RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland
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@stodders said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
@Bones Aaron Smith put Dupont in his pocket for the majority of the French test in game 1 of World Cup. He can do the same to Gibson-Park. Roigard will hopefully be the bench option to come in and bring the intensity and harass.
Swap Havili for Kirifi and send him out on a mission.
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@stodders said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
@Chris pretty much what most fans opposing the ABs over the years have said š
Not now though is it,they say we would prefer to play the ABs in the QF why because they think we are easy to beat.
Times have changed under Fozzie. -
@stodders said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
@canefan learnings š¬. Uruguay wasnāt a bad test for the ABs as they were super competitive at the breakdown (like Ireland) and disrupted ball. ABs had to work through and around it to be able to play.
Their overall play isnāt the same standard as Ireland, but they are similar in many facets.
ABs will need to dismantle the Irish line out or force them to have poor ball. Line out is a weakness of Irish in this World Cup. SA had lots of possession and territory as a result, but SA showed in Twickenham test and in Ireland test that they lack the ruthless edge to convert their many opportunities.
Grasping at straws. No weakness in the lineout against Scotland. Plus Uruguay similar to Ireland? Wow.
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@The-Irishman read what I wrote. I think I said Uruguay arenāt Irelandās level but in certain facets of the game, they are similar, e.g. how they contest the breakdown and create messy, scrappy ball.
Irelandās line out was much better last night, but they threw to the front a lot (safer ball) and trusted their phase play rather than attempting more risky line out calls.
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@The-Irishman youāre right.
Letās not discuss it. Ireland are the bestest at everything ever.
We shouldnāt bother even turning up.
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@The-Irishman you will admit that against a premier line out team, the Boks, your line out had a shocker. Right?
ABs arenāt bad at lineouts and will look to put pressure on Irish ball and neutralise their maul. Not that dissimilar to what they did to Boks in NZ earlier this year.
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@The-Irishman as for grasping at straws, will Irish fans not point out where they will look to gain an edge in ABs. Or are you that confident that no analysis or thought is required? šš
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@MajorRage the QF is Irelandās final. New territory after that and all whole different set of challenges to maintain performance levels.
You can sense Irish confidence. And why shouldnāt they given they have won 17 straight games. Just a reminder to Irish fans that this is what you termed āKiwi arroganceā when the ABs dominated and AB fans were confident of winning - against any foe, anywhere.
The team arenāt arrogant. No more than AB teams have been. Irish fans have the swagger right now.
Hope the crown feels good, you arrogant, cheating fluffy bunnies š
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@stodders said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
@MajorRage the QF is Irelandās final. New territory after that and all whole different set of challenges to maintain performance levels.
You can sense Irish confidence. And why shouldnāt they given they have won 17 straight games. Just a reminder to Irish fans that this is what you termed āKiwi arroganceā when the ABs dominated and AB fans were confident of winning - against any foe, anywhere.
The team arenāt arrogant. No more than AB teams have been. Irish fans have the swagger right now.
Hope the crown feels good, you arrogant, cheating fluffy bunnies š
If fully fit and no injuries I think Ireland can do it. Why? Because of the pool games. Pool A was effectively over after the first game which was basically to decide who topped the group. Everything else after that was just filler.
You guys haven't been tested since that 1st game and I think that will be monumental.
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@The-Irishman ABs werenāt tested in 2015 after the first Argentina pool game. Worked out ok š¬
Yes, 2015 team were much better than 2023 vintage, but just pointing out that a lack of tough pool matches doesnāt always mean you arenāt prepared for the knockout stages.
Ireland will be playing their third big game in 4 weeks. It takes a fair amount of energy to maintain peak performance and mental edge. Just to counter the strong pool argument.
At the end of the day, we donāt know who has been best served by their respective pools. The battle hardened, potentially less fresh Irish or the battle light, potentially more fresh ABs? Roll on Saturday.
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@The-Irishman where do you think Ireland have a weakness? Objectively if you can š¬
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Thatās so bad it made me š
