France v Ireland, 11 October

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FRANCE v IRELAND
11 October 2015
KO: 16:45
The Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

Live on [tbc]

Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Touch judges:Wayne Barnes (England) & Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Television match official: Graham Hughes (England)

A. Head to Head

93 Played 93
55 Won 31
7 Drawn 7
31 Lost 55
1508 Points 1084

B. Recent Form

14 February 2015
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
18 – 11 to Ireland

15 March 2014
Stade de France, Saint Denis
20 – 22 to Ireland

9 March 2013
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
13 – 13 Draw

4 March 2012
Stade de France, Saint Denis
17 – 17 Draw

20 August 2011
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
22 – 26 to France

13 August 2011
Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux
19 – 12 to France

C. Teams

FRANCE

15 Scott Spedding, 14 Noa Nakaitaci, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Brice Dulin, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Sebastien Tillous-Borde; 1 Eddy Ben Arous, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 3 Rabah Slimani, 4 Pascal Pape, 5 Yoann Maestri, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 7 Damien Chouly, 8 Louis Picamoles.

Replacements: 16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Nicolas Mas, 19 Alexandre Flanquart, 20 Bernard Le Roux, 21 Morgan Parra, 22 Remi Tales, 23 Alexandre Dumoulin.

IRELAND

15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Robbie Henshaw , 11 Dave Kearney,  10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray; 1 Cian Healy, 2 Rory Best, 3 Mike Ross, 4 Devin Toner, 5 Paul O'Connell (c), 6 Peter O'Mahony, 7 Sean O'Brien, 8 Jamie Heaslip.

Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Nathan White, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Chris Henry, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Luke Fitzgerald.

Munchkin wrote:Well, we will see how Earls gets on tomorrow,  Sin é. Hopefully he's amazing. Better than BOD....

Sorry, the criticism of Earls (based on one missed tackle in a warm-up about 5 years ago) just pisses me off. Worth remembering that ROG said that Earls is the only Ireland player that always challenged Brian O'Driscoll.

Then this distribution thing - I've yet to see Jared Payne deliver a pass as good as Earls one recently. Earls is (along with Henderson) the most inform Ireland player at the moment. He made Cave look like a superstar against Wales and he made the defensive call to Andrew Trimble to make the hit that delivered the ball to him which he scored from.

Sin é wrote:

Exiled Gael wrote:Payne's injury is close to disaster for the defensive organisation of the side. Having been at two matches, rather than pontificating based on watching on TV, it is clear that Payne organised the backline's defensive efforts. Earls has massive shoes to fill in that regard. It also puts a lot of pressure on Henshaw to step up and show defensive leadership. Sexton will also have to provide leadership to those outside him. Payne is a massive loss.

From an attacking point of view Earls has the pace and eye for a gap that Payne doesn't. His distribution though is not as good as Payne though it is still perfectly reasonable. I always think Earls gets a hard time needlessly about his distribution skills. Where Earls is weak is his decision making, when to make that offload or try the miss-pass. Fingers crossed he can put in the sort of performance at 13 against big opposition which has largely eluded him in his career in green. I am worried about his ability to defend the French centres, particularly if Fofana attempts outside breaks. Earls' defence is weak on his left shoulder but actually very good on his right. I'm not worried about him taking on Bastareaud. Show courage and go low- Earls has courage in spades.

What a load of cowpat. Earls a poor defender, Earls doesn't distribute, Earls can't tackle.

Earls was well able to deal with Fofana & Rogerie in Paris in the draw against France in 2012. He also had no problem dealing with Tualagi v. England the same season. Earls has the pace to defend any outside break (which is something BOD had lost).

Apart from anything else, he is probably the best rucker in the backs.

I said none of those things. Some basic comprehension skills would aid you considerably. You also don't understand what it means to defend an oustiide break. I'd advise you read what I said again and then attempt to have an adult debate, showing respect to others.

Also it may have escaped your keen intellect that it is now 2015 not 2012- utterly irrelevant to the conversation now.

Sin é wrote:

Munchkin wrote:Well, we will see how Earls gets on tomorrow,  Sin é. Hopefully he's amazing. Better than BOD....

Sorry, the criticism of Earls (based on one missed tackle in a warm-up about 5 years ago) just pisses me off. Worth remembering that ROG said that Earls is the only Ireland player that always challenged Brian O'Driscoll.

Then this distribution thing - I've yet to see Jared Payne deliver a pass as good as Earls one recently. Earls is (along with Henderson) the most inform Ireland player at the moment. He made Cave look like a superstar against Wales and he made the defensive call to Andrew Trimble to make the hit that delivered the ball to him which he scored from.

Andrew Trimble is a veteran winger who has been making hits like that for years, regardless of who has been playing outside centre. Stop talking sh1t3.

yep, Trimble is a damp squib. Just offers nothing. McFadden is the way forward.

JmD wrote:

Sin é wrote:

Munchkin wrote:Well, we will see how Earls gets on tomorrow,  Sin é. Hopefully he's amazing. Better than BOD....

Sorry, the criticism of Earls (based on one missed tackle in a warm-up about 5 years ago) just pisses me off. Worth remembering that ROG said that Earls is the only Ireland player that always challenged Brian O'Driscoll.

Then this distribution thing - I've yet to see Jared Payne deliver a pass as good as Earls one recently. Earls is (along with Henderson) the most inform Ireland player at the moment. He made Cave look like a superstar against Wales and he made the defensive call to Andrew Trimble to make the hit that delivered the ball to him which he scored from.

Andrew Trimble is a veteran winger who has been making hits like that for years, regardless of who has been playing outside centre. Stop talking sh1t3.

If you watch the hit, you will see Earls shouting at him to make it (i.e., Earls was organising the defence that day and was very vocal organising the defence).

Exiled Gael wrote:

Sin é wrote:

Exiled Gael wrote:Payne's injury is close to disaster for the defensive organisation of the side. Having been at two matches, rather than pontificating based on watching on TV, it is clear that Payne organised the backline's defensive efforts. Earls has massive shoes to fill in that regard. It also puts a lot of pressure on Henshaw to step up and show defensive leadership. Sexton will also have to provide leadership to those outside him. Payne is a massive loss.

From an attacking point of view Earls has the pace and eye for a gap that Payne doesn't. His distribution though is not as good as Payne though it is still perfectly reasonable. I always think Earls gets a hard time needlessly about his distribution skills. Where Earls is weak is his decision making, when to make that offload or try the miss-pass. Fingers crossed he can put in the sort of performance at 13 against big opposition which has largely eluded him in his career in green. I am worried about his ability to defend the French centres, particularly if Fofana attempts outside breaks. Earls' defence is weak on his left shoulder but actually very good on his right. I'm not worried about him taking on Bastareaud. Show courage and go low- Earls has courage in spades.

What a load of cowpat. Earls a poor defender, Earls doesn't distribute, Earls can't tackle.

Earls was well able to deal with Fofana & Rogerie in Paris in the draw against France in 2012. He also had no problem dealing with Tualagi v. England the same season. Earls has the pace to defend any outside break (which is something BOD had lost).

Apart from anything else, he is probably the best rucker in the backs.

I said none of those things. Some basic comprehension skills would aid you considerably. You also don't understand what it means to defend an oustiide break. I'd advise you read what I said again and then attempt to have an adult debate, showing respect to others.

Also it may have escaped your keen intellect that it is now 2015 not 2012- utterly irrelevant to the conversation now.

You have shown absolutely no respect to Keith Earls. The relevance of 4 years ago is that his missed tackle then seems to be relevant and Earls has been improving since then - i.e., he is a better player now than he was 4 years ago and he did just fine then.

He also has a lot of experience of big games down in France in Heineken Cup (i.e., semi finals against Toulon & Clermont in recent years).

ME-109 wrote:

Sin é wrote:

Exiled Gael wrote:Payne's injury is close to disaster for the defensive organisation of the side. Having been at two matches, rather than pontificating based on watching on TV, it is clear that Payne organised the backline's defensive efforts. Earls has massive shoes to fill in that regard. It also puts a lot of pressure on Henshaw to step up and show defensive leadership. Sexton will also have to provide leadership to those outside him. Payne is a massive loss.

From an attacking point of view Earls has the pace and eye for a gap that Payne doesn't. His distribution though is not as good as Payne though it is still perfectly reasonable. I always think Earls gets a hard time needlessly about his distribution skills. Where Earls is weak is his decision making, when to make that offload or try the miss-pass. Fingers crossed he can put in the sort of performance at 13 against big opposition which has largely eluded him in his career in green. I am worried about his ability to defend the French centres, particularly if Fofana attempts outside breaks. Earls' defence is weak on his left shoulder but actually very good on his right. I'm not worried about him taking on Bastareaud. Show courage and go low- Earls has courage in spades.

What a load of cowpat. Earls a poor defender, Earls doesn't distribute, Earls can't tackle.

Earls was well able to deal with Fofana & Rogerie in Paris in the draw against France in 2012. He also had no problem dealing with Tualagi v. England the same season. Earls has the pace to defend any outside break (which is something BOD had lost).

Apart from anything else, he is probably the best rucker in the backs.

Same old bull being rolled out about Earls based on the usual misconceptions. If BOD reckons he is the best OC we have then that's all you need to know

If either of you had bothered to read the post instead of going into a foaming rage you would see he gives a balanced critique of Earls.You pair are like the Irish Catholics of the 1950's,any criticism of your establishment is met with outrage and denial.

Sin é wrote:

Munchkin wrote:Well, we will see how Earls gets on tomorrow,  Sin é. Hopefully he's amazing. Better than BOD....

Sorry, the criticism of Earls (based on one missed tackle in a warm-up about 5 years ago) just pisses me off. Worth remembering that ROG said that Earls is the only Ireland player that always challenged Brian O'Driscoll.

Then this distribution thing - I've yet to see Jared Payne deliver a pass as good as Earls one recently. Earls is (along with Henderson) the most inform Ireland player at the moment. He made Cave look like a superstar against Wales and he made the defensive call to Andrew Trimble to make the hit that delivered the ball to him which he scored from.

So you think Cave looked like a superstar? He certainly put his hand up for selection. I'm sure someone who was at the game said something to the effect that it was Cave making the calls, would need to check on that, and both Cave and Earls paid tribute to each other for their performances on the day. They looked good together, and it gives me some hope looking forward for this tournament.
I agree, without Trimble he would never have had the chance to make that try. Earls is a great finisher to be fair.

When did Rog say this? How long ago?

This is what BOD had to say of Payne BODonPayne.

Munchkin wrote:yep, Trimble is a damp squib. Just offers nothing. McFadden is the way forward.

If the team were as hot (under the collar) as the 606 bunch, we'd be a shoe-in for the final, as I never said Trimble is a damp squib but that I feel a personality in camp with the nature of McFadden, even in training, would serve us nice....as right now we seem to think too highly of ourselves without feeling the need to get charged emotionally.

Again, you fail to show the necessary comprehension skills to grasp points made by individuals as they are written. Try, just as an example, thinking about what has been said not what you think they say.

How you think I haven't shown respect to Keith Earls is one of the most laughable stupid, self indulgent pieces of nonsensical garbage I've seen in this forum yet. No credible person would take that from what I've said.

I didn't mention this missed tackle from four years ago to my knowledge. Be so kind, could you please directly quote where I referred to it? I don't know what this missed tackle is. Furthermore, if this single missed tackle, whatever it is, is not representative of his defensive ability (which of course it isn't- anyone can miss a tackle) then a single good pass against Wales is also not representative of his distribution ability. Payne is consistently better than Earls in that regard, but as I have said above, Earls distribution is perfectly reasonable and better than people give him credit for. Payne is not a world class distributer either.

Where to now for Payne is a question that needs to be asked. I always felt that he was only going to be for Ireland for the RWC and then it would be Henshaw at 13 with either Cave or McCloskey at 12.

I would like Ulster to play him more at 15 as I feel he may have an extended Irish future there as a very good back-up to Kearney.

asoreleftshoulder wrote:

If either of you had bothered to read the post instead of going into a foaming rage you would see he gives a balanced critique of Earls.You pair are like the Irish Catholics of the 1950's,any criticism of your establishment is met with outrage and denial.

Strange how everyone seems to only remember the establishment evils of the Catholics but then maybe its an S&M self-flagellation kink.

SecretFly wrote:

Munchkin wrote:yep, Trimble is a damp squib. Just offers nothing. McFadden is the way forward.

If the team were as hot (under the collar) as the 606 bunch, we'd be a shoe-in for the final, as I never said Trimble is a damp squib but that I feel a personality in camp with the nature of McFadden, even in training, would serve us nice....as right now we seem to think too highly of ourselves without feeling the need to get charged emotionally.

I've never really seen that attribute in McFadden. I like him, and think he's a decent player, but not much more than that. Trimble offers more on the wing. Much more, in my opinion. We will see who gets the call soon enough, and then we can argue

eirebilly wrote:Where to now for Payne is a question that needs to be asked. I always felt that he was only going to be for Ireland for the RWC and then it would be Henshaw at 13 with either Cave or McCloskey at 12.

I would like Ulster to play him more at 15 as I feel he may have an extended Irish future there as a very good back-up to Kearney.

Who mentioned wing as it's a centre that has gone missing.

Wing is mentioned as its a given that Earls will move to the centres Fly and as such, Ireland are now short a winger so Trimble would be an excellent option.

SecretFly wrote:Who mentioned wing as it's a centre that has gone missing.

Yes, and we are discussing Trimble. Trimble is a wing, not a centre. McFadden is yet another versatile player. With Earls starting at centre, he's not going to be playing at wing, so do we bring in another wing, or a centre?

I thought some people were in a cold sickly pale sweat when contemplating Earls staying in centre through the play-offs, leading me to believe Trimble would be excess baggage now as he'd have only landed when he'd be on his way back home again pretty damn quick?

eirebilly wrote:Where to now for Payne is a question that needs to be asked. I always felt that he was only going to be for Ireland for the RWC and then it would be Henshaw at 13 with either Cave or McCloskey at 12.

I would like Ulster to play him more at 15 as I feel he may have an extended Irish future there as a very good back-up to Kearney.

Henshaw is not going to be moved to outside centre for a long time. Apart from needing his physicality at 12 (ie, Jean de Villiers, Roberts, Nonu etc), he is still very green internationally.

I'd imagine Payne will move back to 15 for Ulster.

Sin é wrote:

eirebilly wrote:Where to now for Payne is a question that needs to be asked. I always felt that he was only going to be for Ireland for the RWC and then it would be Henshaw at 13 with either Cave or McCloskey at 12.

I would like Ulster to play him more at 15 as I feel he may have an extended Irish future there as a very good back-up to Kearney.

Henshaw is not going to be moved to outside centre for a long time. Apart from needing his physicality at 12 (ie, Jean de Villiers, Roberts, Nonu etc), he is still very green internationally.

I'd imagine Payne will move back to 15 for Ulster.

So you see it as Henshaw 12 and Cave 13 or Henshaw 12 with Earls at 13 for an extended period?

As much as I rate Earls, I would prefer the Henshaw Cave pairing going forward. McCloskey is also a player that may be in the mix in the next few seasons.

Munchkin wrote:
When did Rog say this? How long ago?

November last year, ROG predicting that Earls would be in No. 13 jersey for World Cup in his Examiner column:

ROG wrote:Keith Earls will be back on a pitch near you in the new year. Don’t forget Keith Earls. At worst Earlsie will be going to the World Cup because of his versatility. I think he might be Ireland’s No. 13.

Full quote about BOD.

ROG wrote:We are all intrigued to see how Earls develops under Joe Schmidt, who he’s never played for. He is the one person who has schooled Brian O’Driscoll in training throughout his career. He has the speed, the agility, the balance, the step, the acceleration. Defensively in the 13 channel, it’s as much about technique as it is size.

I imagine this must have annoyed BOD a bit and why he is so full of praise of Payne

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/columnists/ronan-ogara/a-story-about-earlsie-and-zebowe-299945.html

asoreleftshoulder wrote:

ME-109 wrote:

Sin é wrote:

Exiled Gael wrote:Payne's injury is close to disaster for the defensive organisation of the side. Having been at two matches, rather than pontificating based on watching on TV, it is clear that Payne organised the backline's defensive efforts. Earls has massive shoes to fill in that regard. It also puts a lot of pressure on Henshaw to step up and show defensive leadership. Sexton will also have to provide leadership to those outside him. Payne is a massive loss.

From an attacking point of view Earls has the pace and eye for a gap that Payne doesn't. His distribution though is not as good as Payne though it is still perfectly reasonable. I always think Earls gets a hard time needlessly about his distribution skills. Where Earls is weak is his decision making, when to make that offload or try the miss-pass. Fingers crossed he can put in the sort of performance at 13 against big opposition which has largely eluded him in his career in green. I am worried about his ability to defend the French centres, particularly if Fofana attempts outside breaks. Earls' defence is weak on his left shoulder but actually very good on his right. I'm not worried about him taking on Bastareaud. Show courage and go low- Earls has courage in spades.

What a load of cowpat. Earls a poor defender, Earls doesn't distribute, Earls can't tackle.

Earls was well able to deal with Fofana & Rogerie in Paris in the draw against France in 2012. He also had no problem dealing with Tualagi v. England the same season. Earls has the pace to defend any outside break (which is something BOD had lost).

Apart from anything else, he is probably the best rucker in the backs.

Same old bull being rolled out about Earls based on the usual misconceptions. If BOD reckons he is the best OC we have then that's all you need to know

If either of you had bothered to read the post instead of going into a foaming rage you would see he gives a balanced critique of Earls.You pair are like the Irish Catholics of the 1950's,any criticism of your establishment is met with outrage and denial.

More like a pair of outraged nuns ASLS circa 1959..

eirebilly wrote:

Sin é wrote:

eirebilly wrote:Where to now for Payne is a question that needs to be asked. I always felt that he was only going to be for Ireland for the RWC and then it would be Henshaw at 13 with either Cave or McCloskey at 12.

I would like Ulster to play him more at 15 as I feel he may have an extended Irish future there as a very good back-up to Kearney.

Henshaw is not going to be moved to outside centre for a long time. Apart from needing his physicality at 12 (ie, Jean de Villiers, Roberts, Nonu etc), he is still very green internationally.

I'd imagine Payne will move back to 15 for Ulster.

So you see it as Henshaw 12 and Cave 13 or Henshaw 12 with Earls at 13 for an extended period?

As much as I rate Earls, I would prefer the Henshaw Cave pairing going forward. McCloskey is also a player that may be in the mix in the next few seasons.

I was reading an interview with Conrad Smith a few years ago about playing outside centre. He said something to the effect that young players are brought in, make an error and then the criticism of this one defensive error destroys their confidence. He said that it is better to play a mature player who has plenty of international experience elsewhere before putting them into the outside centre spot because they are going to make defensive errors and they are better able to handle it when they are older.

Sin é wrote:

JmD wrote:

Sin é wrote:

Munchkin wrote:Well, we will see how Earls gets on tomorrow,  Sin é. Hopefully he's amazing. Better than BOD....

Sorry, the criticism of Earls (based on one missed tackle in a warm-up about 5 years ago) just pisses me off. Worth remembering that ROG said that Earls is the only Ireland player that always challenged Brian O'Driscoll.

Then this distribution thing - I've yet to see Jared Payne deliver a pass as good as Earls one recently. Earls is (along with Henderson) the most inform Ireland player at the moment. He made Cave look like a superstar against Wales and he made the defensive call to Andrew Trimble to make the hit that delivered the ball to him which he scored from.

Andrew Trimble is a veteran winger who has been making hits like that for years, regardless of who has been playing outside centre. Stop talking sh1t3.

If you watch the hit, you will see Earls shouting at him to make it (i.e., Earls was organising the defence that day and was very vocal organising the defence).

I'm not one for Earls bashing, think he has done fine at 13, but this is such a ridiculous claim to make, as is the Cave one. Both operate independently of your lord and saviour and have played well without him as well. Doesn't matter if he makes a call, Trimble made the tackle and the hit

I would say trimble is next in line, Earls moves to centre, Trimble comes in on the wing, hopefully to compete and not just occupy a squad place

SecretFly wrote:I thought some people were in a cold sickly pale sweat when contemplating Earls staying in centre through the play-offs, leading me to believe Trimble would be excess baggage now as he'd have only landed when he'd be on his way back home again pretty damn quick?

Payne is a big loss, and Payne was much more trusted at centre than Earls. The hope is that Earls can produce a big game tomorrow, one of the biggest in his playing career, and prove the doubters wrong. Including me.
If Trimble had been included in the squad, at the exclusion of Fitz, then things would have been much more straight forward than they are now. I think that was a big mistake. Whoever comes in now will be lucky to see any game time, unless we have further injuries.

Sin é wrote:How about Bastareud defending Earls. How do you think he will do or do you all think that the French backrow will be able to assure that France have the ball 100% of the time?

Personally, I can't wait to see how Bastareud defends Earls!

Too right, he could cause havoc. If he gets any ball being the key question.

Can we call up Nacewa? Please? Play him anywhere. I feel like we're light on adopted Irishmen.

eirebilly wrote:

Sin é wrote:

eirebilly wrote:Where to now for Payne is a question that needs to be asked. I always felt that he was only going to be for Ireland for the RWC and then it would be Henshaw at 13 with either Cave or McCloskey at 12.

I would like Ulster to play him more at 15 as I feel he may have an extended Irish future there as a very good back-up to Kearney.

Henshaw is not going to be moved to outside centre for a long time. Apart from needing his physicality at 12 (ie, Jean de Villiers, Roberts, Nonu etc), he is still very green internationally.

I'd imagine Payne will move back to 15 for Ulster.

So you see it as Henshaw 12 and Cave 13 or Henshaw 12 with Earls at 13 for an extended period?

As much as I rate Earls, I would prefer the Henshaw Cave pairing going forward. McCloskey is also a player that may be in the mix in the next few seasons.

Cave doesn't that have the pace or the x factor to be a top class international 13. Payne was chosen over him - so if he hasn't made it now, he is never going to make it.

Exiled Gael wrote:Again, you fail to show the necessary comprehension skills to grasp points made by individuals as they are written. Try, just as an example, thinking about what has been said not what you think they say.

How you think I haven't shown respect to Keith Earls is one of the most laughable stupid, self indulgent pieces of nonsensical garbage I've seen in this forum yet. No credible person would take that from what I've said.

I didn't mention this missed tackle from four years ago to my knowledge. Be so kind, could you please directly quote where I referred to it? I don't know what this missed tackle is. Furthermore, if this single missed tackle, whatever it is, is not representative of his defensive ability (which of course it isn't- anyone can miss a tackle) then a single good pass against Wales is also not representative of his distribution ability. Payne is consistently better than Earls in that regard, but as I have said above, Earls distribution is perfectly reasonable and better than people give him credit for. Payne is not a world class distributer either.

You posted that losing Payne was close to a disaster. That is disrespectful to Earls.

There was one game in the 6Ns when Payne didn't actually pass or offload once. (in fairness to Payne, it seems to be forbidden anyway).

I think Cave has been very good whenever he has come in, particularly at 12. Runs good lines, draws defenders to make space, solid in defence. I always worry he is due one of the occasional stinkers he has though. It's Henshaw/Earls now regardless, and aside from a it of a pervasive worry about his defence, I don't think there will be a huge difference between Earls and Payne.

Sin é wrote:

Exiled Gael wrote:Payne's injury is close to disaster for the defensive organisation of the side. Having been at two matches, rather than pontificating based on watching on TV, it is clear that Payne organised the backline's defensive efforts. Earls has massive shoes to fill in that regard. It also puts a lot of pressure on Henshaw to step up and show defensive leadership. Sexton will also have to provide leadership to those outside him. Payne is a massive loss.

From an attacking point of view Earls has the pace and eye for a gap that Payne doesn't. His distribution though is not as good as Payne though it is still perfectly reasonable. I always think Earls gets a hard time needlessly about his distribution skills. Where Earls is weak is his decision making, when to make that offload or try the miss-pass. Fingers crossed he can put in the sort of performance at 13 against big opposition which has largely eluded him in his career in green. I am worried about his ability to defend the French centres, particularly if Fofana attempts outside breaks. Earls' defence is weak on his left shoulder but actually very good on his right. I'm not worried about him taking on Bastareaud. Show courage and go low- Earls has courage in spades.

What a load of cowpat. Earls a poor defender, Earls doesn't distribute, Earls can't tackle.

Earls was well able to deal with Fofana & Rogerie in Paris in the draw against France in 2012. He also had no problem dealing with Tualagi v. England the same season. Earls has the pace to defend any outside break (which is something BOD had lost).

Apart from anything else, he is probably the best rucker in the backs.

The guy gives a rather flattering (and honest) assessment of Earls and you still crack up at him.

Marshes wrote:I would say trimble is next in line, Earls moves to centre, Trimble comes in on the wing, hopefully to compete and not just occupy a squad place

They could also bring in Felix Jones at fullback and leave Zebo on the wing! I'd imagine it will be a centre because they will have more need to have a centre for training.

Marshes wrote:I think Cave has been very good whenever he has come in, particularly at 12. Runs good lines, draws defenders to make space, solid in defence. I always worry he is due one of the occasional stinkers he has though. It's Henshaw/Earls now regardless, and aside from a it of a pervasive worry about his defence, I don't think there will be a huge difference between Earls and Payne.

Although Payne may have been a slightly better defender than Earls, he is nowhere near a better attacker.

That said, Ireland (Sexton and Murray) need to have good games and get the balls to the centres to enable Earls to shine. This did not happen against Italy and is my biggest worry.

The bloody X Factor, a term banned by Oberfuhrer Schmidt

eirebilly wrote:

Marshes wrote:I think Cave has been very good whenever he has come in, particularly at 12. Runs good lines, draws defenders to make space, solid in defence. I always worry he is due one of the occasional stinkers he has though. It's Henshaw/Earls now regardless, and aside from a it of a pervasive worry about his defence, I don't think there will be a huge difference between Earls and Payne.

Although Payne may have been a slightly better defender than Earls, he is nowhere near a better attacker.

That said, Ireland (Sexton and Murray) need to have good games and get the balls to the centres to enable Earls to shine. This did not happen against Italy and is my biggest worry.

They in turn need their forwards to stop fiddlef**king around and get a dominant move on.

SecretFly wrote:

eirebilly wrote:

Marshes wrote:I think Cave has been very good whenever he has come in, particularly at 12. Runs good lines, draws defenders to make space, solid in defence. I always worry he is due one of the occasional stinkers he has though. It's Henshaw/Earls now regardless, and aside from a it of a pervasive worry about his defence, I don't think there will be a huge difference between Earls and Payne.

Although Payne may have been a slightly better defender than Earls, he is nowhere near a better attacker.

That said, Ireland (Sexton and Murray) need to have good games and get the balls to the centres to enable Earls to shine. This did not happen against Italy and is my biggest worry.

They in turn need their forwards to stop fiddlef**king around and get a dominant move on.

Which is why Henderson should have started...

In all this analysis, its interesting that you all expect that all the centre need to do is defend well.

How about the backrow stepping up to the plate and winning the ball a bit.

It takes more than Henderson; and these TotemPole players that many of us now seem to cling to are the exact antithesis of what many of you said should be the way forward after BOD retired - no more reliance on single 'undroppable' superstars.

eirebilly wrote:

SecretFly wrote:

eirebilly wrote:

Marshes wrote:I think Cave has been very good whenever he has come in, particularly at 12. Runs good lines, draws defenders to make space, solid in defence. I always worry he is due one of the occasional stinkers he has though. It's Henshaw/Earls now regardless, and aside from a it of a pervasive worry about his defence, I don't think there will be a huge difference between Earls and Payne.

Although Payne may have been a slightly better defender than Earls, he is nowhere near a better attacker.

That said, Ireland (Sexton and Murray) need to have good games and get the balls to the centres to enable Earls to shine. This did not happen against Italy and is my biggest worry.

They in turn need their forwards to stop fiddlef**king around and get a dominant move on.

Which is why Henderson should have started...

The biggest loss with Hendo out is his ball carrying, O Brien and Healy don't offer that threat much anymore, I have no worries about Toner hitting the rucks, and he brings plenty extra to the lineout and mauls. Hopefully he is starting next week

Heaslip is certainly due a good performance as well, he was totally outplayed by Parisse last week.

eirebilly wrote:

Marshes wrote:I think Cave has been very good whenever he has come in, particularly at 12. Runs good lines, draws defenders to make space, solid in defence. I always worry he is due one of the occasional stinkers he has though. It's Henshaw/Earls now regardless, and aside from a it of a pervasive worry about his defence, I don't think there will be a huge difference between Earls and Payne.

Although Payne may have been a slightly better defender than Earls, he is nowhere near a better attacker.

That said, Ireland (Sexton and Murray) need to have good games and get the balls to the centres to enable Earls to shine. This did not happen against Italy and is my biggest worry.

Better tackler maybe - but going on Murray Kinsella's analsysis Earls is a top class rucker (in the analysis he did, Earls had scores that bettered the backrow for effectiveness). Payne (& D Kearney who was on the other wing) were not close to him. In fact Zebo was better than both of them as well.

SOB was no great shakes either. We really need these guys at the top of their game.

Sin é wrote:In all this analysis, its interesting that you all expect that all the centre need to do is defend well.

How about the backrow stepping up to the plate and winning the ball a bit.

Big performances needed everywhere Sin. Them backrow lads have just as much to lose. I would have had Henry in there for SOB, but hopefully he proves me wrong.

And it's not that a centre just has to defend well, it is more it was one of Payne's more bankable attributes, which is a concern when France have a bulldozer wearing their 13 jersey.

By the way, how does it take two weeks to diagnose a fractured foot?

Sin é wrote:but going on Murray Kinsella's analsysis Earls is a top class rucker (in the analysis he did, Earls had scores that bettered the backrow for effectiveness). Payne (& D Kearney who was on the other wing) were not close to him. In fact Zebo was better than both of them as well.

? It suggests to me that the opposition saw him as a potential weak link and sent most of their army down his way?

FecklessRogue wrote:By the way, how does it take two weeks to diagnose a fractured foot?

Was thinking that myself. Maybe fractured in training though.

FecklessRogue wrote:By the way, how does it take two weeks to diagnose a fractured foot?

They would have to wait for the swelling and bruising to do down to scan it.

FecklessRogue wrote:By the way, how does it take two weeks to diagnose a fractured foot?

New carbon friendly x-ray machines that need to wait for enough sunlight to charge them

Sin é wrote:

FecklessRogue wrote:By the way, how does it take two weeks to diagnose a fractured foot?

They would have to wait for the swelling and bruising to do down to scan it.

But apparently he was fully involved in training on Wednesday. Not with a fractured foot.

SecretFly wrote:

Sin é wrote:but going on Murray Kinsella's analsysis Earls is a top class rucker (in the analysis he did, Earls had scores that bettered the backrow for effectiveness). Payne (& D Kearney who was on the other wing) were not close to him. In fact Zebo was better than both of them as well.

?  It suggests to me that the opposition saw him as a potential weak link and sent most of their army down his way?

Well, it wasn't working then for them because Earls wasn't making tackles, he was getting to rucks first to clear them out.