Connacht Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread - Part II

hermano

15. Darragh Leader
14. Danie Poolman
13. Robbie Henshaw
12. Eoin Griffin
11. Matt Healy
10. Miah Nikora
9. Kieran Marmion

1. Ronan Loughney
2. Jason Harris-Wright
3. Rodney Ah You
4. Mick Kearney
5. Andrew Browne
6. John Muldoon (captain)
7. Willie Faloon
8. Eoin McKeon

Replacements:

16. Jack Dinneen
17. Denis Buckley
18. Finlay Bealham
19. Aly Muldowney
20. Conor Gilsenan
21. Frank Murphy
22. Dan Parks
23. Dave McSharry

Great to see Faloon, Poolman and Healy back

freyners

Dont understand leaving out McSharry unless there is a niggling injury thats not being mentioned

wp_rathead

freyners wrote: »

Dont understand leaving out McSharry unless there is a niggling injury thats not being mentioned

Agree - rather see a Dave/Robbie axis rather than an Eoin/Robbie one.
Doubt there is an injury considering he is on bench

freyners

wprathead wrote: »

Agree - rather see a Dave/Robbie axis rather than an Eoin/Robbie one.
Doubt there is an injury considering he is on bench

Not a lot of depth left though, Tonetti retiered and Carr, TOH, Ronaldson all out, Might be a need. McShaz has been close to hitting top form lately and Griffins Defence has been sloppy lately so cant quite understand it

b.gud

freyners wrote: »

Dont understand leaving out McSharry unless there is a niggling injury thats not being mentioned

How many positions does McSharry cover? don't recall seeing him play much outside of 12 before

wp_rathead

Carr isn't on the injured/unavailable list though - surely he would have slotted onto bench if any doubt over Dave

Agree RE: Griffins Defence - what used to be his trademark consistency has gone AWOL lately

b.gud

wprathead wrote: »

Carr isn't on the injured/unavailable list though - surely he would have slotted onto bench if any doubt over Dave

If he's not it's an over sight the following is a quote from the team announcement

We also had to train all week without Fionn (Carr), who’s struggling with a knee haematoma, so it’s a complete reshuffle to the back three.

ouncer

Its annoying to see miah at 10. You know what you will get from miah and you also know that it simply isn't up to the level required. This reminds me of the argument in relation to Gavin selection in the early part of the season. He wasn't playing well and his play simply didn't cut it at the elevated level rugby is played at these days. So why persist with miah when you know it won't work. Put jack in and build his confidence for next season because I think he will have to be a big factor once pat finally (how long will this decision take) discounts miah

wp_rathead

Fireball07

WallyGUFC wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL3sNfd2WJ0

Bizarre enough...

Weirdly enough, I had just listened to the Rick James song before reading this topic......

looks like he could be a good signing, provide competition for the hooker jersey anyway.

freyners

b.gud wrote: »

How many positions does McSharry cover? don't recall seeing him play much outside of 12 before

Hes a specialist twelve (think but not sure he played 10 one time) but Leader can cover multiple positions so if Dave is introduced for anyone other than griff leader will probably move along with henshaw.

Its annoying to see miah at 10. You know what you will get from miah and you also know that it simply isn't up to the level required. This reminds me of the argument in relation to Gavin selection in the early part of the season. He wasn't playing well and his play simply didn't cut it at the elevated level rugby is played at these days. So why persist with miah when you know it won't work. Put jack in and build his confidence for next season because I think he will have to be a big factor once pat finally (how long will this decision take) discounts miah

While i would favour Jack playing miah is actually playing pretty well atm when he has come on

b.gud

freyners wrote: »

Hes a specialist twelve (think but not sure he played 10 one time) but Leader can cover multiple positions so if Dave is introduced for anyone other than griff leader will probably move along with henshaw.

Was thinking it might be something like that

ouncer

freyners wrote: »

Hes a specialist twelve (think but not sure he played 10 one time) but Leader can cover multiple positions so if Dave is introduced for anyone other than griff leader will probably move along with henshaw.



While i would favour Jack playing miah is actually playing pretty well atm when he has come on

Don't get me wrong. Miah is not a bad player but he has proved over the years that this is all he is. Keatley was always a step above miah as was Dan. The problem is that Dan has regressed more than it being miah progressing, hence miah stakes a claim. However the reality is that neither Dan nor miah are of the level that SHOULD be contending for 10 next year. If they are then Connacht are in trouble. Since jack is the only other option (ronaldson is a better centre but a potential backup out half) I think it makes sense to play him at 10 now so we know if we have a talent at 10 or if we really need to invest. As I say we have seen Dan, we have seen miah, we have seen Craig. We know what we get with these guys. Jack is the conundrum and hopefully the longterm solution

Borders no.2

Have to agree with ouncer here. Its hard to see us winning this one with Miah Nikora at out half.

Looking ahead to next season, unless we make a quality signing at 10 its irrelevant who else we bring in, we won't be in contention for top 6.

freyners

Borders no.2 wrote: »

Have to agree with ouncer here. Its hard to see us winning this one with Miah Nikora at out half.

Looking ahead to next season, unless we make a quality signing at 10 its irrelevant who else we bring in, we won't be in contention for top 6.

Defence coach, 10, 9 in that order

ouncer

So, while a bit early, its end of year assessment time. The first thing to point out is the huge gulf between top six and bottom six of the pro12. The game against scarlets really brought that home. Yes, it was a good game but scarlets were simply much better. Has pat Lam brought us closer. Hmmmm. Let's put it another way, has pat lam brought us further apart. In all honesty pat has done neither. What are the improvements he has made. From a play point of view little is visible. From a player point of view Craig Clarke and Jake Heenan are huge plusses to the team. This year we have learnt that swifty has his day, Gavin will retire, aly muldowney has been a huge disappointment, jhw is a great thrower but very slow to get into a position to support, Buckley is not as good as I thought. Positives marmiom has been great, henshaw has finally shown his ability, toh has been solid, ronaldson has disappointed, griffin seems to have decided he no longer plays for Connacht, poolman hasn't been given a chance, leader is not yet ready

its_phil

ouncer wrote: »

So, while a bit early, its end of year assessment time. The first thing to point out is the huge gulf between top six and bottom six of the pro12. The game against scarlets really brought that home. Yes, it was a good game but scarlets were simply much better. Has pat Lam brought us closer. Hmmmm. Let's put it another way, has pat lam brought us further apart. In all honesty pat has done neither. What are the improvements he has made. From a play point of view little is visible. From a player point of view Craig Clarke and Jake Heenan are huge plusses to the team. This year we have learnt that swifty has his day, Gavin will retire, aly muldowney has been a huge disappointment, jhw is a great thrower but very slow to get into a position to support, Buckley is not as good as I thought. Positives marmiom has been great, henshaw has finally shown his ability, toh has been solid, ronaldson has disappointed, griffin seems to have decided he no longer plays for Connacht, poolman hasn't been given a chance, leader is not yet ready

So much wrong with this, but so much study to do

deisedude

I wouldn't say Poolman wasn't given a chance. He has been constantly injured!!

ouncer

its_phil wrote: »

So much wrong with this, but so much study to do

OK, its Phil, now I'm finally going to play nice. Exactly what was wrong with my assessment

Zzippy

ouncer wrote: »

So, while a bit early, its end of year assessment time. The first thing to point out is the huge gulf between top six and bottom six of the pro12. The game against scarlets really brought that home. Yes, it was a good game but scarlets were simply much better. Has pat Lam brought us closer. Hmmmm. Let's put it another way, has pat lam brought us further apart. In all honesty pat has done neither. What are the improvements he has made. From a play point of view little is visible. From a player point of view Craig Clarke and Jake Heenan are huge plusses to the team. This year we have learnt that swifty has his day, Gavin will retire, aly muldowney has been a huge disappointment, jhw is a great thrower but very slow to get into a position to support, Buckley is not as good as I thought. Positives marmiom has been great, henshaw has finally shown his ability, toh has been solid, ronaldson has disappointed, griffin seems to have decided he no longer plays for Connacht, poolman hasn't been given a chance, leader is not yet ready

ouncer wrote: »

OK, its Phil, now I'm finally going to play nice. Exactly what was wrong with my assessment

Scarlets won that game narrowly, despite us playing without a proper 7, which killed us at the breakdown, and despite us handing them an early try and the ref allowing a try after a blatant ruck offence. They certainly were not "simply much better".

Poolman has spent virtually the entire season injured, yet you say he "hasn't been given a chance."

TOH has been poor, then dropped for a significant part of the season, and only been good the last few games. Hardly "solid"...

JHW is one of our best poachers around the pitch. Not the mark of someone who's "slow to support"

Your other assertions are subjective and based on your own opinion of players so don't merit comment. Who knows how good you used to think Buckley was only yourself...

S12b

ouncer wrote: »

OK, its Phil, now I'm finally going to play nice. Exactly what was wrong with my assessment

For a start, putting the word FINALLY beside the name of a 20 year old is downright ridiculous!!

ouncer

its_phil wrote: »

So much wrong with this, but so much study to do

Poolman hasn't be constantly injured. He has being sitting in the background exactly the way toh has being sitting in the background most of the year. Poolman is quality, toh is quality, healy is quality. Manager decides.

S12b

ouncer wrote: »

Poolman hasn't be constantly injured. He has being sitting in the background exactly the way toh has being sitting in the background most of the year. Poolman is quality, toh is quality, healy is quality. Manager decides.

I'm pretty sure Poolman has been injured since about October

b.gud

Just finished watching the chiefs crusaders game. Aki was fairly quiet in it. Only had his hands on the ball about 3/4 times. Seemed to be a largely 10 13 game plan so I don't think we learned too much about his from this game

freyners

ouncer wrote: »

Poolman hasn't be constantly injured. He has being sitting in the background exactly the way toh has being sitting in the background most of the year. Poolman is quality, toh is quality, healy is quality. Manager decides.

No ouncer, your wrong, poolman was injured, when he wasn't he played most games. When your in a hole, stop digging

connachta

Poolman WAS injured till last month, but has played with the Eagles against Munster A (and the Russian team) for a month. So ouncer wasn't that wrong, he could (and should in my opinion) have played instead of Carr for the last two matches

evil_seed

connachta wrote: »

Poolman WAS injured till last month, but has played with the Eagles against Munster A (and the Russian team) for a month. So ouncer wasn't that wrong, he could (and should in my opinion) have played instead of Carr for the last two matches

all we can do is speculate. We don't know how fit Poolman was. Probably needed a bit more time to get into match shape, but we can't say for sure. What we do know is he played very well at the start of the season then got injured and has been out for most likely 75% of the season

hermano

connachta wrote: »

Poolman WAS injured till last month, but has played with the Eagles against Munster A (and the Russian team) for a month. So ouncer wasn't that wrong, he could (and should in my opinion) have played instead of Carr for the last two matches

Would've been harsh to drop Carr after 4 wins on the bounce. If he was fit he should've been on the bench

freyners

connachta wrote: »

Poolman WAS injured till last month, but has played with the Eagles against Munster A (and the Russian team) for a month. So ouncer wasn't that wrong, he could (and should in my opinion) have played instead of Carr for the last two matches

I was at that Munster match. Poolman got on the wrong end of a nasty spear tackle at the end and looked fragile at the end of the game and was ruled out injured the follow week because of it. He played the Russian game alright but your hardly going to throw in a player whos just come back from straight into a senior game without seeing if hes match fit, especially when the two starting wingers are playing well so there is no need to rush it. A manager who rushs a player back in those circumstances is a very poor manager

connachta

freyners wrote: »

I was at that Munster match. Poolman got on the wrong end of a nasty spear tackle at the end and looked fragile at the end of the game and was ruled out injured the follow week because of it. He played the Russian game alright but your hardly going to throw in a player whos just come back from straight into a senior game without seeing if hes match fit, especially when the two starting wingers are playing well so there is no need to rush it. A manager who rushs a player back in those circumstances is a very poor manager

Agree with you two except this part, TOH was at best ok, Fionn didn't produce anything this year, apart from lateral running... We aren't aware of Poolman recovery process, but all I'm saying is : if there was a slight risk I would have taken it 'cause Fionn didn't get back his 2011 level at all

ouncer

connachta wrote: »

Agree with you two except this part, TOH was at best ok, Fionn didn't produce anything this year, apart from lateral running... We aren't aware of Poolman recovery process, but all I'm saying is : if there was a slight risk I would have taken it 'cause Fionn didn't get back his 2011 level at all

Assuming poolman came out of the game OK he will get his chance with toh out for the rest of the season with serious quad tear. Munster game was ordinary. Healy and poolmans tries were fine but based on simple mistakes by Munster. Munster tries were primarily associated by Connacht mistakes. It was just one of those forgettable games. Miah did fine as he does. Darragh was poor. McKeon had a very poor game which is unusual for him. It simply was a game of mistakes.

freyners

ouncer wrote: »

Assuming poolman came out of the game OK he will get his chance with toh out for the rest of the season with serious quad tear. Munster game was ordinary. Healy and poolmans tries were fine but based on simple mistakes by Munster. Munster tries were primarily associated by Connacht mistakes. It was just one of those forgettable games. Miah did fine as he does. Darragh was poor. McKeon had a very poor game which is unusual for him. It simply was a game of mistakes.

Care to explain why you think that? I thought he did fine and showed enough to put his and up for FB next season did fine in the backline and showed good counter attacking form on one or two occasions, especially considering hes primarily known for his kicking ability

ouncer

freyners wrote: »

Care to explain why you think that? I thought he did fine and showed enough to put his and up for FB next season did fine in the backline and showed good counter attacking form on one or two occasions, especially considering hes primarily known for his kicking ability

Let's just take your statement as is. Darragh is capable of kicking a long ball. Don't argue with that. He didn't get to kick today so he had to show other abilities. And while I like an open rugby game today the defense was all over the shop. I appreciate that Healy and poolman haven't played in ages so I forgive them to some degree. However darragh has had game time and his positioning was dreadful. For the first try he was nowhere to be seen and Munster walked straight through our defense. The full back must have vision to see what can possibly develop and darraghs vision is limited. All very good that he supplied a pass for Healy to cross but he certainly wasn't in control of the back line. If I wanted to be harsh I would say that the back line were terrible. A bunch of individuals rather than a unit. I do take the point that has been made in the past that Connacht are in serious need of a defense coach. Today's game really brought that home

freyners

ouncer wrote: »

Let's just take your statement as is. Darragh is capable of kicking a long ball. Don't argue with that. He didn't get to kick today so he had to show other abilities. And while I like an open rugby game today the defense was all over the shop. I appreciate that Healy and poolman haven't played in ages so I forgive them to some degree. However darragh has had game time and his positioning was dreadful. For the first try he was nowhere to be seen and Munster walked straight through our defense. The full back must have vision to see what can possibly develop and darraghs vision is limited. All very good that he supplied a pass for Healy to cross but he certainly wasn't in control of the back line. If I wanted to be harsh I would say that the back line were terrible. A bunch of individuals rather than a unit. I do take the point that has been made in the past that Connacht are in serious need of a defense coach. Today's game really brought that home

What complete bunk. For defence close to scrums your expect your 6/7, 8, 9 and 10 to cover that area, not the full back. Not his fault he was defending the line out further, where he is supposed to be. For there other tries he was part of an attacking line and can hardly be blamed. Get over your dislike of the lad, its pathetic

freyners

Thought Gilsenan was effective when he was introduced. Can see why Leinster fans were eagerly waiting his introduction to the team. Might have missed a trick not attempting to sign him although we are stocked in his position

b.gud

ouncer wrote: »

Darragh was poor

freyners wrote: »

Get over your dislike of the lad, its pathetic

It's Henshaw and Marmion all over again :rolleyes:

Onto the game. I thought that Leader and Health were our stand out players. It was really an error ridden game for both teams but Connacht in particular.

The defensive situation is a little frustrating. At times, particularly early in the second half, we defended excellently against the Munster pressure. Then at other times they just walked through. To echo what others have said we badly need a defence coach, preferably the other end Glasgow have

ouncer

freyners wrote: »

What complete bunk. For short side defence your expect your 6/7, 8, 9 and 10 to cover that area, not the full back. Not his fault he was defending the line out further, where he is supposed to be. For there other tries he was part of an attacking line and can hardly be blamed. Get over your dislike of the lad, its pathetic

I take that point freyners and you make a good point. It is also true that I really don't think that darragh is the answer at full back. I guess in reality I just see a defense that is not very good as a unit and am picking on one individual. As has been pointed out why did mcsharry not start at 12. Both Robbie and eoin had ordinary games as they were positioned. The wingers were OK but that was about it. There is a huge need for ideas in this back line. Toh has been OK, fionn has been OK but there is simply no cohesion. The inclusion of poolman and Healy just was more of the same. So I guess my reaction is out of frustration when the reality is we need a decent backs coach

Utopia Parkway

Whatever about players what Connacht need is a good defence coach. They look like conceding tries every single time they are turned over. You cannot win games with any consistency with an almost non existant defence.

I might be mistaken but I think over the last 2 games, Ulster and Munster have scored 5 tries against Connacht straight off turnover ball. Often from inside their own half. That should not be happening to any decent professional side.

hermano

I agree a defence coach is badly needed but do ye not think its the high risk attacking game they're trying to play is a problem too. Look at Robbies intercept pass. Ya can see they're making alot of mistakes trying to implement it. Its great when it comes off but they're expose when it doesn't.

phog

hermano wrote: »

I agree a defence coach is badly needed but do ye not think its the high risk attacking game they're trying to play is a problem too. Look at Robbies intercept pass. Ya can see they're making alot of mistakes trying to implement it. Its great when it comes off but they're expose when it doesn't.

But as players get comfortable with the gameplan then they'll be less mistakes.

S12b

ouncer wrote: »

Let's just take your statement as is. Darragh is capable of kicking a long ball. Don't argue with that. He didn't get to kick today so he had to show other abilities. And while I like an open rugby game today the defense was all over the shop. I appreciate that Healy and poolman haven't played in ages so I forgive them to some degree. However darragh has had game time and his positioning was dreadful. For the first try he was nowhere to be seen and Munster walked straight through our defense. The full back must have vision to see what can possibly develop and darraghs vision is limited. All very good that he supplied a pass for Healy to cross but he certainly wasn't in control of the back line. If I wanted to be harsh I would say that the back line were terrible. A bunch of individuals rather than a unit. I do take the point that has been made in the past that Connacht are in serious need of a defense coach. Today's game really brought that home

It's not actually Leader's positioning that poor, it's your understanding of the game. For the first try, he was 30 yards away in the defensive line marking his opposite number, as he should be. If you must blame someone for the try, it was Faloon who was at fault.

hermano

phog wrote: »

But as players get comfortable with the gameplan then they'll be less mistakes.

But they shouldn't they comfortable with it by now? The season is nearly over. Hopefully come the start of next season it will all come together.

its_phil

hermano wrote: »

But they shouldn't they comfortable with it by now? The season is nearly over. Hopefully come the start of next season it will all come together.

If you consider the style of rugby compared to what we played under Eric, and consider how badly we played Pat Lam's style at the start of this season to where we are now you would have to say we have made massive progress. It is probably the most skillful team we have ever possessed. Rome wasn't built in a day. That said there were times on Saturday where a garryowen needed to be sent up, so there needs to be allowances to be more direct. New defence coach is needed but you can't blame lack of a defense coach for the first three tries on Saturday.

Also if you look at the one scored off an interception on YouTube (the second angle), Robbie was looking for Darragh to cut inside for the ball and go through a massive gap there but instead Darragh hold his line, Robbie doesn't look before he passes and van den Heever is away. That could easily of put us under the posts with Healy on the wing following up and just the full back to beat. That is the stuff I think will click next season.

I really am looking forward to next season, I think we are really going to have a great go at cracking the top 6.

Also this is a good interview on Saturday in the examiner: http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/rugby/lam-lays-out-vision-for-connacht-265882.html

hermano

its_phil wrote: »

If you consider the style of rugby compared to what we played under Eric, and consider how badly we played Pat Lam's style at the start of this season to where we are now you would have to say we have made massive progress. It is probably the most skillful team we have ever possessed. Rome wasn't built in a day. That said there were times on Saturday where a garryowen needed to be sent up, so there needs to be allowances to be more direct. New defence coach is needed but you can't blame lack of a defense coach for the first three tries on Saturday.

Also if you look at the one scored off an interception on YouTube (the second angle), Robbie was looking for Darragh to cut inside for the ball and go through a massive gap there but instead Darragh hold his line, Robbie doesn't look before he passes and van den Heever is away. That could easily of put us under the posts with Healy on the wing following up and just the full back to beat. That is the stuff I think will click next season.

I really am looking forward to next season, I think we are really going to have a great go at cracking the top 6.

Also this is a good interview on Saturday in the examiner: http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/rugby/lam-lays-out-vision-for-connacht-265882.html

But thats my point. Its a high risk game. There's a find line between a break on our side or the intercept.

I like your optimism but I'm not getting my hopes up yet. Any time I do, I end up very disappointed. The joys of been a Connacht supporter .

its_phil

hermano wrote: »

But thats my point. Its a high risk game. There's a find line between a break on our side or the intercept.

I like your optimism but I'm not getting my hopes up yet. Any time I do, I end up very disappointed. The joys of been a Connacht supporter .

Robbie should have looked but I really wouldn't have called that situation high risk. Can't fault the vision and like I said I think there is enough talent for it to click together next season.

BeardySi

Have to agree, they're definitely trying to play more rugby than before and when it's working it works well. They're not all quite clicking at times, mistakes get made and that's when the really sharp teams are crucifying us...

As it stands they're scoring lots of tries, even against strong opposition. Against weaker sides who aren't so quick to capitalise on mistakes they're getting good results. Overall they're showing promising improvement and if it's kept up we'll have every chance of nipping at the heels of the big boys next year....

Padkir

It's good rugby to watch and I welcome it but we need to start playing differently in the tough away games than in home games or away games against opposition of our own level.

For example, I don't think we should be going to Ravenhill trying to play expansive, open rugby or we'll be crucified every time. When we get the big guns at home in the Sportsground, fair enough but there has to be some caution involved in the away games against the top 3 or 4. Pin them back with a good kicking game and try to use our forwards to force mistakes.

CatFromHue

Connacht's tries scored in the Rabo is excellent. On a table of just tries scored they'd be 5th overall!

Connacht have never scored 37 tries in the Rabo before so they must be doing something right, especially as they'll improve on that in the next two games!

Beery Eyed

I was reading some of Tim Visser’s comments today in an interview about Edinburgh & the fact that they almost certainly won’t qualify for the European Champions Cup next season. A lot of what he was saying, with regards to rebuilding & focusing on consistency of performance, was almost identical to how I would see Connacht’s ideal approach next season. One difference I would say is that it is not so much re-building with Connacht, as it is now continuous building of something relatively new, since this is probably the most competitive Connacht have ever been.

While it is obviously disappointing for Ireland that we won’t have 4 teams competing in the top tier next season, and disappointing for Connacht not to have those big European games during the year as standout occasions for players & supporters alike, the new second tier European competition is looking likely to be hugely competitive in its own right, and will be made up of some really high quality teams. Personally I am still excited to see Connacht squaring off against the likes of Wasps, Gloucester, London Irish, Exeter, or Grenoble, Brive, Bordeaux, etc. or whoever they’re ultimately drawn with, because whoever they get will be a very high quality side that will be an enormous test home & away.

It has been great to be at the top tier competition for the past few seasons, but if Connacht are eager to really build on that opportunity & show the rest of Europe that they deserve to be back there, then they will need to beat these other teams when given the chance.

I also wouldn’t be worried at all about the likes of Henshaw, Marmion, etc. not learning enough because they’re not involved in the top tier competition. Next year Connacht will be hugely reliant on these young guys to step up & lead them in European & domestic games, and that experience will stand to them. They will be facing tough trips to English & French teams during the year, along with many testing league games, and they’ll be required for every big game that they are fit to play. There aren’t too many other young Irish players in similarly pivotal roles for their province at that stage of their careers, so these guys are exactly where they should be in my opinion – leading Connacht into a more competitive & consistent period over the next couple of years.

ArmchairQB

CatFromHue wrote: »

Connacht's tries scored in the Rabo is excellent. On a table of just tries scored they'd be 5th overall!

Connacht have never scored 37 tries in the Rabo before so they must be doing something right, especially as they'll improve on that in the next two games!

Just a pity that you have to defend in rugby as well!!