Connacht Team Talk Thread VI - Some like it TOH

Adam Byrne at 15? He's never played there. I think we need to make something of Aungier this year and he needs to start as often as possible. Finlay will surely be given a month off to compensate for the NZ tour. Same with Mack and Bundee. Heff hardly played, Cian did but he's a workshorse, would probably turn down a break if offered one.

It all depends on Porch IRL

If he's seen as FB like 20/21 season, Byrne should absolutely play 14 and will have gametime when Hansen is in IRFU program

If he's seen a right-winger like 21/22 season, Byrne will have basically no gametime there and should try to move contested TOH and unproven McNulty as FB

:(

Porch is either good or briilant

made defensive mistakes but an absolute starter for Connacht

Can't say I agree with that assessment of Porch at all. When you say defence do you mean positioning, decision making etc. or just tackling? I think his tackling is fine and certainly better than Wootton, McNulty, and others. If you're referring to his defence as a whole imo our defensive system is and has been very poor for a while now which puts our back 3 in difficult positions far more often than their equivalents at other provinces.

Do agree that Byrne will be a nailed on starter if he can stay fit, big if though.

Overall, this is a pretty accurate assessment, but i do think it's a bit harsh on Porch, who I see as a really good player but with inconsistencies and weaknesses (why do you think he'll leave with Friend?).

TOH is dunzo, so FB is certainly up for grabs. I'd like to see Mack try 15 for Connacht, he has his Irish spot on the wing but we don't have to play him there, especially seeing as Farrell is not interested in the way Connacht play their wingers.

As things stand, I want to see Mack, Byrne and Wooton as our go to back three. But Alex has some serious work to do on his defence. After that it's Porch. And I want to see McNulty alternate with MAck at 15 to see if he has what we need.

@Lucas44 what are your views on the situation in the front row, specifically TH and hooker?

Fair enough, I do still think that poor reads in midfield and a lack of trust/clarity in the defensive system can contribute to that, but will definitely be keeping an eye out this season. Do prefer him at 15 in any case.

I would always have agreed but I thought it was hugely improved in his most recent appearances for Leinster, which gives me hope.

believe porch is very close to friend and without getting close to the Irish set up can’t imagine him hanging around too much longer in this part of the world. Both th and hooker are far from ideal to say the least. Honestly don’t know a huge amount on Stewart so hopefully he works out until delahunt can’t rehab, would imagine he’s an improvement on Jonny Murphy which is a positive. Would rate illo higher than dtm in their respective positions so would be less worried about th than hooker. DTM imo won’t ever surpass delahunt or heff as a starter but should see a lot of game time in the start of the urc. Illo has the athleticism to form into a genge mould of prop so will be interested to see how he gets on this year, definitely think he’s better long term than aungier and mccoy

Does anyone know if either of the preseason games against Castres/Sale will be televised/streamed?

More info here. I'd imagine as this is the last year of Friends contract its part of a succession plan.

Not best pleases that Wilkins is taking back responsibility for defense, bad as it was last year it wasn't great under him either.

Maybe after seeing how things are done in the international set-up Wilkins will be attempting to implement Farrell's defensive philosophies/structures. If he could do that it would be helpful for Connacht players' chances with Ireland.

Pretty sure this will be Friend's final season at Connacht so the Wilkins move definitely seems to be a move with one eye on succession planning. For whatever reason, Wilkins seems to be highly thought of in IRFU circles. A move that might be scuppered if we have a bad season which is a definite possibility. Very difficult start and it's easy for things to snowball from there.

Every year is a crisis of some sort at Connacht, I wouldn't be so pessimistic. Mysterious as it may be, Wilkins was presumably recruited by Farrell into the Irish set up, and that involvement should be a good thing for us. Give him a chance. If the season goes badly, nobody will be able to hide from their responsibilities behind the departing AF. Our defence was a shambles last season, Wilkins has to do something about it, or else people will be calling for his head.

Secondly, given how mean the IRFU appear have been to the province (no money for a TH, departing internationals not replaced on a like for like basis), I think we've done very well in recruitment, especially the four arrivals from Leinster. I hope that they will add ambition and resilience to our squad, which we all know contains a lot of talent.

Thirdly, isn't it the case that the rules for the Europe were for two years and this will be the second, thus there is some chance that the stucture which currently disadvantages the province will change? That's my recollection.

In addition to Oliver, I would be happy to go to war with people like Thornbury and Prendergast, among others. In Murray and Dowling we have two strong emerging second rows, Paul Boyle, Bealham, Mathew Burke (who showed great character in stepping up last year at LH). Add in Dooley and Murphy, and I think we have the bones of a solid pack, even if I'm concerned about the front row. Maybe Aungier and Illo will lay that concern to rest this year, and I did like what I saw of DTM towards the end of the season.

The hike in the ticket prices is mad - 32 euros for the terrace is a joke. Who is responsible for the commercial side of Connacht's operations? I hope that if indeed ticket sales fall, the province will look for creative ways to keep attendance up by offering special deals via schools, kids in clubs etc.

Lastly, it would be nice if some of the media around Connacht - Twitter, podcasts, but also newspaper coverage - was to take a more critical position and get behind the demand for accountability. This doesn't mean a constant chorus of bellyaching, but simply not swallowing all the marketing waffle which is now par for the course in professional sports. Much of the media native to the net is letting us down in this regard, apparently more interested in good vibes and growing their number of followers.

I cansee Connacht being as poor as last year. The imports should help. But a line has to be drawn on some lads! TOH should not be starting! He's just been a passenger and he's not getting any younger. Aki should be captain. He's very valuable to Connacht. Tierney-Martin needs to grab any opportunities by the sac. Boyle needs to re-establish himself and get over an average season.

If Wooten continues to be jelly in defense, he should be benched. I think Hawkshaw could be a gem and I would try him at 10 or fb. Friend has been very poor. He should have been shown the door.

Quite unusual to change up the coaching team so close to the start of the season. I wonder if Connacht identified issues in pre season and took measures accordingly, or if Wilkins impressed Farrell/the IRFU to the extent that they saw fit to increase his responsibilities almost immediately. To be fair, Farrell was right to appoint and back Mike Catt and literally the entire Irish rugby public was proven wrong, so I trust his judgement. As for the actual changes:

Andy Friend - Head Coach to Director of Rugby

I like this move. Allows Andy to focus on culture, media, community outreach, player development, squad management, etc. All of which I think he is very good at. Very hard to know how much of a loss he will be in terms of coaching, as we don't know how active he was in that regard over the past few seasons.

Pete Wilkins - Senior Coach with responsibility for attack to Head Coach with primary responsibility for defence

Not as sure on this. Would always rather a specialised defence coach, seems like he will have a lot on his plate. Obviously quite a reductive take, but the attack last year was much better than the defence had been under Wilkins prior, so seems like a counterintuitive move from the outside looking in.

Dewald Senekal - Forwards Coach to Forwards Coach (Lineout & Maul)

Think he did a good job last year. Assume his remit coming in was to sort maul d, which he did IMO. Not sure if he had any involvement with coaching the scrum last year, so unsure if much has changed in that regard.

Colm Tucker – Defence & Forwards Technical Skills Coach to Scrum & Contact Coach

Maybe harsh to not give him time to fix the defence, but it was so abysmal last season that I'm happy to see some proactivity in making a change. Big fan of having a dedicated contact skills coach, think Leinster's focus on that area has been a major contributor to their success. Not sure if "technical skills" included the scrum, so unsure if that's a new remit for him.

Mossy Lawler – Assistant Attack & Skills Coach to Attack & Skills Coach

Seems more like a straightforward promotion, as opposed to the shuffling elsewhere. No complaints here, attack was good last year and hopefully we can build on that.