Connacht Team Talk Thread V - The Friend Zone

JohnniDrama

Friend has got to start dealing with these wildly inconsistent performances.

I believe ultimately we are a very well coached side. Jimmy and Nigel are outstanding technical coaches. Truly.

Re Wilkins, either he is getting defence really wrong at times or the players are making a balls of it. I suspect it’s a bit of both?

Must appreciate too no game for a month. Hopefully it was more a factor than it should have been.

There is the bones of a decent young squad there but can Friend realise it? I do wonder sometimes.

We do seem to have a really soft underbelly at times and teams always know they have a chance against us. That is very disappointing. If we are serious at all, we should really be undefeated so far. I suspect KK raised this too many times as we know. (He wasn’t right on a few things, but he wasn’t wrong either on others).

Whatever about our young guys, our senior players are as poor as I can remember for a while. Especially the Irish boys.

Ultan, Jack and Kieran are all a fair bit off what they are capable of producing.

We are producing extremely muted performances.

For me, Butler is not a natural captain so he really needs these guys to be better than they have been. He needs support. There are no clear, mature voices. Just a load of players moaning to the ref. It’s madness really.

Burkie1203

Mul, it's over

JohnniDrama wrote: »

Must appreciate too no game for a month.

Argentina hadn't played for a year. Most of their players were training alone at home

They beat NZ Yesterday

That's clutching at straws

Bazzo

Mul, it's over

Burkie1203 wrote: »

Argentina hadn't played for a year. Most of their players were training alone at home

They beat NZ Yesterday

That's clutching at straws

It's really not.

JohnniDrama

Burkie1203 wrote: »

Argentina hadn't played for a year. Most of their players were training alone at home

They beat NZ Yesterday

That's clutching at straws

You make a reasonable point. And largely I agree. But it doesn’t mean the lack of games did not have an effect?

I would hope it didn’t, especially at home, but if not, then the performance becomes more worrying. And a real frailty exists.

FACECUTTR

JohnniDrama wrote: »

Friend has got to start dealing with these wildly inconsistent performances.

I believe ultimately we are a very well coached side. Jimmy and Nigel are outstanding technical coaches. Truly.

Re Wilkins, either he is getting defence really wrong at times or the players are making a balls of it. I suspect it’s a bit of both?

Must appreciate too no game for a month. Hopefully it was more a factor than it should have been.

There is the bones of a decent young squad there but can Friend realise it? I do wonder sometimes.

We do seem to have a really soft underbelly at times and teams always know they have a chance against us. That is very disappointing. If we are serious at all, we should really be undefeated so far. I suspect KK raised this too many times as we know. (He wasn’t right on a few things, but he wasn’t wrong either on others).

Whatever about our young guys, our senior players are as poor as I can remember for a while. Especially the Irish boys.

Ultan, Jack and Kieran are all a fair bit off what they are capable of producing.

We are producing extremely muted performances.

For me, Butler is not a natural captain so he really needs these guys to be better than they have been. He needs support. There are no clear, mature voices. Just a load of players moaning to the ref. It’s madness really.

I agree on Butler not being a natural leader. He is great for getting in the refs ear but I dont think he motivates the players enough. We really miss Bundee on international duty. Masterson is a great leader but is not guaranteed the start. Boyle is nailed on starter but does he have the leadership qualities? Theres something not clicking and I hope its found out soon and sorted.

ElisaAtWar

Former Coach wrote: »

https://twitter.com/pro14official/status/1327741191966781440?s=21

You have to trust your inside men. Matt Healy was going to get the tackle in on McNicholl for the first one and Wooton would have for the second.

You make a fair point. Trust is important. But the problem would seem to defensive alignment and organization. And I do believe we have to do the hard graft a bit more and a bit less of the crazy offloading. If we look at our peers they tend to exert control, play the game when the opportunity arises and not be constantly trying to force an opportunity from nothing. And I guess week in week out Connacht suffer inconsistent results because the outcome of their plays is uncertain. Question is whether they should play the very extremes of the margins or settle for a more consistent structure. What confounds me is how you can coach an unstructured approach which is Connacht. Surely some sense must prevail but week in and week out it's hard to see it.

For sense to prevail there has to be leadership on the field. This is not just simply the captains job, it has to be in the pack, it has to be at 9 and 10, it has to be in the back 5. Leaders were not very obvious in any of those areas yesterday.

And if we're to disect it a little further Bundee offers the aggression, Tiernan offers the organization, Jack does the game control, Quinn and Gavin offer the stability of possession. So Gavin was as good as ever, Jack was very rusty and the other three players were unavailable.

Just my opinion here but I thought Friend should have moved Tom Daly to 10 as it clearly was a weak point. But it didn't happen. I see the same with Ireland, the reluctance to see what's unfolding in front of your eyes

Shelflife

Former Coach wrote: »

https://twitter.com/pro14official/status/1327741191966781440?s=21

You have to trust your inside men. Matt Healy was going to get the tackle in on McNicholl for the first one and Wooton would have for the second.

For me, Healy was burnt for the first try and while Arnold didnt help Healy was burnt again for the second, add the dropped ball over the line and the numerous mistakes he made during the game its safe to say he was one of the main reasons we lost.

As for "getting in the refs ear" thats the last thing you want, when did you see McCaw in the refs ear, by all means chat to him and engage with him, pick and choose your battles. but some of the countdown stuff going on the last day was embarrassing.

We still dont have the cuteness that the likes of Munster have, put Munster 5m out from a try line and they score more often than not, we dont.

Scarlets running down of the clock at scrum time is what im talking about, we rarely do something like that and in that instance Butler should have had a word with the ref as it was clear what they were up to.

We seem to lack a ruthless cynical streak.

EachSmallChime

ElisaAtWar wrote: »

You make a fair point. Trust is important. But the problem would seem to defensive alignment and organization. And I do believe we have to do the hard graft a bit more and a bit less of the crazy offloading. If we look at our peers they tend to exert control, play the game when the opportunity arises and not be constantly trying to force an opportunity from nothing. And I guess week in week out Connacht suffer inconsistent results because the outcome of their plays is uncertain. Question is whether they should play the very extremes of the margins or settle for a more consistent structure. What confounds me is how you can coach an unstructured approach which is Connacht. Surely some sense must prevail but week in and week out it's hard to see it.

For sense to prevail there has to be leadership on the field. This is not just simply the captains job, it has to be in the pack, it has to be at 9 and 10, it has to be in the back 5. Leaders were not very obvious in any of those areas yesterday.

And if we're to disect it a little further Bundee offers the aggression, Tiernan offers the organization, Jack does the game control, Quinn and Gavin offer the stability of possession. So Gavin was as good as ever, Jack was very rusty and the other three players were unavailable.

Just my opinion here but I thought Friend should have moved Tom Daly to 10 as it clearly was a weak point. But it didn't happen. I see the same with Ireland, the reluctance to see what's unfolding in front of your eyes

I'm glad he didn't to be honest despite the loss. I'm not sure Jack getting hooked for an out of position centre, the same week he's been dropped by Ireland would do much for his confidence. There's a longer game here and a Carty downward spiral (like post WC) is the last thing we need. He needs to play through it.

kingofthekong

You could forgive Connacht dropping games in previous years because of lack of player quality,

But they really have a talented group of guys now that should really be putting teams like Scarlets away at home and getting a bonus point

thomond2006

Some Like It TOH

It was a freak game in many ways. How often do you spill the ball three times on the line?!

Bazzo

Mul, it's over

thomond2006 wrote: »

It was a freak game in many ways. How often do you spill the ball three times on the line?!

Do you mean a normal team or Connacht?

connachta

Anyway the positive is that for the 1st time since...Ever, I saw Connacht forwards dominating the contact phases overall

KBurke85

The Friend Zone

kingofthekong wrote: »

You could forgive Connacht dropping games in previous years because of lack of player quality,

But they really have a talented group of guys now that should really be putting teams like Scarlets away at home and getting a bonus point

Technically we did get a bonus point:D

kingofthekong

How is Aungier getting on ? Bealam clearly number one but out of Kenny, McCoy and Aungier who is looking the best ?

siltirocker

I think we really need to address the defense in wing and at full back. They look great going forward, but we are in trouble of conceding every single time the first line is broken, or when the ball goes wide. We are leaking tries there.

Positioning is the hardest aspect of back three play, and why players like Duffy and Kearney excelled. But if you haven't got these down you need to manage your cover and communication. Porch, in particular, seems to be caught out of position consistently. Or rather when out of position not making hay to get back in position or not orchestrating/communicating your cover. That and the missed tackles (that said I think Porch can be a great tackler). These problems were glaring in the Cardiff game and to an extent in the win against Glasgow, but they were also present last night.

For example: Scarlets first try at the weekend. Watch the diamond of the back three, while Porch might have felt he needed to shoot up, he calls the wrong man, not trusting Healy, while Wootton is about 5m horizontally behind where he should be. Porch should not have shot, and Wootton should have been seeing the players wide and moving straight away.

The second try is almost the exact same. Porch shoots, doesn't trust Healy to tackle (which, in fairness, he mightn't have), and Wootton, while he does better to get across, again misses a tackle because of the velocity and twist of balance, which wouldn't have happened if he was more centrally positioned in the line.

Third try, Porch makes a dismal attempt to get to position, and does not highlight the gap left to others. It is where Porch should be covering be it himself or highlighted to a team mate where Scarlets get in.

ElisaAtWar

EachSmallChime wrote: »

I'm glad he didn't to be honest despite the loss. I'm not sure Jack getting hooked for an out of position centre, the same week he's been dropped by Ireland would do much for his confidence. There's a longer game here and a Carty downward spiral (like post WC) is the last thing we need. He needs to play through it.

That's a fair argument. I remember how damaged he came back last time from Irish camp. It took a long time to build his confidence again. He's had a lot of negativity surrounding him over many years, no more than Keatley. It has to play on ones mind. But this game is not forgiving. You perform or you don't, you have an injury profile then your gone. And that's how it works. So I'm not inclined to agree that Jack needing to be weened back into Connacht rugby is fair on Connacht rugby.

And if you were to look at injury profiles, and our 2016 pro12 win, and Niyi let go, you would have to say that the other two of that back three on the day really should be let go. Teams must move on. It's never about the player, it's all about the team

realhorrorshow

Just saw that Paul Boyle made 102 metres at the weekend, the most in the league.

FACECUTTR

realhorrorshow wrote: »

Just saw that Paul Boyle made 102 metres at the weekend, the most in the league.

I think he is consistently our best player by a fair bit. His tackle stats are fairly high too.

its_phil

Mul, it's over

Kieran in London with Ireland squad. More than likely won’t be playing for us on Sunday.

Seriously hope he gets game time next week for Ireland. He was rusty last week and needs minutes badly. Deserves the minutes too.

connachta

its_phil wrote: »

Kieran in London with Ireland squad. More than likely won’t be playing for us on Sunday.

Seriously hope he gets game time next week for Ireland. He was rusty last week and needs minutes badly. Deserves the minutes too.

Blade is ok?

KBurke85

The Friend Zone

connachta wrote: »

Blade is ok?

Doubt it. The injury update last week said he’d be out for a few weeks

Bazzo

Mul, it's over

Is Kerins injured? Was a bit surprised to see Reilly ahead of him last week.

Buer

realhorrorshow wrote: »

Just saw that Paul Boyle made 102 metres at the weekend, the most in the league.

He's a great player. Reminds me a lot of Doris in several regards. Not quite the physical specimen but similar style. He's very dynamic and smart, rarely makes a mistake.

He's someone that Connacht could build a back row around for a decade.

connachta

SOB! SOB !! SOB !!!!!!

https://www.connachtrugby.ie/dillane-set-for-100th-cap-and-obrien-makes-long-awaited-return-in-zebre-clash/

connachta

15. John Porch (22)
14. Sammy Arnold (5)
13. Tom Farrell (61)
12. Tom Daly (29)
11. Alex Wootton (5)
10. Jack Carty (143)
9. Colm Reilly (2)
1. Denis Buckley (183)
2. Shane Delahunt (81)
3. Jack Aungier (5)
4. Eoghan Masterson (95)
5. Gavin Thornbury (43)
6. Sean O’Brien (57)
7. Sean Masterson (4)
8. Jarrad Butler (C) (60)

16. Jonny Murphy (8)
17. Paddy McAllister (13)
18. Dominic Robertson-McCoy (55)
19. Ultan Dillane (99)
20. Abraham Papali’I (3)
21. Stephen Kerins (10)
22. Conor Fitzgerald (26)
23. Peter Sullivan (3)

Bazzo

Mul, it's over

Few interesting calls there.. Arnold ahead of Sullivan on the wing, Masterson starting ahead of Dillane in the row, Sean Masterson starting.

Everyone call any remaining grannies up and have them light the emergency candle for SOB II please

connachta

Interesting mix between 60% who have at least one full-season-played behind them (20+ Caps)
40% are rookies on a Connacht jersey.
Hope it will work out

KBurke85

The Friend Zone

Bazzo wrote: »

Few interesting calls there.. Arnold ahead of Sullivan on the wing, Masterson starting ahead of Dillane in the row, Sean Masterson starting.

Everyone call any remaining grannies up and have them light the emergency candle for SOB II please

Dillane probably got realises wait late in the week. Probably why he’s on the bench

FACECUTTR

Bazzo wrote: »

Few interesting calls there.. Arnold ahead of Sullivan on the wing, Masterson starting ahead of Dillane in the row, Sean Masterson starting.

Everyone call any remaining grannies up and have them light the emergency candle for SOB II please

Nice bit of physicality to come on with Papalii and Dillane. Sullivan is no lightweight either.

JohnniDrama

Strange team selection.

Oliver must be injured?

Dillane and Carty need good games. Both have been very poor.

Not exactly confident of victory!