Gethin JENKINS (CARDIFF BLUES)
Rhys GILL (SARACENS)

Adaptable to both sides of the Scrum
Paul JAMES (OSPREYS)
Rhodri JONES (SCARLETS – Uncapped)

Hookers
Matthew REES (SCARLETS)
Huw BENNETT (OSPREYS)
Ken OWENS (SCARLETS)

Locks
Bradley DAVIES (BLUES)
Ian EVANS (OSPREYS)
Lou REED (SCARLETS – Uncapped)

Back Five Option
Ryan JONES (OSPREYS)

Blindside Flank Forward
Dan LYDIATE (NEWPORT GWENT DRAGONS)

Openside Flank Forward
Sam WARBURTON (CARDIFF BLUES, CAPTAIN)
Justin TIPURIC (OSPREYS)

Number 8s
Toby FALETAU (Dragons)
Andy POWELL (Sale)


Its a month away, just 31 days to the opening game for Wales and Ireland. The excitement of the start of the tournament is as thrilling as it has ever been. I think we are hoping that both sides will show some of the new talent on display in the HEC given their chances at International level. A mix of experience blended in well to temper the exuberance of youth when it is needed.


How do the teams match up historically?

First ever Ireland vs Wales was at Lansdowne Road, Dublin on the 28th of January 1882.

Ireland nil – 2G, 4T Wales
Try: Evans
Bridie
Clapp
Baker Jones

Con: Lewis (2)


The winning result for Wales was their first ever victory in International Rugby. Since then the two Nations have played for the following results.

117 Played 117
47 Wins 64
64 Losses 47
6 Draws 6
164 Tries 201
85 Conversions 98
131 Penalties 126
21 Drop Goals 33
1227 Points 1353
39.66% Success Rate 54.31%

Last meeting was in the Quarter Finals of the RWC 2011. Wales were victorious in a classic encounter. Both nations fielded exceptionally good teams that had done well in their previous pool matches.

The game previous was in the 2011 Six Nations with another win for Wales, controversial due to the try that should not have been allowed scored by Mike Phillips.

DOD wrote:

ASLS.... If only you could actually make some factual points instead of trying to forensically disect each statement or repeating the same arguement despite being proven incorrect. Have a

You still haven't made a point,tell me what argument of mine has been proven incorrect and I can debate it.All you are doing at the minute is pretending some conversation took place when nothing of the sort happened and I'm having a cuppa thanks.

doctornickolas wrote:So to sum it all up then....

It's not worth Wales forking out the air fare to turn up because Ireland are 15 22 30 Supermen, better than Wales in every department, and are pretty much going to walk a Grand Slam.

+ 1

biltongbek wrote:

doctornickolas wrote:So to sum it all up then....

It's not worth Wales forking out the air fare to turn up because Ireland are 15 Supermen, better than Wales in every department, and are pretty much going to walk a Grand Slam.

Good summation mate. seems a fair assessment.

to be fair this is generally whats spouted before every game against ireland.

Interesting comment in the Indo this morning concerning the Sexton/ROG selection which might be of interest to both sides of the arguement. The writer was saying that ROGs continued presence and the fact that he is playing well might inhibit Sexton especially while playing for Ireland but that this is not ROGs fault and it is up to Sexton to deal with it.

A good point really. Most supporters want Sexton to succeed but its up to him to do that.

I do agree with that point to a certain extent wherein Sexton has to win the shirt newbie. I actually believe that DK should tell him that he is the #1 OH and that ROG is his backup. Sexton obviously feels like the is a hammer about to fall should he make a mistake and he will be taken off or benched for the next match so he takes extra risks in trying to perform.

Continuity is needed if Ireland are going to do well and Sexton (as the future) needs to be given the role and made to feel that his place is secure so that he doesnt take as many chancy risks.

Sexton being on the scene has brought out the best in ROG again but with ROG there Sexton's game suffers on the international stage at times.

hang on, so Sexton is taking risks in the way he is playing to avoid the hammer being dropped.

Surely if he felt like the hammer was going to drop he'd be playing conservatively with no risks?

Im guessing I havent got something?

I feel that Sexton pushes the envelope more to create something when the pressure is on Comfort. Thats just what i make of the situation though.

Not all players revert to conservative rugby when the pressure is on, some actually try too hard to impress.

Yeah but then doesnt ROG suffer from exactly the same? At some point Kidney does need to nail his colours to the mast and stick by Sexton though. Now the world cup is over they can afford to chill out a bit about with the must win every game attitude and look to build the side up again.

If he isnt confident in Sexton then why not start looking at option 3?
If he is confident that Sextons the man to take them forward then give him the chance and be happy you have ROG to see out 20 minutes of the game.

One of Johnsons big mistakes was finaly having the guts to bench Wilkinson, then getting the yips when Flood had a drop in form and going running back to him only to be badly let down at the world cup.

I just think that if DK makes it known that Sexton is the #1 OH and ROG is his backup then i feel that Sexton would feel more confident and play much better at international level.

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote: If he isnt confident in Sexton then why not start looking at option 3?

If by that you mean a 3rd Fly half - we dont have an option 3

What about Madigan or Keatley?

Madigan is a very good talent and he will be pushing Sexton in a season or two.

eirebilly wrote:I just think that if DK makes it known that Sexton is the #1 OH and ROG is his backup then i feel that Sexton would feel more confident and play much better at international level.

Sensitive boy isn't he ?

Does Kidney need to sit him on his knee and tell him say 'Who's my big boy ? Whos my big boy ? Yes, you are, yes you are'

Man up

Really must stop posting whilst pished. Really messes up me keyboard.

Yeah, agree with Billy there. I think that while Sexton has to take that pressure ROG brings - its healthy competition, Deccie must now tell him he's No.1 for the 6-N at least.

ROG had some terrible days in an Irish shirt in the beginning. But was persisted with, due to the fact we had no decent replacement for him when Humph Senior retired.

This, is a great situation we have now. And ROG can teach him so much at this level and has, imo. But, Sexton needs to know that Deccie trusts him now. In the good and bad days. I think it will get the best out of him. We well know he has the talent and the cool to make a great International Standoff. He has proved it time and time and again in huge pressure HC games and in Finals.

Deccie needs to back him now. ROG is 34 and the only other decent 10 is Madigan - who is still a work in progress. He will need another year or so.

We must use the time we have left with ROG wisely and never get into the ridiculous situation of having only one international-class standoff again.

Back him Deccie and reap the benefits. I think he will.

munkian wrote:

eirebilly wrote:I just think that if DK makes it known that Sexton is the #1 OH and ROG is his backup then i feel that Sexton would feel more confident and play much better at international level.

Sensitive boy isn't he ?

Does Kidney need to sit him on his knee and tell him say 'Who's my big boy ? Whos my big boy ? Yes, you are, yes you are'

Man up

Nothing like that at all. Its all down to man management and that is that DK must assure Sexton that he is his first choice. Nothing about manning up at all as Sexton has proved in the past that he is capable of doing the job very well. DK (i rate him highly) is too indecisive when it comes to the OH position. Not only does it have an effect on Sexton and ROG but the whole team and the balance of how they play... Stability is the key.

Dear god, you'd swear Sexton was our weakest link....

O'Gara is in Kidney's side because Kidney, above all other things, when the chips are down and he's up against the wall, trusts his Munster methods more than any other - and O'Gara is his psychological safety-valve for those occasions.

Can't blame O'Gara for wanting to play on but it's Kidney who is keeping him there and continuing to have us hover unstably between the old ways and potentially exciting new ways.

Can't blame Sexton for feeling the strain. Kidney, by keeping O'Gara as last-hope, is really telling Sexton he wants him to play the O'Gara brand. Sexton isn't O'Gara but the gameplan (such as it ever is!!!!) is set up more for O'Gara than Sexton. It's been a muddle, and we'll see if it remains so.

But eventually, it'll be decided that it is criminal to waste the talent Ireland possesses on this mishmash of styles, philosophies and confusion that has been our rugby for a few years now.

ROG is there on merit Fly, not purely because of a Munster method.

As a Munsterman, i have nothing but respect and admiration for what ROG has done for Ireland but it really is now time that DK settles down and goes with Sexton. It does annoy me that people dont see the negative effect that this indecision can have on a player and a team.

Sexton is not some bubbling little kid, he is an International standard OH and should be shown a lot more faith from the management than what he is. It must be confusing as a player when you have a blinder of a game only to be replaced by someone as the manager feels that he will close the game out better.

so according to Gerry Thornley it looks like the team will be..

Healy - Best - Ross
POC - DOC
Ferris - SOB - Heaslip
Murray - Sexton
Trimble - Earls - D'Arcy - Bowe
Kearney

Subs: Court, Cronin, Ryan, POM, Reddan, ROG, McFadden

Happy enough except for DOC starting. Hopefully they'll start playing a higher standard of rugby.

Why would DOC start over Ryan??

from an irish perspective i would be worried if wales break even at scrum time and in the front 5. given the size of their backline they are capable of simply running over us. It may not be pretty or subtle but they have the size and pace to bludgeon us behind the scrum.

conversely if we get a decent platform i think we have enough pace and guile to break them down especially if sexton plays well.

If we play at the tempo we did v sth africa, england and france in grand slam year, (deccies finest results) i think we will win. I also think Sunday will be a big time revenge mission. We have played very poorly v Wales twice in a row now surely we will be massively up for this and play with a bit more pace and aggression.

Massive game this and a real season definer

o mahony on the bench?? typo? Would be an interesting one and well deserved to be honest. But it makes a mockery of the argument that the likes of Cave,Henry,EOM,Toner,Tuouhy must be ripping up trees for the wolfhounds to earn the right to get into first team squad. its as if deccie has an ear piece in munster telling him these young lads are ready, may well be a good one, but he needs an earpiece for all provinces.

donners has has been the 5th best irish locks this year. if he starts it makes a mockery of form and is very harsh on ryan.

i

profitius wrote:so according to Gerry Thornley it looks like the team will be..

Healy - Best - Ross
POC - DOC
Ferris - SOB - Heaslip
Murray - Sexton
Trimble - Earls - D'Arcy - Bowe
Kearney

Subs: Court, Cronin, Ryan, POM, Reddan, ROG, McFadden

Happy enough except for DOC starting. Hopefully they'll start playing a higher standard of rugby.

Thornley ALWAYS gets it right. He is so close to the source. Will not be happy if DOC starts. Must be Ryan. Love to see O Mahony on the bench. He fully deserves it.

eirebilly wrote:ROG is there on merit Fly, not purely because of a Munster method.

I got so angry when I read that first, eirebilly - surprised myself by how much. Luckily for all of us I took a moment to calm down

Angry and annoyed because I'm not in any way a person who needs to be told about ROG and his merit - I've been holding that man's merit up for longer than most - here and in the old 606. And through the grim days when it wasn't fashionable even for most Irish to come to his rescue when he was being pilloried for the Lions performances. I don't need to be told how good he is, was, or still could be. It's certainly not a secret to anybody who can look up his record. It's there and I've been watching him through all of it.

Now, having said all that - my point was and continues to be that he is there because Kidney is comfortable with him being there and is still untrusting of the 'understudy'. He is there because our 'style' - again, such as it is, - is more suited to him. Sexton is not O'Gara and is more suited to a different game. Kidney is not choosing to, or can't make that version work for Ireland. His problem - not Sexton's - and not O'Gara's either, who remains the best exponent of his particular fly-half game. The problem is the International game has quickened up again and Ireland's 'style' is falling behind. So, I'm simply asking who do you really choose when and if you want to move the theory of rugby along into this 21st century?

Dont you be getting antsy with me Fly . You did state that ROG was there because of the Munster method. Apologies if i mis-interperated your view

ROG is Kidney's comfort blanket, and it's caused him to make a mess of the half back situation with Ireland. It sometimes seemed like he was going out of his way to suck any confidence out of Sexton. He's made it into an excruciatingly long sideshow. I think he knows he should be playing Sexton, but as soon as there's any pressure he reaches for his safety blanket and hauls Sexton off.

When you see what Sexton did in that Heineken Cup final, the rest of the world must be baffled as to what Kidney is playing at. Except for perhaps the Welsh, who've always had a certain fear of ROG.

O'Mahony is probably the best Munster player to emerge in a while and one of the best Irish players. He can cover any position in the backrow, is a good ball carrier, good in the lineouts, has a massive workrate and is a leader. Not to mention that he has a high skill level. The negatives are his temper and getting involved in pushing and shoving all the time. I think he'll end up as a 7.

DOCs career is on a downward slope. Donnacha Ryan has performed miles better than him this season. Tuohy in Ulster has been better too according to most people.

Glad to see Sexton and Murray start together. They offer a greater attacking threat. Murray has to speed things up though. He has been rightly criticised this season for taking ages to make a decision.

Earls, well lets hope he finds his confidence. I think he is a better 13 than some people make out but he hasn't played there much. D'Arcy could be more of a problem IMO but at least he is experienced.

Oh no, Matthew Rees is out with a calf strain. That means.....

What a load of tripe Feckless. Comfort blanket me arse. If Sexton is making a hames of the job, he has to be taken off. Its not fair on the rest of the team, or the IRFU, or Ireland fans.

Apparently the outcome of the team review (including management) is that the team are really happy about the way Ireland are managed, the coaching staff etc. What they werent happy with playing heads up rugby/play what is in front of you and want a much more structured attacking game. This might suit Sexton better.

where did you see that BlueNote?? (am about to activate all panic stations!)

well put secret fly.

as somebody said (perhaps yourself) we seem to be trying to play south african style run over the opposition bludgeoning rugby without the power to do so. Gert Smal must be a major influenced in this. Hardly was a resounding success for South Africa in the world cup

The few times we have played well the last 18 months we have upped the tempo considerably, taken tap penalties and played at a much faster pace. the question is why do we only do this sparingly. we also seem content to play within ourselves v weaker opposition. over to you kidney it needs sorting

if he proves us wrong in the 6 nations great but irish fans who spend there cash following their team are entitled to question the direction we are going

Gibson wrote:

profitius wrote:so according to Gerry Thornley it looks like the team will be..

Healy - Best - Ross
POC - DOC
Ferris - SOB - Heaslip
Murray - Sexton
Trimble - Earls - D'Arcy - Bowe
Kearney

Subs: Court, Cronin, Ryan, POM, Reddan, ROG, McFadden

Happy enough except for DOC starting. Hopefully they'll start playing a higher standard of rugby.

Thornley ALWAYS gets it right. He is so close to the source. Will not be happy if DOC starts. Must be Ryan. Love to see O Mahony on the bench. He fully deserves it.

If we put everyone on the bench that fully deserved it they would have to bring in additional seating. IMO Henry would deserve that spot just as much.

as an aside i absolutely hate gerry thornley.

poor well connected yes man of a journalist. Plenty of those around in Ireland

wru website, Dreamer.

This means Ireland are going to win A LOT of lineout ball.

profitius wrote:O'Mahony is probably the best Munster player to emerge in a while and one of the best Irish players. He can cover any position in the backrow, is a good ball carrier, good in the lineouts, has a massive workrate and is a leader. Not to mention that he has a high skill level. The negatives are his temper and getting involved in pushing and shoving all the time. I think he'll end up as a 7.

DOCs career is on a downward slope. Donnacha Ryan has performed miles better than him this season. Tuohy in Ulster has been better too according to most people.

Glad to see Sexton and Murray start together. They offer a greater attacking threat. Murray has to speed things up though. He has been rightly criticised this season for taking ages to make a decision.

Earls, well lets hope he finds his confidence. I think he is a better 13 than some people make out but he hasn't played there much. D'Arcy could be more of a problem IMO but at least he is experienced.

He is a real enforcer, takes no schitt and is great on the ground. I hope that happens. Then SOB to 6, as Ferris probably only has another year in him with that knee. Yeah. That would a better balanced backrow.

Mon POM! Believe!

Though SOB is doing absolutely brilliantly on the ground at 7 - better than anyone else in Ireland in fact O'Mahony is an aggressive bugger and gets stuck in, but he isn't a clever sort of breakdown player. Gives away a lot of penalties and doesn't win all that many turnovers. He is better at 6/8, making big tackles, knocking players about in the rucks and making huge runs.

Looks like BBC Cyrmu filmed one of their 6 Nations promo's in modern day Munster, and saved money and costumes by letting the locals wear their own clothes.

Link

Almost at 1000 posts. Great stuff guys. I can easily see 1000 posts for the Wales Ireland aftermatch thread.

England Scotland on the other hand might get two posts for their aftermatch thread. Is it safe to open my eyes yet? and I don´t know. I´m blind drunk.

sin e kidney has left plenty of players on the pitch who were having shockers in his reign. sexton has correctly been given the hook usually when he had the yips kicking for goal

the reality of the out half rotation is for whatever reason the starting out half be it sexton or o gara tend to play poorly and the replacement tends to be an improvement. its a massive frustration and the sideshow has affected us big time

you would think having the calibre of sexton and rog at fly half would be a huge advantage but it simply has not. the only game it really worked was the england home game. sexton had a great game and rog closed things out immaculately

Feckless Rogue wrote:Looks like BBC Cyrmu filmed one of their 6 Nations promo's in modern day Munster, and saved money and costumes by letting the locals wear their own clothes.

Link

That's brilliant!. Man I LOVE the 6-N.

Stick around kia...the English/Welsh thread will live up to its usual standards I'd expect. This will seem like a brief tweet in comparison.

dublin_dave wrote:you would think having the calibre of sexton and rog at fly half would be a huge advantage but it simply has not. the only game it really worked was the england home game. sexton had a great game and rog closed things out immaculately

Which, worryingly enough, was your last Six Nations game at the new Lansdowne Road.

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