All posts in category Ireland

Les Kiss Me Quick

Before the start of the Six Nations, we did a litle bit of exploring into Ireland’s coaching structure v2.0. We weren’t too impressed with the notion that divvying up attack duties between the defence, video and kicking coaches was a good idea. We described it as a patched-up coaching team, but also acknowledged how important this aspect of the team was for Ireland, and thought it would be the difference between a good and bad championship.

Additionally, Gert Smal cried off injured with a mystery eye problem (we’re unsure if it’s the same one Dave Pearson has) and Axel Foley was borrowed from Munster to take over the forwards. Of the 2009 Dream Team, only Deccie and Les Kiss remained, and yet Ireland look invigorated by the new approach.

Attack: in the committee we trust

Amazingly, a Holy Trinity of videos, tees and defence is a better attack coach than Gaffney. It didn’t look too hot on paper, and took 120 minutes of rugby to start to come together, but Ireland’s attack is much improved. The Randwick Loop and lateral shovelling that characterised 2010 and 2011 have been replaced by a much sleaker animal.

It’s not that complicated. Ireland have a pod of forwards in front of a bank of backs who are coming onto the ball from deep, and at pace. What makes the whole thing work is nothing so mysterious as accurate passing. Johnny Sexton’s distribution has been excellent, and those around him have been up to task, and not all of them have two numbers on their back. It was Stephen Ferris who put Trimble away for his try against Scotland, and Peter O’Mahony went scrum half at one stage in the second half and spun a wristy, accurate pass out in front of Sexton who was at least 15m away. Some skillset.

Defence: something had to give

Yes, we have conceded more tries, but have much of that is down to the absence of “himself ” (Copyright Gerry Thornley) and how much to the defence coach double jobbing? We’ll never know, but JJV Davies second try would surely not have happened with Drico at 13 (and with two good shoulders).

It’s somewhat inevitible that defence would suffer a little with Kiss that little bit stretched. Hopefully he will have enough time in his busy schedule to give the otherwise outstanding Rob Kearney a few lessons in cover tackling.

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Forwards: Axel’s stock on the rise

Naturally, it’s hard to know exactly how much to credit Foley with, but it’s pretty plain that Ireland’s set piece and breakdown work have improved noticeably from the opening game against Wales.

We were legitimately concerned about Ireland’s lineout going into the Scotland game, and according to Keith Wood, Donnacha Ryan was very nervous early in the week over the added burden of lineout calling. That the set piece worked so well is a feather in the cap for Axel (as well as credit to Ryan himself). Similarly, Ireland’s scrum was dominant for much of the match. Scotland are no heavyweight scrummagers, but it continued a decent campaign for the front row. L’icing sur la cake was the tidy set-piece try from Best – precisely the sort of set piece move that brings a smile to the coach’s face when executed so efficiently (though Muddy Wulliams says it’s an old Ulster trick).

Among the many ills of the Welsh game was a lack of aggression at the ruck. This, too, has been successfully banished in the last three games, with the most visible improvement being in Paris, when Ireland looked almost feral at the breakdown – a little too feral for Dave Pearson’s liking perhaps, but still.

It all augurs well for Foley himself. Nobody’s actually sure whether or not Smal is returning to the fold, and it’s pretty obvious the IRFU see Foley performing this role at some stage in the future. His credentials as head coach of Munster next season have been given a timely shot in the arm.

On to Twickers…

All in all then, a pretty good report card. Ireland look to be going places for the first time in three years. The performance graph is positive, with each performance being better than the last for four games in a row now (starting from a low base, admittedly); in stark contrast to the long swathes of dire-ness followed by one stand-out performance.

What we would like to see in Twickers is simple: the same aggressive up-and-in defence that will force England’s boshers into contact (not that they would look for space anyway), but crucially, lets Ireland dictate the first tackle. England’s carriers run pretty straight (Oooooooooooohhh!) and Farrell’s primary option seems to be the inside pass – it should be pretty readable stuff. If Ireland can repeat the ferocity of our rucking against France, they have a good chance. We have piles more invention in attack than England, but, as always, need to match them up front to earn the right to show it.

There’s a lot at stake in Twickenham. If Ireland pull off a win, it’s a decent championship and a proper upward curve heading into the series in New Zealand. But lose and it’s Ireland’s worst campaign since the one where Eddie walked – seems harsh to say it, but losing to Wales has left us in that position.

It will still take a monumental effort to get a win on the summer tour, especially at the end of a long, tough season. Last time we went over there, we were forced to play Ed O’Donoghue – let’s hope the big players stay fit. Oh, and if Deccie would pick our best XV for once that would be nice too.

by whiffofcordite on March 14, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Axel Foley, Deccie Kidney, Ireland, Les Kiss

Posted by whiffofcordite on March 14, 2012

https://whiffofcordite.com/2012/03/14/les-kiss-me-quick/

Five things we learned from this week’s Six Nations

Another week, another set of bogus predictions from the Whiff of Cordite boys. I only hope all our loyal readers have been going to the bookies to lay exactly what we’ve been forecasting. Wales to cut loose, Ireland to win a tight game and France to beat England. Erm…

Ireland’s attack: now with 40% more penetration

Before the tournament, the one thing we asked – begged! – for was to see Ireland’s attack improve. Credit to Deccie and Kiss; they have delivered. Ireland look a threat with ball in hand now, and the flat, lateral play that characterised Ireland over the last couple of seasons has been largely dispatched – 13 tries in four games, and no fewer than two in any match, tells its own story. It said a lot that even after a nervy, ponderous start, Ireland were willing to go to the corner with an early penalty, and take the game to the Scots. It’s been a collective effort, but two players who deserve particular credit are Rob Kearney and Keith Earls. Kearney’s counter-attacking has been a joy to watch, and Keith Earls has shown himself to be up to the job at 13.

Wales slam-in-waiting has echoes of Ireland in 2009

Wales have effectively won the Championship, barring a ridiculous set of results next week. Their journey to the Grand Slam has been reminiscent of Ireland in 2009 – opening with an impressive flourish in the first match, before regressing a little with every game. Ireland relied on an accurate kicking game, while Wales have fallen back on their power. It’s almost as if they’ve bought into the press’ fawning over the size of their backline. No side that wins a Six Nations deserves to be sniffily treated, and less so one that wins a Grand Slam, as Wales surely will. They are the best selected, best coached, and it would appear, fittest, team in the competition, but this is not a vintage championship. Ireland, and indeed England, will not see them as especially superior, and are entitled to have some regrets.

Just how awesome is Richie Gray?

Very is the answer. Watching Scotland on Saturday was a little bit like watching Italy in recent times, when one player is just so much better than all his team-mates. Gray was physically and metaphorically head and shoulders above anyone else in a navy shirt, and indeed many in green. His try was a thing of beauty – Bob Kearney is getting some stick for buying Gray’s dummy, but Gray combined the dummy with a subtle change of angle and pace, and it was that, as much as anything, which did for Kearney. At times you felt he should step in at 10 to give Wee Greig a break – he most probably has the skills for it.

Gallic shrugs for all

It’s pretty clear France aren’t very engaged in this tournament. We thought they would stroll it, so mea culpas all round, but they just don’t seem too bothered. When they look like they might be embarrassing themselves, they step it up for a while (last quarter vs. Scotland, third quarter vs. Ireland, last 10 minutes vs. England), but generally aren’t too concerned. Why might this be? Well, PSA was roundly congratulated for his continuity, contrasting with Lievremont’s selections, but that has a flip side. Firstly, they were all physically and emotionally drained after the RWC. Secondly, the team’s key players are from Toulouse, Clermont and Biarritz – three teams with key months ahead, for differing reasons.

The rumour mill is already rife that Yachvili (and the FFR) would prefer to be with Biarritz to save them from relegation rather than devote time to Les Bleus. At the other end, Clermont are aiming for a unique double – and expect to see the Aurelien Rougerie we are used to and not the ponderous and disinterested passenger of the 6N when Les Jaunards pitch up in Lahndan in April. It’s not that the national jersey means nothing, it’s that these men can only give so much; and being a Basque, Catalan or Auvergnat is equally as important as being French.

And by the by, for a nation which professes to be in love with the drop goal, they’ve been utterly useless at them in this competition.

Lancaster’s investment in youth has paid off

England might have looked desperate at times, but they have done what they have needed to do, and, but for Mike Brown’s inability to fix a man, would be playing for the Championship this weekend. Lancaster tore up the tired old script and gave youth its head, and he has been rewarded. England are improving with every game, and it’s down to Owen Farrell (20), Manu Tuilagi (20), Ben Morgan (23), Alex Corbisiero (23), Chris Robshaw (23) and Brad Barritt (25). The youngsters are beginning to look comfortable in their surroundings, and England look in decent shape all of a sudden.

The test will of course come in adversity. Johnno tore up a pretty successful playbook after getting hockeyed by Ireland last year, and the result was a farcical RWC. England have their nemesis of recent times, a rejuvenated Ireland, up next, then a three test tour of South Africa at the end of a draining season. If their performances hold up, they don’t ship any heavy beatings, and they get two wins (or one if it comes in SA) from those four, England will have come through a very tough time to get to a pretty good place.

by whiffofcordite on March 12, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in England, France, Gallic Shrugs, Ireland, Richie Gray, Six Nations, Wales are overrated

Posted by whiffofcordite on March 12, 2012

https://whiffofcordite.com/2012/03/12/five-things-we-learned-from-this-weeks-six-nations/

The Cup, the Plate and the Bowl

A non-vintage Six Nations campaign is heading for a straightforward blitz-tournmanent style finale. In the last week, Wales and France will meet to decide the championship winners (The Cup). England and Ireland will play for the Plate, or third place, and Italy and Scotland will tough it out for the Bowl (or to avoid the wooden spoon).

The Cup

Some of the mythology around the enormous Welsh backline was exposed this weekend. Mike Phillips got overly involved in a fight with the English backrow, and Wales never looked like getting around England, so they just kept trying to go through them. Getting into a boshfest with the Kings of Bosh is a risky game, and Wales were in a tight spot for much of the afternoon. In the end they had just enough class to win out, with one of their smaller backs, reserve centre Scott Williams (weighing in at a puny 97kgs) coming up with a dash of brilliance to win it. The Triple Crown is in the bag, and they are in a good position to deliver the slam, with France coming to Cardiff.

Here in Ireland we love nothing more than fawning over the French. We’re spellbound by their pristine blue shirts, intimidated by their scrummaging power, awestruck by their handling skills, and swooning over Morgan Parra’s classic good looks. But for all their Gallic genius, they rarely play all that well. Truth is, they’re masters of just doing enough (unless they are playing New Zealand). Not much has really changed under the new coach. Sure, the selection is consistent, but the mentality is harder to shift. France sleepwalked through the first 25 minutes here, and while their two tries were brilliant, there was no sustained greatness. Trouble is, they are usually good for one outstanding performance a series. One of Ireland, England or Wales will get it.

The Plate

England: played three, two tries, both chargedowns. They’ve Strettle, Ashton and Foden in the back three, but they can’t service them with three midfielders with the distribution skills of combine harvesters. Brad Barritt fought gamely again, and he’s not a bad player, but the lines of attack are too predictable. For all that they probably scored a good try at the death, and after last week’s bottling exploits for his club, we’d all have loved to see the theatre of the last-kick wide conversion from Toby Flood to save a draw. Two players who won’t enjoy looking at the tape this morning are Courtney Lawes, whose upright carrying style led directly to the Welsh try, and Mike Brown, who failed to fix his man with the non-try scoring pass to Strettle, and gave him an awful lot to do, when a stroll in was possible.

Declan Kidney is starting to get the hang of this newfangled ‘bench’ thing that other people keep banging on about it. We’d heard of it ourselves, but weren’t quite sure what it was. Turns out you can replace players during the game, sometimes even improving the side by bringing off a guy who’s tiring or not playing great and putting another player in his position. Who knew? All the talk this week will be that Ryan and Reddan should be starting in Paris (they won’t). Both players are getting a raw deal. Ryan is clearly the superior player at 4 to O’Callaghan, and is probably among Ireland’s best performers in the series so far, and it appears Reddan has never really earned the trust of the management. He started their two best performances last year, and was influential in both, but found himself overlooked ever since. Dropping a young player like Murray after two poor performances is not an easy call, but you feel that if Ireland are to have any – any! – chance of winning, Reddan needs to play.

The Bowl

Hard times for Scotland, who have improved out of sight this year, without getting the results to show for it. Their handling and offloading was terrific yesterday. Management are culpable for some outrageously bad team selections. How was it that Hogg, Laidlaw and Blair had to wait until the third game in the series to take to the pitch together? Still, credit needs to go to them for making the changes. Scotland look like a team who might just win a few … if they can just win one.

It’s proving a difficult season for Italy, who haven’t really improved as much as people are letting on. They were much more competitive last year, when they should have beaten Ireland and Wales, and toppled France. The wooden spoon beckons methinks, as Scotland look to have too much for them – thouh they can be a different proposition in Rome.

It’s not been a classic series so far by any means, which had us wondering when there last was a classic Six Nations. Wales’ and Ireland’s grand slams in 2008 and 2009 were up against mediocre post-World Cup fields (France were off experimenting). The best in recent times is probably 2007’s tournament, when strong France and Ireland sides went toe to toe, with France securing the Championship with the last play of the game against Scotland. It’s been a while…

by whiffofcordite on February 27, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in 22 Man Game, England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Six Nations, Wales

Posted by whiffofcordite on February 27, 2012

https://whiffofcordite.com/2012/02/27/the-cup-the-plate-and-the-bowl/

Mythbusters!

One of our readers sent us a question on Facebook last week – wow, we really feel we’ve arrived now that we can write that! It was none other than Ronan Lyons, and he asked us:

I’ve stumbled on to an opinion and would like to pass it by some people who actually understand and watch rugby. Have there been two Sean O’Briens over the last 18 months? The one that played up to and including the match against Australia in RWC, who steam-rolled all before him, and the one who has played from the Wales game on, a good player but not one to set the world alight.

We, and others, chipped in with a few possible reasons: that Seanie is maybe a bit knackered, and that, to an extent, teams have found ways of curbing his impact, in particular by tackling him low around the ankles. The most pertinent reason, though, was that O’Brien has had to defer some of his carrying duties to get involved in the dirty work in and around the ruck area. Ireland essentially have three carriers in the backrow, and one of them has to sacrifice their natural game. In New Zealand, it was Jamie Heaslip who did this, but against Wales two weeks ago, he had a hugely effective game carrying the ball, while O’Brien appeared to be playing the role of ‘fetcher’.

The answer being inextricably linked to the make-up of Ireland’s backrow gives us an opportunity to look at two myths that keep coming up around the make-up of the Irish team.

Myth 1. Ireland need a ‘genuine openside’. Without one, our backrow will always struggle.

Myth 2. Ireland’s backs are too small. We should we be putting larger fellows into midfield to compete with the likes of Wales.

Both these myths are reactionary, after recent Irish defeats – both to Wales, as it happens. In the World Cup quarter-final Sam Warburton wreaked havoc at the breakdown, continually slowed down the Irish ball, which stopped their attack at source. Quick ball is the lifeblood of any team, and as we tend to drone on, you could have world class backs from 9 to 15, but if you don’t got quick ball, you won’t see them do much.

Fast forward to now and Wales’ giant three-quarter line have smashed apart Ireland and Scotland. France also have a pretty large back line. Ireland have had ten years of success with quick-footed, diminutive centres (Drico, Dorce and, errrr, Paddy Wallace), and the next in line have similar stature (Earls, McFadden, O’Malley). Is it time for Ireland to look at a new approach and draft in bigger men to play centre?

Waiter! Fetch me some world class 7s on a plate!

The claim that Ireland would be improved by a terrific 7 isn’t without merit. Ireland’s backrow isn’t balanced, for sure. It’s all carriers and no groundhog. Of course we’d love a world class fetcher in there. But amid the clamour from various media pundits (George Hook is like a broken record ) a few key imperatives need to be borne in mind.

You can only play what you have available. The best natural 7 in the country is Shane Jennings, at Leinster. He is a fine provincial player, but even his most ardent fans (we would count ourselves among them) would struggle to make a case for him as a first rate international player. He is in the Leinster Heineken Cup team about 50% of the time these days. Dominic Ryan looks to have some of the key components of a 7, but he’s what we would call a ‘six and a half’, a guy who has some attributes of a 6, and some of a 7. Peter O’Mahony has filled the 7 jersey for Munster, but he’s definitely more of a 6 – he’s too tall to be a dedicated groundhog, though he is a fine breakdown operator. We can’t simply manufacture world-class opensides overnight.

Contrary to popular belief, not every successful team has a genuine 7. New Zealand have McCaw, Wales have Warburton, and so on, but World Cup finalists and Six Nations favourites France don’t. Indeed, the French seem to have a totally different view of how the backrow should look, and it’s worked out well enough for them. They typically set up with a ball-carrier at number 8 (Picamoles, Harinordoquy), and on either flank (it normally doesn’t matter which) station a lineout forward (Bonnaire, Harinordoquy, Jean Bouilhou at Toulouse) and a wrecking ball (Dusatoir, Gorgodze at Montpellier). Sometimes the guy playing on the openside is the guy you’d think would be on the blindside. Sometimes they switch positions. It can get a bit confusing but one thing’s for sure, there ain’t no dedicated fetcher in the French team.

The solution? It’s the gameplan, stupid. Each of Ireland’s starting backrowers are great players in their own right, and none of the alternatives at 7 look good enough to unseat the incumbents. The question is, how can Ireland get the best out of them? We’d suggest they try reduce the number of one-out-from-the-ruck rumbles in to contact, and to offload the ball a lot more than they’re currently doing. This keeps the ball off the floor, and reduces the number of times Ireland have to fight off the likes of Sam Warburton at rucks.

On top of that, it’s a great counter to the low ‘chop tackles’ that defenders are employing to take down the likes of O’Brien and Ferris. The chop tackles leave the carrier with his arms free to get the offload away. That’s the cost of tackling low – and if you don’t make the defender pay it, you’re giving him a free lunch. Leinster have had huge success with their offloading game, where Sean Cronin and Richard Strauss are experts at timing trailer runs onto offloads from Jamie Heaslip, Nathan Hines (last year) and latterly, Rob Kearney. Ulster have developed their game in this direction too – witness Wannenbosh’s sumptuous offload leading to Craig Gilroy’s try against Leicester.

If Ireland are to adopt this approach they’ll need more tight forwards who can handle the ball – Dan Tuohy would be a real option here, and Sean Cronin would need to be sprung from the bench more readily. Of course, you can’t offload every time, and it goes without saying that Ireland need to be phenomenally aggressive when it comes to clearing out rucks – this is something all the provinces excel at; the personnel are there to do it.

Where the deuce is the beef?!

With BOD injured and Dorce pushing on, Ireland’s midfield is in need of renovating anyway – and after the Wales game there have been no shortage of calls to beef it up with size. Bowe to 13 is one much-touted option (Fankie and Brent are in favour), while Oooooooooooohh James Downey is a possibility as a crash-ball 12. A few wrong-headed shouts for O’Brien or Ferris to convert to centre have even been seen on internet fora. It seems the nation is suddenly obsessed with the size of the Irish backs – there’s even a thread on boards.ie called ‘Can Ireland play good attacking rugby in the future without huge centres?’

Size Isn’t Everything. That’s what she said. But again, Ireland have to cut their cloth to what’s available. The only big options at centre are Tommy Bowe and James Downey. There are no Jamie Roberts’ or Aurelien Rougeries just lying around gathering dust. Bowe has very little experience at 13 – which is considered the hardest to defend on the pitch – and has enough to worry about at the moment with his patchy form. As for Downey, well if he was good enough for international rugby it’s highly unlikely he’d be sitting on the Northampton bench behind Tom May. Just because players are big doesn’t make them good. Roberts, Davies and Rougerie are great centres not because they’re big, but because they’re good footballers. Simon Danielli has similar physical stats to George North – but nothing in the way of his skill levels. Good back play is still about football skills and lines of running – look where England have got over the last decade with any number of beefcake boshers in the backline. Lesley Vainikolo anyone? Matt Banahan? Altogether now: Ooooooooooooooooooohhhh!

Erm, it’s the gameplan again, stupid.

People need to forget about what we haven’t got, and look a bit more at what we have. As we noted a few weeks ago, a midfield of McFadden and Earls would have plenty of running threat, and plenty of pace. We need to build a plan of attack, and build it around the players’ strengths, not retreating behind fears about the size of players. As the always incisive Emmet Byrne said on Off the Ball last week, we need to look at how we can hurt teams with what we have, instead of just hoping our defence will squeeze enough mistakes out of the opposition.

It’s much the same with all our problems: the unbalanced backrow, the uncertainty at half-back, the size of our centres, the unchanging selections: they’d all be a lot less problematic if we played with a clearly identifiable, cohesive and well executed gameplan that everyone on the team bought into.

by whiffofcordite on February 20, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Giant Centres, Groundhogs, Ireland, Oooooooohhh, Pope Benedeccie

Posted by whiffofcordite on February 20, 2012

https://whiffofcordite.com/2012/02/20/mythbusters/

Sergeant Deccie’s Lonely Hearts Committee

We don’t normally do long and winding posts, but we have given some structure to a shared stream of conciousness that has been around for about 24 hours now. Lets see how it plays out…

Look at yourself first

Ok, so this is meant to be the piece where we castigate the management for another insipid Irish performance. And it will be. Oh yes. But first we have to castigate ourselves. We were overconfident. We looked at the Welsh tight five and saw four first team names missing and fairly ordinary replacements. We saw Roberts and Priestland only just back from injury. We didn’t really rate Priestland anyway (turns out we were right on that one), but we saw the excellent (and huge) back 5 and figured, surely they won’t get enough good ball to figure?

But much more criminally, we dared to hope that all the talk of a new gameplan would come to fruition. What fools! Have we learned nothing!? We also got suckered in to thinking that the provincial success would somehow feed into the Irish team. And we call ourselves rugby nerds? Lordy. We weren’t taken for complete fools though – we expressed scepticism over the committee in charge of attack – but we hoped. Boy do we feel foolish now.

What’s wrong with Ireland?

Just what is the matter with Ireland? Why do they look so… average? For the last two years Ireland have been generally poor, only rising above the torpor on sporadic, often emotionally-driven occasions. Is George Hook’s theory about the natural openside (get that Gick lad away from his textbooks and straight into the team, right George?) correct? Are we picking the right halfbacks? Is our backline too small? Should Donncha have started?

Most of the above are neither here nor there. In truth our problems look more deeply rooted – the mini centres do fine for Leinster, all four halves in the squad have played well this season and all three provinces have managed fine thanks very much without a fetcher at 7. And as for Donncha … well, we’ve been there.

There just doesn’t seem to be any plan of attack. On Sunday we saw downtown kicking, Garryowens and box kicks repeatedly deployed. This was in spite of a lot of talk beforehand of ball-in-hand attacking. Sexton’s long kicking to the back three was frequently ordinary, but his Garryowens were pretty accurate, and Kearney and Bowe are highly effective chasers, but they still only give you at best a 50% chance of retaining possession. Conor Murray is a fine kicker of the ball, but didn’t have his best day on Sunday, and there are entire countries where box kicking of turnover ball would see you dropped, no questions asked.

Jamie Heaslip and Andrew Trimble managed to get themselves going forward on the end of some good ball, but the barnstorming flankers of the HEC were anonymous, and Cian Healy barely touched the ball in the loose.

The sad thing is that attack seems to be something of an afterthought for Ireland. Contrast with defence, where Les Kiss proved ahead of the rest of the world in innovating the choke tackle, as well as using line-shooters in 2009 to great effect. Ireland’s defence has looked calculated, programmed and solid for most of the last three years – but not on Sunday [Should BOD have been sharing some of Kiss’s plaudits over the last 3 years?].

In attack the opposite has been the case. The majority of the backline is provided by Leinster, where the players are familiar with working with Joe Schmidt, one of the best coaches of backs in the world and by all accounts highly demanding in terms of accuracy and execution. From there they come into a system with no recognised attack coach, and where sloppiness (so much dropped ball) and comfort zones (you’re picked again anyway) are ingrained. Since Gaffney departed, the role has been taken over by a four-man committee of the defence coach, the kicking coach, the video analyst, and Deccie himself. It looks like Ireland play to choke tackle the life out of teams and hope to grind out enough points to finish just ahead on the scoreboard. They rarely go out and take the game to teams.

Interestingly, Matty Williams has been banging the drum for a while that Gaffney actually had very litle influence on attack, while Kiss had Deccie’s ear. We assumed Matty was just standing up for his mate (which he was) but there appears to have been at least a grain of truth to his claims. Now that the Gaffney hook has been slung, it appears what Matt said was happening behind the scenes has been formalised.

Surely the small matter of attack requires a dedicated specialist? Either the IRFU and Deccie think the Committee is doing a good enough job that there was no need to source one, or they tried and failed to get an established name on board. The delay in hiring a team manager was apparently due to the difficulty of working with Deccie – interesting, and worrying. Was the job offered to someone who turned it down? And if so, why? Was it due to the ill-defined nature of Kiss’ role? There was surely ample time to hire someone if they wanted to.

Do Ireland have The Mental?

For all that Ireland played poorly, they still should have won. Six points up with five minutes on the clock is a position you should close out. Leinster, Ulster or Munster would not have lost the match in those circumstances. Ireland took the wrong decision to go for a penalty that was out of Sexton’s range, and were passive in the penultimate phase of play, where Wales marauded 60m up the pitch and won the match-winning penalty. Compare with the mania with which Munster went through 50,000 phases to set up ROG’s drop goal against Northampton, or the way 14-man Leinster defended the line against Glasgow. You just knew they’d hold out. The same intensity just doesn’t seem to be there in the green shirt.

Is Kidney’s management working?

‘You can’t really give them a reason why they are out. I remember telling one or two lads that. I said “If I was to tell you a reason I’d be trying to justify my decision.”’

The above is a quotation from the grand slam book where Kidney described the process of telling players they’re left out. Kidney, by his own admission, tries to give little away. Donncha’s recent autobiography described how Kidney seeks to keep players on their toes, and often in the dark as to his thinking. It works for some players, doubtless, but the modern professional surely needs more than a slippery cute-hoorish platitude – he needs goals, boundaries and targets. It’s fine for Paulie, BOD and ROG, who probably don’t listen anyway, but how can Donnacha Ryan or Fergus McFadden expect to come in and wing it? How can they set themselves defined goals without any organisational feedback?

At Leinster, where over half the starting 15 play, Joe Schmidt is, according to various player interviews, very forthright with the players, telling them in detail why they haven’t got the nod and what they need to do to get picked. The players, we understand, hugely appreciate his honesty. You have to wonder if Deccie’s handling of the players, successful as it’s been in the past, is really getting the best out of the current group.

Where to next?

Well, Paris obviously, where Ireland have won twice since 1954. Even a performance of the calibre of those against England in the Aviva or Australia in Eden Park won’t suffice. Hell, even a performance like Leinster in last years HEC semi-final may not suffice. Changes-wise, one would expect Ryan to be rewarded for his painful cameo, and for Earls to slot back in. The thought of Wesley Fofana’s razor sharp mind and lightning feet in Earls’ channel off easy ball do not bear thinking about, but it’s going to happen.

But that’s by the by. What is really needed is a new broom, fresh thinking. The Ireland team are asleep at the wheel, firmly ensconced in the comfort zone. The kick in the behind should either come from Deccie at training, or Deccie at selection. After all, Deccie is CEO, and the buck stops with him. The players havea role to play here as well – they don’t show the type of urgency Wales do. Granted, there is no competition for places – does Tommy Bowe really think Dave Kearney will take his shirt? How about SOB – does he think he needs to give an extra 2% to fend off Padre O’Mahoney? We aren’t advocating either of these switches by the way, but there are a few players going through the motions, playing at levels that would not be acceptable at provincial level.

On the bright side, we haven’t felt as pessimistic since after the USA match, and we all know what happened next! Noooo!!! The hope! Its the hope that kills you!

by whiffofcordite on February 7, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Deccie Kidney, Ireland

Posted by whiffofcordite on February 7, 2012

https://whiffofcordite.com/2012/02/07/sergeant-deccies-lonely-hearts-committee/

Six Nations Week 1: Wayne (Barnes)’s World

Week 1 has passed, and nothing really has changed. France are still great, England are still rubbish, Ireland still have no gameplan, Scotland can’t score tries, Wales are quite useful and Italy don’t win away.

But we decided to flesh out the above into something more concrete instead. Our Week 1 Review, split by champions and old nags:

The Winners’ Enclosure

France

A four try win with a minimum of fuss is a reasonable start for France. They didn’t look any great shakes for large stretches, but late in the second half you could see them start to enjoy themselves. Wesley Fofana had a good debut, and his partnership with Rougerie is going to cause a lot of teams a lot of problems. Louis Picamoles was transformed from a pussy cat at the World Cup to his wrecking ball best here. Happily for France, their favourite opponenets, Ireland are coming to town for their habitual beating next week. The fixture list is set up nicely, and the final game against Wales could be a decider.

Happiness Index: 3/5 – decent start to the new campaign, but the French public will demand a more complete performance next week

England

Ugh, that didn’t make for pleasant viewing. New players, new captain, new gameplan… but the song remains the same. It’s reassuring to see some things never change, and England just can’t fall out of love with the bosh. Their backrow was thouroughly outplayed, and only when Morgan came on did they have any decent carrier on the pitch, but they defended doggedly and allowed Scotland to shoot themselves in the foot just enough to win the game. For a scratch team it’s not the worst of starts, but going to a passionate Stadio Olimpico in Rome will be tough. The media loved it though – Stephen Jones was even saying how good Botha, Dowson and Farrell were.

Happiness Index: 3/5 – one away win in the locker, if they can get another next week they are looking at a successful championship

Wales

Missing four tight forwards, losing Warburton at half time, and with Rhys ‘Toto Schillachi’ Priestland having a shocker, you’d think the writing was on the wall. But oh me oh my, what a group of matchwinners these guys have. A sensational backrow, and the biggest, bruisingest, and skilfulest backs in the competition. Roberts looked short of form, but Jonathan Davies boshed hole after hole in the Irish defence, while George North looks like the player of the age. Hard running, clean lines, great angles.

Happiness Index: 5/5 – Wales will be thrilled. Gatty once again outfoxed Kidney and is a shoo-in for the Lions job. Scotland at home next, and a great chance to build momentum.

The Losers Corner

Ireland:

Gerry Ending: Blind Dave Pearson! *foam* Wayne Barnes!! *froth* Les Kiss does know how to run an attack!!! *thumps desk* Mother Deccie of Kidcutta!!!!

Farmer Farrelly Ending: Sexton missed kicks! *thumps desk* Miniscule Leinster centres!! *foam* Where is Ooooooooooohhh James Downey!!! *froth* Padre PiO’Mahoney!!!!

Mega ~~Happy~~ Honest Ending: Ireland were like pussycats at ruck time – only substitute Donnacha Ryan attempted to slow Welsh ball, and he got speared for his troubles. Without BOD, Ireland were clueless at the breakdown, and clueless on how to play. Oh how we hoped the noises about an actual gameplan were true – why we believed them is another thing. The personnel sweep all before them in Europe at provincial level, but look like befuddled fools in a green shirt – it’s time for some coaching please. And by coaching, we don’t mean putting the video analyst in charge of attack.

Happiness Index: 1/5 – very difficult to see how Ireland can have a good championship from here. Paris beckons. Tomorrow we’ll be looking in more depth at Ireland’s woes.

Scotland:

Now, this is a tough one. Yes, Scotland lost in desperate fashion. Yes, they butchered countless chances. Yes, Robbo did select Dan Parks, who will surely never play for his country, or Scotland, again. And yet. We felt there were some chinks of light. When the Embra halves came on after 55 odd minutes, they played with real speed and purpose. The laughable handling of the players outside killed a lot of moves, but in at least some cases, they were genuinely unfamiliar with the whole “gainline” thing Greg Laidlaw was at and had to reach for flat passes. And the Scottish back row were brilliant, Ross Rennie’s mastery of ruck time harking back to the days of JJ and Finlay Calder. Robbo made a serious boo-boo in picking this team, and confidence is no doubt rock bottom, but they might actually have something to build on – if Laidlaw gets picked to start, Scotland might actually have *whisper* a platform.

Happiness index: 2/5 – at least they’ll get the right team on the pitch now. All is not lost, but that was a huge opportunity blown

Italy:

An 18 point defeat was within the bookies pre-match spread and Italy will be happy with that. Granted, the French barely broke sweat, but this was a match Italy were never going to win – what they needed was to leave Paris with their dignity intact. And they did that. They looked pretty breezy, contributed to a good quality and open match, and looked kind of rejuvenated. Clearly, without a 10, they are going to struggle, but they have a great back row, a good coach, a decent pair of centres and, now, a spring in their step. In terms of next week, they got the ideal result from England – an absolutely dire performance with a win, which means few changes are likely. Italy have never beaten England, but they will be waiting in the long grass of the Stadio Olimpico this Saturday.

Happiness Index: 3/5 will feel they’ve a good chance of grinding England into the dirt

by whiffofcordite on February 6, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Ireland, Italy, Pope Benedeccie, Scotland, Six Nations

Posted by whiffofcordite on February 6, 2012

https://whiffofcordite.com/2012/02/06/six-nations-week-1-wayne-barness-world/

Six Nations: Match Previews

After all the drama surrounding team selections, squad announcements and even refereeing appointments, the small matter of the actual games of Six Nations rugby take place this weekend. We’re looking forward to it. Now for the bit where we put ourselves in the firing line and predict what will happen.

Scotland v England

We hummed and we hawed. We saw the England squad and thought they couldn’t possibly win. Then we saw the Scotland team, with Dan Parks at 10, and thought they couldn’t possibly win. Then we cried for a bit thinking about the two hours of our lives we’d each be giving up to watch the blasted game. Then, finally, we saw the England team and went back to thinking they wouldn’t win.

This one’s all about the New England – new captain, new players, new attitude, new interim coach, new playing style. The trouble is none of it looks all that great. Mouritz Botha, Geoff Parling and Phil Dowson are adequate Boshiership journeymen rather than exciting new talents, while England appear to be looking to the least creative of the good sides in the country for their midfield (10 – 13 all Sarries!). Chris Robshaw captains the team, and he’s a good player, but looks a bit knackered and will be out of position on the openside.

Verdict: We’re going for Scotland because we just can’t see how England will be able to deliver the gameplan they’re talking about. Lancaster says they’re looking to play at a high tempo, but high tempo requires quick ball, and just who is going to serve that up? The Scottish back row will be licking their chops at the lightweight trio England have served up – Scotland to shade a dour affair.

France v Italy

France will be looking to hit the ground running and have every chance of doing so. They seem to have the right team on the pitch, something they haven’t had for some time. Louis Picamoles keeps out Harinordoquy in what looks a position of real strength (Fulgence Ouedraogo can’t even make the 22), while Trinh-Duc is welcomed back to the starting line-up, with Beauxis a handy reserve. All eyes will be on Clermont’s razor-sharp Wesley Fofana, who looks like a potential star of the tournament.

It should all be too much for Italy. The Italians were poor in the World Cup, and never looked like troubling Ireland or Australia. They just don’t travel. Their home games, now in the Stadio Olimpico, will be worth watching and they may try to keep some of their powder dry for England’s arrival there next week.

Verdict: this one is set up for France to rack up some points; we expect them to win by a couple of scores.

Ireland v Wales

Obviously, this is the most interesting game from our perspective. Even before the Welsh squad started dropping like flies, we fancied that this was a game Ireland were targetting – the noises from the squad echo those we heard prior to England in March and Australia in October. Now, with the Welsh down several front-liners, Ireland will be confident as well as motivated.

We foresee an urgent and effective Ireland performance with some tries thrown in. Wales will play a smart game and target our weaknesses (second row in the loose and Earls’ defence at 13) but it won’t be enough. Ireland really want this one, and nearly all the squad go in brimful of confidence after the HEC group stages – stark contrast to Wales.

Verdict: We don’t think Ireland will blow Wales away early like they did to England, but they will have enough. This could be quite high-scoring – the Welsh backs are more than useful – 30-20 or something. Ireland by more than a score

by whiffofcordite on February 2, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in 5 missed tackles vs Wales, England, France, Ireland, Italy, Ooooooooooooooooooohh Brad Barritt, Scotland, Six Nations, Wales

Posted by whiffofcordite on February 2, 2012

https://whiffofcordite.com/2012/02/02/six-nations-match-previews/

Keep Calm and Carry On (Picking Donncha)

Deccie announces his Six Nations squad tomorrow. It’s his first since the World Cup, in which he made a couple of bold, surprise calls for the squad. Deccie doesn’t throw too many curveballs, and tends to give as little away as possible until the actual team has to be picked for the first game, so don’t expect to learn too much tomorrow. Nonetheless, we expect a little culling around the fringes, with ageing tackle-bag holders moving aside for younger, fresher tackle-bag holders.

Last season he announced a 32-man squad as well as a 22 man Wolfhounds squad of players who were ‘still in contention for the first game’. And sure enough, Tomas O’Leary played so well in the Wolfhounds’ defeat to Scotland that he gazumped all the other scrum halves to start against Italy, where he utterly justified his selection. He must have, right, why else would they have stuck with him for the France game the week after?

Props

Senior Squad: Cian Healy, Tom Court, Tony Buckley, Mike Ross

Wolfhounds: Brett Wilkinson, Paddy McAllister, Stephen Archer

Thanks for the memories: Marcus Horan, John Hayes

Very much a case of ‘as you were’, with few alternatives emerging. Lamentably, Tony Buckley, being used mainly as an impact sub by Sale, will make another senior squad, but can expect to be on Eddie Rockets duty. Court maintains his hold on the No.17 jumper, as he can scrummage badly on both sides. Paddy McAllister looks the real deal, despite injuries curtailing his impact, but should still make the Wolfhounds. Brett Wilkinson is a mainstay at that level, and Jamie Hagan and Stephen Archer will fight it out for the last spot. It could go either way. Hayes has retired and Horan’s days as a test level prop are long since gone. There’s little point in calling him up.

Hooker

Senior Squad: Rory Best, Sean Cronin, Damian Varley

Wolfhounds: Adrian Flavin

With Flannery still out and Mike Sherry also injured, the cupboard is pretty bare beyond the first three. Varley might have to play the Wolfhounds game before joining up with the main squad. Are we missing anyone? Except Nigel Brady obviously.

Second Row

Senior Squad: Paul O’Connell, Donncha O’Callagan, Dan Tuohy, Donnacha Ryan, Devin Toner

Wolfhounds: Damian Browne, Ryan Caldwell

Thanks for the memories: Leo Cullen, Mick O’Driscoll

As we’ve already discussed at length, we can expect some change in this division, with Micko and Cullen making way for some bright young things. Ryan, Toner and Tuohy have all stepped up admirably this season, and each deserve the chance to earn caps this Spring, even if its for 4 seconds. It’ll be a case of one from the pack to partner the great O’Connell. O’Callaghan will still make the senior squad, but his place as a mainstay in the team must be under pressure, with Ryan displacing him at Munster. We suspect one of Tuohy or Toner may be sent down to help out with the Wolfhounds, before joining the main squad. Failing that, Caldwell deserves to be reminded that he’s in the picture following some abrasive performances for Bath. One hopes Paddy McAllister’s lifting of Johann Muller has given him adequate muscular power to lift Damian the Hutt.

Back row

Senior Squad: Sean O’Brien, Jamie Heaslip, Stephen Ferris, Kevin McLaughlin, Peter O’Mahony, Mike McCarthy

Wolfhounds: Chris Henry, Willie Falloon, James “Cawlin” Coughlan, Rhys Ruddock

Injured: David Wallace, Niall Ronan

Thanks for the memories: Denis Leamy, Shane Jennings

With Denis Leamy hurt, it appears injury has once again been Ireland’s best selector. It was surely time to cut the Munster reserve flanker loose anyway, as a Deccie mainstay he would probably have been called up again. Likewise, Jennings’ time has surely passed. Mike McCarthy has played some great rugby in a poor side, and Kevin McLaughlin is a solid presence and good lineout option. Peter O’Mahony has had a positive impact with Munster, and should get the call, although whether he has been better than Chris Henry (who won’t make it) is a debate for another day. All three will be scrapping for a place in the matchday squad. James Coughlan would be an ideal candidate to captain the Wolfhounds, for whom Henry must be on the verge of breaking some kind of appearance record.

Scrum Half

Senior Squad: Eoin Reddan, Conor Murray, Isaac Boss

Wolfhounds: Paul Marshall, Tomas O’Leary

Thanks for the memories: Peter Stringer

Boss holds on to his squad place by his fingernails. Paul Marshall has impressed hugely, but until he’s a nailed on starter with Ulster, may find the full breakthrough elusive. Nonetheless, he deserves a chance to impress with the Wolfhounds. Tomas O’Leary has started the season where he left off, i.e. playing dreadfully, despite Quinny’s assurances to the contrary on Saturday, and looks to be falling further off the radar. [Aside: while we have been impressed with Quinny’s musings in the IT, would truth-telling about Munster players get him banished from Club Ligind?]

Out Half

Senior Squad: Johnny Sexton, Ronan O’Gara

Wolfhounds: Ewan Madeegan, Ian Keatley

Thanks for the memories, such as they were: iHumph

The senior squad-members pick themselves. In the Wolfhounds, as we’ve discussed here, it’s time for a look at the exciting talents of try-happy Ian Madigan in green. iHumph departs the scene – a talented player, but one unlikely to make the step up to test rugby.

Centres & Utility Men

Senior Squad: Gordon D’Arcy, Paddy Wallace, Fergus McFadden, Keet Earls, Darren Cave

Wolfhounds: Ian Whitten, Eoin O’Malley

Injured: Brian O’Driscoll

Yes, Paddy Wallace, but hold on for a sec …. the burning question first. Just who will play 13? We’ve been over it many times, and one thing’s for sure: we won’t find out tomorrow. We’ll come back to this issue before the team announcement, but suffice to say Keet Earls’ awful performance on Saturday didn’t do him any favours. Eoin O’Malley’s lack of recent gametime is likely to leave him out of contention, but he should get a run with the Wolfhounds. We think Paddy Wallace will just about squeeze into the squad after a successful comeback on Friday night, where he hilariously dumped Lionheart Croft into touch.

Outside Backs

Senior Squad: Luke Fitzgerald, Tommy Bowe, Rob Kearney, Andrew Trimble

Wolfhounds: Craig Gilroy, Denis Hurley, Dave Kearney, Tiernan O’Halloran

Thanks for the memories: Shane Horgan, Geordan Murphy, possibly Gavin Duffy

A big welcome back to Luke Fitzgerald, whose return to form ensures a return to the squad. He’ll be duking it out with Trimble to fill the 11 jersey, as we’re still assuming Keet will be picked in centre. Tommy Bowe and Rob Kearney are nailed on starters. Gavin Duffy could make the seniors (he generally does) as a second specialist full-back, probably at the expense of Wallace or Cave. A number of other good players are knocking on the door, but will have to settle for Wolfhounds action. O’Halloran has caught the eye, while Simon Zebo hasn’t been included in our list, but could feature. Hurley will provide security at 15.

by whiffofcordite on January 17, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Deccie Kidney, Ireland, Large Squad Gatherings, Six Nations, Thirteenwatch

Posted by whiffofcordite on January 17, 2012

https://whiffofcordite.com/2012/01/17/keep-calm-and-carry-on-picking-donncha/

Keep your eyes on… Ian Madigan

The Irish Wolfhounds play England Saxons in late January in a game that should give Deccie a chance to look at a few up-and-coming options. Who he picks to play fly-half will be of particular interest. Wolfhounds fly-half may sound inconsequential, but with Radge moving towards retirement, Deccie will most likely be looking to groom someone he feels can back up, and challenge Jonny Sexton in the near future.

The choice would appear to come down to three Ians – Humphreys, Keatley and Madigan. Humphreys has been the traditional choice for these games, and is the only one of the three that is first-choice at his province – but he’s now pushing 30 and management have made it clear that they believe his frailties are sufficient to ensure he won’t be making the step up to test level. It’s time to move on.

That leaves us with Keatley and Madigan – or Ewan Ma-dee-gan, as he will always be known to some. Keatley has already played for Ireland and has a wealth of Pro12 experience with Connacht, but Madigan’s career graph is moving consistently upwards, and continued to do so on Friday night when he bagged another try and looked assured for most of Leinster’s rout of Cardiff. Keatley, meanwhile, had the proverbial stinker in Munster’s pretty rank defeat to Ospreys.

Along with Devin Toner, Madigan is the most improved player in the Leinster squad. Last season, most Leinster fans would have regarded McKinley as the more promising of the province’s two academy graduate out-halves, but Madigan has impressed hugely this term. It is no exaggeration to say he is the best passer of a ball in the country, and his eye for a break, and pace to go with it, has seen him score four tries in six starts and four sub appearances so far. A decidedly atypical Irish pivot, he plays more in the mould of an Aussie first-five, or a French 9-cum-10.

There’s still work to do. Game management is an issue, with too many loose kicks and missed touchfinders (although he has got a big boot), and while this should improve with experience, it remains to be seen if he has ‘the mental’ to dictate a game in the manner that Jonny Sexton and Radge can. The game is littered with talented out-halves who never learn this art – think of Shane Geraghty, Ryan Lamb or even James Hook. His place-kicking has yet to be tested at Pro12 level, and we’re unlikely to see it for a while, given McFadden’s form with placed ball. On Friday, well though Madigan played, Jonny’s cameo showed him where he has to get to – could Madigan have executed the deft cross-field chip for Dave Kearney, or the 75m gain from the penalty in his own 22? The jury is still out, but with distribution skills to die for, this is one diamond that’s starting to polish up nicely.

by whiffofcordite on December 5, 2011 • Permalink

Posted in Ian Keatley, Ian Madigan, Ireland, Leinster, Munster, RaboDirect Pro12

Posted by whiffofcordite on December 5, 2011

https://whiffofcordite.com/2011/12/05/keep-your-eyes-on-ian-madigan/

RWC: Anthemwatch

With Egg and Mini Egg having sat through multiple anthems (and enjoyed some of them), it got us thinking – if the match ended after the music stopped (and, mercifully, before the Haki (plural) begin), who would take home Bill?

Let’s preview:

Favourites:

France: The clear favourite. La Marseillaise is, without any doubt, the best national anthem in the world. Even for non-Frenchies, it makes the spine tingle, and is so republican, it would induce Mike Tindall to start sharpening the guillotine for Granny-in-law. And then induce the rest of les proles rosbifs to start sharpening it for Mike Tindall. Here is a SPECTACULAR rendition, one night in Cardiff in 2007.

Italy: Some anthems seem very much appropriate for their country. For example, Deutschlandleit seems rich, confident and suave, just like the denizens of Munich, Stuttgart and Berlin. In the same vein, Il Canto Degli Italiani seems jaunty, cool, but slightly unreliable (whats with the oom-pah bit?), and is an appropriate combination of boring Milan, dangerous Naples and sexy Rome. Altogether now: bom-bom-be-bom, bom-bom-be-bom, bom-BOM-be-bom, bom-bom-be-bom!!

USA: The best thing about the the Star Spangled Banner is that Americans positively encourage involvement and interpretation, as befits a nation which defines itself by its ability to assimilate. Can you imagine any other country allowing noted rock or rap stars the option of doing their “version” of the anthem at the country’s biggest sporting event every year? Unlikely. Yet the Yanks can’t wait for the anthem before the Superbowl. It’s optimistic, emotional and adaptable – and very hard to dislike.

Contenders:

Russia: Now, Egg Chaser is no flaming Commie, far from it. But there is something powerful about the old Soviet anthem, now adapted for Russia. It’s not without its controversy, as many Russians rightly remember the murder and explotation of their countrymen and women by psychopathic leaders, and refuse to sing along. For most, perhaps, its the perverse pride in remembering when Russia mattered. Anyway, check out the Paul Robeson version from the 1940s and at least appreciate the idealism. And here’s a flavour of what non-Russian former Soviets think of the anthem.

Wales: As befits a nation of ~~choirboys~~ choristers, Land of My Fathers is tuneful, musically sound and enjoyable. The impenetrable Welsh tongue makes this local anthem very much exotic. Maybe its stereotypical, but the Welsh players also seem like better singers than other nations. Or maybe its just the magic atmosphere in the Millennium. Either way, its a dark horse for the title.

South Africa: Like Ireland, the South African ditty is a prisoner of history and politics. The anthem shares the distinction (with the Italian one) of being in 2 keys, although the South African one is in 2 keys essentially because it is 2 songs merged together – Nkosi Sikelil iAfrica and Die Stem. The current anthem contains 5 languages and tries manfully to knit together a desperately fractured country. In spite of the grim music (particularly in the second half), a national anthem is about much more than that, and the sight of 15 proud South Africans singing every word in 1995 was simply incredible, and lifts this to contender status.

Going home early:

England: An absolute dirge. God Save the Queen has bored generations of Englishmen and antagonized generations of foreigners, which is perhaps part of its ongoing appeal at home. In true British fashion however, it has a great backstory. Firstly, no-one actually knows who wrote the song, and there is disagreement over what key it hould be played in. Secondly, it has been continually re-written, and current and former colonies continue to drop it (including England themselves for the Commonwealth games!). According to “protocol”, the Queen doesn’t sing it, we wonder does she just think its shite.

Ireland: Once again, the Irish manage to out-do the English on the rugby field by having not one, but two dirges. The much and rightly-maligned Ireland’s Call is virtually unsalvageable, but Amhran na bFhiann isn’t a whole lot better. Now, Egg Chaser is as patriotic as the next man and sings it with as much gusto as anyone else, that is a medium murmur, but it’s all pretty uninspiring, which is disappointing from a nation which has some cracking old tunes – some close to Egg’s heart are here and here, although Tommy Bowe’s version of one old favourite was fairly … errrrr … average. Despite all that though, this was amazing.

Scotland: Flower of Scotland is so dull that this is generally accepted to be the most rousing version ever performed. The most rousing! Ever!! It’s a pity, because the lyrics very much appeal to the Braveheart Scottish self-image, although it can seem a little incongruous when being sung by Alasdair, Hugo and Hamish the Tartan Tories in Murrayfield, Edinburgh, the most British city in the UK. Scotland deserves much much better.

by whiffofcordite on September 29, 2011 • Permalink

Posted in England, France, Ireland, Italy, National Anthem, Russia, RWC11, Scotland, South Africa, USA, Wales

Posted by whiffofcordite on September 29, 2011

https://whiffofcordite.com/2011/09/29/rwc-anthemwatch/

Whiff of Cordite