I agree with Enda on this one, we threw this one away, though the officials didn't help we should have got this one. Any sort of a win will do now, just get the "W" on the board and the points on the table. I don't think top 4 is achievable however top 6 is what we wanted at the start of the season and looking at the games coming up between 56 and 59 is possible.

Scarlets didn't win, we lost. So much possession and not much to show for it. The refs are clearly not on our side but we need to get over the line more rather than relying on winning penalties. I think we now need to win the Scarlet's game at home and all of the match's during the 6N, its as simple as that, that would give us 59 points which should be enough. (four wins from six during that period may not be enough) . Looking at the calendar we could be lucky to get Henshaw for the Brive and Enisei games and then he will be gone till the Munster game at home in April. We need to get used to him not being around anyway. Fair play Carty, more of the same please.

With winding the clock down I suppose we did do it very well against Leinster at the end of the first half on New Year's Day and if done in the right area and with the right time on the clock is fine but I always felt very uneasy in us trying to do it on the edge of our own 22 with around 3 minutes still on the clock. Even with us shooting ourselves in the foot, the breakdown is so open to interpretation, holding on to the ball with the intention of running down the clock in that position is a very high risk tactic. Being in that position with the crowd naturally baying for a penalty for everything and anything leaves you very vulnerable. In that situation particularly away from home, you get the ball up the pitch and back your defence to see it out.

it was clearly a tactic by Pat Lam to keep the possession and wind down the clock, but there is alot to be said for letting Porter or Carty boot the ball down the pitch in these scenarios..[/quote]

winding down the clock should never be the tactic, let alone deep in your own half, and here was the proof. Unbelievably frustrating, especially the first few minutes of the second half when we gifted them points clearly pulling down at their line out, etc. Why do we always make an enemy of the referee!!!

looked like an open palm by Nathan but still stupid- Dillane (who didn't have his best game) lucky didn't get binned in second half aswell for no arm tackle.. that said Ronaldson got hit with one moments before Bundee was called out so we were probably due to get away with one ha

agree that jack had a great game (arguably MotM), and in fairness ronaldson did aswell bar two awful kicks that was springboard for their try..
Marmion was a mixed bag, some nice breaks and then got charged down aswell..

Thought TOH and Healy were very lively and entire backrow were very exciting. Hopfully Heenan injury just cramp - James Connolly should be back for Brive

think TMO got Healy's second try correct- seemed to be a knock on.
However for the Masterson try there were 4 incidents:
1) was illegal hands in ruck by Scarlets player- so should been Connacht advantage regardless of what happened in the in-goal area
2) was it downward pressure by Masterson first time- I'm not 100% convinced it was
3) was it a knock on by Masterson - no the ball clearly goes backwards
4) was downward pressure by Masterson second time - clearly
TMO gives a knock on...

it was clearly a tactic by Pat Lam to keep the possession and wind down the clock, but there is alot to be said for letting Porter or Carty boot the ball down the pitch in these scenarios..

Decadence wrote: Nathan White looked to throw a punch, which wasn't seen and would have been a definite red card, will probably get cited.

I feel for Jack Carty, a near ROG level tactical kicking display and a massive pressure penalty, only to throw it away in the last minute.

Agree on White. Our senior players are the ones who need to get their discipline in check. Nathan White getting involved once again needlessly. John Muldoon with each passing week looks like he's edging closer to decking a referee and Ronan Loughney's decision making at the end. Until we address these issues we won't get to where we should be given our performances.

Feel very sorry for Tiernan O'Halloran. His face at the end summed up how we all felt I think. He'd given everything and looked in complete control all day. He was comfortably our best player. I feel sorry for Jack Carty also. He gets a lot of criticism but had a good game today that kick could have been a big moment for him if we'd seen it out. Eoghan Masterson is playing superbly. Hopefully Jake Heenan is ok after coming off. He was very good also today and looks hungry for action.

Hopefully we'll have Robbie Henshaw back for the next Scarlets game. Regardless of whether he is staying or going we badly need him in midfield to give us a bit of threat in attack for that game. Hopefully get Danie Poolman back for the next league game also. Niyi is doing ok but just not at the same level as Poolman.

Discipline needs to be tidied up. Soft 3 points off Muldowney to get them rolling in the 2nd half. Dillane leading with the shoulder wasn't intended but we were piling through and it gave them a release.

Both trys were a nightmare. The first try was just a series of mess ups, starting with Ronaldson's kick in their half and including another kick blocked down when he tried to redeem the situation. 2nd try the defensive line was a mess. Final penalty was a nightmare.

Bottom line after that sinking in is that Scarlets at home is non-negotiable for victory. We lose there Top 6 is a pipe dream. We also must win at a minimum 3 of the 4 during the 6 nations. We're still in a reasonable position but at this stage of the season given the games we've let slip we should be thinking Top 4 instead of thinking can we scrape into the Top 6.

Nathan White looked to throw a punch, which wasn't seen and would have been a definite red card, will probably get cited.

I feel for Jack Carty, a near ROG level tactical kicking display and a massive pressure penalty, only to throw it away in the last minute.

Masterson "no try" was an officiating disaster. Appeared to be hands in ruck from Scarlets to knock ball into their in-goal, knocked back by Eoin & then dotted down. Definitely no knock on. At worst, should have been penalty Connacht but instead it ended up scrum 5 Scarlets. You could see panic on TMOs face when Mitrea said he'd have to rely on his advice - he was gonna find a way to disallow. It's just stomach churning to be on the receiving end of these decisions constantly. :sick:
But we fecked it up ourselves - Tom shot outta defensive line for their try, Loughney had a brain fart....completely panicked that ball carrier getting isolated.
Desperately disappointing - but next week and 6N window now unimaginably important

Not for the first time we have been TMO'd out of a game. :sick: Loughney was daft but that was not a yellow card. It would be impossible not to get the player beyond the horizontal when the player is virtually touching the ground with his head. We were the better team away from home against the league leaders. Not much to take from the game but something I suppose.

menacethedenis wrote: We're going backwards now and top 6 will be a struggle on recent showings. Carty and O'Halloran were the standouts for me. Healy very good too. I'd rather have no TMO than have a biased one. It'll take a while to digest all of this. Shocking, shocking stuff.

I have to disagree slightly here, points wise undoubtedly we have been on the slide but the performance today was much improved on previous weeks and actually suited the conditions. There wasn't as much faffing around in our own 22, there was good use of pick and go and tactical kicking, while also mixing those factors with our regular ball in hand gameplan. I would say our rucking needs work and I think Marmion was poor compared to his normal standards, he seems to lose form each year in the weeks leading up to the six nations, is it related to the weather conditions or are we overplaying him I wonder? But overall if we can build on this game performance wise I think we have enough there to win the home tie and see where we go from there.

Such a disappointing result
Quite aside from the officiating we should have had the game put away, defense was not good enough and our only try came from a bit of brilliance from Healy. Never looked like scoring tries apart from that (....well apart from the ones that we did but didn't ).

Discipline not good at the end and too many shoulder charges throughout the game, the less said about Loughney's penalty at the end the better but I'm sure he'll be bitterly disappointed.

There were some upsides- O'Halloran and Healy in the backs and Heenan before he went off.

It's our own fault today. When you are ahead with two minutes to go and have the ball.......moment of madness from Ronan.

Our main issue though was the first half. Arguably was a try for Masterson but not given and Matt Healy did drop the ball when attempting to ground in the corner. We left 10 to 14 points after us. In general, we are having dominant first halves but not putting sufficient scores on the board. Need to beat Scarlets next time out, otherwise we are in trouble.

Sickened. Absolute disgrace from Loughney at the end. How could he do that?

Absolutely braindead from Loughney at the end. it cost us the game, I'm shocked that a player of his experience would do something like that. Doubt we'll see much of him for a while now. We should have had 2 penalties after that though for Scarlets blatantly joining a ruck from the side right in front of Mitrea and hands in the ruck that I could see from tv so the linesman must have seen it. Regardless we should have been miles ahead at that stage. We are unable to capitalise on our domination and unable to close games out. We're going backwards now and top 6 will be a struggle on recent showings. Carty and O'Halloran were the standouts for me. Healy very good too. I'd rather have no TMO than have a biased one. It'll take a while to digest all of this. Shocking, shocking stuff.

dobby wrote: Ronan loughney, what were you thinking?

Of all the guys to mess up....out of character for a man of such experience.Sickening.