6N 2017: Wales v Ireland, 10 March

First topic message reminder :


WALES v IRELAND
10 March 2017
KO: 20:05 GMT
Principality Stadium, Cardiff

Live on [ITV, RTE, SC4, FR2, DMAX / BBC (H)]

Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Touch judges: [tbc]
TMO: [tbc]

A. Head to Head

124 Played 124
50 Won 67
7 Drawn 7
67 Lost 50
1,477 Points 1,381

B. Recent Form

7 February 2016
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
16 – 16 draw

29 August 2015
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
10 – 16 to Wales

8 August 2015
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
21 – 35 to Ireland

14 March 2015
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
23 – 16 to Wales

8 February 2014
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
26 – 3 to Ireland

2 February 2013
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
22 – 30 to Ireland

5 February 2012
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
21 – 23 to Wales

8 October 2011
Regional Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand
22 – 10 to Wales

C. Teams

WALES 


Halfpenny; North, J Davies, S Williams, L Williams, Biggar, Webb, Evans, Owens, Francis, Ball, A Jones, Warburton, Tipuric, Moriarty.

Replacements: Roberts for S Williams (67), S Davies for Biggar (80), G Davies for Webb (67), Smith for Evans (67), Baldwin for Owens (72), Lee for Francis (70), Charteris for Ball (63), Faletau for Moriarty (67).

IRELAND


Kearney; Earls, Ringrose, Henshaw, Zebo; Sexton, Murray; McGrath, Best, Furlong, D Ryan, Toner, Stander, O'Brien, Heaslip.

Replacements: Bowe for Kearney (70), Jackson for Sexton (19), Marmion for Murray (46), C Healy for McGrath (59), Scannell for Best (80), J Ryan for Furlong (80), Henderson for Toner (63), O'Mahony for Stander (63).

GunsGermsV2 wrote:

Cyril wrote:
Ireland's two recent tournament 'wins' were shared trophies. Ireland haven't won the 6Ns since 2009.

Irish hype was in overdrive before the Scotland loss. After beating an under-strength and dis-interested NZ side in a circus sideshow (was it even a proper test?) you would have thought they had just won back-to-back world cups!

Ireland hype can never compare to the hype around England. The way the England media constantly fawn over Eddie Jones like he is the second coming makes for very uncomfortable viewing/reading. It will be a lot of fun when it all inevitably falls apart as spectacularly as only England can manage in sport.

Go easy Guns, if 600 back to back wins over the wallabies and thwarting Italy at a hybrid version of net ball-rugby doesn't warrant hype then I don't know what does. Credit where it is due.

rodders wrote:

Cyril wrote:
Ireland's two recent tournament 'wins' were shared trophies. Ireland haven't won the 6Ns since 2009.

Well that's not bad compared to England's 13 year barren run from 2003 to 2016 then is it?

England won it outright in 2011. People often forget that

rodders wrote:

GunsGermsV2 wrote:

Cyril wrote:
Ireland's two recent tournament 'wins' were shared trophies. Ireland haven't won the 6Ns since 2009.

Irish hype was in overdrive before the Scotland loss. After beating an under-strength and dis-interested NZ side in a circus sideshow (was it even a proper test?) you would have thought they had just won back-to-back world cups!

Ireland hype can never compare to the hype around England. The way the England media constantly fawn over Eddie Jones like he is the second coming makes for very uncomfortable viewing/reading. It will be a lot of fun when it all inevitably falls apart as spectacularly as only England can manage in sport.

Go easy Guns, if 600 back to back wins over the wallabies and thwarting Italy at a hybrid version of net ball-rugby doesn't warrant hype then I don't know what does. Credit where it is due.

Ireland's winning run of 2 tests will come to a juddering halt on Friday. Luckily they already have the '2 not out' t-shirts on sale.

Cyril wrote:

rodders wrote:

Cyril wrote:
Ireland's two recent tournament 'wins' were shared trophies. Ireland haven't won the 6Ns since 2009.

Well that's not bad compared to England's 13 year barren run from 2003 to 2016 then is it?

England won it outright in 2011. People often forget that

It was really funny how they got spanked in their last game that year though.

GunsGermsV2 wrote:

Cyril wrote:

rodders wrote:

Cyril wrote:
Ireland's two recent tournament 'wins' were shared trophies. Ireland haven't won the 6Ns since 2009.

Well that's not bad compared to England's 13 year barren run from 2003 to 2016 then is it?

England won it outright in 2011. People often forget that

It was really funny how they got spanked in their last game that year though.

I thought Phillips' try against Ireland was funny too.

I think the Wales/Ireland score could be about the same as that year. A close game and a losing BP for the plucky Irish. Plenty of blaming the ref and other officials by the boys in green again too

The Philips try is the only reason England won the championship. Basically because of a referee (Kaplan) mistake.

No idea how Barnes is an international referee. Probably the worst ref in the history of modern rugby.

Eddie Jones is the king of blaming referees, world rugby, Italy everyone but himself.

GunsGermsV2 wrote:The Philips try is the only reason England won the championship. Basically because of a referee (Kaplan) mistake.

No idea how Barnes is an international referee. Probably the worst ref in the history of modern rugby.

Eddie Jones is the king of blaming referees, world rugby, Italy everyone but himself.

Kaplan's only mistake was to believe his assistant (Peter Allan).

Cyril wrote:

I think the Wales/Ireland score could be about the same as that year. A close game and a losing BP for the plucky Irish. Plenty of blaming the ref and other officials by the boys in green again too

The Irish team are already on their way on their bus tour of all Wales, which they hope will take in a full game at the Millennium on Friday. So at least we learn the hard lessons quick. We won't be blaming the bus official this time.

Actually very nervous about this game. Wales have not been playing well but can certainly beat Ireland. The key for me for a Welsh victory will be in the first 20-25mins. Ireland have been very poor against good sides in this period so if Wales can dominate and get points on the board then Ireland will struggle.

eirebilly wrote:Actually very nervous about this game. Wales have not been playing well but can certainly beat Ireland. The key for me for a Welsh victory will be in the first 20-25mins. Ireland have been very poor against good sides in this period so if Wales can dominate and get points on the board then Ireland will struggle.

Donal Lenihan and Marcus Horan last night on Against the Head made some interesting points last night, this Welsh team don't seem as fit and as together as they have been in the past and as a result aren't as clinical or capable of building a score, probably means a BP win for them now

GunsGermsV2 wrote:The Philips try is the only reason England won the championship. Basically because of a referee (Kaplan) mistake.

No idea how Barnes is an international referee. Probably the worst ref in the history of modern rugby.

Eddie Jones is the king of blaming referees, world rugby, Italy everyone but himself.

Barnes is a great referee - just because it takes longer for your players to adapt to him than England did against Italy doesn't mean hes 'the worst ref in the history of modern rugby'

I think you'll find that's Clownshoes Clancy

eirebilly wrote:Actually very nervous about this game. Wales have not been playing well but can certainly beat Ireland. The key for me for a Welsh victory will be in the first 20-25mins. Ireland have been very poor against good sides in this period so if Wales can dominate and get points on the board then Ireland will struggle.

I don't know why you think Wales are good at holding on to leads, Billy!

munkian wrote:

GunsGermsV2 wrote:The Philips try is the only reason England won the championship. Basically because of a referee (Kaplan) mistake.

No idea how Barnes is an international referee. Probably the worst ref in the history of modern rugby.

Eddie Jones is the king of blaming referees, world rugby, Italy everyone but himself.

Barnes is a great referee - just because it takes longer for your players to adapt to him than England did against Italy doesn't mean hes 'the worst ref in the history of modern rugby'

I think you'll find that's Clownshoes Clancy

Clownshoes is a great ref - just coz you boys don't like meticulous application of things called 'rules' don't mean he's the worst ref in the history of modern rugby. I think for a fair game to happen on Friday, Barnes needs to accept a blindfold

Cyril wrote:

rodders wrote:

Cyril wrote:
Ireland's two recent tournament 'wins' were shared trophies. Ireland haven't won the 6Ns since 2009.

Well that's not bad compared to England's 13 year barren run from 2003 to 2016 then is it?

England won it outright in 2011. People often forget that

Chris Ashton didn't.

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:

eirebilly wrote:Actually very nervous about this game. Wales have not been playing well but can certainly beat Ireland. The key for me for a Welsh victory will be in the first 20-25mins. Ireland have been very poor against good sides in this period so if Wales can dominate and get points on the board then Ireland will struggle.

I don't know why you think Wales are good at holding on to leads, Billy!

Don't fall for billy. He's our 'good cop' propagandist. We send him in to mellow out our more Rothweilerish efforts.

munkian wrote:

GunsGermsV2 wrote:The Philips try is the only reason England won the championship. Basically because of a referee (Kaplan) mistake.

No idea how Barnes is an international referee. Probably the worst ref in the history of modern rugby.

Eddie Jones is the king of blaming referees, world rugby, Italy everyone but himself.

Barnes is a great referee - just because it takes longer for your players to adapt to him than England did against Italy doesn't mean hes 'the worst ref in the history of modern rugby'

I think you'll find that's Clownshoes Clancy

Shouldnt have to adapt to one sided refereeing. Barnes tends to choose the team he wants to win in his head and refs the other team exactly according to the laws while ignoring his favourite team's misdemeanours. He also has a tendency of making it all about himself and making spectacular blunders.

Riiiight. And you accuse Welsh fans of being conspiracy nuts.

munkian wrote:

GunsGermsV2 wrote:The Philips try is the only reason England won the championship. Basically because of a referee (Kaplan) mistake.

No idea how Barnes is an international referee. Probably the worst ref in the history of modern rugby.

Eddie Jones is the king of blaming referees, world rugby, Italy everyone but himself.

Barnes is a great referee - just because it takes longer for your players to adapt to him than England did against Italy doesn't mean hes 'the worst ref in the history of modern rugby'

I think you'll find that's Clownshoes Clancy

Agreed. Clownshoes is the pits. In second place would be Craig Joubert and in 3rd place Chris Pollock (who has now retired, thank goodness).

I don't actually mind Barnes, but I do appreciate that he is to Kiwis what Joubert is to Scots. I also rate Poite, who divides opinion these days.

I watched Clownshoes warm up before a game at Rodney Parade a couple of seasons ago. He was so thorough and focused, it was all I could do not to stand up and applaud.

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:I watched Clownshoes warm up before a game at Rodney Parade a couple of seasons ago. He was so thorough and focused, it was all I could do not to stand up and applaud.

He didn't kick himself up the arse ?

Nope. Total pro. Class act. None of your crowd-pleasing one-liners, either.

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:I watched Clownshoes warm up before a game at Rodney Parade a couple of seasons ago. He was so thorough and focused, it was all I could do not to stand up and applaud.

....and then the game began. The scrums were a complete lottery, the breakdown rapidly descended into chaos and he yellow carded one of the touch judges mistaking him for Al Kellock.

You all saw Nigel yellow card the ballboy in Dublin?

Now there is a ref with balls!

SecretFly wrote:You all saw Nigel yellow card the ballboy in Dublin?

Now there is a ref with balls!

Owens is awesome value. Finally someone worth shouting about in Welsh rugby.....

munkian wrote:

GunsGermsV2 wrote:The Philips try is the only reason England won the championship. Basically because of a referee (Kaplan) mistake.

No idea how Barnes is an international referee. Probably the worst ref in the history of modern rugby.

Eddie Jones is the king of blaming referees, world rugby, Italy everyone but himself.

Barnes is a great referee - just because it takes longer for your players to adapt to him than England did against Italy doesn't mean hes 'the worst ref in the history of modern rugby'

I think you'll find that's Clownshoes Clancy

The problem is whenever Ireland adapts to Barnes, Barnes adapts to some other method.

Self entitled team is self entitled shocker

profitius wrote:

The problem is whenever Ireland adapts to Barnes, Barnes adapts to some other method.

Barnes is The Borg.  
Irish player:  Can we do that, beggin' your pardon please, sir?
Barnes:  Of course you can.  Can't you see the other side doing it?  Am I carding them?  Get on with it.
Irish player:  "Thankin' you majesty, sir and beggin' your pardon again, sir.

Irish players do it.  Barnes whistles.  Red card.

funnyExiledScot wrote:

SecretFly wrote:You all saw Nigel yellow card the ballboy in Dublin?

Now there is a ref with balls!

Owens is awesome value. Finally someone worth shouting about in Welsh rugby.....

The ballboy was interviewed afterwards and said he was glad it wasnt Barnes as he would have gotten a red. HAHAHA True story.

funnyExiledScot wrote:

munkian wrote:

GunsGermsV2 wrote:The Philips try is the only reason England won the championship. Basically because of a referee (Kaplan) mistake.

No idea how Barnes is an international referee. Probably the worst ref in the history of modern rugby.

Eddie Jones is the king of blaming referees, world rugby, Italy everyone but himself.

Barnes is a great referee - just because it takes longer for your players to adapt to him than England did against Italy doesn't mean hes 'the worst ref in the history of modern rugby'

I think you'll find that's Clownshoes Clancy

Agreed. Clownshoes is the pits. In second place would be Craig Joubert and in 3rd place Chris Pollock (who has now retired, thank goodness).

I don't actually mind Barnes, but I do appreciate that he is to Kiwis what Joubert is to Scots. I also rate Poite, who divides opinion these days.

He hates Ireland more than NZ. Afterall he sent Heaslip off in a match v NZ about 10 years ago.

GunsGermsV2 wrote:

funnyExiledScot wrote:

SecretFly wrote:You all saw Nigel yellow card the ballboy in Dublin?

Now there is a ref with balls!

Owens is awesome value. Finally someone worth shouting about in Welsh rugby.....

The ballboy was interviewed afterwards and said he was glad it wasnt Barnes as he would have gotten a red. HAHAHA True story.

He's also lucky it wasn't Joubert. He'd have shown him both colours of card and then run off to hide in the loo when the ensuing chaos descended.

GunsGermsV2 wrote:

He hates Ireland more than NZ. Afterall he sent Heaslip off in a match v NZ about 10 years ago.

He got momentary colour-blindness there due to the mental exhaustion of trying to make both sides lose.

funnyExiledScot wrote:

GunsGermsV2 wrote:

funnyExiledScot wrote:

SecretFly wrote:You all saw Nigel yellow card the ballboy in Dublin?

Now there is a ref with balls!

Owens is awesome value. Finally someone worth shouting about in Welsh rugby.....

The ballboy was interviewed afterwards and said he was glad it wasnt Barnes as he would have gotten a red. HAHAHA True story.

He's also lucky it wasn't Joubert. He'd have shown him both colours of card and then run off to hide in the loo when the ensuing chaos descended.

Joubert is obviously SH biased. It was the same for the WC final in 2011. However, I dont think he is biased against Scotland to the same extent that Barnes is against Ireland.

He is an utterly dire referee.

funnyExiledScot wrote:

SecretFly wrote:You all saw Nigel yellow card the ballboy in Dublin?

Now there is a ref with balls!

Owens is awesome value. Finally someone worth shouting about in Welsh rugby.....

Cripes, the first decent tournament (well, half a tournament) in decades and suddenly the Scots are full of themselves! Make hay while the sun shines, I suppose

Griff wrote:

funnyExiledScot wrote:

SecretFly wrote:You all saw Nigel yellow card the ballboy in Dublin?

Now there is a ref with balls!

Owens is awesome value. Finally someone worth shouting about in Welsh rugby.....

Cripes, the first decent tournament (well, half a tournament) in decades and suddenly the Scots are full of themselves! Make hay while the sun shines, I suppose

My thoughts exactly!!

Good banter on this thread men!

eirebilly wrote:Actually very nervous about this game. Wales have not been playing well but can certainly beat Ireland. The key for me for a Welsh victory will be in the first 20-25mins. Ireland have been very poor against good sides in this period so if Wales can dominate and get points on the board then Ireland will struggle.

wales have been very poor at finishing games so this might work in your favour

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:

GunsGermsV2 wrote:The Philips try is the only reason England won the championship. Basically because of a referee (Kaplan) mistake.

No idea how Barnes is an international referee. Probably the worst ref in the history of modern rugby.

Eddie Jones is the king of blaming referees, world rugby, Italy everyone but himself.

Kaplan's only mistake was to believe his assistant (Peter Allan).

So true.
One bum steer by asking an incompetent Scot if it was the same ball and JK is branded for life with the same brush. Surely he should be forgiven for not realising the ball boy he was watching give Matthew Rees the ball precluded the quick throw - even my blind Aunt who knows nothing about rugby missed that one. Let's face it minor details such as whether the throw was taken from the right place, or went 5m or was straight shouldn't really be attributed to the referee? Nor was it a mistake not to check with the TMO when there were so many players incensed with the game changing decision. #Justice for Kaplan.

Barnes OTOH deserves no such sympathy. He is literally out on his own when it comes to penalising Ireland. His average number of penalties against Ireland is double the average of every other referee who officiate the men in green.

maestegmafia wrote:

eirebilly wrote:Actually very nervous about this game. Wales have not been playing well but can certainly beat Ireland. The key for me for a Welsh victory will be in the first 20-25mins. Ireland have been very poor against good sides in this period so if Wales can dominate and get points on the board then Ireland will struggle.

wales have been very poor at finishing games so this might work in your favour

nervous? wtf about, this is Wales at home we're talking about not Italy. Take heart, even if 20 points up we'll bend over and hand you a leek in the last 3rd and if its a tight fit in the last few minutes just keep the pressure on and we'll choke. Its all good.

I am not actually clear yet which team is going down like it's Chinatown. 

Please can someone confirm so that I know which side to root for?

George Carlin wrote:I am not actually clear yet which team is going down like it's Chinatown. 

Please can someone confirm so that I know which side to root for?

We are the moral underdogs.

George Carlin wrote:I am not actually clear yet which team is going down like it's Chinatown. 

Please can someone confirm so that I know which side to root for?

Wales are going down with a frown like an old man from Chinatown who lost his crown when he went to town with a brown clown.

The anti-English vibe is strong on this thread, impressive!

For what it's worth, I hope Wales get the win. If they play like they did against us, they stand a very good chance.

Sgt_Pooly wrote:The anti-English vibe is strong on this thread, impressive!

For what it's worth, I hope Wales get the win. If they play like they did against us, they stand a very good chance.

Of course you want Wales to win. You fear Ireland.

We're playing Scotland.

Ireland are a very good team, I think we have a good chance of losing when we play them.

Sgt_Pooly wrote:We're playing Scotland.

Ireland are a very good team, I think we have a good chance of losing when we play them.

What if England lose and Ireland win. Three horse race on the last day. That would be epic.

Sgt_Pooly wrote:We're playing Scotland.

Ireland are a very good team, I think we have a good chance of losing when we play them.

Stop pretending to be reasonable and self-deprecating. It doesn't suit England fans. What you meant to say is this:

"Rah rah rah, rah rah, Jonny Wilkinson is awesome, rah rah rah, 2003, rah rah, my favourite players are Thomo, Johno, Wilko, Greeno and Robbo, rah rah, we're going to stuff you at Fortress HQ Twickers, rah rah."

Rah rah....everyone sucks but us.

I think we'll turn Scotland over, at least 10pts. Wales v Ireland is a very tough one to call though.

Sgt_Pooly wrote:Rah rah....everyone sucks but us.

I think we'll turn Scotland over, at least 10pts. Wales v Ireland is a very tough one to call though.

Thank you. World order is restored.

I think Ireland will win quite comfortably against Wales. It might be close for 20-30 minutes, but if you look at what Scotland did to Wales in the second half, and then look at what Ireland did to Scotland in the second half (70% possession of something like that), I think Wales will struggle with the intensity in the last quarter. Ireland are clever in defence and at the breakdown, whereas Wales are not clever in attack (Rhys Webb and Liam Williams being notable exceptions).

GunsGermsV2 wrote:

Sgt_Pooly wrote:We're playing Scotland.

Ireland are a very good team, I think we have a good chance of losing when we play them.

What if England lose and Ireland win. Three horse race on the last day. That would be epic.

If both England and Ireland lose and France win then it goes to crazy town with 5 teams theoreticaly in it ....although everyone would be reliant on Italy doing a big favour!

funnyExiledScot wrote:Wales are not clever in attack

Now there's an understatement.