Ireland v Scotland: Saturday 19th March @ 1645.

First topic message reminder :

I thought I'd be the one to start the match thread this week seeing as I haven't started one in a while and I'm trying to contribute to the forum more I'm future .

Before this test, there is a massive Scottish Derby in the URC which I'm definitely going to watch, let's hope these pesky train drivers aren't causing mischief again lol.

Regarding Saturday, everyone knows we will need to be MUCH BETTER than we have been this tournament to have any chance so hopefully Stuart and Gregor are rallying the troops all week in training etc.

I keep saying this as its true but, our rough record HAS to come to an end one day so why can't this weekend be that day just as last year were the days our rotten record was finally broken at Twickenham and Stade Francais.

As for the team I'd go:

Schoeman
Turner
Z. Fagerson
Gray
Gilchrist
Darge
Watson
M. Fagerson
Price
Hastings
Graham
Johnson (though GT won't drop Harris as he's our best defender)
Bennett
Kinghorn
Hogg

I am struggling to pick the bench so I'll let you guys help me out there, I would put Harris there but that means dropping Steyn completely and expecting BK to go the full 80mins. The other thing I'm struggling with is, do I put in Nel or Dell and Christie or Bayliss because my plan was to go with the 5:3 split.

Anyway, I'm expecting a good, tight and open game , hopefully with less errors from both than we saw from the round 4 matches.

My prediction: Ever the optimist and bearing in mind my original point regarding hoodoos eventually being broken, I say Scotland by 2, coming from behind .

No just watched the interview. There is no loss of context. That is a shameful interview by Hogg.

Well done to Ireland who did all they had to against a truly flat and appalling Scotland team.

Yes the outcome was never unclear. He said diplomatically.
P.s. Josh Adams for Prime Minister

I've only just rejoined the real world after a very, very intoxicated Super Saturday. Having not attended the Aviva for a number of years a finally made my return, my pilgrimage that I've made to that spot since I was a child (a very long time ago). I availed of a ticket going very cheap as I've rarely been able to justify paying the prices being asked since the opening of the new stadium.
I have to say I'll not be in a big rush back. What a change in atmosphere, or lack there of. The attendees (which is all you can describe a lot of the people) seemed devoid of true rugby fanatics who would never need the help of a tannoy to create crowd noise and therefore atmosphere. There was a lot more focus on the overpriced bars from large sections of the crowd.
IRFU please bring the rugby back to the rugby people and make a trip to the Aviva a bit more affordable please.
That whinge aside it was a great 24 hours in Dublin with the Guinness flowing freely and the craic turned up to 11 as usual.

Oh and well done France on the old GS, well deserved by a team that looks the business from 1 to 23.

Until the IRFU give tickets to fans at the Provinces instead of club officials and hangers on the atmosphere will continue to be crap.
It has become a corporate event rather than a sporting event.

I haven’t been since the IRFU stitched up Pienaer ( yes that still grates)

geoff999rugby wrote:Until the IRFU give tickets to fans at the Provinces instead of club officials and hangers on the atmosphere will continue to be crap.
It has become a corporate event rather than a sporting event.

I haven’t been since the IRFU stitched up Pienaer ( yes that still grates)

I have to admit I had always promised myself that I would avoid any funding of the IRFU coffers after a number of their rulings against Ulster but on this occasion it was offered to me as it would have been my father's usual ticket but he passed away before Xmas. It was something of a pilgrimage in his name but now it's back to the default setting of watching from the sofa. There's more atmosphere when I sit alone in front of my TV because everyone else in the house don't like rugby.
It truly was telling when crowd noise was piped into a match that Ireland were doing well in. The cheers were too few and far between but sure sod the real fans when the plastic fans are worth so much more.

I go to lots of games in the Aviva, some have an incredible atmosphere, some dont. It really depends on the quality of the game and opposition. Its true that there are lots of corporate types that add nothing to the atmosphere but the majority are interested fans and the IRFU has to balance the books anyway and they do a good job in getting the balance right in my view.

There wasn't a huge amount of intensity or drama in this game so the crowd would always struggle to get going. Ireland didn't have to get out of 2nd gear and dealt with Scotland pretty easily in the end without needing to.

Yeah for sure. Ireland v NZ games in the Aviva where Ireland win the atmosphere is off the charts. It does annoy me though how many people seem more concerned about getting pints than watching the game. You would swear they cant last a couple of hours without getting a drink.

I was in the Aviva as well and agree the atmosphere didn't exactly feel thunderous. I wonder if the acoustics of the stadium play a part as the design is quite open as opposed to the Millennium Stadium which seems to reverberate the noise better.

You're also naturally going to get a better atmosphere at evening kick offs under the floodlights.