Harlequins v Connacht the stoop 11/11/11 live on sky sports ko 20.00

seanin4711

well boys and girls or first visit into the heady heights of Heineken cup Rugby.
lets keep her lit!
hope swiftly and joc are fit for thus one.
please Eric
O'Donaghue and Jarvis 9 and 10
GWAN CONNACHT

PS where is the pre and post Match refreshments in sw London?

Rickwellwood

Good man Seanin - jesus you were up early to get this thread off and running - amnesia setting in ?;);) Theres dedication for you.

Plenty of pubs in Richmond so go there. Stoop a bit further out along the train line but from experience from 2004 when we were last there for our Parker Pen challenge cup match, the welcome and hospitality you'll get from Quins fans may warrant just getting to the ground early and take it all in and have the craic and banter with their fans as they'll be there early too.

great date for a bit of an upset I think!

Podge_irl

Deleted User wrote: »

great date for a bit of an upset I think!

I really doubt it. The return leg however (of all three games tbh) has great potential for an upset.

thomond2006

I'm off to Galway next weekend for the Toulouse match so I'm looking forward to this one too.

Realistically the way Quins are playing Connacht will be lucky to be within 20 points.

LeeroyJones

Michael D inaugurated and a Connacht upset all on the same day?
Galway could be the place to be this weekend!

porterbelly

Johnny O Connor out for a month

Concerns over Swifty, Ah You, Griffin, Fa'afili, Anderson, Murphy and O Donoghue for Friday night

evil_seed

http://www.planet-rugby.co.za/story/0,25883,3551_7298485,00.html

Connacht:

Prospects: Connacht face a daunting task against stiff opposition in their first season in the Heineken Cup. They are struggling in ninth spot on the RaboDirect PRO12 table and have had some poor results recently, losing their last four matches in the competition. With standards so much higher in Heineken Cup rugby, and the opposition also stronger, don't expect the Irish outfit to make much headway. Several of their players are journeymen who have played around the various leagues in Europe and playing in this competition will be the pinnacle for a number of the players in their squad. Connacht kick off their campaign with an away trip to London to face Aviva Premiership pacesetters Harlequins this Friday.

Key player: Although he might be seen as a spent force on the international scene, Gavin Duffy can still turn on the style when required. An elusive runner, Duffy can be a difficult opponent to stop once he gets going. Duffy can play at full-back or centre and when given space he has the ability to cut defences to shreds.

Prediction: Connacht will struggle in this year's tournament and find it difficult to progress beyond the pool stages. They should finish rock bottom of the pool.

seanin4711

porterbelly wrote: »

Johnny O Connor out for a month

Concerns over Swifty, Ah You, Griffin, Fa'afili, Anderson, Murphy and O Donoghue for Friday night

pity about joc need his harrying ability around the loose.
hope we have best possible team out with players in their best positions.
tonetti playing Friday?

thomond2006

Is Tonetti registered?

Robbo

thomond2006 wrote: »

Is Tonetti registered?

He'll probably be a wildcard but according to today's papers, he won't feature in this match.

Former Coach

seanin4711 wrote: »

well boys and girls or first visit into the heady heights of Heineken cup Rugby.
lets keep her lit!
hope swiftly and joc are fit for thus one.
please Eric
O'Donaghue and Jarvis 9 and 10
GWAN CONNACHT

PS where is the pre and post Match refreshments in sw London?

Fully agree with your 9-10 choice Seanin. Hopefully Eric sees it the same way!

Robbo

Former Coach wrote: »

Fully agree with your 9-10 choice Seanin. Hopefully Eric sees it the same way!

Amen to that. Jarvis has impressed me. He's a little rough around the edges but there's more raw material to work with than any of the other outhalves.

Flashdean

Cabbage patch is the place to go in twickenham and also the William Webb Ellis is a wetherspoons pub so cheap booze and only a 5 min walk to stadium!

Diom

Who's going to Buskers? With the Ireland match against Estonia, Buskers have shown their true colours and have reserved the upstairs bar for Connacht fans. That's the biggest screen in Galway showing the match, plus drinks promotions from Heino and Connemara Whiskey!
Connacht Clan gear on sale, raffle at half time, bus tickets for the Connacht Clan trip to the Munster match, and general craic.

seanin4711

Flashdean wrote: »

Cabbage patch is the place to go in twickenham and also the William Webb Ellis is a wetherspoons pub so cheap booze and only a 5 min walk to stadium!

A few on connnacht clan forum peeps are meeting up there!
j

Coonor

To be honest its a win win situation for Connacht in the H-cup. If they lose every game then fair enough this their first tournament and they aren't up to standard but they still will have increased supporter base and publicity developing the game in the area. If they even win just one match then it will be a massive success!!!

porterbelly

Connacht Rugby have released a 26 man squad ahead of their first ever Heineken Cup clash away to Harlequins in the Stoop on Friday Night, 8pm. The squad sees the return of exciting centre Eoin Griffin as well as Samoan duo Ray Ofisa and Henry Fa’afilli who all sat out the trip to Belfast last weekend with knocks. Youngster Dave McSharry hangs on to his place in the squad after an impressive performance in his first start against Ulster.

While this is Connacht’s first game in the competition, the squad boasts considerable Heineken Cup experience. Captain Gavin Duffy is one of five players who have played in the competition previously. The full-back spent three seasons at Harlequins including the 2004/05 Heineken Cup campaign where he scored a try against Castres in the pool stages. Scrum Halves Frank Murphy and Paul O’Donohoe have played for Leicester Tigers and Leinster respectively while TJ Anderson and Niall O’Connor have both played Heineken Cup rugby for Ulster.

While the rest of the squad may not have Heineken Cup experienced, there is six players with over 100 caps for the province including Michael Swift who has 205 caps to date.

Connacht Squad to face Harlequins Friday 11th November, 8pm, The Stoop:

Forwards:

Brett Wilkinson, Ronan Loughney, Rodney Ah You, Dylan Rogers, Adrian Flavin, Ethienne Reynecke, Dave Gannon, Michael Swift, Mike McCarthy, TJ Anderson, Eoghan Grace, John Muldoon, Ray Ofisa, George Naoupu

Backs:

Frank Murphy, Paul O’Donohoe, Niall O’Connor, Miah Nikora, Henry Fa’afili, Eoin Griffin, Dave McSharry, Tiernan O’Halloran, Fetu’u Vainikolo. Brian Tuohy, Matthew Jarvis, Gavin Duffy

irishbucsfan

I'm currently living in London and wish I'd grabbed a ticket for this one now.

I really hope Connacht can do one on them... it'd be such a great moment for the province and the fans really deserve it. I wouldn't mind a Conor O'Shea victory though, I was there for the Amlin win and their fans were dead on.

Aidric

Best of luck to Connacht but I predict they'll get pasted.

wp_rathead

shame that the Ireland V Estonia game on at same time, kinda over shadowing the Connacht adventure

We prob gonna get pulverised, especially with all the injuries, but stranger things have happened in sport

wrote:

Who's going to Buskers? With the Ireland match against Estonia, Buskers have shown their true colours and have reserved the upstairs bar for Connacht fans.

would love to go but I'v gone for the option of sitting in with beer and remote and flicking between the two matches
sound of them to have the upstairs open though

thomond2006

http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/news/14897.php

Tonetti registered for the Heineken Cup.

.ak

thomond2006 wrote: »

http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/news/14897.php

Tonetti registered for the Heineken Cup.

What's this Tonetti chap like anyhow? I understand he's a former blackrock player but I've never seen him play. Anyone followed him at Sale?

irishbucsfan

.ak wrote: »

What's this Tonetti chap like anyhow? I understand he's a former blackrock player but I've never seen him play. Anyone followed him at Sale?

Played for Leinster for a bit, once or twice, then was really good when he signed for Sale. Then he just dropped away for some reason.

porterbelly

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Played for Leinster for a bit, once or twice, then was really good when he signed for Sale. Then he just dropped away for some reason.

Sale signed 3 centres and a centre come fly half during the off season. That may explain why he's not getting a game

porterbelly

Connacht Rugby have named their starting XV to face Harlequins in their first ever Heineken Cup Clash. The team sees three changes from the side that were defeated by Ulster in Ravenhill last Saturday. Eoin Griffin returns from a knock to take his place in the centre, a move that sees Gavin Duffy return to fullback and Tiernan O'Halloran move back to the wing. 21 year old centre Dave McSharry hangs on to the number 12 shirt after an impressive display in Ravenhill. The halfback pairing of Paul O'Donohoe and Miah Nikora is also retained.

In the pack, the front row remains the same with Adrian Flavin scrumming down between Ireland Wolfhound Brett Wilkinson and U20 World Cup winner Rodney Ah You. The second row pairing of Michael Swift and Mike McCarthy remains the same. Swift shook off a knock that saw him depart the field early last Saturday and looks set to win his 205th cap for the province. There is a new backrow with number 8 George Naoupu joined this week by John Muldoon and Ray Ofisa who both return to the starting line up. It is an experienced side with 5 centurions in the pack (Wilkinson, Flavin, McCarthy, Swift & Muldoon) along with Gavin Duffy in the backs.

The replacements see Henry Fa'afili return to the squad after a knock that kept him out of the Ulster Clash. He joins Niall O'Connor and Frank Murphy as the replacement backs, both of whom have featured in the competition previously with Ulster and the Leicester Tigers. Ethienne Reynecke, Ronan Loughney and Dylan Rogers make up the front row replacements while Dave Gannon and TJ Anderson the other replacement forwards.

Connacht XV to face Harlequins, Friday 11th November 8pm, The Twickenham Stoop:

15. Gavin Duffy (c)

14. Brian Tuohy

13. Eoin Griffin

12. Dave McSharry

11. Tiernan O'Halloran

10. Miah Nikora

9. Paul O'Donohoe

1. Brett Wilkinson

2. Adrian Flavin

3. Rodney Ah You

4. Michael Swift

5. Mike McCarthy

6. John Muldoon

7. Ray Ofisa

8. George Naoupu

Replacements:

16. Ethienne Reynecke

17. Ronan Loughney

18. Dylan Rogers

19. Dave Gannon

20. TJ Anderson

21. Frank Murphy

22. Niall O'Connor

23. Henry Fa'afili

thomond2006

Good to see McSharry rewarded for a good performance last week. Pretty strong back five forwards too.

Happy that POD is starting (I think Murphy is poor) but why are they persisting with Nikora? Why was Jarvis dropped?

vinny chase

thomond2006 wrote: »

Good to see McSharry rewarded for a good performance last week. Pretty strong back five forwards too.

Happy that POD is starting (I think Murphy is poor) but why are they persisting with Nikora? Why was Jarvis dropped?

I really don't understand the Nikora thing either. Never been too impressed with him when I've seen him in the flesh, and think guys like O'Connor and Jarvis offer way more.

cgpg5

Would love to see Connacht put it up to them but expect a very handy bonus point win for Quins.

wixfjord

Yikes, that is not a HEC standard backline.

Here's the Quinns team:
Don't know much about the wings or scrumhalf?

Looks like nothing special, but COS has them playing great rugby, and they're a real team.

15 MIKE BROWN
14 SEB STEGMANN
13 GEORGE LOWE
12 JORDAN TURNER HALL
11 SAM SMITH
10 NICK EVANS
9 KARL DICKSON
1 JOE MARLER
2 CHRIS BROOKER
3 JAMES JOHNSTON
4 OLLIE KOHN
5 GEORGE ROBSON
6 MAURIE FA'ASAVALU
7 CHRIS ROBSHAW
8 NICK EASTER

16 JOE GRAY
17 NIC MAYHEW
18 KYLE SINCKLER
19 TOMAS VALLEJOS
20 LUKE WALLACE
21 DANNY CARE
22 BEN URDAPILLETA
23 TOM WILLIAMS

thomond2006

Fa'asavalu and Robshaw are physical beasts, Easter is past it at this stage. He's a one-paced plodder.

I don't know anything about the wingers.

[Jackass]

Best of luck Connacht.

All of these games will be like world cup finals for the lads from the wesht. I've no doubt they'll do themselves proud, and really hope they cause an upset or two in an amazingly tough group!

eire4

A big time good luck to Connacht as they make their Heineken Cup debut tomorrow.

ouncer

nikora the only strange choice. otherwise as strong a team as can be fielded with joc out due to injury. if they lose by 20pts/30pts it simply proves they can't be competitive and something fundamentally is wrong with the concept of Connacht as a development squad . If they keep Quins close then they have merited the idea of bringing new blood through the system

seanin4711

The William Webb Ellis
24 London Road
Twickenham
Middle-_-
TW1 3RR

GWAN CONNACHT

seanin4711

irishbucsfan wrote: »

I'm currently living in London and wish I'd grabbed a ticket for this one now.

should be able to get one no problem on quins website or on the gate

ouncer

its like supporting wigan in the premiership. aint easy but you still believe they have the potential

its_phil

ouncer wrote: »

its like supporting wigan in the premiership. aint easy but you still believe they have the potential

Wigan and potential do not belong in the same sentence..:p

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FopyRHHlt3M

eyeball kid

Still waiting on Ticketmaster to post out my tickets, bought them last week
online. They better turn up in the morning!!

Can't imagine it been a sell out for tomorrow night though.
So is it the Webb Ellis pub where people are meeting up in beforehand?

Podge_irl

You sure they're not e-tickets?

Bonesjones4444

seanin4711 wrote: »

The William Webb Ellis
24 London Road
Twickenham
Middle-_-
TW1 3RR

GWAN CONNACHT

The WWE is a knacker pub, full of working class soccer chav types. Best pubs in Twickers are Cabbage Patch, Eel Pie and 3 Kings.

Bonesjones4444

seanin4711 wrote: »

The William Webb Ellis
24 London Road
Twickenham
Middle-_-
TW1 3RR

GWAN CONNACHT

The WWE is a knacker pub, full of working class soccer chav types. Best pubs in Twickers are Cabbage Patch, Eel Pie and 3 Kings.

eyeball kid

Podge_irl wrote: »

You sure they're not e-tickets?

No, just checked the confirmation email again. Definitely not e-tickets, unfortunately.
Would have much preferred that. Good job I'm working from home tomorrow,
I'll be able to see if they arrive with the post in the morning.

porterbelly

CMON CONNACHT

Lets shock the world and everyone who's put us down over the years (IRFU especially)

d-gal

Connacht back 5 in the scrum is better than quins so hopefully we can win the battle there and not give them much ball out the backs. Please let it piss out of the heavens tonight, will suit us down to the ground!

bamboozle

best of luck to POD, hope he finally gets a run of games to prove his ability!

.ak

Good luck Connacht! Can't wait for the H-Cup to start... Best rugby competition in the world!

I'll defo be supporting the boys in green tonight... (Not the soccer team ofcourse!)

eyeball kid

Tickets still didn't arrive today so had to ring up Ticketmaster.
They'll have them at the box office (hopefully!).

Disco Bandit

irishbucsfan wrote: »

I'm currently living in London and wish I'd grabbed a ticket for this one now.

I really hope Connacht can do one on them... it'd be such a great moment for the province and the fans really deserve it. I wouldn't mind a Conor O'Shea victory though, I was there for the Amlin win and their fans were dead on.

im the same as yourself. Just after buying a pair of tickets about half an hour ago from the quinns website. got to collect them though. e-tickets would have been better.

Come on Connacht!

Diom

eyeball kid wrote: »

Tickets still didn't arrive today so had to ring up Ticketmaster.
They'll have them at the box office (hopefully!).

The Quins tickets were not getting sent out to Ireland. You have to pick them up at the box office at The Stoop. Checkout www.connachtclan.com for the original notice.

eyeball kid

Diom wrote: »

The Quins tickets were not getting sent out to Ireland. You have to pick them up at the box office at The Stoop. Checkout www.connachtclan.com for the original notice.

Thanks Diom but I'm based in London at the moment so they should have
been sent to my address here. Must have got lost in the post.
Ah well, picking them up at the box office.

About to head pretty soon actually, going to get a few pre match pints!

Come on Connacht!!