Amazing, awesome.

Kudos to the ref too he did very well.

Boo ya! I’m still terrified that this is what it takes to beat the AB’s

edit: completely agree a_a, Barnes was a monumental step up from the other games I watched today

Congratulations Ireland!

Kearney was a lucky boy mind.

As was Stockdale when Read knocked on.

As I said I only saw bits of the game but Scotland are playing the toonie way – high risk high reward.  Sometimes it works for you and you are geniuses like against England last year, sometimes you look like clowns

Kick a kick off deep to Wales you know what will happen – they will set a ruck and kick deep giving you the ball.  so you know if you kick deep from a kickoff you get the ball back around the halfway line.  Kick deep to Scotland they will always try to attack.  If they get caught then they will try to kick.  sometimes you get turned over,  When it pays off you look great, when it doesn’t you look stupid

high risk high reward.

I knew you would say that!

Thing is the reward from running at a set defence out if the 22 is minimal its just plain stupid, lost them the game.

Oh wow Ireland!  Huge congrats.

I think I have the stats correct but it looks like another 30 odd missed tackles today from England. Did the new defense coach start the job yet (that’s rhetorical)?

DanW, Kearney wasn’t tackled or part of any ruck or maul. So he was entitled to play the ball.

AA – thats not what lost them the game.  Bok phsicality at the breakdown and in mauls won it from the bits I saw.  Like it or loathe it thats how Toonie wants to play.

Toonie has been using these matches to try combinations out and to give players experience.  I think a couple of guys have played themselves out of the WC / 6N squad Ryan Wilson and Grant Gilcrest in particular.

Mucho congratulations to Ireland.  to stop the ABs scoring a try is a fantastic achievement and to beat them is just great.  Enjoy your beers lads – you deserve it.

Cheers Duckman

I don’t know TJ, I missed the first chunk but there was a lot of very bad decision making and unnecessary risk in the (admittedly short) bits i caught. Kicks out on the full and running straight in to touch are pretty unforgivable as other examples

Like you say TJ, you only saw bits of the game….I saw it all, poor game management including the moment of insantiy that was trying to play fancy rugby in your own 22 did indeed lose you the game, that was a gifted 7 points and you lost by 6!

Kicks out on the full need the kicker slapping and slapping hard.  It happens to often to Scotland.

We are short of a decent captain I think.

Playing fancy rugby in our own 22 won us the Calcutta cup last year – remember that.  England never recovered after that try

Loved that Irish win!

Wales were strong, despite a little wobble.

Yeah but you really can only dine out on “THAT CALCUTTA CUP WIN” for so long……pool stage of the world cup and Japan are within 1 score in the last 10 minutes, home crowd giving them a huge boost…..you need to be playing smart or you’ll be going home very early!

They’ve got to find a difference between high risk, exciting rugby and suicidal rugby. I’m fine with any team trying to run out of their 22… so long as there’s half a chance and it’s not just pre-meditated and there’s a back up clearance kick option is the space disappears for example

Well done Ireland. Keeping the AB’s tryless is one hell of an achievement. Ireland are so accurate in pretty much everything they do, they’re comfortable on the ball and rarely make silly errors. It might not be pretty but it’s bloody effective. Guess the IRFU will want to hang on to Joe after the WC. They really rattled the AB’s and made them look ordinary and undisciplined (by their standards). There will be some sore bodies tomorrow after that match though

They look nailed on 6N winners next year and a lot will be expected of them at the WC.

Its the Toonie way – do you remember him as a player?  every game he would create tries from nothing and give tries away.  You just hoped the balance was positive.

A bit more pragmatism at times would be great.  But with the coach and players we have?  don’t hold your breath

Bring back Dan Parks!  Bring back Andy Robinson!

I quite agree DanW.

AA – thats not what lost them the game.  Bok phsicality at the breakdown and in mauls won it from the bits I saw.  Like it or loathe it thats how Toonie wants to play.

I think it was Gatland’s fault ; )

Wow. What a year it’s been. Pro14. Champions cup. 6N grand slam (the “hard” way – although that was when it was judged that Twickenham was a tough game) and topped off with a win over New Zealand. What a time to be alive.

Peter

O

****

Mahoney!

POM was massive today. Massive. A game winning performance.

Here DD you forgot about the summer series win in Australia for the first time 😜

POM was outstanding, actually everyone played well apart from Cronin. It’s the one area of concern.

Stockdale 12 tries in 14 caps, some return that

Guardian report described it as 2 heavyweights slogging it out, which I thought was a pretty good analagy. Guinness in hand.

Here DD you forgot about the summer series win in Australia for the first time

Oh cripes, I forgot about that one. There’s just been so many things, it’s hard to keep up. 😀

Stockdale 12 tries in 14 caps, some return that

Not bad for a donkey hey?

Not bad for a donkey hey?

He very nearly **** it up for you 2 mins before too!! Another ref would have binned Kearney for clattering the winger in the air. Mind you another ref might have binned an all black for persistent infinging.

This Ireland team are starting to remind me of the pattern of England in 2003. Beating NZ in the run up to the RWC. Believing they will win every game. Monster pack. Solid defence. Great 10. Doing it their own way.

interestingly, I thought they had missed their golden generation, but the current team have raised the bar.

Im loving the fact that NH standards have raised over the last decade. Wales and Scotland gutted when they lose to SA /Aus these days.

With the luck luck of the draw, the final (so theoretically the winners too) could come from 8 teams next year. I’m gutted I no longer go to Japan, as I’d have loved to be out there.

Oh, and did anybody else think the ref bottled it 4 min from the end in Sco/SA? That looked a blatant shoulder charge to me.

Dan, a few incidents worthy of another look, sadly.

The SA headbutt

Nowell’s lifting tackle

The NZ deliberate knock on, while on the ground, while offside

Kearney was a lucky boy as well.

dants – to me that was worth a penalty only.  some attempt with arms, no involvement with the head, Watson was on the ruck when he started his run up but detached just as he hit.

Possible yellow but not cast iron yellow.

No idea how Biggar escaped a yellow on his try line too flashy!

Scotland lost just due to bad disjointed play and although the will disagree the mltrying to run it out the 22, turn over, try was just a bit dunderheaded just because there was no back up.

SA managed to avoid two yellow cards (I guess we also avoided a couple) the shoulder charge was obvious, but the backwards headbutt was pretty obvious.

A very solid Ireland performance with Sexton excellent again.

I thought the ref was ok but the game naturally balanced itself out in terms of infringements.

The ABs look like they need a rest as its a lot of travel as well as rugby. They left it too late to respond and that along with their errors is indicative of fatigue.

did Scotland not also score a try from running it out of their 22?  I really must watch the whole game!

High risk / high reward means one minute you look like geniuses, the next total dunderheads!

FlashyTJ – I only caught snippets on iPlayer yesterday between flights (In Edinburgh for the night last night – would have been raucous had SCO won!) I thought absolutely no attempt with arms – a typical SA drop of the shoulder & smash.

The ABs look like they need a rest as its a lot of travel as well as rugby. They left it too late to respond and that along with their errors is indicative of fatigue.

They have played a very limited game plan for a while now and look quite un-NZ at times which seems to be keeping some trump cards for the WC. Still a monstrous side and while they have played a lot of rugby you have to say it was the consistent Irish pressure and intensity that brought the errors- credit to Ireland on that

High risk / high reward means one minute you look like geniuses

I’m not sure genius means what you think it does.

Don’t be daft Gauss, 1 Calcutta cup in a decade, it’s clear!