Ireland tour to NZ 2022
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@Machpants said in Ireland tour to NZ 2022:
@Derm-McCrum Interesting how he points out that the isalnds sort of add another pile of registered players, but doesn't mention that NZ provides the majority of players for both Tonga and Samoa! But this idea that rugby is number one is very outdated, old like most of the posters here. "rugby is the number one sport, the equivalent of Gaelic football, hurling and soccer, as well as rugby, rolled into one" In player numbers rugby is behind soccer, and in popularity behind basketball in youth.
But Ireland certainly punches above it's weight, NZ too, and England underperforms.
Stats and lies.
Soccer Football has out ranked rugby in NZ for a long time as far as player numbers go. Their problem (and one rugby is fast catching up with) is the massive drop off of participation post school age.
The causes are slightly different with football being the young persons 'safe' sporting option which is only done to participate and rugby having low attraction to the club rugby layer post school if players haven't attracted professional interest. -
Brutal TAB ad campaign to remind Irish of record against All Blacks
Bragging about the All Blacks. Does this ad campaign go too far?
All Blacks-Ireland rugby test series: TAB ad campaign seeks to stir pot by poking fun at Irish record Ben Leahy Reporter, NZ Herald Ireland's touring rugby side are set to be reminded at every turn they have never won in New Zealand as part of a controversial marketing campaign likely to rile a few feathers. The ads will focus on the All Blacks intimidating track record at home as New Zealand and Ireland face off in a three-test-match series, kicking-off at Eden Park on July 2. Sports betting agency TAB NZ plans to post billboards in each New Zealand host city, with some located close to the Irish team's hotels and others on the routes they will travel to get to training and the games. One billboard simply states: "0 wins in NZ". Ouch. That's the amount of times Ireland has won in New Zealand. Another billboard states: "Think the flight was long? Try a 28-year unbeaten streak at Eden Park". A reminder that no international team has beaten the All Blacks in Auckland since 1994. The ads aim to intimidate the Irish and stoke New Zealand pride, but some might question whether the bold bravado could backfire and even if such shameless bragging is the Kiwi way. TAB NZ said the billboards are simply sharing "helpful facts" with the visitors. "From when they arrive in New Zealand until the moment they step onto the field, TAB NZ will be there to remind them that their odds aren't looking good," the company's general manager Marketing and Customer Experience Jodi Williams said. "You have to go all the way back to 1994 to find the last time the All Blacks had a loss at the Garden of Eden. That was the same year Forrest Gump hit the big screen, and Friends began its glittering 10-season run on TV." She said Ireland's three test matches in New Zealand gave them a lot of minutes to truly weigh up their odds of winning. The campaign comes as the two teams have clashed on 33 occasions. The first match was in 1905 but regular test matches between the two nations only kicked off in the 1970s. Out of those 33 matches, Ireland has only ever won three tests and drawn one. However, the Irish odds look remarkably better when taken on recent form. TAB NZ plans to post the billboards on roads where the Irish team will travel and even close to their team hotel. Out of the last five tests played between the two nations, Ireland has a 3-2 winning record, with two wins on Irish soil and one win in the US. That included the Irish winning the last match between the two sides 29-20 in Ireland last November. Ireland also had a second-place finish behind France in the 2022 Six Nations on 4 wins and 1 loss. TAB NZ's Williams said that despite the cheeky ad campaign her team like everyone else was looking forward to the contest. Ireland's James Lowe scores a try past All Black Jordie Barrett on the way to an Irish victory on home soil last year. "Based on Ireland's strong showing in this year's Six Nations, this should be a great three-test series that will keep fans of both sides on the edge of their seats," she saidAbsolutely shameless from the TAB. They nearly always take a bath when the All Blacks win so they're trying to stir the Irish into a victory or 2. Writing the motivational speeches for them if you will. Pretty cynical if you ask me.
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@Machpants yeah, its quite funny that he points out that we have access to 160,000 registered players in the pacific islands! I mean wtf?
funny how he doesnt mention the foreign born, raised and professionally trained players that Ireland have taken advantage of.
anyway, the horse has well and truly bolted with globalisation in international rugby.
He does make a very good point about Ireland though. They have never been very good at rugby historically. They have been the big movers over the last 15 years in internationally and are a country that optimises its resources very well. similar to NZ in cricket.
I wish NZ could optimise its resources as well as Ireland have recently.
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@DaGrubster said in Ireland tour to NZ 2022:
@Machpants yeah, its quite funny that he points out that we have access to 160,000 registered players in the pacific islands! I mean wtf?
funny how he doesnt mention the foreign born, raised and professionally trained players that Ireland have taken advantage of.
anyway, the horse has well and truly bolted with globalisation in international rugby.
He does make a very good point about Ireland though. They have never been very good at rugby historically. They have been the big movers over the last 15 years in internationally and are a country that optimises its resources very well. similar to NZ in cricket.
I wish NZ could optimise its resources as well as Ireland have recently.
You're right - Thornley is well aware of the foreign-born cohort that plays in Ireland. How much it contributes or how big a cohort it is, of the overall playing pool is worth considering.
Next season, there'll be 35 foreign-born players out of a total of 183 senior squad players, plus a further 50 across the 4 provincial academies.
Those foreign-born players break out as:
11 - foreign capped - ineligible for test caps
17 - parent/grandparent qualified
7 - residency qualified by dint of old 3-year rule - 4 of them capped - Kleyn, Lowe, Gibson-Park, Aki.24 of them born in Eng, SA and Aus (8 each) with the balance from NZ, Ton, Fra, US, & Zim.
Below that there are 220 amateur clubs that throw up an occasional top player who gets recruited into the provincial set-up.The big push since 2015 IRFU decision to stop funding of foreign players, and invest instead to develop/recuit Irish players through academies is starting to pay dividends with 97 Irish players having been promoted from academy since then.
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@DaGrubster said in Ireland tour to NZ 2022:
its quite funny that he points out that we have access to 160,000 registered players in the pacific islands! I mean wtf?
Where on earth did he get that figure from and how on earth does he think NZ has access to them all?
@Derm-McCrum in this day and age do the Irish really think that we have access to all these PI players? Do they really not understand that we actually provide more players to the Islands, by a huge margin, than we take from the Islands.
That was like a Brendon Gallagher article from 5 to 10 years ago or a Walrus article (at any time I guess). What is wrong with Irish journos?
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5 things for Farrell to achieve on NZ tour. Apparently.
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@Derm-McCrum Only five? Seems a bit limiting.
I hope Ireland play awesome rugby. And lose.
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@antipodean said in Ireland tour to NZ 2022:
@Derm-McCrum Only five? Seems a bit limiting.
I hope Ireland play awesome rugby. And lose.
I agree. Then we can finally get rid of Sexton, O'Mahony, Murray, Earls, & Healy.
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@chimoaus said in Ireland tour to NZ 2022:
Out of curiosity what makes Farrell such a good coach? all his teams seem very well prepared and excellent on defence.
They say his time and experience in rugby league helped a lot in his thinking and practice as a coach. My view is that he still practises the basic mantra of Defence Wins Games. And he seems better suited than many to learn from his mistakes. This tour is a good acid test. He needs to come away with something to put on the win scorecard (an away win would be good), and find some new back-up talent at 1/3, 4/5, and 10. It's the guys around him in the coaching group that really need to shine and prove their worth - particularly Fogarty with the forwards at scrum time. O'Connell has added a lot on line out and mauls, but the set-piece is still fragile.
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@Derm-McCrum said in Ireland tour to NZ 2022:
@chimoaus said in Ireland tour to NZ 2022:
Out of curiosity what makes Farrell such a good coach? all his teams seem very well prepared and excellent on defence.
They say his time and experience in rugby league helped a lot in his thinking and practice as a coach. My view is that he still practises the basic mantra of Defence Wins Games. And he seems better suited than many to learn from his mistakes. This tour is a good acid test. He needs to come away with something to put on the win scorecard (an away win would be good), and find some new back-up talent at 1/3, 4/5, and 10. It's the guys around him in the coaching group that really need to shine and prove their worth - particularly Fogarty with the forwards at scrum time. O'Connell has added a lot on line out and mauls, but the set-piece is still fragile.
And he'd still fuck up most of the squad, so he is Judge Dredd.
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So Joe Schmidt has abandoned his guests from Ireland and has entered the coaching team. That'll give Farrell something to think about. Both know each other well.
Mack Hansen is out of selection running as he's been diagnosed with Covid. Wonder how much this is going to disrupt training and selection plans this week for the two matches. I reckon Furlong, Sheehan and Porter have been walled off from everyone.
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@Derm-McCrum Yes, it appears both teams are impacted. Some Irish players may end up playing both games this week to cover which would be a little tough.
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@chimoaus said in Ireland tour to NZ 2022:
@Derm-McCrum Yes, it appears both teams are impacted. Some Irish players may end up playing both games this week to cover which would be a little tough.
Start Wed, and then bench Sat? He's got 40 players on tour, and now 39 available. It was inevitable that some would have to do that. Possibly line up for NZ Maori might be:
Lowry, O'Brien, Hume, Frawley, Larmour, Carbery, Casey
Coombes, Prendergast, O'Mahony (Capt), Baird, McCarthy, O'Toole, Heffernan, Loughman
Reps: Herring, Healy, Bealham, Treadwell, Timoney, Murray, H Byrne, EarlsEdit: Another IRFU update says "Iain Henderson and Rob Herring both picked up knocks in training on Saturday and will be scanned today (Monday) in Auckland. Munster’s Niall Scannell has been added to the squad to provide additional cover at hooker." So that will change selection calls for Wed if Hendo and Herring are out of reckoning.
Sheesh - and neither side has played a minute yet.
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Really scraping the barrel at hooker now bringing in Niall Scannell. I wouldn't have much confidence in Heffernan either. I'd be avoiding bringing Sheehan off the bench against the Maori if at all possible, we can't risk him getting injured too.
Fingers crossed Herring and Henderson will be fit by the weekend.
We'll be extremely lucky if Hansen is the only positive covid case..
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Possibly some real concerns on loosehead stocks after last night. Loughman could/should be stood down for concussion (despite returning to play) and Healy looking like his knee has blown.
Only one true LH left. Does that mean we may go to oldies scrums at some point in the test? -
@Crucial said in Ireland tour to NZ 2022:
Possibly some real concerns on loosehead stocks after last night. Loughman could/should be stood down for concussion (despite returning to play) and Healy looking like his knee has blown.
Only one true LH left. Does that mean we may go to oldies scrums at some point in the test?Yeah not sure the rules, if they can't supply full front row cover, does that mean they go to 14 if the LH goes off?
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@Bovidae said in Ireland tour to NZ 2022:
You need to designate the props as LHs or THs before the game so can't play that card during the match.
@Bovidae said in Ireland tour to NZ 2022:
You need to designate the props as LHs or THs before the game so can't play that card during the match.
And what if you don't have 2LHs?
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@Machpants borrow one from the opposition?
