Match statistics can often be misleading, and when you examine the figures from Ireland’s win over Russia, you would naturally assume that it was a completely dominant performance from Joe Schmidt’s side. They had 589 metres run compared to Russia’s 150, 16 line breaks to Russia’s 2 and 23 defenders beaten to Russia’s 11. … Continue reading Labour-Intensive
Category: Jack Carty
Armageddon
Before going into the ins and outs of why Ireland lost today, Japan deserve enormous praise for pulling off an unthinkable win over a team who were ranked second in the world. Just like in 2015, they have lit up the tournament with a stunning victory, and the Tier 2 label is becoming less … Continue reading Armageddon
Death By A Thousand Cuts
Ireland’s loss to Wales yesterday was eerily reminiscent of their defeat to England in the last round of the 2012 Six Nations; the conditions were atrocious, Ireland didn’t manage them well (while their opponents did) and everything they tried to do was hindered by slow ruck ball. The difference between the two matches is … Continue reading Death By A Thousand Cuts
Lazarus
Before praising Ireland for their convincing win over France yesterday, the scoreline must be put into context. England put nearly 50 points on the same opposition four weeks ago, and although Ireland had enough chances to do the same, they didn’t convert several of them, and it will be a point of contention with … Continue reading Lazarus
