Ireland team will be announced at 2pm
The key contents are:
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jerry thornley When I tried to predict how the Irish team would play against Italy this weekend, I came up with some interesting changes.
He believes James Rowe is likely to return as a winger, with Ulster duo Cormac Iztyuk and Robert Balkoon likely to start.
Gerry believes Sam Prendergast will remain as a 10-year-old, but expects the out-half to be partnered with Munster’s Craig Casey and given a place on the bench at Jamison Gibson Park.
Gerry thinks Saturday’s matchday squad will be as follows:
Ireland (possibly Italy vs. Italy): Osborn. Balcoon, Ringrose, McCloskey, Rowe. S. Prendergast, Casey; Ruffman, Sheehan, Clarkson. McCarthy, Ryan. Izchuk, Doris (Captain), and Conan.
Alternatives: Kelleher, O’Toole, Furlong, Edogbo, Beirne, Timoney, Gibson Park, Crowley.
We’ll soon see how closely GT’s thinking aligns with Andy Farrell’s.
In his latest column, gordon darcy We pondered the OODA loop (Observe, Change Direction, Decide, Act) devised by American military strategists.
“Thursday night in Paris felt like watching that theory play out on a rugby field. France observed a space, orientated there, decided to attack there, and acted.”
“Ireland looked at the same space, orientated to a predetermined structure, decided to follow a plan, and appeared to have squandered a valuable half-chance of their own. The game was, in many ways, decided by that gap,” he wrote.
“Paris filters out the outside noise and shows you exactly where you are. I’m torn between encouragement and serious concern. This wasn’t the apocalypse, but it didn’t scream world-class performance either.”
Read his full thoughts below.
Only 30 minutes left until the Irish squad is announced.
Last week we read some somber articles about the impact of Ireland’s defeat to France.
It may not be time to press the doomsday button just yet, but there may be an eerie feeling that Ireland’s seat at rugby’s top table is starting to be ripped out from under them.
“So that was the week, the week in which Irish rugby either suffered further evidence of a temporary blip or hit a wall, depending on how you look at it.” jerry thornley I wrote this earlier this week.
“Even people who know rugby in this country are divided as to whether this is a lull or something deeper. Both arguments can be made.”
Gerry highlighted Saturday, adding: “Last Thursday night’s events in Paris reinforced the view that Italy have never looked this dangerous in a particularly difficult Six Nations for Ireland.”
Read the full article below.
[ We could be witnessing the start of Irish rugby’s declineOpens in new window ]
Italy will be looking forward to this weekend’s trip to Dublin after winning their last game against Scotland.
So is an injured Ireland vulnerable to Italy’s work? That’s the question Nathan Johns and Gordon D’Arcy discuss on the latest episode of their podcast, The Counter Ruck.
They also look at some of the broader tactical and skillset deficiencies plaguing Irish rugby and what can be done to stop that rot.
Listen below or wherever you get your podcasts.
Is a wounded Ireland vulnerable to Italian jobs?
You can check out more details from The Counter Ruck here Stay up to date with all the latest episodes.
“Last weekend there was a commotion, or perhaps a conflict, on the Irish Times letters page.” Dennis Walsh wrote earlier this week about a rather heated debate that started after a reader said he feared “seasonal lager buggers in wax jackets” invading pubs with the return of the Six Nations.
Some were amused by this comment, while others were taken aback as Dennis inferred that there was a “subliminal conflict between the bulls and the bulls.”
“If we were to survive in the professional era, we needed to broaden the appeal of rugby. It was a commercial imperative.”
“In any sport, bandwagon jumpers are seen as opportunistic and capricious, and their actions are laughed at by long-suffering die-hards, but rugby needed a populous bandwagon to wash its face.”
Read the full article below.
[ Irish rugby bickering is a collision between blowhards and blow-insOpens in new window ]
After round 1, the table looks like this:
France began their title defense last Thursday at the Stade de France with a 36-14 bonus point victory over Ireland in Paris, with Louis Biel Bialley in fine form.
Fast forward to Saturday, when Italy hosted Scotland at the Stadio Olympique, and the match was so wet that water polo almost ended in a water polo match. Italy held on for an 18-15 victory, their first opening win since 2013, and put pressure on Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend ahead of this weekend’s clash with arch-rivals England.
Speaking of England, they defeated Wales at Twickenham. The poor Welshmen have not had an easy time of late and the 48-7 defeat did not suggest their fortunes would change anytime soon.
Now that we’ve lightened the mood with some off-pitch antics, let’s turn our attention back to the rugby itself.
The second round matches are as follows:
Ireland v Italy, Aviva Stadium, Saturday, 2.10pm
Scotland v England, Murrayfield, Saturday, 4.40pm
Wales v France, Principality Stadium, Sunday, 3.10pm
Do you want to remember last week? No, it’s not. As it turns out, the start of the competition was pretty tough.
But we’re made of tough stuff, so if I avoided all mention of last Thursday’s results in favor of more charming content, I’d run out of things to say pretty quickly.
So why not ease your mind with a story about last Saturday’s England v Wales match at Twickenham?
Hello everyone! Welcome to the Irish Times live blog Irelandround 2 of Six Nations Team announcement.
andy farrell would name his face Italy At 2:00 p.m., Gonzalo Quesada will be close behind in the 23rd round.
The match will be played on Saturday at the Aviva Stadium, with kick-off at 2:10pm.
It will still be some time before the teams are announced, so in the meantime we’ll take a look back at what happened in the first round and look at what’s going on this weekend throughout the tournament.