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The Irish player that is striking fear into the hearts of Welsh fans
Joe Schmidt has named a very strong Irish side to travel to Wales this weekend with the hopes of derailing their pursuit of a Grand Slam.
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A victory would give the men in green a chance of a Championship win, providing England lose to Scotland at Twickenham in the succeeding game.
One particular selection that is drawing a lot of attention is the starting berth for Tadhg Beirne, who replaces Iain Henderson. Beirne is earning his first Six Nations start after some sensational form for Munster this season. While this selection is pleasing many Irish fans, it is causing a lot of concern for Welsh fans on Twitter.
Welsh supporters will know a lot about Beirne’s prowess after his two years with the Scarlets, where he won the Pro14, as well as the Pro14 Players’ Player of the Season award in the 2016/17 campaign. Many Welsh fans are happy that he is getting the start that he deserves, but frustrated it comes against them in such a crucial match.
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Beirne has been one of the form forwards in Europe over the past couple of seasons, and many Irish fans feel he is worthy of a starting place for Ireland on a regular basis, and many are expecting him to prove his worth at the Principality Stadium.
Wales have displayed a remarkable ability to retain the ball for sustained periods of time this season, none more so than their try against England after 35 phases. The addition of Beirne, and his formidable presence at the breakdown, could curtail the Welsh attack and prevent them from keeping hold of the ball. Beirne is one of the most dangerous locks over the ball in Europe, and his partnership with James Ryan is a worrying prospect for Welsh fans.
This is what they are saying:
https://twitter.com/Rhysj37/status/1106221430168043522
https://twitter.com/bigfilljewell/status/1106213530859159552
https://twitter.com/ffimthomas/status/1106209328149815296
https://twitter.com/denisohora/status/1106208564438290435
https://twitter.com/lloydmaliphant/status/1106204486387798016
https://twitter.com/JeffPhillips6/status/1106204169235517440
https://twitter.com/Samboevans/status/1106223000830070784
https://twitter.com/Dman_Casey/status/1106203628120039426
https://twitter.com/rewilliams85/status/1106208859125891072
https://twitter.com/tomascarrio/status/1106209294779891714
https://twitter.com/Annepop01/status/1106206917494558720
Now I’m scared! Do you think they’ve picked him as he may have a little insight into Wales in some way?
— Matt Davies (@Matthew1Davies) March 14, 2019
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Wales will still be confident going into this game, but many fans will know first hand what Beirne will be able to do to them.
Schmidt is possibly the most analytical coach in world rugby, and every decision he makes seems meticulously thought out. While the addition of Beirne will be a chance to see how he performs before the World Cup, the New Zealander will be acutely aware of what he brings, and so are the Welsh fans.
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
31 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
31 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
31 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
31 Go to comments