Rugby Union 21/22/23 Discussion | RWC time!

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In New Zealand, it's being reported that they will look at a bringing in a 'captains challenge' system. Presumably one unsuccessful challenge per team per game. Rugby Australia, in their inifitse wisdom, are going to consider copying New Zealand and bring this into Super Rugby AU. Both nations will persist with allowing red carded players to be replaced after 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, Rugby Australia is likely to ask World Rugby to ban the caterpillar ruck. When the ball is available at the back of a ruck, RA want the 5 second law to be strictly enforced which make the caterpillar ruck redundant. Instead of a scrum to the defending team, RA would like to a give a free kick if the ball doesn't emerge from a ruck within 5 seconds of the ref saying ''use it''. A free kick is RA's sanction of choice if a kick off goes out on the full as well.

Can't see RA's free kick instead of a scrum ideas being implemented by World Rugby. As for getting rid of the caterpillar ruck? Yes please.
 
Xaviesta said:
In New Zealand, it's being reported that they will look at a bringing in a 'captains challenge' system. Presumably one unsuccessful challenge per team per game. Rugby Australia, in their inifitse wisdom, are going to consider copying New Zealand and bring this into Super Rugby AU. Both nations will persist with allowing red carded players to be replaced after 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, Rugby Australia is likely to ask World Rugby to ban the caterpillar ruck. When the ball is available at the back of a ruck, RA want the 5 second law to be strictly enforced which make the caterpillar ruck redundant. Instead of a scrum to the defending team, RA would like to a give a free kick if the ball doesn't emerge from a ruck within 5 seconds of the ref saying ''use it''. A free kick is RA's sanction of choice if a kick off goes out on the full as well.

Can't see RA's free kick instead of a scrum ideas being implemented by World Rugby. As for getting rid of the caterpillar ruck? Yes please.
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Yes please indeed! One of the worst things about the game at the moment.

Not sure about the other ones. A lineout at the spot for kicks going out on the full seems fine to me, and VAR needs captains challenges way more than rugby does.
 
Andy Friend has committed his future to Connacht.

Delighted, he's the perfect coach for Connacht. Getting so much out of limited resources, bringing through young players and hanging on to senior players to finally develop some squad depth, and playing a great style of rugby.
 
Haven't posted about rugby in ages so here goes.

Delighted that Friend has resigned for Connacht (wanted him over Farrell for the Ireland job, super coach) and hopefully the IRFU can finally start diverting some proper resources their way when the game gets back on its feet post Covid (fingers crossed). A simple thing would be to encourage some of the Leinster academy players and senior cast offs that always end up at Ulster or Munster to go to Connacht. I hope that doesn't sound arrogant, as a Leinster fan, but we have such a huge advantage on resources and Connacht should be the first in line to reap some of the very talented lads from that. Especially considering we have benefitted massively from taking super players from them.

John Cooney and Jack Carty not being involved in the Irish team is an absolute disgrace and I'm really pissed off at the prospect of losing Cooney to abroad. Carty is great but especially Joh Cooney has been the best 9 in the country for the last 4-5 years and should have replaced Murray as the starter before the last World Cup. Take it from me that watches Leinster week in week out, I love Ross Byrne and Luke McGrath but they are excellent European level players not International level ones (I've much higher hope for Ross' brother Harry to be honest) and JGP is great but doesn't come near Cooney for me. If Carberry were fit and firing I could maybe accept the Carty decision as Joey on talent in the heir apparent to Sexton (God I really hope he finds his fitness and form again, even just so his career isn't ruined) but with him not currently a factor then Carty should be a shoo in. On the other hand James Lowe is incredible and I'm delighted he is now an option, even if I don't agree with the eligibility rules all time.

Anyway a transition year for Ireland I reckon. I'll be satisified with 3rd in the 6 nations while giving England and France good games but we have the talent for an upset on the right day.

At club level I really hope Ulster and Munster's form in a sign of things to come rather than a false dawn. This is going to sound really arrogant but I feel Leinster have suffered a PSG like syndrome in Europe the last couple of years because they have been mostly strolling through games week after week to then come up against a really strong side in Europe and not be fully prepared for it (although Saracens are marginally the better team of the two for me). Lets hope that the pro 14 sides can get back to being really competitive again which will only benefit all the sides on the continental level.
 
Well you'll find I'm in total agreement about cooney and I can't help but think it's because he doesn't play for leinster or Munster.

Often felt connacht and ulster players get overlooked
 
arnie_ni said:
Well you'll find I'm in total agreement about cooney and I can't help but think it's because he doesn't play for leinster or Munster.

Often felt connacht and ulster players get overlooked
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I'd have called this propaganda before but honestly now it seems your on to something. Cooney in particular is the best bloody 9 we have and has shown it for years. What's especially weird is that it seemed that Schmidt had earmarked Cooney clearly as the future after Murray and even though Farrell was a part of that background team he has seemingly gone completely the other direction and now doesn't even include him. Its maddening and honestly the journalists need to be demanding a proper explanation from Farrell over it.
 
kidbob said:
Haven't posted about rugby in ages so here goes.

Delighted that Friend has resigned for Connacht (wanted him over Farrell for the Ireland job, super coach) and hopefully the IRFU can finally start diverting some proper resources their way when the game gets back on its feet post Covid (fingers crossed). A simple thing would be to encourage some of the Leinster academy players and senior cast offs that always end up at Ulster or Munster to go to Connacht. I hope that doesn't sound arrogant, as a Leinster fan, but we have such a huge advantage on resources and Connacht should be the first in line to reap some of the very talented lads from that. Especially considering we have benefitted massively from taking super players from them.

John Cooney and Jack Carty not being involved in the Irish team is an absolute disgrace and I'm really pissed off at the prospect of losing Cooney to abroad. Carty is great but especially Joh Cooney has been the best 9 in the country for the last 4-5 years and should have replaced Murray as the starter before the last World Cup. Take it from me that watches Leinster week in week out, I love Ross Byrne and Luke McGrath but they are excellent European level players not International level ones (I've much higher hope for Ross' brother Harry to be honest) and JGP is great but doesn't come near Cooney for me. If Carberry were fit and firing I could maybe accept the Carty decision as Joey on talent in the heir apparent to Sexton (God I really hope he finds his fitness and form again, even just so his career isn't ruined) but with him not currently a factor then Carty should be a shoo in. On the other hand James Lowe is incredible and I'm delighted he is now an option, even if I don't agree with the eligibility rules all time.

Anyway a transition year for Ireland I reckon. I'll be satisified with 3rd in the 6 nations while giving England and France good games but we have the talent for an upset on the right day.

At club level I really hope Ulster and Munster's form in a sign of things to come rather than a false dawn. This is going to sound really arrogant but I feel Leinster have suffered a PSG like syndrome in Europe the last couple of years because they have been mostly strolling through games week after week to then come up against a really strong side in Europe and not be fully prepared for it (although Saracens are marginally the better team of the two for me). Lets hope that the pro 14 sides can get back to being really competitive again which will only benefit all the sides on the continental level.
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Hard to have anything but a grim feeling about the national team at the moment. Seem to just be losing more and more momentum rather than recovering it. Great to see new players involved, but so sad it's at the expense of others who are so clearly needed right now.
 
unchanged_lineup said:
Hard to have anything but a grim feeling about the national team at the moment. Seem to just be losing more and more momentum rather than recovering it. Great to see new players involved, but so sad it's at the expense of others who are so clearly needed right now.
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Yep I feel the same mate. Look I know we are coming to the end of some great players, with Sexton a huge one to replace (Carberry unfortunately could have, and hopefully still will be able to have the chance to stake a claim) but like you said we are seemingly shooting ourselves in the foot with selections. I think we are in between right now in that we have some seriously gifted young lads who are a bit too young to do anything right now but that is where we should be ensuring that the likes of Carty and Cooney have been given enough appearances to be experienced internationals to guide those young lads when they come through. However there is still the talent there that Farrell should be doing better too.

A big thing at the moment is the amount of back rowers that Leinster have. Deegan, for me, has as much potential as Doris but for some reason he is stuck competing with so many top players instead of the IRFU convincing him to go to the likes of Connacht to boost them and Irish rugby. The sheer population size means that Leinster will always have a huge surplus and the IRFU needs to be managing that better especially when these players are still of a younger age. I can only imagine what Deegan would be right now playing regular rugby under a coach like Friend. If Leinster are going to naturally continue to produce these players at a much higher rate than the other provinces because of our natural advantages then the situation needs to be rectified in order to benefit the national team and the other provinces, especially Connacht (considering they are equally as handicapped by resources as Leinster are advantaged).

I ultimately agree with @arnie_ni, just because you are playing well for Leinster or Munster doesn't mean you are worth the International opportunity over the other two provinces.

Overall I'm unfortunately already having doubts over Farrell, his style and player choices, even though I like him and really want him to succeed. The IRFU needs to realise that the worst thing we can have in this country is a 'Man City' type province at the expense of the others. All that happens then is that not only do the other provinces lose out but the fringe Leinster players and the national team ultimately do too. A simple fix in the short term is that Farrell stops ignoring Cooney, Carty and other very deserving players.
 
Selection for Internationals is still full of politics in my view. Certain clubs seem to have too much power, especially in Ireland. It was always the case pre professional days in Scotland for instance. Hawick and Gala provided numerous players and the London clubs in England were the same with the odd Northener thrown in for odd game. Same at my local club for years. At least now in England, Jones picks the best in each position and also has the benefit of a large pool of talent which is why England are favourites for the six nations. I feel the French will offer a severe test to anyone and wouldn’t be surprised if they win it. Can’t go to watch but console myself knowing I’ll save a ton of money and damage to my Liver.
 
The more I think about cooney the more pissed of I get.

The IRFU forced us to get rid of pienaar to sign cooney to further develop Irish rugby and now here he is, arguably one of the top 3 scrum half's in the world on current form over the past 12 to 24 months, easily the best In Ireland anyway, and still can't get in the squad.
 
arnie_ni said:
The more I think about cooney the more pissed of I get.

The IRFU forced us to get rid of pienaar to sign cooney to further develop Irish rugby and now here he is, arguably one of the top 3 scrum half's in the world on current form over the past 12 to 24 months, easily the best In Ireland anyway, and still can't get in the squad.
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Yeah, I'm feeling nothing but dread about this campaign. Worst case scenario is painful losses and no lessons learned.
 
arnie_ni said:
The more I think about cooney the more pissed of I get.

The IRFU forced us to get rid of pienaar to sign cooney to further develop Irish rugby and now here he is, arguably one of the top 3 scrum half's in the world on current form over the past 12 to 24 months, easily the best In Ireland anyway, and still can't get in the squad.
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It makes no sense.

I also don't understand the backrow selection. I've been a huge fan of Ruddocks for a long time, and I was disgusted he wasn't selected for the world cup when he was the best performing backrow in the country that year.

But then 2 years later, when he's the wrong side of 30, we suddenly pick him at the expense of a proper ball carrier in Coombes, when proper ball carriers are precisely what we lack when playing the top sides.
 
diarm said:
It makes no sense.

I also don't understand the backrow selection. I've been a huge fan of Ruddocks for a long time, and I was disgusted he wasn't selected for the world cup when he was the best performing backrow in the country that year.

But then 2 years later, when he's the wrong side of 30, we suddenly pick him at the expense of a proper ball carrier in Coombes, when proper ball carriers are precisely what we lack when playing the top sides.
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Their selections has always been head scratching but its got noticeably worse under current management
 
unchanged_lineup said:
Not even a ball (box) kicked yet and I'm all grim about the future :lol:

Totally feel like we'll look back at these years as lost ones.
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Which is really frustrating because Munster and Ulster have finally started brining through some exciting talent again and Leinsters production line is an absolute machine.
 
Gibson park is what's wrong with Irish rugby, we literally have a production line of scrum Half's and the foreigner who isn't as good as Casey no mind cooney gets the back up job, it's understandable with CJ he's a different class of player, if your going to use foreigner players make sure there at least better than the ones we have.

Don't get me started on sexton same old Ireland same old mistakes, player should be retired from internationals, unless ye want to see one of our players in the next world cup with a Zimmer frame, he can't last full games anymore, time for a bit of pain to get the gain.
 
christy87 said:
Gibson park is what's wrong with Irish rugby, we literally have a production line of scrum Half's and the foreigner who isn't as good as Casey no mind cooney gets the back up job, it's understandable with CJ he's a different class of player, if your going to use foreigner players make sure there at least better than the ones we have.

Don't get me started on sexton same old Ireland same old mistakes, player should be retired from internationals, unless ye want to see one of our players in the next world cup with a Zimmer frame, he can't last full games anymore, time for a bit of pain to get the gain.
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Yep, I've a lot of the same thoughts. Thanks for elaborating on them :D

Cannot believe we haven't moved on from Sexton/Murray. No matter how well they're playing/might play, in this stage of the WC cycle it should be time to change it up.

And Gibson-Park... I was happy enough a couple of years ago that he was eventually going to declare for Ireland for the option he'd give, but no way is he the right person to have in the fold right now.
 
unchanged_lineup said:
Yep, I've a lot of the same thoughts. Thanks for elaborating on them :D

Cannot believe we haven't moved on from Sexton/Murray. No matter how well they're playing/might play, in this stage of the WC cycle it should be time to change it up.

And Gibson-Park... I was happy enough a couple of years ago that he was eventually going to declare for Ireland for the option he'd give, but no way is he the right person to have in the fold right now.
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It’s the exact same thoughts that all the rugby boys at work have even the optimist see the 2 of them as a problem.

the likes of JJ who’s playing great lately for the most part or Carty should be getting a call up, the future of the fly half position is sorted, with the likes of Healy and Crowley who was wanted by ROG and then you have Harry Byrne at Leinster all 3 will be duelling it out, I imagine 1 of the Munster lads will be moved to ulster in the future, but they are a year or 2 away from taking over. I personally think it will be the winner of the Munster 10 will be the starter as he will have a partnership with Casey to lay a claim to that jersey, again he’s a year away from probably getting a proper chance. Casey could and probably should be the starter at Munster.
They always go on about having to win in the 6 nations to make money, well they ain’t making much this year with no bums in seats, it was the perfect year to try something.

the last thing that is annoying me is the call up of young players denying them any rugby, take Daly the last set of fixtures he played once, while Munster hit form and Haley surprisingly ripped that 15 jersey from any contender at Munster, is it going to be the same with Coombes, Casey and Daly again this time, rant over.
 
I actually missed the squad announcement today, just seen it now. Ireland are doing reasonably well introducing new players apart from 9 and 10. It's such a pity to have this blind spot.

Reasonably confident Ireland will lose tomorrow.
 
6N Round 1
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Rumours up north cooney is moving to France because he's getting overlooked for Ireland. No reason to stay
 
My one wish is that we get to see some quality, exciting rugby. The Autumn Nations Cup was simply unwatchable.
 
Despite the large scoreline, France gave up too much points and didn't score as much as they could have.
 
When will someone admit that the Italian experiment in the tournament is not working.
 
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