Connacht Team Talk Thread VI - Some like it TOH

realhorrorshow

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122124612#Comment_122124612

Results elsewhere couldn't have been worse. Scarlets and Sharks were both leading at one point. Not looking good, especially with the Sharks in the final of the Challenge Cup.

flazio

I'm guessing Bealham and Aki were away on international duty for the promotion photos.

realhorrorshow

Ref ignoring the fact that the ball hit him right before the try is so so frustrating.

realhorrorshow

Jaysus Farrell won't have impressed his new coach with that, woeful stuff.

Burkie1203

What way are connacht trying to defend. I can't figure out what they are doing.

testtech05

This has gone very sideways since we messed up Jennings break and it looked like we might be back within a lbp

Borders no.2

The sooner this season is over the better. Totally outclassed as well as doing all we can to make Munsters life easy. That pathetic try summed us up.

If we are going to continue down this road building a new stadium is pointless because no one is going to waste their time watching this rubbish.

AccidentallyOnside

Can't remember the last time a connacht team makes me this angry.

End score is a disgrace.

So much wrong with this team.

We'll not get top 8 and we don't deserve it.

realhorrorshow

Embarrassing performance. Couldn't be bothered getting into the specifics, don't think I've ever enjoyed watching us less. We gambled hugely on inexperienced coaches and we're paying the price now. The stadium redevelopment is great and all but this coaching ticket could set us back years, we're wasting what is in my opinion a very talented group of players.

cson

Jack losing the ball forward on their line at 14-7 was the turning point.

But jaysus, they just entirely gave up after that.

Very hard to see what Wilkins is doing, I'm not even sure he knows himself.

testtech05

As bad and all as the coaching seems to be the individual mistakes and errors are a killer aswell. That isn't all on the coached where we get to the line and silly knock ons miss throw in lineout etc

testtech05

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122125079#Comment_122125079

Yeah that was a huge moment and then at 26-12 or whatever the score was where Jennings broke and we knocked on on the Munster line and it ended up Munster a scrum back in our 22 after Jennings knocked on the clearance. Munster got another try then and we threw in the towel

ShineyShiney

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122125081#Comment_122125081

I agree TT however the coaches have to take responsibility for the collective standard of the performance. They have managed the squad poorly, they have failed to create a plan that the players can implement.

Lots on the players for individual errors but it's not a free pass for the coaches either.

Bad bad day, all our competitors for top 8 stood up tongue challenges they faced, we didn't.

ElisaAtWar

Only thing I can say about the match is that we can watch Bambi Thug later. All said Jack was a complete disgrace. Couldn't be arsed sharing any other opinion

Jump_In_Jack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122125515#Comment_122125515

Jack made two tries with his long passes, his kicking out of hand and to touch was very poor. So frustrating that he can do the sublime and mess up on basics.

Dubinusa

I was going to watch this one later. Watched the highlights! Connacht look so poor! Wilkins and the rest of the staff should be canned.

ElisaAtWar

Haven't watched the Eurovision in 30 years. It is truthfully worse than any Connacht performance I have ever seen

kita99

The season was over. I am really afraid of Devine's injury. And what the CEO of this team is thinking if he release Thornbury (if it's true)?

SqueakyKneecap

I know it won't happen but last night was the IRFU's wakeup call that this coaching ticket are a busted flush. I've no doubt they're all lovely people but professional coaches? Not really.

IRFU and are probably most followers of Irish rugby are happy enough to see us 4th best though.

Burkie1203

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122128294#Comment_122128294

I tried To figure out what connacht tried to achieve in defence. It was a half rush blitz drift which just made it so easy for Munster to get to the edge on the 15m line. It was a half arsed mix of 3 ways of defending but not committing to any one way. Hence some very soft scores conceded.

The Moist Buddha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122125515#Comment_122125515

Bambi Thug was good , performed well, unlucky not to win

AccidentallyOnside

Now the dust has settled I'm trying to see if there were any positives from last night and there were a few.

We defended manfully, bar the capitulation at the end, and scrambled better than I've seen us. Carty put in some big hits too.

On Carty, as ever, a mixed bag; defended well and can chuck a wide pass with the best of them. Put a kick dead and went very short when kicking for touch, think this was intentional as we've seen him miss touch lots before.

Forwards fronted up well and scrum was good, one penalty but that did not look clear cut to me.

So there were some good bits there, which makes the end score all the more annoying. We can see there's the makings of a decent team there, but they just do so many stupid f-ing things that it makes them infuriating. We knock on in open play, chuck balls from off the line out at the feet of the sh, kick it dead when there's acres of space, switch off and watch them run in a try after a midfield knock-on, don't run proper support lines from clean breaks, line out is hit and miss- with a these bits going on its very tough to win games. I know people in here are keen to blame the coaches, and there may well be issues there, but there too many individual errors to have any idea if its really a coaching or quality issue. Probably a bit of both.

Borders no.2

Individual errors are always going to happen with a team like Connacht that lack experience and quality in certain areas but I think its obvious at this stage that the problems are systemic both in defence and in attack. Teams who make bad decisions in pressure moments are invariably ones who either lack quality and/or don't have belief in what they are doing and to me its mainly the latter for me

Missing out on top 8 wouldn't really bother me if I saw that we were making progress in terms of what we are trying to do but I don't see anything cling to.

The lineout has got a bit better from the early season meltdown but to me that wasn't an major area of concern to begin with.

It's clear to me that in every other measurement we are going backwards at a rate of knots and the signings for next season wouldn't give you any faith that the management know what they are trying to do rectify things.

Next season we won't be in contention for Top 8. We won't get those early season soft wins we got this year and Sharks will be better. Also while Ospreys and Cardiff are starting from a low base they both have improved as the season went on.

ShineyShiney

Are Jack, JJ or Forde able to kick the ball a reasonable distance? Imo they are. This poses a question for me then, why are we not able to exit, or kick long for touch either from hand or in play?

Misguided Tactics is the only answer I come up with and who sets the tactics? The Coaches.

I'm not a fan of calling for heads but there comes a point when repeating the same tactical errors match after match shows that there is a lack of nous to change or accept that there is a need for change.

We currently have the best squad we have ever had, imo, we are post wc where we have more of a level playing field. We had an acceptable run of fixtures and the Welsh are in a struggle. Comparing this season's win % doesn't hold water imo.

I expect more from this squad and the coaches. I believe that this squad are being let down by our strategy and I hold the coaches accountable.

ShineyShiney

Without significant change this season is only the beginning of the fall.

Redo91

Just went to renew my season ticket. I am in the clan so I have to relocate. It seems the main stand is sold out online. I don’t remember seeing any mention that it was running low. Am I wasting my time calling as I know we could renew by phone?

Edit: All sorted. Rang and it was an online glitch.

Mr Tickle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122129190#Comment_122129190

My guess at the reasoning for Jack not getting much length on the kicks was that he's just back from a hamstring injury.

He's been going for too much length and putting them dead for years and it's never stopped him before.

CuriousCucumber

I'm quite happy for us to miss out on the Heineken Cup next season. We were shocking in it this year, and did nothing for us.

Challenge Cup is also a much stronger competition that it used be, so we'll still get a decent game or two out of it.

I've come around to accepting we're just not a very good team right now. I'm excited about some of the younger players coming through, but we really need to spend some money on our front 5. We get beaten up there way too easily. We could have the best backs in the world, but without a solid set of forwards we'll never be seriously competitive.

When Lam took over, it was signings like Tom McCartney that made the difference, not Mils Muliaina.

Saying that, replacing Blade and Carty permanently wouldn't be a bad start either. At least we're trying to do both of those things right now

realhorrorshow

Do we normally announce departures before the last home game? Assume Burke, McElroy, DRM, Thornbury, Butler, Daly, Farrell, and McNulty will be confirmed to be leaving if so.

SqueakyKneecap

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122134715#Comment_122134715

There's usually a presentation for outgoing players on the final home game so I'd expect announcements this week on departures, particularly Butler who was captain for years.