Wasrednowgreen wrote: Think Munster and Leinster would struggle for matches to be on pub TVs if an Ireland V Germany soccer match clashed with their games also. Connacht is about building a support base and every one in Connacht who loves the game of rugby should know who their team is.....

You could be right in south Roscommon but that's partly the point I'm making. Connacht branch have to find a way into the hearts of these fans. These aren't diehard soccer fans. They are casual armchair supporters who predominantly are Gaelic football people but not actively so. When I asked if the Connacht match was being shown the majority didn't know it was on. I reluctantly settled and watched soccer while following rugby on twitter. Kept bar informed of score but majority remained disinterested while some kept asking how ulster were getting on. This is a community that Robbie he shaws parents have connect ions with, buccaneers have a presence in and Buckley would be known by some.

No before connor Murray.

Nothing against the club but absolutely ecstatic to see Scarlets win away at Jones' beloved Quins. All in all a good weekend for the league to date.

What a night and what a performance. This is all the fans want - turn up every week and make a stand.Play with guys and fire in the bellies. Last night , I hope Lam has realised that its not all about running with the ball from your own 22, sometimes you HAVE to kick intelligently.

I thought the whole team went well but special mention goes to our buddy Rodders who had an absolute stormer of a game - he needs to play like that every time he puts on the jersey , he was massive in the scrum last night!!

Letting Parks get on with the game plan suited to us was key. He never was a running fly half . Such a pity he missed that kick just before half time becuase we would have possible had a kick to draw the game at the death...............still , it was a MASSIVE night !!

As a ref and a Connacht fan I watch the games with a eye on both, the thing to remember is that the ref will make mistakes and that because he is so close to the action he will see a lot of shite going that we never see.

I thought he did alright last night, the advantage that he played and called back for Saracens was correct , prob should have called it back earlier but no advantage had accrued. It was a silly pen to give away in the first place.

The binding at the scrum was wrong ,Stevens got away with it but Connacht should have been chatting to the ref about it .

Saracens were very cynical at the breakdown and overall in general , but all the top teams are, they practise these things so they don't get caught at them. It's called experience or being cute and it's something that Connacht need to learn . We also need to use the ref better,with a quiet word in his ear, not a whinge or a moan but a polite word , in the way that mcCaw does.

We have to get out of this practice of booing the officials when they come off, do you honestly think that you will get a 50 50 call if you are calling the ref a bollix all night ? It may not be a conscious decision but it's there.

The match itself was a cracker , as I said earlier I was worried, but the lads lifted their game and put in a performance that made me proud. It was great to see that they were gutted and it seems to me that there is a belief that they expect to win these games.

The players took control and responsibility last night, none more so than Rodney , he stood up to the plate last week and this week ,he knew that a big performance was needed and he delivered.

Overall a good performance now let's start getting the good results.

Think Munster and Leinster would struggle for matches to be on pub TVs if an Ireland V Germany soccer match clashed with their games also. Connacht is about building a support base and every one in Connacht who loves the game of rugby should know who their team is.....

Is he still in college?

swift4prez wrote:

Dave Finn is everywhere!

They had an article on score.ie about refereeing in top14. In the 3 rounds prior to the last one played they failed to referee the feed. Not one illegal feed in 21 matches called. The last round was reffed by pro12 refs as part of the ref exchange programme and I think 14 were called over the 7 games. It was definitely over 10.

The tweets of jones is typical English blind arrogance(even those he is welsh AFAIK but in London a long time). They are the best in the world at ignoring the evidence and marching on with their point of view to the fore. Look at the way prl ignore the irb statements and dismiss the ffr one .

On the match great result. I didn't get to see it as not one of the 6 pubs in my parish in south Roscommon would show it. Allwere wwatching the dead rubber of a soccer match on rte. The Connacht marketing department have a job of work to do around the province. Everyone will be watching Munster and Leinster today.

would love to batter stephen jones with a length of wavin.....he really is bile.

I was dead in line of a few Sarries scrums in last 10 mins: their hooker couldn't hook, probably due to Connacht pressure (surprised how good our scrum was), and the Sarries scrum were allowed take a foot or two on the bind call, the scrum half put it straight to the loose head and they got away with it, despite being right in front of the ref, plus their TH (Stevens?) was also binding on the arm. The ref could not NOT have noticed, so he must have chosen to ignore. Grr. :evil:

Hopefully a turning point for Rodney, good to see a lad like that survive all the criticism and be so committed. Fair dues.

illplaybymyself wrote: Did anyone else notice James so'oialo at the end of the game, he was absolutly gutted, great to see his passion after only 20 mins for the province. Also loved the way he passed da ball to the kids at the barrier for a few mins while going through his warm up and had the bants with the crowd

Agreed, he very much seemed to be glad he was here......plus he has the same amount of tattoos as the rest of the team put together...the clan could sponsor a new one!

Stephen Jones being as sound as always
Really is a toilet journalist

I thought the atmosphere last night was one of the best ever at the Sportsground. I got there late (end of the first half) because of work but I ended up just beside the clan stand at the Saracens try line where Connacht were trying to score at the end. I nearly jumped over the wall myself to see if I could help the ball over.
I honestly believe they should have kept it tight at the end, keep pushing for the forwards try. They had an advantage already and if they kept pushing they could have gotten over the line or even a penalty try.
Ref bashing is fairly common over this part of the world but the ref was very unfair last night I thought. That last penalty for Saracens, stopping play for Rodney's injury AFTER Connacht cleared the ball, the endless amount of times Saracens were offside.
Anyway, even though Connacht lost, I enjoyed the night hugely and it was a great advertisement for Connacht rugby and the Pro 12.

Side note: After Connor Murray, is Marmion the best scrum-half in the country?

Twas a great game in the end after the first 10 minute horror show. The defense in the first 15 minutes of the second half was super I didn't know if they had it in them. If we had had a real centre as opposed to a 10 getting his second start and doing a great job for what he was, and if we got anything from the ref we would have won that game.

We're too good for moral victories any more, but we're seemingly not good enough to finish second in this group. Every game for the next 8 weeks is basically a heineken fixture so I politely disagree with whoever said we can't bring that intensity every week or shouldn't expect it every week, we have to if we want to climb the rabo table.

Also I know I really shouldn't blame the ref for a loss, but that advantage at the end was a complete joke, and his ref'ing the breakdown was so fucking inconsistent. without the advantage call we could have kicked and easy penalty in front of the posts, drawn the game I'd take that. That's just one of about a dozen calls that could be looked at.

Heenan is a beast.
Henry is super at the breakdown.

Rodders for president!