[tweetmeme source=”22dropout” only_single=false]
7-1 is the statistic from Ireland v Scotland that jumps off the page at me. Lineouts Lost: 7-1. Ireland had 17 lineouts during the game and lost 7 of them. Alot of the blame lays at the feet of Ireland hooker Rory Best who had a pretty awful day at the office. “Sometimes you have to hold your hand up and say it was a poor day. I didn’t throw particularly well,” he said. “Things have gone well in the last two or three game and we’ve had plaudits. Now it’s time to take the criticism. I’ll have to take it on the chin and live with it. A lot of the blame will fall on me and that’s something I’ll have to deal with.”
Dan Parks slotted over a fine penalty with 2 minutes remaining in the game, this was not the kick that lost Ireland the Triple Crown however, that kick was delivered by Jerry Flannery 5 weeks earlier in Stade de France. One can’t help but wonder if Flannery had not had that moment of madness that Ireland would now still have the Triple Crown trophy in the cabinet.
Ah well.
—
Final 6-Nations Table 2010
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | PD | TF | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
1 | France | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 135 | 69 | 66 | 13 | 10 |
 |
2 | Ireland | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 106 | 95 | 11 | 11 | 6 |
 |
3 | England | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 88 | 76 | 12 | 6 | 5 |
 |
4 | Wales | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 113 | 117 | -4 | 10 | 4 |
 |
5 | Scotland | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 83 | 100 | -17 | 3 | 3 |
 |
6 | Italy | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 69 | 137 | -68 | 5 | 2 |
ninetyninecall - rugby 
A lot the blame for the lineout needs to go to POC who got out jumped twice and then proceeded to make three calls in a row to the tail when the hooker wasn’t hitting his darts. Also to Declan Kidney for not changing the lineout early and brining Cullen and Cronin on to shore things up. There is no point having a bench if you don’t trust it.
Agreed re: POC, the entire lineout was a sham. No idea why they kept opting for Wallace at the back of the lineout when Best was throwing so bad? Surely hitting Donnacha on the 5M line was the safer option?
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by 22dropout: [Blog] The kick that cost Ireland the Triple Crown: http://wp.me/pNaSk-5b #rugby Please RT…