Connacht Team Talk Thread VI - Some like it TOH

He probably hasn't had the minutes he'd like this season. We're generally a better team with him involved even if we can select three better individual players in the back row.

Well they can put together any plan for full back they like so long as they leave Mack Hansen out of it.

Nothing annoys me more than one of the best in the world at one position being moved to another.

I hope we make the final eight in the URC and I'll accept that. Then they need to decide if it's the squad or coaching that needs fixing.

Cordero is as signed as a fullback. Apart from that you’d have Porch, Mack , Smith and Jennings who can cover there and the lads in the academy West and Nicholson.

I'd be very sorry to see Thornbury released. It was obvious when Joyce was signed that there was going to be a bottleneck at lock. With such congestion, I'm still not sure that was a necessary signing even though Joe has been good. Gavin has been out injured so long that it's easy to forget that he packed down with Joe McCarthy for Ireland A against New Zealand just fifteen months ago. I'd keep him.

It hasn't been commented on, but we have been following an insane policy at LH relying almost exclusively on Buckley and Dooley. They have been given all the minutes except for 91 for Duggan. Burke has been left on the shelf. This isn't a sensible approach to squad depth.

West has been playing for buccs at 15 recently. Nicholson was a fullback but played on the wing because of injuries and McErlean being the starting 15

Thanks, that's all new information for me.

Cardiff has only 36,7 players. And they seems to emphasiis sizable FWs. It's fundamental law of restruction of all sports in the world. I think maybe Connachtwii select same way. So....There is famous Japanese proverb 'Big is also small'. Look Prendergast. He can work at 7 well. Maybe Connacht will do such a way. I think that Illo can at LHP because he can push straightly at scrum. I dream some day he (LH) and Barrett (TH) go to Ireland squads. And Connacht will rapidly rejuvenade, I think that West ＞ Sam Prendergast partly. Devine, Gavin, Treacy all look excellent. Dan Edwards of Ospreys is only 20 years old and small (175,83) with too little experience. But he was very impressive at vs Ulster match. I think that young guns of Connacht will do same performance if they are given some chances with far harder (than curretly) training duty.

It'd be a shame to see him go. He'd have to be near the top of the list of best singings in recent years. Was it Keane of Pat that brought him in?

His Ulster contract is up this year, you'd imagine he'd be very amenable to an offer if we were to make one, given the current situation up North.

I doubt he'll be in a rush back to Ulster to be fourth choice scrum half unless Ulster finally give in and try to convert Doak to outhalf. Unless our coaches think Matthew Devine has developed enough tom be given decent minutes we need the extra player. We seem a little cautious about taking those risks with young players right now.

I think that given a choice between developing our young players and importing someone into the fringes of our squad we've tend to pick the conservative second option recently. We chop and change our starting lineup to the extent that young players don't get the best opportunity to play in a settled environment.

Personally, it's left me thinking that the coaches don't rate the majority of our local young players, and would rather let them try to show promise on the fringes of a larger training squad. I trust them to make those calls far better than me but it doesn't get us any closer to having a strong spine of good local players to build a team around.

I don't think that would work out. Finlay's big selling point as a TH is that he brings a lot of workrate, mobility, and handling skill while still being able to lock down a scrum. We've played enough at LH during his early years to know that he's better off emphasising those skills at TH rather than focussing on them at LH.

Some excellent play by Hugh Gavin for the U20s tonight. He's carried hard and passed well when the Ireland attack has put him in good positions.

can someone please explain to me how this new concept of topping up international players wages (O'Mahoney and Murray) will work while the province supposedly plays for their wages. We had the IRFU list of players most important to Ireland handed central contracts. Where is this new twist going?

I agree. But this is primarily with central contracts. Somewhere in there is a guarantee of a public affairs agreement that would enhance their overall earnings. I have never heard of this addendum being added to a provincial contract.

I guess this is as ambiguous as RTE wages these days 😂