The South African aspect of this league really adds something....not sure how sustainable it is long term....
But just so refreshing to see.....if you dont turn up down there, you will get your arse handed to you....
True. So 4 points was a decent return but 5 points would have been nicer. What was JJ thinking 😟
Tend to agree. Lots of tries even if one sided scorelines.
I always presumed it was to do with safety. Like you probably don’t want to be wandering around Pretoria in the dark after a match…
That said they do play some evening matches… so it can’t be that bad.
You certainly dont want to be hanging around Ellis Park when the sun goes down.....
Didn’t see that match, is there any point watching it back? How did Jansen go at 8 and Hawkshaw at 13? Any positives at all to take?
Kilgallen has some fry scoring record. 11 tries in 20 caps
Jansen.He looked very hard tackler. And he showed good carries twice at least. He looked unbearable the heatwave and thin air after long absence. I think that he is genuine as same as another Sean. Hawkshaw worked hard as same as Ralston, Forde and O'Harolan. He looks to fit at 10 than 13 (my opinion) . He looks to spare no effort. Maybe you wonder that why Connacht sufferedsuch a big lost at this game while holding such good players. It was because of the intense heatwave and high altitude. The good thing was that there was no sirious injury. I'm sorry my poor English. Can you understand my feedback?
Rodney Ah You has been a huge miss since leaving . he would have made a big difference yesterday, hopefully the rumours are true and he is returning
I don't think Jansen had any impact on the game really. First outing so wouldnt be judging him too harshly but sob stood out when he came on for me where Jansen had been pretty anonymous. Hopefully better days ahead as he get his match fitness back.
Hawkshaw had a good day, tackled and carried hard when the chance presented and released Forde with an nice delayed pass for Killgalens try. I wouldn't be cringing if we had to play him at 13 again. He's an interesting one for me, always performs well when selected but not selected often. I wonder where he sits in the managements thoughts. 10, 12, utility? He's a pretty high quality 3rd/4th/5th choice 10/12 with Carty, JJ, Forde, Daly and bundi all in the mix. Would he be worth a look at 15 ?
It's always worth watching a game back, win or lose, Wegians89. Bulls is a really good team. What impressed me most about Bulls was positional kicking. They pushed Connacht onto to back foot every time. And then our lineout really didn't function as well as they have in the past. So that had a double whammy effect.
In return our kicking was letargic and poor in general. To be fair to Jack I don't think JJ improved the quality much.
And while you can say the 35 degrees didn't make it easy for Connacht I don't believe that's an excuse. When one is playing at high altitudes with high temperatures the key is to gain field position with the minimum of effort.
Instead it was full on effort by Connacht while Bulls just played the conditions perfectly. Obviously Bulls should know the conditions but Connacht really should have been smarter.
And I think that's a fair assessment.
So overall, if I were to assess our trip to SA, I would say the team worked their hearts out, but strategy sucked. And you can't blame the players for that
So next week against Leinster, what will be the plan. More of the same I suspect. Biggest problem I have Connacht at the moment is just to manage territory. And that's the 10 s fault or the game management fault of the coaches
Wow, there is something I would happily bet my entire life's savings on never reading/hearing
That's a funny one alright. Unless he has lost 10 stone. has become incredibly mobile and has learnt the quick offload?
Connacht haven't won a trophy since he left though.....
My Google photos reminded me that this was 8 years ago today
I thought you were going to provide a reason to bring Rodney back?
he never gave up the chase even at 56 points down.
Colm Reilly is injured and unavailable this weekend against Leinster. This means either Matthew Devine or Michael McDonald should make their debut from the bench, which is exciting even if it's a tough opening act for them.
Devine really impressed me as an U20, I thought he was one of the stand outs from that group. McDonald was born in Cooley Co. Louth but moved to Oz as a teenager and was selected for the Australian U20s in 2019. He spent last year with Ulster but played just once for a grand total of twenty minutes (he wasn't the only one to be starved of playing opportunities in that Ulster squad).
https://www.the42.ie/michael-mcdonald-ulster-5821798-Jul2022/
Has Devine been injured a lot since 20s?
I thought he was a standout player on that 20s side, and while obviously there are good players ahead of him, I kind of expected him to have at least gotten a breakthrough cap before now tbh.
If you look at his 20s group - a number of them have made breakthroughs and racked up some gametime, including Patrick Campbell, Fionn Gibbons, Ben Brownlee, Charlie Tector, Tony Butler, Ethan Coughlan, Jack Boyle, Scott Wilson, Rory McGuire, Conor O'Tighearnaigh, James McNabney, Reuben Crothers and James Culhane.
In fact - of the players who made academies, the only province that hasn't bestowed any caps on any of the players produced is Connacht. They have Shane Mallon, Chay Mullins, Oisin Michel and Daniel Hawkshaw from that Grand Slam squad, and none have been involved for Connacht at all yet.
That's an interesting observation with regard to the Connacht cohort from that U20 team, Wasn't Chay Mullins playing 7s?
Obviously with Blade and Marmion, Connacht had unusual strength at 9 which meant that fewer opportunities. More so because they both had a good injury profile. Devine has only bee in the Academy one season so it's not long. Only player who recently made a breakthrough in his first year was Prendergast. The coaches obviously hold Reilly in some esteem as he he's already on 25 caps, and i can see why, he's a tidy players.
The downside of having two capped scrumhalves was that it didn't leave much gametime for development, as both Blade and Marmion were extremely durable while not spending much time away on international duty. What minutes were available available went to Colm Reilly but even he came into this season with only 5 starts in three seasons post 20s.
It doesn't seem like an ideal pathway for a top tier prospect to spend a season (maybe 2) playing AIL 2B, especially without consistent A games to expose him to a higher level of rugby. Don't think he's had a particularly bad time with injury as he plays with Corinthians pretty consistently.
I thought Kerins had a huge future at Connacht. What happened?
Would be very excited to see Devine given a go. For me he’s been the most exciting 9 to come through the 20s in the last few years, including Casey. Not sure if he’s physically ready for stepping up yet but I thought the same about Reilly and he doesn't look out of place.
According to IT, unfortunately Devine pick some injury(groin) at AIL game. I don't know thatWhen it happened. Refs is now decide for the Dervy match. All Irish team they will be.The ref =Brace, AR=Martin and Davison. TMO=Hodgis. Is it good for connacht?
Oh that’s a blow if he’s out, McDonald it is
https://www.irishrugby.ie/2023/11/29/ireland-sevens-squads-named-for-hsbc-svns-series-opener-in-dubai/
Shane Jennings and Chay Mullins in the Sevens squad for the first round of the Sevens series
Have two grant Thornton stand tickets for Leinster game this weekend as can't make it to game. Available at face value (€88)if anyone wants them. PM me here.
Is Jennings on a senior contract? Would really need to see him pushing on next season with the senior team.
A run at 7s could help him if he is aiming to breakthrough as a back three player though.
Jennings was one of the six who got senor contracts in January last year. What we saw of him last season was exciting. For me, he looked ready to go, but minutes are scarce in a very competitive squad, so the 7s is a good alternative focus. And it didn't do Hugo Keenan any harm...
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