Ireland v.Scotland

[ColinM]

Paynes PR team must being doing a great job , only one mention of him on this thread, and he was almost invisible in that performance .

In terms of tackling he was better than most but he offers little in attack.

Probably doing unseen work

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[Spiffsson]

didn't see the game but won't stop me commenting . You can never judge too much on these micky mouse games. I'm always amazed how really good players can play more mediocrally for weeks but when the big games come up, they just ratchet up the performance level. Could be a subconscious thing, that players don't want to risk it all in these types of games but Payne will be grand come RWC. He'll not get much ball in the big games but even Nonu and Smith can't do much with no ball...

Well you may be right, but if you just look at the bland facts, Cave/Earls last week were far ahead of Darce/Payne yesterday in all aspects of midfield play. Despite all Joe's talk about selecting the squad on form, I'll believe it when I see it.
If the squad is to contain only three centres plus Quiffy as utility back who can 10/ midfield, then the three should be Henshaw/Cave/Earls. I am not convinced of Quiffy's ability to cover 10/12 in big games, and always expect the brainfart.
Would not mind seeing a squad without both Payne and Quiffy, since they are nothing special at all, but seem to have developed false reputations as good players. But both are almost certain to be there.
Joe has never tried Jackson in the Quiffy role of covering 12. He has in the past briefly filled in at 12 for Ulster and looked quite at home.

[againstthehead]

Hard to pick on form based on a few friendlies... Players will be selected based on the 6 nations unless they do something epic in these games or are atrocious. Haven;t seen quiffy of late, but he always seems to ooze confidence (justified or not sometimes..).

[bazzaj]

I agree largely with ath on this.
The players like Cave and Earls had a lot more to prove than the likes of Payne did so will be going into the game to prove a point rather than blow a few cobwebs off.

Also quality of opposition should be considered.
I thought everyone was quite down on Englands second half yesterday but didn't take into account that was practically their reserves against a very experienced French side.

Friendles are what you want them to be.
If its the result for confidence, getting up to speed, looking at different combinations, dusting off cobwebs or trying different plays -the only thing is that they count for nothing come the main event.
Played many a pre season thinking we were the bees knees only for it to all go to rats in the first game.

The Southern hemisphere players are operating at a different level to us at the minute and our only hope is that they will suffer from burnout by the time they get up here.
Can't see it somehow.

[BaggyTrousers]

I suspect that very few people and certainly no journalist I read could explain with any certainty the rational behind a selection doomed to provide a performance of grade A muck.

What FibberJoe will have got out of it is as follows :

- he will still like Quiff
- he may think of binning Felix Jones to include Dave Kearney AND Zebo now that Zebo had a passable game at 15
- Touhy D'Arcy Cronan Boss Fitzgerald should be gone, but he needs Boss as there is nobody else and he clearly holds a torch for the almost entirely useless Fitzgerald.

What Zebo should have learned is as follows:

- try looking where you are passing
- trying to trip players normally earns a yellow card & rather than winning MOTM this morning he could/should be ruminating on how he lost the game.

[bazzaj]

I suspect that very few people and certainly no journalist I read could explain with any certainty the rational behind a selection doomed to provide a performance of grade A muck.

What FibberJoe will have got out of it is as follows :

- he will still like Quiff
- he may think of binning Felix Jones to include Dave Kearney AND Zebo now that Zebo had a passable game at 15
- Touhy D'Arcy Cronan Boss Fitzgerald should be gone, but he needs Boss as there is nobody else and he clearly holds a torch for the almost entirely useless Fitzgerald.

I think Joe knows what he knows Bagster as looking at his previous 6 nations games and squads he isn`t one for making wholesale changes and goes with his tried and trusted.
We know who is in really not to disimilar with the 6 nations squad.

15 Rob Kearney
14 Tommy Bowe
13 Jared Payne
12 Robbie Henshaw
11 Luke Fitzgerald
10 Jonathan Sexton
9 Conor Murray
1 Cian Healy
2 Rory Best
3 Mike Ross
4 Devin Toner
5 Paul O'Connell
6 Peter O'Mahony
7 Sean O'Brien
8 Jamie Heaslip
16 Sean Cronin
17 Jack McGrath
18 Marty Moore
19 Iain Henderson
20 Jordi Murphy
21 Eoin Reddan
22 Ian Madigan

That was the squad for the Scotland 6 nations game and he won`t deviate too much more than that regardles of who does what in these warm ups.

Think thats 8 other places up for grabs and if its a 16-14 forwards backs split add 3 more forwards and 5 more backs to the list.
Strauss will go as another hooker, Trimble and Henry have done it for him before and he trusts and should be fine so a lot of competition for a handful of places.

[Snipe Watson]

Baz is close enough. but Trimble will take Fitzgeralds spot plus another back imo.
There are two different approaches to these games. The nailed on guys use the games to ease into the season and the fringe players had to play their way into the squad and so far only Earls has managed that.
Two Ulster guys who were below the standard yesterday were Bowe and Tuohy. For Bowe he was just easing into the season safe in the knowledge that he is on the plane. Tuohy missed 2 or 3 tackles, offered little by way of dynamism with ball in hand, took a few lineouts and worked hard, but didn't do enough to force his way in. Ryan is much more likely to be selected.

The backline was so poor going forward yesterday because the halfbacks were dire. I'd have Marmion in before Boss.

[Setanta]

Won't happen but I would only take two 9's; frees up another spot in the fourteen backs.

[Russ]

CONGRATULATIONS Luke Fitzgerald on his 3rd career try

[Snipe Watson]

Won't happen but I would only take two 9's; frees up another spot in the fourteen backs.

You must take three. Marmion would be my third.

[mikerob]

CONGRATULATIONS Luke Fitzgerald on his 3rd career try

John Hayes will be p!ssed off that his try scoring record has been overtaken. Fitzgerald has now drawn equal to Nick Popplewell but Marcus Horan has still scored twice as many.

[rumncoke]

Spiff the Payne hate horse has bolted along time ago , the fact that you repeat only revels how little you actually see and the how little you know ---to illustrate what I actual mean could you identify one mistake he made during the game or tackle missed or a bad pass given . that is the reason Joe picks Payne --- everybody in Munster raves about Zebo seldom passes misses tackles his mistakes are many but all is forgiven because he scores a try or two against poor defences big games against strong teams are won by the team who make the fewest mistakes . Payne makes very few mistakes .

[Snipe Watson]

Spiff the Payne hate horse has bolted along time ago , the fact that you repeat only revels how little you actually see and the how little you know ---to illustrate what I actual mean could you identify one mistake he made during the game or tackle missed or a bad pass given . that is the reason Joe picks Payne --- everybody in Munster raves about Zebo seldom passes misses tackles his mistakes are many but all is forgiven because he scores a try or two against poor defences big games against strong teams are won by the team who make the fewest mistakes . Payne makes very few mistakes .

I would add that Payne is also very aggressive around the ruck.

[ruckover]

Spiff the Payne hate horse has bolted along time ago , the fact that you repeat only revels how little you actually see and the how little you know ---to illustrate what I actual mean could you identify one mistake he made during the game or tackle missed or a bad pass given . that is the reason Joe picks Payne --- everybody in Munster raves about Zebo seldom passes misses tackles his mistakes are many but all is forgiven because he scores a try or two against poor defences big games against strong teams are won by the team who make the fewest mistakes . Payne makes very few mistakes .

I would add that Payne is also very aggressive around the ruck.

Don't say that - some on here will start thinking we should convert him to the back row like McCloskey

[Cap'n Grumpy]

CONGRATULATIONS Luke Fitzgerald on his 3rd career try

Coming into form at just the right time.

The last nine years have been building to this competition.