Connacht Team Talk Thread VI - Some like it TOH

Borders no.2

Very important win for the season as a whole. 5 points gained on both Edinburgh and Cardiff tonight.

Need to clock up as many points as possible in this period during 6 nations. Its difficult to imagine the rainbow cup will go ahead given all that's happened since it was announced so might yet be a full 22 game season.

If that was the case would end up with Ospreys, Ulster and Glasgow away and Leinster at home and we still have Munster and Scarlets away so need to keep focused for Treviso and the games ahead in case theres a sudden change in strategy.

On tonight's game the 5 minutes before half time were huge. We were struggling to break them down until then but to turn around with 10 point lead after struggling for momentum early on was huge. It's nice to be getting bonus point wins with mixed bag performances but still plenty to be working on.

On the positive side it was the first time in a long time I looked at the bench and was happy with what we had to work with. Squad looks strong in most areas at the moment. Backup 10 is the only major worry I have personnel wise

Akrasia

lenny4545 wrote: »

Ara would ya stop! Id have him in Ireland squad ahead of lowe who is equally bad in defence!

Wooten is a fantastic player, can Munster have him back please?

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/rugby/arid-40228907.html

connachta

Borders no.2 wrote: »

Very important win for the season as a whole. 5 points gained on both Edinburgh and Cardiff tonight.

On the positive side it was the first time in a long time I looked at the bench and was happy with what we had to work with. Squad looks strong in most areas at the moment. Backup 10 is the only major worry I have personnel wise

On the short term until rainbow cup, the only real worry is centre. If Bundee isn't released again, we just have Daly as senior choice...


hope Sam Arnold rehab goes well and he's back early April as planned

RonnieL

its_phil wrote: »

Ultan Dillane and Papalli hitting Turnbull together. Praying for his body tomorrow, some force

Sammy Arnold comment on instagram: "it's like tackling a cement mixer"

thomond2006

Thanks to Connacht for giving Wootton gametime. We'll have him back now.

mjp

thomond2006 wrote: »

Thanks to Connacht for giving Wootton gametime. We'll have him back now.

Don't think you'll be seeing him back. In line to announce a connacht contract in coming weeks based on interview he gave recently.

RonnieL

testtech05 wrote: »

As far as I know all of Connacht away games this season have been a same day operation. Fly out early that morning and back that night

Yes, except for games in Italy where they travel the day before.

Some of the players have spoken about the same day travel on the craggy rugby podcast, and they seem to like it. For the dragons game, they only left Galway at midday, and were home in their own beds at about 2:30. I think they've been chartering Ryanair planes (I'm assuming at a good price). Not sure what airport they're using, maybe Shannon? I know they have a partnership with Knock airport generally, but the silence on their social media would lead me to believe it's Shannon. Strange times to say the least, and tough logistical challenges for team managers to overcome.

connachta

Some can say what they want : the 2 Papali'i red cards, 2nd one especially, are nothing compared to What Bristol 12 did. And he was just binned with a yellow. There's nothing "clear all day" as I read sometimes in the interpretation of the rule.

Burkie1203

connachta wrote: »

Some can say what they want : the 2 Papali'i red cards, 2nd one especially, are nothing compared to What Bristol 12 did. And he was just binned with a yellow. There's nothing "clear all day" as I read sometimes in the interpretation of the rule.

Referees get it wrong sometimes like maybe today? Haven't seen the incident but know a tip tackle was contentious and only YC given

Harry Byrne was tipped upside down v scarlets and it wasn't even reviewed by the ref IIRC.

Papaili red cards were 100% correct.

connachta

100% worse . 100%

Squidgy Black

Another Burkie and connachta debate. Yay.....



Anyways, Wootton has to be primed for a permanent deal now, looked like a man playing for a contract.

connachta

For this season, he's playing for a contract
Next season, if he learns how to tackle, he'll play for a place in RWC

realhorrorshow

Squidgy Black wrote: »

Another Burkie and connachta debate. Yay.....



Anyways, Wootton has to be primed for a permanent deal now, looked like a man playing for a contract.

Playing for an extra zero maybe, no chance he's not getting an offer.

Burkie1203

connachta wrote: »

For this season, he's playing for a contract
Next season, if he learns how to tackle, he'll play for a place in RWC

He is 28 in a few months. He will be 32 by the time he is irish eligible. 34 by time 2027 rocks around.

Squidgy Black

Burkie1203 wrote: »

He is 28 in a few months. He will be 32 by the time he is irish eligible. 34 by time 2027 rocks around.

He's IQ anyways, his da is from Down. And he's 26.

KBurke85

Burkie1203 wrote: »

He is 28 in a few months. He will be 32 by the time he is irish eligible. 34 by time 2027 rocks around.

Pretty sure he’s talking about Wooton and not papa

connachta

KBurke85 wrote: »

Pretty sure he’s talking about Wooton and not papa

Yes:)

Burkie1203

connachta wrote: »

Yes:)

I Apologise

connachta

29 and 2 months for RWC 2023, 33 and 2 months for RWC 2027

But first, learn to tackle...

Bazzo

Just got to watch the match now, thought it was a middling performance producing a bonus point win against one of the tightest defences in the league (I think?) So can't complain about that.

A few immediate post match thoughts:

Duggan did really well for his starting debut, a good find there.

Heffernan and Aki both grew into the game which is to be expected given their lack of minutes. Not sure if Heffernan's throwing was an issue but thought it looked a bit better with Delahunt on, but he carried very well. And the scrum went quite well.

Boyle put in another tidy performance. Looked a bit more calm and settled.

Blade was good again. Good tempo, mostly makes good decisions and passing fairly accurate.

Carty made a couple of mistakes but was again a key player in that win. Cardiff covered his back field kicking well but when Connacht were stuttering in the opening 20 he played smart and then when the attack warmed up and started motoring he showed his attacking flare and created opportunities. I don't think you can label him inconsistent for a kick dead and a missed penalty unless you also want to label Sexton, Burns and basically every outhalf playing the game inconsistent. I'd say it was a solid 7/10 performance again. Also got a glimpse of the up and under bombs that Friend mentioned they're trying to add to his arsenal.

Aki didn't have many tackle busting huge moments but he was instrumental in the win. Brilliant defensive performance, some good distribution and a few hard carries. Daly was solid, a couple of decent defensive reads along with himself and Healy making a balls of nailing Morgan after the kick chase.

Back 3 were all very good. Wootton put in a world beating 30 mins that won the game. Porch is a safe pair of hands that can spark at any moment from full back. Healy(despite the aforementioned bad missed tackle) had some big defensive reads which is a pleasant surprise. They should be showing Lowe that footage of how to defend a 2 on 1 overlap on the wing :pac:

Cardiff will feel aggrieved with some of the reffing calls in the leadup to a couple of tries but I don't think it cost them the game.

Mentally I think that will be a big win for the team. I'll leave it there to keep it brief

connemara man

Bazzo wrote: »

Just got to watch the match now, thought it was a middling performance producing a bonus point win against one of the tightest defences in the league (I think?) So can't complain about that.

A few immediate post match thoughts:

Duggan did really well for his starting debut, a good find there.

Heffernan and Aki both grew into the game which is to be expected given their lack of minutes. Not sure if Heffernan's throwing was an issue but thought it looked a bit better with Delahunt on, but he carried very well. And the scrum went quite well.

Boyle put in another tidy performance. Looked a bit more calm and settled.

Blade was good again. Good tempo, mostly makes good decisions and passing fairly accurate.

Carty made a couple of mistakes but was again a key player in that win. Cardiff covered his back field kicking well but when Connacht were stuttering in the opening 20 he played smart and then when the attack warmed up and started motoring he showed his attacking flare and created opportunities. I don't think you can label him inconsistent for a kick dead and a missed penalty unless you also want to label Sexton, Burns and basically every outhalf playing the game inconsistent. I'd say it was a solid 7/10 performance again. Also got a glimpse of the up and under bombs that Friend mentioned they're trying to add to his arsenal.

Aki didn't have many tackle busting huge moments but he was instrumental in the win. Brilliant defensive performance, some good distribution and a few hard carries. Daly was solid, a couple of decent defensive reads along with himself and Healy making a balls of nailing Morgan after the kick chase.

Back 3 were all very good. Wootton put in a world beating 30 mins that won the game. Porch is a safe pair of hands that can spark at any moment from full back. Healy(despite the aforementioned bad missed tackle) had some big defensive reads which is a pleasant surprise. They should be showing Lowe that footage of how to defend a 2 on 1 overlap on the wing :pac:

Cardiff will feel aggrieved with some of the reffing calls in the leadup to a couple of tries but I don't think it cost them the game.

Mentally I think that will be a big win for the team. I'll leave it there to keep it brief

Just on this so can we, I put 17 of Cardiffs 20 coming from bad reffing calls
The Forward pass that was after what should have been a scrum pen to us
Heff getting pulled on top of a ruck he wasn't going to compete in
And Bundee of his feet + Boyle not rolling away

Like these things happen and balanced themselves out across the game

Bazzo

connemara man wrote: »

Just on this so can we, I put 17 of Cardiffs 20 coming from bad reffing calls
The Forward pass that was after what should have been a scrum pen to us
Heff getting pulled on top of a ruck he wasn't going to compete in
And Bundee of his feet + Boyle not rolling away

Like these things happen and balanced themselves out across the game

I 100% agree, but we do enough bitching in here if it's the other way round that I thought it was worth mentioning it.

connemara man

Bazzo wrote: »

I 100% agree, but we do enough bitching in here if it's the other way round that I thought it was worth mentioning it.

TBH I'm just glad we kept control in the past you'd feel like the game could go away from us and we'd lose the heads. But that never happened we always looked secure in the plan and confident in what we were doing.
If our line out functioned better which was a mix of good reads by Cardiff our lack of misdirection didn't help there and Heff was floating in a few balls not bulleting them in Cardiff wouldn't have been in the game half as much as they were

Zzippy

The lineout for our third try was dodgy as f*ck. Either it wasn't straight or Dillane jumped so far across that he had to reach back to his own side to catch it. I think if Cardiff had contested it the ref would have given it nor straight or a pen for jumping across. But like CM pointed out, most of their scores were from awful decisions. In fact, without the ref they would have been lucky to cross the line at all.

realhorrorshow

While I think it roughly evened itself out, I thought the officiating at the weekend was dreadful and took away from the game, and I am not someone who has a problem with Brace generally. Two calls I haven't seen mentioned but that really annoyed me were when Lloyd Williams returned the ball to the ruck with his foot to set up a box kick, and when Ellis Jenkins stripped Boyle then caught the ball while lying on the ground. Two blatant penalties that there is no excuse for not calling. The one against Boyle was bizarre, seemed like he blew for a penalty, then quickly realised he was wrong and had to justify his decision.

On the flip side, we got very lucky with the penalty for maul collapse in the lead up to the third try, seemed like Aungier slipped and brought it down. We also got away with throwing out jumper across the lineout at times, which is something we do a lot now that I think of it.

connemara man

Zzippy wrote: »

The lineout for our third try was dodgy as f*ck. Either it wasn't straight or Dillane jumped so far across that he had to reach back to his own side to catch it. I think if Cardiff had contested it the ref would have given it nor straight or a pen for jumping across. But like CM pointed out, most of their scores were from awful decisions. In fact, without the ref they would have been lucky to cross the line at all.

The ball is straight Masterson turns mid air so it looks worse than it is.
If one wanted to get into stuff like that look at the maul for the Cardiff first try the lifters step across the gap with payer still in the air but we didn't contest. Swings and roundabouts

there's a lot of outcome based reffing happening to try and keep a game flowing as otherwise the ref would be blowing every 2 seconds they contest its a pen they don't contest there's no material impact in the lineout

Lost Ormond

Zzippy wrote: »

The lineout for our third try was dodgy as f*ck. Either it wasn't straight or Dillane jumped so far across that he had to reach back to his own side to catch it. I think if Cardiff had contested it the ref would have given it nor straight or a pen for jumping across. But like CM pointed out, most of their scores were from awful decisions. In fact, without the ref they would have been lucky to cross the line at all.

The lineout wasnt dodgy. There was no affect on the contest for possession. If Cardiff had jumped and contested you would penalise it but dont see why you should call it

realhorrorshow wrote: »

While I think it roughly evened itself out, I thought the officiating at the weekend was dreadful and took away from the game, and I am not someone who has a problem with Brace generally. Two calls I haven't seen mentioned but that really annoyed me were when Lloyd Williams returned the ball to the ruck with his foot to set up a box kick, and when Ellis Jenkins stripped Boyle then caught the ball while lying on the ground. Two blatant penalties that there is no excuse for not calling. The one against Boyle was bizarre, seemed like he blew for a penalty, then quickly realised he was wrong and had to justify his decision.

On the flip side, we got very lucky with the penalty for maul collapse in the lead up to the third try, seemed like Aungier slipped and brought it down. We also got away with throwing out jumper across the lineout at times, which is something we do a lot now that I think of it.

Missed few things but they always do. Problem with blowing whistle is youve made your decision. you cant change your mind after so you have to justify it...

Must love hardship

Zzippy wrote: »

The lineout for our third try was dodgy as f*ck. Either it wasn't straight or Dillane jumped so far across that he had to reach back to his own side to catch it. I think if Cardiff had contested it the ref would have given it nor straight or a pen for jumping across. But like CM pointed out, most of their scores were from awful decisions. In fact, without the ref they would have been lucky to cross the line at all.

Could a spray of foam from a can in each hand of the lines person sort this issue out at the line out?
Similar to a freekick in soccer.

It could help maintain the gap. Also ensure the ball is thrown down the middle of the line out. I know it might slightly slow the game but its not for quick outs.. it would only take a couple of seconds to walk out and spray 2 lines and back to the side line again.

Any opinion?

Number 137

Just on jumping across the lineout, that in itself is not illegal. What is illegal is if you make contact with another player in the air, or if you land in an offside position and then have a material effect on play. Jumping across the lineout itself is fine.

Must love hardship

I know I was just making a suggestion in relation to crooked lineouts and players not maintaining the gap and encroaching.

It would basically give the hooker a tunnel to throw the ball down and make it easier to identify crooked lineouts.

It might not a perfect idea but maybe jumpers have to jump from outside the line..

There is meant to be gap between the players its just a way of clearly identifying it.