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

thomond2006

Clegg wrote: »

Are there actually any up and coming Munster 2nd rows? In the senior squad there's only Foley, Ryan and Chisholm, none of whom are top class and only one who is actually any use. Been very disappointed in Foley since his comeback and Chisholm hasn't impressed much. They need a decent lock from somewhere. Wouldn't be surprised if they try and get a lock from another province.

Sean MacCarthy will be in the senior squad next season. John Madigan is in the last year of the academy and is very talented but has been injured a lot.

sfbdqc

Clegg wrote: »

Are there actually any up and coming Munster 2nd rows? In the senior squad there's only Foley, Ryan and Chisholm, none of whom are top class and only one who is actually any use. Been very disappointed in Foley since his comeback and Chisholm hasn't impressed much. They need a decent lock from somewhere. Wouldn't be surprised if they try and get a lock from another province.

they'll be after Dillane when his contract runs out.

John Madigan has all the physical tools, but doubts about his ability to stay healthy.
Sean McCarthy looks to have decent potential.

Munster may be the weakest province in terms of young locks on their books.

its_phil

porterbelly wrote: »

He's one of 4 Connacht players Munster have been in contact with for 2017/18

They're already getting Heenan

Done deal on Heenan?

wp_rathead

porterbelly wrote: »

He's one of 4 Connacht players Munster have been in contact with for 2017/18

They're already getting Heenan

feck, is there no rule against "Tapping Up" players?

Is the Heenan deal done ? - I know Aly is pretty much gone

Bazzo

Jesus very depressing reading if all this is true...

porterbelly

its_phil wrote: »

Done deal on Heenan?

Supposed to be

Masterson is the 4th with Aki, Dillane and McCartney

Shelflife

Very apt that Porter Belly should be followed by Dropping Bombs :(

its_phil

If we lost Henshaw, Heenan, Muldowney, Aki, Dillane, and Masterson I seriously would question our purpose.

Don't think that Masterson would go, reckon he will be our captain by then.

ClanofLams

Let's see if Heenan happens before worrying about players out of contact next season. A year is a long time - who would have thought Connacht would be top of the Pro12 at this stage twelve months ago.

irishgrover

its_phil wrote: »

Done deal on Heenan?

someone explicitly asked Jake H. outside the dressing room on Saturday "so is it true you are going to Munster", the response was, and I am quoting 1st hand "Not a chance"....

don't know what, if any, bearing that has on anything....

connemara man

its_phil wrote: »

If we lost Henshaw, Heenan, Muldowney, Aki, Dillane, and Masterson I seriously would question our purpose.

This is really the main issue. We can't become a feeder club.
Finding and developing 5-6 international quality players an loosing them every couple of years will cripple the club

MarinersBlues

I'd be shocked if Aki, Heenan and McCartney were all considering going.

They may have been approached by Munster but why would they go?
They must be enjoying the rugby here. They all must have loyalty to Lam.
What way are Munster going? Do they have that much more disposable money than us?

ClanofLams

connemara man wrote: »

This is really the main issue. We can't become a feeder club.
Finding and developing 5-6 international quality players an loosing them every couple of years will cripple the club

There's no sign of that happening though. Henshaw left but that''s it so far in terms of moving to other provinces. Seems fairly pessimistic for us all to even be discussing this given the season that's ongoing.

Bazzo

MarinersBlues wrote: »

I'd be shocked if Aki, Heenan and McCartney were all considering going.

They may have been approached by Munster but why would they go?
They must be enjoying the rugby here. They all must have loyalty to Lam.
What way are Munster going? Do they have that much more disposable money than us?

They're not allowed to outbid us anyway are they?

porterbelly

MarinersBlues wrote: »

I'd be shocked if Aki, Heenan and McCartney were all considering going.

They may have been approached by Munster but why would they go?
They must be enjoying the rugby here. They all must have loyalty to Lam.
What way are Munster going? Do they have that much more disposable money than us?

100 % agree

They've been contacted, doesn't mean they're leaving

Aki I'd worry about though

porterbelly

Bazzo wrote: »

They're not allowed to outbid us anyway are they?

Ways and means around that

porterbelly

Bazzo wrote: »

They're not allowed to outbid us anyway are they?

Ways and means around that

freyners

Bazzo wrote: »

They're not allowed to outbid us anyway are they?

Not sure on that one. Definately were able to outbid for Bunty and Tom when they were coming over but now they are within the system is it different?

And as porterbelly said, there are ways and means, 'sponsorships' is a great thing

Bazzo

freyners wrote: »

Not sure on that one. Definately were able to outbid for Bunty and Tom when they were coming over but now they are within the system is it different?

And as porterbelly said, there are ways and means, 'sponsorships' is a great thing

Someone coming from outside the country is fair game but the rule is that a player already at a province can't be offered more money by another province while renewing their contract. They can match the offer but not outbid it.

its_phil

ClanofLams wrote: »

connemara man wrote: »

This is really the main issue. We can't become a feeder club.
Finding and developing 5-6 international quality players an loosing them every couple of years will cripple the club

There's no sign of that happening though. Henshaw left but that''s it so far in terms of moving to other provinces. Seems fairly pessimistic for us all to even be discussing this given the season that's ongoing.

Very fair point and I said the exact same purpose quote when McCarthy left, sure look at us now with a purpose of playoffs.

Zzippy

I really hope the Heenan rumours are just agent-generated to get a better contract, which I wouldn't blame him for. I'd be really annoyed if he did move to Munster, after all the faith that has been shown in him during two long injury layoffs. Let Munster develop their own talent or do their own scouting for project players. If they are genuinely trying to tap up our best young talent, it will be sweet sweet karma if they finish outside the top 6.

connemara man

ClanofLams wrote: »

There's no sign of that happening though. Henshaw left but that''s it so far in terms of moving to other provinces. Seems fairly pessimistic for us all to even be discussing this given the season that's ongoing.

Ah I know... But history can be a good indicator of future events...

I believe Pat Lam sees us as champions and he is trying to build a culture but it's about how much the players buy into that.

If there's tapping up well before contact negotiation it's really bad form IMO.

b.gud

Just over a year ago someone posted some transfer rumours that they said were pretty solid, with the benefit of hindsight we can see that while some of them did come through there were a few that didn't and others where the info was wrong.

I'm not posting the link to point out what the user got wrong, after all some of it was proven true, I'm more posting it to remind people that these things are just rumours and you shouldn't get too worked out about them. Even those that are supposed to come from good sources can prove to be wide of the mark.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=93565247&postcount=4294

wp_rathead

Billysays no

had heard muldowney gone. had heard heenan homesick. the idea of aki, heenan and mccartney heading to another irish province becoming more unlikely. they didnt move to ireland for the craic. if they move then they move abroad (money). otherwise they stay in connacht. it would be good if connacht rugby simply killed all the panic talk with an announcement (one way or the other)

S12b

There was no sign of Henshaw at training yesterday when the backs were doing their plays......intrigued to see what this means for the team! Would surely be strange for him to play if he hasn't trained once with the team all week, or for 4 or 5 weeks for that matter.

Zzippy

S12b wrote: »

There was no sign of Henshaw at training yesterday when the backs were doing their plays......intrigued to see what this means for the team! Would surely be strange for him to play if he hasn't trained once with the team all week, or for 4 or 5 weeks for that matter.

I doubt he's released from Irish camp, I'd say we'll see White, Marmion, Bealham and Dillane but Robbie may be wrapped in cotton wool. Were any of those four there?

Bazzo

Zzippy wrote: »

I doubt he's released from Irish camp, I'd say we'll see White, Marmion, Bealham and Dillane but Robbie may be wrapped in cotton wool. Were any of those four there?

Wasn't Robbie the one player Schmidt name checked when he was talking about players being released?

MarinersBlues

He must have been released to Leinster.

That way he'd get more time training with Sexton.
It makes sense.

former total

Bazzo wrote: »

Wasn't Robbie the one player Schmidt name checked when he was talking about players being released?

Yeah, Schmidt said it earlier in the week that Henshaw would play this weekend.

galwaylad14

Presume team is being picked today. Around lunch time I presume?

Zzippy

galwaylad14 wrote: »

Presume team is being picked today. Around lunch time I presume?

Yes, usually announced around 12-12.30

S12b

Zzippy wrote: »

I doubt he's released from Irish camp, I'd say we'll see White, Marmion, Bealham and Dillane but Robbie may be wrapped in cotton wool. Were any of those four there?

Forwards were at far end and it was pissing rain so I didn't leave the car....think I could see White and Bealham, not sure about Dillane. Marmion was there.

We'll find out in a few minutes anyway.

Zzippy

The Connacht team to face Edinburgh at Murrayfield tomorrow night features four changes from the starting team that was named for the last round against Ospreys.

Ireland international Nathan White, who played in all three 6 Nations game last month, has been released to play in Friday’s PRO12 clash. The tighthead prop joins Denis Buckley and Tom McCartney in the front row.

The return of Quinn Roux provides a timely boost as the lock is named to play his first game of 2016, having recovered from the ankle injury sustained in early December.

John Muldoon, who missed his only PRO12 game of the season last weekend, has returned to captain the side wearing the Number 8 shirt.

Scrumhalf Kieran Marmion is named to start in a back line that also sees the reintroduction of Danie Poolman to the right wing.

Second row Danny Qualter is included among the replacements again having impressed in just his second PRO12 appearance at the Sportsground last weekend. Eoin McKeon and Fionn Carr are also named in the squad.

Commenting on the team announcement and the upcoming game, head coach Pat Lam said:

“It’s good to have some of our international boys back again this week, including Whitey (Nathan White) who has performed really well for Ireland. That extra experience will be important against a side like Edinburgh who we’ve always had close encounters with. There is consistency in the way Edinburgh play – they are very physical, very direct, and they are a settled team with a lot of experienced players. Murrayfield is always tough but they’ve really made it into a fortress now having only lost there once this season.

“But we’re traveling with confidence knowing that if we continue to focus on what we’ve been doing and the game plan we have in place, we can take another step closer to Champions Cup qualification.”

Connacht team to face Edinburgh, Friday March 4th, 7:35pm

15 Tiernan O’Halloran
14 Danie Poolman
13 Bundee Aki
12 Craig Ronaldson
11 Matt Healy
10 AJ MacGinty
9 Kieran Marmion

1 Denis Buckley
2 Tom McCartney
3 Nathan White
4 Quinn Roux
5 Aly Muldowney
6 Sean O’Brien
7 Jake Heenan
8 John Muldoon (captain)

Replacements:

16 Dave Heffernan
17 Finlay Bealham
18 Rodney Ah You
19 Danny Qualter
20 Eoin McKeon
21 Caolin Blade
22 Peter Robb
23 Fionn Carr

Injured/Unavailable: Shane Delahunt, Andrew Browne, Ben Marshall, Nepia Fox-Matamua, Eoghan Masterson, John Cooney, Jack Carty, Dave McSharry, Rory Parata, Darragh Leader, Niyi Adeolokun.

typhoony

Dillane must be starting for Ireland Next Week

Bazzo

Very strange that Robbie wasn't released after Schmidt name checking him, at least it took a tough decision out of Pat's hands.

Hope Roux has a good game, if the rumours about Aly are true we'll need him at his best next year.

wp_rathead

Good to see Blade got greenlight to sit on bench
Roux back is also boost - hopefully our restarts better this week with return of Muldoon

Nothing against SOB2.0 but id still go for Connolly at 6 over him at the moment

Can't wait though - nearly 50 Connacht fans that I know of are heading over to it

Zzippy

wp_rathead wrote: »

Good to see Blade got greenlight to sit on bench
Roux back is also boost - hopefully our restarts better this week with return of Muldoon

Nothing against SOB2.0 but id still go for Connolly at 6 over him at the moment

Can't wait though - nearly 50 Connacht fans that I know of are heading over to it

Connolly's a 7 though, SOB offers more of a carrying threat and we already have the best 7 in the squad on the field.

S12b

Nice to see Danny Quarter getting his reward after a good 40 minutes last week!

Front row looks very strong, what is the Edinburgh scrum like? We should surely be targeting it!

wp_rathead

Zzippy wrote: »

Connolly's a 7 though, SOB offers more of a carrying threat and we already have the best 7 in the squad on the field.

Connolly is a 6
Or atleast was underage

Zzippy

wp_rathead wrote: »

Connolly is a 6
Or atleast was underage

I stand corrected then, but his best performances for the senior squad have been at 7 (Munster away in particular).

sfbdqc

Size & build wise Connolly is a professional 7

b.gud

sfbdqc wrote: »

Size & build wise Connolly is a professional 7

What is the size and build of a professional 7?
Take Jake Heenan and Steffon Armitage, both are professional 7 but have very different builds.
Hooper and Pocock in Australia are both professional 7s but have different sizes and builds

Cosmo Kramer

Edinburgh team

15 Kinghorn
14 Hoyland
13 Dean
12 Scott
11 Brown
10 Burleigh
9 Hidalgo Clyne
1 Sutherland
2 Cochrane
3 Andress
4 Bresler
5 Ben Toolis
6 Ritchie
7 Watson
8 du Preez

16 Turner
17 Dell
18 Berghan
19 Alex Toolis
20 Bradbury
21 Kennedy
22 Beard
23 Fife

Edinburgh are a team that generally like to keep it fairly tight so the best way to beat them is probably to go around them rather than through them. I don't think their wings see too much ball in attack. Murrayfield might actually suit our game more than theirs.

John Andress in the front row could be a weak link perhaps? I reckon they've maybe only one first choice forward available (Toolis), the likes of Dickenson, Nel, Ford, Gilchrist, Manu and Hardie are all either injured or with Scotland.

connachta

Bealham switches back to LH ahead of Loughney is interesting..

BrokenMan

connachta wrote: »

Bealham switches back to LH ahead of Loughney is interesting..

Wouldn't be surprised to see him come on at TH for White then switching to LH when/if Buckley goes off.

Evil_g

S12b wrote: »

Interestingly a poster on the last page was suggesting that the size of the Murrayfield pitch might actually suit us......in training yesterday the backs ran the same play over and over while I was there, which is unusual as it's typically 2 or 3 reps of each play and move on....purple monkey dishwasher.

Bazzo

I think that might actually be a to scale picture of Murrayfield.

Evil_g

Seriously. S12b. If I saw something like that posted on an Edinburgh forum, I'd definitely email a link to someone in Connacht. D'ya think maybe you should delete it?

Robbo

Evil_g wrote: »

Seriously. S12b. If I saw something like that posted on an Edinburgh forum, I'd definitely email a link to someone in Connacht. D'ya think maybe you should delete it?

Suggested edit:

Interestingly a poster on the last page was suggesting that the size of the Troy Nathan might actually suit us......in training yesterday Troy Nathan ran the same play over and over while I was there, which is unusual as it's typically 2 or 3 reps of each play and move on....Troy Nathan or Troy Nathan on Troy Nathan, getting it through the Troy Nathan in Troy Nathan and Troy Nathan as quickly as possible, with Troy Nathan or Troy Nathan strutting through the dancefloor of Karma and chasing the PA guy for calling him 'Nathan Troy'.