Connacht Team Talk Thread V - The Friend Zone

Former Coach

Mul, it's over

ClanofLams wrote: »

Paging Connachta for report....

Hard to take too much from a friendly win over D2 side but guess given their season starts next week it’s a decent result.

We were missing quite a few so I’d say a very decent result given that we’ve 5 or 6 weeks to the start of our season.

connachta

Well very happy with my trip, I needed this bit of rejoice..

First 1h30 training session

- play with the ball first : A kick, Friends indicates a number of bounce(s), and the opposite player has to catch
- lots of lineout work then : Macksymiw and Thornbury called in Roux absence
- very few scrum tests, I guess it'll be more later in preseason
- final 25 min was full phases, but short ones, 30 secs then whistle blowing. tackles weren't fully completed, but wasn't "touch rugby" either


the day after, gametime

- as said Oyonnax is 1 week to start, we're far from this especially this year because of RWC , they are way way more advanced in their preparation. +They a decent team, probably close to low-tier pro14, Zebre or Dragons, if not better... I expected a heavy loss TBF
- as a consequence scrum suffered with Burke/McCoy. Was stable with Buckley/Bealham in 2nd half
- lineout is indeed the main point to work on, smth like 4 darts lost out of 10, no ball won on theirs
- Blade won't make Marmion absence felt, he's great. Llyod speed and box-kicks aren't the same
- 2nd half team was more up to it in collisions. Butler/Fainga'a made a difference, my MOTM IMO. In the back-line TOH was lively and clinical under high balls
- defence is a real good surprise, Oyonnax scored only once, even if they could have done so 2 or 3 times it was positive, no big holes
- only a bit fragile close to the rucks, and John Porsh may need a few more weeks to adapt for tackles, as Healy/Niyi have succeded to do at their time
- Horwitz had really monster kicks to touch, Godwin was only used as centre and wing, so David or Fitzgerald are our likely starting 10 for a month waiting for Carty
- Bealham only played LH for 10 minutes, and Connacht pack was scrummaging with 7 because of Copeland yellow card, so nothing to get out of this...
- I think we're in good shape, but we may struggle with physicality against Montpellier Saffers for exemple. Maybe Roux and SOB will be just crucial to match them. Daly brought this power as 12 during 2nd half, too

Everyone seems to feel all good in the squad, and the staff (absolutely the kindest as usual) are confident our 3 guys will make the final cut for RWC
And to conclude, thank you to all players I've had a little chat with, was so pleasant and friendly!

Wegians89

The Friend Zone

How did Porch look in general? Take it he needs to work on the defense side but in attack and his positioning in the back field on kicks? Also how did young masterson and sob3.0 go?

connachta

Wegians89 wrote: »

How did Porch look in general? Take it he needs to work on the defense side but in attack and his positioning in the back field on kicks? Also how did young masterson and sob3.0 go?

I was expecting this question, as I've only frustrating answer to give, Porch carried only once or twice in attack. TOH/Niyi caught most kicks but any back-3 was well-positionned, we won this battle in back-field IMO; Porch may have done some good work to scramble back on a dangerous Oyonnax move close to the tryline, but I'm not sure it was him, on the complete opposite corner I was.. all I can tell you is he's called "Porchy" during training session:P


SOB 3.0 wasn't out of place, though under pressure sometimes because of rush defence. About S.Masterson, I saw a bit more Boyle gaining ground, but the very low number of handling errors means he was ok too

connemara man

The Friend Zone

Hey Connachta looking at the 2 tries we scored, Daly stepped in as 10 for one and Fitzgerald was at 10 for the one he scored, how was Horwitz with ball in hand? going forward etc.. or did he have any opportunity to show anything?

connachta

connemara man wrote: »

Hey Connachta looking at the 2 tries we scored, Daly stepped in as 10 for one and Fitzgerald was at 10 for the one he scored, how was Horwitz with ball in hand? going forward etc.. or did he have any opportunity to show anything?

I think Horwitz moved the line very well, but based mostly on training session, because Oyonnax had most possession during 1st half. He dares attacking the line too, more than Fitzgerald. He did a worderful clean break in training

I've noticed smth though : as he's originally a centre, he tends to try the skip-pass or offload, sometimes in pressuriezd situation, which may proved to be a bit risky

connemara man

The Friend Zone

connachta wrote: »

I think Horwitz moved the line very well, but based mostly on training session, because Oyonnax had most possession during 1st half. He dares attacking the line too, more than Fitzgerald. He did a worderful clean break in training

I've noticed smth though : as he's originally a centre, he tends to try the skip-pass or offload, sometimes in pressuriezd situation, which may proved to be a bit risky

Thanks, I'm hoping to see something from him this year. All going well for Jack he wont be around for the beginning of the season, and the gap from him to any other 10 we have is monumental

connachta

I'm confident with David in open play, but still unsure about kicking to the post.
Fitzgerald had the only two attempts (and succeded), there wasn't any in first half

Based on warm-up kicks, I THINK Horwitz will kick and not Godwin, but not 100% sure then...
The most beautiful kick from the tee was completed by ... TOH

Just fun I guess, but who knows!

connachta

https://flic.kr/p/2gZ7vWb
https://flic.kr/p/2gZ7vVz

About Sean Masterson, he's the one who held on the biggest collision of the game (see pics above)
Stadium was mute for a sec!

As a matter, no injuries to deplore, just a bang on the hand for Heffernan

ClanofLams

Mul, it's over

connachta wrote: »

- Horwitz had really monster kicks to touch, Godwin was only used as centre and wing, so David or Fitzgerald are our likely starting 10 for a month waiting for Carty

Saw the same on twitter but thought Connacht might be exaggerating a bit.

That’s really positive, thought it was a weakness of his last year, maybe he was carrying a knock or just didn’t get enough opportunity but good to hear it’s going well now.

connachta

connachta wrote: »

John Porsh may need a few more weeks to adapt for tackles, as Healy/Niyi have succeded to do at their time

Wow Oyonnax photographer did a great job to illustrate the phases I was talking about in slow mention (like S.Masterson above)

Angus Llyod then John Porsh a bit "light" vs heavy back (one on his butt, the second allowing him to offload)


https://flic.kr/p/2gZ7tEH
https://flic.kr/p/2gZ7tEn
https://flic.kr/p/2gZ7tE7
https://flic.kr/p/2gZ7tDv
https://flic.kr/p/2gZ8buz
https://flic.kr/p/2gZ7tCt
https://flic.kr/p/2gZ8btc
https://flic.kr/p/2gZ7tBw

Lucas44

De buitler torn Achilles

FACECUTTR

Lucas44 wrote: »

De buitler torn Achilles

Very nasty injury.

RobbieRuns

Gutted for him. That is a tough one

Wegians89

The Friend Zone

Horrible injury, was backing him to do well this year

ClanofLams

Mul, it's over

That’s a sickener for him and Connacht, got a nice bit of game time last year, would have kicked in again this year. Hopefully he recovers well and might be back to get a few games towards end of season.

ClanofLams

Mul, it's over

Youthful enough eagles team named, Peter Sullivan’s first start, strong looking homegrown second row partnership with Niall Murray and Cillian Gallagher.

Guess this tournament might be used to give more senior players game time in coming rounds given there’s only one more friendly before start of season.

https://www.connachtrugby.ie/connacht-eagles-team-named-for-celtic-cup-opener-with-dragons/

Shelflife

Each Club shall
(i) Subject to the provisions of Regulations 9.2 (iii) and 9.3 play its development team in
all matches in the Competition. Such as allowance for the occasions where a player
returning from injury and each Club agrees that it will act reasonably and in good faith.

ensure that the match squad contains 23 players all of whom must be eligible under
Regulation 4 above, of which the targeted but not limited age profile is from 18 to 23

connachta

Shelflife wrote: »

Each Club shall
(i) Subject to the provisions of Regulations 9.2 (iii) and 9.3 play its development team in
all matches in the Competition. Such as allowance for the occasions where a player
returning from injury and each Club agrees that it will act reasonably and in good faith.

ensure that the match squad contains 23 players all of whom must be eligible under
Regulation 4 above, of which the targeted but not limited age profile is from 18 to 23

Yeah but someone like Roux and Macksimyw could be involved at some point.

Utopia Parkway

Looks like Connacht got the short end of the stick once the TV companies were dividing up the fixture times for the Champions Cup. Connacht with 3 games on a Sunday. Away from home for 2 of those. Tough on travelling fans that. Two of their home games start at 12:45 and 13:00.

Bazzo

Mul, it's over

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

Looks like Connacht got the short end of the stick once the TV companies were dividing up the fixture times for the Champions Cup. Connacht with 3 games on a Sunday. Away from home for 2 of those. Tough on travelling fans that. Two of their home games start at 12:45 and 13:00.

On the other hand those of us who work on Saturday are happy out

realhorrorshow

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

Looks like Connacht got the short end of the stick once the TV companies were dividing up the fixture times for the Champions Cup. Connacht with 3 games on a Sunday. Away from home for 2 of those. Tough on travelling fans that. Two of their home games start at 12:45 and 13:00.

Eagles beat the Dragons 24-19, tries from Culliton and Wilson in addition to 14 points from the boot of Conor Dean. Forwards were really good, dominant in the scrum and lineout as well as winning the collisions in attack and defence. The second try came from a sequence where we scrummed them over the line over a 3-4 scrum sequence that started 15m out. Backs were poor, looked very vulnerable defending out wide and got shredded by basic back door plays off first phase a couple of times. Then on one occasion they attempted a similar play but the two options seemed to get their running lines confused, causing the ball carrier to panic and throw the ball on the ground, which led to a Dragons try. Don't mean to criticise the players as individuals they just didn't work as a unit, wide defence can be an issue with the senior team too IMO. Dragons weren't great but they sensed weakness and looked to go wide at opportunity, they had some success but didn't really have enough front foot ball.

We also left 4 lads on the bench and gave another 1 minute, which I don't really get in a development competition.

Front row were very good, dominated the scrum and put in a shift around the park. Murphy was very good, did what he was there to do as the experienced head and captain. Burke got through 80 minutes and took on a lot of work. Lomas and Tierney-Martin were solid off the bench.

Niall Murray looks really light but it didn't hold him back at this level at all. Carried and tackled really well, also has great hands and footwork. He'll definitely need to bulk up for senior rugby but would be a shame if he lost too much mobility. Gallagher got through a very solid 80 minutes, nothing flashy but worked very hard and took a lot of lineout ball. Daly brought very good impact from the bench, he's a big lad and seemed to really help turn the screw at scrum time. Some good tackles, carries, and maul D as well.

Back row also got through loads of work. Culliton really impressed me especially considering he's just out of school. Got smashed a few times but kept coming back and got a crucial turnover and a nice try where he blocked a kick on halfway then chased and dribbled it over the line for a try.

Kerins was really sharp and has a good pass. Got charged down twice though. Dean made good decisions in general but execution was a bit of a mixed bag.

Centre combination didn't work imo.

Back 3 didn't get much ball. Sullivan looked good, chased kicks tirelessly and was rewarded with a charge down. Made a try saving tackle as well. Got the ball 3 times and carried hard and made good metres after contact. Probably a bit too keen to look for the contact but can't blame him for keeping it simple in his first game.

ClanofLams

Mul, it's over

realhorrorshow wrote: »

Eagles beat the Dragons 24-19, tries from Culliton and Wilson in addition to 14 points from the boot of Conor Dean. Forwards were really good, dominant in the scrum and lineout as well as winning the collisions in attack and defence. The second try came from a sequence where we scrummed them over the line over a 3-4 scrum sequence that started 15m out. Backs were poor, looked very vulnerable defending out wide and got shredded by basic back door plays off first phase a couple of times. Then on one occasion they attempted a similar play but the two options seemed to get their running lines confused, causing the ball carrier to panic and throw the ball on the ground, which led to a Dragons try. Don't mean to criticise the players as individuals they just didn't work as a unit, wide defence can be an issue with the senior team too IMO. Dragons weren't great but they sensed weakness and looked to go wide at opportunity, they had some success but didn't really have enough front foot ball.

We also left 4 lads on the bench and gave another 1 minute, which I don't really get in a development competition.

Front row were very good, dominated the scrum and put in a shift around the park. Murphy was very good, did what he was there to do as the experienced head and captain. Burke got through 80 minutes and took on a lot of work. Lomas and Tierney-Martin were solid off the bench.

Niall Murray looks really light but it didn't hold him back at this level at all. Carried and tackled really well, also has great hands and footwork. He'll definitely need to bulk up for senior rugby but would be a shame if he lost too much mobility. Gallagher got through a very solid 80 minutes, nothing flashy but worked very hard and took a lot of lineout ball. Daly brought very good impact from the bench, he's a big lad and seemed to really help turn the screw at scrum time. Some good tackles, carries, and maul D as well.

Back row also got through loads of work. Culliton really impressed me especially considering he's just out of school. Got smashed a few times but kept coming back and got a crucial turnover and a nice try where he blocked a kick on halfway then chased and dribbled it over the line for a try.

Kerins was really sharp and has a good pass. Got charged down twice though. Dean made good decisions in general but execution was a bit of a mixed bag.

Centre combination didn't work imo.

Back 3 didn't get much ball. Sullivan looked good, chased kicks tirelessly and was rewarded with a charge down. Made a try saving tackle as well. Got the ball 3 times and carried hard and made good metres after contact. Probably a bit too keen to look for the contact but can't blame him for keeping it simple in his first game.

Made most of second half, missed Cullitons try, your post seems like a very good summary, scrum was winning of game from what I seen.

Thought Kerins looked sharp too and to have added a bit of bulk but might be partly he was playing against slightly smaller players. Deans kicking looked good from what I saw, nice penalty kick well into 22 from just inside half. Was thinking same about Murray, he might need a season in the gym before senior starts but should be a good player in due course.

realhorrorshow

ClanofLams wrote: »

Made most of second half, missed Cullitons try, your post seems like a very good summary, scrum was winning of game from what I seen.

Thought Kerins looked sharp too and to have added a bit of bulk but might be partly he was playing against slightly smaller players. Deans kicking looked good from what I saw, nice penalty kick well into 22 from just inside half. Was thinking same about Murray, he might need a season in the gym before senior starts but should be a good player in due course.

Yeah absolutely, without such a dominant set piece we would have struggled to score tries as our phase play was mechanical and turgid.

Wouldn't be concerned about Kerins physically at all, he's really aggressive and has good tackle technique. He was effective defending in a similar manner to Faf de Klerk, picking his moments and shooting out of the line to make first up tackles. It bewilders me that we gave Mitchell 18 caps over the last 2 years and let him go, while Kerins played once but was retained. Makes no sense from a squad development point of view but I'm sure there were good reasons.

Doubt Murray will play much Pro14 this season, if any at all. Was pleasantly surprised to see him acquit himself so well physically, regardless of the quality of opposition. He was listed as 99kg during the u20 6N and while I'm sure he's bulked up a bit he's still extremely light for a second row.

Wegians89

The Friend Zone

Did dean look like he can step up to seniors? He’ll be third choice if carty goes to japan.

connachta

Wegians89 wrote: »

Did dean look like he can step up to seniors? He’ll be third choice if carty goes to japan.

not that sure


1) J.Carty
2) Horwitz
3) C. Fitzgerald
4) Godwin
5) Dean/L.Carty

Godwin really is the typical good experienced utillity player

Only if he's busy as 13 or winger, then Dean would be 3rd choice
(not that unlikely though, as DeBuitear and Bundee are'nt available, but still means 3 more injuries to see Dean on a teamsheet I think -a 10 a centre and a winger-)

Wegians89

The Friend Zone

connachta wrote: »

not that sure


1) J.Carty
2) Horwitz
3) C. Fitzgerald
4) Godwin
5) Dean/L.Carty

Godwin really is the typical good experienced utillity player

Only if he's busy as 13 or winger, then Dean would be 3rd choice
(not that unlikely though, as DeBuitear and Bundee are'nt available, but still means 3 more injuries to see Dean on a teamsheet I think -a 10 a centre and a winger-)

Godwin was heading for player of the year when he was being played consistently at center at the start of last season. He dipped off when he was being moved around. I’d fully expect him to be first choice with Farrell in the center while the World Cup is on

connachta

Wegians89 wrote: »

Godwin was heading for player of the year when he was being played consistently at center at the start of last season. He dipped off when he was being moved around. I’d fully expect him to be first choice with Farrell in the center while the World Cup is on

He was very good at 10 vs Ospreys for example, and used there and on the wing constantly above Academy guys (except for useless away game vs Munster). I think it will continue, no reason to do otherwise.


you have IMO (12/13/14)


1/ Daly/Farrell/S.Fitzgerald
2/ Farrell/Godwin/Niyi
3/ Robb/Horwitz/Leader
+ all the combinations taking into account Godwin covers 11 to 14, Horwitz 10, 12 and 13 and so on

+ SOB 3.0 who, all in all, travelled in France, so considered as advanced as "emergency Academy 13" than Dean is as 10
(I mean it's tight to chose between Dean 10/Godwin 13 and Godwin 10/SOB 3.0 13 ) in this unlikely extreme case when most of the above players would get injured)


long long way enduring multiple injuries before "absolutely needing Horwitz or Godwin elsewhere than covering 10" , so before seeing Dean on a teamsheet IMO

ClanofLams

Mul, it's over

Wegians89 wrote: »

Did dean look like he can step up to seniors? He’ll be third choice if carty goes to japan.

Haven’t seen a whole lot of him but based on what I have, would say he has decent potential. Think he could do alright for the seniors at the moment but it might be similar to what Carty was at 21 in terms of errors and inconsistency.

It would probably be best if Connacht only needed him for twenty off the bench a few times this season rather than him having to make a few starts.

Lucas44

ClanofLams wrote: »

Haven’t seen a whole lot of him but based on what I have, would say he has decent potential. Think he could do alright for the seniors at the moment but it might be similar to what Carty was at 21 in terms of errors and inconsistency.

It would probably be best if Connacht only needed him for twenty off the bench a few times this season rather than him having to make a few starts.

Worth noting he was well ahead of Conor Fitzgerald for Irish 20s as an u19, could be a case of getting the right opportunity/chance and leapfrogging back to no2/3