For me 60 points is what we need to aim for and its a huge total. First 4 in the bag tonight to match last years result. As Swift says below we got 17 from those games last year and 50 in total, if we can make up 5 or 6 points on those games it would give us a good springboard. For me the first 5 home games are must win and any bonus points we can pick up either in the away games or at home to the Italians would be most helpful.

Being realistic if we got 12 wins it'd be a excellent achievement. Maybe 57 or 58 may be enough but that still leaves us needing something in and around 9-12 points in bonus points.

swift4prez wrote: Few people have commented that it will be hard to improve on last season with more or less the same squad.

More or less the same squad means our team of young lads is a year older, harder, more experienced, so I'd share your optimistic outlook. All the teams ahead of us as as-were or weaker (in part due to the WC admittedly) while of those behind us only Edinburgh look set to improve. Onwards and upwards.

Few people have commented that it will be hard to improve on last season with more or less the same squad.
Fixtures are kind to us and there is plenty of games we can improve on.
I was joking when I said we'd finish 5th

Newport Gwent Dragons Home 14/15 - 4points
Glasgow Away 14/15 - 0points
Cardiff Home 14/15 - 2points
Zebre Home 14/15 - 5points
Ospreys Away 14/15 - 0points
Edinburgh Home 14/15 - 1point
Treviso Home 14/15 - 5points

We can easily hope for win vs Cardiff, win vs Edinburgh, thats an extra 5 points.
Wouldnt be surprised if we got 5 points tonight.
We could with everything clicking, pick up 5 points from Ospreys/Glasgow. Thats an extra 11points from the same games last season.
We can do this!

If you assume that the Enisei fixtures are correct (in bold below).
And then assume that whichever team is away to Enisei will be home in the adjacent fixture, and then fill in the return fixtures (in italics).
Then that leaves Newcastle away for the first 3 games.
The only remaining fixtures are the Connacht Brive ones and I assume they will preserve the home/away pattern for those.
So that would leave:

Date Home Away
14/11/15 Enisei Connacht
14/11/15 Brive Newcastle
21/11/15 Enisei Brive
21/11/15 Connacht Newcastle
12/12/15 Enisei Newcastle
12/12/15 Conancht Brive
19/12/15 Brive Enisei
19/12/15 Newcastle Connacht
16/01/16 Connacht Enisei
16/01/16 Newcastle Brive
23/01/16 Newcastle Enisei
23/01/16 Brive Connacht

No guarantees though.
I presume Enisei were not supposed to release those fixtures ...

Fourdogs wrote:

wp_rathead wrote: So judging by that, Connacht fixtures:
R1: Yenisei-STM (a)
R2: Newcastle
R3: Brive
R4: Newcastle
R5: Yenisei-STM (h)
R6: Brive

What is your prediction for which are H /A.
With the Russians getting 3 home games to start with, the traditional H/A/H/A/H/A pattern is out the window.
I make our schedule out to be something like this but I could be way wrong:
Away for R1
Home for R2.
Away for R3 & R4.
Home for R5 & R6

Brive are at home in Round 4 though, so wouldn't it be more likely they'd be away for R3 in the Sportsground? Meaning Connacht would be away in R6.

Fourdogs wrote:

wp_rathead wrote: So judging by that, Connacht fixtures:
R1: Yenisei-STM (a)
R2: Newcastle
R3: Brive
R4: Newcastle
R5: Yenisei-STM (h)
R6: Brive

What is your prediction for which are H /A.
With the Russians getting 3 home games to start with, the traditional H/A/H/A/H/A pattern is out the window.
I make our schedule out to be something like this but I could be way wrong:
Away for R1
Home for R2.
Away for R3 & R4.
Home for R5 & R6

Looks about right
Only thing is Newcastle v Yenisei-STM is on in Sportsground, so would they do a double header?
Or would Connacht let Yenisei-STM have the facilities and we play away in Brive in R6

I reckon you're bang on - connacht will be at home in round 2 and Newcastle at home in round 4 as you couldn't ask them to back up trips to Russia with another away day.

wp_rathead wrote: So judging by that, Connacht fixtures:
R1: Yenisei-STM (a)
R2: Newcastle
R3: Brive
R4: Newcastle
R5: Yenisei-STM (h)
R6: Brive

What is your prediction for which are H /A.
With the Russians getting 3 home games to start with, the traditional H/A/H/A/H/A pattern is out the window.
I make our schedule out to be something like this but I could be way wrong:
Away for R1
Home for R2.
Away for R3 & R4.
Home for R5 & R6

So judging by that, Connacht fixtures:
R1: Yenisei-STM (a)
R2: Newcastle
R3: Brive
R4: Newcastle
R5: Yenisei-STM (h)
R6: Brive

So I decided to have a look and see could I get any info on the stadium Yenisei-STM play out of and came across this press release (google translate did its best) on their website which makes interesting reading but perhaps the most interesting bit of the whole release is where they are playing their round 6 match. Obviously this has to be taken with a pinch of salt!
1 round. His first match in the Challenge cup of RK "Yenisei-STM" will hold a November 14, 2015 in Krasnoyarsk at the Central Stadium with the Irish team, "Connacht" (Connacht Rugby).
2nd round. Next meeting with the French club Brive (Brive) will be held at the stadium "South Sports" in Sochi on November 21.
Round 3. Next - a meeting of the club Newcastle Falcons (Newcastle Falcons) will be held at the stadium "South Sports" on 12 December.
Round 4. After that, "Yenisei-STM" will meet again with rugby players from France to Brive Stadium Amédée-Domenech. Date TBA.
In the 5th round, will meet with Connacht Rugby or 15 or 17 January. It will be determined after 4 rounds. The match will take place at the stadium Sportsground for Connacht in his native city of Galloway.
In the 6th round of "Yenisei-STM" will play against Newcastle Falcons all there in the stadium Galloway Sportsground either 22 or 24 January.
The quarterfinals will be held on 7, 8, 9, 10 April 2016, the semi-finals - 22, 23, 24 April, and the final - 13 and 14th May 2016.
Press Service of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Yenisei-STM"

Can they even tell us what weekends our home games will be? This is ridiculous.

That's unlucky alright. How are the supporters meant to make it? A chartered flight for the team and staff is all well and good but I was seriously interested in going. Anyone looked at flight to siberia?

So we - quite literally - drew the short straw yesterday, and will visit Siberia in the first round of the Challenge Cup.

www.irishexaminer.com/sport/rugby/connac...ewcomers-351779.html

Newcastle and Brive will pay against Enesei in Sochi.

wp_rathead wrote: September around the corner and still no update on our European fixtures?

If anyone had any doubt that the new EPCR setup could not organise a piss up in a brewery, even if they were swimming in it.
The farce of our pool fixtures must surely have removed all doubt.

September around the corner and still no update on our European fixtures?

galway_gas wrote:

Accidentally Onside wrote: Worth noting for the Glasgow game that Scotland will most likely be out of the WC by then (by 2 weeks if they haven't made the knock out stages....which looks a good bet), so they should be at near enough full strength........which is pretty dam strong

We play Glasgow before world cup starts so they will be there for the taking. Unfortunately Jerry Yanuyanutawa didnt make the fiji squad and favaro didnt make the italian squad but hopefully strauss will be at the world cup as he becomes scottish eligible in mid september. We need wales to make it out of group of death for the ospreys squad to be significantly weakened for our visit.

I've no idea how I've got that so badly wrong :sick:

Osprey will have their Canadian players back and possibly their Welsh contingent, depending on how their group goes, so not sure if that's a game to target.....world cup hangover is a thing isn't it?