totally agree it has to be drilled into them to concentrate concentrate concentrate only 80 mins and they can go back to bed after!!!! we can't be giving away such soft trys its so amateurish they should be castigated joe smidht style!

i think TOH deserves a shot at full back he can run with ball in hand and i feel he would have got that tackle that gav missed ; gV was also giving out to healy (i think it was) for not collected a pass when it was gav's pass that was behind him!!

ronaldson was extremely composed after his first few errors and he was growing into the game 4/5 conversion rate aint bad and the one he missed was miles out. hes defo one to watch

clarke is a savage buy.....at least we have comfort that our lineout will be ala paulie style and the scrum solid

That's the very one. They happen too regularly though to just blame it on the lack of a defence coach. One is definitely desirable of course.

rossie wrote: Fair enough the stats don't lie. I just remember the good teams scoring easily against Connacht and the regular debates here about it. Danny care springs to mind but there were many other instances.

I think there's definitely a history of switching off at key times defensively, the so called 'championship minutes' often pass Connacht by in a haze it seems. If you're thinking of the Care try off the back of a scrum that I'm thinking about last season then it was not that different to tebaldi's try this weekend, in that a simple and telegraphed move was easily converted because Connacht left a massive hole in the defensive line and hoped no one would notice.

Would love to see Poolman and Muldowney starting a lot more games from now on. As things stand for me Marmion, Ronaldson, Healy, Griff/McSharry, Henshaw/Griff, Poolman, TOH is the backline of the future imo.

rossie wrote: Fair enough the stats don't lie. I just remember the good teams scoring easily against Connacht and the regular debates here about it. Danny care springs to mind but there were many other instances.

For the Rabo, tries conceded were as follows:

12-13 2.0 per game
11-12 1.6
10-11 2.0

Too early to tell where we are this year.

Fair enough the stats don't lie. I just remember the good teams scoring easily against Connacht and the regular debates here about it. Danny care springs to mind but there were many other instances.

Match highlights here, if you're feeling brave. Poolman continues to be a highlight, but Muldowney managed to mix a lovely offload for the try to being among the guilty parties who let Tebaldi waltz through.

rossie wrote:

Porterbelly wrote:

Decadence wrote:

Diom wrote: I think we are going in the right direction, and I like what Lam's trying to do.

I didn't see the match but I agree. I see a lot of similarities with what Rob Penney was trying to do with Munster last season, placing more of an emphasis on basic skills - passing and running, which may not pay immediate dividends but will have to make us better in the long run.

Well it didn't work for Munster and they've pretty much gone back to their old traditional values

No they haven't. They are blending the two together. Last season they were throwing it wide too quick and not making the hard yards. I'm on record here as saying that's Connachts problem also but it was a problem before lam arrived as was defence.

Actually defence wasn't, certainly not in the last two seasons, where our defensive rating was actually higher than our league position (-112 points for seaosn 11/12, -64 for 12/13). It's been a good while since we've seen anywhere near 50 points put on us, and that in participating in the HEC against much better opponents too.

Whatever about pre-season, it's the competitive games where the squad (an all the new players and coaches) learns about how they're really working together. It's still very early days, so they (and we) shouldn't lose our nerve and stay positive. We need a lucky break with injuries and a result or two, no more than any previous season. Losses make new players uncertain, and older players wary. A few wins will bond them all together, and they'll relax into a collective groove.

It'll come, may take a few more losses but it'll come. And was pointed out before with one of our strongest ever squads previously we went on a 14 game losing streak, so we all need to keep a sense of perspective.....

Porterbelly wrote:

Decadence wrote:

Diom wrote: I think we are going in the right direction, and I like what Lam's trying to do.

I didn't see the match but I agree. I see a lot of similarities with what Rob Penney was trying to do with Munster last season, placing more of an emphasis on basic skills - passing and running, which may not pay immediate dividends but will have to make us better in the long run.

Well it didn't work for Munster and they've pretty much gone back to their old traditional values

No they haven't. They are blending the two together. Last season they were throwing it wide too quick and not making the hard yards. I'm on record here as saying that's Connachts problem also but it was a problem before lam arrived as was defence.

Porterbelly wrote: Well it didn't work for Munster and they've pretty much gone back to their old traditional values

So we should go back to our traditional values of targeting games and getting whipped in every away game? :evil:

Decadence wrote:

Diom wrote: I think we are going in the right direction, and I like what Lam's trying to do.

I didn't see the match but I agree. I see a lot of similarities with what Rob Penney was trying to do with Munster last season, placing more of an emphasis on basic skills - passing and running, which may not pay immediate dividends but will have to make us better in the long run.

Well it didn't work for Munster and they've pretty much gone back to their old traditional values

Diom wrote: I think we are going in the right direction, and I like what Lam's trying to do.

I didn't see the match but I agree. I see a lot of similarities with what Rob Penney was trying to do with Munster last season, placing more of an emphasis on basic skills - passing and running, which may not pay immediate dividends but will have to make us better in the long run.

I think we are going in the right direction, and I like what Lam's trying to do. The problem is concentration in defense. The first try came because the entire team switched off when the penalty advantage was given. Went to sleep waiting for the penalty to be awarded, and Ospreys got a try!
Tebaldi's try was the same: the players were looking to see who he would offload to instead of hitting him.

Ospreys will be in top4 at end of season. Question is will Connacht be in bottom 4? As of now answer is yes. In spite of Irish and welsh jour no opinion this is a tough lge. What's happening is worrying but losing to ulster and ospreys is expected. Wind are a bonus. That leaves Glasgow, Munster and Leinster to get 1 win against but the other home Gamez have to be won.

While I was disappointed that we lost out on a win and in particular a losing bp, there was a lot to keep the heart warm as well. there was a style on display, there was a desire and and a belief in what they are doing and what way they are playing. There was belief that they can win these games and should win these games.

this was a good ospreys team, unbeaten this year, with 4 lions and numerous internationals, granted we coughed up some soft tries but its clear that something is happening with the Connacht squad.

theres work to be done, but when we get there it will be worth it.

mcsharry cannot come back quick enough

before his injury less kiss had him on his shortlist - he likes him a lot runs good lines and boy can he tackle

yes wilko had a good game but buckley is for the fast game we seem to be perserving with......

on the expansive game note, why the hell do we continue to run from our own 22 several times we had the opportunity to do it and we just ran with it....shocking why cant we do it from the 22 - halfway line instead..... ffs even the all blacks clear their lines within their own 22

I agree with what you said about Brian Murphy and my concern is why he not being featured at all. Brian knows how to tackle and we really need him, with the way our defence is playing at the moment.

Hope to see him on the pitch soon