Connacht Team Talk Thread VI - Some like it TOH

ElisaAtWar

Or maybe you are Wilkins and thought he came on at fullback. Tom went to the wing while Jennings covered full back. Sorry Wilkins. It was clear you had another plan that backfired. Can't wait for the next plan

Rugby4568

..

KBurke85

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122018660#Comment_122018660

Cians a young player. Let’s just enjoy his development without giving him the added pressure of the captaincy

ElisaAtWar

Overall there is nothing new to be seen here. Same complaints every time. If your coach can't see it then where are we at?

Borders no.2

Really today was inevitable. Like everyone i hoped against hope for a result but it was never a contest once Treviso got up and running.

We made their job easy for them. Hopefully they do well against Gloucester. They'll certainly be competitive but they're another average team we made look like world beaters.

I still hope we make the top 8 but it's unlikely and even if we scrape through it's hard to be any way enthused for the direction the province is going in.

StevenToast

RTE had zero coverage of the Connacht game today...no updates, no final report....nothing....even now, hours after the result....when ulster had their arses handed to them yesterday, they had a final report up on the app straight away....

Im not sure if this is a reflection of how bad RTE or Connacht are....

Both probably….

Edit...a report has finally gone up about 6 hours after the full time whistle...copy and paste job...

ElisaAtWar

As fans it isn't really difficult to see the issues. As a player, the person who does this 7*24, it must look criminal to them.

lavrenti

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122019563#Comment_122019563

Give it a rest will you. Chill out.

SqueakyKneecap

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122019962#Comment_122019962

Of all times to tell Elisa to chill out this is probably the worst time for it. Elisa was one of the first posters in fairness to call out Blade's inefficiencies and you can clearly see his confidence is completely non-existent. There's no snipes or breaks from the ruck these days. That says it all to me really, a capped international having a sudden drop in form after 4 or 5 seasons of excellent showings.

People are paying big money for season tickets and matchday tickets. This isn't the days of two men and a dog watching honest but limited lads like Darren Yapp. They're well paid professionals with well renumerated coaching staff that should be delivering significantly better value for money than what they've delivered in 2024 so far. They get a ridiculous free ride from the media.

kita99

looking this match, it was too hot for Connacht player. That's all. Never mind. Devine's tempo was very good. I think he will fit for actual fight.

CuriousCucumber

Urgh, have immediate buyers remorse after renewing my season ticket there.

Feel bad giving money that goes towards some of the dross that currently play for us.

Rugby4568

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122021327#Comment_122021327

names?

BrokenMan

Surprised there are still Main Terrace tickets available.

CuriousCucumber

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122021544#Comment_122021544

I'm not.

I was very close to not renewing.

The team are playing poorly, atmosphere has been poor at most games I attended this season. Value for money isn't there right now

CuriousCucumber

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122021544#Comment_122021544

Just my opinion, but I wouldn't be upset if any of the following didnt play for us again

Heffernan

Blade

Carty

Hawkshaw

O'Halloran

Boyle

Porch

Burke

Janssen

realhorrorshow

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122021571#Comment_122021571

Those are all good players, and with the exception of O'Halloran, are all still in their theoretical prime. If multiple players are out of form, in my opinion you have to look at the coaching team. Hawkshaw doesn't pick himself at 13, a position he has (AFAIK) never played before this season. He has performed well when picked in his preferred position. Blade is out of form but he is not a bad player - Andy Farrell doesn't cap bad players. In my opinion there is top to bottom confusion with our attacking system which leads to him arriving to rucks not knowing which way to play, I don't recall seeing that from him prior to this season. The moaning to referees, simulation, hand waving etc. are all within his control though, and I would like to see some improvement from him in in those respects. Again, he didn't pick himself as captain, a role he is not suited to whatsoever (at least in terms of managing the ref).

CuriousCucumber

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122021679#Comment_122021679

There's a slight nuance in what I said.

I'd said I wouldn't be upset if they didnt play for Connacht again.

Heff is so unreliable. How many 5m line-outs has he messed up in the past few years. Would rather De Buitlear and Tierney Martin be given the opportunities

Blade is so wasteful. We have conceded an awful amount of penalties at rucks, when the ball has been available. His try record papers over so many of his cracks.

We have better players than Hawkshaw

O'Halloran is so very slow these days. Offers very little

Boyle, when available, is decent, but he is rarely available

Porch - we have lots of options for the back three

Jannsen, I think we have better option for the back row

Borders no.2

The renewal email came through this morning and I ignored it. I've been going to Connacht games for over 25 years and a season ticket holder for the guts of 20 but I'm fed up of the way the organisation is being run and if that means I have to jump off the train for 2 years so be it. I'm sure with limited availability others will be happy to snap up the spot and good luck to them.

I'm fine with supporting a rubbish team. I've seen us take some awful beatings over the years but for the first time ever I'm apathetic to this whole setup now.

When the new stadium is here and we hopefully have a new CEO and coaching team I'll be delighted to come back.

CuriousCucumber

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122021847#Comment_122021847

That's kind of how I feel too.

Previously, when we were rubbish, it was easy to understand why.

Now Connacht have become an extraordinarily frustrating team to watch and support.

I get no excitement when going to games right now

Previously, even when we were bad, it seemed to mean something to the players, and was easier for the crowd to get behind them.

Now, they players dont seem to have that same level of enthusiasm.

We're really lacking, a proper captain. Someone the players want to follow, and who leads by example.

Carty is not that man, and Blade definitely isn't

When did we last see the players reacting to something, and geeing up the crowd?

Wegians89

it as mentioned yesterday during the match but prendergast is the only player who plays like a captain. I’d say give it to him, so what if he’s young

RonnieL

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122021679#Comment_122021679

Great post. The confusion in attack, especially yesterday, was shocking to see. Lads literally running into each other, balls being passed to thin air because the person who was meant to be there didn't get the memo etc etc.

Agree with everything you've said about Blade, but the items you've listed in the "under his control" category have all been going on for ages, so either he isn't aware of them, or he's not doing enough to address them. I also share Cucumbers' frustration with his tendency to labour things at a ruck that was won, and turn it into a turnover for the other team.

Cucumbers point about the captaincy also resonates with me - we were blessed with Muldoon as captain, because he lead by example, and everyone rowed in behind him. It was also clear to the fans how much it meant to him personally. Him being born and bred in the province obviously helped too. I think Prendergast is outstanding, and leads by example more than anyone in the squad, but I do think it would be a risk to give him all that extra responsibility/pressure at such a young age.

Frustrating times (but I didn't hesitate for a second to renew this morning - I love going to watch the games live, not least because it's the only chance I get to see the group of lads I go with in person……………still, it would be nice if we won more)

CuriousCucumber

I think Conor Oliver would do decent as a captain as well, but he's not a certainty to start

Need a plan for getting Hugh Gavin, Cathal Forde, and Matthew Devine more regular game time next season

ShineyShiney

I give all players a pass until the coaching set up has been fixed. How can Iyou hold a player accountable for the outcomes when he's following the coaches instructions.

Playing backwards ball in our 22 against a physically superior team is nonsensical and is the instruction they are being given. It's been the strategy all season.

I see porch mentioned above, why ? He hasn't been picked all year, how does he come into it.

realhorrorshow

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122022387#Comment_122022387

Playing those extra phases in our 22 after receiving a kickoff drives me mad. Benetton clearly knew what to expect, Brex made a read and shut it down in midfield and we were lucky to not get turned over. The only other team I can recall doing the same with such regularity was Kieran Crowley's shambles of an Italy team.

Two moments really stood out to me yesterday. The first, we were doing our usual lateral running and flat passing off first phase, nobody committed a Benetton defender so they just drifted until Jennings (I think) threw a pass to no-one, which they kicked in behind to score. The second was the 5 metre tap where nobody knew who was tapping the ball, Blade just stepped in and chucked it to Bundee for the score.

Perhaps it's a Mike Catt type situation where Sexton has a genius vision for the attack but just needs time, but it's very hard to see right now.

CowboyTed

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122021679#Comment_122021679

I am with you… I think we have enough good players (if this coach can keep them)

I very scared of the coaching at this stage.

Example: Blade is a scrum half, scrum halves rarely are made captains (in GB & I) because they usually have enough responsibility and chirp to the ref all game. Blade's game has suffered taking on so much responsibility especially without Jack on the field.

BTW, Jack is the opposite. Being Captain brought him on and made him take more control and increased his confidence…

Tom Farrell is our only actual No. 13 in the squad and he is bloody good to boot. There is no way Hawshaw is ahead of him for a 13 jersey.

This was our year to see if Forde could be a possible 10 going forward. It doesn't look like we are getting anything from the IFRU and Ulster are nailing themselves for any 10 coming available. If we want to try this we will need Tom Farrell to help cover the centre positions, it is crazy to be expecting Hugh Gavin to be URC quality straight out of the gate especially in such a demanding position...

In fairness, the forwards have not been the source of problems since the Lions and where our source of scores on the weekend..

Devine looks good too… There is so much to like in his game, his speed to the base is very high but he also seems to have that Marmion type of controlling the pace of the game, speeding up when they have a break or stressing the opposition.

Jennings is the reason we won't miss Killgallen…

Thought Boyle had a fine game considering how long he was out for and that disallowed try was dubious.. Rarely sen in other games.

Finally, someone teach Bundee how to swear in Irish… He sould be only allowed to swear in Irish at training..

ElisaAtWar

Dont agree on the Jennings comment. Jennings has been pinpointed (with Cordero) as the fullback replacement to TOH.

That aside the season is over for us. So give Bundee the rest of the year off. Put Gavin in to replace him. Put Tom Farrell in at 13. Put Jennings at fullback. Put Forde at outhalf. Put Devine at scrum half.

And this is how I would like to see it. We need to see if Jennings can cover fullback. There have been many failed experiments there to date. TOH is indeed slower these days, as you would expect, but he is always in the right place which is more important than speed.

Anyway all that aside and for all my best plans, what realhorrorshow says is the reality. It doesn't matter what players you put where if everything is total confusion from a coaching perspective

Zeugnis

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122022651#Comment_122022651

That sounds good to me, plus Mack and Smith on the wings. Think Hawkshaw is still an option at 12, otherwise he's a Swiss army knife 23. In the pack I'd like to see Niall Murray start with one of Darragh/Joyce, the other on the bench.

But I don't think our season is over yet. The congestion mid-table is such that there could be a lot of surprises, could see us in 9th position after the weekend.

ElisaAtWar

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122006797#Comment_122006797

Timers are put into the game to provide consistency on actions and behaviours during the game. So to a degree it takes the actions of the referee out of the game. So let's continue down this line. I do remember in particular the Sharks game in Galway. When it was a Sharks throw they were into that lineout with no messing. When it was a Connacht lineout it was torture to get them into the lineout. So we put a one minute timer on a lineout. And then we have a timer from the point a referee says 'use it' at the back of a maul. Next we have a timer for when a player is held up off the ground before the a scrum to the opposition is called.

So do you begin to see the problem. Players are playing the clock rather than rugby but the game is played in a consistent manner for both teams by the referee (in these circumstances).

So let's continue down this line. So we have a scrum which many commentators suggest is pure dark arts and the decision of the referee is final. In 50% of cases it's clear and obvious. So what happens to the other 50%.

Well to solve the issue scrums are removed from the game.

Next we have the maul. Now the call that Paul Boyle didn't join the maul correctly was a travesty yesterday. So we need to remove the maul from the game so there can be no confusion

And then we have the ruck. Now this a real bugbear of mine. You have hefty guys going in at speed at players who are pinned on the ground. Now that's clearly an unsafe situation so players should not be allowed join the ruck once the ruck is formed. It clearly is impossible for the referee to manage this situation.

And while I write this as a form of wittism, the point I am making is that officiating such a game in a fair manner is nigh on impossible even if you wanted to be fair.

I did appreciate the comments about Mike Adamson before the game this weekend relating to the fact he is so bad he will be fair to both teams. As compared to Frank Murphy who has the latitude to do as he wishes. And he is one bitter gobshite.

ElisaAtWar

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122021455#Comment_122021455

Tom Farrell at fullback 😂

Number 137

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122022870#Comment_122022870

Is this a serious post? Because every sentence of it is rambling nonsense.