The attack was good under Wilkins to be fair, definitely our strength last season.
Perhaps some of that stupid hair dye leached into his brain? Might explain the bout of insanity.
Commiserations to Connacht, it must be soul destroying for the rest of the team who are giving their all to have to endure that sort of brainlessness.
True there were errors but there was also positive risks taken. You were in with a shout of the game up until the 60 minute against the league winners at home so you can’t be that far off. I see a lot to be positive about with the players you have.
Playoffs?! Maybe I'm a pessimist but I genuinely think we won't get more than 5 wins.
Playoffs should have been our aim at the start of the season with no Champions Cup, or top 8 at a minimum. I'm not feeling as negative as you, yet, but we could be in for a bad time if the Welsh teams are semi competent this season.
I thought we played well and certainly hard. Aki was the turning point. He looked bulked up and angry from the start.
Only worry is the SA teams actually started pretty slowly last year. The Welsh still don't look up to much.
Question, will the plastic pitch be an advantage if we play on it week in week out?
Blade ruled out of the emerging Ireland tour and Cathal Forde called up in place of Frawley whos also injured
You can add to that list Alex Kendellen and Alex Soroka. And…I wouldn’t be surprised if Prendergast was flown home. He is probably staying out there because he’s there already but he looked injured on Saturday limping around on one leg for the last fifteen minutes.
Thought blade played well until his injury. Buckley, DTM and especially Bealham were really good.
Murphy was decent again, I prefer him at 6 but a good shift.
Boyles physicality was much improved and butler also added significantly.
Problems at 10,12,13 we need to stick with Daly and Farrell and let them develop a partnership now with bundi gone for the foreseeable.
My team for the weekend
Dooley Heff Bealham
Thornberry Dowling
Murphy Boyle Butler
Marmian Carty
Daly Farrell
Mack Roylston
Porch
Don't forget their big announcement about the October interpro ticket special...... Get a ticket for the College rd. terrace for both the Munster and Leinster matches for just €62! That's a saving of a whopping........ (checks notes)........ TWO EURO!
Shooting ourselves in the foot has leached off the pitch to the wider organisation.
I know they were in the process of hiring someone a few months back. I was expecting the social media content to improve drastically but it looks like Wilkins is in charge of that too.......
Farrell and coaches dont see 1 ireland A game occassionally as good enough. We dont have them regularly enough.
Farrell isn't even going on the tour and it's on the IRFU that we don't have more regular A games. I'd say with a tiny bit of planning we could have midweek A games during the Autumn and Summer internationals
This is great for Forde, he's exactly the sort of player who should benefit from this experience. It's early days but my belief is that we will finish in the bottom half of the URC table and there will be no return to HEC. If that is correct then this season is best used to develop the recent Academy graduates, Chay Mullins, etc.
I wonder if the search for a TH continues, or did the re-signing of DRMC take that off the table?
Bundee's last suspension was for four weeks, my guess is he'll get eight this time. In such instances is the sanction consdiered to start from the day of the infringement or that of the citing committee decision?
My bet is six weeks for the offence, two weeks for the abuse of the ref, two weeks reduction for his post-match remorse = net ban 6 weeks.
Post match remorse? Maybe that’s okay the last time or two. Don’t think he’ll get to pull that card again
He’ll pull it, they’ll let it play. Can’t think of any incidence where they didn’t take it in to account. No matter how hollow it was.
I do sympathise with Bundee myself, no one else does but do. It's not as though he is the only one who tackles like that.
the reaction after was done out of his frustration.
A lot of the Bundee stuff on social media and in the press has a real whiff of racism about it.
Guilty of a bad clear out and of playing whilst Polynesian.
Nope Darcy Swain recently only got a 6 week ban for a dangerous clearout that ruptured Quinn Tupaea’s medial cruciate ligament in his left knee and will have him out of action for at least 3 months https://www.the42.ie/darcy-swain-ban-5873033-Sep2022/
While I agree this should be the case there are countless examples of repeat offenders getting time off their ban for remorse etc. Thomas Lavinini, aka the most carded man in rugby history, got 2 weeks off for “expression of remorse, his conduct at the hearing, and the fact that he has been taking active steps to ensure that his on-field aggression was appropriately controlled, the committee reduced the sanction by two weeks.” in December for a hit on Cian Healy during the AIs, this was his 3rd red card in international rugby
Has Bundee even publicly apologised? Haven’t seen any Tweets or anything but might have missed it
And abusing the ref? Nothing racist about it. He's put a guy out of action for 4-6 months with illegal play then had a go at the ref and wouldn't leave the field.
There's plenty of stuff calling him a thug and a disgrace that you would not see if his name was Sean O'brien or if his skin was just a little lighter.
He had a genuine point about the red: the jackler is in an illegal position that the ref is not going to penalise and he has basically 0 space to affect the clear out, unless you want him to crocodile roll him? That said he should not have spoken to the ref the way he did and the clear out is a red and he will get a ban for it. Not disputing any of that.
Incidentally I saw Steve Borthwick enter the field to abuse an official and refuse to leave the pitch against Connacht last year.....not one word in the press about it after.....odd that.
I’m wondering if Aki attacked someone with an axe on the pitch. Would we see people come along and say he’s only being criticized out of racism. I’m guessing we probably would to be honest.
Not the sort of thing I'd wonder about Stephen.
I find dealing with reality taxing enough without introducing the ravings of the deluded.
You mean your post above?
Team for the weekend?
Dooley Heffernan Bealham Fifita Thornbury Murphy Oliver SHL
Marmion Carty Porch Daly Farrell Ralston Hansen
Stewart Buckley Auinger Murray Butler Reilly Hawkshaw Boyle
With bundees suspension and how rough a game mcnulty had I think an 8-2 split could be used this week
Any word when Aki's disciplinary hearing is?
I saw Henning (head of referees for the URC) speaking to the papers yesterday basically calling for an extended suspension for dissent and making it a general policy for referees to crack down on dissent.
Presume it's tomorrow. Not sure why but URC don't announce hearings until after they're finished, and only then if the accused is actually found guilty.
Surely Aki has no choice but to plead guilty and go hard on the "good conduct, nice suit" approach.
Problem is that he doesn't really have much good conduct on his side.
3 career reds, a citing, (all for high tackles) 5 career yellows and a citing commissioners warning for dissent in January 2022.
I think Connacht could do with the hearing being done with and the ban announced so they can figure out how long they need to plan without Aki.
What is the depth chart looking like at centre now? Bundee likely out for 8-12 weeks. Bolton out til December if I can remember correctly. Leaves:
12 : Daly, Forde , Hawkshaw (more a 10?)
13 :Farrell, Ralston, Jennings
Hopefully Forde comes back from the emerging squad tour with a bit of confidence and good form.
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