Ireland savaged by journalists in wake of Twickenham thrashing
Ireland’s bully thrashing at the hands of England in Twickenham has predictably been met by widespread dismay and hand-wringing among both Irish media and fans alike.
Less than a year ago Joe Schmidt’s men appeared to cement their credentials as legitimate World Cup contenders after securing their second win over New Zealand in the space of two years.
All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen all but fell over himself in a rush to label the men in green as World Cup favorites and all was rosy in the team Ireland’s garden.
If Ireland’s Six Nations campaign went some way to disabusing the nation of their tournament aspirations, then the record 57- 15 defeat at Twickenham has all but snuffed out any lingering hope.
“Ireland lacked the right attitude and showed no courage in their performance yesterday, something I have not seen in a long time from an Irish side under Joe Schmidt,” Neil Francis wrote in The Irish Independent. “Ireland’s World Cup credentials and the Loch Ness Monster have something in common – there is a strong suspicion that neither exists.”
The famously outspoken former Ireland international didn’t stop their, labelling the defeat as a dark portent what was to come for Ireland.
“Ireland, though, were number one in the world at losing their own lineouts. They managed to do so in a variety of ways, not all of it down to rust. Ireland were also number one in the world yesterday for missing tackles, they missed 34 out of 108 – I cannot remember a worse defensive performance.”
John O’Sullivan wrote in the Irish Times: “Defeat was hardly a surprise but the nature of it was disquieting in many respects and while there is some context to offer mitigation to the the broad disappointment of the performance, it doesn’t suffice in explaining how Ireland could be so badly beaten up.”
Cian Treacy wrote in The Irish Independent that: “At times on Saturday, it looked as though Ireland’s back-line had never played together and were thrown together at random.”
“There is a feeling of collective decline almost unprecedented in a top-class team over such a short period,” wrote Eamonn Sweeney in The Irish Independent.”
Murry Kinsella of the The42.ie was in more charitable mood, suggested Irish players getting the hairdryer treatment has little benefit.
“There is a horrific review coming the way of the Irish players,” wrote Kinsella. “And yet, one has to wonder if laying into his players again is the right move now. The Ireland coach eviscerated his men behind closed doors at Twickenham yesterday, but there is a challenge for Schmidt now in ensuring his squad hold whatever confidence they have left, building it back up again for the World Cup.”
Meanwhile Ruaidhri O’Connor of The Irish Independent wrote: “Ireland look so far off being on top of the world it seems incredible they were 80 minutes away from going to the top of the world rankings. They returned to Dublin last night having dropped from third to fourth place, but that’s the least of Joe Schmidt’s worries after his team slumped to the heaviest defeat of his era.
England Captain Owen Farrell and coach Eddie Jones speak after England beat Ireland 57-15 at Twickenham.
Comments on RugbyPass
Lets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
10 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
10 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to comments