Connacht Team Talk Thread V - The Friend Zone

its_phil

Mul, it's over

Ballsy and the Cheetahs were robbed

Bazzo

Mul, it's over

When are we giving Tom Farrell the key to the city?

OldRio

Wonderful

beertons

Deadly

connachta

Yeaaaaaaaaaaah

jammiedodgers

Jaysus I thought going for the scrum the second time was a very dodgy decision but fair fucks to them!

Bazzo

Mul, it's over

Euphoriasean wrote: »

Dirty fecker

Same lad who smashed Fitzgerald in the air

realhorrorshow

Reckon Tom Farrell might start next week.

briandebum

I can't believe it's not Butler

realhorrorshow wrote: »

Reckon Tom Farrell might start next week.

Yeah tough on Robb as he's had a great start to the season, but Farrell just has that bit of an X-factor.

Great win, thought they'd thrown it away with the missed lineouts in the second half. Just shows how crucial Thornberry is to that area of our game, he'll be a big miss even if Dillane is no slouch of a replacement.

connachta

realhorrorshow wrote: »

Reckon Tom Farrell might start next week.

Probably but TBF Robb and Godwin (with Masterson Fitzgerald -except kicking for now- and Dillane)

connachta

briandebum wrote: »

Yeah tough on Robb as he's had a great start to the season, but Farrell just has that bit of an X-factor.

Great win, thought they'd thrown it away with the missed lineouts in the second half. Just shows how crucial Thornberry is to that area of our game, he'll be a big miss even if Dillane is no slouch of a replacement.

Macksymiw will get his chance on the bench and is a big tall unit, may help in the end of some games!

blackhound

Missing the conversion on the 3rd try was a blessing in disguise meant we had to win with a try and led to the TBP win What a finish to the game. Should be great for morale, the lads backed themselves and delivered.

connachta

Lots of moaning about Whitehouse scrum ref (though Connacht-intercept disallowed try was very very harsh too)
Can someone explain calmly what reason he gave for the final pen?

ClanofLams

Mul, it's over

Unbelievable win, best atmosphere at the end in the sportsground since wasps game for me, even better than Cardiff last season, place went bananas. Thought Johns Porch was impressive, significantly better than Dragons, good under the high ball and the pace he showed for disallowed try, not sure who was chasing him from Cheetahs but looked like he might catch him around halfway and then porch just put on the afterburners.

Definitely the right call to go for it at the end, Cheetahs being in other pool makes it a no brainer to risk one to gain three.

shootermacg

What channel is this on lads?

ClanofLams

Mul, it's over

connachta wrote: »

Macksymiw will get his chance on the bench and is a big tall unit, may help in the end of some games!

Gallagher and back row replacement I would guess.

connachta

ClanofLams wrote: »

Gallagher and back row replacement I would guess.

Know it could but Gallagher was converted in back-row for a reason.
And Joe is really physically impressive. We were a bit light tonight, he could help (Dillane/Roux/Macksimyw would be strong!)

jammiedodgers

shootermacg wrote: »

What channel is this on lads?

It was on TG4

ClanofLams

Mul, it's over

connachta wrote: »

Know it could but Gallagher was converted in back-row for a reason.
And Joe is really physically impressive. We were a bit light tonight, he could help (Dillane/Roux/Macksimyw would be strong!)

You might be right, depends on how they view Gallagher and who is available in back row I guess. I think Gallagher is a second row who can a job at 6 but maybe they are planning to convert him.

connachta

ClanofLams wrote: »

You might be right, depends on how they view Gallagher and who is available in back row I guess. I think Gallagher is a second row who can a job at 6 but maybe they are planning to convert him.

Masterson did a great great job tonight. Boyle was good too. Looked like rounded n°8 behind the final scrum leading to the winning try
Still hope Fainga'a is back for Leinster and above all Europe. 100 SuperRugby caps help vs Big guns...

Diabhal Beag

Thought Porchie was much improved. Made on huge defensive read in the first half that saved us. Him in space will be a joy to watch.

Tom Farrell is class. He just seems to burst through gaps that even lads like Godwin can't.

Stevie Fitz was good too.

Huge issues with lineouts and box kicks. Marmion looked very off the pace. We were completely bullied at ruck time for most of the game.

tryagain

The Tom Farrell game he was class he changed whole game

connachta

connachta wrote: »

Lots of moaning about Whitehouse scrum ref (though Connacht-intercept disallowed try was very very harsh too)
Can someone explain calmly what reason he gave for the final pen?

Any idea? the decision can be contested or accepted only if we know why he made this choice.

beggars_bush

connachta wrote: »

Any idea? the decision can be contested or accepted only if we know why he made this choice.

He said try line was offside line and his feet were past this

Didn't look like the right call after 5 viewings. Scrum half had hands on the ball and he moved

If Wales and NZ were pinged for stuff like that it'd be 80 mins of penalties

Sorry, you meant final penalty?

connachta

beggars_bush wrote: »

He said try line was offside line and his feet were past this

Didn't look like the right call after 5 viewings. Scrum half had hands on the ball and he moved

If Wales and NZ were pinged for stuff like that it'd be 80 mins of penalties

Sorry, you meant final penalty?

Yes.
And agreed about Porsh try, very very harsh call

tobdom

connachta wrote: »

Lots of moaning about Whitehouse scrum ref (though Connacht-intercept disallowed try was very very harsh too)
Can someone explain calmly what reason he gave for the final pen?

Couldn't believe he gave us a pen, but didn't see why as I was in the Clan. Didn't care why really, nice to be on the right side of one of those decisions and the right side of a very close match!

Really ballsy call to scrum again after they demolished is in the first one, but 100% the correct call to go for the win....we had 1 point in the bag, 2 for a draw, but a major difference of 5 for the win having already scored 3 tries. Great result and great atmosphere at the end. Great way to kick off a mammoth run of games!

FACECUTTR

connachta wrote: »

Lots of moaning about Whitehouse scrum ref (though Connacht-intercept disallowed try was very very harsh too)
Can someone explain calmly what reason he gave for the final pen?

LH was boring in on McCoy as far as I remember. He waited a long time to call it.

realhorrorshow

Strange game, in that we lost the majority of collisions and struggled in the set piece against a good team and still came out with a bonus point win.

Thought the forwards were off the pace in most regards. We were quite lethargic in the carry, the lads were getting smashed and immediately hitting the deck, no footwork before contact and no leg drive after. Contrast that with the backs, especially Porch, Robb, and Farrell, who were constantly fighting for yards after contact. Also felt we made a lot of soak/ineffective tackles, as well as straight up missing plenty more. Buckley alone missed four tackles and Butler very uncharacteristically missed three. We also had our struggles in the scrum and the lineout. Although our defensive lineout, and especially Thornbury, caused them issues. The mail turnover on half time was a huge moment. Not sure if it’s confirmation bias but we seem to be constantly blowing redzone lineouts. I’m going to put the above issues down to tiredness, as we’ve generally been very good in all aspects of forward play this year. Still think we’re short on ball carriers though.

Thought the backs went really well. Marmion was sharp but his box kicking was awful and probably the reason he didn’t travel to Japan. Not sure who thought it would be a good idea to have him kick to the most dangerous back three in the league, he doesn’t get enough hang time to make that a viable tactic. I really like the look of Conor Fitz. He’s a bit passive at times but he has all the tools, and quite a bit more pace than I realised. He combined really nicely with Godwin as dual playmakers on screen plays. Peter Robb looked like the kid who hit puberty two years before everyone else. Both wingers were really lively, Niyi looks in great shape physically, seemed quicker than ever when he attacked the inside shoulder for Marmion’s try. I like Stephen Fitz but would probably prefer to see Leader at 15 for the big games.

Thought our attacking shape was good, we looked really threatening when we could keep a hold of the ball, especially considering we weren’t winning many contacts in the tight. The screen plays worked really well with two good passers in the backline and a power runner in Robb forcing defenders to bite in.

Also thought our defensive shape was good and that Cheetahs pressure came as a result of soft tackling and poor discipline rather than systematic issues.

I’ve written an essay but ultimately a moment of madness from the Cheetahs center and Tom Farrell coming in with a point to prove won us the game. Only negative was the Thornbury injury, he’s surely broken his wrist.

connachta

realhorrorshow wrote: »

Strange game, in that we lost the majority of collisions and struggled in the set piece against a good team and still came out with a bonus point win.

Thought the forwards were off the pace in most regards. We were quite lethargic in the carry, the lads were getting smashed and immediately hitting the deck, no footwork before contact and no leg drive after. Contrast that with the backs, especially Porch, Robb, and Farrell, who were constantly fighting for yards after contact. Also felt we made a lot of soak/ineffective tackles, as well as straight up missing plenty more. Buckley alone missed four tackles and Butler very uncharacteristically missed three. We also had our struggles in the scrum and the lineout. Although our defensive lineout, and especially Thornbury, caused them issues. The mail turnover on half time was a huge moment. Not sure if it’s confirmation bias but we seem to be constantly blowing redzone lineouts. I’m going to put the above issues down to tiredness, as we’ve generally been very good in all aspects of forward play this year. Still think we’re short on ball carriers though.

Thought the backs went really well. Marmion was sharp but his box kicking was awful and probably the reason he didn’t travel to Japan. Not sure who thought it would be a good idea to have him kick to the most dangerous back three in the league, he doesn’t get enough hang time to make that a viable tactic. I really like the look of Conor Fitz. He’s a bit passive at times but he has all the tools, and quite a bit more pace than I realised. He combined really nicely with Godwin as dual playmakers on screen plays. Peter Robb looked like the kid who hit puberty two years before everyone else. Both wingers were really lively, Niyi looks in great shape physically, seemed quicker than ever when he attacked the inside shoulder for Marmion’s try. I like Stephen Fitz but would probably prefer to see Leader at 15 for the big games.

Thought our attacking shape was good, we looked really threatening when we could keep a hold of the ball, especially considering we weren’t winning many contacts in the tight. The screen plays worked really well with two good passers in the backline and a power runner in Robb forcing defenders to bite in.

Also thought our defensive shape was good and that Cheetahs pressure came as a result of soft tackling and poor discipline rather than systematic issues.

I’ve written an essay but ultimately a moment of madness from the Cheetahs center and Tom Farrell coming in with a point to prove won us the game. Only negative was the Thornbury injury, he’s surely broken his wrist.

Agree with any words here, could have been mine.
We severely have a lack of "beef" in contact, both defence and attack, within the forwards. Only Roux and Dillane bring (partly) this. Montpellier and Toulouse are more powerful than Cheetahs...
But back-line is fluid, add Carty and Bundee, it should be Wooow.
But european games are in November/December/January, Sunny conditions are less frequent..

Bazzo

Mul, it's over

Didn't have commentary but boring in was what popped up on premier sports.