Connacht Team Talk Thread VI - Some like it TOH

2025Connacht

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123437226#Comment_123437226

We should have been getting quite a few 5 pointers this year but didn't so I'd rather you than me put any money on us getting a five pointer in Zebre. Id expect us to lose on current form but in any case whether we finish 14th or as high as 11th is for cosmetic purposes only. It might improve our challenge cup seeding slightly but that's about it.

The table might have been congested a few weeks ago but we aren't in that congested area now. We are 11 points off 8th place and considering 50 points is the usual target for Top 8 we are even further away than what our pre season expectations should have been.

RichieRich_89

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123437226#Comment_123437226

Think I'd be tipping Zebre to get up over Connacht. Connacht could well get four tries, but could easily concede as many or more.

Zeugnis

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123437265#Comment_123437265

Zebre are much improved and i wouldn't back us against them currently, although their Leinster experience yesterday will have deflated them. I actually thought of travelling as Parma is a nice city, the food is spectacular, and I've enjoyed my interactions with Zebre/Benetton fans on Reddit.

We're a hames, our coaching ticket has been such a disaster - attack excepted - that it's difficult even to know where to lay the blame.

CowboyTed

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123436120#Comment_123436120

Seib is our Attack Coach…

Connacht need a Head Coach and Defence coach for next season…

This could be an actual advantage as a Head Coach could want to have one or two coaches he likes to work with……

CowboyTed

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123437189#Comment_123437189

I think we can fix our problems pretty quickly if we get the proper coaching ticket…

Comapred to Ulster we are ina better position, we have a better squad..

2025Connacht

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123438623#Comment_123438623

That's a huge if. Id expect max one more addition to the coaching team. Let's hope it's a good one and that the roles get clearly defined.

kita99

What will be John Muldoon's roll in next season?

CowboyTed

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123438861#Comment_123438861

At the moment he is Lineout and Maul Coach, don't see that changing unless new coach has views….

CowboyTed

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123438681#Comment_123438681

At the moment Coaches leaving is:

Pete Wilkins (Head)

Mark Sexton (Attack)

Scott Fardy (Defence)

We have only one new coach announced

Rod Seib (Attack)

That means we need a Head Coach and Defence Coach…. That is why we would expect two more coaches to be added…

Billy Millard is joining Connacht not as a coach, but as the General Manager of Performance, a new role with no matchday duties…

Colm tucker (Scrum & Contact) and John Muldoon (Lineout and Maul) are staying, I believe…

KBurke85

Pete Wilkins confirmed as the new attack coach for Treviso

testtech05

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123439658#Comment_123439658

Bit surprised to read that this morning but best of luck to him and his family, unfortunately the succession planning after Friend left just hasn't worked out and I think a lot of the blame for that lays higher up in the organisation.

Connacht4life

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123438861#Comment_123438861

hopefully none

KBurke85

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123439999#Comment_123439999

You know he's area of the team is the one part thats actually functioning?

CowboyTed

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123439858#Comment_123439858

Agreed… I am not really that surprised… Pete is is pretty highly regarded as a technical coach… Being a Head Coach is a totally different animal to assistant coach. Andy Friend (as I was told) didn't take one training session directly while in charge of Connacht… That is the assistant coach's' job, Andy job was to manage them and of be source of escalation… Andy's other big job was communication with the players…

Pete in all fairness was given a pretty bad hand in a coaching set up… Very hard to be Defence coach(which it was rumoured he was doing) and Head Coach at the same time… Communication suffered… Stress levels go thru the roof (this is very understandable, there is no one to turn too…) while you have to also concentrate in the nitty gritty of assistant coach…

It was madness and there was a lot that saw it happening and nobody stepped in… Sorry that isn't good enough.

Connacht Management, IRFU…. none stepped in and called an audible and helped the guy out… He might not be asking for it, because he would have gone into bunker mode (it happens). But someone from outside could just ask simple common sense questions…

"Have we a Head Coach on first job, does he have the assistant coaching team setup in place for him to succeed?"

And BTW I would ask the same thing for Richie Murphy in Ulster but he started swapping his team already, he got Jimmy Duffy, Willie Faloon and Mark Sexton in… Pete didn't see that as an option..

At least Richie is picking his team, with Pete it always felt they were assigned…

SqueakyKneecap

Wilkins getting a new gig that suits him better puts hay to some rumours doing the rounds. All the best to him.

2025Connacht

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123439237#Comment_123439237

Id expect one of Seib or Tucker to be the nominal head coach which is all wrong but it's what I expect to happen. Id be surprised if we bring a designated head coach in but hope I'm wrong.

ShineyShiney

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123440139#Comment_123440139

I would expect 2 additional coaches to be appointed to stay at normal levels in Irish Provincial Rugby.

On the 16th of April when Wilkins was announced as departing David Humphries was quoted as saying "the club will now begin the process of recruiting a new head coach for the 2025/26" I am happy to take that at face value. Perhaps an existing coach will be appointed but then they will have to replace that assistant coach.

A coach that's big on club culture would be my preference.

CowboyTed

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123440056#Comment_123440056

On the Stats we are number one lineout in the league… It just doesn't feel that way especially after Saturday, it looked very amateurish on Saturday…

CowboyTed

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123440139#Comment_123440139

I totally agree with you.. Neither those guys should be made head coach… They already have jobs, if Tucker becomes head coach, are we getting a new scrum coach…. Same with Rod….

We have two vacant roles and they need to ben filled…

Basically taking coaches that haven't done a job like Head coach and ask them to do while doing there own job, that is complete madness.

If someone has to step in for short period it would help. At the momnet and for the last two months we have three men doing a 5 man job… And one of them is leaving…

We should be looking at a short list of available candidates if even for 6 months…

Off the top of my head coaches:

Micheal Bradley is a possible. (UCC)

Wayne Pivac (Japan Second Tier)

Better start throwing out names…

CowboyTed

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123440330#Comment_123440330

That is what I would expect…

There is an advatange to looking for two coaches, a Head coach could be able to bring in someone they trust and makes the job more attractive…

I think Connacht should be a pretty easy sell:

They have a good young squad

Expectation are pretty low

There is no relegation

Finances are solid (they ain't going backrupt in November)

This is pretty good in this climate… You have also access to more players with a massive array of youth talent around…

There are a lot of worse sides… This is a side you could make a name with…

Properly coached, Connacht are top 5 -8 URC on this year and Semis in challenge cup… Fans would be very happy with that… Get a win over Racing and Lyon and into a final, Brucey Bonus…

2025Connacht

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123440956#Comment_123440956

Open to most suggestions but please not Michael Bradley. 🤣 He was working with very limited resources to be fair but first year or two aside that was still an extremely hard time to be a Connacht fan and personally I don't want to be reminded of it. As well as that he's a few years out of the pro game now and time has moved on.

If they were going down the route where Seib or Tucker weren't the nominal head coach but they hadn't appointed anyone as head coach I'd expect Millard to be plugged into that role in the interim until they find an option.

There's time available before pre season kicks off and you'd hope they have a plan for a head coach in the pipeline as it looks like the Wilkins situation was known since around January but my gut feeling is Seib was brought in with that head coach role in mind. They had to sort the Wilkins situation out so couldn't announce that at the time.

FACECUTTR

Would Stuart Lancaster be an option ? Still hasn't found a job after leaving France. Has said he is open to taking a number 2 job at club. He knows the Irish system.

bobo the clown

Bernard Jackman mentioning a rumour of Devine to La Rochelle.

MarinersBlues

Given That ROG is far from certain to keep his job I would be careful not to get carried away with that one.

The fact that the conversation was meant to be about Connacht but, because he knows **** all about Connacht, the only insight Donal Lenihan had was to talk about current Munster players.

Smith and Kilgallen are good players, but they are gone because we have better. Farrell is a tricky one, but again the context of his injuries wasn't taken into account.

sydthebeat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123441918#Comment_123441918

O gara is looking for him on a one year loan, it's very much a possibility.

bobo the clown

If he signed a 3 year contract and went on loan for 1 year it might not be the worst thing.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123441024#Comment_123441024

I met John Dobson the day before the Connacht match a couple of months ago. He told me he loves coming to Galway that it's a wonderful place. Maybe he'd be interested. 😁

He's the Stormers head coach in case you don't know.

lavrenti

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123441893#Comment_123441893

Jackman late to the rumour as usual. IRFU have already vetoed Devine's move to LAR, although the player himself was keen. One of our three SH's will be off to Ulster which is why the LAR move was stymied.

Utopia Parkway

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123441893#Comment_123441893

Haven't they already signed Le Garrec? He's going to be their number one 9.

testtech05

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123442040#Comment_123442040

If that goes through isn't it great the irfu can force players to move around when some provinces have too many players in one position....

If someone was moving would it not have been mentioned pregame at the weekend?