Wasps vs Connacht 11/12/2016 1pm on Sky Sports 2

.ak

Whenever Connacht get a penalty in their half they should be taking a scrum. They have no kick and no lineout option.

irishbucsfan

Adeolokun has been done for holding on a few times now, need to sneak him off with Nacewa for a few sessions

A-Train

Can't keep missing scores, all Connacht then some sloppy play and 10 behind.

Neil3030

Adeolokun having an absolute shocker. I count at least 5 turnovers he's had a hand in.

swiwi_

Connacht should be gutted. Their lineout has probably cost them this game. One that looks like it will get away.

Connacht must have a good number of players with Maori blood. I see fox-matamua is George Nepia great grandson.

TeoReid

Joe Launchbury making a big case for the Lions

.ak

Poor call, he reached into the channel to take it.

Utopia Parkway

Neil3030 wrote: »

Adeolokun having an absolute shocker. I count at least 5 turnovers he's had a hand in.

Himself and Healy both having stinkers.

AbusesToilets

Criminal that McGinty couldn't be resigned for this season. Lack of a good kicker is such a hamstring for them.

Rocko

Neil3030 wrote: »

Adeolokun having an absolute shocker. I count at least 5 turnovers he's had a hand in.

Adeolokun won't be near the Irish training squad for the six nations squad after this

swiwi_

AbusesToilets wrote: »

Criminal that McGinty couldn't be resigned for this season. Lack of a good kicker is such a hamstring for them.

My super rugby memory of boshof is a kicking machine.

Stheno

Wtf is going on with these scrums? Is that four resets?

Utopia Parkway

Lost so much ball in contact today.

TeoReid

did anyone understand what the ref said? players didn't look like they did

AbusesToilets

Connacht tackling has been really poor today.

Clegg

AbusesToilets wrote: »

Criminal that McGinty couldn't be resigned for this season. Lack of a good kicker is such a hamstring for them.

They signed a South African international as a replacement 10.

Who then got injured.

Stheno

Ref looking for obstrution and a forward pass

swiwi_

Beale is just a class apart. Lovely hands.

MarinersBlues

AbusesToilets wrote: »

Criminal that McGinty couldn't be resigned for this season. Lack of a good kicker is such a hamstring for them.

There are three excellent kickers for Connacht who are currently injured.

Ronaldson, Boschoff and Cooney.

Ronaldson would have mad a MASSIVE difference in this game.

Lake1989

MarinersBlues wrote: »

There are three excellent kickers for Connacht who are currently injured.

Ronaldson, Boschoff and Cooney.

Ronaldson would have mad a MASSIVE difference in this game.

Wasps have scored three tries in the second half from 4/5 decent possessions in the connacht 22. Thats the game there.

ArmchairQB

Clegg wrote: »

They signed a South African international as a replacement 10.

Who then got injured.

Carty not good enough at this level, suely Ross Byrne to Connacht for next season is a very realistic move that will be discussed.
Lineout was a shambles today & hurt Connacht big time

irishbucsfan

Lake1989 wrote: »

Wasps have scored three tries in the second half from 4/5 decent possessions in the connacht 22. Thats the game there.

Numerous coming after Connacht missed penalties or turned down otherwise kickable opportunities.

Connacht need a set piece and a kicker and they're a completely different team.

Neil3030

Wasps have defended brilliantly, Connacht just don't have the smarts to break them down.

Lake1989

ArmchairQB wrote: »

Carty not good enough at this level, suely Ross Byrne to Connacht for next season is a very realistic move that will be discussed.
Lineout was a shambles today & hurt Connacht big time

Sexton and Carbery in ireland camps so Byrne will be staying put imo

Carty, Boshoff, O'Leary currently there.

MarinersBlues

Lake1989 wrote: »

Wasps have scored three tries in the second half from 4/5 decent possessions in the connacht 22. Thats the game there.

Stacey Illi butchered a try opportunity in the first ten mins and then tackled poorly two minutes later for Wasps opening try.

Ronaldson kicks and is a better defensive centre. For me coming into the game, and after the fact, Ronaldson is a vital cog that is sorely missed.

The first half line out was also a disgrace.

kingofthekong

Connacht are masters at self sabotage, they need to get a decent Outhalf and take the self inflicted errors out of their game before they will be competitive in Europe

Tigerandahalf

Will Boshoff, Ronaldon or Cooney be back next week?

Lake1989

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Numerous coming after Connacht missed penalties or turned down otherwise kickable opportunities.

Connacht need a set piece and a kicker and they're a completely different team.

Yesterday Munster in the first half hour forced Tigers to play in their own half and waited until they had a sniff of a turnover to attack the ruck, won the penalties and took the points. Built a lead and kicked on. Connacht just dont have that ability right now

irishbucsfan

Neil3030 wrote: »

Wasps have defended brilliantly, Connacht just don't have the smarts to break them down.

Wasps also missing some of their best players. If they get an injury free run they'll be difficult to beat.

MarinersBlues

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

Will Boshoff, Ronaldon or Cooney be back next week?

Cooney and Boschoff might be.

Ronaldson is out until February.

.ak

How many tries butchered today?

LuckyGent88

That miss for a try sums Connacht up today. Close to Wasps but not clinical enough today. Lineout in the first half and missed numerous chances for points when in opponents territory

vienne86

.ak wrote: »

How many tries butchered today?

You've put your finger on it. Wasps converted their chances, and Connacht didn't.

TeoReid

need to take the opportunity to turn that result around next week. disappointing performance from Connacht

Utopia Parkway

Marmion almost in for a late try. Conn have had chances today.

Utopia Parkway

kingofthekong wrote: »

Connacht are masters at self sabotage, they need to get a decent Outhalf and take the self inflicted errors out of their game before they will be competitive in Europe

They're already competitive in fairness. Being a potential challenger is a different step up.

MarinersBlues

vienne86 wrote: »

You've put your finger on it. Wasps converted their chances, and Connacht didn't.

Agreed, another way of looking at/stating it could be Wasps last gasp defending was better than ours. They were let finish their moves too easily.

.ak

Marmion also agrees, just a day of not taking your chances. It kills you in Europe.

Utopia Parkway

Connacht can definitely beat them next weekend. Clean up the lineout and the wingers can hardly play as badly again. The injuries in the backline are a real worry though. Two scrum-halves on the pitch for 30 minutes today.

Tigerandahalf

The worry for Connacht is the lineout may not be solved until the close of season with new additions. Boshoff might make a difference but without a lineout they will still come up short in games.

Isn't there a Browne guy in the Connacht setup. Is that it other than Stevenson?

Some positives to take

Marmion looks back to his best after a poor enough season last year.

The scrum looks really strong. Are there 3 better looseheads than Buckley in the Lions availability. He is a better scrummager than Vunipola or Marler.

Credit to John Muldoon too. He has improved so much as a player. His handling ability has come on a lot and he is a very good option in the lineout.

matthew8

Incredibly frustrating for Connacht to get nothing, let down by goal kicking and lineout badly. Going for 3 from anywhere remotely difficult makes no sense when you have a bad kicker. Next week now a must win but Wasps will be strongly favoured there too.

Neil3030

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

The scrum looks really strong. Are there 3 better looseheads than Buckley in the Lions availability. He is a better scrummager than Vunipola or Marler.

Arguably, there are 3 better looseheads than Buckley in the Irish availability.

MarinersBlues

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

Connacht can definitely beat them next weekend. Clean up the lineout and the wingers can hardly play as badly again. The injuries in the backline are a real worry though. Two scrum-halves on the pitch for 30 minutes today.

If we want to come out of the group we have no option but to beat them.

The Sportsground will be rocking on a Saturday evening. I cannot wait for it.

Lake1989

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

Connacht can definitely beat them next weekend. Clean up the lineout and the wingers can hardly play as badly again. The injuries in the backline are a real worry though. Two scrum-halves on the pitch for 30 minutes today.

Its not just that though. Adeolokun turned over a lot of ball but some of it was down to poor support at a lot of rucks.

connachta

matthew8 wrote: »

Incredibly frustrating for Connacht to get nothing, let down by goal kicking and lineout badly. Going for 3 from anywhere remotely difficult makes no sense when you have a bad kicker. Next week now a must win but Wasps will be strongly favoured there too.

Strongly is way too much here. 3 points difference after an hour. Away from home.

FACECUTTR

Injuries decimated us today and not 1 person mentioned that.
Lineout was awful but scrum was great. Carthy and IlI are not up to standard. He hasn't been for a long long time either. You need better quality in your 10. Yes Boshoff is there but we need another decent 10. O'Leary is not up to European standard either.

matthew8

connachta wrote: »

Strongly is way too much here. 3 points difference after an hour. Away from home.

If I'm a bookie I'd price Wasps up as 5 point favourites, 1/2 to win. They travel extremely well.

Lake1989

FACECUTTR wrote: »

Injuries decimated us today and not 1 person mentioned that.
Lineout was awful but scrum was great. Carthy and IlI are not up to standard. He hasn't been for a long long time either. You need better quality in your 10. Yes Boshoff is there but we need another decent 10. O'Leary is not up to European standard either.

Wasps were missing players too.

There was more than enough on display from Connacht today to suggest a win next week is very doable. Lot of forced but crucially unforced errors ruined their chances.

MarinersBlues

FACECUTTR wrote: »

Injuries decimated us today and not 1 person mentioned that.
Lineout was awful but scrum was great. Carthy and IlI are not up to standard. He hasn't been for a long long time either. You need better quality in your 10. Yes Boshoff is there but we need another decent 10. O'Leary is not up to European standard either.

Carty is a very good out-half. There are 6 other backs today who could realistically be kickers but must be inferior to Carty. If Cooney was playing scrum half, or more likely, Ronaldson playing 12 then Carty is definitely our first choice out-half. In open play he is absolutely European standard.

However if this season continues on its current direction euro standard won't be an issue Pro12 would be adequate for next year.