Connacht vs Ulster Sportsground 27/12/2020 Eir Sport 1

Dog Botherer

Madigan really showing his value in games like these. whatever about the showboating finger guns, having a backup dirt tracker 10 who can kick goals like that and keep you in games you have no right to be in is invaluable.

Bazzo

sydthebeat wrote: »

That connacht were incredibly dumb tonight??

Jeez, I assume you've just watched the same game.

How many turnovers did connacht give away out wide in those conditions???

9 turnovers to 4 in ulster's favour show just how easily connacht played into ulster's hands.

Incredibly dumb, and I've no problem at all sticking to that

Ah, ok, nice one. So not really any more examples then. The stupidest thing Connacht did was either lose the coin toss or make the wrong decision after winning it.

sydthebeat

Bazzo wrote: »

Ah, ok, nice one. So not really any more examples then. The stupidest thing Connacht did was either lose the coin toss or make the wrong decision after winning it.

Ah here.... Why the chip on the shoulder because your team have been rightly criticised. Their whole game plan in those conditions was stupid.... Connacht continued to play lovely pretty patterns to get the ball wide on the second half... Against a team with one in the back field and 14 in the line. So when the eventual tackle happened away from the initial ruck you didn't have the men there to prevent the turn over. Penalty.... And madigan either kicks long for territory or shoots for posts.
This was when, as most people agreed before the game, Connacht had the better pack... Yet they didn't take on ulster in that arm wrestle up front and make those hard yards gains in the second half.
Playing into a gale and throwing the ball around is asking for trouble, especially in the current law interpretations

That's a reason I call how they played stupid. It wasn't single individual moments, though there were a lot of those too.

And the less said about a prop targeting the base of the posts the better.

irishbucsfan

What's all this stuff about pretty patterns and going wide in the second half?

Absolutely did not happen in Connacht's own half anyway. Absolutely not why they were getting turned over.

They got turned over because its absolutely simple to create a defensive overlap when you don't need to keep your back 3 in the backfield.

One example from the second half, they managed to get the ball from their 22 to their 10 meter line after 4/5 phases. None of that was "pretty patterns" Which is a great return. Then there was a choke tackle and Cooney very clearly illegally held the tackled player on the ground which won a penalty for Ulster (on the ARs side who declined to get involved I guess) which Madigan converted from miles out. That's a huge moment in the game because good play from Connacht ends up in 3 points for Ulster and its impossible for your heads not to drop after something like that.

I'd love to know what the strategic masterminds here suggest Connacht should have done differently in the second half in those conditions.

The most expansive play from Connacht I can remember was in the build up to their try, which was in Ulster's half?

Former Former Former

Bazzo wrote: »

Ah, ok, nice one. So not really any more examples then. The stupidest thing Connacht did was either lose the coin toss or make the wrong decision after winning it.

In fairness though, it's Connacht home ground, they should be well used to playing in the wind and rain because it tends to happen a lot in Galway.

If they can't eke out a stalemate in those conditions then they're doing something wrong.

irishbucsfan

Former Former Former wrote: »

In fairness though, it's Connacht home ground, they should be well used to playing in the wind and rain because it tends to happen a lot in Galway.

If they can't eke out a stalemate in those conditions then they're doing something wrong.

If Connacht hadn't taken advantage of the same conditions, that would be fair enough

Bazzo

Former Former Former wrote: »

In fairness though, it's Connacht home ground, they should be well used to playing in the wind and rain because it tends to happen a lot in Galway.

If they can't eke out a stalemate in those conditions then they're doing something wrong.

I've seen and been to many many matches in the sportsground(and elsewhere) and I've never seen a match where the first half was so still either team could kick a 40m penalty and the second half had such a gale one team literally had no option to kick at all.

FACECUTTR

There was no dog in that team last night. Very passive and looked rudderless at times. We needed Aki for that. Ruck protection was non existent.
I know the conditions changed but it's our home ground and it's not the first time it happened. If the wind is that strong go to the front no exception. That back row does not balance well either. Not enough go forward.
I was going to say it was just a bad day at the office but I remember saying that a few weeks back too. I know it's a weird season but there is something not right somewhere. There is no consistency week to week.
Blade and Daly are quality and worked so hard last night. TOH looked like his old self again until going off.

realhorrorshow

FACECUTTR wrote: »

There was no dog in that team last night. Very passive and looked rudderless at times. We needed Aki for that. Ruck protection was non existent.
I know the conditions changed but it's our home ground and it's not the first time it happened. If the wind is that strong go to the front no exception. That back row does not balance well either. Not enough go forward.
I was going to say it was just a bad day at the office but I remember saying that a few weeks back too. I know it's a weird season but there is something not right somewhere. There is no consistency week to week.
Blade and Daly are quality and worked so hard last night. TOH looked like his old self again until going off.

It was especially disappointing that it took us 10 minutes to wake up, so frustrating to be half asleep for the start of such a must-win game. Completely agree on the back row, that's probably our most underpowered combination and it showed. I personally think we need at least one of O'Brien, Boyle, or Papali'i in the starting backrow every time. We got away with playing Butler at 8 last year because Fainga'a was such a phenom. Conor Oliver, who has been really good IMO, is just not able to come close to matching Colby's impact with ball in hand.

It's really hard to pinpoint our issues. I don't think we have any debilitating technical deficiencies, a lack of clarity in our defensive system is our main issue. Obviously we have struggled with our lineout and maul defence recently but overall I think our forwards are well coached. Our issues seem to be mental, we are so inconsistent and our performance levels vary drastically from week to week and often within games. We are also prone to lapses in concentration, poor decision making, and sub-par discipline.

Definitely agree with the players you have singled out for praise, also think Shane Delahunt is quietly playing some excellent rugby this season and showing the sort of form that has had him on the international radar in the past.

FACECUTTR

realhorrorshow wrote: »

It was especially disappointing that it took us 10 minutes to wake up, so frustrating to be half asleep for the start of such a must-win game. Completely agree on the back row, that's probably our most underpowered combination and it showed. I personally think we need at least one of O'Brien, Boyle, or Papali'i in the starting backrow every time. We got away with playing Butler at 8 last year because Fainga'a was such a phenom. Conor Oliver, who has been really good IMO, is just not able to come close to matching Colby's impact with ball in hand.

It's really hard to pinpoint our issues. I don't think we have any debilitating technical deficiencies, a lack of clarity in our defensive system is our main issue. Obviously we have struggled with our lineout and maul defence recently but overall I think our forwards are well coached. Our issues seem to be mental, we are so inconsistent and our performance levels vary drastically from week to week and often within games. We are also prone to lapses in concentration, poor decision making, and sub-par discipline.

Definitely agree with the players you have singled out for praise, also think Shane Delahunt is quietly playing some excellent rugby this season and showing the sort of form that has had him on the international radar in the past.

It seems to be a lottery what the attitude is week to week. Excellent some weeks then very poor. Delahunt has been excellent. I was worried about him being retained due to his commitment to farming at home and the travel etc every day. He seems to have it together now and I think he is going to usurp Heff if he keeps it going. He is always hungry for work in defence and attack.

realhorrorshow

FACECUTTR wrote: »

It seems to be a lottery what the attitude is week to week. Excellent some weeks then very poor. Delahunt has been excellent. I was worried about him being retained due to his commitment to farming at home and the travel etc every day. He seems to have it together now and I think he is going to usurp Heff if he keeps it going. He is always hungry for work in defence and attack.

Absolutely, sometimes we come out off the back of a big win looking like we're massively lacking confidence, I just don't understand. It seems from the outside that Friend is personable and a good man manager so I doubt it's a morale issue.

He's been very good ever since the red card against Munster. Has surprisingly good hands and has really perfected the pick and go through the ruck that the likes of Caelan Doris and Paul Boyle love to employ. Probably a slightly stronger thrower too. Heffernan of course is a very good player too with his own strengths and I do think we need him in the team if we're playing a back row that lacks ball carriers.

ElisaAtWar

realhorrorshow wrote: »

Absolutely, sometimes we come out off the back of a big win looking like we're massively lacking confidence, I just don't understand. It seems from the outside that Friend is personable and a good man manager so I doubt it's a morale issue.

He's been very good ever since the red card against Munster. Has surprisingly good hands and has really perfected the pick and go through the ruck that the likes of Caelan Doris and Paul Boyle love to employ. Probably a slightly stronger thrower too. Heffernan of course is a very good player too with his own strengths and I do think we need him in the team if we're playing a back row that lacks ball carriers.

Consistency is a massive issue. When you look back to that Racing game, you could be led to believe that what was a supposedly secondary team stood up to a serious team. Following week with much the same team against Bristol it was hard to watch how ordinary they were. Following week versus Ulster what was a promising first 40 turned into a disaster.

What anyone takes out of these 3 games is anyone's guess. But if nothing else it's just playing a game plan. In these 3 games the type of play was so diverse it would suggest that our coaches are not completely without fault?