Connacht Rugby Thread - Part III - The Violence of the Lams

testtech05

Excellent news, great to get this business done early in the season too so we can focus on the massive games coming up!!

Wouldn't it be great if we could all tweet our employers before salary review time!

connemara man

not enough dancing gifs for this news here's another

freyners

Can we add all of pundit arena to the conor george list of journos now??

connemara man

https://twitter.com/TheBoyBarrett/status/790867402246524928

Robbo

freyners wrote: »

Can we add all of pundit arena to the conor george list of journos now??

Now there's a name I haven't heard in a long time.

connachta

connemara man wrote: »

not enough dancing gifs for this news here's another

I know, that's still not enough to represent what I'm feeling right now

freyners

Robbo wrote: »

Now there's a name I haven't heard in a long time.

Its quite an effective list.

Redo91

MarinersBlues wrote: »

In fairness all he ever reported was that Munster were interested in Dillane and Aki.
http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/munster-rugby/munster-line-up-sensational-swoop-for-connacht-duo-35088085.html
It would seem that they were at least talking to both. I wouldn't say he was wrong.

I'm just waiting to see what spin PA put on it

He said that Dillane was leaning towards going to Munster. He hardly had a change of heart that quick. Also only this morning he was saying that Dillane was looking like he could possibly stay. Consider the deal was confirmed a few hours later you'd imagine if he was any ways informed he'd have been more sure than that. Based on what he's reported in the past he's completely out of the loop. I mean I heard after the Toulouse game that Ultan had signed and I'm not even a journalist!

Redo91

Bazzo wrote: »

Independent running with the Bundee staying story and throwing Dillane in as possibly staying too.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/connacht-rugby/connacht-boost-as-aki-set-to-commit-to-bumper-deal-and-dillane-could-follow-35158794.html

When you click on that link he has now replaced it with an article confirming the deals! Fairly covering his tracks!

its_phil

Redo91 wrote: »

When you click on that link he has now replaced it with an article confirming the deals! Fairly covering his tracks!

So?

Don't understand why so many Connacht fans have beef with O'Connor. He simply reported Munster were interested and that Dillane was open to idea of moving to a club closer to home.

Players have to look at all their options, not O'Connors fault if people read something they don't want to hear.

Zzippy

According to Linley McKenzie the lads signed 2 weeks ago but the announcement was delayed due to Anthony Foley's death. I'd say Bundee was just doing a bit of his own trolling on twitter the other night

https://twitter.com/linleymackenzie/status/790879720149815296

Redo91

its_phil wrote: »

So?

Don't understand why so many Connacht fans have beef with O'Connor. He simply reported Munster were interested and that Dillane was open to idea of moving to a club closer to home.

Players have to look at all their options, not O'Connors fault if people read something they don't want to hear.

Because he reports on Connacht but knows so little about us. Like I said I heard after the Toulouse game that Ultan had signed on. This was fairly common knowledge on here yet there he was a couple of hours ago saying that it was only a possibility he might stay. If he was doing his job properly he should have known that it was a done deal weeks ago. Not speculating a couple of hours before its announced.

He also seems to have a bit of a pro-Munster agenda. He said in the earlier article that Ultan was putting his move to Munster "on the long finger" as if it was only a matter of time before he goes there. Aside from being from Kerry why would Ultan go there? From a rugby perspective it would be a step down at this stage.

It's also a bit of a cop out to go removing the article. He clearly realised he was wrong and is trying to cover it up. At least hold your hands up and admit you were wrong.

Bazzo

Zzippy wrote: »

According to Linley McKenzie the lads signed 2 weeks ago but the announcement was delayed due to Anthony Foley's death. I'd say Bundee was just doing a bit of his own trolling on twitter the other night

https://twitter.com/linleymackenzie/status/790879720149815296

I was going to suggest that Bundee might have been up to divilment with the tweets at the time but kept my mouth shut in case I jinxed it

Neil3030

I wonder how much we have to thank the Brexit camp for this. I know there were so many factors, but you can't ignore how much leverage the English clubs have now lost in contract negotiations.

Suppose Bundee's new contract is in the €650k territory. This time last year, an English club could have offered to double his money with a contract in the region £900k (when Sterling was €1.40 - €1.45), whereas today it would cost them £1.2m.

More importantly, since he'll most likely retire back to New Zealand at some point, the pound has taken a pummeling against the NZD. Last year, £500k sterling would bag you a cool NZ$1.3m, whereas today it only gets you NZ$850k.

Buer

Redo91 wrote: »

Because he reports on Connacht but knows so little about us. Like I said I heard after the Toulouse game that Ultan had signed on. This was fairly common knowledge on here yet there he was a couple of hours ago saying that it was only a possibility he might stay. If he was doing his job properly he should have known that it was a done deal weeks ago. Not speculating a couple of hours before its announced.

He also seems to have a bit of a pro-Munster agenda. He said in the earlier article that Ultan was putting his move to Munster "on the long finger" as if it was only a matter of time before he goes there. Aside from being from Kerry why would Ultan go there? From a rugby perspective it would be a step down at this stage.

It's also a bit of a cop out to go removing the article. He clearly realised he was wrong and is trying to cover it up. At least hold your hands up and admit you were wrong.

I doubt ROC runs the website....

He left the link to the article on his Twitter up which he can actually control. He also posted recently "Bundee Aki is some man. If there's any millionaires out west who fancy some philanthropy they could hardly get more bang for their buck".

God, you can just feel the bias against Connacht oozing through his words.

Black_Knight

Evil_g

its_phil wrote: »

So?

Don't understand why so many Connacht fans have beef with O'Connor. He simply reported Munster were interested and that Dillane was open to idea of moving to a club closer to home.

Players have to look at all their options, not O'Connors fault if people read something they don't want to hear.

Here's the bauld Ruaidhri three weeks ago, four games after Connacht won the pro 12, the night before they beat Ulster, and at a time we now know 22 year old Ultan had yet to decide on his future:

Pat Lam is a positive man and it was no surprise that yesterday he put a positive spin on the news that his influential skills coach Dave Ellis would be returning to New Zealand in January.
SHARE

Ellis's time at Connacht has earned him a first job in Super Rugby with Tana Umaga's Auckland Blues and Lam is proud of the role he and the province have played in getting him there.

Yet, it is hard from the outside to escape the sense that the wheels are falling off the westerly wagon.

WTF?

Connacht's early-season form has made May's league win feel a long time ago, while the opening of Munster's state-of-the-art training facility has further emphasised the ground the western province must make up off the field despite their on-pitch success last year.

It was four games ago. What does Munster's training facility have to do with your visit to Galway?

Yesterday, Lam was asked if he is confident of retaining Dillane and Aki beyond the expiration of their contracts at the end of the season and whether the IRFU could support the province in their desire to retain the pair.

"All of that negotiation is going on at the moment with Willie (Ruane, Connacht's chief executive) and (team manager)Tim Alnutt," he replied.

"And I am confident that they're here this year, and I am confident that the IRFU and our team are doing a great job."

Offered the chance to provide some comfort to fans, he was unable to do so.

Who told you that Munster were lining up a double-raid on Pro12 champions Connacht ? What were their interests? Were they perhaps associated with Munster Rugby? Were you expected to provide any services in return?

Why did you take them at their word and refuse to take Pat Lam at his?

We had two flippin' years of this at a time when 21 year old Robbie Henshaw was still making his mind where he should play his Rugby.

Gerry Thornley on Off The Ball - 25/11/16 (a time that we now know Robbie was having serious doubts about leaving Connacht):

They're definitely getting Henshaw. It's 99 percent likely and it has been for a year now. I don't understand why there's so much discussion about it. I'm sure that working with Jonny Sexton, Brian O'Driscoll and so forth in the Irish camp has only made him more determined to go and join Leinster. They could do with a 12 I think.

He'll definitely end up at Leinster and he's preparing the ground for it.

There's a danger of it becoming almost Raheem Sterling-esque in terms of the discussions.

That's why I have beef with Ruaidhri.

(also, his name should have at least one fada)

Neil3030

This is a huge coup for Connacht, if there was indeed interest from Munster, and it's the least they deserve given what they've done with IRFU's support.

wp_rathead

It was Pundit Arena posting their "Exclusive" that got my back up. Pure clickbate.
ROC in fairness just posted Munster were very interested in the player(s) - it was a silly puff piece which was founded on rumor to fill column inches. It was annoying but wouldn't hold anything against ROC personally.
That said I do find it amusing that these rumors are rarely "Player X believed to be on way to Connacht" - maybe journalists just don't have any good Connacht moles

Evil_g

wp_rathead wrote: »

ROC in fairness just posted Munster were very interested in the player(s) - it was a silly puff piece which was founded on rumor to fill column inches. It was annoying but wouldn't hold anything against ROC personally.

He wrote an "everything is going to $hit in Connacht, you'd want to be mad to stay here, look at Munsters lovely new gym and Bundee's on his way out too" article four games after we won the pro 12.

stephen_n

Evil_g wrote: »

He wrote an "everything is going to $hit in Connacht, you'd want to be mad to stay here, look at Munsters lovely new gym and Bundee's on his way out too" article four games after we won the pro 12.

Well he didn't.

wp_rathead

Evil_g wrote: »

He wrote an "everything is going to $hit in Connacht, you'd want to be mad to stay here, look at Munsters lovely new gym and Bundee's on his way out too" article four games after we won the pro 12.

I honestly Think you're reading a bit to much into the sentences you quoted earlier - I can see why you'd interpret them that way alright but I don't think he has any agenda. You're free to think otherwise though
This is a happy day

Shelflife

It was the whole slant of the piece that annoyed me, Wheels coming off,

Offered the chance to provide some comfort to fans, he was unable to do so.

If they were in the middle of talks there was no way in the world that Lam could have said a thing about them yet it was slanted as if Lam knew that they were gone.

For me the whole Mighty Munster will come along and take what ever they need and off plucky Connacht and bring them back to their mighty lair (new trainng facilities).

There was no comment about whether they should be allowed to do this or whether it was good for Irish rugby and there was no respect for the fact that we were Champions and Munster had just qualified for the HC.

It wasnt that it was anti Connacht , just that this was all acceptable and almost a fait accompli .

MarinersBlues

Check your emails
I nearly missed this with all the excitement:

[font=Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Dear Season Ticket Holder, [/font]

[justify]Exclusively for season ticket holders we have released a limited number of adult tickets for both the Wasps and Munster games. These tickets are for the Bohermore and College Road terraces, with a small amount available for the Main Stand Terrace. This priority window will last for 24 hours; at which point all tickets will be released on general sale.
[/justify]

How can people be having a go at anyone today?
Bundee Aki, the best center in all of Europe just signed a new 3 year contract with the Pro 12 Champions.

Ultan Dillane, a 22yr old Irish International, beast of a 2nd row, from Munster, has just signed a new 2 year contract with the Pro 12 Champions

Zzippy

Ah lads, will ye stop with the conspiracy theories. These signings show that we're at the races now in terms of attracting and keeping talent. To be fair, a lot of fans also thought the wheels were coming off too after some heavy defeats in September. Yeah we may have lost the second best centre in Ireland to Leinster, but we still have the best. And judging by Robbie's thinning hair, he may be regretting his move!

Cathalthesmart

Agreed, there is nothing to be negative at the moment from a rugby point of view. Schmidt is staying on, Aki will be ours 12 months from now a centre who would walk into probably any team on the planet apart from NZ and we gave Foley a performance by both our fans,rugby public and Munster players that he would be so proud of and let's not forget the fact that 3 of our provinces are top of there champions cup group with Ulster still in the mix. Let's be happy while we can.

Cathalthesmart

Zzippy wrote: »

Ah lads, will ye stop with the conspiracy theories. These signings show that we're at the races now in terms of attracting and keeping talent. To be fair, a lot of fans also thought the wheels were coming off too after some heavy defeats in September. Yeah we may have lost the second best centre in Ireland to Leinster, but we still have the best. And judging by Robbie's thinning hair, he may be regretting his move!

Galway is a great place to live while playing the best rugby in Europe, why would anyone want to leave :P

Bazzo

MarinersBlues wrote: »

Check your emails
I nearly missed this with all the excitement:

[font=Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Dear Season Ticket Holder, [/font]

[justify]Exclusively for season ticket holders we have released a limited number of adult tickets for both the Wasps and Munster games. These tickets are for the Bohermore and College Road terraces, with a small amount available for the Main Stand Terrace. This priority window will last for 24 hours; at which point all tickets will be released on general sale.
[/justify]

So presume tickets will go on general sale tomorrow then? I'll have to get on that.

b.gud

Pretty positive squad update http://www.connachtrugby.ie/squad-update-ahead-of-leinster-game-6/#ConnachtNews

evil_seed

just a quick thought on the small mindedness gripes from the press being mentioned here.
have a look in the mirror lads. when you celebrate the renewal of a contract like you've won the league again then it's no wonder there's still small mindedness out there.
This is what should be expected and it shouldn't bring so much fanfare.
Look at Sarries when the renew Owen Farrell.

Robbo

Neil3030 wrote: »

I wonder how much we have to thank the Brexit camp for this. I know there were so many factors, but you can't ignore how much leverage the English clubs have now lost in contract negotiations.

Suppose Bundee's new contract is in the €650k territory. This time last year, an English club could have offered to double his money with a contract in the region £900k (when Sterling was €1.40 - €1.45), whereas today it would cost them £1.2m.

More importantly, since he'll most likely retire back to New Zealand at some point, the pound has taken a pummeling against the NZD. Last year, £500k sterling would bag you a cool NZ$1.3m, whereas today it only gets you NZ$850k.

It's something I pointed out here before that Big Rod, between signing for Ulster and picking up his first paycheque, would have encountered a 30% paycut, probably negating any uplift he was getting.

With Ashton going to Toulon today, I wonder are the English clubs about to have another hissy fit about not being able to compete in Europe? Or will Sarries start paying in Krugerands?

Bazzo

Anyone care to hazard a guess at the team for Leinster? I'll go with:

1)JP Cooney
2) Heffernan
3) Carey
4) Roux?(Stevenson if unavailable)
5) Browne
6) SOB II
7) Heenan
8) Muldoon

9) Blade
10) Carty
11) Kelleher
12) Ronaldson
13) Aki
14) Adeolokun
15) TOH

16) Delahunt
17) Robertson-McCoy
18) O'Donnell?? Saba???
19) Stevenson(Cannon/Qualter if Roux unavailable)
20) McKeon
21) Kerins(Story with Coooney?)
22) O'Leary(Boshoff?)
23) Ili

I think the weakest area there is the front row and I'd hope we don't get punished for it. Leinster will probably be missing quite a few players so we may have a chance to make hay here.

testtech05

Bazzo wrote: »

Anyone care to hazard a guess at the team for Leinster? I'll go with:

1)JP Cooney
2) Heffernan
3) Carey
4) Roux?(Stevenson if unavailable)
5) Browne
6) SOB II
7) Heenan
8) Muldoon

9) Blade
10) Carty
11) Kelleher
12) Ronaldson
13) Aki
14) Adeolokun
15) TOH

16) Delahunt
17) Robertson-McCoy
18) O'Donnell?? Saba???
19) Stevenson(Cannon/Qualter if Roux unavailable)
20) McKeon
21) Kerins(Story with Coooney?)
22) O'Leary(Boshoff?)
23) Ili

I think the weakest area there is the front row and I'd hope we don't get punished for it. Leinster will probably be missing quite a few players so we may have a chance to make hay here.

Have Bealham, Marmion and Ultan been ruled out for this weekend? I would have thought all would be available this weekend before going to squad for November games....

MarinersBlues

evil_seed wrote: »

just a quick thought on the small mindedness gripes from the press being mentioned here.
have a look in the mirror lads. when you celebrate the renewal of a contract like you've won the league again then it's no wonder there's still small mindedness out there.
This is what should be expected and it shouldn't bring so much fanfare.
Look at Sarries when the renew Owen Farrell.

I presume this is looking for a rise.
You are aware of our history of attempting to retain players?

Robbo

The Archives of Pain, Week 9. New information in bold.

Player|Injury|Date of Injury|Expected Return
Ronan Loughney|Hamstring|Pre-Zebre (A)|Unknown
Naulia Dawai|Currently Fit||End of Mitre 10 Cup
Tom McCartney|Hamstring|Edinburgh (H)|End of November
Denis Buckley|Knee|Edinburgh (H)|November
Matt Healy|Broken Hand|Edinburgh (H)|End of November
Ivan Soroka|Foot|AIL|Unknown
Josh Rowland|Ankle - Surgery|Unknown|Mid-Late October
Ben Marshall|Concussion|Last Season|Unknown
Nepia Fox-Matamua|Hamstring|Glasgow (H)|November
Eoghan Masterson|Knee|Last Season|December
John Cooney|Shoulder|Glorious Pro12 Final|Partial Training
Darragh Leader|Hand|Pre-Season|February
Ciaran Gaffney|Unknown|Unknown|Unknown


Griffin, Robertson-McCoy and TOH all return to training. I count 13 players currently unavailable.

evil_seed

MarinersBlues wrote: »

I presume this is looking for a rise.
You are aware of our history of attempting to retain players?

Not looking for a rise. We're the champions. We're on the rise, a steady rise. We should be expecting to keep our players now

Bazzo

testtech05 wrote: »

Have Bealham, Marmion and Ultan been ruled out for this weekend? I would have thought all would be available this weekend before going to squad for November games....

Nothing confirmed but it seems all the other provinces are expecting their internationals to be unavailable so we'd be looking at Bealham, Marmion, Dillane and possibly Roux.

ClanofLams

Cooney coming back is obviously a boost but not gonna lie, I'm gonna miss seeing 'Glorious Pro12 Final' on that list.

DDC1990

Even as a Munster fan, I am delighted with the News about Dillane and Aki staying in Connacht.

4 strong provinces can only bring the Irish national team on, and Aki and Dillane were hugely influential on the Connacht team that won the Pro 12 last year.

As much as I'd love to see Dillane back in Munster, he has been moulded as a player in Connacht and deserves a chance to become a legend in the West.

Aki is already a legend, and I'd love to see an Irish jersey on him in the future- fúck the begrudgers. If he buys into the Irish culture as much as CJ has (he's showing strong evidence of that already) then I'd be proud for him to represent Ireland, if that is what he wishes to do.

MarinersBlues

Bazzo wrote: »

Nothing confirmed but it seems all the other provinces are expecting their internationals to be unavailable so we'd be looking at Bealham, Marmion, Dillane and possibly Roux.

Marmion and Roux have missed a few games already this season nor did they play much in SA. I'd expect them to be free to play.

Adbrowne

MarinersBlues wrote: »

Marmion and Roux have missed a few games already this season nor did they play much in SA. I'd expect them to be free to play.

What if they are due to go to Chicago? I think those going, and JS will have a fair idea, wont be allowed play this weekend bar maybe 1 or 2.

testtech05

Bazzo wrote: »

Nothing confirmed but it seems all the other provinces are expecting their internationals to be unavailable so we'd be looking at Bealham, Marmion, Dillane and possibly Roux.

Ah OK sorry I hadn't heard that. cheers

testtech05

Small piece with reaction from the 2 lads today on the42
http://www.the42.ie/bundee-aki-dillane-connacht-contracts-options-3045658-Oct2016/

interesting bit from Willie Ruane at the bottom about some of the speculation too....

wp_rathead

Those involved in NZ game won't be playing I say- Bealham, Marmion and Dillane - with Henderson out maybe Roux will too.

Doubt TOH and Niyi will be traveling unfortunately but at least that means they'll be available for us.

For Leinster Sean O'Brien and Henshaw could play as they haven't played much, but likes of Sexton, Toner, Heaslip, JvdF, McGrath, Healy, Cronin and probably Rob Kearney will most likely not be involved

Adbrowne

wp_rathead wrote: »

Those involved in NZ game won't be playing I say- Bealham, Marmion and Dillane - with Henderson out maybe Roux will too.

Doubt TOH and Niyi will be traveling unfortunately but at least that means they'll be available for us.

For Leinster Sean O'Brien and Henshaw could play as they haven't played much, but likes of Sexton, Toner, Heaslip, JvdF, McGrath, Healy, Cronin and probably Rob Kearney will most likely not be involved

I reckon a few players will travel as back up in case someone gets a knock or minor illness so its hard to know at this stage

Redo91

Buer wrote: »

I doubt ROC runs the website....

He left the link to the article on his Twitter up which he can actually control. He also posted recently "Bundee Aki is some man. If there's any millionaires out west who fancy some philanthropy they could hardly get more bang for their buck".

God, you can just feel the bias against Connacht oozing through his words.

I never said anything about bias against Connacht did I now? I said he appears to be biased towards Munster. So what if he posted that? I was delighted when Lenister managed to keep O'Brien and Heaslip amid French interest a few years back but that doesn't mean I'm not biased towards Connacht.

Anyhow my main issue with the guy is that he writes about Connacht a lot yet he doesn't have a clue about what is going on at the province. Over a week ago a number of us on here heard that Ultan had signed on yet there he was this morning writing that Ultan could possibly stay. Hey presto a few hours later and the deal is confirmed. It was laughable journalism really. I mean surely one of the main points of a journalist is to break news before it becomes common knowledge? If ordinary rugby fans are getting information before a so called "journalist" then surely it's time for him to pack in the day job!

Anyhow enough about RO'C. I'm just over the moon we've managed to hold onto two highly sought after players. Both would have been bigger losses than Robbie IMO. It appears the days of losing our best talents are over. Onwards and upwards!

Raisins

evil_seed wrote: »

Not looking for a rise. We're the champions. We're on the rise, a steady rise. We should be expecting to keep our players now

Give me a break, I suppose if they built a new stadium out of thin air tomorrow morning you'd say no to any celebration. Aren't we the champions we should expect to have a 30,000 seater stadium.

Either you're on a wind up or you have absolutely no idea how far Connacht are from their competitors, champions or not.

It's absolutely brilliant news that they have renewed their contracts. Any betting person who knew anything about rugby would see there was a massive chance they would move on, Aki in particular. If you're sketchy on rugby, take vardy renewing with Leicester instead of joining Arsenal and then multiply it by 10.

connachta

If Roux is due to go to the US, Cannon, who was rested (no Eagles game for him against London.Irish), should be involved