The English team that started against Wales had 483 caps after the game split between 395 starts and 88 appearances from the bench, 180 caps short of Lancaster’s target of 663. That total of 663 caps requires an average of just over 44 caps per man. Pop quiz – how many players that started have more caps than that? Bonus round – name them. Continue reading
The game against Canada went as well as anyone could have hoped and the Mole has to go back to 1991 for as satisfactory an opening Irish fixture in a World Cup. Continue reading
A few things stood out for me from Joe Schmidt’s team selection for the opening RWC game against Canada on Saturday. Continue reading
Mike Cheik 1-2, 1-2
Writing the Age of Aquarius made me review my take on Michael Cheika’s time in charge of Leinster and to revalue the impact he had on the province. Perhaps because his Heineken Cup triumph was linked in my mind to Brian O’Driscoll and Rocky Elsom both having great seasons, I missed a lot that was hidden in plain sight. Continue reading
“I’ll get you Beer Baron!” “No you won’t!!”
It was only after listing out my predicted squad prior to the announcement/leak when it really hit me; “he’s going to have to take Darren Cave”. And the man he was going to leave behind was Isaac Boss. Continue reading
Experience is often “hard bitten”.
Ye’re not the first Irish team to bring disgrace on the nation and ye won’t be the last.
Who is reputed to have uttered those lines and in what circumstances? The answer a little later, my friends. Continue reading
Hansen, so hot right now. Hansen.
The Sydney Bledisloe cup game pitted the reigning world champions NZ against, as always, Australia. NZ enter every RWC as favourite and this time round is no exception, they’re 13/10 with my turf accountant, taking up 43.5% of the book. Australia’s price is now 8/1, in from 9/1 after winning at the weekend, which is about 11% of the same book. Continue reading
Ireland’s scrum half corps for the RWC get ready for a hot chocolate and an afternoon nap. He likes an afternoon nap does Conor Murray.
The first articles we penned were just over four years ago on the eve of a world cup, a time when we wrote about Isaac Boss, international outcast, making the panel for RWC11. Bossy is still at it, busy making Ireland’s scrum half cohort for the 2015 jamboree resemble the Last of the Summer Wine cast. Continue reading
Jack O’Donoghue’s got a nose for the try line
The third year of the 5 Up Series followed five players in four provinces. In the second year of the series we concentrated on midfielders for reasons outlined at the time. In this year there was a preponderance of back row players, or back five if you’d rather categorise Sean O’Brien as a second row as we did.
At the beginning of each series the players are bound together by age-grade representative rugby for the national team. Those ties are temporary and, while not exactly going their separate ways, there is a greater diversity of experience in the subsequent seasons.
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Robbie Henshaw took to international rugby pretty quickly and earned a Championship medal in his first full season.
We selected four players from the u20 cohort of 2013 in order to follow their progress in a similar manner as applied to their predecessors of 2012. One player was selected from each province. All the players selected from 2013 were backs, who had started at centre for the Irish u20 team, for two reasons. Firstly, the 2013 backs caught my eye more than the forwards from that year and, secondly, with D’Arcy and O’Driscoll each moving closer to retirement, the starting centre berths at national level would soon become far less competitive after many years. Continue reading
Digging Like a Demented Mole 