totally as an aside, I loved that Rory Best had his wee son at the match, cemented by opinion of him.

Shelflife wrote: Im not a big fan of the meters gained figure as it can be very misleading. 3 or 4 long kicks to the 5m line that are run back to the half way line will show up as 180m gained, are they really gained meters ? they can be distorted easily.

On it's own it's irrelevant. The combination of stats indicate Connacht were the dominant team in everything except tries scored.

Awesome win lads. Well done.

Heff wasn't calling the lineout, Browne was. By the time Delahunt came on Browne was gone, so with a young hooker and our lineout caller gone straight to the front makes sense. It would be hard to get away with one move/call all game mind.

goconn wrote: It was a brilliant performance and a huge shot in the arm for us given all of the injuries and last minute changes. For me, Blade gave a MOTM display but couldn't argue with Kelleher or Heff or Jake or Jack. And a big shout out to Craig Ronaldson for the 80 mins he put in when I think he was supposed to only play 40 mins of club rugby today but forced to tog when Robb had to opt out. Overall, this was a huge win for us. Go Connacht !

Thought the Ronaldson aki partnership really worked. thought blade was amazing and am left struggling 'why'? why from day to day do you not do this caoilan? thought heff was great but then Delahunt came on and I want to ask a simple stupid question. Delahunt simply threw the ball to the front of the lineout and was won every time. Heff insisted (and he always, always does this) of an extended throw to the lineout and we end up losing it. Dave if you were are a Connacht clan member I need to know. Why would you do this?

It was a brilliant performance and a huge shot in the arm for us given all of the injuries and last minute changes. For me, Blade gave a MOTM display but couldn't argue with Kelleher or Heff or Jake or Jack. And a big shout out to Craig Ronaldson for the 80 mins he put in when I think he was supposed to only play 40 mins of club rugby today but forced to tog when Robb had to opt out. Overall, this was a huge win for us. Go Connacht !

Last night was a statement that was badly needed. Maybe the hangover from last year is finally cured. Thought they were all immense - each & every one of them. Heffernan has an amazing game as did the whole front row. Kelleher (where the wing is by far his best position) was a joy to behold and I always believe we are a far far better team when Jake is playing. I was delighted that Blade delivered last night because it is his 'time' to do so if he is going to make the grade.

What is worrying still is the line out - still way too loose & not controlled. Work to be done.

Great result, great night, great atmosphere but the supporters next week need to also step up up again as well as much as the team when the Big Boys roll in...#honConnacht

No one's mentioned it yet, but Niyi's gotten brilliant under the high ball, Ulster's backs are usually excellent at that, but he kept winning it ahead of them.

That was one of, if not the best, game I've seen from Carty and Blade, darting breaks without getting isolated and nice quick passing.

Magpie wrote: Connacht Rugby v Ulster Rugby
61 Possession 39
57 Territory 43
535 Meters Gained 156
68 Carries 34
4 Tries 3
248 Passes 121
97 Tackles Made 148
16 Missed Tackles 20
12 Turnovers 9
12 Penalties Conceded 14

Three times the meters gained, twice as many carries and passes..... against the league leaders.

Read more at www.pro12rugby.com/report/kelleher-doubl...#MqHl18ilH5d0Rc2x.99

Espn have metres run at 434 to 253 - bit of statistical disparity! Stats can be fun but often have limited meaning, especially on their own. However, when you see that Conn had 71% possession in the second half and bet 20 defenders. Stats can kind of build a picture, but they still can't tell you how quickly a ball was turned over, how accurate the rucking was, etc, which can be the real difference in games.

What a game.

I cannot think of 1 player that did not stand up to the plate.

I think browne has given Pat a massive headache. His distribution of the ball was very Ally like and did great work around the park and line out. If he can stay injury free and keep that performance up, he will cement that spot and ultan and quinn will fight for the other 2nd row spot.

I was very critical of our HB pairing so far. Both half backs stepped up to the mark and had great games. This was helped by the clearing out. The recycling of the ball which was top class. (Fair play to ulster not killing the ball like other teams) Browne also took pressure off them by giving them an extra option which bought them an extra half second of space. (That role is not suited to ultan)

Heff had a massive game, him and browne push Keller very close to man of the match. All that practice playing back row last year really paid off. Hopefully he can keep that standard up

Centre paring was a big problem so far this year. Eoin and bundee have not got used playing together yet. (Which can be blamed on the lack of a pre season) I think BOD said it can take up to 11 to 14 games to get it right. (Payne Henshaw)

Fair play to the crowd giving Rodney a good cheer to coming off ( I personally felt like booing. I'm glad I did not) you can see that he really appreciated it.

Kelleher looks more comfortable on the wing rather than FB. He was electric and was unlucky not to get a hat trick. His footwork was brilliant he reminded me a tiny bit the way Luke Fitz attacked the line.

Great to see SOB v2 and new 2nd row Cannon working on fitness during HT. They must be close to taking to the pitch.

Well done to Pat and the team they had a great response to a Terrible start. Let's hope we can get an extra few % from them. Which will allow the clan and the ground to start singing again.

Shelflife wrote: Im not a big fan of the meters gained figure as it can be very misleading. 3 or 4 long kicks to the 5m line that are run back to the half way line will show up as 180m gained, are they really gained meters ? they can be distorted easily.

It's more interesting and relevant for midfield/forward players than for back-three.

I had always assumed that unopposed ball retrieval from long kicks was discounted, maybe I have that wrong, otherwise you are correct in the stat is almost useless.

Im not a big fan of the meters gained figure as it can be very misleading. 3 or 4 long kicks to the 5m line that are run back to the half way line will show up as 180m gained, are they really gained meters ? they can be distorted easily.

Connacht Rugby v Ulster Rugby
61 Possession 39
57 Territory 43
535 Meters Gained 156
68 Carries 34
4 Tries 3
248 Passes 121
97 Tackles Made 148
16 Missed Tackles 20
12 Turnovers 9
12 Penalties Conceded 14

Three times the meters gained, twice as many carries and passes..... against the league leaders.

Read more at www.pro12rugby.com/report/kelleher-doubl...#MqHl18ilH5d0Rc2x.99

dobby wrote: think we have a star in our game. TOH outclassed Payne. O'Connor suggested it in the indo today that it was a battle between them. TOH won hands down. But aside from that Heff was absolutley immense, And on top of that the team performance reminded me of last year. It was fantastic. It was great to witness

Dobby I think your account has been hacked, It would seem a ray of sunshine has made its way into that dark abyss where you live and brought some hope and positivity to your computer. You will need to check it out !!

RoadRunnerR1 wrote: I know the not kicking exit strategy isn't good for the heart and does lead to odd mistake but tonight I think it really deprived Payne, Bowe & Gilroy of cheap ball and the opportunity for the kind of counter strike running they love.

I posted this incredibly negative/worried post before the game and salmson said that this is exactly what would happen. Oh me of little faith ☺

Impossible for me to pick one MOTM tonight. 1 to 23 were exceptional. Blade and Heffernan took it up several levels tonight. Payne was brilliant in stages but Tiernan was exceptional all night. I know the not kicking exit strategy isn't good for the heart and does lead to odd mistake but tonight I think it really deprived Payne, Bowe & Gilroy of cheap ball and the opportunity for the kind of counter strike running they love. When they did get the chance they showed what they can do finishing with payne's try early SH from a lineout. Kelleher blew Bowe away tonight and Niyi was brilliant as always. 2 no. 7's Heenan and Connolly playing together really opened things up (No disrespect to McKeon, & hope injury is not serious). Aussies can have Pocock & Hooper cause we got Heenan and Connolly.