- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Religion popped up in The Roar recently with Spiro’s reference to the Shroud of Turin, which the faithful believe bears the image of Jesus of Nazareth.
Turin was, of course, the venue for the Wallabies’ runaway win over the Azzurri.
Next weekend, the Wallabies will again be in a city of strong religious beliefs when they take on Ireland in Dublin.
Not only is Dublin an important centre of the established church, it’s also home to some who prefer to believe in the old gods and holy places like the Well of Tobernalt.
The Well was once sacred to Lug Samildamach before Saint Patrick bundled up the Celtic deities, along with the snakes, and ushered them out of the country.
But whether they put their faith in the ancient or the relatively new, the vast majority of Irish rugby fans are convinced their national team will beat the Wallabies.
And it’s not hard to see why.
In a nutshell, Ireland has a strong pack full of talented players and Australia doesn’t.
We all know the many weakness of the Wallaby forwards. And if you’ve been following overseas rugby, you know the strengths of the eight men Ireland can field.
At this stage, the run-on side is yet to be announced, but there are a number of fine candidates.
For a start, at least three hefty props – Cian Healy, 6 feet 1, 112 kgs, newcomer Jack McGrath, 6 feet 1, 122, and massive Mike Ross, 6 feet 2, 127 kgs.
The 68-cap Rory Best will probably be the hooker.
The locks? High flyer Mike McCarthy, and Devin Tover who, at a shade under seven feet, owns the air.
Iron man enforcer Paul O’Connell is also available.
Sean O’Brien is sure to be on hand along with his back row mates.
Chris Henry is out injured but Peter O’Mahony is a handful at 6,3, 108 kegs. And at number eight there is the crunching, 110-cap Jamie Heaslip.
And for those who concede a power superiority but feel it will be countered by the Aussie backs, the Irish look pretty good in that department too.
For one thing, Johnny Sexton will be back at 5/8th probably partnered by Munster halfback Conor Murray.
The midfield – Gordon D’Arcy and the smart-as-a-fox Brian O’Driscoll – will have to be constantly monitored.
Throw in a back three of Fergus McFadden, Rob Kearney and Tommy Bowe, with Luke Jennings on call, plus new coach Kiwi Joe Schmidt, whose CV includes stints with Leinster, the Auckland Blues and Clermont Auvergne, and you have a pretty good package.
So here’s a piece of advice for all those Roarers who’d like to see a Wallaby win next weekend – start praying.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.