WWW : Connacht vs Leinster

Donnielighto · 27-03-2016 12:59pm

LorMal wrote: »

Well done Connaght - a good performance in atrocious conditions. I think they played the conditions far more astutely. I was amazed how poorly Leinster coped. Some of our box kicking in the first half was beyond stupid.

I have to say, the Leinster posters on here have been gracious in defeat. Many of the Connaught posters has been less than gracious in victory.

Tbf it's one ungracious guy with a megaphone and full of sugar.

Shelflife · 27-03-2016 1:46pm

In fairness don't lump us all in together with one or two posters on here.

There's a block function which has done wonders for my blood pressure 😀. Please use it !!

When you get a poster who has in the past ended up arguing with himself in the same thread you get a sense that listening to him will only annoy you.

Well done to Connacht , in particular SOL, it can't be easy to be jettisoned into to out half in a tense close game for the first time this season. Have to say that he did really well and controlled things nicely.
Also a hat tip to Blade who also ended up at out half for a while .

It says a lot for the team that these changes were made and no one panicked and all got on with their jobs.

God bless Pat and his systems and processes .

freyners · 27-03-2016 2:16pm

I'm slightly irritated to see everyone being lumped in with the one poster. It's cheap lazy point scoring and, ironically, just as ungracious as the posts being referred to.

Back on the game. Bundee Aki has to be one of the best signings made by any of the provinces. The man is a machine. He made the strip at the end. In a team that is slowly growing into big game players, he brings an element that will be impossible to replace

bilston · 27-03-2016 2:25pm

its_phil wrote: »

McGrath is going to be a quality player for Leinster and Ireland, same for Nick McCarthy, but he should be further developed by now IMO.

How has McCarthy progressed this season. I thought he was only so so for the U20s last year but I wouldn't rule a player in or out based on the U20s. I remember thinking Murray was no great shakes at that level as well.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO · 27-03-2016 2:51pm

freyners wrote: »

Back on the game. Bundee Aki has to be one of the best signings made by any of the provinces. The man is a machine. He made the strip at the end. In a team that is slowly growing into big game players, he brings an element that will be impossible to replace

He came very close to not seeing more than 5 minutes of yesterday's game though. Nigel was not impressed with him at all. Joe will have to knock that out of him

Stheno · 27-03-2016 2:52pm

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

He came very close to not seeing more than 5 minutes of yesterday's game though. Nigel was not impressed with him at all. Joe will have to knock that out of him

When does he become iq?

TICKLE_ME_ELMO · 27-03-2016 2:55pm

Stheno wrote: »

When does he become iq?

I think this is only his second season here... so next summer, I think?

johnnyryan89 · 27-03-2016 3:07pm

Stheno wrote: »

When does he become iq?

He'll be qualified by next summer along with Jake Heenan who pulled out in the warm up I think. Hopefully he can over come his injury problems because he could be a top class 7 for Ireland.

Edit: Jake Heenan is iq this summer.

.ak · 27-03-2016 3:13pm

Yeah_Right wrote: »

I watched 7 games of rugby yesterday and this one definitely had the greatest intensity. Pity the skill level didn't match it but obviously the conditions were a factor there. I think the game meant more to Connacht than it did to Leinster and it will be interesting to see if they can go up another level if these two teams meet in the playoffs.

I'm worried that McGrath and Marmion are the up and coming halfbacks in Ireland. This was a game that a quality HB should have stamped their mark on and neither of them did.

And Nacewa's hit on AJ was nowhere near being high.

That's my consensus too. There's an old adage in Irish rugby that Connacht always play against Leinster like its a cup final.

The difference is of course this time Connacht are top of the table and Leinster had a great chance to take that from them, but very few of the Leinster players looked hungry (Isa, Teo, Ruddock, Strauss, Heaslip), we can't expect to win the league with that sort of attitude.

Would love another cut at Connacht... All irish final would be great!

wp_rathead · 27-03-2016 5:24pm

I fecking love Pat Lam

Bazzo · 27-03-2016 6:08pm

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I think this is only his second season here... so next summer, I think?

johnnyryan89 wrote: »

He'll be qualified by next summer along with Jake Heenan who pulled out in the warm up I think. Hopefully he can over come his injury problems because he could be a top class 7 for Ireland.

Edit: Jake Heenan is iq this summer.

Bundee came over in October I'm pretty sure so he'll be qualified in October 2017.

Yeah_Right · 27-03-2016 6:15pm

Have to say I'm happy for Pat Lam achieving some success here and the love he is getting. His time at the Blues ended up being a complete mess and failure. The media and the fans turned on him and it was brutal. It's good to see him enjoying his rugby again.

CatFromHue · 27-03-2016 6:15pm

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

He came very close to not seeing more than 5 minutes of yesterday's game though. Nigel was not impressed with him at all. Joe will have to knock that out of him

What was that all about between Aki and Te'o? I couldn't make it out what was going on.

Even Marcus Horan noted that Aki was very wound up at the start.

Bazzo · 27-03-2016 6:18pm

I dunno why Aki is getting all the ****. Yeah he is a bit fiery and it'll probably land him in bother some day tbh but yesterday Te'o clearly said something to him, otherwise Nigel wouldn't have called him over. Bundee was having handbags with another player(can't remember who) and Te'o walked up behind them, didn't actually touch Bundee, and then Nigel broke it up and took Te'o and Aki aside, if Te'o hadn't done something it would have been Bundee and the guy who were initially scrapping... if that makes sense...

He's also an immense player for Connacht. That competitive edge is what drives him to be so good. He's no worse than Sexton for example.

Buer · 27-03-2016 6:20pm

Regardless of theories as to why he was behaving as he did, I'd hope Aki is wound up every week if he's going to play like that.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO · 27-03-2016 6:20pm

CatFromHue wrote: »

What was that all about between Aki and Te'o? I couldn't make it out what was going on.

Even Marcus Horan noted that Aki was very wound up at the start.

I can't even remember now how it started. I'm not sure either were involved in the initial incident that got it started but they were involved in the afters and Nigel called them over. Te'o wasn't doing anything at that point but Aki kept saying something in Te'o's direction as Nigel was trying to tell them to behave. He seemed really annoyed with Aki when he wouldn't stop whatever it was he was saying.

I assume he was just a bit over enthusiastic about the whole thing. A bit too wound up. Horan said he was unsettling some of the players around him too.

Hagz · 27-03-2016 6:30pm

Bazzo wrote: »

I dunno why Aki is getting all the ****.

Is he getting all the ****?

On twitter/facebook I presume?

johnnyryan89 · 27-03-2016 6:30pm

Bazzo wrote: »

Bundee came over in October I'm pretty sure so he'll be qualified in October 2017.

You're right, forgot that they play their own national competitions after the Super Rugby season is over that run for an extra couple of months.

Buer · 27-03-2016 6:33pm

He's obvious quality but I'd be loathe to see Aki in green after his comments on signing. He's eager to take a test jersey from whoever will give it.

With someone like Stander or Strauss, you feel the Irish jersey genuinely meant the world to them.

Bazzo · 27-03-2016 6:35pm

Hagz wrote: »

Is he getting all the ****?

On twitter/facebook I presume?

Well, yeah. I just read through most of the thread and the majority of the comments about that incident are focused on Bundee.

Stheno · 27-03-2016 6:37pm

Buer wrote: »

He's obvious quality but I'd be loathe to see Aki in green after his comments on signing. He's eager to take a test jersey from whoever will give it.

With someone like Stander or Strauss, you feel the Irish jersey genuinely meant the world to them.

What did he say when he signed?

Buer · 27-03-2016 6:39pm

Stheno wrote:

What did he say when he signed?

Talked about NZ having options that were ahead of him and he would be looking to play for Ireland. But if they didn't pick him that was ok as he could play for Samoa then. Just came across very much like he sees test rugby as a way of increasing his profile.

CatFromHue · 27-03-2016 6:40pm

Stheno wrote: »

What did he say when he signed?

"It was a really tough decision.

"It's a long commitment. I put a lot of thought into it, looking at my options in terms of international rugby," Aki told Fairfax Media in New Zealand.

"Obviously the All Blacks have got their midfielders and with Sonny coming back, it's a not a bad thing for me to go. Hopefully, if I do the hard yards over there, good things will come."

"Family is everything for me," he said. Aki understands that playing international rugby for Ireland is by no means a certainty, but is determined to make a solid case for himself.

"That's a big part of my decision to move," he said. "Hopefully when the time is right and if I'm playing good footy, hopefully I can play for the Ireland international team.

"I've got to play well before that though. I'm eligible for Samoa.

"That was another big decision for myself – to see if I would play for them or not. If I play three years over there and it doesn't go well, I can always go back to Samoa.

"They are a good international team as well but I'm just trying to look after my family and myself."
http://www.balls.ie/rugby/new-connacht-centre-bundee-aki-ireland-jersey-sights/119523

Prob what alot of guys who come over think but silly to say it.

Diabhal Beag · 27-03-2016 7:38pm

I'd go a bit easy on Bundee in particular in that situation. Might seem silly for him to say that but at the same time his thought-process is to optimise his career enough to support his family back home. Probably keeping his options open at that time.

Irish Times Article

Aki’s entire family, including his two daughters, still live in New Zealand, which further indicates that rugby has provided a huge opportunity.

The more you read up on him the more you love the lad. When Blade cleared the ball at the end he grabbed the tackler by the collar rather than immediately celebrate. Thought it was a real older brother thing to do. Lovely to see.

Cosmo Kramer · 27-03-2016 7:41pm

No different to Stander, Strauss, Payne or any other project player. There's lads that would delude themselves into thinking that they're all Irish now and couldn't care less about their home countries. But if the rules allowed it and they were in line to be selected I reckon they'd all go back and play for their home nations in a heartbeat. There's nothing wrong with that of course, but it's the reality of the project player setup.

its_phil · 27-03-2016 8:24pm

Buer wrote: »

He's obvious quality but I'd be loathe to see Aki in green after his comments on signing. He's eager to take a test jersey from whoever will give it.

With someone like Stander or Strauss, you feel the Irish jersey genuinely meant the world to them.

Really don't see the difference between Aki and the two of them. Stander was a project player and more than likely had intentions of becoming an international for Ireland even before he set foot in Ireland.

Don't see why Aki is so unsuited for Ireland just because of his honesty.

its_phil · 27-03-2016 8:25pm

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

I'd go a bit easy on Bundee in particular in that situation. Might seem silly for him to say that but at the same time his thought-process is to optimise his career enough to support his family back home. Probably keeping his options open at that time.

Irish Times Article

The more you read up on him the more you love the lad. When Blade cleared the ball at the end he grabbed the tackler by the collar rather than immediately celebrate. Thought it was a real older brother thing to do. Lovely to see.

They moved over for a few weeks and then moved back.

irishbucsfan · 27-03-2016 8:26pm

I don't really see the difference between Aki or Stander either. Stander was talking about playing for Ireland before he arrived.

Bring em all on. If they'll commit to Irish rugby long term then let's be having them

CatFromHue · 27-03-2016 8:40pm

its_phil wrote: »

Really don't see the difference between Aki and the two of them. Stander was a project player and more than likely had intentions of becoming an international for Ireland even before he set foot in Ireland.

Don't see why Aki is so unsuited for Ireland just because of his honesty.

There's honesty

yeah it looks ok, i'm not too keen on it though

and there's honesty

it makes you look fat

Sean Kinsella · 27-03-2016 9:37pm

Cosmo Kramer wrote: »

I actually thought Marmion played very well overall. He brings a level of pace and speed of pass to the position that we haven't seen at international level for Ireland since Peter Stringer. There are still some deficiencies in his game but I think it's now time for Schmidt to back him as his number two scrum half and work with him to mould his game into what he wants rather than reverting back to Reddan time and again.

McGrath was awful - a long way from international standard. Given that he's only a year younger than Marmion he has a lot of ground to make up. Seems very mouthy towards officials also any time I've seen him play.

Agree about Reddan; heading for 36 and frankly, he's had his international day; Marmion should be the number 2 to Murray with immediate effect.

WWW : Connacht vs Leinster

Comments