here lads, what a great sight this is. first pictures i seen of him in a green jersey. brought a tear to the eye. bring on the season. big different from last season when we didnt have an out half till january.

www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151087...16940&type=1&theater

www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151087...16940&type=1&theater

www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151087...16940&type=1&theater

I got seven ???

RogueXV wrote: Yeah, I'm getting the sense that Connacht are not meant to be held to any strict standard as far as NIQ players are concerned. That will all be focused on the other three provinces. I'm a bit divided if that is the case. A temporary leg up would be nice, but at what price would it come to Irish rugby. I suppose if they went ahead with the original plan on limiting NIQs at Munster, Leinster and Ulster then the need for Connacht to act as a development province is diminished somewhat. I imagine we won't hear what the official policy is we'll just have to come to our own conclusion when the dust has settled from the signing period.

As far as Ress is concerned I'd gladly take him, but I think I would still prefer Stringer. And this might go to Connacht's intentions. Do they want to bring in someone that might be around 2-3 years to win games and be the starter over that period (Ress) or do they want someone older with vastly more experience at the top level whose not just there to directly win games but to also bring along the younger players (Stringer)? Perhaps Sowden-Taylor is just taking the p!$$ and picked Connacht since Parks is on his way there.

That was the impression I got anyway, putting two and two together to get five...

Yeah, I'm getting the sense that Connacht are not meant to be held to any strict standard as far as NIQ players are concerned. That will all be focused on the other three provinces. I'm a bit divided if that is the case. A temporary leg up would be nice, but at what price would it come to Irish rugby. I suppose if they went ahead with the original plan on limiting NIQs at Munster, Leinster and Ulster then the need for Connacht to act as a development province is diminished somewhat. I imagine we won't hear what the official policy is we'll just have to come to our own conclusion when the dust has settled from the signing period.

As far as Ress is concerned I'd gladly take him, but I think I would still prefer Stringer. And this might go to Connacht's intentions. Do they want to bring in someone that might be around 2-3 years to win games and be the starter over that period (Ress) or do they want someone older with vastly more experience at the top level whose not just there to directly win games but to also bring along the younger players (Stringer)? Perhaps Sowden-Taylor is just taking the p!$$ and picked Connacht since Parks is on his way there.

i heard on tg4 months ago that the new rules would allow us to field 15 niq if we wanted. could someone check this out?
irfu allowing us to do what we want to catch up with the other 3 would not surprise me to make up for many painful years

I read somewhere he was off to France. But it was supposed to be Perpignan, and they're also rumoured to be after TOL (don't know why) so may it fell flat.

Talk on MF.com (via a Robin Sowden Taylor Tweet) of Richie Ress heading to us. Don't see it happening on two counts, age (28) and he's NIQ (4 Wales Caps).....

www.munsterfans.com/threads/25688-Connac...=1037631#post1037631

that was the point i was trying to make simpleton and given where we currently are at with the 10 position the answer is that he probably will. The goalkicking, which is prob the main reason for his signature, is a worry tho so hopefully that is a blip hes going thru atm.

In relation to fogarty i think he is a decent pro but nothhing special and would only be a good signing in the context of complementing what we already have. In connachts budgetary position i can only presume that is a luxury they cannot afford. The same applies to avua in that a fit george is prob as good if not better and mckeon deserves a chance as backup. In an ideal world they are great additions but i dont think they are affordable in current budget.

I agree that a winger of the quality of morris or carr should be a priority now and either of the two mentioned would be ideal. Im not a fan of fetu even tho he has improved a bit recently, mainly because he ist special enough to keep an iq player out of the team. I agree tho that mcrea hasnt set the world alight either and looked dis interested or lazy on couple of occasions i saw him play. The return of loxton should be utilised to see what he has to offer as should finn,boland and leydon before any signings are made tho.Fetu is here for 12mths more anyway so while in an ideal world again a quality signing would be good it prob wont happen for 12mths min.

He'd be some freak if his best days were ahead of him sp.

The real question IMO is has he enough left to significantly improve us and impact the young players around him to justify what must be a pretty sizable contract by Connacht standards.

All season most of us have been saying we need a decent 10 and a decent th I find it hard to knock the signing of either parks or white who fit our criteria to the letter. There's players I would have preferred to parks but not every player will be prepared to take us on.

For what it's worth, I would like us to sign denis fogerty, Niall Morris and Leo avua as well as retaining Tonnetti. I'd be happy with that for next season. Oh faloon doesn't excite me hugely as IMO it's a swap for ofisa, I'd take a fit ray everyday. But if niq status dictates swapping niq for iq then not a bad trade.

Sorry meant to say fionn Carr would also be welcome.

choco128 wrote: the guy has 67 caps for a 6 nations team u cant question his quality. connacht have never signed anybody close to that quality

Choco I'd say most concern is whether or not he is a spent force and left his best days on a rugby pitch behind him....

the guy has 67 caps for a 6 nations team u cant question his quality. connacht have never signed anybody close to that quality

rossie wrote: I watched the 2nd half of the Dragons v Blues game on scrum5 last night.

Parks was playing 10 for the blues and his kicking out of hand was quite good in general but worryingly he went for the corner on one occasion in a kickable position when they were only 2 pts down with about 15 to go. They failed to get the 5 too.
About 5 min later they got another pen in a kickable position and ben blair took over the kicking and nailed it. Chavenga scoreed a brill individual try to put dragons 4 up with 5 to play which meant parks turning down 3 was a very costly mistake.

The most concerning about this is that i saw him live v munster at thomond and he played very well again for about 50/55 minutes and then started missing goalkicks and was replaced on 60ish min so my impression is that he may not have 80 min in him anymore. Hopefully im wrong and these were just blips as i was as supportive of the signing as anyone here but its worth keeping an eye on from here to end of season.

He completely bossed the game from 10 last night - the blues should have hammered the Dragons with the field position they had.

However his kicking from the tee was awful. He missed 3 from 5 including 2 gimmees.

I watched the 2nd half of the Dragons v Blues game on scrum5 last night.

Parks was playing 10 for the blues and his kicking out of hand was quite good in general but worryingly he went for the corner on one occasion in a kickable position when they were only 2 pts down with about 15 to go. They failed to get the 5 too.
About 5 min later they got another pen in a kickable position and ben blair took over the kicking and nailed it. Chavenga scoreed a brill individual try to put dragons 4 up with 5 to play which meant parks turning down 3 was a very costly mistake.

The most concerning about this is that i saw him live v munster at thomond and he played very well again for about 50/55 minutes and then started missing goalkicks and was replaced on 60ish min so my impression is that he may not have 80 min in him anymore. Hopefully im wrong and these were just blips as i was as supportive of the signing as anyone here but its worth keeping an eye on from here to end of season.

ummm, wrote: I think he has a lot on his plate as it is!

Agree, sure Eric can't spend every minute mentoring the outhalves. Having Parks can only help in this regard. If NOC cannot come through the next couple of years as a very solid 10 at least at RaboDirect level than you would wonder about his chances of making it as a pro.

Funk It wrote:

its_phil wrote:

sea_point wrote:

salmson wrote: Jumped before he was pushed judging by Andy Robinson's graceless comments at the end of this piece...

www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/feb/07/sco...-international-rugby

Hardly graceless, you're presuming Parks was going to be pushed despite him saying that it was his own decision to stay on for this game after considering retriring after the RWC and therfore in all lilkeyhood his own shout not to continue....

TheGuardian wrote: Robinson said: "I have really enjoyed working with Dan. He wasn't in my first Scotland squads, but through his own determination, hard work, skill and competitive spirit he forced his way back into selection.

"It's never an easy decision to make, but I feel Dan has made the right decision and thank him for his contribution over the years."

He picks him at 10 on Thursday for the opening game of the 6 nations and then says on Monday he feels it's the right decision. Extremely graceless and Robinson looking to put the loss on him.

Jim Telfer gave a good account of Robinsons failure to stand by his outhalf a couple weeks ago:

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/16954576

Yeah that's where I got the opinion he hung him out to dry. Telfer was spot on.

I think he has a lot on his plate as it is!