I thought he was awful, not so much for his calls (which I thought were ok) but the way he didn't indicate what he was calling. A number of times I found myself with no idea as to if he was playing an advantage, what he had penalised a team for, if it was a penalty advantage or knock-on and he didn't seem to communicate well with the players.

Edit: it's just dawned on me that he was a saffa so maybe his English was not particularly strong.

I think because there was no official TMO, he could not review. In fairness it looked a try in real time. Thought Ref other than that had a good game.

I think because there was no official TMO, he could not review. In fairness it looked a try in real time. Thought Ref other than that had a good game.

Another game attended, another You Tube video. Cant believe the referee didnt give a second opinion on the second Ospreys try as regards actual grounding of the ball. Anyways its forgotten about thanks to the win.

On reflection I do agree with you. Looked like he was trying too hard. To either get a new contract or for a YouTube highlight reel. He has been here for over a year now and has not performed too well. He has pace and power and is a fantastic ball carrier but his attitude seems to be poor enough.
On another note Copeland is having a fantastic game at 8 against Zebre. Carrying well and very destructive.
If Dawai goes along with Muldoon retiring we could do worse to sign him as a squad player along with a Niq 8.

FACECUTTR wrote: Dawai was a beast. I hope he starts next week and that form continues.

I thought he was living on the edge in term of the timing and technique of some of his hits though, could have been in a bit of bother with another referee. Will need to have a little more precision if he wants to stay in the first team IMO.

Newname wrote: Hopefully Brown's injury isn't too serious, he's had a a tough time with injury. Hopefully Tiernan won't have anything serious also as you could see we missed his attacking ability last night.
Did anyone else think it strange with Brown coming back from such a long term serious injury he was picked straight up for the first team, and not eased back into it from the bench or club games ( perhaps he had played club games)

Buccs are the only club team that senior players are eligible for so if they’re registered elsewhere there’s no option for them to play ail.

Hopefully Brown's injury isn't too serious, he's had a a tough time with injury. Hopefully Tiernan won't have anything serious also as you could see we missed his attacking ability last night.
Did anyone else think it strange with Brown coming back from such a long term serious injury he was picked straight up for the first team, and not eased back into it from the bench or club games ( perhaps he had played club games)

Any word on TOH and Browne injury?
Hamstring and shoulder was it?
Hopefully theyre not long-term
Agree about Dawai playing well, as did Masterson
Thornbury did alright aswell when he came on

Great to see SOB back being 24th man in warm up

Dawai was a beast. I hope he starts next week and that form continues.

I thought it was a good game. Competitive to the end, mistakes on both sides but I thought our defence was excellent for the most part.

Good performances from Carey and Masterson but for me the clear mom was Dawai, I thought he was brilliant. So direct, won so many collisions, carried strong, was hunting Davies all night and didn't give him a moment's peace. Best he's played for us by a distance.

Was a forgettable game but another home win and denying Ospreys a bonus point is a good outcome. We had to soak up a lot of pressure in the first half. The try at end of the half was huge. If we went in at 6-5 I wouldn't have fancied us. 13-5 was no indication of the play at that stage. The 2nd half drifted along with Ospreys again having plenty of ball but not many ideas. The yellow card moved the game along nicely and Tom Farrell showed his class to effectively finish the game.

Not a great performance but the result keeps the league alive for us. Zebre next week we need 5 no excuses. We need a shed load of points during 6 nations to give us a shot at euro qualification given our run in.

Very sad news for Ultan stay strong

That's a strong Spreys side.....going to need to dig in to get a result against them, need to win the battle upfront as they look dangerous in the back

Connacht:
(15-9) Tiernan O’Halloran, Cian Kelleher, Eoin Griffin, Tom Farrell, Matt Healy, Craig Ronaldson, Caolin Blade, (1- Denis Coulson, Tom McCartney, Conor Carey, Andrew Browne, James Cannon, Eoghan Masterson, Naulia Dawai, John Muldoon (Capt).

Replacements (16-23): Shane Delahunt, Peter McCabe, Dominic Robertson McCoy, Gavin Thornbury, James Connolly, James Mitchell, Jack Carty, Pita Ahki.

www.connachtrugby.ie/browne-returns-to-c...-clash-with-ospreys/

Ospreys:
15 Dan Evans
14 Hanno Dirksen
13 Kieron Fonotia
12 Ashley Beck
11 Dafydd Howells
10 Sam Davies
9 Tom Habberfield
1 Rhodri Jones
2 Scott Otten
3 Dmitri Arhip
4 Lloyd Ashley
5 James King
6 Olly Cracknell
7 Will Jones
8 Rob McCusker (Capt)
REPLACEMENTS
16 Sam Parry
17 Nicky Smith
18 Ma’afu Fia
19 Guy Mercer
20 Sam Cross
21 Reuben Morgan-Williams
22 Luke Price
23 Joe Thomas

www.ospreysrugby.com/News/Article/51354

That's awful - I've seen Ultan speak about his Mum many times and got the impression he was particularly close to her. My heart goes out to him and the rest of the family. RIP.