Babbling 'brook

Aitzol King (first on the left) looks like a big unit for a winger. Is that just perspective or is he a big guy? https://www.sportsfile.com/winshare/w540/Library/SF1394/2570104.jpg Know some of these players could someone put names to pictures King is big - listed at 6'3" and 98kg as an u-20 p...

Great tournament from the lads. Under-20s rugby is structurally in favour of France, there's not much anyone can do. Their guys are 'professionalised' at a younger age (e.g. occasionally players make Top14 debuts as young as 17 or 18), they have a couple of dozen of pro academies that take guys in i...

If the ban only takes up the warm-up games, we're ok. He has loads of experience of playing big matches after long lay-offs and typically performs well. In the warm-ups, I'd be petrified of him being severely injured against Samoa anyway (and Italy and England are also quite physical and like to tar...

It's the usual scandalised reaction, endemic in Irish outrage culture. It's really not that bad IMO. The bad part is that RTÉ were deceptive. It shouldn't be such a big story though, and wouldn't be in a more sensible country.

Brodie Retallick will still only be 32 at the end of world cup, and is out of contract with the ABs. At that stage he'll have been in their set-up over 11 years and won everything. He's never played abroad except a half-season mini-sabbatical in Japan during Covid. This is the kind of guy we need in...

Props are maybe the only position where Irish players have a better chance of making it in NZ or Australia than up here. Ruaidhri Murphy didn't get into the Leinster academy but was a regular Super Rugby starter in Australia. Went to Ulster then and hardly played at all. Honestly, I'd say Jager is b...

Unfortunately I know all too well the feeling that you are all going through right now. Leinster came out all guns blazing and looked like they would have the game won by half time. The first try was a masterclass. However, after 20 minutes of looking like the best team in the world, Leinster went ...

We're in trouble at loosehead, as presumably Cian Healy is retiring. Milne is a good carrier but we need better scrummaging. Jack Boyle was outstanding for the Irish u-20s and is legitimately a great hope, but guys don't always make the step up to senior level as you might expect. At 6'1" and 1...

Re the drop goal, I think they were trying to get go through phases to set up a ruck near the line slightly to the left or right of the posts, allowing Byrne to attempt the drop goal from directly in front of the posts, probably just outside the 22. You also need to keep the defence guessing that yo...

Most disappointing game I've ever watched. Tops Ireland losing to France in Croke Park in 2007, Ireland losing to New Zealand in 2013, and the previous final losses vs Saracens and La Rochelle. Absolutely gut-wrenching, awful. At the moment I just feel like giving up. It hurts too much. Can easily e...

Blue Man wrote: ↑May 20th, 2023, 11:53 am Let’s just hope he can start and do the basics for 60 minutes

Lock down the scrum, make his tackles, and even a few of his nice little passes for 60 mins, and we've done well.

That's absolutely disgusting. They should be stripped of the preferential 9 per cent VAT rate, as was mooted for budget 2022, but ultimately didn't happen.

Sick with nerves just thinking of this one. Will be massive. Surprised the bookies have Leinster as much as 8 or 9 point favourites, even with home advantage I think it's basically exactly 50:50.

If we want to promote the URC as the premium competition that it is, we need to give it space to breathe and flex it's muscles. Squeezing in so many knockout rounds of multiple competitions week on week doesn't do either competition any favours. We need to leave two weeks lead-in to the semi-finals...

Bigdickenergy wrote: ↑May 14th, 2023, 2:15 pm The Munster turnover right on the goal line as Leinster were about to score was the one REALLY egregious one from Murphy. 7 points were a near certainty right there and Archer blatantly charges in offside. Absolute stone wall yellow card.

Yeah this one was unbelievable. Changed the game.

I think what we've learnt is.. don't sweat about finishing the league on top, as it's tough to win it twice in the same season. You can win the league without winning the trophy and you can win the league trophy by finishing 3rd or 5th in the league. 8 teams qualifying for the play-offs really is r...

The relatively easy conversion miss from Frawley probably cost the match. I'm not sure, given their lack of clinical edge throughout the match, that Munster would have been able to get a try near the end. Munster did get more of the rub-of-the-green from the ref, but you can't fault their effort, it...

Stormers in the final, 43-25 winners over Connacht ultimately. It was a one score game with 5 minutes left but some awful kick fielding gifted Stormers a late try. Super game and final score flatters the Stormers. Based on that game, you'd think Leinster would beat Stormers in Dublin, and even that...

Peyper is lenient on dirty play and loves a dominant scrum (whether legal or not) from a heavier pack. Not good news for Leinster IMO.

glenageary wrote: ↑May 9th, 2023, 1:44 pm Does anyone know when the Irish World Cup jersey will be released??

In 2019, they released it around 10 July.