ConnachtCows wrote: Am I correct in saying that we havent heard anything about new contracts for Aly, Jake or Craig?
Would be great to see them all extend their stay. They could announce all three contracts on the same day Robbie announces that he's staying

Jake said in recent interviews he's playing for a new contract at Connacht - "I am off contract at the end of this year, and that's something that once I get a few more games under my belt we will be working through."
www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/connacht-...-again-34405190.html

Aly has kids in school in Galway, seems settled, so I'd be hopeful he'll be signing a new contract soon.
www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/european-...-on-sunday-1.2067548

I'd imagine Craig would have interest from elsewhere.

Am I correct in saying that we havent heard anything about new contracts for Aly, Jake or Craig?
Would be great to see them all extend their stay. They could announce all three contracts on the same day Robbie announces that he's staying

RonanL wrote: Sad to see him go, but wish him all the best. I do worry about our depth in that position with Nathan coming to the end of his career. I'm sure there's a plan in place.

Nathan is 34, Mike Ross our foremost International TH is 36.
Nathan's fine for a couple of years yet.

Departing Dave, well it's fair to say he plateaued as a player after the International caps (and not at a good level).Couple of runs with ball in hand, the big smash at Sarries and that's pretty much his highlight reel with Connacht.

Best of luck to him at Ulster though, hopefully he finds another gear. At 27 it would be be shame if he's already at the zenith of his rugby career...

Sad to see him go, but wish him all the best. I do worry about our depth in that position with Nathan coming to the end of his career. I'm sure there's a plan in place.

Borders no.2 wrote: This has been on the cards for a while. Sad to lose Rodney, I wish him well and he's got to do what's right for him but more than anything the feeling I have on this is worry for him. For us he does a job at a certain level, we bring him off the bench in certain games, he makes a few big carries that gets the crowd going and from a car crash initally he's turned into a popular figure. At Ulster, the expectation is that you are pushing for the league and pushing to get into the knock out stages in Europe.

On the positive side, Ulster have a number of props of relatively similar Pro 12 standard, Herbst is currently their only real quality tight-head and he is pushing on so there may be possibilities but I just can't see Rodney as the corner-stone of a team hoping to achieve what Ulster want to achieve and he's not exactly coming into the most grizzled pack in Europe by a long shot.

He's got to win over a sceptical crowd who won't be shy in letting him know what they think if he doesn't come up to standard. Les Kiss will demand a lot of him from a defensive viewpoint and he'll have to come up to that mark. While he'll get a bit of a pay increase, the work environment is I believe as important an element in any line of work and I hope I am wrong but I firmly believe this time next year he'll be saying to himself what was I thinking moving here.

From our viewpoint its worrying as finding another Irish eligible prop will be difficult. If we do reach the Champions Cup, an ageing Nathan White and mixing and matching Finlay Bealham or Ronan Loughney at tight-head won't be sufficient. Conan O'Donnell will hopefully come through on either side of the scrum but he needs to have realistic expectations placed on his shoulders also. With Marty Moore gone there'll be no movement from Leinster, with Botha going it'll be a similar situation in Munster so we're going to be stretched unless Pat can maybe locate a project player out of somewhere.

Think what you say is on the button. Nathan is aging. Denis is our irreplaceable loose head. But if out of commission then bealham takes over. So rodney has a place and a reason to be at Connacht. I hope he finds his place at ulster but I'm dubious about that. All will be revealed. I hope it works out for him. He is a gentle giant. After the ulster game in the sports ground with the kids he was simply great. Available for photos for all the families. Will always think well of him and wish him the best

wp_rathead wrote: Rodney

Rodney Dave Alexander ay you. Just checked his birth cert . That must be it.

This has been on the cards for a while. Sad to lose Rodney, I wish him well and he's got to do what's right for him but more than anything the feeling I have on this is worry for him. For us he does a job at a certain level, we bring him off the bench in certain games, he makes a few big carries that gets the crowd going and from a car crash initally he's turned into a popular figure. At Ulster, the expectation is that you are pushing for the league and pushing to get into the knock out stages in Europe.

On the positive side, Ulster have a number of props of relatively similar Pro 12 standard, Herbst is currently their only real quality tight-head and he is pushing on so there may be possibilities but I just can't see Rodney as the corner-stone of a team hoping to achieve what Ulster want to achieve and he's not exactly coming into the most grizzled pack in Europe by a long shot.

He's got to win over a sceptical crowd who won't be shy in letting him know what they think if he doesn't come up to standard. Les Kiss will demand a lot of him from a defensive viewpoint and he'll have to come up to that mark. While he'll get a bit of a pay increase, the work environment is I believe as important an element in any line of work and I hope I am wrong but I firmly believe this time next year he'll be saying to himself what was I thinking moving here.

From our viewpoint its worrying as finding another Irish eligible prop will be difficult. If we do reach the Champions Cup, an ageing Nathan White and mixing and matching Finlay Bealham or Ronan Loughney at tight-head won't be sufficient. Conan O'Donnell will hopefully come through on either side of the scrum but he needs to have realistic expectations placed on his shoulders also. With Marty Moore gone there'll be no movement from Leinster, with Botha going it'll be a similar situation in Munster so we're going to be stretched unless Pat can maybe locate a project player out of somewhere.

Rodney

wp_rathead wrote: Hopefully the money saved on Dave can be put towards tying down Heenan and Muldowney

Are we talking about Dave mcsharry here. I wasn't aware he had publicly stated he is retiring? I understand there are concerns but that's all I heard.

Hopefully the money saved on Dave can be put towards tying down Heenan and Muldowney

Decadence wrote: So he's gone for silverware. Hmmmm.

I don't know, I think his ability is being understated a bit by some here, but he isn't irreplaceable I suppose. It's the fact that we stuck with him for two years when he was awful and that now he gets poached by a neighbouring province that galls me a bit. But as someone said, it's not like we're losing a homegrown player.

Hopefully keeping budget for other retaining players

So he's gone for silverware. Hmmmm.

I don't know, I think his ability is being understated a bit by some here, but he isn't irreplaceable I suppose. It's the fact that we stuck with him for two years when he was awful and that now he gets poached by a neighbouring province that galls me a bit. But as someone said, it's not like we're losing a homegrown player.

There's already a two page thread on the Ulster forum titled "Ah Feck".

Classy.

We'll miss you Rodders.

I guess we'll never know
The reason why
We love you like we do.
That's the wonnn-derrr
Of Rodney Ah You

(so disappointed that one never caught on)

greyingbeard wrote: Sad to see the personality go but the player shouldn't behard to replace for next season.

Any news on the specifics of why he chose Ulster over us (assuming we offered him a contract)?

www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/pro12/rod...m-connacht-1.2500869

On the announcement he is swapping Galway for Belfast, the 27-year-old said: “I’m really excited about the challenges that lie ahead with Ulster. They are a side with big ambitions and are capable of winning silverware in the very near future.
“I feel that the environment at Ulster will allow me to reach my potential and help me to realise my ambitions in the game. With so many players pushing one another for starting places, it will hopefully spur me on to a new level. I feel, at 27, that my best years are ahead of me and I want to push hard for more international recognition too."

Sad to see the personality go but the player shouldn't behard to replace for next season.

Any news on the specifics of why he chose Ulster over us (assuming we offered him a contract)?