Connacht Team Talk Thread V - The Friend Zone

awec

Your pack was eaten up and that was that.

Unfortunately cannot see anything other than a comprehensive Leinster win next week. They’ll bring even more beef than we did.

testtech05

Some Like It TOH

Looking like being a very disappointing round of interpro games from our point of view

Utopia Parkway

Been playing poorly since mid November ish. Mistake after mistake compounded by error after error. Hard to put a finger on it because we’ve had a lot of injuries all season but we were playing well despite that until about a month ago. Definitely in a slump now.

ClanofLams

Mul, it's over

Not that it will make much difference but could do with Carty being back for RDS. Would give Stephen Kerins a start too. Hopefully Butler and Fainga’a are back. Don’t think the same centre combination has played two games in a row in a long time. Robb Godwin were going very well together early on in the season, would go back to that if injuries in back three permit.

BeardySi

You've got a Friend in me

Jesus that was diabolical. Barely got out of our 22 in the second half.

If we don't get Butler and Fainga back, next week will be an annihilation.

Diabhal Beag

Only went up for a pissup but Friendy has no real offensive tactics. The coaching staff have been found out tbh.

ClanofLams

Mul, it's over

Think there’s a bit of an overreaction to five bad games in the midst of an injury crisis to be honest. Ten or so starters missing/came off injured tonight. Take the same away from any teams around Connachts level (basically excluding Leinster and Munster, even the latter is debateable) and you would see a fair drop in performances. .

There’s no cohesion in the team because none of the combinations bar front row (who were on top of their Ulster counterparts) and 9/10 have played much together, Blade and Fitzgerald look like they could do with a break too. Bad decision not to start Carty last week.

Dillane and Maksymiw have started two or three games together maybe. Back row combo changes every week. Fainga’a and Butler are our only two proper sevens too, Butler adaptable obviously but has skill set for seven unlike other back rows. Centre combo changes every week. Back three combo played together for first time last week and Godwin isn’t a wing.

Last season went about as well as could be reasonably hoped for and this season started fairly well too. Still bang in the mix for top three spot. Would hold off judgment until end of season.

RobbieRuns

One of the most apparent things for me was the tiredness or fatigue of Connacht. They were falling off tackles, taking ages to get back on their feet. The bench was weak enough as it was. Well done to Ulster, deserved winners, but absolute fact of the matter is that Connacht were playing a top team that had two weeks rest, a team that sent a bunch of kids to play Leinster last week to save this lot for a home win against a Connacht side that went flat out to beat Munster at the sports ground and have no choice but to keep playing the same players over and over. Connacht were actually more competitive than I thought they’d be.

Digifriendly

Buer wrote: »

Should be well more than a penalty. That is worthy of a citing. Smashed his shoulder into a player without possession on the ground. Dirty effort and should face a hearing although I can see it being glossed over.

What about hit on Coetzee - was that worth a citing?

gally74

The Friend Zone

Digifriendly wrote: »

What about hit on Coetzee - was that worth a citing?

To be fair both are,

No technik from McAllister, putting himself and cortes at risk,

Mcburnley Stupid and dangerous, could break or pop a rib etc but sure the conn players didnt see an issue with taking out a young scrum half

Buer

Digifriendly wrote: »

What about hit on Coetzee - was that worth a citing?

Only saw it after the game. Should have been a red card, no questions. Would expect him to deservedly get a few weeks off. Dangerous play and made no effort to go low.

McBurney's hit probably won't get the same sanction as it wasn't to the head but, to me, was a cheap and dirty shot and worthy of a red card.

As pointed out by others, the lack of reaction by the Connacht players says a lot about their mindset. An opposition forward lands a dirty hit on your scrum half and not a single forward stepped in.

RobbieRuns

Buer wrote: »

Only saw it after the game. Should have been a red card, no questions. Would expect him to deservedly get a few weeks off. Dangerous play and made no effort to go low.

McBurney's hit probably won't get the same sanction as it wasn't to the head but, to me, was a cheap and dirty shot and worthy of a red card.

As pointed out by others, the lack of reaction by the Connacht players says a lot about their mindset. An opposition forward lands a dirty hit on your scrum half and not a single forward stepped in.

They could barely stand up, not a problem with the mindset, their bodies were in bits.

Buer

RobbieRuns wrote: »

They could barely stand up, not a problem with the mindset, their bodies were in bits.

There are 5 replacement forwards on the field at that point. Exhaustion was not the reason that not a single player even said a word.

Former Former

You've got a Friend in me

https://twitter.com/i/status/1210661512781676545

The Coetzee incident. I dunno, it doesn't look all that bad to me. The tackle isn't high and the head clash is purely accidental. You could say he was reckless but I wouldn't call it dirty.

connemara man

The Friend Zone

I think there's an angle his shoulder makes contact aswell so that's what'll get the citing

I was surprised it wasn't looked at by the ref

connachta

Two underwhelming performances vs Leinster and Ulster
Gloucester away was slightly better, some reaction and held on for 50 minutes

There, no good point to take away.
Main parts which have broken us were 1) stupid first try conceeded 2) As I've said for..for 10 years, we NEED a ball carrier (Stander, Conan, Coetze, N.Williams etc... We miss this profile since Naoupu retirement).
We're unable to cross the tryline after 30 phases. That's devastating. McKeon in particular didn't impress for a re-sign, unable to gain a single meter in contact


TOH was 0/5 under high balls but I wouldn't be harsh on him, looked lively and will get better days
S.Fitz looked very much in place too. And Copeland, I'm keen to be severe, but he was the "best" on the pitch yesterday
Otherwise no comments... Hope McAllister and Bealham are ok (seemed to be when they got off)

sydthebeat

The Friend Zone

Even if its head on head, its a red.

Clumsy, but that's exactly the kind of tackle attempt we want to rid the game of.
No dipping from a big forward, yet the tackle is head heigh. No attempt to bend to the chest area by the tackler.

6 weeks down to three probably

Paul Smeenus

ClanofLams wrote: »

Think there’s a bit of an overreaction to five bad games in the midst of an injury crisis to be honest. Ten or so starters missing/came off injured tonight. Take the same away from any teams around Connachts level (basically excluding Leinster and Munster, even the latter is debateable) and you would see a fair drop in performances. .

There’s no cohesion in the team because none of the combinations bar front row (who were on top of their Ulster counterparts) and 9/10 have played much together, Blade and Fitzgerald look like they could do with a break too. Bad decision not to start Carty last week.

Dillane and Maksymiw have started two or three games together maybe. Back row combo changes every week. Fainga’a and Butler are our only two proper sevens too, Butler adaptable obviously but has skill set for seven unlike other back rows. Centre combo changes every week. Back three combo played together for first time last week and Godwin isn’t a wing.

Last season went about as well as could be reasonably hoped for and this season started fairly well too. Still bang in the mix for top three spot. Would hold off judgment until end of season.

Connacht were warming up and going through their drills just in front of us. They were dropping high balls and the forwards were giving off to each other after they made a Horlicks of two practice lineouts in a row. They looked like a very badly disrupted team.

connachta

Only 24 fit players says Friend. When Marmion and Thornbury are due back? Could change the team

connachta

Murray is a light boy, shouldn't be nowhere near the main team yet.

Richie_Rich89

Mul, it's over

ClanofLams wrote: »

Think there’s a bit of an overreaction to five bad games in the midst of an injury crisis to be honest. Ten or so starters missing/came off injured tonight. Take the same away from any teams around Connachts level (basically excluding Leinster and Munster, even the latter is debateable) and you would see a fair drop in performances. .

There’s no cohesion in the team because none of the combinations bar front row (who were on top of their Ulster counterparts) and 9/10 have played much together, Blade and Fitzgerald look like they could do with a break too. Bad decision not to start Carty last week.

Dillane and Maksymiw have started two or three games together maybe. Back row combo changes every week. Fainga’a and Butler are our only two proper sevens too, Butler adaptable obviously but has skill set for seven unlike other back rows. Centre combo changes every week. Back three combo played together for first time last week and Godwin isn’t a wing.

Last season went about as well as could be reasonably hoped for and this season started fairly well too. Still bang in the mix for top three spot. Would hold off judgment until end of season.

RobbieRuns wrote: »

One of the most apparent things for me was the tiredness or fatigue of Connacht. They were falling off tackles, taking ages to get back on their feet. The bench was weak enough as it was. Well done to Ulster, deserved winners, but absolute fact of the matter is that Connacht were playing a top team that had two weeks rest, a team that sent a bunch of kids to play Leinster last week to save this lot for a home win against a Connacht side that went flat out to beat Munster at the sports ground and have no choice but to keep playing the same players over and over. Connacht were actually more competitive than I thought they’d be.

It can't really be both of these, can it?

I'm a bit suspicious of the viewpoint that a team can't play well with a lot of top players absent ever since that line was trotted out by some to excuse Leinster's performances in the League in Matt O'Connor's second season. The players available are still of a good standard, and it's up to the coach to mould them and do something with them.

Richie_Rich89

Mul, it's over

Former Former wrote: »

https://twitter.com/i/status/1210661512781676545

The Coetzee incident. I dunno, it doesn't look all that bad to me. The tackle isn't high and the head clash is purely accidental. You could say he was reckless but I wouldn't call it dirty.

Yeah, not a whole lot in it, for me. Looks like one of these "rugby incidents".

ClanofLams

Mul, it's over

Richie_Rich89 wrote: »

It can't really be both of these, can it?

I'm a bit suspicious of the viewpoint that a team can't play well with a lot of top players absent ever since that line was trotted out by some to excuse Leinster's performances in the League in Matt O'Connor's second season. The players available are still of a good standard, and it's up to the coach to mould them and do something with them.

It can be to an extent. Likes of Dillane and Blade haven’t got a rest in months. John Porch seems to have started every game in the last few months too, Godwin must also have a lot of minutes, many at centre. Conor Fitzgerald has some amount played all season too given he made one or two appearances last season I think.

Got destroyed at the breakdown last night, a lot down to stupidity of not having numbers there but a genuine 7 would have helped.

Connacht are down their best players - Fainga’a, Butler, Aki, Farrell,etc. I am struggling to recall a similar team ( from 3rd best to 7th in the league say) in the league having a similar injury crisis and not being seriously affected.

The year Connacht won the league they had a similar injury situation at around the exact same time, in three games against Newcastle, Ulster and Leinster Connacht scored a grand total of eight points. I recall because certain pundits seemed to take more than a little joy in talking nonsense about how lam and Connacht had been figured out etc

Having said that last nights performance was unacceptable. I just think it’s very reactionary to be writing off a coaching ticket that has largely delivered over 18 months on the basis of a few bad performances during an injury crisis.

BrokenMan

I can't believe it's not Butler

Richie_Rich89 wrote: »

Yeah, not a whole lot in it, for me. Looks like one of these "rugby incidents".

Not a lot in it but I’d expect a citing and ban

connachta

BrokenMan wrote: »

Not a lot in it but I’d expect a citing and ban

4 weeks reduced to 2


Horwitz has shown he's off. Sorry to say this but not good enough at all 20 minutes

testtech05

Some Like It TOH

connachta wrote: »

4 weeks reduced to 2


Horwitz has shown he's off. Sorry to say this but not good enough at all 20 minutes

I don't think he deserves to be condemned based on last night's 20mins but having said that based on what he has shown in his time here overall I don't see any reason why he will be kept on.

I assume he would have came up on decent wages?

Utopia Parkway

Must have been TOH’s worst ever game for Connacht last night. It was almost comical watching him miss high ball after high ball. He was just shaking his head in frustration by early in the second half. In fairness to him he can’t be anywhere match sharp yet. He was out for quite a while.

If Connacht have any spare funds left over after Bundee getting a central contact they really need to target some ball carrying beef for the pack next Summer. Pack has looked a bit lightweight lately. When Roux is out it’s even more evident.

jacothelad

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

Must have been TOH’s worst ever game for Connacht last night. It was almost comical watching him miss high ball after high ball. He was just shaking his head in frustration by early in the second half. In fairness to him he can’t be anywhere match sharp yet. He was out for quite a while.

If Connacht have any spare funds left over after Bundee getting a central contact they really need to target some ball carrying beef for the pack next Summer. Pack has looked a bit lightweight lately. When Roux is out it’s even more evident.

I felt sorry for him. I watched the game back this afternoon and his timing is all off. He is jumping fractionally too soon. Not hard to fix.

Dubinusa

Some Like It TOH

Any chance of someone uploading it on you tube?

Utah_Saint

Dubinusa wrote: »

Any chance of someone uploading it on you tube?

Highlights on pro14 website