Connacht Team Talk Thread VI - Some like it TOH

Weird, disagreement with Friend maybe?

There are a few decent coaches available at the minute

I'm not sure the IRFU would be keen to see him back in the Irish system after what happened in Ulster

Dave Rennie is another interesting option who has just freed up but I don't think he would come t Connacht I remember he was pretty unhappy with how Connacht sacked KK and felt that he got a raw deal.

In general I think a lot of the names mentioned here won't end up at Connacht. I think, much like when Friend was announced, it will be a name that relatively few, if any, of us are familiar with. Unless of course they bring back Carolan, for some reason I don't think he'll come back just yet, or they promote Wilkins

Pivac would need to suck up a lot of pride to go from managing a top tier international team, to a challenge cup club

You don't want someone who thinks the job is beneath them. You'd be far better off getting in a manager who sees this is a promotion, a new opportunity, maybe stepping up from a skills/attack coach to a Head coaching role

I can see Pivac turning into an Eddie O Sullivan style character. He might bounce around with tier 2 nations before taking up semi-professional clubs and some media work to pay the bills

Loosehead

Denis Buckley (33) - Signed contract in 2021

Matthew Burke (26) - Signed 2 year contract in 2022

Peter Dooley (29) - Signed contract in 2022

Jordan Duggan (25) - Signed contract in 2021

Oisin Michel (21) - Academy year 1

Charlie Ward (23) - Academy year 3

Tighthead

Jack Aungier (24) - Signed contract in 2022

Finlay Bealham (31) - Signed 2 year contract in 2022

Sam Illo (22) - Signed 2 year contract in 2021

Dominic Robertson-McCoy (29) - Signed 1 year contract in 2022

Hooker

Shane Delahunt (29) - Signed contract in 2021

Dave Heffernan (32) - Signed contract in 2021

Grant Stewart (28) - Signed 6 month contract in 2022

Dylan Tierney-Martin (24) - Signed 1 year contract in 2022

Eoin De Buitléar (21) - Academy year 3

Lock

Oisin Dowling (26) - Signed contract in 2022

Leva Fifita (34) - Signed contract in 2021

Joe Joyce (29) - Signed contract in 2023

Darragh Murray (22) - Signed contract in 2022

Niall Murray (23) - Signed contract in 2021

Gavin Thornbury (29) - Signed contract in 2021

Back row

Ciaran Booth (23) - Signed contract in 2022

Paul Boyle (26) - Signed contract in 2021

Jarrad Butler (32) - Signed 2 year contract in 2022

Shamus Hurley-Langton (23) - Signed contract in 2022

Sean Masterson (25) - Signed contract in 2021

Oisin McCormack (22) - Signed contract in 2022

Josh Murphy (28) - Signed 2 year contract in 2022

Conor Oliver (27) - Signed 2 year contract in 2022

Cian Prendergast (23) - Signed 3 year contract in 2022

Donnacha Byrne (22) - Academy year 3

John Forde (20) - Academy year 1

Scrumhalf

Caolin Blade (29) - Signed 1 year contract in 2022

Kieran Marmion (31) - Signed 3 year contract in 2020

Colm Reilly (24) - Signed contract in 2021

Matthew Devine (21) - Academy year 1

Will Reilly (u23) - Academy year 2

Outhalf

Jack Carty (31) - Signed 3 year contract in 2022

Conor Fitzgerald (25) - Signed contract in 2021

Cathal Forde (21) - Signed contract in 2022

Harry West (20) - Academy year 1

Centre

Bundee Aki (33) - Signed 3 year central contract in 2020

Shayne Bolton (23) - Signed contract in 2021

Tom Daly (30) - Signed 2 year contract in 2022

Tom Farrell (29) - Signed 2 year contract in 2022

David Hawkshaw (24) - Signed contract in 2022

Shane Jennings (22) - Signed contract in 2022

John Devine (u21) - Academy year 1

Hugh Gavin (u20) - Academy year 1

Daniel Hawkshaw (21) - Academy year 1

Back 3

Adam Byrne (28) - Signed contract in 2022

Mack Hansen (25) - Signed 3 year contract in 2022

Diarmuid Kilgallen (23) - Signed contract in 2022

Oran McNulty (23) - Signed 2 year contract in 2022

Tiernan O'Halloran (32) - Signed 1 year contract in 2022

John Porch (29) - Signed 2 year contract in 2023

Byron Ralston (23) - Signed contract in 2022

Alex Wootton (29) - Signed contract in 2021

Shane Mallon (21) - Academy year 1

Chay Mullins (21) - Academy year 1

Josh O'Connor (22) - Academy year 2

*ages as at 01/09/2023

IN: Joe Joyce (Lock, Bristol Bears)

OUT:

There are many elephants in the room when it comes to Irish provincial rugby other than Leinster. And it all revolves about 9 and 10. And Connacht have a great side, credit to Andy Friend, but this 9 and 10 stuff needs to get sorted.

I refuse to believe the rumours suggesting that he's shopping himself for a pre-world cup departure. It seems to me conjecture based on reports that he was in France over new year and in Bath to visit Quinn Roux, combined with a lack of information about his contract details.

I would also be very disappointed in the IRFU if they made a deal as cack-handed as this, paying someone a shed load of cash until just before the world cup and then allowing them to put you over a barrel. Nothing I've seen from the IRFU in recent years suggests to me that we're dealing with such incompetence.

Andy Farrell will announce his squad on Thursday and that will give us some indication of what the lie of the land is.

I wonder if we'll be able to keep Marmion as well. Blade is probably close enough to the international squad that it was a factor in his decision, but Marmion is well out in the cold and has probably done all he can do here. He may fancy a move abroad.

I'd be wondering the same it could be hard to convince him I think.

Reilly looked good last week and personally think Devine looked the best 9 at u20s level in years, including Casey

Odd that he felt the need to say that Aki is "in a good headspace" not once but twice.

That's a very odd story.

We've had no issues rotating centres all season despite how well anybody has been delivering at 12 or 13 so I don't see why Bundee would be thinly veiled dropped for Newcastle away already.

I don't necessarily disagree but there can be quite a bit of pain blooding new scrumhalves, no matter how talented. Think of Cormac Foley having an absolute stinker in the Sportsground earlier this season. Leinster are good enough to compensate for an inexperienced halfback having a tough day, the margins are finer for us given we need to win a lot of 50-50 games to succeed in the league. There are very few gimmes like Brive at home in our calendar.

Reilly is lively and has decent fundamentals but his decision making is some way off Marmion and Blade's, he consistently gets sucked into rucks, takes too many steps, etc. Devine was an excellent u20 but he has been playing AIL 2B since, senior rugby will be a massive step up for him.