Let's not get carried away
pack was good today because Ulster's was fragile, too. We lost to Dragons and Munster in front.
Scrum isn't as dominated as feared, but not dominant as it was in the past
Lineout stilll is a mess
Dillane Fifita'a Masterson Butler are solid experienced players but not decisive
Prendergast/Murray are raw diamond, in the making
Oliver and Dowling play out of their skins (wow) but too light to be internationals
Only Boyle and Bealham are (maybe Thorn if is he was uninjured). 3rd choices for Ireland. And it's fair IMO
Farrell is not fair about the back-line though.
I ponderate my words, we have the best in Ireland
Blade/Marmion are ignored
Carty/Fitz, though inconsistant, are brillant in open play
Daly/Aki/Farrell is the best central trio on a par with Leinster's
Hansen and Wootton crazy finishers, Porch rock solid talent, BOD/TOH luxury back-ups
Spot on, especially with ref. to Murray and Prendergast. 2 future internationals with normal progress
..
It was the best performance for a long time. Huge desire all across the team. And while Carbury may be called up (for no particular reason) jack proved again why he isn't. Frawley could be the answer. He is a solid kicker and a good 10
Worth pointing out that's two games Conor Fitz has come on out of position and been really comfortable playing there. Seems to have out on some timber this year as well which will benefit him if done cautiously. Benefited from Hansen drawing two defenders but did really well for porches try all the same.
Speaking of porch. Seen a few people here saying he should have yellowed. Thought that myself but to his benefit he was looking around himself for the ball when he caught Hume and didn't look at him on the slow mo. Don't doubt at all he was aware of player behind him but does that explain how the tmo didn't intervene?
Not really, it's as stonewall a yellow and PT as you'll ever see. Tripped a player off the ball when on the deck when a try was almost certainly going to be scored.
That said in the end it had no material impact on the result. Connacht humped Ulster, it was an annihilation. A team taken apart piece by piece. I thought Brace absolutely rode Ulster in the first half but there is no excuse for the overall result. Better team, by a huge margin, won comfortably in the end. Connacht played some really great rugby and ate the Ulster pack for dinner.
Murray a real prospect but no mention of him from our rugby " experts"
He is producing some great moments from time to time, he would be a good backup to Baird in my opinion.
Same weight same height same age same talant.
Murray/Baird is the competition for RWC 2027, the last one won't have just a "back-up".
If Baird picked up an injury tomorrow and dropped out of the Irish squad, they could do worse than calling up Murray to replace him.
Similar attributes, plenty of talent. Murray perhaps better in the lineout.
Plenty of mistake in that performance, but it's easy to forgive mistakes when there's that much physicality and aggression either side of the ball. Coming away with the win obviously helps.
Captaincy really suits Carty, two big back to back performances from him against his provincial rivals. Hopefully Connacht can offer him the money he wants to stay without the possibility of international honours because we'll never replace him with anyone as good. Having such a talented native playing for Connacht can only be good for growing the game.
Niall Murray is an unreal prospect. So comfortable at every aspect of the game already.
Haven't had the chance to forensically analyse the footage frame by frame to find out why Porch didn't deserve a yellow and a PT against yet but I'll get to it later in the week. 😉
In terms of the Baird-Murray comparisons, I think Baird is far more explosive and dynamic, where as Murray is probably better at the second row fundamentals.
I firmly believe and have said this in the past, if Murray was at Leinster he’d have been capped by now.
i personally believe he’s also a better second row at the minute than ahern in Munster and am shocked he wasn’t even called up in the apprentice role.
While I think Murray could go on to be a world class second row of he keeps developing at the rate he is, I’d also have dowling ahead of him in the Connacht pecking order at the minute. Dowling seems to have more of that physical presence missing from Roux.
Dowling's lineout and maul defence is far beyond his years
I see Baird as a 6 at international level to be honest
Murray looks a big prospect. Looking forward to watching him develop this season.
Murray is 110kg
if he develops as 116-17 (no more to keep his mobility), which is still possible before 25, he'll be international no question about it
Season ticket renewed at last. Can't wait to get back to the Sportsground, missed the recent home games with family commitments, so it's been a long time...
Great win on Saturday. Real hunger for the ball and the tackle, and great attacking moves. Hopefully the attendance was enough to make the move worthwhile. I see even Gary Neville was watching...
When Murray was running over for that try he didn't move like a 6'7" beanpole.
Website has him down at 198cm, which is practically 6'6".
This is going to sound weird but he looks to have big hips and a big arse! Which is great for rugby. He moves more like a 6'5" man.
I haven't seen enough of Murray but my initial reaction is that Baird has a higher level of athletic potential. Baird is the only player in Irish rugby I've seen with that Stephen Ferris level of size, power and pace.
Murray could be top class! Very good player
Brive announced Sam Arnold joining them on three year deal after this season.
Sorry to see him go but I guess the number of centres was unsustainable, especially with Cathal Forde & Shane Jennings hopefully coming through in the short term.
Shame to see him go but as you said, was always going to be tough to hold on to everyone.
Good move for him. A 3 yr contract also!
I think there will be more players leaving. Leinster will surely lose some as the game time has diminished for some lads. Arnold is a good player and he's looking out for his future
Is the reduction in number or matches a 1 year thing? Will the number of matches increase next year when h Cup expands?
A 3 year deal is good going. Highly unlikely to get that from Connacht. Might have got 2 years max. Maybe even only a 1 year extension. Good solid player but replaceable.
Bundee's next contract will be interesting. Easy to forget but he's 31 now.
Would much rather have kept Arnold and let Robb go! Can't see Robb getting new contract!
Arnold has been a good squad player but is not irreplaceable, I think we'll be able to promote Shane Jennings without too much of a blow to our depth. Obviously Jennings isn't at Arnold's level yet but he's better with ball in hand and probably has a higher ceiling.
I also wonder if Connacht can benefit from the new calendar in the long term?
One thing that has come up in analysis of the Irish squad is that a lot of players are going in undercooked through lack of game time. In squads like Leinster, you basically had your Pro14 squad (Ross Byrne etc.) and your Hcup squad (Sexton etc.). With less games, players need to play more URC games and squads could get smaller. There are plenty of squad players who would only play during the internationals, but now it will be very hard to keep them happy.
With Leinster and Munster trimming down their squads, I wonder will Connacht become a more attractive option for players looking to get Irish caps?
100% I think it will.
It will have to have an impact on fringe players at leinster.
Serious competition at hooker.
In the back row I'm sure there are players with international ambitions who might need to move.
Any young centre could be behind henshaw and ringrose for a number of years with a lack of game time to try and impress.
Even at 10. A younger player like hawkshaw, Tector or Tim Corkery could need to move to get an opportunity.
I can see Dooley looking for a new team. One of the back rows might jump to another province. There's a lot of good players not getting minutes.
Personally, I would go the same route as Arnold. A 3yr deal! Possibly more money!
In fairness to Arnold he did the right thing. Moved around the provinces to try and enhance his irish opportunity by getting minutes and now at 25 he is moving abroad on a 3 year contract. More power to him.
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