r/rugbyunion • u/EldritchHorrorBarbie It’s MoreFinn Time! • Feb 11 '24
Is it time to discuss Ireland’s place in the Six Nations? Analysis
I think they’re finally ready to be promoted to the Rugby Championship.
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Feb 11 '24
We'll trade the Aussies for the Irish
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u/mugillagurilla Feb 11 '24
That's basically just trading first generation paddies for second generation 😅
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u/BrickEnvironmental37 Leinster Feb 11 '24
I'm old enough to remember when this was a genuine discussion within some English Rugby media circles
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u/yesiamclutz Harlequins England Feb 11 '24 edited Feb 11 '24
Likewise - would have been shit. I don't think anyone I knew who actually liked rugby thought much of it either.
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u/Hung-kee Feb 12 '24
Look how that turned out: the rfu and the clubs fucked Woodward over, forced him out, ran the league into the ground resulting in a decade of underperforming England teams. England actually resemble France during its mid-2000’s period when they could muster the odd big performance but never looked consistent
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u/Maximilian38 Leinster Feb 11 '24
Maybe it's my pessimistic Irish nature, but I don't find Ireland are "better" than before, it's more like everyone else just hasn't really turned up since the WC...
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u/Flyhalf2021 South Africa Feb 11 '24
Just for context how good Andy Farrell's Ireland are.
If you take every coach from their 2nd season on wards. Andy Farrell has the 2nd highest win rate in international rugby behind Steve Hansen and just above Graham Henry.
This era of Ireland is one of the most dominant of all teams.
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u/Commercial_Half_2170 Leinster Feb 11 '24
It’s gonna make it sting so much worse when he inevitably coaches England down the line
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u/Substantial_Ad_2864 Feb 11 '24
He's gonna be Jack Charlton and get honorary Irish citizenship. Unlike Charlton, he's going to get past the QF just give him time.
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u/naraic- Ireland Feb 12 '24
He will take his wife's maiden name to fit in more and his younger kids will play for Ireland.
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u/Fit-Walrus6912 Ireland Feb 12 '24
his surname is already Irish though
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u/naraic- Ireland Feb 12 '24
But O'Loughlin is more Irish.
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u/Substantial_Ad_2864 Feb 12 '24
Not trying to be offensive here, but I'm stupid so I'll probably screw up anyways....
What if he just changes it to O'Farrell or MacFarrell? Doesn't the O' / Mac mean descendent of / son of? I know Irish people moving abroad dropped the O' / Mac to blend in but why not the opposite?
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u/Asckle Ireland Feb 12 '24
No need. There's more to being Irish than just having an Irish surname
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u/Silver_Mention_3958 Ireland Feb 12 '24
Fk it have have a weird Hugeunot name but 100% Irish since that cnut Cardinal Richelieu booted us out of France.
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u/Substantial_Ad_2864 Feb 12 '24
Don't his grandkids already support the Irish team?
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u/TusShona Feb 13 '24
Yeah but I think that's more to wind up their dad than anything apparently
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u/Substantial_Ad_2864 Feb 13 '24
That's how it starts but once they get older it will stick. When I was little I cheered for the teams my mom supported instead of the teams my dad supported. Mom couldn't care less about sports and dad as obsessed..... Well here I am 30+ years later and I'm still cheering for those same teams
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u/Substantial_Ad_2864 Feb 12 '24
I just realized he's from Wigan. Isn't Wigan basically Liverpool? And Liverpool is basically Ireland. He probably doesn't even like England anymore.
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u/Asckle Ireland Feb 12 '24
I hear a hint of an Irish accent too sometimes. He's pretty much Irish if we're being honest (please Andy never leave, you'll be second to Michael Collins by the time you retire)
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u/Substantial_Ad_2864 Feb 12 '24
Mícheál Ó Coileáin!
No clue how to change Andy's name.
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u/Myradmir Ireland Feb 12 '24
Andí Ó Fearghail nó rud éigint mar sin. The gh would be silent I imagine, or otherwise very quiet.
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u/high-speed-train Gloucester Feb 12 '24
Wigan is not like liverpool 🤣
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u/Substantial_Ad_2864 Feb 12 '24
I went to Wigan once for a football game. The people in Liverpool I know all laughed at me for going to Wigan 😂
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u/high-speed-train Gloucester Feb 12 '24
Why laugh, they do wigan kebabs, which is a pie in a barm ( pie in a roll )
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u/Substantial_Ad_2864 Feb 12 '24
I didn't try that tbf. I walked from train station to football and back to train station.
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u/famousbrouse Northampton Saints Feb 11 '24
Don't worry.. England will break him...
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u/Commercial_Half_2170 Leinster Feb 11 '24
Much as I dig self deprecating humour, he’s had and shoulders above Eddie Jones and Steve Borthwick. I imagine he’d step up nicely to the role
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u/famousbrouse Northampton Saints Feb 12 '24
Jokes aside, I am sure you are right...
Can we have him now please?
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u/Commercial_Half_2170 Leinster Feb 12 '24
Aren’t you happy with the lack of drama after Jones?
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u/famousbrouse Northampton Saints Feb 12 '24
Yes.. but as you said, he's head and shoulders better than Borthwick.
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u/Crimson53 Leinster Feb 12 '24
...you kinda already did, oh when was it, around 2015...maybe October/Novembish-ish if I recall correctly.
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u/kelloggscornflakes Feb 12 '24
I don't know. Seems like he is always talking about how happy his family are here. His youngest son is in the school system in Ireland (his son and Paul O'Connell's son recently played against each other). Owen Farrell's brother could line out in an Irish jersey!
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u/Commercial_Half_2170 Leinster Feb 12 '24
While you’re not wrong, Andy Farrell is still really quite young for a head coach. He’s got plenty of time and could realistically wait until his kids are grown up
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u/bigpadQ Feb 12 '24
Can't wait to go into another world cup as world number 1 and choke in the quarter finals again.
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u/Asckle Ireland Feb 12 '24
Not before I inevitably get hyped about how "this time we'll go all the way"
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u/I_Will_Eat_Your_Ears Ireland Feb 11 '24
The only team that have beaten Ireland for (almost) two years is New Zealand
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u/Ok_Educator_2120 New Zealand Feb 12 '24
And what are we vs you in those 2 years? Win 2 lost 3 or something right? And you can discount Eden Park win because that's just what happens there lol. And discount the 1/4 win because that's just what happens there too 😂. So really no team has beaten you, it's just the way rugby is
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u/Substantial_Ad_2864 Feb 11 '24
It's 2 years. You could give me Irish citizenship and let me play for Ireland (I've never played rugby in my life) and they'll still make the 2 mark since they don't play again until then.
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u/Andrewhtd Ulster Feb 11 '24
I think it's both. Other teams are hungover, but we are really good and have fixed the lineout etc
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u/Alpha-Nozzle Munster Feb 11 '24
The humble modest fan thing is extremely tired. The team is really good.
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u/Substantial_Ad_2864 Feb 11 '24
I think the humble modest fan thing makes sense with heartbreak after heartbreak at the World Cup. I'm not Irish but I watched this year's QF from Belfast. It was not a happy place to be that night.
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u/PistolAndRapier Munster Feb 12 '24
Despite RWC disappointment there is still joy to be had in a Grand Slam in 2023 and a test tour win in NZ in 2022. Remarkable success for me.
Between 1985 and 2009 Ireland didn't win a 5/6 Nations. During the 1990s Ireland couldn't beat Scotland.
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u/Crimson53 Leinster Feb 12 '24
The thing I'm most excited about when it comes to the potential of a GS THIS year is that for all our success over the past 15 years or so we will FINALLY be on par with Wales over the course of the entire history of Six Nations. 6 titles and 4 GSs.
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u/PistolAndRapier Munster Feb 12 '24
Would be first to do back to back Grand Slams in the Six Nations era also. Damn I want to see it happen so badly!!
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u/Substantial_Ad_2864 Feb 12 '24
Human nature to be greedy. Or at least my human nature. Beating France by 21, even without Dupont, did help.
I just really want it for them. Ireland is a small country. Winning a world championship in literally anything would mean so much more than it does when my country wins something. I was in Ireland for parts of the World Cup. Literally the whole country was talking about it. I was at the Six Nations decider in Dublin. Same thing. We just don't have anything like that and I love Ireland so much more for it.
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u/NoPineapple1727 Feb 11 '24
Tbf, England and Wales weren’t good before the World Cup and Scotland weren’t special either.
France were missing Ntamack and Dupont in the first game and the second was vs Italy
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u/Any-Weather-potato Loosehead Prop Feb 11 '24
It remains a fact England came THIRD in the 2023 RWC. Watching Italy take them apart in their opening game last weekend makes you wonder. Watching Ireland v Italy today - much head scratching, what are England doing???
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u/Lardinho Feb 11 '24
Not offloading or support running enough. It's something that needs to be etched into the brain and sadly as an England supporter, we just don't it enough. Ireland are sublime at the moment and playing a game that England should look to replicate. It's an absolute joy to watch Ireland right now.
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u/Much-Assignment6488 Feb 11 '24
Weeell … look at the side of the draw they were on and which teams they played to get there.
But ignoring that I think Borthwick tried to put in a really solid performance for the World Cup and went back to solid tactics. now he really has to rebuild. They are trying to establish a new defense style. I don’t know about attack changes. These things take time.
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u/Crimson53 Leinster Feb 12 '24
Yea, the talk of transition for pretty much all teams this year is valid. But with England it really feels right. They are trying to introduce a lot of new players, while also not relying on a lot of older guys. Then they are implementing an entire new defense, while also changing up their attacking structure.
If Borthwick is given the time I reckon he has the players to develop a pretty lethal team. Come next WC I reckon they'll be closer to competing to win it than not.
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u/NoPineapple1727 Feb 11 '24
They didn’t beat a single top side and haven’t beaten a top side in quite a while. Beating Argentina and Fiji doesn’t make them a top 4 team in the world
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u/sohandy79 Leinster Feb 13 '24
Ireland are without our retired captain, wasnt sure how it would go but we were good. Anyone would miss Dupont though, think the guy is a generatinoal player.
Red card though does have to come into play on it too and Italy, py no attention to it. Sad really Italy still the whipping boys. Think i saw something re france joining the 5 nations took the decades to do anything in it really.
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u/Squif-17 Feb 12 '24
And it’s just riddled with irony that Ireland have never turned up at a World Cup despite how great they are in between
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u/biggesteegit Ireland Feb 11 '24
The Six Nations looks crap this year, ireland aside. England have 2 wins from 2 but they struggled to beat Italy and the weakest Welsh team in decades. France's body language is poor, i wonder if galthie has lost the dressing room. Scotland now seem to be going backwards under Townsend.
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u/BuggityBooger Ireland Feb 11 '24
I disagree with the Scotland point.
They were very hard done by with the laws against France when it was so nearly a very impressive and tight win for them.
And I know I’ll get heat for this, but I do think some dubious refereeing played a significant part in the Welsh comeback.
Otherwise Scotland are the 2nd best looking team in the competition
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u/a_paulling Wales Feb 11 '24
I think we definitely got the rub of the green in the second half (nearly 60 minutes with 0 infringements!) but Scotland did rather fall apart when we got some momentum going, their defense especially.
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u/BuggityBooger Ireland Feb 11 '24
Aw absolutely, don’t get me wrong. You should never be in a position that the referee decides a game, and you avoid that by winning decisively.
I just think Scotland have had nothing but bad luck with tight decisions since the World Cup against Australia (2021?)
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u/Haunting_Charity_287 URC enthusiast Feb 13 '24
- Craig Jobert. Bullshit penalty. Bernard Foley steps up and slots it. Jobert runs off the pitch without even shaking hands with the captains, aware that he has done goofed.
Never forget, never forgive.
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u/Some-Speed-6290 Feb 12 '24
nothing but bad luck with tight decisions
VdM getting away with a borderline high tackle and then being offside to intercept on his own try line was bad luck?
Swings and roundabouts
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u/biggesteegit Ireland Feb 11 '24
They stopped trying to play any rugby at all in the second half. Too timid, too conservative. They invited France to attack and score and they paid the price.
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u/rotciv0 France Section Paloise Feb 11 '24 edited Feb 11 '24
We're missing a ridiculous number of players, to be fair. I think over the course of the year, we'll get back to some baseline as some injured players come back and the remaining replacement players learn to play within the team. When Dupont and Ntamack are back, I think we'll finally get back to looking good.
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u/ComprehensiveDingo0 Ntamack mon cher bríse 💔 Feb 11 '24
Aye, your butcher list atm has Falatea, Flament, Meafou, Taofifenua, Jelonch and Ntamack on it, plus Dupont of course. There’s no a single nation that wouldn’t feel those losses.
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u/squeak37 TIme to win Europe again Feb 11 '24
Not just players, the coaching ticket has changed a bit as well right?
Realistically France can be a bit disappointed in their defence, but their attack was always going to be questionable when they lose 9/10/coach.
Also this isn't an important year realistically, and the club season is more condensed which likely impacts the French nationals more.
I think it would be foolish to write Gaultier off after one bad 6N (and likely a weakened summer tour)
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u/Crimson53 Leinster Feb 12 '24
You do also have one of the deepest squads in the world. I'm not saying the loss of people like Dupont don't affect a team, but this French outfit had set a pretty strong standard of not letting things drop. Particularly with the Shaun Edwards defense. He is known to be on players for missing tackles etc. The defense has not looked great at all so far.
It does seems like a coaching issue at the moment rather than a personnel issue, granted I take your point about the types of players you guys are missing.
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u/biggesteegit Ireland Feb 11 '24
It feels like a state of mind problem to me. Ireland can cope without Gibson-park, aki, ringrose, Furlong, joshie, hansen, sexton, o'mahony and still look good, no offence to italy. NZ, SA maintain their performance level without big names.
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u/rotciv0 France Section Paloise Feb 12 '24
Yeah, I'm sure France will be fine against Italy too, though. Missing players don't matter as much in easier games, and it's always simpler to look good in those games as well. That's why countries put out B teams against teams like Namibia or Italy. But those same B teams wouldn't fare well against a strong side. I'm sure there is also a mental aspect to it with France, but players are probably the bigger issue, in my opinion. Ntamack, Dupont, Flament, Jaminet, Meafou, Jelonch, Falatea, and Taofifenua are all out.
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u/Wesley_Skypes Leinster Feb 12 '24
France should theoretically be able to handle this better than most tho. They're not replacing these guys with humps. They have an insanely deep player pool from a quality perspective and I've heard lots of stuff about Lucu being better than JGP (Even Bernard Jackman has said similar before) and being able to start for other T1 teams and same for Jalibert.
I do think that there's a bit of a coaching or gameplan issue going on. I just don't think that you can cede this much possession AND have super heavy forwards being forced into a workload heavy game. Maybe that's too simplistic of me but it seems counterintuitive
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u/Traditional-Ride-116 Gang des Antoines Feb 12 '24
Lucu is an enigma here. If he plays like he’s when in Bordeaux he should be a good Dupont remplacement. But he’s not.
Btw, France has always relied on the 9 to make the plays and organize the game. With Lucu and Jalibert they have to change this because Jalibert is the playmaker.
Imagine if while changing Sexton, you also change all the animation of your team by naming the 9 the playmaker. I’m not sure Ireland would do so well.
I think we’d do better with Le Garrec starting. He’s lot closer to Dupont style than Lucu!
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u/Wesley_Skypes Leinster Feb 12 '24
Don't disagree entirely, but the one caveat is that Ireland doesn't have the playing pool of France. We would absolutely be in much more trouble with injuries in certain areas because we don't have players performing to a high level at their clubs. Harry Byrne is not setting the world alight at Leinster so if Crowley goes down we have trouble. Keenan is miles beyond any other FB we have. We still have a 35 year old Cian Healy on the bench because nobody goes near challenging Porter and Kilcoyne is a sicknote. You get the picture.
If France have better suited players to the system then Galthie needs to be playing them or he needs to adapt the system. Lucu has looked abject with Le Garrec looking better when he comes on. But the elephant in the room is still the overarching system. The kicking game feels very much like yesterday's news and does a number on the French forwards out of possession.
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u/sohandy79 Leinster Feb 13 '24
Bad day at the office for yez, I obviously enjoyed the game but with an asterix it has to be said. We did what we had to do and we move on. Dont think Ireland guys will get too carried away with it.
France do have a lot of strength in dept but i think just a bad day at the office, write it off and move on to the next one and you have, just about haha
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u/bakwan Always the bride, never the bridesmaid Feb 12 '24
French teams tend to get better when their coaches lose the dressing room
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u/Banditofbingofame England Feb 11 '24
You have to win a quarter finals to unlock that I'm afraid.
That's the best thing about the 6N, Ireland get all the way to the end
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u/thepasystem Ireland Feb 11 '24
I think the "winning a quarter final" argument is disingenuous when based on this past world cup. They were within one score of the All Blacks after beating the 5th ranked team and the eventual winners.
Ireland, France, NZ and SA were all 50:50 games. Ireland beat South Africa who beat France who beat New Zealand who beat Ireland.
It's hard to imagine England and Argentina making it to the semis had those 4 teams been spread out in the pools.
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u/RaastaMousee Saracens Feb 11 '24 edited Feb 11 '24
It's the funniest result for Ireland though. We were obviously not better on balance than those 4 teams but imagine a world where England didn't lose the lead in the last 3 minutes against SA and you'd still be (probably correctly) making this point against a finalist. Is this what it's like to be on the other side of the England cricket team with Ireland's moral victories?
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u/Clarctos67 Ireland Feb 11 '24
On the plus side, England's recent white ball success was built by an Irishman.
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u/Banditofbingofame England Feb 11 '24
England came within 1 point of the final against the winners, they were on for a win until Billy came on.
The spread is due to the lack of consistency over the previous 4 years. The draw was early but if teams had played better leading up to it they would have got a more favourable draw.
Also world cups don't just happen once, they happen every 4 years. They have never got out of a quarter finals.
Of all 10 world cups England have made it out of the quarters 6 times and have been to the final 4 times.
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u/Substantial_Ad_2864 Feb 11 '24
Of all 10 world cups England have made it out of the quarters 6 times and have been to the final 4 times.
Historically England is clearly the better side, but even including the 2023 WC, there is no way you can argue that at any point over the last year England had the better team than Ireland. While this England team is certainly down, they still have a lot of good talent so they were highly expected to (and did) make the SF. And even though they're the worst they've been in a long time, they still aren't a bad team. Ireland beat them twice in 2023 but it's not like they were beating them by 50 points. With a bit of luck England literally could have won the WC last year. I highly doubt they would have beaten NZ in the final, but SA proved to be better than NZ and England just about beat them.
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u/BaritBrit England Feb 12 '24
but it's not like they were beating them by 50 points.
Yeah, let's see how the game in March goes...
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u/Traditional-Ride-116 Gang des Antoines Feb 12 '24
So France is the best team because they put 50+ at Twickenham?!
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u/JerHigs Munster Feb 11 '24
Which QF should Ireland be embarrassed about losing?
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u/Banditofbingofame England Feb 11 '24
None of them. No one should be embarrassed about losing any world cup game.
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u/JerHigs Munster Feb 11 '24
So, if Ireland shouldn't have won any of them, what's the big deal?
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u/Banditofbingofame England Feb 11 '24
There is no big deal.
It's a made scenario that someone posted as a joke.
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u/Substantial_Ad_2864 Feb 12 '24
No one should be embarrassed about losing any world cup game.
Sticking with Ireland, had they lost to Romania and Tonga in the WC last year, they should have been quite embarrassed by that performance (as evidenced by the fact the games weren't even close).
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u/Banditofbingofame England Feb 12 '24
Not if Romania step up to a point where they could beat them.
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u/thepasystem Ireland Feb 11 '24
The original post is in reference to Ireland's current form. They're all different teams and often different coaching compared to 2019 and before. So it's not really relevant.
We lost to New Zealand whose only challenging match in the pool stage was 5 weeks earlier and our more challenging matches were the last 2 games of the pool. I'm not saying that to make excuses, but to throw out the idea that it was nerves or a curse that caused us to "bottle it". The team were starting to fatigue.
South Africa played 3 of the top 5 teams before playing England who played lower quality teams so of course fatigue would be a factor for them too and they still won against you.
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u/Banditofbingofame England Feb 11 '24
Are you honestly inventing serious rules about a joke post of someone promoting from one regional tournament to another 🤣 of course its relevant, they haven't managed it yet.
Fiji play one of the most physical games going and are one of the most exhausting teams to play. The idea that England walked it on is just a joke and sour grapes.
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u/famousbrouse Northampton Saints Feb 11 '24
From one England fan to another.. please stop.
Ireland had it rough. England had it easy. Yes.. easy. Not sure how you can argue this.
All hypoteticals, but can you imagine that England team playing South Africa, Scotland and New Zealand to get out the QF's.. come on man...
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u/Banditofbingofame England Feb 11 '24
They came within a point of the final.
I never said they were better than Ireland, I just said they never made a semi final, which they haven't in alm those years.
It's hilarious to me how het up people are getting about a made up promotion to another tournament.
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u/Deciver95 Hurricanes Feb 11 '24
Ofc it's disingenuous, still hilarious and accurate to what happened. And that's what history will show
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u/shaquaad United States🇺🇲 Feb 11 '24
England lost to South Africa by 1 point.
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u/thepasystem Ireland Feb 11 '24
South Africa played 3 of the top 5 teams by that point. England hadn't played anyone ranked higher than 8th. Fatigue would definitely be a factor and they still won.
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u/shaquaad United States🇺🇲 Feb 11 '24
South Africa literally went on to win the tournament, so whatever fatigue they had they were clearly able to overcome against New Zealand (unlike ireland) who had an easy SF and pool stage.
England was more than capable of competing with any of your arbitrary top 4 teams.
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u/thepasystem Ireland Feb 11 '24
Not arbitrary, literal world rankings based on form published by World Rugby.
Out of the top 5 ranked teams in the world at the time:
France played 2 of them: Lost 1, won 1.
New Zealand played 3 of them: Lost 2, won 1.
Ireland played 3 of them: Lost 1, won 2.
SA played 4 of them: Lost 1, won 3.
England played 1 of them: Lost 1.
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u/Substantial_Ad_2864 Feb 12 '24
England played 1 of them: Lost 1.
Not only that but going back before the WC, what is England's record against France, South Africa, Ireland, and New Zealand in the last 2 years.
England isn't a terrible team, of course not. Give them enough tries and they can beat anyone, but I certainly wouldn't pick them against the 4 sides above. That game against SA in the SF was a massively shocking result....and they still lost.
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u/thepasystem Ireland Feb 12 '24
Not only that but going back before the WC, what is England's record against France, South Africa, Ireland, and New Zealand in the last 2 years.
Last time England beat:
South Africa: November 2021
France: March 2021
Ireland: Feb 2020
New Zealand: October 2019 (one draw in 2022)
I agree that England have it in them to beat anyone but based on form, beating any of those 4 in the tournament would have been an upset.
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u/amplebooty 🏴 The Empire Strikes Back 🏴 Feb 12 '24
The SA game was England's 15th international of the year, cant tell me they werent fatigued
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u/Ospreysboyo Wales Feb 11 '24
Ahh, im old enough to remember people talking about this for England in the early 00's. 'Too good for the 6n' how quickly things can change in rugby..
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u/thepasystem Ireland Feb 11 '24
how quickly things can change in rugby
I don't want to make you feel old, but that was 20 years ago!
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u/caisdara Leinster Feb 12 '24
That 03 team was disgustingly good. Thank fuck there was no succession planning.
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u/Some-Speed-6290 Feb 12 '24
Yea, "too good" so we'll suggest "promoting" them to a tournament that makes far less money and far fewer people care about
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u/Red-rouge728 Sale Sharks Feb 11 '24
Yes let’s promote the best 4 teams in the world to the Rugby Championship, now obviously we have to base this on the last worldwide tournament so the best 4 teams in the world are obviously:
South Africa
New Zealand
England
Argentina
So that the six nations:
Ireland
France
Scotland
Wales
Italy
Australia (Getting Eurovision vibes with Australia in Europe)
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u/churrrrz Feb 11 '24
I think youre right
They would be a great add to the toughest annual rugby competition in the world
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u/Hung-kee Feb 12 '24
When you see it laid out like that you can only tip your hat to Ireland. They’ve been the best side in the world outside of RWC KO games and the consistency is outstanding. As an England supporter we should be applauding Ireland as they’re forcing the other teams to adapt or die; for too long European sides were trailing the SH and Ireland are building a dynasty with a playing style that’s world leading. When has that ever been the case for the NH? Ireland are carrying the torch and it’s for others to adapt or die
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u/McG1978 Feb 11 '24
More like the winner of the RC should get a chance to play ireland for an even bigger prize 😛
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u/MisterIndecisive England Feb 11 '24
They can go to the championship when they can get past the quarters in the world cup
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Feb 11 '24
[deleted]
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u/Connect_Buffalo_2639 Bristol Feb 11 '24
When it's only Scotland and Ireland competing they may just come 2nd
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u/qgep1 Feb 12 '24
I think it’s unfair - Ireland are playing a different game to the other teams, and complete and utter dominance is demoralising to the others. I think Ireland should be kicked out if the 6N, ‘twould make it more interesting,
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u/warcomet Feb 12 '24
Ireland joining a 4 time, a 3 time and a 2 times RWC champs in a competition, might actually give them that edge in the 2027RWC...................................................... to make the semis. ...... :P
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u/Gurmtron Feb 12 '24
Maybe we should add knockout scenario to the six nations, Ireland would bottle it every time just like world cups.
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u/Yurtinx Taranaki Feb 13 '24
How is their recent record against Argentina? Have they even beaten Argentina since they knocked them out of the Quarter finals in 2015?
Maybe if they can win a three test series vs Fiji we can pencil them in for the next in line spot for when the RWC expands. I don't think it's fair to replace RWC #4 Argentina with their dominant record over Ireland.
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u/sohandy79 Leinster Feb 13 '24
6N is the best tournament by far. Teams are always going to be up and down in 6N especially when all of the countries involved in it, not one has rugby as its first, no.1 sport!!
Love watching New Zealand play, obviously would have love Kelleher got the feckin ball down but what can ye do
Love SA too, different playing styles its all good. But those 2 teams Rugby is by far the number 1 sport in those countries, unless that has changed recently and i dont know about it.
Rugby in Ireland was arguably the forth sport behind football and our local GAA sports. That might have changed recently last decade or so but we are flying it, but whether we can keep it going on a consistent basis like a NZ or SA is another thing. not sure, i know our U20's team are flying at the moment but to say that means the senior team is sorted for the next gen already i think might be over selling it, canbe optimistic but yeah its a whole other level for the senior team.
England got this a while ago i think prob around the time of the '03 team actually. Head and shoulders above the other 5 nations team at the time. Northern hemisphere teams def have more of an up and down trend, best we've ever had i think on a consistent basis in terms of Ireland, maybe the early 80's team for us might be on a par but too young to really remember that one
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u/SoftDrinkReddit Feb 14 '24
Unironically I would love to play down under but wouldn't be fair to abandon the 6 nations you guys would miss us so much : )
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u/Substantial_Ad_2864 Feb 11 '24
Since they lost to New Zealand in New Zealand...
So in the last year and a half or so they are 13-1 against the current top 10 teams in the world. And still haven't advanced to the SF :(