theCulk wrote: can the mods lock this thread please? it's going to keep getting dragged out of the depths and used as a stick to beat either camp (in/out). It's childish

I agree with the culk and withdraw my previous comment.

Mod please delete it

can the mods lock this thread please? it's going to keep getting dragged out of the depths and used as a stick to beat either camp (in/out). It's childish

salmson wrote: If that's true - and since it reeks of Galway gossip/bs I sincerely doubt it - then what are the IRFU doing undermining management & coaches at our branch?

Like you I dont believe at least half of what I hear but by source on this one is very good. PP had to go to ask for Corinthians blessing and got it. Kevin Potts (IRFU) is our interim CEO and Im guessing it was he who was involved. At a later stage there was some communication between 2 for releasing Eoghan Masterson into academy.

If that's true - and since it reeks of Galway gossip/bs I sincerely doubt it - then what are the IRFU doing undermining management & coaches at our branch? Isn't enough they appoint obviously biased refs to screw us?

Here's how rugby works: if 2 teams are equal in talent and resources, the more experienced team wins.

If your experienced players - Parks, Duffy, Swift, Murphy, Naoupu, Muldowney, Loughney, White - are past it, injury prone, horribly off form or indisciplined - you don't have a hope.

Only Wilko, Clarke, and Muldoon have delivered this season of the senior pros.

Getting in another coach or 2 won't help, shipping out half of the above at a minimum and replacing them would help both our budget deficit and our performance level.

Ya hit the nail on the head there

Corinthians coach Phil Pretorius was contacted by IRFU re helping out Connacht. He was happy but offer turned down by Pat Lam. I dont agree with cutting Pat (it seems we cant afford to anyway) but his My Way or The Highway philosophy is only acceptable if we are successful.

If thats true then he needs to swallow his pride and go back and ask again. Pretorious is doing well with Corinthians and could be an asset with Connacht

FACECUTTR wrote: Lam needs at least 1 more coach to help him out.

Agree. Corinthians coach Phil Pretorius was contacted by IRFU re helping out Connacht. He was happy but offer turned down by Pat Lam. I dont agree with cutting Pat (it seems we cant afford to anyway) but his My Way or The Highway philosophy is only acceptable if we are successful.
www.sarugbylog.com/about-dr-phil.html

Last year at this stage we had 4 wins in the league and 3 in the HEC.

This year with a smaller budget, smaller coaching team, and weaker squad (we replaced multiple experienced players with novices this year and our senior pros Parks/Gav/Swift/George have gone over a cliff age/form-wise) we have got the same number of wins in a harder pool (Toulouse and saracens each better than Biarritz and Harlequins) while getting an extra bonus point.

Against that this year's spanking at Saffracens was worse than the one Quins gave us last year, and we have only 2 league wins.

Season before that we won only one game in a far tougher pool in the (HEC) and had 3 wins in the league.

So to summarise:

So far this season: 5 wins.
Same point last season: 7 wins.
Year before that: 4 wins,

Rather than yesterday's result being some sort of existential crisis, it's simply more of the same.

We need a defensive coach. Talk about axing Pat is mad, he needs time to prove himself.

Replacing him with either Eric or Eos is nonsense.

Lam needs at least 1 more coach to help him out. He took over a squad who he didn't know apart from Heenen. He has tried to change a lot of what we have been and build something of a team. He now knows who he has in the team and who he wants. A couple of decent signings at 10, 2, and 6/8 will help us. Parks and I'm afraid to say Gavin Duffy are no benefit to us going forward. We have to sign a few good players for next season and I bet we will finish in the top half of the league.

I'm not saying Lam out, he needs another season at least.

If after that and things haven't changed, not only has he to go, but the whole of management have to go too. This should have happened after Eric left anyways. It's too much of an old boys club now

No I don't think we have a top class pack but a bunch of lads who have proven they can perform against the best but aren't, that has to raise questions about Lam's ability as a coach.

What really bothers me is that players who were on the up are now performing way below the standards they are capable of under Lam.

If he can't improve the players he has he needs to go, nobody expects us to be world beaters but any coach's job is to improve what he has taken over and he hasn't, we have gone backwards

Coaching guys who are very average players let's not forget

How many of our backrows would be mapped in the other 3 provinces?

Heenan and that's it.

We've Craig clarke who's a classy operator and an adequate front row .

You seem to think we've a top class pack. The facts are its the weakness of the team.

So just to clarify Lam is not responsible for ensuring our players can carry and ruck sufficiently well? He was a top class back row himself but can't impart that knowledge/technique into his players, that is what coaching is all about.

I don't think anyone expected us to beat Sarries with their squad and depth but neither did we expect to cave in and give a performance like that either.

Players don't seem to know if they are coming are going with Lam's tactics and revolving door selection.

murph13 wrote: EOS is a ridiculous shout but the thread is not.

So please tell us all you Lam apologists, does he have no responsibility for what we have seen this year?

Is it not him that picks the team, comes up with game plans, systems and tactics, motivates the lads?

We don't have the players to beat a team like Saracens away from home.

We have a lightweight pack who can't secure the ball for the team. They don't carry ball well either. Outside Heenan they can't ruck either.

10 is a serious problem for us. Teams just target us there all the time. Parks doesn't use Henshaw or Griffin well either.

We also don't have the replacements either. Saracens brought internationals off the bench- we're bringing in lads that wouldn't be mapped in any of the other provinces.

Lam's error today was not keeping Carty and Leader in the side. Couldn't have been any worse.

We're not going to be playing European rugby for a significant period of time again. We've got to start building a side organically from local lads and take it from there. We have the bones of that there now.

We got stacks of hidings when Elwood was there too. We're better off out of the HEC IMO - we're not good enough to play in it. Enjoyed the big wins as much as anyone else but I'd like to re-enter when we're good enough to play in it and avoid embarrassements like today

EOS is a ridiculous shout but the thread is not.

So please tell us all you Lam apologists, does he have no responsibility for what we have seen this year?

Is it not him that picks the team, comes up with game plans, systems and tactics, motivates the lads?