Connacht Team Talk Thread V - The Friend Zone

thomond2006

Some Like It TOH

There's absolutely no reason to go for the try. It's a kick close to in front of the posts. It's a kick that you make 49 out of 50 times.

I'm baffled.

UAEguy2020

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Tackle was fine, both his arms were out

Did he wrap?

testtech05

Some Like It TOH

thomond2006 wrote: »

There's absolutely no reason to go for the try. It's a kick close to in front of the posts. It's a kick that you make 49 out of 50 times.

I'm baffled.

Did Boyle think we had already scored 3 tries or something? Can't see any other reason you wouldn't take the 3 points..... He's been immense for us this season but that was a bit of a blunder!

Delahunt went for a quick tap near the end too when we had a tap over kick.

Disappointing game was there for the taking. Bar 1 missed kick to touch I thought Jack was excellent

UAEguy2020

It sums up just how tuned in Connacht were when they thought they had a penalty advantage...

TRC10

Did Boyle not realise that they could still qualify for the Challenge Cup.

Borders no.2

In terms of qualifying it wouldn't have made a difference anyway but I can't understand why not get some reward for the nights work especially when O'Halloran did the maths for them. Frustrating performance. Ulster a huge game now or could be staring down the barrel of 7 defeats in a row.

irishbucsfan

UAEguy2020 wrote: »

Did he wrap?

He made enough of an attempt to satisfy the AR, ref and TMO anyway

connachta

Metres Gained
Connacht Rugby
219
Bristol Bears
402

Same amount of Carries 93 to 87
Half ground gained

+ mauls 7m gained to 65 for Bris!

Sometimes we can unexpectedly overcome the issue with players out of their skins like last week
But overall
WE NEED POWER. We need Papali'i.

The rest was very decent (Arnold, Carty, Porch, very few errors etc.)

FACECUTTR

connachta wrote: »

Metres Gained
Connacht Rugby
219
Bristol Bears
402

Same amount of Carries 93 to 87
Half ground gained

+ mauls 7m gained to 65 for Bris!

Sometimes we can unexpectedly overcome the issue with players out of their skins like last week
But overall
WE NEED POWER. We need Papali'i.

The rest was very decent (Arnold, Carty, Porch, very few errors etc.)

We just need our starting second rows back that would really help the lineout and maul. We had plenty of power against Racing. Just a bad night at the office. We need a bit of consistency in results.

connachta

FACECUTTR wrote: »

We just need our starting second rows back that would really help the lineout and maul. We had plenty of power against Racing. Just a bad night at the office. We need a bit of consistency in results.

Roux and Thornbury are not powerful carriers (yeah even Roux, not that much).
They'd have helped maul maybe, not meters
That's mainly the Back-row who does gain ground, not the second row

We watched the same game. Hughes, Earls and Lautua won it for them. The 12 others were even with Connacht counterparts

Burkie1203

Mul, it's over

FACECUTTR wrote: »

We just need our starting second rows back that would really help the lineout and maul. We had plenty of power against Racing. Just a bad night at the office. We need a bit of consistency in results.

Connacht would be better off out altogether after January and try keep as many players fit for pro14 playoffs. Squad is much smaller then a year ago

Former Coach

Mul, it's over

Conceded two tries while Bundee was off-that was pretty much it! Not a lot between the teams. We’ve shown over the last few weeks that we can put it up to any team. We really need to win at least one of the three Inter-pro’s though!

Akrasia

connachta wrote: »

Guys we won't win away to Bristol or even home to Racing.
No Challenge Cup hope
Try for the try was ok.

Well with that attitude you're not winning anything ever again

Thats what Treviso would have done, try to put a gloss on a losing scoreline, when this is cup rugby, there are points at a stake, the game was lost, but you had a bonus point waiting there on a plate.

Its an extremely difficult task with 1 or 2 points after 2 games, but you never know, this is not a typical season, You never know which teams might be forced for cancel games due to covid. It was ridiculous to not take that point

Redo91

You've got a Friend in me

That is probably the last we will see of Boyle as captain. That decision not to go for the posts is inexcusable.

The Lost Sheep

Redo91 wrote: »

That is probably the last we will see of Boyle as captain. That decision not to go for the posts is inexcusable.

No it isnt. It shouldnt be either. You dont stop as captain because of this. All captains even very best make, thanks to hindsight, wrong decisions llike this.
If theyd scored would you have said it was poor decision. no not at all.
it didnt work out but he's 23. he'll learn from this

ClanofLams

Mul, it's over

Redo91 wrote: »

That is probably the last we will see of Boyle as captain. That decision not to go for the posts is inexcusable.

Wrong decision but that's a bit hasty, I recall Muldoon getting plenty of calls wrong. Boyle is 23, he's going to make errors captaining, he will learn and get better.

Burkie1203

Mul, it's over

Redo91 wrote: »

That is probably the last we will see of Boyle as captain. That decision not to go for the posts is inexcusable.

No. He made a mistake. But he made it when it probably has little to no impact down the line.

If we weren't stack in backrow he would be challenging for the Irish 23.

macslash

Mul, it's over

Pity this travel lockdown hadn't come a bit earlier and kept Bristol at home!

Poor performance overall. Missed the last few minutes so can't speak for the decision. We just didn't seem to be in it at all.

Also can't wait for the new pitch. Last week showed how much better we are on good ground.

Dog Botherer

You've got a Friend in me

Full match

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUztR8gnka8

Redo91

You've got a Friend in me

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

No it isnt. It shouldnt be either. You dont stop as captain because of this. All captains even very best make, thanks to hindsight, wrong decisions llike this.
If theyd scored would you have said it was poor decision. no not at all.
it didnt work out but he's 23. he'll learn from this

Of course if they’d scored I’d have still said it was a bad decision. It would just have been the case that he got away with it. There was no logic whatsoever in not going for the posts. And I’m not saying as some sort of punishment he shouldn’t have the job in the future. I just wouldn’t be surprised if Friend and the coaching team are so livid over that they will look elsewhere. It was such a poor decision that ultimately cost the team a point.

Redo91

You've got a Friend in me

ClanofLams wrote: »

Wrong decision but that's a bit hasty, I recall Muldoon getting plenty of calls wrong. Boyle is 23, he's going to make errors captaining, he will learn and get better.

You’re right that Mul made some bad calls but none as bad or illogical as this. There may have been times Mul when for a lineout when it was malfunction rather than a lineout or vice versa but I can’t think of any decisions as bad as this. It literally didn’t make any sense.

Dog Botherer

You've got a Friend in me

A Game Highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtR9VKNW8mo

The Lost Sheep

Redo91 wrote: »

Of course if they’d scored I’d have still said it was a bad decision. It would just have been the case that he got away with it. There was no logic whatsoever in not going for the posts. And I’m not saying as some sort of punishment he shouldn’t have the job in the future. I just wouldn’t be surprised if Friend and the coaching team are so livid over that they will look elsewhere. It was such a poor decision that ultimately cost the team a point.

It was a poor decision that didnt get the team a point but while coaches may be frustrated i dont see why theyd say he wont be captain ever again.
Sometimes these shots pay off sometimes they do. How many times have we seen Munster go for these and sometimes it works others it doesnt.
He'll learn and its disappointing but no reason at all for him not to be captain again.

The Lost Sheep

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

It was a poor decision that didnt get the team a point but while coaches may be frustrated i dont see why theyd say he wont be captain ever again.
Sometimes these shots pay off sometimes they do. How many times have we seen Munster go for these and sometimes it works others it doesnt.
He'll learn and its disappointing but no reason at all for him not to be captain again.

But isnt the point that whether a try was converted or not, it was still only going to be a LBP?

Some people seem to be talking like we turned down one point to try to win two?.
So in this case it couldnt pay off.

Surely there can't be any justification, or defending if someone can't calibrate basic information and letting them retain that ability.

Im not saying I'd remove him as captain, I'm not taking a position but too many seem to just think its excusable when its something that should never be allowed to happen once.

Redo91

You've got a Friend in me

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

It was a poor decision that didnt get the team a point but while coaches may be frustrated i dont see why theyd say he wont be captain ever again.
Sometimes these shots pay off sometimes they do. How many times have we seen Munster go for these and sometimes it works others it doesnt.
He'll learn and its disappointing but no reason at all for him not to be captain again.

But what exactly was the pay-off? That’s my point. 3 points were as good to us as a try and it was clearly a kickable penalty. There was no benefit to be had in going for the try.

The Lost Sheep

Redo91 wrote: »

But what exactly was the pay-off? That’s my point. 3 points were as good to us as a try and it was clearly a kickable penalty. There was no benefit to be had in going for the try.

Maybe but saying he shouldnt ever be captain again is ridiculous.
I dont know what they were thinking but several players seemed to decide go for try. No idea why they did it
Its not a major issue. Its not going to totally change how season ends for Connacht.

Wegians89

The Friend Zone

Really what difference does a losing bonus point make? Realistically couldn’t even qualify for the next round with an unlikely two bonus point wins and two losing bonus points.

So next best thing would be to try and get into the challenge cup. First question here would be, is that worth even worth it? In a compact season with a small squad I’d rather focus on the pro 14 and reaching the playoffs in that.

Secondly, if the aim was to get into the challenge cup and the losing bonus point was achieved, I’m certain that it’d be so tight that, points/try’s scored would come into effect on the last day, in which case getting the losing bonus point with a try would be more beneficial than just the 3 points.

connachta

Wegians89 wrote: »

Really what difference does a losing bonus point make? Realistically couldn’t even qualify for the next round with an unlikely two bonus point wins and two losing bonus points.

So next best thing would be to try and get into the challenge cup. First question here would be, is that worth even worth it? In a compact season with a small squad I’d rather focus on the pro 14 and reaching the playoffs in that.

Secondly, if the aim was to get into the challenge cup and the losing bonus point was achieved, I’m certain that it’d be so tight that, points/try’s scored would come into effect on the last day, in which case getting the losing bonus point with a try would be more beneficial than just the 3 points.

You said what I tend to point, brillantly
This thing about Boyle is just meaningless.


We should focus on improving our power ability for next season
(and pick Papali'i this season because of this even if risky)
We lose this and Scarlets because we don't gain ground

Burkie1203

Mul, it's over

Wegians89 wrote: »

Really what difference does a losing bonus point make? Realistically couldn’t even qualify for the next round with an unlikely two bonus point wins and two losing bonus points.

So next best thing would be to try and get into the challenge cup. First question here would be, is that worth even worth it? In a compact season with a small squad I’d rather focus on the pro 14 and reaching the playoffs in that.

Secondly, if the aim was to get into the challenge cup and the losing bonus point was achieved, I’m certain that it’d be so tight that, points/try’s scored would come into effect on the last day, in which case getting the losing bonus point with a try would be more beneficial than just the 3 points.

Connacht are better off out of Europe altogether after the next 2 games. Real opportunity to qualify for Champions Cup next season via Pro14.

Bazzo

Mul, it's over

Wegians89 wrote: »

Really what difference does a losing bonus point make? Realistically couldn’t even qualify for the next round with an unlikely two bonus point wins and two losing bonus points.

So next best thing would be to try and get into the challenge cup. First question here would be, is that worth even worth it? In a compact season with a small squad I’d rather focus on the pro 14 and reaching the playoffs in that.

Secondly, if the aim was to get into the challenge cup and the losing bonus point was achieved, I’m certain that it’d be so tight that, points/try’s scored would come into effect on the last day, in which case getting the losing bonus point with a try would be more beneficial than just the 3 points.

I think we'd have a realistic shot of having a run at the challenge cup and silverware is silverware. Winning is a culture and you can't win anything if you're not even in it.

2 trips I can think of off the top of my head to the Racing 5m line that came away with nothing last week. Think we probably had at least 3 last night?

Maul defence is pretty disgraceful tbh, a lot of Bristol's points came from that. Hopefully having a team sheet with 2 or even 3(!) second rows will go a long way to solving it. Same for the scrum which is usually steady but got a spanking last night.