Well that was a magnificent 80 minutes....so much positive.
TOH referenced in post match interview his contract negotiations being a distraction - he looked back to himself last night. Centres nailed down now for me, and Matt was buzzing around looking for work more so than I've seen before......some beautiful lines picked. Jack looks brand new......reasonable kicking, threatening line and moving backline nicely. Coulson proved he can push Bucks; and rest of pack bullied Ulster. JB a gem of a footballer at 7.
Best in a while thank God but Ulster were the definition of shite. Very little aggression or physicality about them. And that excuse for defence from an ex Ireland defence coach! Jonno Gibbes away home for Xmas apparently leaving Les to it..... priorities lads, priorities. They're on their fan forum saying the want Kiss out, Logan out and some calling for Eddie OSullivan! Even hoping Lein/Mun to hump them so Kiss goes. They're a different breed!
Still, happy to be a Connacht man in Ulster this week

Borders no.2 wrote: The attitude tonight was spot on but we need to bring the necessary intensity on a more regular basis.

I think that sums up Connacht rugby very nicely

Very pleased after that. After I saw the Ulster team yesterday I felt this was one we just had to win.

The pack they picked tonight Henderson aside looked like it was there to be taken apart. Ulster's signings for next season show that they are trying to rectify their problems but there needs to be a massive clear-out there. They've been papering over the cracks for a long time. Their pack even at full strength is nowhere near good enough and to have Peter Nelson at 10 shows how poorly they've handled the fallout of Paddy Jackson's absence.

Ulster have frustrated us so often in the past that you couldn't take them for granted so from our perspective it was great to see us laying the groundwork early. We realised Ulster were there to be got at and we tore into them. Really from 1-15 it was a strong performance. Having Butler back was a huge plus. The maul was used to great effect and we eventually started to turn the screw in the scrum the more the game wore on.

The fact we secured the 5 points and got a chance to run the bench was very helpful with a busy run of games to come. For the backs it was a good game to play in given our forward dominance but tonight we definitely looked like the confidence was returning in our backline. The asterisk beside that is we'll probably never be that dominant up front again.

Since the opening 20 minutes or so in Brive I'm happy with what I've seen the last couple of weeks but the opposition has been questionable. The attitude tonight was spot on but we need to bring the necessary intensity on a more regular basis. The likes of the performance against Zebre in particular just wasn't acceptable at this level.

Leinster looks like it'll be a tough ask with them resting so many players against Munster but we have a few days to rest up and hopefully give a good account of ourselves at least.

ThisYearWillBeDifferent wrote:

Fair play, you hid it well.

Thing is, Connacht really bugs me. Its my passion in life. I just care and at the same time I always say something stupid. Look, whatever, go Connacht

Last week i was so impressed by how Connacht didn't let up and put Brive away. But I had some doupts about out defence. Tonight those doupts were put to bed. Our defence was fantastic! Sure at the end we tired, but time and again we strangled the Ulster attack and put them under so much pressure. For me tonights display was the best performance I've seen in the sportsground since we beat Glasgow in semi-final 2 years ago. Very Impressive!!!!!

Fair play, you hid it well.

Agree, but then again it has finally been proven how utter muck Ulster are. I have never understood how Ulster has managed the results they have. Connacht put manners on them tonight. It was nothing more than I expected.

It was a great night. Superb general play and excellent team performance. The bookies had us at 1/2 or 4/9 to win (for most of today) and we played and won like the odds suggested. Looking forward to New Year’s Day. It will be different challenge for sure.

Carty has been excellent pretty much all season. Dunno how people have seemingly ignored the donkey work he does defensively and his super eye for gaps with ball in hand until Brive but at least he's getting recognition. Long may it continue. Even tonight he's caught two stunning balls under pressure.

Magpie wrote:

dobby wrote:

Mark Mostyn wrote:

dobby wrote: I know I grate on folks nerves. i put money down that Connacht were going to walk this game. I figure if you piss them off enough they will turn in a big performance. And as performances go, that was so impressive

Don't think your shitposting online had anything to do with the performance tbh.

Maybe, maybe not

Certainly not. Absolutely not.You are deluded if you think otherwise. Deranged. Unwell. Stop.

---

Carty was quite excellent tonight. Very impressive. Take a bow son.

Tom Farrell. He gets through an obscene amount of work in defense and attack. He often attacks the inside shoulder on the defender outside, him causing 2 defenders to commit to tacking him, easier said than done and he does it very well.

The pack, as a unit, they bullied they crap out of Ulster. Not once tonight did I hear 'stand up for the ulster men'.

But Jack was quite excellent. It would take some miserable Grinch to state otherwise.

Jack played really well

dobby wrote:

Mark Mostyn wrote:

dobby wrote: I know I grate on folks nerves. i put money down that Connacht were going to walk this game. I figure if you piss them off enough they will turn in a big performance. And as performances go, that was so impressive

Don't think your shitposting online had anything to do with the performance tbh.

Maybe, maybe not

Certainly not. Absolutely not.You are deluded if you think otherwise. Deranged. Unwell. Stop.

---

Carty was quite excellent tonight. Very impressive. Take a bow son.

Tom Farrell. He gets through an obscene amount of work in defense and attack. He often attacks the inside shoulder on the defender outside, him causing 2 defenders to commit to tacking him, easier said than done and he does it very well.

The pack, as a unit, they bullied they crap out of Ulster. Not once tonight did I hear 'stand up for the ulster men'.

But Jack was quite excellent. It would take some miserable Grinch to state otherwise.

Stop that, we could enjoy that game. Everyone on the pitch was good to very good. That's rare enough to be noticed.
Butler is a gem, Carty has changed within 3 matches to another player, Coulson/McCabe are great covers, Dawai has been a demolishion machine, Farrell/Bundee is more than ever in contention to be one of the best centre pairing, maul and lineout are back after 1 year of nightmare, handling and tackling too

dobby wrote:

Mark Mostyn wrote:

dobby wrote: I know I grate on folks nerves. i put money down that Connacht were going to walk this game. I figure if you piss them off enough they will turn in a big performance. And as performances go, that was so impressive

Don't think your shitposting online had anything to do with the performance tbh.

Maybe, maybe not

Not.

stockdale vs toh, healy vs trimble. No comparison

Mark Mostyn wrote:

dobby wrote: I know I grate on folks nerves. i put money down that Connacht were going to walk this game. I figure if you piss them off enough they will turn in a big performance. And as performances go, that was so impressive

Don't think your shitposting online had anything to do with the performance tbh.

Maybe, maybe not

BTW does someone know who's the guy at 10 who makes carries, kicks decently and is imperial under high balls?
What a transformation of Jack Carty it is!