I'm dumbfounded, a giant step backward. Put a circle around that result, it will more than likely come back to haunt Connacht come the end of the season.

Its 2 points and good effort from the lads!
But honestly I've never seen so many bad decisions made in one game you could call it kamikaze rugby :pinch: .

You have to make the game safe before hunting bonus points.
What was muldoon thinking telling them to go for a lineout when it wasnt working all night and when we are utterly dominant in the scrum ( penalty try is a real possibilty). Then Off the pitch some random kid is allowed to throw on a extra ball after the lineout was taken and they have take it again :pinch: small things but totally crucial.
Easy shot at goal turned down to go for the corner again, that score would have made the game safe three score game crucial.
We then bring on a few weaker defenders shall we say.
The list of mistakes was very long and very frustrating.


Im flabbergasted you couldnt make it up.

Borders no.2 wrote: . Personally I thought Leinster were off colour and were kicking the ball far too much (cross field kicks were used very regularly to little effect)

The Leinster win was great but for me this is more important. We need to show we can deliver results against the teams in and around us in the league. The atmosphere needs to be good from the off tomorrow.

Maybe but this strategy could be worthwhile in wet and windy conditions annouced for t'morrow (no rain in the evening tough)

salmson wrote:
Both teams have made 8 changes from last week. Most of ours are upgrades or like-for-like exchanges. Some of their changes (Jones rested, Turnbull and Navidi on the bench) suggest they have one eye on next weeks Ospreys match. This one is ours for the taking, no excuses.

apparently the cardiff coach confirm he sees it as a transition match "A win would certainly build confidence, there is no doubt about that, but we are looking at the big picture here and taking another step forward as a team at Connacht.” BUT intox does exist and Warburton is on the teamsheet whereas he is limited to 16 games this season...
So I'm preplex kind of match I won't bet on. Could be a 20-point-margin win as well as a losing effort or a tight victory...

The best thing about this selection, and indeed the selections over the previous games, is that it shows we don't have much deadwood around. Pat clearly trusts the whole squad.

Of the 41 senior squad members:
- 9 are injured or playing ITM Cup.
- 6 played for the Eagles in their victory over Ulster Ravens.
- 22 are on duty tomorrow.
- The remaining 4 (Cooney, Fifita, McSharry, and Swift) could and very possibly will be in the 23 against Treviso without weakening our chances of a five competition point return.

Both teams have made 8 changes from last week. Most of ours are upgrades or like-for-like exchanges. Some of their changes (Jones rested, Turnbull and Navidi on the bench) suggest they have one eye on next weeks Ospreys match. This one is ours for the taking, no excuses.

Its early in the season but I think this is a crunch game. The last two seasons we have finished ahead of Cardiff on scoring difference in 2012/13 (5-5 in the head to head) and 6 points behind them last season (8-1 in the head to head). What that says is that we've got to at a minimum break even in the head to head games against our rivals.

In terms of 6th of 7th Cardiff finished 7th last year and in 2011/12, 6th in 2010/11 so while they'll be looking at top 6 as their target but 7th as their minimum objective.

On paper Cardiff have quality splattered throughout their team but there is also a lot of question marks hanging over them. They have conceded over 30 points per game so far this season, they did push up in Leinster's faces last week and it had some limited success but Leinster eventually found space. Personally I thought Leinster were off colour and were kicking the ball far too much (cross field kicks were used very regularly to little effect)

The Leinster win was great but for me this is more important. We need to show we can deliver results against the teams in and around us in the league. The atmosphere needs to be good from the off tomorrow.

Connacht v Cardiff Galway Sportsgrounds Friday 3rd October 2014 Kick Off 19:35 On TV: TG4

Connacht will hope to return to winning ways when they face Cardiff Blues on Friday night. Cardiff started the season with a bonus point win away to Zebre but after a couple of disappointing pair of defeats at home, they put in a competitive performance away to Leinster. Both sides will understand the significance of this game given how close both teams have finished to one another in the table over the last two seasons.

Other Match Stats
Connacht's last home win against Cardiff came on the 18th of September 2009
Connacht have only won 1 of the last 9 meetings between the sides.
Cardiff have conceded an average of over 30 points per game in their 4 games to date this season

Cardiff Blues Stats
Website: www.cardiffblues.com
Founded: 2003
Ground: Cardiff Arms Park
Capacity: 12,500
Captain: Matthew Rees
Coaches: Dave McIntosh / Paul John

Rabo Direct Pro 12 League Position 2013/14: 7th Played 22 Points 41
Heineken Cup 2013/14: 2nd in Pool 2 Points 14

Previous Fixtures
Zebre 26-41 Cardiff (Pro 12 Round 1)
Cardiff 12-33 Glasgow (Pro 12 Round 2)
Cardiff 9-26 Ulster (Pro 12 Round 3)
Leinster 37-23 Cardiff (Pro 12 Round 4)

Next League Fixture:
Sunday 12th October 2014 Ospreys v Cardiff @ Liberty Stadium. Kick Off: 16:00

Challenge Cup (Pool 1)
Cardiff
London Irish
Grenoble
Rovigo

Cardiff Ins and Outs 2014/15
Players In
Craig Mitchell from Exeter Chiefs
Ieuan Jones from Newport Gwent Dragons
Adam Thomas from Wales Sevens
George Watkins from Bristol Rugby
Tavis Knoyle from Gloucester Rugby
Josh Turnbull from Scarlets
Jarrad Hoeata from Highlanders
Manoa Vosawai from Benetton Treviso
Geraint Walsh from Pontypridd
Gareth Anscombe from Chiefs
Adam Jones from Ospreys
Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino from Oyonnax

Players Out
Andries Pretorius to Worcester Warriors
Leigh Halfpenny to Toulon
Robin Copeland to Munster
Bradley Davies to London Wasps
James Down to London Welsh
Harry Robinson to Scarlets
Chris Czekaj to US Colomiers
Luke Hamilton to SU Agen
Alex Walker to Ealing Trailfinders
James Down to London Welsh
Isaia Tuifua
Benoit Bourrust

Previous Meetings

Saturday 3rd May 2014 Rabo Direct Pro 12
Connacht 15-22 Cardiff
www.pro12rugby.com/matchcentre/14932.php

Friday 13rd September 2013 Rabo Direct Pro 12
Cardiff 21-10 Connacht
www.pro12rugby.com/matchcentre/12796.php

Like the team selection a lot. My only change would be Buckley starting with Loughney on the bench. I'd then drop Buckely for next weeks game against Treviso. I understand Lam's thinking but the way Buckley is playing I'd want him in their from the start.

connachta wrote:
Perfectly said... in my opinion, the main area to work on is between newcomer Ronaldson and Carty. Patchell has playedd FB for 2 or 3 matches, that could have boosted his appetite to attack the spaces in a brand-new 10/12 channel

Just on this, one thing that could be done would be to have Ronaldson to defend at 10 with Leader at 12 and Carty at 15. As its Ronaldson's first start this season its a bit complicated but we wouldn't be the first team to do something like this.

We're -5 on the spread with PP.

Looking at the past results in this fixture I can't help but feel that's a little generous to us, given the last time we've beat Cardiff at home was 5 years ago.

Connacht v Blues (Season - 13/14) Score - 15-22 {Match Points 1} (12/13) 9 - 13 {1} (11/12) 20 - 26 {1} (10/11) 12 - 26 {0} (09/10) 18 - 16 {4}

Intrigued to see how the center partnership gets on tomorrow and how we go in the scrum, glad Adam Jones isn't playing.

In Pat we trust, I guess we owe them one anyway.

phatguerilla wrote: I like both Ronaldson and McSharry as players and the more I think about this switch, the more I like it. It could be risky, but Pat has often shown himself willing to play a sort of bluff leading up to a targeted game and then switch the gameplan on an unsuspecting team.

McSharry has been making an awful lot of carries lately while imo Henshaw has been relatively quiet. At the start of this season most teams I assume would have expected Henshaw to be the primary carrier but will now have become primed to target McSharry, so Blues' analysis could be knocked off by this change. Henshaw made yards for fun against Blues this time last year and I would hope that he can do it again.

Added to that change is a second 5/8 in Ronaldson who can provide a kicking option while also remaining a solid defensive option and a strong carrier in his own right, but who most teams will not have been paying too much attention to. Suddenly you have a centre partnership that is raw but equally pretty unknown to the opposition and has multiple means of causing them problems.

Now equally Cardiff have moved Patchell from 15 to 10 where he is much better but if I could predict that change several days out it would be a big blunder by Connacht if they didn't also see it and figure out some sort of means of counteracting him.

Perfectly said... in my opinion, the main area to work on is between newcomer Ronaldson and Carty. Patchell has playedd FB for 2 or 3 matches, that could have boosted his appetite to attack the spaces in a brand-new 10/12 channel

I like both Ronaldson and McSharry as players and the more I think about this switch, the more I like it. It could be risky, but Pat has often shown himself willing to play a sort of bluff leading up to a targeted game and then switch the gameplan on an unsuspecting team.

McSharry has been making an awful lot of carries lately while imo Henshaw has been relatively quiet. At the start of this season most teams I assume would have expected Henshaw to be the primary carrier but will now have become primed to target McSharry, so Blues' analysis could be knocked off by this change. Henshaw made yards for fun against Blues this time last year and I would hope that he can do it again.

Added to that change is a second 5/8 in Ronaldson who can provide a kicking option while also remaining a solid defensive option and a strong carrier in his own right, but who most teams will not have been paying too much attention to. Suddenly you have a centre partnership that is raw but equally pretty unknown to the opposition and has multiple means of causing them problems.

Now equally Cardiff have moved Patchell from 15 to 10 where he is much better but if I could predict that change several days out it would be a big blunder by Connacht if they didn't also see it and figure out some sort of means of counteracting him.

Yeah, you understood the implicit in the original statement :lol:

Henshaw will have more balls

:dry:

I had to read that twice.

3 Specific keys of this match :

1) will Loughney, who just started 5 last year, and not always at LH, be able to dominate the 37 y-o Tongian TH??
2) will Quinn Roux dare to tackle, as the 2 Cardiff N-Z locks will
3) Henshaw will have more balls, McSharry is used to attacking the line. But more quality balls, Ronaldson is an outhalf, should produce accurate passes. Will Henshaw take advantage of them?

phatguerilla wrote: Does black mean no difference? Evans is a much more established pro centre than Ronaldson. McKeon/Navidi might depend on what position each comes on in?

Yeah black bold is a draw
For Evans/Ronaldson, I made the guess that kicking/defence would neutralize experience..