Both France & Ireland had massive disappointments in their last games out at the World Cup. Watching the game the other night, one nation looked like they were feeling sorry for themselves and the other picked up where they left off and didn't show any signs of mental weakness or uncertainty about how to continue on without their talisman at 10, very impressive by Ireland.
Ireland's 4th male team sport by a long way... We started to take it seriously after professionals began or give up entirely because of the playing number differences in the various countries. We took on the challenge and did it our way. No harm to Wales but the real Celtic Dragon has been awakened now with its systems and resources to back it. Ireland will be a major major force for the foreseeable future.
Football is first and the national team rely on English born men to play for them. So hardly really number 1 sport let’s be honest. Doesn’t take a lot to play that game either, have a ball - play. Gaelic games, I mean.. yeah it’s attendance wise and playing wise because it’s very much a parish vs parish mentality still which is nice. But it’s got almost zero interest from outside the world of Irish people. It’s amateur as well. So it’s not the same as football as it’s at least semi pro. Rugby has a very different feel. It’s got a proper professional setup. Big attendance’s. Big playing numbers, but maybe not compared to the above two sports as it’s not as easy to play a game of rugby in comparison but also probably a more dedicated core playing base at a high level. So I’d say rugby is well up there. If you’re ranking them off weak stats like ‘playing numbers’ then sure there are loads of kids that play football and GAA in school. But at a core elite level rugby most likely wins out.
@@LeMerch There's 2200 GAA clubs v's 209 Rugby clubs. Most schools in the past didn't even have a rugby ball let alone give kids a taste of it. In many parts of the country unless you had a family member involved it just wasn't a thing. With Ireland doing well more kids will want to seek it out and have over the last decade.
@LeMerch woah what the hell did I just read. There is nearly 2300 gaa clubs across Ireland 😂. Genuinely baffles me how good we are at Rugny with just over 200 clubs across the whole island
@@getridofneoconssaffas only chance of beating in Ireland in recent years is at home. Can even do it on neutral ground. A series in 2016, in which Ireland got robbed, only lost it by 6 points in sa without sexton.
Boks 18-9 Ireland; boks 4wc-0 Ireland; boks 0 foreigners - saffas Aussies nzs the whole lot playing for Ireland. Stop importing foreigners; play with your own. Then you can be cocky. But if you want respect plz win WC with your own People.
Most of the French players had almost no holidays after the failure of the World Cup they played a lot in top 14 and champions cup while the Irish played 3-4 games. There is also the fact that a large part of the French staff has left (the coach of the attack, the physical trainer, the coach of the touch, the video analysts)
Dupont, Ntamack & even Flament were big losses for France but equally Ireland were without Ringrose, Hansen, Byrne & O’Brien. Sexton retiring too. Big Joe McCarthy has a bright future and his younger brother Paddy coming through is a prospect to watch out for in the near future.
Props to you both about a week late watching this just brought back the heartache that was the world cup for Ireland but they have dusted themselves off and are back ready again. Great analysis men 💚🤍🧡💪☘️
To touch on Goode’s point for Beirne’s try, Beirne had been running 2nd receiver dummy lines all day, and coming off the ruck, Crowley gives Beirne a look, so most likely a set piece having sold dummy runs prior to
Re Shaun Edwards defense - last 3 games vs Ireland, France have conceded an average of 4 Tries per game! Andy Farrell & Mike Catt have figured out just how to attack it.
Well done guys. Great discussion. Paul O'Connell : huge credit to him for line-out functioning so well. 13/13 was it? Even if France had an extra man, still think Irl. would have won. Their rugby-smarts are off the charts!! with a conveyor belt churning out real good players like Joe Mc and Jack C. Hard not to see them not doing back-to-back Grand Slams... AND, bear in mind, their Under 20's could do likewise. A double GS for senior & 20's...wow, that would be world a podcast in itself😅 Finally, many here would like to see Frawley getting a crack of No 10. He's an excellent player.
France will be back, we only saw them in attack for a 5 minute spell because of the pressure. Big test in Murrayfield coming up for both teams. The 6 nations throws up a surprise result every year. Best competition in the world.👍
I was there, and, the atmosphere BEFORE kick off was awesome. That was, probably, the most stirring and emotional version of Le Marseillaise I have ever heard (I have lived in France for over 20 years now) I was shocked by how, flat i suppose, France were. There was definitely something there, mentally, if that rendition of your national anthem cant get you up for it
Scotland got a red card directly for shouldering a player in the head. That should have been a red immediately. Cards come from pressure. With or without the cards, with or without DuPont, this game was Ireland’s.
Ah what a load of BS. Andy and Jim got wrong and didn't give Ireland a chance. Ireland were missing Sexton and Ringrose and Hansen and OBrien. Why cant people give Ireland credit when due.
My understanding with Dupont is HE decided not to play for France and had it included in his contract that he could take time out this year to target the Olympics. Matt Williams was saying right now he's still not good enough for the sevens and is in a race to cut weight and improve fitness and gameplay. Think for him it's a good idea mentally switch off from 15s and target something else and come back fresh in autumn or next year's 6N 🤷🏻♂️
Great Podcast Guys, as usual. Bit disappointed at your only reason Jim, for the French poor performance was the W.C. hangover. It certainly was a factor, but a much bigger factor was the Irish defence who were all over them at break-down, and lineout. Resulting in turnovers, and sloppy ball when they got it. Just thought it worth a mention. I understand you spoke highly of the Irish performance, but the first 5 mins of the review, it was like the French lost, because they were awful. The opposing Team made them look awful. Cheers mate.
I personally think there's more going on with DuPont than him just wanting to prepare for the Olympics. I think maybe something happened between him and Galthié following France's exit from the world cup that DuPont didn't like and he has used the Olympics as an excuse to quit the team while Galthié is still head coach. It all just seems quite odd.
If there was an international league where the top 8 International teams played each other home and away every year . . . Ireland would have won the last two seasons. By that measure they are the best team in the world.
Ireland looked like they learned lessons from their failures at the world cup. The line out was spot on and new players are being blooded in. France didnt.
By the sound of it, France never managed their players post World Cup. They should have a significant break and come back refreshed. You don’t turn into a bad side overnight but at the same time you need to progress with everything you’ve previously done. I think France will get over this loss
Best team in the world, in soccer lingo its like league v cup...seems that Ireland would be winning the leagues but SA are the best cup team and NZ coukd beat either. I'm Irish but for me, no clear answer which is great for the game, if 1 team was always winning, wouldnt have the same appeal. My credit for Ireland at weekend goes to Farrell, I would day that along with maybe Rassie, he IS the best coach in the world.....
Honestly thought france would win, most of their backline plays for bordeaux and theyve probably had some of the best attack in europe this season, a lot of irish provinces lineouts been poor , and with the majority of the team from leinster theyre all still learning a new defensive system too, but somehow got it all together
Ireland u20s are going for 3 6 Nations in a row and they have also got to a WC Final losing to an excellent French team. The irish are here to stay and it is only a matter if time before they win a RWC QF and potentially win it...that will shut the haters up but knowing SA arrogance they will then beat them with the "only 1 WC stick" idiots
Obviously Ulster players have been holding back that team for decades! 😂 Joking of course but really they only have Hendy as a player with the quality to be on that side. There are a good few others of international standard but not good enough for this Ireland side. Fair play to the Ulster fans who travelled.
The large pack France went with gave them a very solid scrum, they got 1 scrum penalty each half I believe (the second one from the subs vs Ireland's starters), but they were not great in phase play, in attach and defense. They could not put any pressure on Ireland's line-out which had a lot of movement and Ireland read and put so much pressure on their line-out. Mall defense was also poor as power is key but they also need to be dynamic and aggressive. I think France will learn from that game and strike a better balance in the future, Woki in the second row (who was on the bench) and potentially one other light back row or more mobile tight head will make them more dynamic. How do you evaluate a prop? Scrum, Lineout, mall, ball carrying, ruck involvements, tackles etc. seems some annalist and the French are overly focused on the scrum
I listened to the previews of the Ireland-France match, and how so many people reported on reasons why France would be better. Home pitch and the loss of Johnny Sexton were the big reasons. But take a moment. If you were building a new team, and you had the number one pick, is there any doubt that you'd take Dupont first? The "French Flair" is so much easier to pull off when you have Dupont making ridiculous passes and runs, drawing the defense's attention and creating some chaos that other players can exploit. Lucu seems solid but he wasn't going to overwhelm anyone.
They had Dupont last year against the Irish, and lost that one too. The Irish were without Sexton, Hansen and Ringrose, and still destroyed them. No excuses. 🇮🇪☘️
South Africa Broke France. They corruptly bought the hosting off RSA, and planned a procession celebration before the tournament. Well done Ireland great outfit, can win a series in RSA, Boks will be "between cup" doldrums
I must to admit to a little schadenfreude myself but France lost nothing in defeat at the World Cup. They weren't broken. They lost a tight one. It happens when teams are closely matched. Sure SA lost in similar circumstances in the group stages. Looking forward to the summer tour to SA. Dare to dream that we can win the test series! Have to pinch myself these days as an Irishman. Tour series wins in NZ and maybe SA (i have Ireland as outsiders though). I'd have laughed at you 10-15 years ago if you said that would happen in my lifetime.
A bottle job is when a team loses a game but would have been odds on to win it OR when team goes ahead and then loses it.....This was not a bottle job. Ireland is better than France at the moment.
I'm an Irishfan so I'm a bit biased but I do think Ireland will win the whole thing and I think France will beat Scotland. France will be sure to not have the same problems. But if they lose to Scotland it shows that France rely on 2 players for their cohesion and that's not good.
Porter is one of the best in the world. With that said he's not that big when you compare him to the French, springbok and all blacks. There's been games porter has struggled against these opposition the quarter final springs to mind.
I've long since got over the disappointment of the world cup , we played well and we were a little unlucky and I certainly don't think we choked. I do find your view that you weren't a little lucky to be both arrogant and disingenuous. As I said , a lack of humility from SA fans isn't a particularly good quality but if you can't see that then fair enough.
You guys talk alot but you miss the fundamental points. France did not lose because of Dupont they lost on the following counts. 1. Their attack and other coaches were changed. Ireland have consistently stuck to the same team. 2. Ireland are a collective that are well coached, paid well by our IRFU, come from our provinces, that are academy trained, who are to the forefront in club football. Ireland are also extremely aerobically fit and strong whereas France were knackered at the end of the encounter but the Irish team looked as if they could go another round without a problem. ☘️☘️ 3. Ireland are relentless in attack and defence and fully believe in themselves and fear no-one. The RWC we would have won except that we met our nemesis bent on revenge with the full co-operation of our former head coach Joe Schmidt who gave them information that worked against our attack formation.
@@Hometruths29 I'm in agreement with you totally with respect to Sexton and we were lacking in energy against NZ because of the tough matches we had in our group, especially against Scotland, and we had injuries and did not have sufficient time to recover the energy lost during those games. Schmidt came up with the simple ploy to negate our fast moving backs by short kicks over or through same to be collected by the NZ fast forward moving opponents.
I would be of the opinion that there has been a row going on in French training/management since before the World Cup but the trainers who eventually left, held on until the end of the RWC, probably due to Ibanez's efforts. Things haven't settled down since. Galthié is not a good manager, he was lucky with his team of trainers initially but he has a habit of rubbing people up the wrong way and that spills over to the players.
No one gave Ireland a chance because of the Media narrative, No Johnny !!! Ireland RFU is a Machine, we have a ethos of Young dynamic nasty aggressive players , enter 1st 6 nations cap Big Joe McCarty but he been the best player in Irish Rugby for the last 2 years , he is our new Superstar, we have depth in every position, no country since the 2000s All Blacks are bringing through world class players, we are the new dominant force!!!
Ireland are the best team in the world they lost to NZ. But that's the biggest game in the world it use to be NZ Nd SA but I'd rather watch NZ Vs Ireland anyday. I know when Ireland play SA I know they find away to win but when they play NZ I can never call it
Ireland were impressive and totally outplayed france from the kick off. At no point did france look to really be in the game and that is purely down to how well ireland played which was physical, quick and precise. Im picking ireland will be the team to beat over the coming decade or more and its only a matter of time before that dominance will convert into RWC success. As a kiwi we know all about the pain of being the best or thereabouts for 4 years and then not getting over the final hurdle (24 years of pain). Stick to your guns ireland,stay humble and that time will come when you will all have the last laugh at these nay saying insecure keyboard warriors clutching at past results.
France were missing du pont so… Oh Ireland were missing sexton?? Close to apple to apples comparison I would say for impact on those 2 teams. DuPont will be back though…… still that’s a massive score difference. Are Ireland are peaking too early 😂😂😂😂😂😂 head it here first.
Lad's, yer talking nonsense, France were beaten in Dublin last February in six nations with dupont and ntamack so it wouldn't have made any difference in marseille last Friday night, that French performance might have been enough to beat Ireland 20 years ago, not anymore.
Saffas only claim to fame that, so you have to talk about it every day. Kiwis like to chime in but get quiet when you let them know they have lost 2/2 finals vs the boks
@@Nieljoyceniel It hurts a lot as a kiwi when we realise that we handed over those two finals to SA as well. The first one was out of our control when the team was poisoned, and the second one Cane screwed us over royally by getting red carded. It's a hard pill to swallow when you don't think you have been beaten by a superior team.
Know exactly how you feel ireland played slightly below par in qf and kiwis above their normal standard eg not one single knock on in the game. But we are onwards and upwards next game next tournament focus
Ireland were burned in the world cup. Ireland were without Sexton and Murray didnt come on til late on. Stop making excuses for France. Ireland are just better.
I think nobody scared of France anymore The only reason why they were relevant was that they were hosting the World Cup and had a good team for the first time since forever France are just going back to type which is outside the top performing nations in international rugby
Ireland only lost one game, but it was THE most important game in the history of Irish rugby! Unfortunately, they'll always be "nearly were's" until they break that hoodoo...........any other chat, is just chat! To quote Tyrion Lannister "Words are just Wind!"
I suppose when you consider to win the 6 nations gran slam you have to beat 4 other tier 1 teams, England got to a World Cup semi final only having to beat 1 tier 1 nation Argentina. The six nations has bigger prize money than any other rugby competition including the World Cup , Ireland will be going for back to back 6 nations this year something England wales Scotland and France can dream of. There record since the 6 nations began is exemplary and their future will continue in the coming years. One day they will get past the QF of the World Cup and one day they will win it, but for now there is no 6 nations team within an asses roar of them and everyone in Ireland is loving it, long may the party continue 😂😂😂
@@davidwalker2402 it's the TV rights and packed stadiums that bring in so much money. Nearly 7 million people in France and 1.5 million in Ireland watched the game at the weekend. And then there are the millions outside of those countries.
Did he really just say Ireland are the best team in the world? 3 months after a World Cup that they didn’t win. They are 1 of I guess three teams now that can beat anyone on any given day. They are definitely not the best team in the world.
I believe he said in the context of losing one game in 19, they are the best Regardless of what the chart says.England in the top 4 ? ,now that's really taking the piss.
@@johnoconnell2446 they are the best despite what the chart says, despite exiting the World Cup in the QF? Who the F are you talking to about England in the top 4? I didn’t mention that at all. I think you need to put the pipe down and sober up. Doing well in a regional competition is awesome and they really spanked the French but please don’t lose your grip on reality.
@@Nieljoyceniel have Ireland ever won a cup that wasn’t regional? Are you seriously going to compare 4 times world champions and wins half the world cups they’ve ever been in to a team that’s never got past the QF? Cry all you like about refs this and refs that. But that’s what it is, constant crying and finding an angle to try and avoid facing the reality. Now Ireland are ridiculously good. On any day it’s clear the AB’s, Boks and Irish can spank each other. But claiming they are the best in the world is flat out delusional. Oh and while you’re having a cry about refs favouring Springboks…cast your mind back to the last game Ireland 🇮🇪 played against SA and how the ref saved your ass. Thanks for the tears by the way. The French ones were getting a little tiring and hadn’t drunk any Irish ones for a while.
@daggaboom You still haven't explained to us how the Bok's haven't beaten Ireland in 7 years !!. Ireland have won 19 of their last 20 Test Matche's, including the Boks Twice, France Twice, and NZ Twice...that's why we're the Best Team in the World Now. Nothing Delusional about that Lad. P.S. What's your Record for the past 20 Test's ??.
Please, don't be delusional; Ireland were out on their feet against NZ. NZ just had to draw a line to defend the "cut-and-paste" attack, as Ian Foster put it. Ireland would never have won the semi's or the finals. World Cups are about endurance, something Ireland doesn't have.
Kiwis had the easiest pool stage and run up to final. Only game they had to put a 1string out for was Ireland. Whilst Ireland had to play Tonga, sa and then Scotland and still could’ve went out in the final game. Kiwis scraped by 4, purely on a held up ball but are giving it large all over the web because they’re still salty about the series lost. So after having the easiest run of all time, they still choked the final. Frizzell should’ve got a red for a deliberate attempt to break bongis knee, and your shite captain who’s teammates were gloating about to a retired sexton (because they’re absolutely pathetic) got a red and bottled the final. Kiwis are the most toxic fanbase going.
@@christianmccann9400 Yes, delusional. The World Cup is SO important to the Northern Hemisphere, that you won 2023 with a clean sheet in June last year. Apparently, the semi's would have been an all Northern Hemisphere affair. The competition went on to have only England in the semi's. An all Southern Hemisphere affair. France is still shaken by the World Cup loss and might be completely "broken". Heart and spirit. Let's hope the Irish have no mental issues after the early exit.
To say Ireland choked at the last World Cup is utter bollocks. They were only denied by Kelleher being held up behind the goal line from winning that game. Choking is a completely different thing.
@@Edgycoo funny that most NZ fans said it was their best performance in 2 years & when have NZ ever had a poor team ? They also hammered SA in the rugby championship a few months before the WC.
@@philipmccarthy6175 nz have never been lower. Never had such a bad record as this current team. The stats all point to this being nzs worst team and record ever.
