question... for everyone...

[Russ]

The alternative is??????? Come on join the dots here....

Make sure you get tickets for Ireland v England and France so that you've something to support in the Spring?

I'm at a loss, other than that I gat nathin'!

Looks like we are stuck with what we have hoping that Kiss brings some magic next season.

I have Italy tickets and there is talk of a trip to Edinburgh

[BuckRogers]

The alternative is??????? Come on join the dots here....

Make sure you get tickets for Ireland v England and France so that you've something to support in the Spring?

I'm at a loss, other than that I gat nathin'!

Looks like we are stuck with what we have hoping that Kiss brings some magic next season.

Some magic beans perhaps?

It's actually somewhat perverse that for the first time since DK and co won the Grand Slam in 2009 that Ireland are now actually really motoring. On the flip side the provinces have, collectively, never been worse. Munster and Leinster might scrape away QF spots but that is by no means certain while we are quite obviously out. Connacht are the only team looking half decent or certainly better than they 'should' be.

Obviously a quality head coach has had the effect one might have reasonably expected with Ireland appointing Schmidt.

I think Leinster got the wrong guy in O'Connor and he will not last beyond this season. He has moved Leinster away from precise excellence to mediocre battering (ala Leicester Tigers). Munster and ourselves have opted for internal appointments for essentially all of our coaching staff from top to bottom. I don't think it is a coincidence that both of us are flattering to deceive.

For clarity I have nothing against indigenous talent being given a chance or better still mentoring under a truely outstanding head coach. Doak, in his defence, has worked under a very mixed bag from the inexperienced himself McLaughlin to bluffers like Anscombe and Matty Williams.

Again I am sure no small dose of irony will be lost on those with half a brain cell that the McLaughs/Doak/Dinger axis has arguably been our most successful set up. McLaughs whatever about his ability as Head honcho was a bloody good forwards coach and to be fair he played a winning, if not attractive, brand of rugby.

We then, well certainly I, end up back at the door of Humphreys and Logan. These men have really done a bloody terrible job. I still don't know what Logan actually did or does. Humphreys also quite clearly jumped ship before people realised what I and a few others had muttered for a while. He was able to sign a few cheques and attract a few big names but that dried up quite quickly. Replacing Pedrie with Nick was the start of the slide and it was not arrested.

Being overtly critical, the re-signing of Ruan aside, every one of the players we signed this season was a moderate step down on what we had previously. World Cup year blah blah blah but we lost a core of front line players and have not adequately replaced them.

I read Ferris' article on the BBC website and while I appreciate the sentiment some of it doesn't quite stack up. To use an extreme example why would the IRFU care if we signed Bakkies Botha or Franco Van Der Merve? My bet is they probably wouldn't. Before some smart Brennan chirps up I am aware Botha was not available.

My understanding, and I could be wrong here, is that the IRFU green-light the signings and may even have contributed to their wage but that the provinces did the majority of the heavy lifting ie identify, approach and pay the majority of their salary. We have all heard about the battle chest, probably from the mouth of Logan, yet we sign only decent to good players. Crucially not good to excellent never mind world class.

Another important point was that about Clive Ross. Completely valid, we signed a 10th choice, at best, Leinster backrower ffs and we wonder why we are where we are? Christ alive. Willie Faloon was out of contract last season as was Ali Birch and having watched all three play AIL both would have been far better options. Eh David?

[ruckover]

My biggest quam is the fact that we have stared for the past 5 or 6 years at an incredible gulf in class between Ruan and our replacement scrum-halves. What have we done to amend this? Not one thing. We haven't given Heaney any substantial game time, we haven't even tried Shanahan, we let Porter go to Connacht - who is deciding this? When Ruan leaves in a couple of years we will be no closer to replacing him than we were when he arrived and this sums up the entire set-up - sub-standard.

[Snipe Watson]

You see Buck?

Once you've started posting you just can't stop!

For what it's worth, I completely agree with your analysis. I would add that we have secured, after the worldwide search, a completely homegrown coaching set up which will be presided over by an IRFU internal appointment in Kiss.

Now, I honestly think coaching has a lifespan before it needs freshened up. Coaches within, and on the fringes, of all 3 Southern Hemisphere set ups are working pre-RWC with all the "intellectual property" that that entails. Forget the NZ coach who said he'd agreed not to coach outside NZ until the RWC was over to protect what they're working on. It concerns me that we are incestuously appointing internally so we all do it the same way based on "trickle down" from Schmidt rather than having the balls to try to find our own "Schmidt".

But then, outside the kit room in Ravenhill, balls are in short supply at the senior management level. Dither and drift seems the order of the day. Still it's "high level product" producing good "P & L projections" going forward year on year. T'is the KPI imperative.

I'd go a step further and say the IRFU want to benchmark a single pattern on all four provinces. They seem to be obsessed with Schmidtball and seem to think it's the recipe for world domination. Heard that before somewhere.

[nonplussed]

It's all ballix. As a seasoned ST holder I have missed a couple of games this season and not felt that I've missed anything. This is a concern, I can't put my finger on why but it's either the shat fest served up on the pitch week in week out or maybe Ravenhill has lost it's soul somewhere. I will renew basically cos the missus buys me the ST each year so can have the house to herself for 14 nights a year to do whatever/whoever she fancies


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[bazzaj]

Non plussed living up to his name there.
I agree, having missed 3 European games I didn't feel I missed anything.
Thats because we have been witnessing the same performances producing the same issues that just aren't being addressed on any level.

[BuckRogers]

You see Buck?

Once you've started posting you just can't stop!

For what it's worth, I completely agree with your analysis. I would add that we have secured, after the worldwide search, a completely homegrown coaching set up which will be presided over by an IRFU internal appointment in Kiss.

Now, I honestly think coaching has a lifespan before it needs freshened up. Coaches within, and on the fringes, of all 3 Southern Hemisphere set ups are working pre-RWC with all the "intellectual property" that that entails. Forget the NZ coach who said he'd agreed not to coach outside NZ until the RWC was over to protect what they're working on. It concerns me that we are incestuously appointing internally so we all do it the same way based on "trickle down" from Schmidt rather than having the balls to try to find our own "Schmidt".

But then, outside the kit room in Ravenhill, balls are in short supply at the senior management level. Dither and drift seems the order of the day. Still it's "high level product" producing good "P & L projections" going forward year on year. T'is the KPI imperative.

I'd go a step further and say the IRFU want to benchmark a single pattern on all four provinces. They seem to be obsessed with Schmidtball and seem to think it's the recipe for world domination. Heard that before somewhere.

I have no real issue with Schmidt-ball being developed across all the provinces. NZ have been doing it to a greater or lesser degree for years. Yes you have the traditionally had the hearty lads from the South Island such as Otago who could have some comparisons to Munster, Auckland of the late nineties and early noughties who mixes some decent forward with some panache in the backs ala Leinster and then some variation across the rest of the sides. The Crusaders set the bench mark in the 2002-2008 or so period and now The Chiefs have caught up whilst the rest follow closely behind.

The problem is the calibre of coach in almost all of the Super Rugby set ups exceed anything we in the Emerald Isle have.

Schmidt is an exceptional coach, meticulous in every detail. Are any of our guys that way inclined?

McLaughs might have been the only one I would have said would have paid that level of near sadistic detail and could have worked well with Schmidt (as Irish coach) to implement what he wanted with the provinces.

It's a dangerous game to play to have too many Indians trying to follow one chief, if that is indeed the case.

[Dave]

The irfu won't change a thing as they perceive themselves as doing a great job with Ireland's recent good results. The way we play from an ireland point of view is fairly predictable although if executed well not that easy to disrupt. Joe will have to have other things up his sleeve as other teams will be thinking of ways round it.

[rumncoke]

It depends on what you define as the job of the coach . It also depends on whether you think he the head coach works in isolation .

I don't see the a uniform development of something you identify as Schmidtball . Munster have reverted to what Munster do best which is an aggressive 10 man game . Leinster are in a rudderless mix of post BoD and development hoping the return of Sexton will bring direction and refocus to a changing and developing back line . Boss Redden and D'Arcy are all due to retire within 24 -36 months Madigan lacks the vision and skills to inspire the back line playing out half

Ulster 's major problem is the reliance on an ageing and or injury prone back row and while having possibly the back line with greatest potential without Ruan and the ablility to successfully gain the necessary field position the back line is a blunt knife .

Ruan has only started two games and both starts have lacked a full fit back row in games influenced by bad weather .

Ulster 's season which looked promising went down hill as injuries to key players mounted week by week , none of the injuries being the sort resulting in a week on the benches all have been the sort resulting in absence for months not a couple of weeks similarly not only have injuries been to key players but to the players you would consider to be their alternatives .



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[BuckRogers]

The irfu won't change a thing as they perceive themselves as doing a great job with Ireland's recent good results. The way we play from an ireland point of view is fairly predictable although if executed well not that easy to disrupt. Joe will have to have other things up his sleeve as other teams will be thinking of ways round it.

Some of Europe's best coaches tried, and generally failed, to beat it over three years with Leinster.

Due to its low risk and precise nature it is very hard to counteract. The focus on doing the basics to an exceptionally high level means that the emphasis moves onto the opponents to be better than you at this. The only people capable of this consistently? ABs and Boks and of course a team putting in an exceptional performance.

I'd love to see ulster adopt it tbh but I don't think our coaches are good enough to implement it.

[Dave]

The irfu won't change a thing as they perceive themselves as doing a great job with Ireland's recent good results. The way we play from an ireland point of view is fairly predictable although if executed well not that easy to disrupt. Joe will have to have other things up his sleeve as other teams will be thinking of ways round it.

Some of Europe's best coaches tried, and generally failed, to beat it over three years with Leinster.

Due to its low risk and precise nature it is very hard to counteract. The focus on doing the basics to an exceptionally high level means that the emphasis moves onto the opponents to be better than you at this. The only people capable of this consistently? ABs and Boks and of course a team putting in an exceptional performance.

I'd love to see ulster adopt it tbh but I don't think our coaches are good enough to implement it.

Leinster also had the best players. The Schmidt era Leinster were phenomenal with ball in hand and this was largely before Toulon started collecting world beaters. We can't say that about Ireland and there has been a large element of luck on top of the first class coaching. I think we lack the coaching and the players to play Schmidt ball.

[BuckRogers]

Don't play Leinster Schmidt ball, play Ireland Schmidt ball then. Zero tolerance of laziness and mistakes.

You're right we don't have the coaches.

[Snipe Watson]

Schmidtball, as I see it anyway, is more of a philosophy than a game plan that can be worked out. It includes attention to detail at a previously uncharted level and developing a culture of excellence. Opposition don't know how to overcome it as they don't know what's coming their way. It remains to be seen if this can be sustained over a number of seasons with Ireland.

[Cornerfleg]

Doakball, as I see it anyway, is more of a last minute idea than a game plan that can be worked out. It includes attention to hoofing and spectating at a previously uncharted level and developing a culture of total ambivalence. Opposition know how to overcome it as they know exactly what's coming their way. It remains to be seen if this level of ineptitude can be sustained over a number of seasons with Ulster.

[Dave]

Haha fleg!