The podcasts are worth a listen: www.newstalk.com/podcasts/Off_The_Ball/

I only heard the last 10 minutes or so but Stampy O Driscoll seems to have gotten off lightly last night.

Sol_ie wrote:
100%, but I'm the lad that stops people chanting about being top of the league when it's five mins to go and we're 10 up!

Well with that attitude at least no-one can accuse you of forgetting where we came from.

salmson wrote:

Sol_ie wrote:

salmson wrote: we finally have one winning season.

We've won nothing yet!

Point taken, but I meant "winning season" in the generally accepted won-more-regular-season-games-than-you-lost sense. Which we have never achieved since the current formats for league/Europe were adopted.

I don't want to seem like I don't care about winning something this year, but realistically Connacht are not going to challenge for silverware every or even most seasons. If we can break even or better with our win ratio on a consistent basis we should be able to play Champions Cup more often that not, build supporter base & retain all but our very best/greediest/most gullible players (delete to personal taste).

In that sense it's job done & then some already this year and the next few games are gravy.

100%, but I'm the lad that stops people chanting about being top of the league when it's five mins to go and we're 10 up!

Sol_ie wrote:

salmson wrote: we finally have one winning season.

We've won nothing yet!

Point taken, but I meant "winning season" in the generally accepted won-more-regular-season-games-than-you-lost sense. Which we have never achieved since the current formats for league/Europe were adopted.

I don't want to seem like I don't care about winning something this year, but realistically Connacht are not going to challenge for silverware every or even most seasons. If we can break even or better with our win ratio on a consistent basis we should be able to play Champions Cup more often that not, build supporter base & retain all but our very best/greediest/most gullible players (delete to personal taste).

In that sense it's job done & then some already this year and the next few games are gravy.

salmson wrote: we finally have one winning season.

We've won nothing yet!

ConnachtCows wrote: If the shoe was on the other foot

I think that's the whole point. When has the shoe ever been on the other foot?

Anyway, no harm in keeping a chip on everyone's shoulder - supporters, players, coaches. We don't want to get complacent like Munster just because we finally have one winning season.

I really thought we were past all the Robbie talk
If the shoe was on the other foot, and some Connacht legend was bigging up Connact in an effort to sign a Westport man from Ulster, none of us would see the harm.

Ticket sales have increased. Publicity has increased. Time to move on.

I'm going to the Off The Ball Roadshow. Got two tickets earlier

Accidentally Onside wrote: Think we should all be ready for this next season as it's going to happen. It's already happened in a recent interview and his answer was bit non-committal- "I'm really happy to be in Connacht but Munster is home for me and will always be home". Not saying he's going to move, I think we'd all hope he doesn't (and he was HUGELY committed in the recent game against them), but the liginds like Wood, Galwey, and Lenihan are going to be out there acting as stalking horses for the Munster branch.

That's why Robbie's move was such a sickener. If he won't stay why should a kid from Munster?

Ultan grew up supporting Munster during their hay day. It'd be weird if part of him didn't still want to play for them...and if that's what he really wants I'd sincerely wish him luck.

But everything could have been built around Robbie. He could have proven that you can be Lion and play for Connacht. The effect that that would have had on ticket sales, image, sponsorship, revenue, recruitment, player retention, underage participation across the province, etc. would have been immeasurable. We could have built a bloody (modest and affordable) stadium around him. It's crushing that he didn't want a part in that, and I can't wish him luck.

And after seeing the Irish captain, an individual you might hope would have the interests of Irish rugby at heart, taking such joy in having played a part in knocking down something that a lot of people had worked hard to build (not me, I just turn up and get drunk); I'm not all that keen on listening to him telling us that "Pat Lam has done a great job" or "Connacht are playing a really exciting brand of rugby" or whatever other bland, inoffensive, nonsense Denis O'Brien is paying him to spout to fill up the space between Heineken ads.

This is true also!!

But I don't want to move on! If I can't make anonymous snide comments about people who've reached a level of excellence that I could never dream of, what have I left to live for?

Darragh wrote: If Dillane got the same greasing up from say POC, how would he be? I would like to think he would say thanks, but no thanks to any leanings towards going home.

Think we should all be ready for this next season as it's going to happen. It's already happened in a recent interview and his answer was bit non-committal- "I'm really happy to be in Connacht but Munster is home for me and will always be home". Not saying he's going to move, I think we'd all hope he doesn't (and he was HUGELY committed in the recent game against them), but the liginds like Wood, Galwey, and Lenihan are going to be out there acting as stalking horses for the Munster branch.

I used to think that way about BOD re the whole Henshaw debacle, but for me, on hindsight, I hold the player and his agent (father) just as responsible, in fact, more so then BOD.

The buck stops with a player himself (who is an adult) and his key advisors. In this case, his agent.

I suspect Henshaw had spent a lot of time in camp Leinster (I mean team Ireland) through the world cup and November internationals that he had his head turned by the whole lot of them. It was sexy and flash for him.

Realistically Connacht hadn't quite shown him enough by then and I suspect if he was deciding now, it may well be a different outcome, regardless of what BOD or Sexton et al would be saying.

So it was an unlucky part in the season, but I would hold himself and his agent more accountable really.

It is understandable to listen to some of these golden players and there is a job in Connacht to do to ensure they show enough to convince a player to stay. I think the timings just worked against us.

If Dillane got the same greasing up from say POC, how would he be? I would like to think he would say thanks, but no thanks to any leanings towards going home.

It can't be easy for the players in a way.

Time to move on from this all. Leave the negativity behind.

Connacht are in a completely different place now and they have shown their potential.

I would think there are quite a few players all around the country quite jealous of what is going on in the ACT Brumbies , I mean Connacht

If the "tapping up" of a young player happened in soccer the club would be fined and the person who was central would be banned from business dealings with the sport for a period of time.

The fact it happened so blatantly and openly is wrong imo

Shelflife wrote: Lost all respect for him when I saw that tweet, unfollowed him (im sure hes broken up over that) and as far as im concerned he has nothing that im interested in hearing anymore.

Imo he helped turn the head of a young player to go to Leinster which may very well not be in the players own interests.

Strange, I did the same. Not sure that he misses the followers, but a small statement.

Evil_g wrote: [strike]Chapter 1: It's important that I have the highest quality coaching[/strike]

[strike]Chapter 1: I need to be playing with test standard players regularly[/strike]

[strike]Chapter 1: It's important that I play Champions Cup Rugby[/strike]

Chapter 1: Well, technically I'm from Leinster

Hey - his girlfriend lives in Dublin. Give the lad a break.