@The-Irishman said in RWC Week 2: Ireland v Tonga:

Guys, it's Romania and Tonga. The test to see how good this team is, that's next week. A loss next week and then all to play for against Scotland just to qualify.

Yes - but the manner of the wins and the way the Irish team is playing should give you confidence.
The only concern would be discipline and getting on the wrong side of officials with the yap yap yap from Sexton et.al .. You have NZs spin the wheel BOK for next week and then Nic Berry (my personal least fav ref in the world) for Scotland

whatever the result next week I struggle to see Ireland going down to Scotland - unless there are several key injuries / cards against SA and some "interesting officiating" .....

Well that went all right. Roll on the next match. We've been here before.

@Mattasaurus said in RWC Week 2: Ireland v Tonga:

@The-Irishman said in RWC Week 2: Ireland v Tonga:

Guys, it's Romania and Tonga. The test to see how good this team is, that's next week. A loss next week and then all to play for against Scotland just to qualify.

Yes - but the manner of the wins and the way the Irish team is playing should give you confidence.
The only concern would be discipline and getting on the wrong side of officials with the yap yap yap from Sexton et.al .. You have NZs spin the wheel BOK for next week and then Nic Berry (my personal least fav ref in the world) for Scotland

whatever the result next week I struggle to see Ireland going down to Scotland - unless there are several key injuries / cards against SA and some "interesting officiating" .....

Scots will be up for it and won’t have any fears or hang ups about playing a team they know so well from the Six nations……but in saying that Ireland will most likely be too clinical overall.

@Billy-Tell said in RWC Week 2: Ireland v Tonga:

Still can’t believe we chose Francis saili over bundee. Think it was the Henry era still.

It's silly to pretend that Aki was ever at AB level when he was in NZ. The year Saili made the ABs Aki was a bench player for the Chiefs, he then had one year as a starter for the Chiefs before leaving NZ rugby for money.

@Mattasaurus said in RWC Week 2: Ireland v Tonga:

@akan004 said in RWC Week 2: Ireland v Tonga:

I only just woke up and missed the game. Do we have a chance against these guys?

Based on what we have delivered in the last 3 games... I wouldn't be putting the mortgage on it - Irish forwards are a tight unit that show urgency and to large degrees accuracy that we just haven't come close too.
Plus their backs run effective lines and don't have to deal with multiple playmakers and bullshit cross kicks etc.
The other glaring gap would be the kicking accuracy and chasing ...... we're not even close on that one

Overall their game is more efficient and less complicated than ours to get right .

And from the outside looking in , it looks like they have 100 percent belief and buy in from the players in their system ,

Ours, if the fans question it, you got to wonder if some of the players do too

@MajorRage said in RWC Week 2: Ireland v Tonga:

Tonga have to be careful flying into the rucks.

Red cards waiting to happen.

Ireland, like all top rugby teams, are colossal cheats.

That's a bit unfair on Ireland, they've been doing it since long before they were a top team

@Billy-Tell said in RWC Week 2: Ireland v Tonga:

Very impressive performance from Ireland. Look the complete package.

Their scrum is gash.

So far they’ve got away with it by employing and refining the Bill Young book of tricks.

There were three scrums in a row in that second half where Furlong was furfolded like a cheap tweed suit. Inexplicably on the third one Barnes penalized Tonga. Presumably for not babying the jovial spud botherer.

@Nepia said in RWC Week 2: Ireland v Tonga:

@Billy-Tell said in RWC Week 2: Ireland v Tonga:

Still can’t believe we chose Francis saili over bundee. Think it was the Henry era still.

It's silly to pretend that Aki was ever at AB level when he was in NZ. The year Saili made the ABs Aki was a bench player for the Chiefs, he then had one year as a starter for the Chiefs before leaving NZ rugby for money.

This is completely wrong

Saili got picked in 2013.

Aki had the most starts at 12 for the Chiefs before the squad got selected in 2013 (remembering in these days they paused Super Rugby during the June test window) - I think he had close to 10 starts - I just went back and checked.

In fact - it was Saili that was on bench for the Blues at the time - I remember it being a story that Saili was coming off the bench for the Blues but got selected by the ABs.

@stodders said in RWC Week 2: Ireland v Tonga:

The sheer number of Ireland cleaners who just flop over the ruck, sealing off the ball. I counted 3 piled on top of each other in one ruck alone.

They sound like they are in danger of sealing off their own team!

@Mattasaurus said in RWC Week 2: Ireland v Tonga:

whatever the result next week I struggle to see Ireland going down to Scotland - unless there are several key injuries / cards against SA and some "interesting officiating" .....

I'd be very surprised if the SA-Ireland game won't result in a few injuries, the rucks and tackles will be ferocious. As for officiating, these teams should give themselves a pat on the back if there are no cards.

Watching this back now.

The level at which Ireland players look offended when penalised makes me think that facial expressions are part of their training.

Holy fuck that Tongan winger absolutely bought a lottery ticket on Hansen dropping Ireland's opening try. What a terrible attempt.

The warm and sexy tones of Louise Ransome on the sideline comforts me

@KiwiMurph said in RWC Week 2: Ireland v Tonga:

@Nepia said in RWC Week 2: Ireland v Tonga:

@Billy-Tell said in RWC Week 2: Ireland v Tonga:

Still can’t believe we chose Francis saili over bundee. Think it was the Henry era still.

It's silly to pretend that Aki was ever at AB level when he was in NZ. The year Saili made the ABs Aki was a bench player for the Chiefs, he then had one year as a starter for the Chiefs before leaving NZ rugby for money.

This is completely wrong

Saili got picked in 2013.

Aki had the most starts at 12 for the Chiefs before the squad got selected in 2013 (remembering in these days they paused Super Rugby during the June test window) - I think he had close to 10 starts - I just went back and checked.

In fact - it was Saili that was on bench for the Blues at the time - I remember it being a story that Saili was coming off the bench for the Blues but got selected by the ABs.

Mea culpa, I mixed up playoff matches and regular season, he was on the bench for the play off matches with Horrell starting.

In the interest of completeness I decided to fact check your claim about Saili - he started the majority of the Blues matches in 2013.

Regardless, Aki wasn't good enough for the ABs at that time, even if Saili wasn't as well.

@Nepia said in RWC Week 2: Ireland v Tonga:

Regardless, Aki wasn't good enough for the ABs at that time, even if Saili wasn't as well.

I simply don't agree. There were plenty on here at the time advocating for Aki.

@akan004 I think we have a good shot against them, similarly SA, but we will need to be far more clinical and accurate to do so.

The very nature of knock out rugby says we have a good shot if we get it right, but that's the thing, we probably need more than the 40 mins of good rugby we had v each of Arg and SA in TRC to go all the way.

@KiwiMurph said in RWC Week 2: Ireland v Tonga:

@Nepia said in RWC Week 2: Ireland v Tonga:

Regardless, Aki wasn't good enough for the ABs at that time, even if Saili wasn't as well.

I simply don't agree. There were plenty on here at the time advocating for Aki.

That's your opinion, fair enough, but he was hardly screaming pick me over all comers in 2013 and had signed to go to Ireland by as early as April 2014 (before any AB squads were picked). So really he only gave himself 2013 to to make the ABs before choosing to play for Ireland.

Anyway with 5 minutes to go:

Tonga unfit and poor handling.

Ireland cynical and fairly polished.

A couple of scrum calls were pretty bad I must say. One around 74:00 was clearly Ireland folding under pressure as someone mentioned earlier.

I touched on cynicism: if there is one area Ireland excel, it is that half-moment at the back of a ruck or in the tackle that compounds slow possession (not that Tonga did any favours to themselves in this regard). The All Blacks were quite good at this sort of play. Ireland took notes.

Good team tho

Their cynicism is battle-earned. I admire it. Even, maybe especially, at scrums.

I just want other teams to get a fair chance to fuck their scrum up.

[edit especially the boks next week but also France in the QFs.]