[/quote]

I would agree that the first team currently would probably be fairly similar for many, what i mean really is the other provinces mostly leave out many of their high profile more established players for a large number of matches to give up and coming academy stars exposure so they can gain experience and step in or challenge for places, just look at the backrow etc options leinster have now and the age profile, mccarthy is lounging on the bench lots of times. It seems to be the ideology in Connacht that you play a more established player like swift, muldoon, duffy every game for 80mins thats madness imo.

15. So'oialo
14. Carr
13. Henshaw/Tonetti
12. McSharry
11. Healy/Poolman
10.?
9. Marmion[/quote]

You make perfect sense,but this is what was done in the Bradley years.Problem was that our away form was horrendous often resulting in serious kickings .Eric and Pat seem to have the similar attitude that you always pick the best 15 available (within reason)It's a fine line with certain players,especially Marmion playing too much Rugby.Best option is to be selective with which player's you are giving game time to and who they are playing beside .

Saying that,the time we gave Leinster a hiding in the sportsground,was from a team without a lot of first teamers.

I agree with given the young lads a shout, but every time i seen heffernan play he has being shocking and young walsh is to small at the mo he really needs to bulk up

RonanL wrote:

Porterbelly wrote: McCarthy has been a keenly felt loss

Big time - I think the main thing we're missing is his choke tackle prowess. He was able to hold a guy up on his own until others joined him, and if we didn't win a turnover, it always slowed the opposition down. At the moment, I feel our biggest problem is lack of bulk/physicality, so we're finding it impossible to slow teams down, and once they take it through a few phases all they need to do is spread it out wide and they're in.

He was a monster in our big games last year

Quins, Biarritz and Leinster at home, our 3 best performances, he was to the forefront, choke tackling, massive carries, lineouts

Porterbelly wrote: McCarthy has been a keenly felt loss

Big time - I think the main thing we're missing is his choke tackle prowess. He was able to hold a guy up on his own until others joined him, and if we didn't win a turnover, it always slowed the opposition down. At the moment, I feel our biggest problem is lack of bulk/physicality, so we're finding it impossible to slow teams down, and once they take it through a few phases all they need to do is spread it out wide and they're in.

ummm, wrote: To be honest, contracts aren't worth the paper they're written on, and when push comes to shove I can see other teams swooping and removing Clarke, Heenan, Poolman and Faloon from under us. Maybe that's a bit of paranoia coming through, but that's my biggest fear right now.

I've been thinking this too. Could be viewed as a solution to our current financial issues. Glass half full, at least we have 'assets' that have value in the market.

rossie wrote: Connacht team almost picks itself when everyone is fit esp in the back line.

15. Henshaw.
14. Carr.
13. Griffin.
12. Mcsharry.
11. Pool man.
10. Parks.
9. Marmion.

Tonetti is as big a loss as mcsharry because at a similar level in 12 Jersey. To have both out at same time is a big blow .

There is a bit more competition in pack but jhw, white, Clark and now Heenan are also nailed on starters.

I would agree that the first team currently would probably be fairly similar for many, what i mean really is the other provinces mostly leave out many of their high profile more established players for a large number of matches to give up and coming academy stars exposure so they can gain experience and step in or challenge for places, just look at the backrow etc options leinster have now and the age profile, mccarthy is lounging on the bench lots of times. It seems to be the ideology in Connacht that you play a more established player like swift, muldoon, duffy every game for 80mins thats madness imo.
I think we are weak at hooker without JHW, marmion is being played to death, leinster can play four scrumhalves with young cooney getting lots of gametime, why do we not also give our academy players similar gametime with walsh and heffernan etc getting run outs for a number of games.

15. So'oialo
14. Carr
13. Henshaw/Tonetti
12. McSharry
11. Healy/Poolman
10.?
9. Marmion

Healy has been our best winger this season and probably 1 of our top 3 players

McCarthy has been a keenly felt loss, particularly v Ulster, but I think Vainikolo's loss has been very big as well, especially his form in the second half of last season. He didn't score enough tries but he could make a 50 yard break out of nothing to get us up the field time and time again. Matt Healy has been our only back with glmipses from Henshaw, who has the ability to make a break out of nothing. Fionn Carr hasn't really come alive yet.

Connacht team almost picks itself when everyone is fit esp in the back line.

15. Henshaw.
14. Carr.
13. Griffin.
12. Mcsharry.
11. Pool man.
10. Parks.
9. Marmion.

Tonetti is as big a loss as mcsharry because at a similar level in 12 Jersey. To have both out at same time is a big blow .

There is a bit more competition in pack but jhw, white, Clark and now Heenan are also nailed on starters.

Connacht need to push ahead and introduce more young talant, every time we have been forced to it has proven to be to our benefit. Henshaw,, marmion, buckley all were basically forced inclusions and they are now some of our best players a short time later. Im sorry but some players on the team are basically damaged goods and as i said clarke after two games is practically the de facto captain because none of the 3 named captains (stupid) have the capacity nor the winning experience/mentality to know what to do.

We are not going to make it into europe on our own merit as of right now and i cant see us improving on our league position of last year.

What we can do is afford to experiment to see if our Connacht academy players can shine. Its the henshaws etc that get us the positive media exposure and constant increase in profile that we need to hit the top, its all about producing a decent number of players with real potential who can realistically improve the national team.
Thats what will put us in the limelight not the odd win, when we have the calibre of a BOD or a POC in our starting lineup then we can be more conservative but lets be honest our stalwarts are light years away from them.

Winning the odd match is all well and good and makes us happy for a week but honestly if its done with many players who are never going beyond connacht its pointless unless we are challenging for league and european titles which we are not.
No body outside of connacht cares if we finish 7th or 10th but they do start to chatter big time when they see guys who might have serious potential, how many articles etc have there been in the media about henshaw and correspondingly connacht, plenty.
I say get the younger and academy connacht players on the pitch if only for 20 mins such as heffernan, walsh, carty, etc for starters.

To be honest, contracts aren't worth the paper they're written on, and when push comes to shove I can see other teams swooping and removing Clarke, Heenan, Poolman and Faloon from under us. Maybe that's a bit of paranoia coming through, but that's my biggest fear right now.

have to disagree tomsauce2000 but we'll see how he goes for the rest of the season

your remark re its a long way from ail to prof rugby is disingenious to say the least ref matt healy and mcshaz

as i say i hope you eat your words re ronaldson

Ronaldson was poor. It's one thing throwing a wild pass, it's another to be that slow and predictable in possession. It was ridiculous. He was too slow generally and looked out of his depth. It's a long way from AIL to Professional rugby. I'm not sure who missed the tackle for the Ospreys third try but I think it was him. I could be wrong but in fairness he was far from the only one in that regard.

This "let's give such and such a go" is nonsense. It has to be based on something. For example Muldowney did enough when he came on to merit a starting spot. Poolman should be first man on the team sheet. The guy is class. I agree with previous comment about him being a winger.

ronanl - i have to come back to you re ronaldson - he was on the pitch for the first half - ok he threw a woeful pass to swifty and had a charge down after that but he attacks the line at speed and has the eye for a gap like marmion does i.m.o he's streets ahead of nikora....

i'd actually have jack carty up next he showed up very well in pre-season and his passing is extremely quick and crisp.....

Poolman is a winger and not a centre, said it all last year and many others did as well

He's a very balanced runner, ball in 2 hands and picks some good lines.

For a big lad he's not physical enough though. To me he looks a bit soft going into contact which is odd for a Saffer. He played well the last day, and was our top try scorer last year. No surprise then that he popped up with a try off a great line and picked the line which set up the 2nd try

Just to temper the enthusiasm about him a small bit, he butchered what looked like could have been a try in the 1st half off a lovely backs move when he threw a pass to Matt Healy's ankles and into touch when he could have been away.

it was worrying that Ospreys were playing only at 100% a few times during the game, they had the measure of us after the first 5 minutes

I'd forgotten how good Poolman was on the wing. I was guilty of overlooking him.

A few unrelated points, mostly regarding the Ospreys game:

- While Ronaldson kicked well, the intercept pass he threw was dire, and what he was doing going for the posts from half way just before that is beyond me. Dan's form has been poor too, and with Miah injured, I see 10 as a problem position for us. Actually, I'd feel that way regardless of Miah's injury status.
- Most of the Ospreys tries were very soft, and most featured bad tackling, but I feel it comes back to our general lack of physicality, and the lads were just out on their feet at times, resulting in weak tackles. Also worrying.
- We're defintitely playing a nice brand of rugby under lam, but with a rock solid lineout, I'd like to see a bit more variation in our play, rather than the run it at all costs approach they seem to be adopting.
- The new scrum rules might be partly to thank, but with the Ospreys starting 4 lions in their tight 5, I was delighted to see our scrum holding up well, and if anything coming out on top in some cases.
- Keenan and Clarke esepcially seem like great buys, and Muldowney might be handy too.
- Danny Poolman is our stand out player at the moment for me