They can complain all they want but that was filth, deserved the red

10-3 to Connacht, well worked try off a line out scored by Ronaldson and conversion and penalty from Carty.
Listening to Brett and Rob on GalwayBayfm, they seem happy with how Connacht are playing so far, have settled into game after early Dragons penalty.

Much better 6 mins since then, decent try from Ronaldson (Dragons will be very disapointed in their tackling though), conversion plus another penalty and an excellent steal from Buckley :lol:

Also Tovey off with what looked like a twisted ankle- which is good news for us as he's a decent player.

A terrible start from carty so far- kicked out on the full then passed to no one which lead to 3 points to Dragons

3-0 Dragons

There is a lot of water sitting on the surface, this game will be littered with mistakes

Its live on s4c and galway bay fm

Benji wrote: What channel is This being shown on ? Is it available in Ireland ?
I win today would be a massive and much needed result .

S4C should be available on Sky and Freeview.

We'll win this, Dragons have only won 2 on the trot in the league twice in 5 years, and have only beat the Italians at home this season. Positive vibes.

What channel is This being shown on ? Is it available in Ireland ?
I win today would be a massive and much needed result .

Huge opportunity today. If Connacht are going to get a top 6 place this sort of game becomes a must win.

Pissing rain here in Newport but not quite as heavy as earlier. Going to be a very greasy ball this afternoon.

Sol_ie wrote: Also: Dail will be showing the game again this Sunday. I for one am looking forward to more horribly invasive interviews.

Won't make the Dail (or Rodney Parade). Hopefully we'll have one or two green shirts in the stands for S4C to train in on.
Bookies have Dragons at -5. Oddly Connacht are now a shorter price than Scarlets to win the Pro12.

A reminder that this will be on TV in the Dail again this afternoon.

Borders no.2 wrote: Sorry a bit late getting the factfile up. Ronaldson and McSharry in the centre is probably the right choice given what happened last week. Happy enough with the team, we could have gone with Ronaldson at 10 but that would have left us short in the centre. No matter what we do we are caught short on quality in 1 position or the other. Masterson getting a start should be interesting. Bit more impact from the bench this week also. The most important thing I want to see this week is a disciplined defensive display. The very least we have to do is make Dragons work for any scores they get.

Couple of other big games over the weekend, not too confident of Ulster or Munster getting results but at this stage we need to get our own house in order and ensure we keep ourselves in the hunt.

Nervous about this one but the team as a whole need to show how much last week hurt everyone, another tame performance this week and serious question will have to be asked within the group.

well ulster did us a favour anyway. I think Munster could find it very difficult against the Scarlets.
I'm not sure we'll get a result tomorrow. What last week's shambles showed is that once we're missing 2-3 players our depth is non-existent. Our packs of forwards is just too underpowered and really we need a few recruits there.

A losing BP tomorrow may be all we get at best.

Sorry a bit late getting the factfile up. Ronaldson and McSharry in the centre is probably the right choice given what happened last week. Happy enough with the team, we could have gone with Ronaldson at 10 but that would have left us short in the centre. No matter what we do we are caught short on quality in 1 position or the other. Masterson getting a start should be interesting. Bit more impact from the bench this week also. The most important thing I want to see this week is a disciplined defensive display. The very least we have to do is make Dragons work for any scores they get.

Couple of other big games over the weekend, not too confident of Ulster or Munster getting results but at this stage we need to get our own house in order and ensure we keep ourselves in the hunt.

Nervous about this one but the team as a whole need to show how much last week hurt everyone, another tame performance this week and serious question will have to be asked within the group.

Newport-Gwent Dragons v Connacht– Rodney Parade Guinness Pro 12 Round 15
Sunday 22nd February 2015 Kick Off 16:00

After successive league defeats at home to Edinburgh and away to Scarlets, Connacht will hope to re-ignite their hopes of a top 6 finish by recording a 5th successive victory over the Dragons. Dragons come into the game on a good run of form having won a difficult Challenge Cup Pool and enjoyed away victories at Cardiff and Leinster in recent league matches.

Other Match Stats
Connacht have won the last 4 meetings between the sides
Dragons last win over Connacht was a 14-3 win in November 2012.

Newport-Gwent Dragons Stats
Website: www.newportgwentdragons.com/
Founded: 2003 (Setup as a Regional Side)
Ground: Rodney Parade
Capacity: 11,676
Captain: Lee Byrne
Coaches: Kingsley Jones

Guinness Pro 12 League Position 2014/15: 10th Played 14 Points 21
Rabo Direct Pro 12 League Position 2013/14: 9th Played 22 Points 35
European Challenge Cup 2014/15: 1st in Pool 3 Points 25
European Challenge Cup 2013/14: 2nd in Pool 2 Points 14
Anglo-Welsh Cup 2014/15: 3rd in Pool 1 Points 11
Anglo-Welsh Cup 2013/14: 4th in Pool 1 Points 4

Previous Fixtures
Leinster 14-16 Dragons (Pro 12 Round 14)
Dragons 17-13 London Welsh (Anglo Welsh Cup)
Exeter Chiefs 37-32 Dragons (Anglo Welsh Cup)
Dragons 30-19 Stade Francais (Challenge Cup Round 6)
Newcastle 29-40 Dragons (Challenge Cup Round 5)

Next League Fixture:
Sunday 1st March 2015 Zebre v Dragons @ Stadio XXV Aprile. Kick Off: 18:00 (local time) (Pro 12 Round 16)

Challenge Cup (Pool 3) Final Standings
Dragons 25
Newcastle 21
Stade Francais Paris 15
Bucharest 1

Dragons Ins and Outs 2014/15
Players In
Aled Brew from Biarritz Olympique
Lee Byrne from Clermont Auvergne
Rhys Buckley from Moseley
Boris Stankovich from Leicester Tigers
Ian Gough from London Irish
Dave Young from Jersey
Rynard Landman from Free State Cheetahs
Lloyd Fairbrother from Exeter Chiefs
Andy Powell from Wigan Warriors
Brok Harris from Western Province / Stormers

Players Out
Ieuan Jones to Cardiff Blues
Will Harries released
Sam Parry to Ospreys
Dan Evans to Ospreys
Steffan Jones loan to Bedford Blues
Robert Sidoli retired
Jevon Groves released
Darren Waters to London Welsh
Kris Burton released

Previous Meetings

Saturday 6th September 2014 Guinness Pro 12
Connacht 16-11 Dragons
www.pro12rugby.com/matchcentre/15494.php

Sunday 23rd March 2014 Rabo Direct Pro 12
Dragons 8-24 Connacht
www.pro12rugby.com/matchcentre/14535.php

Saturday 21st December 2013 Rabo Direct Pro 12
Connacht 14-11 Dragons
www.pro12rugby.com/matchcentre/13650.php

Carty seems completely devoid of confidence at the minute. I would probably be in favour of letting him work it out at ail level for a few weeks but ronaldson and nikora can't really be trusted to stay fit so you could face a situation where you drop carty only to have to recall him at an even lower ebb in a weeks time. Nightmare stuff at the minute, I wasn't previously keen on getting a new out half but if we can get a proven operator who can control a game and kick moderately well it would be a no brainer at this point.