Connacht Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread - Part II

wp_rathead

Open from 2pm
But think it's like €25 to gain access to Pavilion where showing the Ireland match (ya get a meal and all that included)

Don't think Clan Bar has TV licence to show match

I'm watching in Pucan

connemara man

im doing the pavillion route for an easier life

Diabhal Beag

Tis far from Pavillions I was raised. Last minute sprint from Pucan it is!

connemara man

I'll favor a leisurely stroll to my spot in the clan

evil_seed

I think they're seriously missing a trick by not having the pavillion opened for everyone as well as the bar and upstairs at the main stand side for the Ireland game. It'd probably help with the atmosphere for our game too

Robbo

Spotted JHW in the training photos from yesterday. Didn't think he was expected back this season so obviously things are going better than planned.

connachta

Robbo wrote: »

Spotted JHW in the training photos from yesterday. Didn't think he was expected back this season so obviously things are going better than planned.

Yeah it could be worthwhile for a potential play-off in May
The bad side is there's no sign of Heffernan or Henry who is due to be back in April

S12b

15. Tiernan O’Halloran
14. Niyi Adeolokun
13. Danie Poolman
12. Dave McSharry
11. Matt Healy
10. Craig Ronaldson
9. John Cooney

1. Denis Buckley
2. Tom McCartney
3. Nathan White
4. Quinn Roux
5. Aly Muldowney
6. John Muldoon (captain)
7. Jake Heenan
8. Eoghan Masterson

Replacements:

16. Shane Delahunt
17. Ronan Loughney
18. Rodney Ah You
19. Mick Kearney
20. George Naoupu
21. Ian Porter
22. Jack Carty
23. Conor Finn

By my reckoning, 11 of that team is 25 or younger!!
Is Dave Heffernan injured atm?

connemara man

Im happy this team is against Treviso, I know they are playing well I still think we should beat them. Poolman at 13 doesn't fill me with confidence Delighted Ronaldson is at 10 hopefully he can string a few games together now. White back is great, I get a dreaded feeling when i see Rodney play again, Bealham must be pushing for 2nd choice there soon.

hermano

That looks like the final nail in the coffin for Fionn Carr if he can't make the 23 with all the injuries

molloyjh

hermano wrote: »

That looks like the final nail in the coffin for Fionn Carr if he can't make the 23 with all the injuries

Sure he was having lunch in Donnybrook on Sunday while the Dragons game was on so he's obviously nowhere near the squad at this stage.

S12b

hermano wrote: »

That looks like the final nail in the coffin for Fionn Carr if he can't make the 23 with all the injuries

Yup he's surely a gonner.....Healy, Poolman, Niyi, TOH, Leader would all get picked ahead of him plus Gaffney in the academy.

wp_rathead

for me Poolman is wasted in the centre, so for that reason Id switch Niyi and Finn and move Danie to the wing

Good team regardless- thought Kearney would get a start but both Roux and Aly been playing well

CatFromHue

I thought the centres really struggled against Lanelli so I'm surprised to see Poolman, who looked lost, back there again.

It may "only" be Treviso but Connacht desperately need to win this.

Robbo

I really would have preferred Finn in the centre rather than Poolman. Other than that I'm happy with the team.

Forecast looks nippy enough with a breeze.

S12b

Anybody know much about the Treviso team? Decimated by Italian call-ups?

wp_rathead

Yip alot of Treviso lads in Italian squad
Their backrow and centres in particular

thomond2006

Starting line-up:

15 Jayden Hayward
14 Henry Seniloli
13 Andrea Pratichetti
12 Sam Christie
11 Ludovico Nitoglia
10 James Ambrosini
9 Alberto Lucchese

8 Mat Luamanu
7 Dean Budd
6 Nicola Cattina
5 Meyer Swanepoel
4 Tomas Vallejos
3 Rupert Harden
2 Davide Giazzon (captain)
1 Matteo Zanusso

Replacements:

16 Albert Anae
17 Romulo Acosta
18 Salesi Manu
19 Corniel Van Zyl
20 Paul Derbyshire
21 Alberto Saccardo
22 Joe Carlisle
23 Francesco Menon

matthew8

Both sides missing plenty of backs. Connacht should do this fairly handy, have to target the bonus point.

thomond2006

Scarlets go to Ulster and Edinburgh go to Cardiff. This is a good chance for Connacht to get a bit of daylight between themselves and the chasers.

wp_rathead

Comparing the Treviso side to the one that bet Ospreys in the EPCR a month ago

Vs Ospreys `| Pos | Vs Connacht
Jayden Hayward |15| Jayden Hayward
Angelo Esposito | 14 | Henry Seniloli
Michele Campagnaro | 13 | Andrea Pratichetti
Luca Morisi | 12 | Sam Christie
Andrea Pratichetti |11 | Ludovico Nitoglia
Samuel John Christie | 10 | James Ambrosini
Edoardo Gori |9| Alberto Lucchese

Mat Luamanu| 8 | Mat Luamanu
Alessandro Zanni (capt) |7| Dean Budd
Marco Barbini |6| Nicola Cattina
Cornelius van Zyl |5| Meyer Swanepoel
Marco Fuser | 4 |Tomas Vallejos
Salesi Manu |3| Rupert Harden
Albert Alfred Anae |2| Davide Giazzon (captain)
Matteo Zanusso |1| Matteo Zanusso

Replacements:

Davide Giazzon |16| Albert Anae
Josè Francisco Novak|17| Romulo Acosta
Rupert Harden |18| Salesi Manu
Antonio Pavanello |19| Corniel Van Zyl
Francesco Minto |20| Paul Derbyshire
Enrico Bacchin |21| Alberto Saccardo
Simone Ragusi |22| Joe Carlisle
James Ambrosini| 23| Francesco Menon

Robbo

Remember when James Ambrosini was the new great hope for the Italians at 10?

I still maintain that they should have converted Andrea Pirlo.

I've just had a listen to this weeks Craggy Island Rugby and an interesting nugget raised at the end was that our 27 tries have been scored by 17 players with only Marmion on more than 2 tries.

irishbucsfan

Just thought, what's the latest info on tickets for the Gloucester game, are they sold out? I was thinking of heading to that before flying back for the Bath game in Dublin.

b.gud

Robbo wrote: »

Remember when James Ambrosini was the new great hope for the Italians at 10?

I still maintain that they should have converted Andrea Pirlo.

I've just had a listen to this weeks Craggy Island Rugby and an interesting nugget raised at the end was that our 27 tries have been scored by 17 players with only Marmion on more than 2 tries.

That can't be right Poolman is our top scorer!

wp_rathead

Still tickets available in The Shed anyway, £20. Big Connacht crowd booked for The Shed so more than welcome

b.gud

b.gud wrote: »

That can't be right Poolman is our top scorer!

Ya Poolman has 6 Healy and Marmion are both on 5 didn't check any other players

wp_rathead

b.gud wrote: »

That can't be right Poolman is our top scorer!

Think they meant just in the Pro 12, Marmion is on 3 Tries and
Following on 2:
Ronaldson
Muldowney
Kearney
Poolman
McKeon

b.gud

wprathead wrote: »

Think they meant just in the Pro 12, Marmion is on 3 Tries and
Following on 2:
Ronaldson
Muldowney
Kearney
Poolman
McKeon

Ah right, that makes sense.

connachta

wprathead wrote: »

for me Poolman is wasted in the centre, so for that reason Id switch Niyi and Finn and move Danie to the wing

Good team regardless- thought Kearney would get a start but both Roux and Aly been playing well

100% agree

Zzippy

What's An Pucan like for food? Thinking of heading in early to get some grub and a seat with a view of a tv for the England game...

wp_rathead

Zzippy wrote: »

What's An Pucan like for food? Thinking of heading in early to get some grub and a seat with a view of a tv for the England game...

for a good seat you'd wanna be there around 1, gonna aim for 12:45 myself to see if Cardiff v Edinburgh game be shown
Food is surprisingly tasty, the wings are savage in there

Redo91

Any idea how long they will be letting people into the SG after K/O? I'm working til 6 so will be missing the 1st half but I have a season ticket so I might as well catch what I can when I already have it paid for. Would there still be lads at the gate around the start of the 2nd half?

testtech05

wprathead wrote: »

for a good seat you'd wanna be there around 1, gonna aim for 12:45 myself to see if Cardiff v Edinburgh game be shown
Food is surprisingly tasty, the wings are savage in there

Id say it will be busy even before then. Liverpool are playing man city in the premiership on sunday at 12 so Id say a lot of people will plan on heading in for both games!!

The Lost Sheep

Redo91 wrote: »

Any idea how long they will be letting people into the SG after K/O? I'm working til 6 so will be missing the 1st half but I have a season ticket so I might as well catch what I can when I already have it paid for. Would there still be lads at the gate around the start of the 2nd half?

I normally work in the ground as a steward. They'll let you in. There is going to be so few stewards working at this game you will no problem getting in.

b.gud

Ulster doing us a favour they've just got their 3rd try against Scarlets are 12 points up with 20 mins to go and are well on top

Bazzo

Final score at Ravenhill Ulster 25 - 20 Scarlets. Disappointing that they gave away a last minute try to give Scarlets the bonus point but still, I'll take it.

eyeball kid

b.gud wrote: »

Ulster doing us a favour they've just got their 3rd try against Scarlets are 12 points up with 20 mins to go and are well on top

I think they let Scarlets in for a try at the end to give them a lbp. Not ideal but at least they didn't win.

hermano

eyeball kid wrote: »

I think they let Scarlets in for a try at the end to give them a lbp. Not ideal but at least they didn't win.

Very disappointing when you consider they were in ulsters 22 two or three times in the second half

evil_seed

5 points a must on Sunday after that. Cheers Ulster :rolleyes:

its_phil

Just looking at the table, if we pick up 5 points we're only 5 points behind the Ospreys. That would be some fall for them

Borders no.2

evil_seed wrote: »

5 points a must on Sunday after that. Cheers Ulster :rolleyes:

You can't blame Ulster, did us a big favour last week and they have their own concerns. They had the game won and were pushing for 4 tries so game was always going to get a bit disjointed in the last few minutes. Disappointing but we need to go out and look after our side of the bargain on Sunday.

ouncer

connachta wrote: »

100% agree

My gran rang pat about this. She pointed out that if he keeps playing players out of position how does she get any guarantee on her bookie bet. Its hard for people on pensions these days. They want some sense of a sure thing. Pat get it sorted

galwaylad14

I think Scarlets getting a point tonight means we absolutely have to take Treviso for 5 points on Sunday. Given our run ins over the last 5 games we'd want to have a decent bit of a buffer built up before then

ouncer

galwaylad14 wrote: »

I think Scarlets getting a point tonight means we absolutely have to take Treviso for 5 points on Sunday. Given our run ins over the last 5 games we'd want to have a decent bit of a buffer built up before then

Explain strategy. Do think it is a good team selection. That said poolman at centre has been poor to date. And mcsharry has been not great. Come back bundee. At least ronladson may do well. Thank god the carty saga is done

thomond2006

At this stage it would be unacceptable to not get 5 points here. I wouldn't take Treviso's result against Cardiff too seriously.

I only realised last night that all Connacht need to get a 7th place finish to guarantee qualification, right? Then the 8th place goes into the playoff?

S12b

thomond2006 wrote: »

At this stage it would be unacceptable to not get 5 points here. I wouldn't take Treviso's result against Cardiff too seriously.

I only realised last night that all Connacht need to get a 7th place finish to guarantee qualification, right? Then the 8th place goes into the playoff?

Agreed, we're at home to a Treviso side decimated by international call-ups and we have our first choice pack available to us.....if we do the basics well, limit errors and play the game in their half....the floodgates should open as the game goes on. Plus if the weather is decent, it could be a chance for Matt and Niyi to stretch their legs!

I'm never too well informed on these things but has it not always been top 6 automatic with 7th place into the play-off??? Has something changed??

thomond2006

S12b wrote: »

I'm never too well informed on these things but has it not always been top 6 automatic with 7th place into the play-off??? Has something changed??

Dang now that I think about it you're right. It will be top 6 + plus the top Italian team who are automatic qualifiers.

CatFromHue

Just looked on the HEC website and they've updated the qualification page for next season, the winner of the Challenge Cup was never mentioned before.

Clubs qualify for the 2015/16 European Rugby Champions Cup in the following ways :.

• PRO12: The seven highest-ranked clubs based on their finishing positions in the league. The seven qualifiers must include at least one club from each of Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales.

For the 2014/15 season, the 20th qualifier was determined by a play-off over two legs between the clubs ranked seventh in the Aviva Premiership and the Top 14.

For subsequent seasons, the play-offs for the 20th qualifier will include the following clubs:

The eighth-ranked club from the PRO12, or the winner of the 2014/15 Challenge Cup if from the PRO12 and not already qualified for the Champions Cup.

So with the Italian teams at the bottom it's going to be top 6 plus best Italian team who qualify automatically.

Then the 7th placed team in the league, assuming the Italians stay at the bottom of the league, will go into the play off. Except if a Pro12 team wins the Challenge Cup and finishes lower than 7th.

There are 4 Pro12 teams in the Challenge Cup knock outs (Conn, Edin, Cardiff, and Dragons) so it's not too unrealistic to see a Pro12 winner

molloyjh

S12b wrote: »

Agreed, we're at home to a Treviso side decimated by international call-ups and we have our first choice pack available to us.....if we do the basics well, limit errors and play the game in their half....the floodgates should open as the game goes on. Plus if the weather is decent, it could be a chance for Matt and Niyi to stretch their legs!

I'm never too well informed on these things but has it not always been top 6 automatic with 7th place into the play-off??? Has something changed??

It is the top 7 but then you have to include 1 side from each country. Forgot about that bit when we were talking about it yesterday thomond....

its_phil

It's essentially top 6 qualify and then 7th (provided someone below doesn't win challenge cup) goes into a playoff against English club to eventually meet a Franch club.