Are you expecting a statement from the Connacht Clan Management? :huh:

You'll be waiting a while for anything from Connacht Rugby Management here, they'll announce it in their own time, why wouldn't they?

Can we have some kind of comment from Management on the status of Aly Muldowney in the context of next season please? It's being widely reported that he has signed for Grenoble. Is this true or not?

I think Pat will have to work a miracle just to keep us standing still for next season to be honest which might be ok at Pro 12 level but its a different story in Europe. I have no doubt he'll use his knowledge and contacts to help us make a couple of good signings and you'd hope we'd bring more through from the academy and find one or two useful players that have slipped under the radar but I'd question whether the will and finances are there from the IRFU to back us to make the couple of big signings we need to move forward. There is glaring areas where we need to recruit but the problem is everyone is looking for some of the areas we are looking for and we won't be able to offer the terms others can.

After 15 years of relative success/competitiveness it really looks like we might be hitting a lean few years which will make Ireland matches/merchandise etc. a more difficult sell which is where the vast bulk of the income comes from. Added into that the fact the game at European Cup level has changed completely money wise in the last couple of years and we can't really compete for top names. Our provinces are struggling in Europe and Munster in particular look to be in crisis. I think whatever money there is will go to the usual 3 to try and get them up to standard. I'd expect at least one big name to land into Munster to try and steady the ship.

I think there is an extra €1m promised to each of the provinces this year but that will be swallowed up in existing players contracts who now have real alternatives available even at the lower ends in France or England. Last year when Mils left there wasn't the money there to bring in a high profile player. Ok we might have swallowed up money on new contracts but the medium term forecast for Irish Rugby has considerably worsened since so I'm not holding much hope of any big names.

Medium term we've got to try and do more for ourselves and hope the academy can keep the brilliant work they are doing going because we will always be back of the queue for any additional IRFU funding regardless of what we achieve.

Who would be realistic big new signings for us for next season and beyond ? I'm talking the Craig Clarke kinda signing although that didn't work too well. Pat is in his 3rd year now and has the squad in fine form. Top of the Pro 12 and still in Europe.
Do we have squad fillers who could be released.
I think 10 and and a backrow are a must.
I'd have Steenson but he's signed till 2018 and I'm hoping Victor Vito didn't sign for ulster as he wanted to come West

The most recent Craggy Island podcast had the first half of what might have been an interesting interview with the Connacht team doctor which dealt with concussion in general and head injury assessments in particular.

I say might have been interesting because it was recorded in what sounded like the stadium canteen in Parma, and the Italians shouting at each other and, I dunno, throwing buckets of cutlery off balconies, ruined it. The second half, dealing with return to play protocols, is to be included in the next podcast, but I'd expect the sound quality to be similar.

Still, keep up the good work lads if ye're reading.

(also, ye said ye'd get back to discussing Robbie leaving and ye never did, this is not the time for stoicism; rage, rage against the dying of the light)

tomsauce2000 wrote:

Decadence wrote: Not that I disagree with players getting rested after concussions, but how on Earth did he manage to get 4 of them when he's barely played in a year?

I'm not claiming to have any real knowledge of concussion etc but is it not the case that a person becomes more susceptible to concussion after each concussion?

In many cases yes. John Fogarty suffered particularly badly but he's not the only one - www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/it-affect...is-bad-26697450.html

There's also a thing called second impact syndrome (mainly in children/teenagers) whereby a second concussion soon after a first can kill you, which is why there's a minimum stand-down period of 23 days for under 18s.

Decadence wrote: Not that I disagree with players getting rested after concussions, but how on Earth did he manage to get 4 of them when he's barely played in a year?

I'm not claiming to have any real knowledge of concussion etc but is it not the case that a person becomes more susceptible to concussion after each concussion?

As much as I'd like to see him back on the field, it's probably the best thing for McSharry. Make sure he gets fully fit and take the time to consider his future in the game.

As for the players leaving or at least rumored to be on the move you'd have to say Muldowney has contributed the most to the team so far this season. The team can probably survive these departures especially if some quality is brought in as replacements, but the concern becomes who will be following in the next couple of years. As it is Connacht could be facing a leadership void due to the imminent retirement of players like Muldoon, White and George. If they then lose players like McCartney, Buckley, Bealham, Dillane and Aki we'll be back to fighting it out with the Italians in the basement.

That's a horrifyingly high ratio of injuries/concussions to games played. Really worrying for him.

Decadence wrote: Not that I disagree with players getting rested after concussions, but how on Earth did he manage to get 4 of them when he's barely played in a year?

He was concussed last January versus Exeter. liveblog.irishtimes.com/aa332337e0/LIVE-Connacht-v-Exeter/

He was out for the end of the season with an unrelated injury, and concussed again vs. Munster in pre-season: www.galwayindependent.com/sport/topics/a...longterm-casualties/

Broke his finger playing for UCD in the AIL, then concussed again vs. Doncaster in the B&I Cup: www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=97852338

Finally he was concussed on his return to the first team vs. Newcastle: www.irishrugby.ie/rugby/fixturesandresults/36437.php

So that's 4 concussions and 2 other injuries in one calendar year. Horrible run of luck.

Decadence wrote: Not that I disagree with players getting rested after concussions, but how on Earth did he manage to get 4 of them when he's barely played in a year?

Sorry, not sure where I got 4 from. I edited my post there. For some reason I had thought that I had read 4. But that's no longer online, so I might have made it up. The time frame does include last season though. He did seem to pick up a knock in every game he's played for us in the last 12 months, and I heard rumors in the summer that he was to retire, but nothing came from that.
Hopefully that rumor was spread by the same terrible person talking about Aly and Jake

Not that I disagree with players getting rested after concussions, but how on Earth did he manage to get 4 of them when he's barely played in a year?

Dave McSharry been told to take the rest of the season off after getting hit with a number of concussions this season

If I had to name our 3 best players this season I would say Bundee, Healy and Masterson but Muldowney and a few others (TOH, Nepia, Muldoon, Dillane) would be close.

Might be going off topic a bit though

I didn't consider how much they played. In "absolute value" Heenan and Henshaw are our best players, followed closely by Buckley, Masterson, Aki and a 3rd wawe of McCartney, Muldowney, Healy

connachta wrote: So our 3 best players are going during our best season ever. How does the IRFU let them go without increasing significantly their salaries by central contract, sponsorship facilitation, or, easier, raising the Connacht funding. The Irfu willing to support Connacht will be tested one last time with the new recruits, especially from other provinces.. If nothing happens (or AIL players) we'll be forever looked over

I think you're going a bit overboard there. If you look at this season, only Muldowney would be in our top three players of the season.