Is there light at the end of the tunnel?

slimjim · Post by **slimjim** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 10:46 pm

yeah, fully agree with LKOTP. Complete bullsh*t from the IRFU and will ultimately end up with EOS staying as long as he wants. Was thinking of more to say but realised its all been said at this stage. The opinion of the fans counts for bugger all here.

Freddie Benson · Post by **Freddie Benson** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 11:17 pm

This is a change of tune from Browne. Immediately after the ignominious exit he supported EO'S, said a review had already been done, and they were confident they had the right man.

barney · Post by **barney** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 8:31 am

I wonder if the change of tune is in any way connected to the fact that post-RWC there will now be a few high-profile coaches looking for work.

Rooster · Post by **Rooster** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 8:34 am

barney wrote:I wonder if the change of tune is in any way connected to the fact that post-RWC there will now be a few high-profile coaches looking for work.

That was always going to be the case anyway, and all available except Laporte and Loffreda.

GerryO' · Post by **GerryO'** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 8:58 am

Talk is cheap

barney · Post by **barney** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:16 am

Rooster wrote:
barney wrote:I wonder if the change of tune is in any way connected to the fact that post-RWC there will now be a few high-profile coaches looking for work.
That was always going to be the case anyway, and all available except Laporte and Loffreda.

True, but some of them won't be in a position to ask for as much money as they might have done before, given the nature of some of their team's exits. Graham Henry might be quite happy to avoid NZ for the next while

Rooster · Post by **Rooster** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:30 am

Don't actually see Henry being much better than EOS, they both failed miserably in getting their players to perform to their ability, the only thing Henry has in defence is he built a large squad of interchangable players.
Laport for all his crazy, as we think, team selections over the years clearly had the AB's game plan sussed and smothered them at source with 2 tacklers per player preventing the offloads in tackle that are the basis of their game, once that happened they were lost of ideas and did not seem to be capable of thinking on their feet, a well coached team will adapt as the game progresses.

ColinM · Post by **ColinM** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:55 am

Graham Henry is the complete opposite of EOS. Built a big squad of players but that didnt help the team when the team mattered. Maybe if we had someone halfway between the two, who could also get the players thinking for themselves on the pitch

GerryO' · Post by **GerryO'** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 10:01 am

Nick Mallett is the chap, but Italy have him. Ashton is good and he was treated abysmally by the IRFU when we had him, so was Gatland. Steve Hansen could do a job here and would be my choice, but there is unlikely to be a vacancy.

slimjim · Post by **slimjim** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 10:57 am

Big shame Nick Mallet wasn't signed up, I rate him as a coach and think he would have been perfect for Ireland and the current group of players.

I don't agree that Brian Ashton was a fantastic coach when he was in Ireland though. He may be good now ( not fully proven yet ) but when he was in charge of Ireland he had certain ideas about style of play that were totally unrealistic for the team and most likely liable to be unsuccessful,even if implemented the way he wanted. I think this World Cup has shown that despite all fancy ideas you still need a big, ugly, motivated and aggressive ffront 5 and a properly balanced back row before anything else.

bogboy · Post by **bogboy** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 1:50 pm

The IRFU is a slow grinding wheel

Eddie will go but not quickly

For the home grown coaches there are a few problems similiar to Eddies

They are to vunerable to the Provincial attack

He's a Turnip Ladyboy Ulsterman the son of etc he only picks so-n-so because

and the IRFU will only whack Eddie when they have a Coach ready to sign and like his ideas to take the National Squad on

Notice I said squad not team because I think that was Eddies biggest mistake his narrow Team vision mind set

Freddie Benson · Post by **Freddie Benson** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 1:56 pm

The senior England players have basically told Ashton where he can put his 'heads up' rugby. They didn't have the skills to match the sort of game he envisages.

And you have to say that on recent evidence, the best backline in Eurpean rugby

would struggle as much as the side of the late 90s.

darkside lightside · Post by **darkside lightside** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 3:38 pm

this is potentially a welcome development - if the "powers"-that-be have belatedly come to realise that they risk f#@king up Irish rugby root and branch (and ultimately their livelihoods and legacies), but have simply managed the message shambolically...

or as someone says above it may be browne "talking tough" to say after whatever worthless made-up review they perform that they "have made it clear that they will consider all options" but that in their opinion, the best result is for EOS to stay on.

It may be because they have received advance warning of the outcome of the IRUPA survey, which could well be pretty devastating stuff - if we assume it will be, the IRUPA could threaten to go public with it, which would completely undermine EOS, and make the IRFU look like tools, if they had just endorsed him for another 4 years.

ding dong2u · Post by **ding dong2u** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 3:50 pm

and make the IRFU look like tools

nothin new there then

GerryO' · Post by **GerryO'** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 7:40 pm

Indeed the IRFU could end up the laughingstock of world rugby... hold on, they already are!