6 Nations
Ireland Player Ratings vs Wales
After Ireland’s hammering at the hands of Wales here are the player ratings
Ireland were put to the sword by Wales in the final round of this year’s Six Nations and here are the player ratings.
1. Cian Healy (2) – With the team as a whole failing to impress Healy gave away a couple of cheap penalties and will need to compose himself better in such high intensity games.
2. Rory Best (5) – In his final Six Nations performance Best put in a solid display at line-out time and showed great awareness with a short line-out at one point. Unfortunate to see an Irish legend have to bow out on such a low.
3. Tadhg Furlong (4) – Never really got going, had a bad day at the office but everyone knows the talent he has and is certain to start during the World Cup.
4. Tadhg Beirne (3) – He had the chance to impress with Iain Henderson missing through injury and did anything but. He was nowhere near his usual high-intensity standards and will be fighting to secure a ticket to Japan.
5. James Ryan (6) – The one shining light for Ireland as he made the hard yards and continued to rally on even when Ireland were scoreless in with the clock in red. Never seems to have a bad day at the office.
6. Peter O’Mahony (4) – When his team needed him in Cardiff he was nowhere to be seen. A strange performance from all but the No 6 showed none of his usual leadership and lacked his normal intensity.
7. Sean O’Brien (2) – You would be forgiven if you didn’t notice he was on the pitch. He was taken off after 52 minutes for Jack Conan and will struggle to get back into the team especially with his move to London Irish in the Summer.
8. CJ Stander (5) – Carried the ball well but was lacking power, possibly due the performance he put in against the French last week. Below par but fought until the end.
9. Conor Murray (2) – He has struggled for form all tournament and did nothing to impress his critics with this display. The rain didn’t help but the other scrum-halves will see a small window of opportunity for the No 9 jersey if this continues.
10. Johnny Sexton (4) – Frustrated all day as Wales closed him down almost every time he touched the ball. Had a moment if brilliance with a cross-field kick for Jacob Stockdale but that was cancelled out by a kick-off straight out of play. Doesn’t look himself and accepted being replaced by Jack Carty unlike in Rome.
11. Jacob Stockdale (6) – Although he didn’t score a try he made a lot of metres when he had the ball in hand. Looked as though he was in on a couple of occasions only to be denied by a solid Welsh defence. Will hope for better days from the rest of the teams so that he gets more chances.
12. Bundee Aki (2) – He is in big trouble when Robbie Henshaw returns. He provided the team with little to nothing and will need some massive performances for Connacht to be in with a chance of contesting for the inside centre position come Japan.
13. Garry Ringrose (4) – Had a couple of promising moments but was given nothing to feed off by his comrades. It was hard to see after his incredible display last weekend but has a Champions Cup quarter-final to look forward to with Leinster and is only improving.
14. Keith Earls (3) – Never got going and looked a shadow of his normal energetic self. Hasn’t had too poor a tournament but will want to forget today.
15. Rob Kearney (2) – Can’t remember him getting the ball more than once and although not entirely his fault it was still a terrible showing. One of his worst in green and with Larmour’s try after coming on, he will be under pressure to keep hold of the full-back jersey.
Replacements (6) – Some of them made you wonder what could have been if they were on from the start. Jack Carty showed some great imagination with his kicks and Jordan Larmour attacked with intent and was rewarded with his try. Jack Conan impressed once more from the bench and has put himself in contention for a starting berth at No 8. Overall, a decent performance from the subs on a poor day for the country.
Management (1) – In Schmidt’s final Six Nations match as head coach it was one of their worst displays ever. It wasn’t helped by the conditions with the roof open, a decision, made by the Irish and one can only wonder what if it had been closed. Schmidt will bounce back but it is not the way he would have wanted to end his 6 Nations tenure in charge. A big few months await.
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The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) is delighted to announce the return of the ‘A’ Interprovincial Men’s Championship which will kick off next month.
The times and dates of the opening three rounds of the Championship before Christmas have been confirmed, with a similar points-scoring system as used in the URC. A Championship winner will be declared after the final round of matches in May and the IRFU will be commissioning a legacy trophy to mark the 150th anniversary celebrations.
Welcoming the news, IRFU Performance Director David Humphreys commented:
“We’re delighted to kick-start the Men’s ‘A’ Interprovincial Championship which will provide a host of players with a further means of developing in a meaningful competition. With the success of the Emerging Ireland Tours, coupled with the return of an ‘A’ international against England next year, it is vital that we continue to provide players at provincial and Club levels with opportunities to impress outside of the traditional URC and EPCR fixture windows.
“Discussions have been ongoing for some time to provide players with meaningful games and all four provinces are unanimously supportive of this competition. It is also great to see provinces taking matches around their local Clubs.
“It is anticipated that as the competition progresses over the coming seasons these fixtures won’t clash with Energia All-Ireland League fixtures for the most part, thus potentially also offering players from the Club game with an opportunity to impress.
“This competition will form another important part of the representative pathway from Energia AIL to URC levels for Academy players upwards over the coming seasons.”
The dates for the post-Christmas fixtures will be confirmed in due course. Ticket details will be confirmed via the respective provinces.
IRFU 150 Interprovincial ‘A’ Championship Fixtures:
Saturday, 16th November:
Connacht Eagles v Leinster ‘A’ (Creggs RFC, 1pm)
Friday, 22nd November:
Ulster ‘A’ v Connacht Eagles (Ballymacaran Park, 3pm), Leinster ‘A’ v Munster ‘A’ (Lakelands, 5pm)
Friday, 29th November:
Munster ‘A’ v Ulster ‘A’ (New Ormond Park, 3pm)
Friday, 20th December:
Ulster ‘A’ v Munster ‘A’ (tbc, 3pm)
Saturday, 21st December:
Leinster ‘A’ v Connacht Eagles (Ollie Campbell Park, 2pm)
Weekend of 28/29 December:
Connacht Eagles v Ulster ‘A’ (tbc), Munster ‘A’ v Leinster ‘A’ (tbc)
Weekend of 9/10 May:
Connacht Eagles v Munster ‘A’ (tbc), Leinster ‘A’ v Ulster ‘A’ (tbc)
Weekend of 16/17 May:
Munster ‘A’ v Connacht Eagles (tbc), Ulster ‘A’ v Leinster ‘A’ (tbc)
Images & Content from Irish Rugby & Images © Inpho Photography
The Emerging Ireland team to face the Cheetahs in the final game of the three-match series in Bloemfontein on Wednesday evening (kick off 6pm Irish time, 7pm local time) has been named.
Leinster’s James Culhane will lead the team and he forms a new back-row alongside Harry Sheridan and Sean Edogbo, who makes his first start of the tour having come on as a replacement in the 29-24 win over Western Force on Sunday afternoon. Former Ireland Under-20 captain Evan O’Connell locks down with Darragh Murray, who featured in the opening 36-24 victory over the Pumas, with Alex Usanov named in the front row alongside hooker Stephen Smyth and Jack Aungier.
Darragh Murray of Emerging Ireland scores his sides second try – Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Steve Haag Sports/Darren Stewart
In the backline, Sam Prendergast starts his third game of the tour at out-half and he will be partnered by Cormac Foley, who featured as a second half replacements against the Australian Super Rugby side last time out. Connacht’s Hugh Gavin forms a midfield partnership with Hugh Cooney, with Ulster’s Zac Ward named in an exciting back tree alongside the returning Ben O’Connor at full-back and Andrew Osborne who moves to the right wing.
Munster loosehead prop George Hadden, who was called up to the squad last weekend, is set to make his first appearance after being named on the bench alongside Conor O’Tighearnaigh and Alex Soroka who started Sunday’s win. Hadden’s provincial team-mate Danny Sheahan provides cover once more at hooker, while Scott Wilson and Charlie Tector are also named on the bench for the Toyota Stadium clash alongside out-half Jack Murphy.
Looking ahead to the game, Emerging Ireland Head Coach Simon Easterby said: “When we set out at the beginning of our pre-camp in Dublin, we knew about the challenge of facing three sides in a week and we knew that every player in the group would have the opportunity to play his part. To a man each player has given his all so far and we are aiming to finish off the series with another positive performance on Wednesday.
The Cheetahs are a fiercely proud and strong side and it should be a lively game with a vocal home support behind them. It has been a fruitful past few weeks to date and we have learned a lot. While our performances haven’t been perfect, the players have embraced the challenge and played some brilliant rugby at times. The action has come thick and fast and we know that we have to be clinical in our execution. We will need to go up another level on Wednesday to get the performance we want and hopefully finish the tour on a high.”
Wednesday’s game will be broadcast once more on IrishRugby+ – click here.
Emerging Ireland (v The Cheetahs, Wednesday, October 9, 7pm local time, 6pm Irish time)
15: Ben O’Connor (UCC RFC/Munster)
14: Andrew Osborne (Naas RFC/Leinster)
13: Hugh Cooney (Clontarf FC/Leinster)
12: Hugh Gavin (Galwegians RFC/Connacht)
11: Zac Ward (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster/Ireland Sevens)
10: Sam Prendergast (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
9: Cormac Foley (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
1: Alex Usanov (Clontarf FC/Leinster)
2: Stephen Smyth (Old Wesley RFC/Leinster)
3: Jack Aungier (Clontarf FC/Connacht)
4: Evan O’Connell (Young Munster RFC/Munster)
5: Darragh Murray (Buccaneers RFC/Connacht)
6: Harry Sheridan (Dublin University FC/Ulster)
7: Sean Edogbo (UCC RFC/Munster)
8: James Culhane (UCD RFC/Leinster) (captain)
Replacements:
16: Danny Sheahan (Cork Constitution FC/Munster)
17: George Hadden (Garryowen FC/Munster)
18: Scott Wilson (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster)
19: Conor O’Tighearnaigh (UCD RFC/Leinster)
20: Alex Soroka (Clontarf FC/Leinster)
21: Matthew Devine (Corinthians RFC/Connacht)
22: Jack Murphy (Clontarf FC/Ulster)
23: Charlie Tector (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
Images & Content from Irish Rugby & Images © Inpho Photography
Following Emerging Ireland’s 29-24 victory over Western Force in Bloemfontein on Sunday three players, Gus McCarthy (Leinster), Sean O’Brien (Munster) and Jude Postlethwaite (Ulster) will return to their provinces.
The trio will leave South Africa on Monday afternoon and will be available for selection for their respective URC fixtures this weekend.
The squad will visit Heidedal Township this afternoon and will conclude the three-match series on Wednesday evening against The Cheetahs (kick off 7pm local, 6pm Irish time). That match will be live on irishrugby+
Watch the full match back here on irishrugby+
Check out the highlights from the win against Western Force below.
Images & Content from Irish Rugby & Images © Inpho Photography
Jordan signs for Bristol Bears
IRFU Announces Return Of ‘A’ Interprovincial Championship
