'Pathetic. Pitiful. Practically pointless' - Irish media turn knife into Irish team
Ireland’s lacklustre 25 – 7 defeat to Wales in the Principality Stadium yesterday brought a grueling and underwhelming Six Nations campaign to an end- and it has not been met with mercy from the Irish media.
Far from it.
St Patrick’s Day has signaled open season on Joe Schmidt’s men. Just three months ago they were the toast of the nation after defeating the All Blacks on home soil for the first time. Now a target is writ large on their backs.
Eamonn Sweeney wrote in the Irish Independent:
“Pathetic. Pitiful. Practically pointless…The end of an era feel to it all evoked memories of similar displays in the dying days of the Eddie O’Sullivan and Declan Kidney reigns.”
“Forget your World Cup fantasies. Turn Ireland over. We’re done.”
Roy Curtis, writing in the same publication suggested:
“The last 50 days have unspooled as crippling anti-climax, a brutal, slow-motion car-crash.
“Ireland are suddenly an unmoored elevator, clacking helplessly downwards through the floor. Lost momentum is notoriously difficult to rediscover.”
“Sexton had surely his most ruinous 80 minutes in an Irish shirt: His kicking radar completely malfunctioned, he sent simple passes straight to touch, he turned-over ball.
ADVERTISEMENT“It was as startling as observing a grand-master struggling to recollect the basic rules of chess.”
Gavin Cummiskey in the Irish Times described some of Ireland’s decision making as uncharacteristic unthinking, describing a Conor Murray decision to kick away possession as ‘brainless’:
“It was brainless rugby by a team that prides itself on street smarts.”
Former Ireland lock Neil Francis, famous for his biting criticism of pretty much anyone and anything worth having a pop at was in relatively generous form, sparring his poison pen for Sean O’Brien.
“As for some of Ireland’s heroes, this match marks a watershed. We might not see some of yesterday’s participants in a green jersey again. I’m always relieved when someone is delivering a eulogy and I realise I’m listening to it. Sean O’Brien had the most listless performance of his illustrious career in a green shirt.”
“Our half-backs need to go and reinvent themselves at their provinces and in the Heineken Cup, an arena where I think they might thrive. The candles have been burning low in Joe Schmidt’s cathedral recently: there have been no voluminous canons of play, no invention, no surprises, no continuity, no wit or dazzle and quite often when his teams win, all of his players play well.”
Former Ireland flanker Stephen Ferris speaking to RTE wasn’t afraid to single out a former backrow colleague:
“As a collective they have been off the mark, but individually they have too. Today was a nightmare for Johnny Sexton. Conor Murray couldn’t get himself into the game. Rory Best didn’t have his best game, Peter O’Mahony was non-existent, as were a number of other players.”
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
2 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments