Good analysis

We need a 10 and let Parks become a Rugby Dev Officer or similar

If there is no budget can we hire a player ourselves? i.e. a Fund formed by Clan members who all contribute until we get enough cash to hire someone (in collaboration with the branch!)

salmson wrote: Fair enough, but the selections for the Connacht/Leinster Connacht/Scarlets and Leinster/Scarlets game were of comparable strength. If we can match Leinster, how come we can't beat a (weaker) Scarlets selection than the one that succumbed so easily to Leinster?

you've hit the nail on the head there, it's been puzzling me and I can't come up with an answer.

Simple really, we dont take our chances, even against edin we seemingly made plenty of chances and butchered them. Leinster tend to take their chances, scarlets get demoralised and roll over.

Fair enough, but the selections for the Connacht/Leinster Connacht/Scarlets and Leinster/Scarlets game were of comparable strength. If we can match Leinster, how come we can't beat a (weaker) Scarlets selection than the one that succumbed so easily to Leinster?

clanman wrote: meanwhile over at the RDS Leinster comfortably dispatched the same Scarlets team that we unable put away a week previously. What makes it even more damning is that it was Leinster team without any of it's major internationals bar Gordan D'Arcy.

Just to clarify, there was 12 current internationals in the squad, with another two recent internationals as well.

You cant compare Leinster with Connacht.

phatguerilla wrote: ... either other teams discipline is getting better or Connacht are not creating enough pressure to force penalties. The number of scoreless second halves this season would suggest the latter.

The latter. For instance, first half against Ulster (when we finished the half in the lead) we had 14 possessions, turned over 6, failed to get to even a second phase on another couple (knocked on, kciked away) and scored a try off the only possession where we put together 10 phases.

Apart from that try I can only think of Poolman versus Saracens where we put together double figures of phases in an opponents 22 and scored a try off sheer pressure levels.

Contrast that to the number of times we've been done for sealing off/holding on in the opponents' 22 this year. It's very annoying that we can be so disciplined on our own line but get White line fever every time we go forward.

Thanks for the figures salmson really interesting stuff. The other point of note is outside of zebre the number of kickable penalties to conn are quite low. Again context is everything but it would suggest that either other teams discipline is getting better or Connacht are not creating enough pressure to force penalties. The number of scoreless second halves this season would suggest the latter.

meanwhile over at the RDS Leinster comfortably dispatched the same Scarlets team that we unable put away a week previously. What makes it even more damning is that it was Leinster team without any of it's major internationals bar Gordan D'Arcy.

THis is true salmson, my son commented earlier in the season that he seems to have completely changed his kicking style/routine.

Not the kicking force he used to be at all this year.

ummm, wrote: Would be interesting to know is this because the kicking isn't up to scratch, or we're taking low percentage kicks because we're in desperation mode.

I've been at all the home matches so far this season and seen the away matches covered on TV, and I'd say: on the contrary, he's been avoiding kicks from distance whenever he can, and has missed a few gimmes from inside the 22. Anything with a real angle on it he seems to miss, even from close enough in.

Would be interesting to know is this because the kicking isn't up to scratch, or we're taking low percentage kicks because we're in desperation mode.

Craic Head wrote: I have always thought that a big reason for bad results this year has been the missed penalties.

You're not wrong. Dan couldn't kick sh1te off a rope this season.

Placed Kicks: converted/attempted (% success rate)

Zebre: Parks 4/7 (57%)
Cardiff: Parks 2/4 (50%)
Ulster: Parks 1/2 (50%)
Ospreys: Ronaldson 4/5 (80%); Parks 2/2 (100%)
Treviso: Parks 1/2 (50%)
Saracens: Parks 3/4 (75%)
Zebre: Parks 8/9 (89%)
Leinster: Parks 3/4 (75%)
Glasgow: Parks 2/4 (50%); Ronaldson 2/3 (67%)
Scarlets: Ronaldson 4/5 (80%); Parks 0/1 (0%)
Edinburgh: Parks 1/3 (33%)

Totals

Parks 27/42 (64%)
Ronaldson 10/13 (77%)
All 37/55 (67%)

Other notes for comparison:
10th place on the Rabo Rhino golden boot table is Harry Leonard (83%).
You need an absolute minimum return of 70-75% from your placekickers. Parks average is well short of this, and just how bad he's been is somewhat hidden by a short return to form for the Saracens/Zebre/Leinster games; his median return is just 50%.
Last season Parks scored 10 drop goals from 22 starts (all comps); this year he has 1 from 9 starts and 2 substitute appearances; he has one try so far this year as compared to none for the season last year.

I have always thought that a big reason for bad results this year has been the missed penalties. You keep a scoreboard ticking over, you get outside the seven point range, you get something to defend against, you reward the forwards for their hard work by getting the scores. When you miss, you demoralise a team, heads go down, lose a few scores and the flood gates open.

I am not sure what Parks is at percentage wise for the season or Ronaldson for that matter, but I do see bad kicking costing us badly, the Leinster game at the RDS could have been won if we had not missed simple kicks, the Scarletts match at home a few weeks ago. Get the scores when you are dominent in the game, get them at the important times. We never seem to do that.

It looked like a great start. The try was class and shows that they can do it. What happened afterwards I dont know. We were unlucky with the kicks and the intercept.
Desperate to concede so many points when it seemed like we were in the match early on. Very hard to judge the match without seeing all of it.

Lads, No happy but give the Lam some time. Its hardly his fault that players were lacking concentration and discipline.
Its a massive wake up call for next week. Tackle bags at the ready for the week.

Yeah that try is a candidate for try of the season across the whole league. It doesn't get much better than inside-ball offload-out-of-tackle-times-3 offload-from-the-ground touchdown-in-corner.

Pity about the horror show that followed.

The scoreline is unacceptable. End of story. However, looking at the highlights, it does seem like they started well. I'm searching for positives, but the try we got was top drawer too. And Park's drop goal was well taken. Apparently we missed a few penalties. If we'd slotted those, it could have been a completely different game.

I'm just hoping this will act as a major wake up call. Fingers crossed for Toulouse.