Connacht Team Talk Thread VI - Some like it TOH

Burkie1203 · 23-12-2022 9:47pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120030035#Comment_120030035

He has been poor for some time now

testtech05 · 23-12-2022 9:51pm

Buckley hard done by again there Cooney lost the ball forward before they hit the ground I thought

testtech05 · 23-12-2022 10:16pm

Very poor performance overall never got into any decent possession/rhythm.

Very disappointing considering it was a pretty much must win game and with what looked like a pretty strong squad named.....

Unless there is a miraculous last 6 mins

testtech05 · 23-12-2022 10:22pm

Harsh enough call to disallow that

Dave_The_Sheep · 23-12-2022 10:30pm

**** hell. Some finish.

testtech05 · 23-12-2022 10:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120030118#Comment_120030118

Almost miraculous at the end. Tough kick in those conditions wind just seemed to blow it away from the posts

Burkie1203 · 23-12-2022 10:32pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120030135#Comment_120030135

Dooley was offside. Fair call.

Utopia Parkway · 23-12-2022 10:33pm

Great comeback kind of out of nowhere after a fairly dismal performance. Knew Carty was going to miss that kick though. It wasn't an easy one. Problem was he missed a much easier one a bit earlier.

Brewster · 23-12-2022 10:34pm

Yeah bit of pride shown there at end, but needed more of it earlier in game. Ulster a little vulnerable just now clearly, they should have won game by a bigger margin.

Joma4good · 23-12-2022 10:36pm

Connacht could do far worse than recruit Ben Healy, Carty is having a very mediocre season so far, too many missed kicks for touch and conversions are costing the team momentum and points.

Ernie McCracken · 23-12-2022 10:41pm

Carty is a liability at this stage. If he was Owen Farrell we would have won that game. And we were missing a bit of bite in the tight exchanges tonight. Murray’s your only man. Bring on a mullet to inspire your teammates to get stuck in.

Utopia Parkway · 23-12-2022 10:43pm

I think Jack's place kicking has quietly become a bit of an issue now. Now the Sportsground is not an easy place to kick but he just leaves too many points on the board with missed kicks. His kicking from hand was a bit ropey this evening as well.

Strand1970 · 23-12-2022 10:53pm

100%, nothing against Carty but he has been flakey. Healy and hawkshaw would be worth a bet.

Borders no.2 · 23-12-2022 11:16pm

Horrible performance in a season defining game. We had been eyeing this one up for 3 weeks while Ulster were in poor form, had played 3 tough games in a row and were down a number of players and still they never had to break a sweat until they switched off at the end.

In attack we look increasingly clueless with each passing week. Hawkshaw brought a bit of spark when he came on and Marmion should been brought on a long time before he was but we couldn't put any sort of sustained phases together until way too late.

Once again Ulster strangled the life out of us up front and when they carried were gathering soft yards all the time while we offered no threat of a turnover.

The maul defence was very poor as it was against Munster.

I don't really know where the season goes from here. Top 8 is effectively done after that. We'll get to the last 16 of Challenge Cup and hopefully the draw will be kind but tonight was embarrassing.

With Friend going I hope the people upstairs have seen enough to say that while Wilkins seems a decent person he's clearly not up to the job. There's more than enough evidence to see that's the case.

ElisaAtWar · 24-12-2022 1:46am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120030198#Comment_120030198

To be fair Ulster had us on the backfoot all night. Frank went back to look at the Prendergast try but I didn't understand why he disallowed it. It certainly wasn't clear on the stadium TV.

On a positive note we were under pressure all night and Ulster deserved to win the game. But we countered their maul for the vast majority of the game as best we could.

But what's really missing is attacking rugby. We just didn't break lines until Marmion came on and at that stage it was far too late.

As for Tiernan having a poor game, well Mack and John had no significant impact and most notably Bundee was invisible up to the time he was replaced

cson · 24-12-2022 5:28am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120030171#Comment_120030171

It was as calm a night as you'll get in the Sportsgrounds.

Difficult kick for a right footed kicker coming across the posts, but he has to get it. That's why he's out half.

testtech05 · 24-12-2022 10:04am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120030662#Comment_120030662

I couldn't make it in but I will have to take your word for that on the wind. I was only going off the trajectory of the kick from the tv and commentary mentioned the wind swirling several times.

I think the earlier miss was the more disappointing one after blades conversion. It was more central and should be going over.

ElisaAtWar · 24-12-2022 10:35am

There was a wind which was in the direction of the Clan. It was there all game. It would have made the kick that bit more difficult. And agreed, the Blade missed conversion was a much worse miss

Jump_In_Jack · 24-12-2022 10:40am

I like what I’ve seen of Hawkshaw, I think a Marmion/Hawkshaw pairing could do wonders for Connacht.

I would start Adam Byrne from now on, and I’d like to see McNulty get a run at fullback, if he’s not presently injured?

AccidentallyOnside · 24-12-2022 10:57am

That hc qualification gone via the league, 8th might be possible but that won't get europe this year.

Major upside for me was Adam Byrne. He's a weapon and we really need to figure out how to use him. He carries with a ferocity that none of our other back 3 can match. We need to be picking him porch and hansen where possible.

We still don't have an fb though as none of those three are natural 15s.

Digifriendly · 24-12-2022 11:35am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120030273#Comment_120030273

Think you're being a bit harsh on Connacht. Ulster continued from their second-half performance against La Rochelle and looked very impressive in the loose. Connacht showed real character towards the end but Ulster's defence up until the last 10 mins was rock solid. They had clearly learned the lessons from Sale/La Rochelle games.

Do agree re OH. Tight games being won or lost or in this case drawn ultimately depend on the goal kicker and Ulster had theirs in JohnCooney while Jack Carty fell short in this regard. Maybe Connacht need a specialist goal kicker in a different position to OT. Just my thoughts anyway.

Former Former Former · 24-12-2022 11:50am

Carty had an absolute nightmare

It wasn't an easy kick at the end but he should have got it. The conversion for Blade's try was easy and he missed that too.

That sequence when he missed touch with the penalty, then kicked out on the full 30 seconds later just summed it up for me.

I think Connacht should be going shopping in the summer tbh

Strand1970 · 24-12-2022 12:50pm

Healy would be ideal. He is going nowhere fast at munster and must be looking to move. Everyone wanted for Carty to push on as he is from connacht but for every great game he also has a nightmare game. At the minimum a 10 has to be consistent. We just don't have a good enough squad to compensate for an inconsistent out half. Jack comes across as a really sound lad but he is not doing it on the pitch at the moment. I think connacht have to start looking at a different option for 10 for next season.

Strand1970 · 24-12-2022 12:53pm

With all the bad press Blade was getting I focused on him last night. I thought he had a decent game but marmion should gave come on sooner to stake things up.

Ernie McCracken · 24-12-2022 1:21pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120030224#Comment_120030224

Healy is not the answer, Hawkshaw is the one to persist with. His kicking isn’t great but it’s better than Carty and he can spark things in attack. Hawkshaw has an ability to pull his team into games and win them.

As for Friend, he’s promoted Hawkshaw when it wouldn’t have been the easiest thing to do for a couple of games. And he’s built a very nice squad that take things to the next level and by that I mean qualifying for Europe.

Not sure why the fans weren’t willing to persist with Friend when he has done a lot of good with building a competitive squad. I think he’s brought Connacht nicely upwards even if results haven’t reflected that yet.

connachta · 24-12-2022 3:39pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120030040#Comment_120030040

Except vs Newcastle

ElisaAtWar · 24-12-2022 4:23pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120031226#Comment_120031226

Agreed that Andy Friend has built a competitive squad. Now we just need a coach that can use that potential. And as for outhalves I'd love to see Tom Daly given a shot. His goal kicking, when asked, is excellent, he knows how to break lines, he can seriously tackle. If we tried Hawkshaw it would be a huge learning curve and just more waiting and wondering if he will make the grade. Certainly he is not there at the moment.

Also I'm not trying to smash Caoilin though it may seem I am. And last night his distribution was snappy. But then he didn't snipe at all. And to be a really good scrum half it's a mixture of both. The vast majority is snappy play but you also have to keep the opposition honest. You could see that Ulster line was virtually offside for most of the match as they became comfortable with the fact that nothing unexpected was likely to happen. And this just left Mack, Tiernan and John with no space to do anything.

On another matter when is Bundees contract up. He just looked disinterested walking off the pitch and there were a couple of comments directed at him from the Clan which he couldn't not have not heard that were not very pleasant. And no they didn't come from me. I get the impression his playing for a team that is not always successful is wearing on him.

Lost Ormond · 24-12-2022 4:27pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120031615#Comment_120031615

Tom Daly hasnt played outhalf since youths rugby. No chance will be move into 10. Dont see him being used as a 10. Hawkshaw would be learning curve but at least he has played 10 regularly eeough.

Wegians89 · 24-12-2022 7:26pm

Think Daly, has been very disappointing the last two seasons. He’s not the answer at 10

ElisaAtWar · 24-12-2022 8:50pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120031971#Comment_120031971

Hawkshaw and Ralston look great at centre. Hawkshaw at 10 is bog ordinary much like Conor Fitz and Jack.

Reality is we will lose to Leinster so why not try something different over the new year. To put Hawkshaw in would be just to guarantee the sameness

Connacht Team Talk Thread VI - Some like it TOH

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