2014 Six Nations: Ireland vs Scotland (Round 1)

[Big Ewis]

Ireland VS Scotland



Date: 2 February 2014, 15:00 (UTC+0)
Location: Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
​

 

[Dougydeluxe]

First game of the 6 Nations is always the biggest. If you win this it can set you up to finish top 3, but a loss can spell the start of a hard tournament.

Think Craig Joubert is a great ref and if Scotland get the win here it could be the start of an amazing campaign. Also will be interesting to see which Ireland shows up. The tried and true, or that new passion and flair that they brought against NZ.

 

[UlsterRugby2012]

Should be a good game, 2 improving teams. I'd say Scotland will be tough, and even though they beat us last year I can't see Ireland losing this one at all. I've got high expectations for Schmidt and I think he can really motivate the squad - 10-15+ to Ireland for me.

 

[iINDOMINUSxx]

Should be a good game, 2 improving teams. I'd say Scotland will be tough, and even though they beat us last year I can't see Ireland losing this one at all. I've got high expectations for Schmidt and I think he can really motivate the squad - 10-15+ to Ireland for me.

yep so true ireland at the aviva stadium is going to be a hard match for any team even the all blacks

 

[munstermuffin]

I think an issue for us is we traditionally struggle on Sundays. (I know ABs was Sunday). Also we always seem to struggle against Scotland as they just stick with you doggedly and make things tough.
So given where respective teams are in terms of talent available and stages of redeveloping I'd say we will sneak it by 6-10 but after a hard 50mins or so of battling.

 

[Big Ewis]

Can't see Scotland winning this. But it's not like Aviva Stadium is some impenetrable fortress either. A medium England won there last year, an ever-so-struggling France got the draw, Australia had their way and well there recently - the NZ match was the best Ireland has played the whole year by far, obviously, but is nothing of a pattern. Just one match.
I don't think Scotland has enough substance to beat Ireland in the last 20, if it takes that long for the game to be decided.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

I think Ireland will improve as the competition goes on. When Joe Schmidt took over at Leinster, it took the team about 6 weeks to get to grips with his systems (with influential commentators like a certain RTE panelist calling for him to be fired). With him having the squad for a bloc of two months, Ireland will be the better for it at the end of the tournament. As such I think weeks 1 and 2 will be dangerous while the kinks are ironed out. Fortunately Ireland are at home to start the campaign and should be capable of beating Scotland.

I fancy Ireland to win by 10 points in their opener.

 

[g6mcg]

Scotland team announced: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/25941235

Forwards: Ryan Grant (Glasgow Warriors) Ross Ford (Edinburgh Rugby) Moray Low (Glasgow Warriors) Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors) Jim Hamilton (Montpellier) Ryan Wilson (Glasgow Warriors) Kelly Brown (Saracens, capt) David Denton (Edinburgh Rugby)
Backs: Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors) Sean Maitland (Glasgow Warriors) Alex Dunbar (Glasgow Warriors) Duncan Taylor (Saracens) Sean Lamont (Glasgow Warriors) Duncan Weir (Glasgow Warriors) Greig Laidlaw (Edinburgh Rugby)
Replacements: Pat MacArthur (Glasgow Warriors) Alasdair Dickinson (Edinburgh Rugby) Geoff Cross (Edinburgh Rugby)Richie Gray (Castres) Johnnie Beattie (Montpellier) Chris Cusiter (Glasgow Warriors) Matt Scott (Edinburgh Rugby)Max Evans (Castres).

Happier than I expected to be! Will elaborate later, once I've regained my sense of gloom.

 

[Amiga500]

I think Ireland will improve as the competition goes on. When Joe Schmidt took over at Leinster, it took the team about 6 weeks to get to grips with his systems

Well, most of the decision makers he can call upon are Leinster regulars who should know exactly whats happening.

Heaslip
Reddan
Sexton
D'Arcy
O'Driscoll

So it shouldn't need the same bedding in period as a totally unfamiliar squad...

 

[big ginger 8]

Reddan out Boss called up.

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/international/eoin-reddan-set-to-miss-scotland-match-1.1672119

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

I think Ireland will win and will control the game whilst the Scots will do their usual gameplan of slowing everything down to a crawl and hoping for a mistake they can capitalise on with their backs. If Ireland can keep the game flowing quickly or massively outmuscle the Scots in contact, it could be a rout. If the Scots slow the Irish down then I think Ireland will still win but it will be a closer game and probably boring to watch.

 

[lynam1104]

Why isn't Matt Scott starting that man should have been a lion ahead of 36 and Barret.

 

[g6mcg]

Why isn't Matt Scott starting that man should have been a lion ahead of 36 and Barret.

He's been out injured for quite a while. Whether putting him on the bench (especially as it means either he or Taylor might have to play at 10) is wise given that is another matter! I'm generally of the opinion that if they're fit enough to bench, they're fit enough to start. All that said, Taylor has been playing well for Saracens, and whilst you do have to factor in the pack he's playing behind, it's hardly complete lunacy to put him in.

For the rest of the team, and apologies for my great build up (ahem) above:

Disappointed to see Ford, but am quite used to it by now. I know there are questions about MacArthur, but it's not as if Ford has been playing well.
Glad to see Swinson in.
Slightly confused by the back row. Given that Johnson's already declared that Brown's a seven, it's less of a surprise, but I still feel that putting him at six, and a seven at seven would be better. Ryan Wilson probably isn't off sufficient quality to justify such an imbalance in the back row.
Meh about Laidlaw/Cusiter.
Happy Weir's in over Jackson. I'm not sure he's going to prove to be up to much, but we have to learn at some point!
Very happy to see Dunbar at 13, and, on a related note, Lamont on the wing, and not in the centres. I fear that Lamont has lost some of his acceleration and agility, and might be a bit of a liability, especially when defending kicks, but given the inexperience at 10, and in the centres, I can see why we haven't put someone else in.

As for the bench, I don't really know why Max Evans is still there, and would have thought that Scott can cover 13, meaning we could have a proper back three player in the 23 shirt.

 

[Big Ewis]

I'm hoping to see a resilient Scotland side as we have in 2013. We know Ireland can explode for a 3-tries-in-a-row-against-the-allblacks sort of first half, if they get momentum going, à la 2013 Wales Ireland 6N opener, their rhythm can be quite a rampant one.
The breakdown will mean a lot to both teams. Broken play is smt Scotland has thrived off of last year.

Then there's just the psychology of going into this. Does Ireland decide to wreak havoc on opening weekend and then fade into mediocrity in the later stages again ? Will Scotland put their minds to it that they come to win, or just sort of hang in there ?...
We can see all sorts of surprises in int'l Rugby, esp. to start off a year and a tournament, who the fk knows, no stability in prognostics...
Ehh, Ireland by 10.

 

[iINDOMINUSxx]

WTF! why is Richie Gray on the bench ?

 

[munstermuffin]

Dare I say Ireland gotta be ready as there is a nice look to that Scottish team

 

[g6mcg]

WTF! why is Richie Gray on the bench ?

Swinson and Hamilton played very well against South Africa, and they offer a more powerful game. Our whole pack is based around picking massive lumps to run at Ireland. I doubt it will work, but if that's how we're playing Swinson's more suited than Gray. Plus, I like to imagine Gray coming on for the last 20 minutes and charging around!

 

[munstermuffin]

Swinson and Hamilton played very well against South Africa, and they offer a more powerful game. Our whole pack is based around picking massive lumps to run at Ireland. I doubt it will work, but if that's how we're playing Swinson's more suited than Gray. Plus, I like to imagine Gray coming on for the last 20 minutes and charging around!

Been honest you look at probable Irish pack and apart from Healy we don't have any real monsters and I think our pack will have a job dealing with Scots constantly running big guys at them. It'll be a question of which pack tires first when game opens up

 

[big ginger 8]

Big lumps who run in a straight line won't be a problem if we continue the chop tackling we've seen.

I've a feeling will win by 15+

EDIT: Actually given how **** the conditions have been with matches being called off all over the place, maybe I should hold off on that.

 

[g6mcg]

Been honest you look at probable Irish pack and apart from Healy we don't have any real monsters and I think our pack will have a job dealing with Scots constantly running big guys at them. It'll be a question of which pack tires first when game opens up

True, I think our pack might be bigger than yours. Will be interesting to see how that pans out in terms of winning the ball, I'd back most of your players' ability at the breakdown over ours, but maybe brute force will work! If we end up defending a lot I expect the lack of mobility from our 8 will tell, they'll tire, and Hamilton will give away several silly penalties! Out of interest, are there any Scots you'd want in a combined pack? I rate Kelly Brown very highly, but without wanting to start the 'true seven' debate, he's not entirely suited to playing there, so would be tempted to go with Henry (I assume he'll be your seven?). I'm also a fan of Ryan Grant, but he's not as good as Healy. If Hamilton plays with discipline he could be worth a place, I suppose.