Irish brilliance !!
Awesome! I have to hold my hands up and say it! From the reception given to the England team to the intercept try by the Boss to round off the demolition, it was all awesome.
I had read articles upon articles about Croke Park and the history, and the two lines that really resonated with me were about a country having the chance to show it's maturity and dignity having moved on from those horrific memories. And I have to say I was massively moved at the arrival of the teams and especially at the anthems, the dignity, the maturity was humbling and it was at that moment that I wished I had taken up the invitation to go. To have witnessed that at first hand would have been a very special memory.
And it did not stop there! The Irish team then mirrored their countrymen in the crowd, and were simply dominant in every aspect of play. They had managed to harness the roaring emotion of the occasion and control it and then channel it into one of the finest Irish performances I have ever seen.
O'Connell was magnificent, all aggression, control and experience, and it was he that started to tip the balance Ireland's way with his attacks on the English line out. Their backrow were brilliant, quicker, sharper, more powerful, more explosive, more physical and more skillful. ( Have I left anything out??!)
O'Gara ruled the pitch, and the midfield provided no surprises by humiliating England's, but they had able support from the back three, especially Horgan who was brutal, dirty, and a try scoring hero!
I sat at the end completely deflated. We had been shattered, we had been torn apart by this Irish team, and it was very hard to take.
I struggled to look for some positives...............! Strettle was definitely one, I thought he showed attitude and ability and I liked his style. Lewsey as ever was a beacon, Rees looked sharper when he came on as did Tait, but that was it......!
I think it is fairly obvious to all that Farrell will not make an International centre. He just does not have enough pace, and you need look no further than that. Sadly the midfield as a whole does not pose any threat at the moment, and Ashton needs to rectify that if we are to threaten the best teams. Our back row is still a problem, as we do not possess any explosive ball carriers, and we look laboured and entirely predictable at the moment.
I have never understood the front five, and still don't!! But I am at a loss as to what Deacon delivers to England that is special or gives us any edge? And again, where in that five are our ball carriers??
It has been one whacking reality check! More of a swift kick in the ***** ! But how we react, and how Ashton reacts will be the test of us, and how we will be able, or not, to challenge the French.
So..............by the end my emotions had switched back, and as I curled up like a baby into the foetal position on the sofa, I was relieved that I had not accepted that invitation to go over.............!
I had read articles upon articles about Croke Park and the history, and the two lines that really resonated with me were about a country having the chance to show it's maturity and dignity having moved on from those horrific memories. And I have to say I was massively moved at the arrival of the teams and especially at the anthems, the dignity, the maturity was humbling and it was at that moment that I wished I had taken up the invitation to go. To have witnessed that at first hand would have been a very special memory.
And it did not stop there! The Irish team then mirrored their countrymen in the crowd, and were simply dominant in every aspect of play. They had managed to harness the roaring emotion of the occasion and control it and then channel it into one of the finest Irish performances I have ever seen.
O'Connell was magnificent, all aggression, control and experience, and it was he that started to tip the balance Ireland's way with his attacks on the English line out. Their backrow were brilliant, quicker, sharper, more powerful, more explosive, more physical and more skillful. ( Have I left anything out??!)
O'Gara ruled the pitch, and the midfield provided no surprises by humiliating England's, but they had able support from the back three, especially Horgan who was brutal, dirty, and a try scoring hero!
I sat at the end completely deflated. We had been shattered, we had been torn apart by this Irish team, and it was very hard to take.
I struggled to look for some positives...............! Strettle was definitely one, I thought he showed attitude and ability and I liked his style. Lewsey as ever was a beacon, Rees looked sharper when he came on as did Tait, but that was it......!
I think it is fairly obvious to all that Farrell will not make an International centre. He just does not have enough pace, and you need look no further than that. Sadly the midfield as a whole does not pose any threat at the moment, and Ashton needs to rectify that if we are to threaten the best teams. Our back row is still a problem, as we do not possess any explosive ball carriers, and we look laboured and entirely predictable at the moment.
I have never understood the front five, and still don't!! But I am at a loss as to what Deacon delivers to England that is special or gives us any edge? And again, where in that five are our ball carriers??
It has been one whacking reality check! More of a swift kick in the ***** ! But how we react, and how Ashton reacts will be the test of us, and how we will be able, or not, to challenge the French.
So..............by the end my emotions had switched back, and as I curled up like a baby into the foetal position on the sofa, I was relieved that I had not accepted that invitation to go over.............!
2 comments:
Thanks for the comments Will - really enjoyed the day - it was a moving moment at the anthems.I sent you a comment yesterday about the intensity of the training i witnessed during the week and they managed to bring it onto the pitch.
How do you think Ireland will go at the World Cup - do you think we could make the semis or beyond?
It was a pleasure, however bizarre that is for me to say. Bloody impressive the whole day.
As for the World Cup, the one thing they have to learn to deal with is the favourite tag. Winning when they should and are expected to, not just winning when they have pissed themselves off enough to instigate a massacre like yesterday. If they can do that and O'Connell can produce the leadership he did for the forwards, the French should not sleep well!!
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