Rugby World Cup 2019 Pool Draw

First topic message reminder :

The pools for the 2019 rugby world cup will be drawn on the 10th May 2017 in Kyoto. Next Wednesday.

Band 1: The four highest-ranked directly qualified teams, New Zealand (1),  England (2),  Australia (3),  Ireland (4)
Band 2: The next four highest-ranked directly qualified teams Scotland (5),  France (6),  South Africa (7),  Wales (8)
Band 3: The final four directly qualified teams Argentina (9),  Japan (11),  Georgia (12),  Italy (15)

The remaining two bands will be made up of the eight qualifying seeds, with allocation to each band being based on the previous Rugby World Cup playing strength:
Band 4:
Americas 1, Europe 1, Oceania 1, Oceania 2
Band 5:
Africa 1, Americas 2, Europe/Oceania play-off, Repechage

Not sure how soon after the draw will the venues for each pool game be confirmed but hopefully soon enough.

Final Draw:
Pool A
Ireland
Scotland
Japan
Europe 1 (Romania)
Europe2 (Russia?)/Oceania3 (Fiji/Samoa/Tonga)

Pool B
New Zealand
South Africa
Italy
Africa 1 (Namibia)
Repercharge Winner


Pool C
England
France
Argentina
Americas 1 (USA?)
Oceania 2 (Fiji/Samoa/Tonga)

Pool D
Australia
Wales
Georgia
Oceania 1 (Fiji/Samoa/Tonga)
Americas 2 (Canada)

Gwlad wrote:

Cyril wrote:

Geen sport voor watjes wrote:His prediction doesn't work because it has wales in it. No one in their right mind would believe that

It's best just to humour him.

Humour me, definitely the best option for you Mike.

Mike? Whatever are you chaffing on about now?

I am not chafing but thanks for your concern.

Pete C (Kiwireddevil) wrote:

Gwlad wrote:
... Wales no, not 'easy'

Aus - not beaten since 2008
Georgia - we all know they're on the up and will beat sides up bananas
Pacific 1 - Fiji bananas

Gwlad wrote:

GunsGermsV2 wrote:You have Oceania1 in your group and Australia. Two teams you traditionally struggle against at the RWC. Surely you should be worried about Wales getting out of their group? Georgia will provide a stern test for Wales too.

Nope, nope and  

Internal consistency on one thread is so overrated    

 

That is too funny

Gwlad wrote:I predict the groups result as follows
A
Ireland, Japan
B
NZ, S Africa
C
France, England
D
Wales, Australia

1/4
NZ v Japan - one assumes host to qualify from group
Ireland v S Africa - Ireland always lose their 1/4
Australia v France - Blow their load v England to win group
Wales v England -   Last minute penalty by Halfpenny from touchline

Semi
NZ v Australia
Wales v South Africa

Final
Wales v NZ.

Well if its going to be that easy then you may as well hand over the trophy now.

I'd like to see the heritage of your side first, thanks.

Gwlad wrote:Yes,a first and in their own RWC. That's gotta be worse than slipping in a cactus eh Marty?

Aye it's terrible. England '15 and Wales '91 have that Hall of Shame spot for going out in their home pool, shockingly bad.

Pete C (Kiwireddevil) wrote:

Gwlad wrote:Yes,a first and in their own RWC. That's gotta be worse than slipping in a cactus eh Marty?

Aye it's terrible. England '15 and Wales '91 have that Hall of Shame spot for going out in their home pool, shockingly bad.

Bad, but if we got the pools New Zealand do it wouldn't happy. France Tonga Canada Japan in home WC. Or Italy Fiji Argentina as joint hosts...

Scottrf wrote:

Pete C (Kiwireddevil) wrote:

Gwlad wrote:Yes,a first and in their own RWC. That's gotta be worse than slipping in a cactus eh Marty?

Aye it's terrible. England '15 and Wales '91 have that Hall of Shame spot for going out in their home pool, shockingly bad.

Bad, but if we got the pools New Zealand do it wouldn't happy. France Tonga Canada Japan in home WC. Or Italy Fiji Argentina as joint hosts...

It's a lot easier to get a good pool if you're ranked in the top 4 granted (traditionally it means avoiding a SANZAR opponent), though with 9 or 10* top-flight teams there's always going to be a pool of death. And in 1995 we had the pool of death - Ireland and Wales.

This time we've got to deal with the "curse" of Pool B (no team has ever won the RWC from Pool B)


*OK Italy is debatable. Ditto Arg in the '90s

Ireland were terrible in 95

ebop wrote:

Pete C (Kiwireddevil) wrote:

Gwlad wrote:
... Wales no, not 'easy'

Aus - not beaten since 2008
Georgia - we all know they're on the up and will beat sides up bananas
Pacific 1 - Fiji bananas

Gwlad wrote:

GunsGermsV2 wrote:You have Oceania1 in your group and Australia. Two teams you traditionally struggle against at the RWC. Surely you should be worried about Wales getting out of their group? Georgia will provide a stern test for Wales too.

Nope, nope and  

Internal consistency on one thread is so overrated    

 

That is too funny

Classic. Gwlad does seem to like to chase his own tail a bit.

Pete C (Kiwireddevil) wrote:

Scottrf wrote:

Pete C (Kiwireddevil) wrote:

Gwlad wrote:Yes,a first and in their own RWC. That's gotta be worse than slipping in a cactus eh Marty?

Aye it's terrible. England '15 and Wales '91 have that Hall of Shame spot for going out in their home pool, shockingly bad.

Bad, but if we got the pools New Zealand do it wouldn't happy. France Tonga Canada Japan in home WC. Or Italy Fiji Argentina as joint hosts...

It's a lot easier to get a good pool if you're ranked in the top 4 granted (traditionally it means avoiding a SANZAR opponent), though with 9 or 10* top-flight teams there's always going to be a pool of death. And in 1995 we had the pool of death - Ireland and Wales.

This time we've got to deal with the "curse" of Pool B (no team has ever won the RWC from Pool B)


*OK Italy is debatable. Ditto Arg in the '90s

In the 1995 Five Nations, Ireland finished 4th and Wales finished 5th. In 1996 Five Nations, Wales finished 4th and Ireland finished 5th. Maybe not as bad as it would be today?

Yeah Ireland were terrible back then.

How many Scottish/Irish fans remember the 1991 WC group that also contained Scotland Ireland and Japan?

I was at the Ireland Japan game in the old Lansdowne road. It was a pretty comprehensive win.

Not sure how Scotland managed to get the home tie for their group game against Ireland but in any case I looked up the game to see if I remembered it and it all came back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG7yEwYJx4E

This game will be remembered by some for the ferocious "tackle" by the notorious hard man Finlay Calder on Jim Staples. Oh the memories. That was one of the best world cups ever.

Not the worst draw there for Ireland but not happy about that eejit Heaslip celebrating.

Scotland will have their own ambitions of reaching the latter stages and Japan are guaranteed to cause an upset or two, so wouldn't be taking anything for granted in that group.

Fancy Argentina to progress at France or England's expense the group of death....

Yeah Scotland at the RWC are always tough. Ask the Aussies. I see that as a huge test. We absolutely must beat Japan though.

Georgia are no mugs but still a little off Tier 1 pace yet:

George Carlin wrote:Georgia are no mugs but still a little off Tier 1 pace yet:

George do you have any memories of the 1991 ireland Scotland RWC game?

rodders wrote:Not the worst draw there for Ireland but not happy about that eejit Heaslip celebrating.

Scotland will have their own ambitions of reaching the latter stages and Japan are guaranteed to cause an upset or two, so wouldn't be taking anything for granted in that group.

Fancy Argentina to progress at France or England's expense the group of death....    

Have to agree Rodders. Heaslip has been a fantastic player for Ireland but is his own worst enemy sometimes. He will become a meme forever if Scotland win that game. What a spacer.

Im sure he already regrets it.

Gwlad wrote:I predict the groups result as follows
A
Ireland, Japan
B
NZ, S Africa
C
France, England
D
Wales, Australia

1/4
NZ v Japan - one assumes host to qualify from group
Ireland v S Africa - Ireland always lose their 1/4
Australia v France - Blow their load v England to win group
Wales v England -   Last minute penalty by Halfpenny from touchline

Semi
NZ v Australia
Wales v South Africa

Final
Wales v NZ.

You obviously don't think it'll be a Wales v New Zealand final, so what's the point pretending you do?

I suppose that what he wants to happen which is fair enough. I think it could be a good RWC for the NH sides. Some will fall early two I reckon will make it to the semis and one in the final.

Lets not kid ourselves guys this is a great draw for Ireland

If we do not qualify comfortably it will be abject failure
The other top seeds all have a harder group

So we need to dig deep and show respect but the draw is a good one, make no mistake

geoff999rugby wrote:Lets not kid ourselves guys this is a great draw for Ireland

If we do not qualify comfortably it will be abject failure
The other top seeds all have a harder group

So we need to dig deep and show respect but the draw is a good one, make no mistake

Would you not prefer to be in a group with NZ? You cant meet them till the final that way. In our group we can meet them in the 1/4s

you are right though the group itself is quite favourable. However, Id say groups in general are getting harder with each RWC

GunsGermsV2 wrote:I suppose that what he wants to happen which is fair enough.

Well he's saying it's what he predicts. I don't believe anyone would genuinely predict that. He's just saying it for effect and I don't see the point.

GunsGermsV2 wrote:

geoff999rugby wrote:Lets not kid ourselves guys this is a great draw for Ireland

If we do not qualify comfortably it will be abject failure
The other top seeds all have a harder group

So we need to dig deep and show respect but the draw is a good one, make no mistake

Would you not prefer to be in a group with NZ? You cant meet them till the final that way. In our group we can meet them in the 1/4s

you are right though the group itself is quite favourable. However, Id say groups in general are getting harder with each RWC

A good thing for rugby worldwide for sure.

No one is looking at the likes of Japan/Samoa/Fiji as a pushover, and even the really low ranked sides like Romania/Georgia/USA can provide a bit of a test for the big boys, long may it continue

Romania are one of only a handful of tier two sides that have made it to all RWCs. They also played in the RWC match with the record attendance for all RWC games.

89,267 - Ireland vs Romania, 27 September 2015 at Wembley Stadium, London, England, 2015.

BamBam wrote:No one is looking at the likes of Japan/Samoa/Fiji as a pushover, and even the really low ranked sides like Romania/Georgia/USA can provide a bit of a test for the big boys, long may it continue

I am. The pacific island sides have never beaten England and get within two tries about once a decade. Of course the narrative will say they are a legit threat but they are not.

Scottrf wrote:

BamBam wrote:No one is looking at the likes of Japan/Samoa/Fiji as a pushover, and even the really low ranked sides like Romania/Georgia/USA can provide a bit of a test for the big boys, long may it continue

I am. The pacific island sides have never beaten England and get within two tries about once a decade. Of course the narrative will say they are a legit threat but they are not.

At this point in time the only teams I'm worried about New Zealand and Ireland, other teams can cause us problems but I'd back us to beat them all if we play anywhere near where we can. We've beaten everyone bar NZ over the past 18 months without ever fully clicking as a team.

Scottrf wrote:

BamBam wrote:No one is looking at the likes of Japan/Samoa/Fiji as a pushover, and even the really low ranked sides like Romania/Georgia/USA can provide a bit of a test for the big boys, long may it continue

I am. The pacific island sides have never beaten England and get within two tries about once a decade. Of course the narrative will say they are a legit threat but they are not.

Id agree England shouldnt be over concerned about them. They get the number 2 Pislander team, which currently is Tonga at 13th in the world. If the second best team in the world is concerned about them we have an extremely competitive world game. Which we dont. Theres a pretty rapid drop off in quality behind Argentina.

Unless Ireland and/or Scotland have a rapid drop from tehir current position they shouldnt be over concerned about their Oceania/ europe qualifier either. Its going to be a pretty weak team. Japan though are a different prospect, espeically as hosts...they are the real danger of the Pacific Island teams. Although a group that lacks real quality its the most competitive next to Englands.

For Wales though its a diufferent matter. They get Oceania 1, currently Fiji who are ranked only two places behind them. At team whos recent results are better than Argentina's have been. Although a pot 4 team they are actually ranked above Georgia (the pot 3 team). Wales likley will be second favourites against Australia, so that gives them two genuine banana skin games. I dont see Aus slipping up, Wales though whilst they should qualify have concerns.

Hammersmith harrier wrote:

Scottrf wrote:

BamBam wrote:No one is looking at the likes of Japan/Samoa/Fiji as a pushover, and even the really low ranked sides like Romania/Georgia/USA can provide a bit of a test for the big boys, long may it continue

I am. The pacific island sides have never beaten England and get within two tries about once a decade. Of course the narrative will say they are a legit threat but they are not.

At this point in time the only teams I'm worried about New Zealand and Ireland, other teams can cause us problems but I'd back us to beat them all if we play anywhere near where we can. We've beaten everyone bar NZ over the past 18 months without ever fully clicking as a team.

To be fair I think you would have to agree that Wales would be formidable opponents for England too. The most recent 6 nations games was a very close encounter for England, a sublime Farrell pass separated the two sides at the final furlong. Yes England have the upper hand over Wales at the moment but all of the last 5 England wins over Wales have been hard fought.

GunsGermsV2 wrote:

George Carlin wrote:Georgia are no mugs but still a little off Tier 1 pace yet:

George do you have any memories of the 1991 ireland Scotland RWC game?

I do - this was a year after Scotland slammed and we were pretty good that year:


This was a good natured affair, particularly compared to the Samoa match which followed and was brutal.

Then England, Gavin and that Kick That Didn't Go Over.... why Gavin, WHYYYY?

to be honest, the groups are largely predictable.

It's almost certain that the qualifying teams will be:

England
Ireland
Scotland
New Zealand
South Africa
Wales
Australia

and either one of France or Argentina.

For those teams not to progress there will have to be a massive slump in current form or an upset of mount Everest sized proportions.

Gwlad wrote:I predict the groups result as follows
A
Ireland, Japan

1/4
NZ v Japan - one assumes host to qualify from group

I was wondering why you were baiting Scotland, but it was a dig at England instead.

GunsGermsV2 wrote:

rodders wrote:Not the worst draw there for Ireland but not happy about that eejit Heaslip celebrating.

Scotland will have their own ambitions of reaching the latter stages and Japan are guaranteed to cause an upset or two, so wouldn't be taking anything for granted in that group.

Fancy Argentina to progress at France or England's expense the group of death....    

Have to agree Rodders. Heaslip has been a fantastic player for Ireland but is his own worst enemy sometimes. He will become a meme forever if Scotland win that game. What a spacer.

Im sure he already regrets it.

Sorry for asking what is presumably a stupid question, but what's he done?

miaow wrote:

GunsGermsV2 wrote:

rodders wrote:Not the worst draw there for Ireland but not happy about that eejit Heaslip celebrating.

Scotland will have their own ambitions of reaching the latter stages and Japan are guaranteed to cause an upset or two, so wouldn't be taking anything for granted in that group.

Fancy Argentina to progress at France or England's expense the group of death....    

Have to agree Rodders. Heaslip has been a fantastic player for Ireland but is his own worst enemy sometimes. He will become a meme forever if Scotland win that game. What a spacer.

Im sure he already regrets it.

Sorry for asking what is presumably a stupid question, but what's he done?

"Getting to avoid South Africa, France and Wales. That's a big thing for us"

GunsGermsV2 wrote:

rodders wrote:Not the worst draw there for Ireland but not happy about that eejit Heaslip celebrating.

Scotland will have their own ambitions of reaching the latter stages and Japan are guaranteed to cause an upset or two, so wouldn't be taking anything for granted in that group.

Fancy Argentina to progress at France or England's expense the group of death....    

Have to agree Rodders. Heaslip has been a fantastic player for Ireland but is his own worst enemy sometimes. He will become a meme forever if Scotland win that game. What a spacer.

Im sure he already regrets it.

He won't be there to regret it hopefully. He will be 35 by then and there are better options than him already.

Ah, George thank you.

You've made a happy man very old.

Harum scarum rugby and a reminder that fielding a high ball was often a real test of one's courage. Loved it.

Gooseberry wrote:

For Wales though its a diufferent matter. They get Oceania 1, currently Fiji who are ranked only two places behind them. At team whos recent results are better than Argentina's have been. Although a pot 4 team they are actually ranked above Georgia (the pot 3 team). Wales likley will be second favourites against Australia, so that gives them two genuine banana skin games. I dont see Aus slipping up, Wales though whilst they should qualify have concerns.

I think you're right, however I also think that Wales have the best draw out of the Six Nations. Depending on the fixtures of the group, if Wales play at least one of Georgia and Fiji/Samoa before they play Australia, the game against the Wallabies becomes about as much of a dead rubber as a RWC game can be. They have Wales's number psychologically, and if we our QF draw was one of SA or NZ topping the paired group, I'd be worried, because we'd need to top the group to avoid them.

As it is, we have a choice of three relatively evenly matched teams. England are the best of the 3, but I think this 6Ns showed how France are turning around and their potential potency is right up there with England/Ireland/Wales. I'd expect them to show the most improvement from 2015 to 2019 of the 6Ns teams to be honest. Likewise, though England should improve, I don't expect their dominance on the field to be as uncontested, as this 6Ns showed. Whilst I'd still anticipate them being favourites for the group due to their greater experience than France, and the fact they have showed more pedigree whereas France's is still potential at this stage, I don't think it's a clear cut choice betwee, say, playing NZ/SA, or playing Ireland/Scotland in the QFs.

Add in Argentina, and suddenly things become even more interesting. Like the 2015 Group of Death, I can see each team beating the other in a sort of round robin: only England being blow away by Australia stopped that from happening in 2015. I don't think Argentina will beat England, but they can clearly beat France. England, on the other hand, have looked poor against France in their last two fixtures against them, despite beating them. Particularly if that game comes towards the latter stages of the group, I think England could quite easily lose it. In any case, all this is conjecture: all three teams will be competitive with each other, and therefore that means higher intensity, more risk of injury/fatigue, and also uncertainity over who finishes where in the group.

Wales, therefore, even if they lose to Australia, could be facing either of the 3 teams. Having only lost to France once in the last 6 years, I would think they'd be confident facing them- depending on what happens in the next two 6Ns, of course. Argentina, likewise. Even England, albeit that adds an extra edge the other two games don't have, and that isn't necessarily a good thing in terms of chances of progressing to the next round.

So, as long as Wales focus on beating Georgia and Fiji/Samoa- which, let's be honest, they really should do, and hopefully with at least on TBP- the Australia game may not matter that much. Their QF opponent, however, will have had a tougher test than Wales to earn their passage, even if they top their group. Added to the fact that, generally speaking, Wales won't be worried by any NH team in the same way they would be by a SANZAR nation, then I think Wales have the best draw and should be expecting/hoping to reach the semi finals.

I don't mind Heaslip celebrating. All I was hearing for the last few months was every team was hoping to get Ireland as top seeds so you can be sure the Scots were delighted to get us too.

miaow wrote:

GunsGermsV2 wrote:

rodders wrote:Not the worst draw there for Ireland but not happy about that eejit Heaslip celebrating.

Scotland will have their own ambitions of reaching the latter stages and Japan are guaranteed to cause an upset or two, so wouldn't be taking anything for granted in that group.

Fancy Argentina to progress at France or England's expense the group of death....    

Have to agree Rodders. Heaslip has been a fantastic player for Ireland but is his own worst enemy sometimes. He will become a meme forever if Scotland win that game. What a spacer.

Im sure he already regrets it.

Sorry for asking what is presumably a stupid question, but what's he done?

https://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/2017/0510/873969-rugby-world-cup-draw-2019-ireland-pool/

heaslip wrote:Getting to avoid South Africa, France and Wales, that's a big thing for us," said number 8 Jamie Heaslip.

"We're happy with it, there's some tougher groups, but when you've seen what Japan have done in the last 18 months and Scotland we've struggled with as well.

"It's an exciting group for us, and I'd say Joe (Schmidt) is already starting his planning."

The drama queens over at Scotland Delicate Thistle Flower Park have taken that as some kind of slight on them, completely ignoring that he did aknowledge the 6 nations result.

Apparently they are miffed he doesnt think a team with only 1 first choice Lions tourist and the second best Pacific Islanders are amongst the most difficult possible draws.

Rugby Fan wrote:

miaow wrote:

GunsGermsV2 wrote:

rodders wrote:Not the worst draw there for Ireland but not happy about that eejit Heaslip celebrating.

Scotland will have their own ambitions of reaching the latter stages and Japan are guaranteed to cause an upset or two, so wouldn't be taking anything for granted in that group.

Fancy Argentina to progress at France or England's expense the group of death....    

Have to agree Rodders. Heaslip has been a fantastic player for Ireland but is his own worst enemy sometimes. He will become a meme forever if Scotland win that game. What a spacer.

Im sure he already regrets it.

Sorry for asking what is presumably a stupid question, but what's he done?

"Getting to avoid South Africa, France and Wales. That's a big thing for us"

Strange statement to make. Does he not realise that if Ireland avoid SA in the QFs, they'll face NZ!?

profitius wrote:I don't mind Heaslip celebrating. All I was hearing for the last few months was every team was hoping to get Ireland as top seeds so you can be sure the Scots were delighted to get us too.

Yeah, he didn't say much wrong, it is pretty much what we are all thinking. It is quite clearly a better pool than others. It is a good pool for Scotland as well. But it is another example of why he isn't captain material and I still think he should be replaced by 2019.

Rory_Gallagher wrote:

He won't be there to regret it hopefully. He will be 35 by then and there are better options than him already.

He will almost definitely be there.

Whether you are a fan or not will have little bearing on that.

It is highly unlikely that any player that has signed a central contract until right after the Japan RWC is not in Schmidt's world cup plans. Unless he is injured he will be there.

Do you have any decent young 8s coming through in Ireland?

A rapid decline, or the arrival of young challengers, as happened to Martyn Williams in 2011, could see him out of the Ireland squad for 2019, as- despite his experience- I'm not sure what he at 35 will be able to add on the field if there is a promising youngster breaking through next season to challenge him.

miaow wrote:Do you have any decent young 8s coming through in Ireland?

A rapid decline, or the arrival of young challengers, as happened to Martyn Williams in 2011, could see him out of the Ireland squad for 2019, as- despite his experience- I'm not sure what he at 35 will be able to add on the field if there is a promising youngster breaking through next season to challenge him.

Yes there are some good options. However, you cant do well at a world cup without a strong squad.

GunsGermsV2 wrote:

Rory_Gallagher wrote:

He won't be there to regret it hopefully. He will be 35 by then and there are better options than him already.

He will almost definitely be there.

Whether you are a fan or not will have little bearing on that.

It is highly unlikely that any player that has signed a central contract until right after the Japan RWC is not in Schmidt's world cup plans. Unless he is injured he will be there.

Do you have some sort of alarm attached to you that sounds every time someone criticises Heaslip? Every time he is mentioned in a negative light there you are to jump to his defence.

Anyway, as Joe is the coach, I don't disagree that he will probably start, despite being a month off 36 come the next RWC and regardless of whether he remains to be the best option. For the rational non-fanboy, Conan is already a better player and may have already replaced him if it weren't for injury, while Stander is better overall for Ireland.

Ireland will be an interesting Schimdt proposition in 2019.

Given the timing, Best, Ryan, Heaslip, O'Brien, Payne, Trimble & Kearney will all be well into or approaching their mid thirties. Even Sexton now has a running style akin to my old granny. That's a lot of experienced players who might not make 2019 in a competitive physical condition.

I remember Dallaglio making the 2007 RWC and he was a shadow of the player from four years earlier.

miaow wrote:Do you have any decent young 8s coming through in Ireland?

A rapid decline, or the arrival of young challengers, as happened to Martyn Williams in 2011, could see him out of the Ireland squad for 2019, as- despite his experience- I'm not sure what he at 35 will be able to add on the field if there is a promising youngster breaking through next season to challenge him.

Yes, more than a few. Stander is an 8 and is only 27 (as of last month) so he is the most direct challenge for Heaslip's shirt. At Leinster, Jack Conan would already be established on the world stage if not for injury. I don't think I've seen a ball carrier as effective in Ireland for a long time and he is a very clever player in general. He is 24. Then there is Jack O'Donoghue for Munster, more of a rangy, intelligent 8 who was well known for his ball carrying prowess at underage level. He hasn't quite ripped up trees yet for Munster, but the potential is clearly there. Hasn't had the best year.

There are others floating around who have potential but haven't had the game-time to impress yet. Eoghan Masterson for Connacht, Max Deegan for Leinster and so on.

Recwatcher16 wrote:Ireland will be an interesting Schimdt proposition in 2019.

Given the timing, Best, Ryan, Heaslip, O'Brien, Payne, Trimble & Kearney will all be well into or approaching their mid thirties. Even Sexton now has a running style akin to my old granny. That's a lot of experienced players who might not make 2019 in a competitive physical condition.

I remember Dallaglio making the 2007 RWC and he was a shadow of the player from four years earlier.

Agreed, and I think Schmidt has been slow to introduce the next batch. The reality is that a good portion of the above will not be around. The list you have given is fairly close to the spine of the current team as well, worryingly. So we could have a fairly undercooked team by the time 2019 rolls around. In fact, it could be in the middle of a transitional period. Which would be pretty dumb to say the least.

Recwatcher16 wrote:Ireland will be an interesting Schimdt proposition in 2019.

Given the timing, Best, Ryan, Heaslip, O'Brien, Payne, Trimble & Kearney will all be well into or approaching their mid thirties. Even Sexton now has a running style akin to my old granny. That's a lot of experienced players who might not make 2019 in a competitive physical condition.

I remember Dallaglio making the 2007 RWC and he was a shadow of the player from four years earlier.

Yup a lot of players will be past their prime by the time the world cup comes. All the more reason why this tour to Japan should be used to blood the next gen and get as many of them up to speed as possible. The likes of Leavy, Scannell, Carbery etc. That would make perfect sense and the rumours of James Ryan being included also makes sense because he is potentially world class and will IMO make the world cup squad and possibly team.


Of the oldies, Trimble and Kearney are unlikely to make the world cup squad. Best might make it but I don't think he'll be first choice by then. Donn Ryan might be skipped if he moves abroad. SOB depends on injuries. I think age and competition will see Heaslip miss out.

This draw makes our sport a laughing stock.

The world cup is just under 2 and a half years away for heavens sake!

In that time England were rock bottom, dumped out in the pool stages of their own world cup, then win two 6 Nations championships in a row, a series win in Aus and a world record equaling run of wins.

New Zealand could be ranked 3rd in the world by the time it kicks off.

Pure Madness!

Rory_Gallagher wrote:

GunsGermsV2 wrote:

Rory_Gallagher wrote:

He won't be there to regret it hopefully. He will be 35 by then and there are better options than him already.

He will almost definitely be there.

Whether you are a fan or not will have little bearing on that.

It is highly unlikely that any player that has signed a central contract until right after the Japan RWC is not in Schmidt's world cup plans. Unless he is injured he will be there.

Do you have some sort of alarm attached to you that sounds every time someone criticises Heaslip? Every time he is mentioned in a negative light there you are to jump to his defence.

Anyway, as Joe is the coach, I don't disagree that he will probably start, despite being a month off 36 come the next RWC and regardless of whether he remains to be the best option. For the rational non-fanboy, Conan is already a better player and may have already replaced him if it weren't for injury, while Stander is better overall for Ireland.

Its not a case of being a fan-boy or not. Logic suggests he will be there. You do seem quite upset about that. It will pass.

Personally I dont care who plays as long as we perform well as a team.