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I would rather Hodnett than any of them, more success playing in South Africa.

But we did beat them when it mattered, we bet them at the RWC.

@cathalsheehan9596 But it didn't REALLY matter. It wasn't a must win game.

New Zealand beat us fair and square and more than likely then would have beaten SA too if they didn't have to play a man down for most of the game. I think New Zealand was the best team up until the final and just had some bad luck in that game.

@@harshbutfair8993 It did matter, it was a RWC game…SA have yet to beat Ireland when it matters

@@cathalsheehan9596 Pool games don't matter if you lose in the play offs.

If Ireland win the series just give it a few weeks, this doomsday punditry will turn to dust in an instant, just showing off their lack of credibility.

@@cathalsheehan9596Ireland win the series?

Well geez your lot have been droning on for weeks about your injury list, despite the incredible depth yez have to draw on ...the Boks are clear favourites and talking yerselves up a lot so easing the pressure there then? 😁

Ya I've been well impressed with Cooney this season tbh and can't believe no one is talking about him and tbh as a Leinster fan I'd love to see him in the squad instead of byrne(s)

No Hodnett as an openside flanker even though he knows what it takes to win in South Africa. The Scott Penny call up ahead of Timoney or Coombes was a thundering disgrace.

Different positions ​@@one_eyed_odin

Cooney? Really?

Do you really want to compare club rugby to international rugby? That's cute :)

Thanks for your kind words but Irish people don’t think we are the best in the world and certainly the other teams in the NH don’t either. Over the last few years we’ve been a solid 2nd or 3rd

@@JastorKeane-ln2tz Ireland won the 6N again, had a record number of straight wins and had been number 1. They are the only ones that beat the Boks in the World Cup. I don't agree they are solid 2 or 3. As a South African I'm so nervous 😂.

No top pace on the wings whatsoever

The only team where that is a major problem is Leinster, too many players.

@@OscarOSullivan accept your point Leinster the main culprit but has happened in other provinces too, Crowley 3-4 yrs from u20s to start getting meaningful games, Tom Ahern and Shane Daly the same and now Brian Gleeson likely the same for a few yrs despite obv potential. Between Munster and the Leinster log jam you would not be far off a competitive 25 players for another squad or open the Irish ban and create some pathways!

An academy "draft" system, aside from being illegal under basic employment law, is also moronic in forcing players to represent a team they may actively dislike. Great way to force players out of Irish rugby

@@inBODwetrust13haha sure becasue Tadgh Beirne, Andrew Conway, Robbie Henshaw, Sean Cronin, Joey Carbery and many others I could go on, have "actively disliked" the provences then ended up representing but sure its much better that careers flame out in an academy without a proper chance at the top level. Many already leave the country to start playing top level rugby if you want to keep them at home then improve the pathways to gametime and that might involve Leinster sharing some resources for the benefit of the overall system, also I am a Dublin Leinster fan so its not for my own benefit. NZ players move openly to find game time within the country, and they havent lost the spice in their rivalries. Be open to new ideas or fall behind, doesnt have to be a draft system!

Are these the same 2 Pundits who made those exact Proclamations? Complete 180????? You mustn't listen to these 2 pundits that often. Both would be best described as 'cautious' when it comes to discussing Irish Ruby matters. FYI - Ireland were RANKED the Best Team in the World BY WORLD RUGBY because of their record, NOT because Pundits/Fans said they were! Seems to me that most of the criticism of Ireland has nothing to do with the Rugby Team and everything to do with certain groups getting bent out of shape because the team was doing so well.

Because they are cheerleaders, they'll do another 180 and say everything is rosey if we win the series.

Injuries and getting kicked out in the quarter final

They are reverting back to their default pre six nations which is Ireland are ready to be found out

Well by official rankings we were no 1 for 17 months..our win rate was impressive by any standards so thats why many and including non Irish said we were then best in the world pre WC. ( although in fairness even back then irish players like Furlong and others always disparaged the ranking system and said it meant little.) SA are now clearly no 1 ...plus in truth the Irish team are struggling with depth etc. since the WC. and provincially its been a poor season for us.. So thats the change...simple logical and easily explained. Yes little confidence for this tour but hardly surprising as most of us are realists

Tbf it’s more that Prendergast is clearly better than the Byrne brothers right now, and even though he’s not as experienced as Ross, he should be starting those big games. Harry should probably be moved along, he’s still young but not up to the level of what Leinster need. I also think Crowley wasn’t at the same level as Prendergast is now when he was 21. Not saying he’s not a better player right now, just that the situation isn’t really the same

@@oisinfitzgerald5401 The hype surrounding Prendergast is way over the top. Leinster and Irish fans love overhyping their players.

@@oisinfitzgerald5401 We don’t need to overhype them, they are just the best which is why Ireland have been top 2 in the world for as long as they have!

Difference is Crowley gets more caps and kicks for victory.

@PB22559 Indeed. It wad such a shock to see former Leinster player Keith Wood call for SP to be included in the RWC squad

True my friend!! Especially not being worried 2yrs before the World Cup! (Rassie experiments with different combinations all the time)

Ciaran as a Saffa, you could not have said any better. That is my attitude as well. I don't care about the Championship ONLY the WC. Can't wait to welcome my second team to Mzanzi (SA).

​@@user-pr2pt5vm1jWhy Mzanzi?

@@rooftile883 its slang. I was not trying to prove or disprove anything.

@@user-pr2pt5vm1j OK, but name changing isn't fun in South Africa anymore.

I tend to agree. I used to enjoy his insight a few years ago but now he just chops and changes all the time. You could summarise his 10min ramble down to- Ireland don't have enough quality strength in depth.

I must admit he does seem to be a bit of a cheerleader when we are winning and then goes completely the other way when we lose.

@@PB22559 Except even that I would question as ultimately Ireland's record disproves that point.

His suggestion about uncapped moving is a good one but then he uses the example of Cian Healy. It also takes him far too long to deliver his point because even though he mentioned Healy and Racing, he's not suggesting Healy and Racing blah blah. Hurry up and stop waffling

@@cathalsheehan9596 Ireland have done well considering they dont have the strength in depth of SA, NZ, Fra, Eng.

Wrong. The Bok players and management care a lot about this upcoming tour. Watch their recent interviews. They're really up for this test series.

@@PB22559 This is an Irish podcast. I was talking about Irish expectations.

I hate it and it’s a bit cowardly for my liking DeAllende expressed Saffas views on how the Irish media have disrespected South Africans recent success and even pre RWC Since you’ve dished it out and now this tour is coming up where the Boks are taking it seriously, now the Irish punditry is putting down the importance of this tour as an opportunity for young players to get some caps. That s bullocks This tour is to determine who is really the no1 and best team in the world. No1 vs No2! Let’s GO!

@@user-rn9co7jc4t I don't think there's any doubt about who's the best- its SA. They won the world cup. They're not playing at a neutral venue, Playing at home in SA will be an advantage to SA.

@@user-rn9co7jc4t Do you really think that SA will admit Ireland are a better team if Ireland win the tour?

Not sure how you got that impression. Jackman has raised these same issues (primarily about growing the numbers of players who could contend for the Green Jersey) re Irish Rugby on more than one occasion. Even when we were heading into the 2023 WC tournament he had said that our strength in depth in key positions was questionable. The latter half of this 2024 URC tournament, BJ has been pointing out the inconsistencies in the Leinster team performances. Generally speaking, Bernard Jackman is not one of these pundits who is subjective in his views of the game.

@@fawltyoldboybasil.2178 He has" so" much knowledge of the game !! From a South African 🇿🇦🇿🇦

Jackman is an very good pundit. This is not the first time he's spoken on these issues.

@@kiaoragin For the most part he is but this is a subject I think he’s talking complete waffle on. Essentially what he wants is Ireland to copy the French model which just shows a real poor understanding of Irish rugby and is a disaster waiting to happen.

@@ianjacobs2998 Well Jackman played for Connacht, Leinster, Sale Sharks and, Ireland. He was a coach in the Top 14 with Grenoble and, in the URC with Newport Dragons. He is currently the coach with Bective Rangers in Dublin. So yes he is quite knowledgeable about the game.

Well said. Ireland lost ALL facets of the set piece battle in the QF. You don't win games when you lose the set piece. Plus, I'd argue Crowley should've been brought on for Sexton much earlier than he was and players like JOB and Conan made a positive impact when they came on.

The simple answer is that Irish sides get manhandled far too often. Bullied. We need players who aren't okay getting bullied every big game. Leinster have unfortunately not offered many or enough players with that mindset.

@@PB22559this 1000%. Sexton looked lost on the pitch in the last 20 mins. Conan and JOB injected a lot of pace, could really see that the ABs had done their homework on Keenan at fullback

@@eamonlyons8069 You mean Leinster got bullied against the Bulls...one game...

​​@@eamonlyons8069I think the SA game proved we can handle physical teams. The issue is handling them consistently. Its hard to account for the vitriol with which NZ were going to come at us in that QF. They wanted to hurt us. I think, had Andy had more depth he'd have rotated a bit more in the pools, we'd have been fresher and that might have made the difference. Instead, players were out on their feet after getting bashed for 80 minutes and ultimately made errors (Sexton missed penalty to go 27-25 up, Doris dropped ball off the drop out from Kellehers held up try, Ringrose missing a huge overlap on the left with Lowe in those final phases at the end. It was a walk in try, made by a team who were out on their feet )

There are three players in the back row! Both flankers and the 8.

@@paul_gordon The scrum packs down 3-4-1. The only person in the back row is the No.8. The flankers are in the second row row beside the locks. In the old 3-2-3 scrum there were three players in the back row.

He's made two major errors at crucial moments in knockout games: the sloppy knock-on off kick off against NZ in the last 10mins of the WC quarterfinal and the needless and obvious penalty against Toulouse in the 2nd half of extra time in CC final.

Doris is still Irelands best back row if you ask me. That doesn't mean he's playing at world class level though. He was outperformed by his opposite number at the weekend. VDF is overrated if you ask me. Yeah, he's got a great engine on him and can interlink well but he just doesn't provide enough physicality at the top level. There's a lot of hype around Baird but he tends to go missing in big games and doesn't seem to do enough grunt work. He's made some crucial errors too. Not gathering that crucial kick off the other day was one of them.

@@PB22559so we’re screwed is what your trying to say

I've been saying it for the past year, he'll be playing 7 at the next WC and you can put your house on it.

@@PB22559 I think Doris is going through a dip in form as most layers do. Give him time he will come out of it. As for Baird, I do agree with your assessment. He doesn't play like the nasty physical blindside that Leinster and Ireland need. I'd say Ahern and Izzy will be pushing him out of contention for the 6 jersey in the future unless he makes massive improvements. I find myself disagreeing with your VDF assessment though. It's very hard to win World Player of the Year and be overrated. As soon as he got on in the final against Toulouse he injected life into Leinster's attack with his physical carries up the guts and out wide. He is a very physical player with as you said a massive engine and great link playing which fundamentally is what the Irish attacking system demands from the loose forwards. He has it physically for the "top" level and his career proves as such for me.

@FuturesTrader87, One word: Bullshit. Going back 3 years. Murray is in the usual bullshit mode. Central contracts is the actual problem. And it's going to Fu#k Irisha Rugby. It has already.