rugby world cup

well lads how ye all think ireland will do this time? i can see a big performance in us and if we get a good draw in the quarters could make the semis but cant see us beating new zeland australia or france.
looking forward to seen our back row against australia probably the best back row in the world

dont no now,need massive improvement from the usa bore game!!capable of it though!!nobody reallly standing out yet,but big games ahead!!

I Think our weakness will be all on show Saturday , lets hope its damage limitation , canT see Ireland living with Australia ,even thought there no great shakes the aussies , let hope i am wrong , our build and the game against the US were very eye opening in regard to our ability to push on in this competition , I think we have left better players behind in ireland , and bought a few weak ones , Well see

dunno about that vodafone i think we brought our best 15 anyway only player we left behind that would be close to starting is fitzgerald but i prefer trimble and bowe on the wings, obviousley he should be there instead of wallace though. japan just got try against new zeland so theres hope for us yet.
my best 15 for ireland would be 15 kearney 14 bowe 13 o`driscoll 12 darcey 11 trimble 10 sexton 9 murray 8 heaslip 7 o`brein 6 ferris 5 o`connell 4 callaghan 3 ross 2 best(flannery now injured) 1 healy. what yis think would ya debate any of those positions?

individually, that back row is very good but as a balance it's not. Sean O'Brien is a 6 and so is Ferris. It's going to be very hard for Mini Rocky to get his hands on the ball when he's trying to groundhog - the problem is, he's not a groundhog and Pocock will presumably eat him alive in that department (although Pocock didn't train today with some knock so hopefully he doesn't make it, but I'm sure he will). It's a pity because with ball in hand, he is awesome. Ferris is pretty brilliant too in that department and so is Heaslip - we certainly need him to refind his mojo. Hopefully the set-piece will stand up and then the backs rediscover the imagination of the first half against England in the Six Nations and the first 20 minutes against France in the Aviva last month.

The ability is in there but on form, all that hoping is clutching at straws.

Would be worried about Kearney as he's played about two hours of rugby in the past year. Worried too about Reddan being run through by Genia and Elsom but hopefully the big boys will provide the cover. One thing Reddan will do if we get ball is provide pace, with the odd break and with a razor sharp pass. Then hopefully Sexton imagines he's playing with Leinster rather than Ireland. Way too many 'ifs'. I'm just hoping for a good performance.

great post ogie the only problem i have with it is yours and alot of other rugby lads i talk to is there disbelief in sean o`breins ability to play number 7 sean has played there for tullow before and has said he likes playing 7 and i know 7 is a lot of the ground hog work as you say which i think o`brein will be good at but he will get a few chances to run at them as well obviously not as much as he would at 6 but i believe we have to have these 3 guys on the pitch even if david wallace was there

It always dark before dawn. I predict a different Irish team tomorrow.

They've been building for this the last year. All the chips are on the table now.

I think they will perform, but I dont think it will be enough to beat Australia.

Good bet for anyone who has a spare ton.

England
France
Italy
Wales
South Africa
Argentina

All to win, €100 will get you back €50. Money for nothing

wales playing samoa wont be so straight forward to be risking that kind of money all the rest should win handy enough but then the likes of england ya might aswell not have them in it at 1/750 put 100 on that and ya dont even win 20cent even france at 1/200 still not worth the effort for the return

vodafone2011 wrote:

I Think our weakness will be all on show Saturday , lets hope its damage limitation , canT see Ireland living with Australia ,even thought there no great shakes the aussies , let hope i am wrong , our build and the game against the US were very eye opening in regard to our ability to push on in this competition , I think we have left better players behind in ireland , and bought a few weak ones , Well see

I am delighted i was 100% wrong in my prediction , Delighted with the result and delighted for the irish team, the support out there was Class really got behind the team, maybe other nations will stand up now and look at us as a serious contenders , long may it last , o Connell was right lets not get carried away its a pool match , there are others to win , and in 2/3 weeks see where we stand , its looking like the home nations side of the draw , that can only be good ,lets hope we get Wales in the 1/4 everything after that is a bonus

Wow, unbelievable. Amazing to read Aussie press and the begrudging credit they give, talking about our one-dimensional play and how it was all grit etc. Did they not see us run the ball from inside our own 22 twice? Just cos there weren't showy, low percentage behind-the-back passes (that almost cost Australia a few times). We were by far the better team.

And if I'd seen the post above about O'Brien playing 7 for Tullow, I would have pointed out that there was a bit of difference - like most inter-county footballers playing midfield for their clubs. Irrelevant. O'Brien was immense, as was Healy, Ferris, Paulie, Best... MIke Ross MOM for me though. The scrum has undergone a metamorphosis since his arrival. He was even carrying ball! Pocock was a massive loss but we had our own injuries. Kearney had played no rugby in 10 months and he was outstanding. David Wallace was out. Jerry Flannery was out. Geordan Murphy was out. And we spurned nine points.

I was there watching it and just mad to go on the piss. a little early for me though. Must kick on and make a semi now. And to be honest, it's not beyond the bounds of possibility we make a final. IF we beat Italy - their scrum will be tougher than Australia's - IF we beat Wales, it would then be England or France I think. I'd hope England but imagine it will be France. It's all about reproducing Saturday and it not being a one-off.

That performance came out of the blue. Absolutely top drawer stuff especially from Ferris and O'Brien. Great to bring down the arrogant Aussies a peg or two.

They have a real shot at achieving something now if they can build on the back of this.

Would have got way more coverage only for the All-Ireland.

I heard Ferris is being cited for dwarf tossing. Not sure how true that is though.

Another big performance today by Ireland... They really absorbed the Italian pressure and then started the 2nd half like men possessed.... They really are winding up at the right time. Role on Wales.... What a massive quarter final next weekend in store.

Well done Lads! great win.

Come on Les Bleu

a great game to finish the world cup overall the right team won cup

i thought france were every bit as good as new zeland and the ref prob feeling the pressure from the crowd let new zeland away with a lot of off sides and hands in the ruck france had to fight for every yard they got today and prob could have edged it with a little bit of luck