Dave Ellis is leaving Connacht after the Munster game on New Year's Eve

New Stadium is 100% essential/Critical as Darcy and Co acknowledge. It says without equivocation that Connacht Rugby are a power and we are here forever success on the pitch will fluctuate and so to will attitudes when they do we become easy targets without unbreakable foundations just look at how the tag of champions only protected the side for about 2 games from some biased media . It's the difference between trying to attack a band of brigands in a few hastily constructed tents or professional soldiers in a castle. You don't even bother thinking about the castle unless its very last resort. Iook at how the IRFU let Munster off the hook for millions and help out every way they can its because the have their flag and stadiums firmly planted even if these are in debt.

Considering the absolute mess that was the cinema development near the docks, the impossibility of finding a large green space in Galway city for development, and the absolute raimeis that is the calls to build on the docks, I'm pretty happy that nothing has been announced about the new stadium. As far as I'm concerned we should only be looking for a new stadium when we're selling out the likes of Dragons, Zebre and Treviso weeks in advance.

So far while in Ireland Lam has been able to play the IRFU quite cleverly and get what he wanted out of them without resorting to claims that they have a grudge against us etc. He did everything possible to keep AJ and when that wasn't possible he didn't attack the IRFU - because he understands that when he next wants a favour they will be more inclined to listen and help out as a result.

As for replacing Muldowney, we don't yet know what Cannon will turn out like, but we have to remember that when we signed Muldowney we picked up an Exeter squad player who came to rugby late and if we're honest, was not exactly ripping up trees in his first season. Lam, Bell and the rest of the coaches made him into the best second row in the league (bar perhaps the internationals who play less than half the games) and when you do that you create the problem that your squad filler is now a high value target. It happens all the time in sport, even to the big teams.

I do think that the IRFU possibly could have done more to keep Muldowney in Ireland, but as he wasn't even called into training camps its fairly clear he wasn't in Joe's mind, and anyone could see that Grenoble can offer him at least twice what Connacht can pay.

Evil_g wrote:

connachta wrote: A Connacht spokesperson told us that contracts 'talks are ongoing' with Dillane and there will be no further updates until they conclude.
Well at least. Henshaw did the same though...

Source?

Not a good one :lol:
www.sportsjoe.ie/rugby/connacht-insist-c...&utm_campaign=Buffer

connachta wrote: A Connacht spokesperson told us that contracts 'talks are ongoing' with Dillane and there will be no further updates until they conclude.
Well at least. Henshaw did the same though...

Source?

A Connacht spokesperson told us that contracts 'talks are ongoing' with Dillane and there will be no further updates until they conclude.
Well at least. Henshaw did the same though...

merchantdon wrote:
Jesus lads, stadium only started being talked about in June, if there was plans already I'd be very suspicious that proper thought and planning had been done. Designing a house would take longer than that.

J

I'm not talking about magicking a stadium from nowhere, an outline master plan i.e. year we submit planning; year we break ground; year we move in would be sufficient.

It may be Ruane has a sponsor for a one-year deal for Bundee which will bridge him to a central contract, and Ben Ryan signed up as Dave Ellis' replacement, and a deal with the dogs doe and dusted, and a set of stadium plans ready to be submitted tout suite. I want to be wrong about Ruane and the off-field org, but he's been in the job over 2 years, and apart from a dressing room and a Powerpoint presentation, there is no visible end-product. I think we're allowed be concerned that off-field we're not matching up to the what the senior and academy players and coaches have achieved on it.

Darragh wrote: A few observations below.

Your observations, which you've been repeating over and over again (what's your beef with Ruane seriously? [edit] Sorry about this bit, mixed you up with someone else[/edit]) can be summed up as:

• The stadium that we can't afford hasn't been announced within six months of first raising the idea.


• We can't afford players of the calibre of Robbie Henshaw, Aly Muldowney, and Rodney Ah You even though we're clearing 4.5 k people in the Sportsground twice a month (also James Cannon is no good)


• Our much lauded academy seems to be stuttering in my mind over the past half season. (eh, what?)


• Jamie Dever (22), Saba Meunargia (22), Conor Kyne (21), should be propping at a professional level now because proping is easy. (Also Conan O'Donnell (20) being named in the Champion's Cup Squad whilst returning from an injury which kept him out of what would have been his second junior world cup just isn't coming through)


• These rugby players are getting injured!


• The players that we can afford to sign aren't of the calibre of Robbie Henshaw, Aly Muldowney, and Rodney Ah You even though we're clearing 4.5 k people in the Sportsground twice a month

There's a lot of improvement required behind the scenes but I wouldn't criticise the academy.
This summer we had 6 graduates to the pro ranks: Connolly, Delahunt, Maloney, O'Brien, Parata, Robb. That's an incredible amount of talent.
Previous year gave us Blade, Dillane, and Masterson; year before that Carty, Bealham, Finn & Leader.
O'Donnell and Brennan from the current crop are in the EPCR squad, there are great hopes for Gaffney and Romaine, and there are a skite of this season's Ireland U20s behind them.

- There was a lot of talk about stadium plans by the end of the summer from Ruane and there has been nothing bar the naming rights to a temporary hay shed for Grant Thornton.
.[/quote]

Jesus lads, stadium only started being talked about in June, if there was plans already I'd be very suspicious that proper thought and planning had been done. Designing a house would take longer than that.

J

salmson wrote:

RoadRunnerR1 wrote: top players ike Denis Buckley, Tom McCartney, Ultan Dillane, Quinn Roux, & Bundee Aki to name but a few will all be out of contract next summer. These are all players who you'd assume would be offered central contracts like Henshaw (Remember how that ended)

I'm as anti-IRFU as any right-thinking Connacht supporter, but we need to limit the paranoia to the areas where they're actually after us.

Back in the day there were 30 central contracts, this has been trimmed to fewer than 15, and you have to be guaranteed to be in the matchday 23, and preferably in the starting XV, to get one. Hence Donncha Ryan will almost certainly lose his central contract in the coming negotiations (presumably to Henderson) and Munster will be scrambling to find the money to keep him.

Buckley has not been capped. No non-international has ever got a central contract. Aki and McCartney are not even qualified to represent Ireland yet, so that's not even a hypothetical option (in Jared Payne's case he extended his provincial contract, and, once he was a guaranteed-starting international, then he got a central contract). Quinn Roux has one cap. Ultan Dillane has yet to start for Ireland.

I don't think the biggest concern we have is the untrustworthiness of the IRFU. The roots of last season's win - hiring of Lam; updating of equipment, services, software to a level equivalent to the other provinces; parity in coaching staff size with the other provinces (and thus the hiring of Dave Ellis); equality in academy size and funding; statement signings of Muliana, Aki, and McCartney - were all done in the 2012/13 and 2013/14 season when first Tom Sears and then an interim CEO (a seconded IRFU bean counter) were at the helm.

Since Willie Ruane took over the biggest change to the player facilities is a new dressing room; there has been a lot of jaw-jaw but not even a master plan for moving towards a fit for purpose stadium; and our highest profile recruit is an admittedly talented, if raw, Leinster academy graduate, while we've shed leadership on and off the field. I don't think it's helpful to point at the IRFU while our own house is in such disorder.

Really good assessment in my humble opinion. This is not entirely about the IRFU...

The pressure is on those at the top of OUR house. Ruane and Lam. A few observations below.

- There was a lot of talk about stadium plans by the end of the summer from Ruane and there has been nothing bar the naming rights to a temporary hay shed for Grant Thornton.
- The playing and coaching staff who have departed or announced as departing since we won the league have not been replaced with a similar standard at all, bar Boshoff and he has not played much in this past season, so there are no guarantees he will deliver to the profile of a capped Springbok 10. Lots of squad fillers to cover losing game managers and game changers.
- Our much lauded academy seems to be stuttering in my mind over the past half season.
- We seem to have a number of props in there who are just not coming through at all. As a result, there remains a huge expectation on the likes of Loughney for example and we have signed 3 props this season alone.
- We have an injury profile problem with second rows and all out academy second rows are injured too.
- Finally, we have signed Rowland, Illi and Kelleher, all as utility back three players this season. I get Kelleher, but is there no confidence in our academy stocks?

There has been a lot of talk about foundations and process to create a winning environment regardless who is here, but for me, this has been a fail since we won the league and the proof of the pudding is where we find ourselves in the league and off the field too.

Just my opinion. I expected more. A lot more from the organisation.

Henshaw was offered a central contract to stay in Connacht though. He turned it down because he believed he could make more money endorsing products in Dublin. He's probably right. But it would never have happened to a player of his calibre produced at Ulster or Munster.

The initial tapping up wouldn't have happened. The advice from senior players in the Irish squad wouldn't have happened. The two years of relentless media hype on behalf of Leinster wouldn't have happened. And the IRFU would have told Leinster in no uncertain terms that it wasn't going to happen.

If for no other reason but that having two arms of the same organisation bidding against each other on employment contracts is bad for business. (Leaving aside the damage to the last tiny pretence of corinthian ideals or tribalism or romance....which is actually important for the brand of Irish Rugby....Paul O'Connell in a Leinster jersey anyone?)

But he was the turning point. If he'd stayed for another two or three years everything could have been built around him (literally, in the case of a stadium). But he chose to leave, thus removing any justification for Bundee, Ultan or Pat to stay.

Four proud provinces indeed.

RoadRunnerR1 wrote: top players ike Denis Buckley, Tom McCartney, Ultan Dillane, Quinn Roux, & Bundee Aki to name but a few will all be out of contract next summer. These are all players who you'd assume would be offered central contracts like Henshaw (Remember how that ended)

I'm as anti-IRFU as any right-thinking Connacht supporter, but we need to limit the paranoia to the areas where they're actually after us.

Back in the day there were 30 central contracts, this has been trimmed to fewer than 15, and you have to be guaranteed to be in the matchday 23, and preferably in the starting XV, to get one. Hence Donncha Ryan will almost certainly lose his central contract in the coming negotiations (presumably to Henderson) and Munster will be scrambling to find the money to keep him.

Buckley has not been capped. No non-international has ever got a central contract. Aki and McCartney are not even qualified to represent Ireland yet, so that's not even a hypothetical option (in Jared Payne's case he extended his provincial contract, and, once he was a guaranteed-starting international, then he got a central contract). Quinn Roux has one cap. Ultan Dillane has yet to start for Ireland.

I don't think the biggest concern we have is the untrustworthiness of the IRFU. The roots of last season's win - hiring of Lam; updating of equipment, services, software to a level equivalent to the other provinces; parity in coaching staff size with the other provinces (and thus the hiring of Dave Ellis); equality in academy size and funding; statement signings of Muliana, Aki, and McCartney - were all done in the 2012/13 and 2013/14 season when first Tom Sears and then an interim CEO (a seconded IRFU bean counter) were at the helm.

Since Willie Ruane took over the biggest change to the player facilities is a new dressing room; there has been a lot of jaw-jaw but not even a master plan for moving towards a fit for purpose stadium; and our highest profile recruit is an admittedly talented, if raw, Leinster academy graduate, while we've shed leadership on and off the field. I don't think it's helpful to point at the IRFU while our own house is in such disorder.

RoadRunnerR1 wrote: Some months ago, after their worst season in living memory the IRFU admitted Munster were unable to make repayments on the hugh loan they'd been given for the great white elephant that is Thomond park not to mention Independent park in Cork. Since then they've gotten a new coaching team and signed numerous new players some of whom namely Klein and Marshall would not have come cheap not to mention the Springbok centre seemingly signed short term to fill in for their injured All Black centre. Let's not even mention the new €15m center on excellence at UIL that seems the envy of many international teams. In Contrast, Connacht, the current Pro 12 champions and a team that's proven just how good Irish rugby can be have hemorrhaged quality in both the playing and coaching sides and al the summer talk of a new stadium seems like a distant memory. Along with a sizeable injury list, top players ike Denis Buckley, Tom McCartney, Ultan Dillane, Quinn Roux, & Bundee Aki to name but a few will all be out of contract next summer. These are all players who you'd assume would be offered central contracts like Henshaw (Remember how that ended) but with Xmas quickly approaching, there isn't a word from head office to even suggest negotiations are ongoing. Seems to me the IRFU are looking to kill off Connacht once more but this time they're looking to do it quietly before anyone has a chance to stop it.

I agree wholeheartedly that all those players need contract extensions desperately and it probably should have been dealt with over the summer, but I don't think any of them are realistic candidates for a central contract, unless an exception is made to keep Aki.

Some months ago, after their worst season in living memory the IRFU admitted Munster were unable to make repayments on the hugh loan they'd been given for the great white elephant that is Thomond park not to mention Independent park in Cork. Since then they've gotten a new coaching team and signed numerous new players some of whom namely Klein and Marshall would not have come cheap not to mention the Springbok centre seemingly signed short term to fill in for their injured All Black centre. Let's not even mention the new €15m center on excellence at UIL that seems the envy of many international teams. In Contrast, Connacht, the current Pro 12 champions and a team that's proven just how good Irish rugby can be have hemorrhaged quality in both the playing and coaching sides and al the summer talk of a new stadium seems like a distant memory. Along with a sizeable injury list, top players ike Denis Buckley, Tom McCartney, Ultan Dillane, Quinn Roux, & Bundee Aki to name but a few will all be out of contract next summer. These are all players who you'd assume would be offered central contracts like Henshaw (Remember how that ended) but with Xmas quickly approaching, there isn't a word from head office to even suggest negotiations are ongoing. Seems to me the IRFU are looking to kill off Connacht once more but this time they're looking to do it quietly before anyone has a chance to stop it.

This is the cost of success I guess.

I was reading an article somewhere about the Southampton director of football. They have targets for replacing any player and coaches that may leave.

I know we are not used to success but surely management needs to start getting ducks in a row for potential new recruits for every position instead of this slap dash haphazard search for people at the last minute. I know they never know what finances etc will be available but you can have a shortlist that hits both end of the budget.

We got it right on and off the pitch last year but we need to have better systems in place off the pitch in order to sustain a top 6 position.