Rugby videos of tackles, tries, funny incidents and more: Ireland impressive against France at Croke Park

Sunday, February 08, 2009

Ireland impressive against France at Croke Park

Ireland came out victors against France at Croke Park in Dublin on Saturday with an excellent victory over the side that outdid them for the championship in 2007. It was the first victory in eight matches for the Irish against France and provided a perfect start for coach Declan Kidney on his Six Nations debut.

"In some of the Ireland-France matches recently I think the lads have been a bit unlucky,” Kidney said afterwards.

"A bounce of a ball could have won other games for them so it was nice a few things went our way today."

"I'm just delighted for the players, I keep saying it but you don't believe me.

"It's not about me, it's about everybody's efforts. Somebody has to be in this seat."

"The way we reacted after that drop goal typified a team that learned a lot from two years ago," captain Brian O'Driscoll told a news conference, referring to Lionel Beauxis's kick that briefly put the French within a try of victory late on.

"The way we hunted them down and weren't going to give it up to them easily. Maybe there was a little bit of knowledge in the team second time around."

O'Driscoll said: "We're where we want to be. We've played one game, we've won one game, we're happy with our performance."

Time: 04:02

Good game from Ireland but they did what they want in rucks

By Anonymous, at February 08, 2009 6:01 pm
BOD is back..good game..great step by the 8th man

By Anonymous, at February 08, 2009 6:07 pm
I'm agree with Anonymous, the referee let irishes dod what they want in the ruck...

By Anonymous, at February 08, 2009 6:16 pm
too sad to not see the debut of the first french try that was awesome, bad ref yes, but Ireland deserved to win.

By Anonymous, at February 08, 2009 6:43 pm
What a game !
Impressive young French team.

By Anonymous, at February 08, 2009 6:43 pm
these highlights are awful,they dnt do the match justice.both teams first tries came from instead their own halfs.the build up to the tries must be shown fully rd. a great match

By Anonymous, at February 08, 2009 6:44 pm
ireland played well, and BOD picked up his game no end. BUT there is cause for concern, O'Gara's kicks from hand were often poorly placed, allowing a talented french back three plenty of time for counter attacking and it put ireland under all kinds of pressure. He needs to change that tactic if kicks from hand are as bad in future.

By Anonymous, at February 08, 2009 6:45 pm
http://www.dailymotion.com/pitou012/video/x8au4i_irlande-30-21-france_sport
This video is better (in french)

By Anonymous, at February 08, 2009 6:47 pm
i was at croke park
it was a great match with an incredible atmosphere
I just loved irish fans spirit :)

i don't know if ireland deserved to win, but they concretized their 3 occasions, hyperrealism and great skill from BOD and heaslip.
French played well, sometimes very well, but they weren' effective enough in their attacks.
Medard begins to be vry interesting.

a last word on referring...referee is part of game,
but nigel owens have decided to let irishs do their "law" in rucks.
recalls me last 2008 HCUP final against toulouse with ...nigel owens

By Flooz, at February 08, 2009 7:07 pm
O'Leary's kicking to the French back three in the first half was so infuriating !

Highlights don't do the match justice at all.

By Anonymous, at February 08, 2009 7:15 pm
Complaining about referees is for soccer. Enough sour grapes! Ireland fully deserved their win in an entertaining and competitive game.

By Anonymous, at February 08, 2009 7:18 pm
I need to saw the awesome relance by the french backs, debut on his 22 but that was no try ( if the french try with this relance, that can be an awesome try ! )

By Anonymous, at February 08, 2009 7:42 pm
Brilliant game, should have had this as the opening match to start the competition off with a bang. Good attacking play from both sides. At the moment, ireland, wales and france are probably the favourites after their first games.

By Anonymous, at February 08, 2009 7:45 pm
I think the Irish were pretty lucky to win that game, France were the better team. It was Munster style all over again, hands in the ruck all the time, no penalties for the other team. I'm sorry for the French, they really impressed, Ireland was pretty good too. They have a shot at the title if they beat Wales.

By Thomas, at February 08, 2009 8:06 pm
Thr ref was fair. Irelnad were excellent at the break down and stole ball legally. The ref wudnt ping either side for holding on for some reason. Ireland more than deserved the win and i think that they will go to the millenium stadium 1 win away from grand slam which i think theyll win if they show up on the day.
Heaslip No. 8 for lions and kearney at full back.

By Anonymous, at February 08, 2009 8:11 pm
i was there and it was that nigle owens told the french not to do something and they did it anyway i had the link to the refs microphone and every call was fair ireland fully deserved the match and if u dont think so re watch it cause ud have to be cockeyed to dissagree great match the only thing that disgusted me was the french fans booing the ROG penetly but other than that it was great to have them here they are a great crowed to and best of luck
IRELAND GRAND SLAM 09 HOPEFULLY :)

By Anonymous, at February 08, 2009 8:15 pm
It is easyer to be disciplined when the ref speak your language...

By Anonymous, at February 08, 2009 8:25 pm
hi , im' french and i saw the gaame ,i'm agree, ireland do a good game, but nigel owens... after toulouse, france, if he has got something with france team he must say it.

By Anonymous, at February 08, 2009 8:32 pm
It's been a long time since I've seen BOD playing this way...
He seemed the old BOD of the 2003, IMO one of the best years for him!!

I'm very happy for Ireland (I hope they'll win this year), they deserved this victory... And yes, this video don't do the match justice, because there have been a lot of fantastic plays from both sides!
What about Chabal charge of 40m?!?!?

Great match from Heaslip, Kearney e D'Arcy!
And let me say it: Medard could be the future 14/15 of France (it depends by where he wants to play)!

Poor Italy next saturday... :S :(

By Madflyhalf, at February 08, 2009 8:44 pm
it was medard that scored, not malzieu

By Anonymous, at February 08, 2009 9:27 pm
Nigel Owens impressive against France at Croke Park...
Ridiculously partial refereeing gives Ireland an unfair advantage throughout the game. Irish forwards never penalized for cheating in rucks, for tackling players without the ball, for obstruction... Nigel owens should never be allowed to referee again in the Six Nations' Tournament or in the H-Cup.
I don't care who wins... I am not French... But cheap victory for Ireland.

By Anonymous, at February 08, 2009 9:28 pm
Shame on all the english and french bloggers here, "hands in the rucks" "bad refereeing" and "typical munster cheating"
The French played out of their skin, i bought 2 papers today and the all french players got ratings of 8 out of 10, The problem with that is all the Irish players got 9 or 10 out of 10. The Irish scavenged 4 everything and tackled everything that moved, rode their luck and took their oportunities. Id be worried if i were any of the other teams having to play either of those 2 teams as they both look the form teams at the moment.
Nuff said!

By Anonymous, at February 08, 2009 9:34 pm
Awesome offensive play from both side (with some pieces of 'French flair' we haven't seen for a couple of years - 1st try was INCREDIBLE), and awesome defensive play from Ireland. But it's true, the ref seemed a bit unfair when it came to rucks...

By Nathan, at February 08, 2009 10:09 pm
Please leve your names people its not hard and it is very annoying to see so many anonymous comments.

By Anonymous, at February 08, 2009 10:12 pm
It's not acceptable to see that the referee let irishes do what they want in rucks, we are in the 6th nation tournment, there's no place for that. I'm french and I won't split on the irish win but those matches don't need that. I think it was the same today for Wales, the referee helped them a lot.

By Anonymous, at February 08, 2009 10:41 pm
ha,that second last comment's nice and ironic:D i thought the ref was pretty fair.people always give out about nigel owens after he ref's irish teams,but yesterday he let both teams get away with a bit and was right to do so.it gave a good pace to an excellent game of rugby!

By Anonymous, at February 08, 2009 10:52 pm
In relation to the hands in the ruck, I've heard from everybody who had the ref mic thing taht he did give plenty of warning everytime before he gave a penalty.

Admitadly there's a language barrier but he also gives the same prematch talk to both teams so I don't think it was bias just the Ireland team played the ref's wistle better.

By Anonymous, at February 08, 2009 10:54 pm
its such a shame all teams in the 6 Nations have such crap defense

seriously - look at the france v ireland game

how did that 8 get through that hole ?????

Anyway - you fix your defences and you'll fix your attack

until then SH sides will beat you

By Anonymous, at February 08, 2009 11:03 pm
One of the best math from Nigel Owens with the irish shirt.

With french dominating the possession of the ball,only two penalties against the irish (and the first penalty at 75min...).

Heineken Cup or Six Nations, same stories...

By Anonymous, at February 08, 2009 11:24 pm
James stop trying to make another petty SH vs NH debate...its childesh just enjoy the rugby.....And btw it was two forwards he beat in defense thats howw he got through the gap...He's a very athletic number 8 too...

By Anonymous, at February 08, 2009 11:38 pm
I thought it was a cracking good game between two decent sides. France were the better side on balance in the first half, but Ireland took the second half without question and their scramble was excellent.

As regards the ref...eh...meh...he's one of the most consistent refs in the game and calls it the same every time. I had the ref link and he gave plenty warning where possible before pinging. Yes, Ireland (and in fact Munster) "play him" well but that's the game. There is always the underlying issue of the language barrier but in fairness at a high level of rugby if your a defender trying to get on the ball at a breakdown and the ref is screaming, what's he likely to be saying and who's he likely to be saying it to. Don't tell me 'Ruck\No Hands/Hands out' is impenetrable for a non-native English speaker.

Yes I'm Irish :)

Eoghan

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 2:00 am
stop complaining about the referee
great win Ireland

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 2:54 am
im not trying to create anything

call it constructive criticism

why did no one tackle the 8 prior to him getting through the gap - watch it again - its not like he hits the gap flat out and gets the ball just as he is passing defenders

it isnt my fault on the whole the defence is crap

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 4:36 am
I agree James, they let runners thru to easy. A step behind the SH teams in dfence and attack, not enough precision, too many errors, the play's too slow. Mind you, they're not that far off, but far enough to be a class below.

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 6:39 am
Thanks Anonymous - people choose to look through rose coloured glasses

That 8 should have been tackled by the 10 in drift defense or the 12 on man on - or the 6 hanging in the line to smash people - ala Rocky Elsom

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 7:19 am
it was a 3 that he beat

why was a 3 out in the line ?

stop arguing about NH teams - blah blah blah - i will when the standard increases and you guys see it for what it is - a great spectacle of average rugby

1,2,3's belong in the ruck dudes - unless ur name is Keith Wood

Now that would be a good tribute vid RD - remember his chip and chases ? what a legend

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 7:25 am
Stop whining about the ref, Owens is about as fair and balanced as they get.

This game wasn't run in rucks, it was won by runs - all the good tries came from great runs. Heaslip, O'Driscoll, and Medard were all very very good last night, D'Arcy showed his strength in staying up and dancing his way towards the line there, and Harinordoquy's try was pretty textbook but he did well to not get shoved into touch.

Chabal's run was great, man...too bad he looked like he got hurt when he was tackled.

Beauxis was really good and managed to be a menace to Ireland all night.

I have a question though: where was Clerc last night? I thought he was France's choice winger...not that Clerc instead of Malzieu would have affected the scores at all...

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 7:26 am
How was Wallace at 12 for Ireland?

And why does everyone keep getting the french wingers mixed up?

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 10:57 am
"its such a shame all teams in the 6 Nations have such crap defense", hey jamestheconvict, have you watched the game at all? ok, a couple of missed tackles on the french side, ok they lead to irish tries, but does 93% of successful tackles for the french sound like "crap defense" to you? spare me the SH lecture

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 11:30 am
Jamestheconvict wales beat australia in autumn scoring 2 or 3 tries, scotland also came close against south africa so please spare us the crap defense talk, good offense will always open up defences. Does this mean that SH teams have crap defense too, No shut the fuck up with that BS, makes no sense. This game was all about attacking and counter attacking, hence the high score.
Written by Kenny

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 12:02 pm
Wales won one game on the back of a lopsided penalty count.
Other than that it was 19 losses for the 6 nations last year.
There's a gap in class between the teams, you'd be blind to not see it.
NH teams keep possesion too long, they play it tight too much, they have too many errors, their play is too slow. Overall they lack ambition and creativity in attack. Defensivley they are not as physical as the tri-nations teams.
The gap isn't huge, but it's there.

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 12:52 pm
James u sayin tat Heaslip shudn have got through the hole for tat try cause he shud be tackled makes no sense.. If tackles werent missed or players werent good enough to get through holes like tat and beat defenders like tat, there wud be no point in playing the game...No sense...
P.S. Deadly game..EIRE for the Grand Slam Hopefully

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 12:54 pm
"The NH teams keep posession too long"

Uh...what the hell are you talking about hippy?! Should they give the ball away instead?! Since when is retaining posession of the ball for long periods a bad thing?!

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 1:19 pm
We have this load of crap thrown at us whenever a northern hemisphere side plays. Nobody cares what you have to say. It's our competition it has nothing to do with the SH so don't compare it. Maybe your just jealous otherwise that our tournament is more popular around the world and has more to offer than the tri nations, who have to play each other 3 or 4 times to try and make it more appealing when in reality it just drags.

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 3:56 pm
Poor refering.
I'm from France and it's really a shame for rugby.
I don't complain about the irish tries that were deserved...But this is the first time i see a team being penalized for the first time in the game a the...78th min.

Nevertheless, I have great hope for this french team for the next months/years. And the game was great with two teams really involved in playing a beautiful rugby.

Just one hope for us : french heads of rugby should try to think about reducing the schedule.

When irish players have only two targets (Hcup and 6 nations) our poor schedule (longest league in the world) enbales us to gather the team 3 days before the game.

No hope to beat the blacks on this way.

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 4:28 pm
Those guys from SH are really too arrogant...we don't need your lessons, we don't give a fuck about your tri-nation so why don't you do the same for our 6 nations?

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 5:20 pm
Hi ,I'm french and I saw this match.
It was great , from both sides .
However I'm chocked to see that nigel owens is still considered as one of the best referee after this match and the Hcup final and semi final.
Too much hugh error in defense for france.(BOD and heaslip's tries))
IT will be better in the next match :)

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 6:04 pm
Sorry but This is Medard scoring second French try, not Malzieu

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 6:29 pm
I'm french and I really think Ireland deserve to win. Our defense was so poor!!!! Irish were must powerfull and more realist with the finish but i think too, the ref was very lax with irish rucks.

Just watch the match stat here:
http://www.scrum.com/sixnations/rugby/match/25777.html

France was better than Ireland in all the stats: tackels, scrums, possession, passes, etc. But with the discipline!

By Unknown, at February 09, 2009 6:57 pm
Its funny reading the French complaints about the refereeing, Firstly, reading French websites, they continually refer to the Irish as "Anglo Saxons" - incredible ignorance - and reason that fellow Anglo-Saxons like the Welsh (!!) are biased either for Ireland or against France. The paranoia goes so far as to say that even SH referees are biased against them One post I saw argued that Japanese referees should be used to referee French teams! It would be very funny if it wasn't so ignorant and damaging to the game of rugby.

Here you can see for yourself a 'journalist' for the main French sports paper calling the Irish "Anglo-Saxon" - http://www.lequipe.fr/Rugby/T09_IRL_FRA_CR.html. I wonder how he would react if I casually referred to him as Chinese? Is this just ignorance or calculated rudeness?

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 10:24 pm
"Uh...what the hell are you talking about hippy?! Should they give the ball away instead?! Since when is retaining posession of the ball for long periods a bad thing?!"
Watch the tri-nations. They will go all out for the try at almost every opportunity. They will only keep posession as long as it takes make an attacking play, where they will either score or lose the ball.
It's because defenses in the modern game are too tight, too well structured. Australia sort of invented the focus on holding the ball for multiple phases. But that doesn't work any more against quality defenses, the only way to score consistently is to take risks early before the defence is set or from attacking kicks.
We realised this a few years ago, the NH is still catching up. It's why the SH teams are more clinical with their chances. But certainly, keep playing old fashinoed multiple phase rugby and watch your side get humiliated every year by the tri-nations teams.

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 10:29 pm
If you's want to get into SH vs NH debate then the simple fact of the matter is this..4th place world cup were france, 3rd place world cup were Arg,2nd place world cup were Eng, 1st place world cup was S Africa...Seems pretty even tobe dont you think??

Yes overall SH rugby is superior but only slightly so dont be coming on here acting all high and mighty claiming your defenses would have shut down France or ireland on saturday...New Zealand Couldnt do it During the WC,ie when it really matters, Australia could either and that was against England with a pretty modest offense, i think, correct me if I'm wrong about Eng beating Aus...
BTW to a SH person asking/cmplaing why there was a no3 in the defensive line it was becasue Ireland broke through the first line of defense and it was Frances scramble defense...

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 10:34 pm
his name is Jamie Heaslip not no 8 i know most rugby players from sight even the SH ones and with all due respect this is 1 of the best games iv seen in ages so take ur wat u call constructive critism and shove it Wales beat you but they got a shot at all 3 tri nations Ireland only got the all blacks and vengence on ARG so and if players are geting trough the gaps that only enforces were gaining confidence in attack and flare and that BOD try reminded me of the lions tour 01 where he cut the ausies to shreads im actualy sick of been under estamated by SH teams the boks and asuies are comeing in november i sugest u prepre we sure will cant wait for ur visit mass respect for the SH sides but never back down

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 10:42 pm
It is pretty hard to believe that the French were as indisciplined as the ref implied and Ireland were completely faultless, but that's rugby. Sometimes the penalty count goes against you and it's very hard to win when it does. I'd say france played the better brand of rugby but Ireland got the luck of the bounce.

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 10:42 pm
Guy, for all those blaming the referee or the bounce of the ball, occasionally the better team wins - and this was one of those times. If France didn't get one particular bounce of the ball they would have been even more heavily beaten (try number 2). And a forward pass could have been called for try number 1. Don't get me wrong, I think France were great. Ireland were just better on the day.

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 10:52 pm
brillaint o'driscoll try would be great to see his form truly return as that try indicated. france seemed strong however and both teams really fought for the result. also o'gara playes suprisnly well seeing as hes always had a bit of doubt surrounding him as a player from many

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 11:01 pm
"his name is Jamie Heaslip not no 8 i know most rugby players from sight even the SH ones and with all due respect this is 1 of the best games iv seen in ages so take ur wat u call constructive critism and shove it Wales beat you but they got a shot at all 3 tri nations Ireland only got the all blacks and vengence on ARG so and if players are geting trough the gaps that only enforces were gaining confidence in attack and flare and that BOD try reminded me of the lions tour 01 where he cut the ausies to shreads im actualy sick of been under estamated by SH teams the boks and asuies are comeing in november i sugest u prepre we sure will cant wait for ur visit mass respect for the SH sides but never back down"

Mate you can talk garbage all day, but you don't talk tactics. The fact is the NH teams are a step behind tactically. It aint constructive, cuz there's nothing you can do about it, it's up to your coaches.
I just enjoy talking about it, and frankly, gloating about it.
There'll be a time when you can do the same, like English fans did when they won the World Cup.
But this is our time in the sun.
Seriously though, there are some fundmental differences between the way the NH teams play and the SH teams play.
You guys are where we were a few years ago.Your play is slower, your kicking isn't as clever, your playmakers aren't quite as creative, your defense isn't as tight and doesn't scrammble well and your focus on multiple phase rugby is outdated.
But whatever, keep beating each other in the 6 nations and come crashing back to reality every June and Novemeber when you realise your rugby is sub-standard.

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 11:07 pm
TO GAVIN:
when i said than referee was too lax with irish, it's for me a reality, but i never said ireland didn't deserve to win. I'm sur, saturday, with a good refeereing, irish would win too...because they were more realist, stronger, and because we were incapable to score when we had the oportunities and because our defense wasn't enough organized.

The last thing, for GAVIN, it's to not confuse an ignorant french journalist with all frenchies like this journalist confused irish with anglo-saxons.

By Unknown, at February 09, 2009 11:20 pm
Anonymous dude - If the rules didn't keep being changed to suit the SH sides, I think you'll find the current small gap would disappear rather quickly.

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 11:21 pm
Thibault, thanks for the reply :) I would not have commented about the Anglo-Saxon thing but it seems a common thing in France to think that Irish people are Anglo-Saxons. They are not - they have more common heritage with the French. In Ireland we were speaking a similar language to that used in France before Julius Caeser until 150 years ago. Totally different culture to Anglo-Saxon. Please tell all your friends! :)

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 11:28 pm
"Anonymous dude - If the rules didn't keep being changed to suit the SH sides, I think you'll find the current small gap would disappear rather quickly."

Actually it's the new rules that have changed the way we play. Our teams are fitter, play faster and are more clinical becuase you have to be under the ELVs. It takes away alot of the cynical ball killing and focus on kicking the ball into touch and playing for penalties.
It means you have to actually outrun, outtackle and outlast your opponents, rather than relying on a ref to get you over the line.
But again, if you are happy with slower, less creative, less clinical rugby, that's fine.
We'll just keep beating you.

By Anonymous, at February 09, 2009 11:50 pm
Roots of imagined anti-French bias go back far before this game. Remember all the bleating earlier in the season. It's a few jounalists stirring it up methinks

By Anonymous, at February 10, 2009 12:52 am
Anonymous (I wish you'd stop going as such and leave a name):

"You guys are where we were a few years ago"

Yeah? Well ya know WHAT? YOU'RE ALL where American Football was 120 years ago!!! So....yeah.....take THAT!

Really, though, shut up about the SH. It has nothing to do with this clip and it'd be nice to discuss this game in particular here. Stop arguing and just wait until after the Lions tour to say 'I told you so', if it goes down like that.

------

Someone said something about being impressed with ROG. I hope I'm wrong, but I disagree. Something has been up with him ever since before the Autumn Internationals. His tactical kicking seems off, and he hasn't done much to improve on tackling. All too often, he kicks it straight to an opposition wing/fullback and they run it up for good field position. He also gets plowed over too much, and while he makes the occasional good tackle, it seems like I keep seeing him get stiff-armed or just knocked over. I really hope I'm wrong, but if it wasn't for his incredible penalty kicks and spot-on conversions, he might not be on the Irish squad...

Man, he did have that lovely flick in last year's 6N, though. And he does show some acts of brilliance from time to time. I wonder if it's just a lack of self-assurance or confidence that's keeping him down...

By Anonymous, at February 10, 2009 1:01 am
a few tings:

Everyone i spoke to about this match said the same thing, but v few people seem to have picked up on it in the media/on line etc:
the last pass by the french for their first try was....forward.
Yes it was.
As forward as that famous forward pass against the Kiwis. Angles not as clear, reality jsut as real.

Nigel Owens is renouned for bias against Irish teams - absolutly renouned for it. It si quite literally beyond a joke.
If, just once, Ireland got the bounce of a ball from his as lucky as the other french tries' bounce, then that's fine by me.

Re the hole heaslip ran trou: the gap appeared because of a perfectly weighted pass.

Re the kicking: agreed much of it was awful. However, there is one unusual thing about that match- the venue. Unlike even a venue with a running track around it, that particular venue is usually used as a pitch for Gaelic Football (a relation of Aussie Rules). It is miles bigger than a rugby pitch. So you have a rugby pitch surrounded by masses of green. This throws kickers. Yes, the irish should be more used to it than anyone else, but they hardly ever play in Croke Park either. (its being used because of the redevelopment of Landsdown phase)

However, the horrific elv ping pong kicking was mostly absent, and those Munster men seam to be reinventing the maul. Watch out world.

Great match to watch

By Anonymous, at February 10, 2009 2:09 am
While reading this post, the highlights of the sevens series in new zealand were on the tv, with the final being new zealand v england. And for the first time ever, i actually supported england, and anonymous, guess what. England won! And it was held in new zealand! Just to prove a point i wanted them to win so that idiots like you can eat your words.

At the end of the day, nobody cares what you have to say Anonymous, i'm guessing that your only about 12 anyway based on your childish comments.

And to the post saying about the french journalist calling irish, anglo saxons. Don't worry, during the world cup and the game in cardiff with france v new zealand (which by the way anonymous, france won) i was in a pub congratulating a frenchman and when i told him i was welsh, after he mistook me for being english (by the way i have a strong welsh accent so anybody used to hearing a welsh accent would not have made that mistake), he didn't even know the difference. Unbelievably ignorant!

By Anonymous, at February 10, 2009 11:57 am
I love the way theses SH lads cmon here sayin all this shit bout how good they are, then when a NH team beats them. They will straight away be cumin up wit stupid excuses.Just watch when the lions comes around.. Its a good sign tat these boys are commenting here anyway, it means there worried bout us.... Bring on the comment's use knobs ha..

By Anonymous, at February 10, 2009 1:33 pm
Guys, Wales played with flair, the Irish played text book rugby - forwards get quick balls, backs run with them and try time.
It's the basics that are lacking in the England camp.
This game should be recorded and written into coaching manual.

By vinniechan, at February 10, 2009 3:27 pm
standard jesus will u ever get lost eng gloated not the NH a drop goal was the only thing that won them it it doesent take skill for that maybye balls but not skill and have ur time in the sun i didnet say u shouldent but i just dont like the arrogance of ur gloating since were usualy very humble but now im fired up we can beat any team on our day we have proved that the only team that has eluded us is the all blacks our rugby isint sub standard jus ask SA and AUS when they came here we beat them but i meen no insult im just saying dont insult irish rugby full stop it wasent fightin garbage my life is rugby and i know tactics better than u atleast i know every NH and SH player by face i dont need to look at a number like half of the SH commentators sub standerd haha i dont see the hempisphear i see the skill of the team and yeah ur all had a good november counts for nothis cause everyone accept the all blacks avoided us and we just had a new coach in so its understandable but finilay were on the rise and some tick has to put us down have we not proved were a world class side have we not won heinaken cups we have 4 professional teams irish provinces who are all improveing 1 province who has clamed the heinaken cup twice 1 who has claimed the magners league and were startin to get confidence back i was ok with u been here watchin the 6 nations and the review but now im not im just annoyed now so piss off and watch ur own comps and leave ours alone if u dont have anythin good to say we dont wana hear it and its a shame cause i have so much respect for the SH its realy irratateing how a team that strugled since 08 is findin its feat again and u put em down

By Anonymous, at February 10, 2009 9:55 pm
Jesus lad, you ever heard of full stops? You how hard it was to read that?
Look, your rugby is sub-standard compared to the tri-nations. Aus tried to organise a test against Ireland and Scotland, both turned Aus down. So what are we gonna do?
We had a good november and a good june. in 20 tests betweebn the 6 nations and the tri nations, the score last year was SH 19 - 1 NH.
I'm just gloating, stirring you up. Your Irish anyway, you should have a thicker hide.
Oh, and thank you for allowing me to watch the 6 nations, i wasn't aware I needed your permission, but yeah, thanks for it anyway.

By Anonymous, at February 11, 2009 12:15 am
What a pity to see so many morons in SH. I can't believe they are so much.

Why are SH nation win the test match?
Because they train together for something like 4 month a year. Teams are well prepared. European teams have to play the league, the H cup, the 6 nations and when SH and NH meet, no suprise to see SH teams win.

What about the world cup? As someone said, 3 european teams (sorry, but for me, Argentina = Europe as all players play in France or in the Islands) were in the 4th first places. What a surprise? No surprise for us here. Because teams have lot of time to train together. Only SH people can be surprised by loss of Aussies and Kiwis because they are used to think the only way to play rugby is THEIR way.

What a pity!

By K, at February 11, 2009 2:35 am
"There'll be a time when you can do the same, like English fans did when they won the World Cup.
But this is our time in the sun."

Why is this your time? Have the SH teams collectively won the world cup together? I'm a firm supporter of the Boks but all this superior SH talk is plain ignorance. The results tell everything. Let your team speak for you on the scoreboards.

By Anonymous, at February 11, 2009 12:26 pm
To Anonymous who said it doesn't take skill to kick a drop goal...you're an idiot, pure and simple. Kicking drop goals are some of the hardest things to do in rugby...even taking a drop-off is difficult. nailing a drop goal is infinitely harder to do than kick penalty, off-load in a tackle or throw a reverse pass...please mate, your ignorance and lack of grammar is embarassing all the rest of us Irish people...

By Anonymous, at February 11, 2009 1:21 pm
I don't usually comment here, but I just need to say something about the whole SH/NH debate. To all those who came on here talking about how much better the SH teams are, have you ever considered that the only reason people from the NH get so defensive is because people like you have to bring it up at every single opportunity? Most people wouldn't even disagree with you about the SH teams being better (I spent the last year down under and enjoyed a lot of good rugby), but the fact that you have to tell us at every turn is simply annoying as hell. I love Australia, but when they played France I would actually have preferred France to win, just because of those kinds of comments.

Let me offer you a comparison. I'm German (supporting the Irish team) and I think most of us would agree that the German soccer team plays at a much higher level than the Australian team. However, whenever the Aussies win, I'm delighted for them. They did very well in the World Cup 2006 and I talked to Aussie friends and relatives about how good they were. I did not think it necessary to remind them that had they come up against our team, they would have been thrashed. If you were a soccer fan and I did that every time your team won, how would you react?

Why can't you just see a good game of rugby (and I think even you couldn't deny that Saturday's game was very good and extremely entertaining) without reminding everyone else that you could have done it better? I think it's great that you watch the Six Nations, but just enjoy them and as soon as you don't anymore, turn the TV off. But please let us rejoice in a victory here, talk about the game with us if you want, but spare us the 'we're better than you' routine. It is thouroughly out of place.

By Anonymous, at February 11, 2009 4:01 pm
I totally agree with Annika, Aussie arogance stinks so bad. But has anyone noticed when the aussies talk about the november internationls they bring up all the SH teams stats such as

SH 19 NH 1

why not give the truth as far as aussie Rugby goes,

THE TRUTH
Results by Australia in the November Internationals

Italy 14 - 22
France 13 - 18
England 14 - 28
Wales 21 - 18

Now what this shows is that Australia barely beat Italy who got beat by England. They beat England who were very clueless and playing badly at tahe time. They just fluked past France because Skrela missed 5/6 kickable penalties. Then they got hammered by wales.

And all this after being hammered 53 - 8 by SA. Ireland without a full-time coach also pushed them to the limit on their soil losing 18 - 12, so thier form is pretty patchy at the moment.
Also Wales (shock!!!) a poor crap NH team are catching up with them in the rankings, so Aussie arogance is gonna bite them in the ass pretty soon. All i have to say to the aussies is keep singing cause your running scared.

By Kenny, at February 11, 2009 4:17 pm
oh yes this win got ireland up in the rankings!!!!

1º new zealand
2ºsouth africa
3ºaustralia
4ºwales
5ºargentina
6ºengland
7ºIRELAND :)
8ºfrance

By Anonymous, at February 11, 2009 5:01 pm
Yeah well done Jacobo another one that will go silent when ozzies choke against another much worse team n the rankings, It took yous to foul parrisse to beat them n Italy earlier ha ha lol god your a shit team.
At least Ireland are where they should be. We dont try to be any bigger than the 4 provinces we have which happened to be the ec champs. Aussies should be right beside us in the rankings as Wales showed yous in November with that total one sided pasting. You got a mistake from a line out, that was it.

Wakey wakey i smell another choker on the way lol

Didnt see you guys runnning the shit out france like Ireland did in November, In fact id say and Ireland aussie game would be even stephen, but you lot would never admit that cause your the best in the world. Silly hick.

By Kenny, at February 11, 2009 5:18 pm
one word about the refereeing: it seems like a lot people don't understand the reaction of the french about Nigel Owens. First of all, Top 14 refereeing is a lot more flexible about rucks, allowing a more flowing game. This kind of refereeing sets a standard that French players follow and that they have a hard time adapting to in the H cup or in the 6 nations. Add to this the fact that Owens would sometimes warn the Irish 2 or 3 times before whistling, whereas most of the times he only warned the French once. Plus there WERE a few penalties not whistled against Ireland, something I completely understand, the ref is not a machine. But when you add all this together, this game leaves a bitter after taste even though the Irish completely deserved to win

By Anonymous, at February 11, 2009 5:40 pm
To Gavin: if you want to read french sports and more precisely about rugby, go to rugbyrama.fr, which is the website of renowned rugby newspaper Midi Olympique. Those journalists actually know something about rugby, and have at least a basic knowledge of "anglo-saxons" countries and culture

By Anonymous, at February 11, 2009 5:45 pm
Very nice tries but as a long rugby fan this kind of referring cause me real pain. I won't watch more 6 Nations games this year.

By Anonymous, at February 12, 2009 12:07 am
haha, I love it, like stirring a nest of hornets. It aint Aussie arrogence, it's Aussie shit-stirring and it's a national past time.
By the way, we also beat SA twice, NZ once, Ireland once, France three times, England and Italy once each, so you can put that in your pipe and smoke it :).
Should have beat Wales and NZ again as well, but Alan 'I hate Australia' Lewis was reffing, and I don't think we've ever won a game under him, that I can remember. We've never won a penalty count under him either, stupid pendatic NH ref that he is.
oh, and Ireland as a team, average. Not that great at all, a few great players, but only a few. Most of em wouldn't get a run in the Aussie national team.
We beat the kiwis almost every year at least once. You lot have never beaten em, ever, in like 100 years of trying. That's just ridiculous, you'd think you would have won just on a fluke by now.
Anyway, keep it coming, I love the indignation. The truth hurts.

By Anonymous, at February 12, 2009 12:40 am
look at me I'm anonymous...no I am ...no, i am
.........
......
not necc one person guys

good to see the odd posting actually dealing with the specifics

i for one do think that the Frence last pass was forward.

Ireland could do pretty well this yr, but wales in the last game will either be a decider or the welsh will have totally given up - methinks the former

(off topic, but That's a good point on the time spent together for national teams, which helps explain world cup performances of NH SH too)

By Anonymous, at February 12, 2009 3:01 am
yeah, it's all prep time, whatever helps you to sleep at night. That's whyMa Nonu ran straight thru the middle of the Irish defence. Preperation time. Ha!

By Anonymous, at February 12, 2009 6:29 am
Okay, ignoring the person above me, because they're obviously not prepared to even talk about it like an adult. Let's not give him any attention and he'll probably go off and play somewhere else.

I agree on the Wales decider and would love to see Ireland get that far without conceding a game. The main difference I saw in the Irish play on Saturday, apart from anything technical that might have changed, was that they actually seemed to enjoy playing instead of just struggling through. They played the way they did in 2007 (with the difference of winning this time obviously) and back then it could have easily gone the other way.

By Anonymous, at February 12, 2009 9:55 am
It's obvious France will win the tournament even with this first game loss :o))))

By K, at February 12, 2009 10:57 am
I'm gonna go and eat some worms annika.
NH = crap
SH = super awesome great.
five world cups, four to the SH, one to the NH. Yeah that's really even.

By Anonymous, at February 13, 2009 3:29 am
You know, if you had read my first comment, you would have realised that I actually admitted the SH teams are better, so you're attacking the entirely wrong person here. But go on, make enemies with everyone, it seems it's what you're best at.

In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy a good Six Nations Championship, just like I enjoyed the Tri-Nations last year, meeting many brilliant people down there, who did not see it necessary to slam the team I support at every opportunity they got. But I guess not everybody can be open-minded. But please, stop describing yourself as a typical Australian (if that was you; it's a bit hard to know with all these anonymous comments), because it doesn't do all your friendly countrymen justice. And also, please read comments properly before randomly dishing out insults.

By Anonymous, at February 13, 2009 9:36 am
Aussie arrogence??? more like the whipping boys of SH, poor aussie guys take frustration out on us.... cry me a river boohoo!!

By Anonymous, at February 13, 2009 12:37 pm
hahahaha, sorry, was just stirring.

By Anonymous, at February 14, 2009 5:54 pm