Ireland Vs Japan

So for the 2^nd game in succession, Ireland escaped with a victory that for long periods seemed a distant dream. Japan came to play rugby and also in the same way as Eddie Jones’s charges did in 2015 against South Africa, this Japanese side worked hard in defence and at scrum time where they caused Ireland no end of problems. Even in the line out, Japan seemed to have Ireland’s number at every turn and this meant that Ireland could not get any sort of rhythm going.

Full credit goes to Japan for having a game plan set out that they were all capable of executing to near perfection. They won’t now progress to the semi finals, but in their final Pool game they can sharpen their attacking threat for the Belfast leg of this campaign.

For Ireland, the questions remain, can they get the win needed to secure a semi final spot. On the evidence of the past two games this task will be extremely tough. The changes that Tom Tierney made for the game last night made only minimal difference. They struggled to get to the pace of the game in particular they looked flat footed in defence and very slow in attack.

Given that France put 72 points on Japan in game 1 and 48 unanswered points on Australia last night , one fears that if Ireland do not get to the pitch of the game very early next Thursday they could be in for a very long evening and that is not understating the task facing Ireland.

Ireland know that the game later this week is a winner takes all clash and that the prize at stake is a place in the last 4. All the squad need to forget what has gone before and pour all of their energy into finding a way to defeat France. The one positive is Ireland beat France earlier this year in a tight contest in the Six Nations.

They need to sum of the courage of that performance to try a secure a priceless win that will secure them a semi final place. Only a win will do to secure a semi final spot. Let’s hope Ireland big players stand up and be counted over the coming days.

The pressure is on now, they cannot settle for second best. I was sitting in front of Niamh Briggs last night and listening to her try contribute to help her team mates out was something special.

You can see how much it means. If she could have taken off the medical boot she would have to pull on a jersey and help out in some small way.

 Her influence will be crucial in the next few days, she will be needed along with other senior squad members to rally the troops and come up with a game plan to try and see off France.

Here’s hoping they can solve the issues they had in the set piece last evening and regain the supremacy they had throughout the Six Nations.  This is as I have said before is backs to the wall stuff and for all the doubts over team performance, they just need to put all the issues to one side and give it their all in the quest to top the Pool.

Tom Tierney knows all about heart breaking World Cup exits as he was part of the Irish squad that exited the 1999 World Cup in Lens after being defeated by Argentina. He can hopefully use the lessons he learned from that day to help his squad.

The time is now Ladies, to as they say down in Munster, Stand Up and Fight…… Over to you and your troops Claire, It’s your time…..

 By

Cian Mc Gibney

14/08/2017

Ireland XV to face Japan

I have decided to don the selector hat and try and select the XV to face Japan at 5.15pm this Sunday in the UCD Bowl. Looking at the impact of the bench last Wednesday I think it is fair to say both Sophie Spence and Ciara Griffin will come into the team in the pack.

In the backs, there is room to use some of the players who were not used last week. Players like Claire Mc Laughlin and Louise Galvin could come into the back line to try and add extra spark to the attack.

Given that France put 72 points on Japan , one feels that Ireland should be able to do some similar tomorrow. Yes Ireland struggled to deal with the weight of expectation on some occasions on Wednesday but by tomorrow they should know what to expect.

The pressure of tomorrow will be different to what it was like on Wednesday, now that they are off and running with one win under the belt they will be expected by the crowd, media and above all themselves to kick on and find another gear.

Japan played Ireland twice in the build up to World Cup and ran them very close both times but after the tight win against Australia, Claire Molloy and her troops will know they will need to show more to put down a marker at this home World Cup.

Tom Tierney has said his side will improve as the competition goes on , the time is upon us to show that fact. This is a home World Cup and Ireland have a opportunity against Japan to show all challengers that they will not lie down too easily….

Here is the XV I would select –

15 Mairead Coyne

14 Hannah Tyrell

13 Claire Mc Laughlin

12 Katie Fitzhenry

11 Louise Galvin

10 Nora Stapleton

9 Nicole Cronin

8 Paula Fitzpatrick

7 Claire Molloy

6 Ciara Griffin

5 Marie Louise Reilly

4 Sophie Spence

3 Ailish Egan

2 Cliona Maloney

1 Lindsey Peat

-

16 Leah Lyons

17 Ciara O Connor

18 Ruth O Reilly

19 Ciara Cooney

20 Heather O Brien

21 Larissa Muldoon

22 Sene Naoupu

23 Eimear Considine 

Ireland Vs Australia – Match 1

So Ireland are off and running after a narrow 2 point win over Australia in the opening game of the 2017 World Cup for both teams. Given that England, New Zealand and Canada had but down markers earlier in the day with big wins, it was crucial that Ireland got off to a winning start and they did that but only just…

It took Ireland 20 minutes to get into the game, but once they found some rhythm they were about to put a few moves together. Larissa Muldoon got the opening score for Ireland and Nora Stapleton was successful with conversion.  

Australia used there forwards to great effect by crashing the ball up the middle and then changing the point of attack at will , they really utilised some tactics used in 7s and transferred that to the 15s game.  Players like Sharni Williams and skipper Shannon Parry to the fore for most of the game.

Ireland will know they will need to improve in attack and defence before they face Japan on Sunday evening.  Ireland were under real pressure in defence and withstood the onslaught from Australia. In attack Ireland went round the corner and then spread the ball wide to Sene Naoupu and Jenny Murphy.

At times the Irish attack lacked real depth and they seemed to be going over and back in front of the Australian defence and they looked really stuck when it came to trying to break down the defence.  Hopefully by the time the Japan game rolls around on Sunday Tom Tierney and his staff will have a plan to help restart the Irish attack.

Looking to what Ireland did well, they did defend from minute 1 and the work that has been put in at that aspect of the game is plain to see. Some of the Irish kicking left a lot to be desired and this will also need to improve from here on in.

Australia although they don’t play too many games in 15s against to opposition that fact didn’t seem to hold them back last night and they managed to almost upset the script but of course if sport was all about the perfect script then nobody would get involved. Last night’s game was the ideal finish to a day of one sided contests but the one thing day 1 did deliver is that the cream always rises to the top no matter the sport.

All the heavy hitters came to fore and did what was expected and more , England put 56 points on Spain , New Zealand put 44 points on Wales after a tough encounter , Canada hell bent on gaining revenge for the 2014 World Cup final defeat showed newcomers Hong Kong no mercy by scoring 98 unanswered points.

Back to Ireland, the Irish bench had a big part to play as two subs namely Sophie Spence and Ciara Griffin came on and scored the vital tries to eventually saw Ireland home by 2. The Ireland squad showed terrific resolve last night to find themselves in trouble but then to know how to fix the issues and find the way to win.

It’s now onto Japan on Sunday, and hopefully it will be more of the same from Ireland who have plenty to work on before match day 2. A mention too for the support last night, 3,500 people packed out the venue and made great noise in support of the girls in green. You can but not be infected by the nonstop support.  Here’s hoping Sunday will bring more of the same….. It can’t come around quick enough…….

By

Cian Mc Gibney

10/08/2017

Ireland Vs Australia World Cup 2017 Day 1

So Tom Tierney has named the 23 that will face Australia in The UCD Bowl at 7pm tomorrow evening. He has made 4 changes with Heather O Brien coming into the team at number 8, Ashleigh Baxter will take over the number 6 jersey from Ciara Griffin who will have to make an impact from the bench.

Shannon scrum half Nicole Cronin is the only uncapped player in the 23 tomorrow evening and that is a good testament to what Tom Tierney and his coaches have done over the last 3 years in trying to build some squad depth in the build up to this World Cup.

Looking to tomorrow, Ireland will have a full house shouting them on as the Bowl in UCD is a sell out, hopefully there will be a good atmosphere to help the girls in green  get the win they need to get this show off to the perfect start.

UCD has been transformed over the last few months and it is the perfect place for the next two weeks and the festival of rugby that will follow. Some of the world’s best female rugby talent will be in UCD and I urge people to take the time out over the next three Ireland games and sit and watch these ladies in action.

I realise that the next few weeks is not everyone’s cup of tea but trust me if this group of players can get the right result tomorrow evening, nothing will stop them and they will be well placed to try and better what was achieved in 2014.

I have always said if Ireland won a World Cup I’d love to see the country’s reaction, well over the next three weeks that dream may become a reality. England and a number of other sides will have something to say about that particular dream.

I have spent the last few years trying my best to educate people on the merits of this sport, I travelled to France on a whim three years ago with no French even though I did French at school, sorry Ms Mc Sweeney!!

These ladies deserve huge credit for the time and effort they put in. The time is now for this team to go out a show the world what this team is made of!! A quick word for another Irish lady in action over the next few weeks, referee Joy Neville will officiate at this World Cup. It is a huge honour for her and her family.

Sit back and enjoy the next three weeks, you won’t be disappointed, Trust me!!

By

Cian Mc Gibney

08/08/2017

Pro 14 – The Expansion

So it has been confirmed, we will have a league after all!! The talking has been done and now all that has to be confirmed is the fixture list. The Pro 14 will now be split equally in conference A and conference B , 7 teams in each. Conference A will consist of Ospreys , Cardiff Blues , Munster , Connacht , Glasgow , Zebre and the Toyota Cheetahs.

Conference B will have the defending Pro 12 winners the Scarlets , Dragons , Leinster , Ulster , Edinburgh , Treviso and the Southern Kings.  This change has to be given time to bed in. Both South African sides have been released from Super Rugby and were freed up to seek other chances in other areas. So they joined up with the Guinness Pro 14 to create a new league.

The structure will see each team play 21 games in the season, one less than the Pro 12. Each team will play the other 6 teams in there conference on a home and away basis and then the other games will be cross conference matches. The Irish sides will keep their derbies intact so you as the fan will get to see your chosen team in derby action at some stage in the season.

What the South African teams will bring is a big TV audience and new markets and revenue streams to tap into. New fan bases will also be created. The financial rewards are also massive, some of the funds that will come from a new TV deal with Sky Sport South Africa will benefit all 14 teams. It will help in terms of player recruitment.

It was looking extremely tight as time was slipping away but now we can finally move toward the new season after some very uncertain times. The private backers of Zebre have passed the ownership of Zebre to the Italian Federation.  Michael Bradley will be there new head coach for the coming season on the recommendation of Conor O Shea.  

Looking to the new structure, you will now have quarter finals where the conference winners will progress straight to the semi finals and will have home advantage in those semi finals. European qualification will see 6 sides to get to Europe and the 7^th place will go to the best ranked side outside of the two South African teams who for the new season at least will not be competing for places in Europe.

Change is hard is every walk of life but this change will impact for the better in the long term. It will improve the league and help close the financial gap that has appeared in recent years between the Premiership, Top 14 and Guinness Pro 12/14.  How competitive will the new sides be only time tell and these two new sides will hopefully spur on the Italian teams to improve because they know there are two new sides to fight against.

The Irish sides will hopefully be able to adapt to the new league and hopefully they can have the same level of success and consistency in the next few years. The new season is about to kick off so , sit back and enjoy…..

By

Cian Mc Gibney

01/08/2017