Very frustrating. Some serious hometown refereeing particularly in the last play but really we were clinging on for most of the game and we were running through bodies too quickly. Hurley Langton single handedly keeping us alive in the 2nd half.
For a Connacht away day that was frustrating but probably better than I've seen from us in most away games.
I'd have taken 7th at the start of the day. Thanks to Munster for that favour. It should be enough. Fingers crossed for next weekend. Glasgow and Toulon should win but Scarlets have been building momentum and have home advantage do wouldn't rule them out.
Can't see Sharks winning it from 8th seed. Leinster will surely be on guard after what happened against Bulls last year.
Just on the last play was that not a tackle at the end when Cummings tackled de Butlear off the back of the maul? He lied on top of the ball then so I was thinking maybe it should have been a penalty but maybe not
I thought that too. Ball hit the ground and was playable then Cummings jump on it. Hardly a shocker though, he's allowed lay on it if it's a sacked maul.
Choo-Chooo Jenninngs? :D
Should reiterate, I meant in that location on the pitch...
It's an academy hooker just off the bench, give the guy some leeway.
get lost. if I can't say something is rubbish then what is a forum about. but thanks for your opinion which I appreciate
It looked like they had separated from the maul, but maybe that is green tinted view on it.
Read your post again and ask yourself what's wrong with it. I really hope you can see the issue with it.
The call was nearly a bigger issue. Inexperienced hooker just on, keep it simple and call to front.
on weekend of 5th and 6th of May. Times to be announced on monday
I thought initally when Cummins changed his bind it was still a maul, separation did occur till after. At least that's how I saw it
Farrell should be ok, he had another strong performance, O'Halloran made a few crucial mistakes, hopefully we won't need him against Ulster
Yeah it was one of those split second ones, could have gone either way.
Finished that match with a crop of young mostly home grown players and could Have nicked the win against arguably the most in form team in the league bar Leinster.
Finishing 7th and a quarter final away to an Ulster team who haven’t really impressed recently was not something I thought possible early on in the season. Lots of positive to take since the Newcastle away game.
De Buitlear (only his 3rd/4th cap, so go easy on the lineouts), Illo, the two Murray’s, Forde, Jennings. Some real young talent coming through. Add in SHL and kilgallen To that list.
Need to dig out a replay and have a look, but shouldn't have needed that 50/50 call, if it even was, to win
Lot of serious fighting talk in the Ulster team thread about the quarter final. Looks like the build up to this one is going to be huge.
Cummins came through the middle but the red had been reffing that detach as a tackle the rest of the game which annoyed me
This. The season has been a success. Qualification for the Champions' cup will be a huge achievement considering the absurd rules favouring 'Shield' winners.
Am I correct in thinking that after this season this "shield" qualification for the HC is finished??
Yes. It was used for the first 2 seasons of this format of URC so that countries that might not get a straight top 8 qualifier would agree to this format. We might be talking here about. Italy and Wales.
Yes and no. It will be reviewed but i don't think there has been any confirmation of changes.
I think we need some system of distributing the European places rather than a straight league table
You posted the opposite on the Ulster thread, where no-one had mentioned the QF - people had posted about the Edinburgh game and the players we are letting go at the end of the season.
Bit weird. Maybe some kind of hobby or pastime would benefit you, Venjur?
The Welsh, Scottish and Italian teams are already at an advantage as they get to play 2 games against each other.
Glasgow won 5 of their shield games, we only won 2, remove those shield games and they have the same win/loss record as us. That's more than enough advantage for anyone.
I did and come to the same conclusion, its a tight game and a Connacht pack that can barely hit a barn door with a throw...so why the f£ck would go for the jugular in that position on the field, the dog on the street could see that was only going to go one way.
Consistent performances and competitive in the majority of games all season, only the Treviso game was hopefully just a blip, if we're fully loaded for Ulster and get our strategy right then we can beat them.
Great to get into the business end of the season and champions cup even though the shield system is not balanced. I think we got the best draw with ulster, no disrespect to them but it's a derby game and Connacht have been good lately. I hope the substitutions at half time were tactical instead of injury related. Prendergast didn't look great at the end of the first half after the head knock. I hope he's OK. SHL seems to have gained a bit of form. I'd start him over Oliver who seems to be giving away silly penalties. Dowling was excellent again. We definitely need a hooker as there is a significant drop off to 3rd and last choice. No disrespect to him but he just needs a bit more time to develop.
From next season on top 8 qualify. Unanimous agreement was required to retain current structure and IRFU declined so default is merit based.
https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/rugby-unions-and-urc-on-a-collision-course-over-competition-timeframe-1.4862657
SHL looks really fit and sharp at the moment, gets through an enormous amount of work and seems to often be first to a breaking ball. He made 26 tackles off the bench against Cardiff. Against that, Oliver has probably been a bit below the standard he set in his first two seasons this year.
I like DTM but if he is to be second choice it doesn't seem viable to go to the front every lineout when he is throwing.
That's build up thread level fighting talk
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