Great work Swift

sent an email to the branch

hi there. few people on the connacht clan forum are wondering when is the last training session before the quinns game on friday as a few people including myself would like to be there, incourage the lads, tell them how much we are all behind the lads and pat them on the back. dont think this was done before but i think it would mean a lot to them.

sorry if this is not your area, if not send it on to another person at the branch and reply please.
from (real name) swift4prez

reply

Hi (real name), swift4prez

There was plans for something this week and will be confirmed today.

All usual training sessions are not open to the public but we will open one this week.

Thanks for your support.

Martin Fallon

hope that as many people can come as this could be our last game in the HC plus chance to end the bad run

Well i guess it depends on your perspective but i'd rather have 3 teams in the HC then a 2 and 1 split. The way i see it an Leinster v Ulster QF at least guarantees us an Irish team in the semis.

That said having looked at it again I think it wouldn't be the end of the world if they did fall into the Amlin they would be the 5th ranked team (with 5th placed pool winners going to 8th) www.ercrugby.com/eng/amlinchallengecup/rules/index.php

So if Stade and Toloun both win that would make either an away trip to Sale or more likely Wasps but I guess all will be revealed soon enough.

Maybe's it just my god-complex but i like the thought that we can play a major part in how it all unfolds.

ummm, wrote: I think Clermont haven't lost at match at home for something like 4 years


No pressure!

38 games

And Ulster have never won in France!

I think Clermont haven't lost at match at home for something like 4 years


No pressure!

Ulster will have their hands full gettging anything at all out of Clemont away, unlike the Amlin even if they are stone cold out of the HEC French sides do not like losing at home in front of their supporters, the big six French clubs rarely if ever lose at home whether in HEC or Top14. Away form is what dicates the desitnation of the Top14..

If Ulster ended up in the Amlin they'd probably be the highest ranked HEC team. Which would mean drawing away to "Jonny Wilkinsons" Toulon.

Not a great job TBH

Harlequins aren't just playing for the Amlin. A win brings them to 20 points. Ulster may remain on 19 very easily or Clermont on 16 or 17 (less likely). Edinburgh are far from sure certs at home to London Irish if LI are bothered. The other groups are all out of the equation if Harlequins reach 20 so they have it all to play for. Toulouse may get a tough game in Gloucester too.

I will be shouting for Ulster this weekend, ok it might be better for us if they were in the Amlin but thats not easy to win once the knock out rounds start either especially with Ulsters away record. If Ulster get in as one of the best 2nd place teams, they'll be against one of the other provinces guarenteeing at least one province in the semi.

Thats all out of our hands. Hopefully we'll be back in the Heineken but lets see a performance on Friday first, a win would be a huge boost.

The IMF wrote: it would pretty much guarantee Ulster a QF place and increase our chances of getting back to the top table next year

Not sure it'll increase our chances at all. If Edinburgh and Cardiff win their last games then even with a bonus Ulster will end up away to Leinster in the quarters; should one of those two lose then Ulster will get the second seed - Toulouse, Sarries or Munster.

Of course Ulster might beat Clermont away, and maybe the pope will join the Orange Order; anything's possible

We'd be better off losing and sending Ulster into the Amlin keeping Ireland in the hunt for both cups (I'm sure they wouldn't turn their noses up at it, unlike some provinces I could mention), but to hell with that, we want a win on Friday!

I was thinking to myself earlier, would it better if Ulster were put into the Amlin 1/4 finals?
They might have a better chance of winning that, also ensuring we get back into the HC

The general Quins reaction to the draw seemed to be a "Not Connacht again" type of thing on account of us having played each other so often in the last couple of years so I wouldn't be expecting anything like big numbers coming over from them.

Quins have been well beaten their last 2 prem games but that was against Northampton and Sarries if memory serves and IMO they got a bit lucky at the stoop on saturday so they are not exactly the form team coming into this one.

Looking at the permutations for the QF's I can't see Tolouse getting beat, so Quins will be playing for the Amlin. That said we have a massive opertunity to do Ulster a favour and in turn ourselves by beating them it would pretty much guarantee Ulster a QF place and increase our chances of getting back to the top table next year. So there is a bit more at stake here than just breaking our run of losses.

I wonder if there are many Quins fans planning on making the trip this weekend.
The vast majority of them seemed to enjoy our company back in November, and seemed like good fun

Working and living in Dublin means I can rarely make the games in Galway but I have my ticket for this friday and can't wait, hope it is a good one.

The lads will need eevry bit of support as it's a short turnaround this week as if we're not dealing with enough already. I really hope there is a big turn out for this last game, I know it's tough going at the moment but we'll only come out of this if the Supporters stick with the team.
That is the bond that make Great clubs Great.

If you're going anyway start getting on to your buddies and colleagues about coming down for the game, it'd be a great way to go out of the tournament by breaking our losing streak in front of a full house.....

I agree that we have a fighting chance of beating Quins. We did well against them in The Stoop when our motivation level was high. After our performance on Saturday and their less than impressive win against Gloucester the pressure is entirely on them. Hopefully the positive showing by the men in green last weekend will be maintained on Friday.
The sportsground will hopefully be rocking the green.
C'mon Connacht. Let's show them that we can have two good performances in a row. What an achievement it would be to put one over the (mighty) quins.

Connacht vs Harlequins
Kick Off Friday, January 20th at 20:00
The match is live on Sky Spotrs 1 in HD

Tickets still available via Ticketmaster

Well it's our final Heineken Cup match of the year, and what a way it would be to end our losing streak.
I dont think we should fear Harlequins. Gloucester pushed them close on Saturday night.
I think the main thing stopping us from winning this game, might be the players, as they have forgotten how to win, and close out games.
If we're winning by 6, with minutes to go, I will be scared.

Anyway, lets get a full house there on Friday, and cheer on the team. It's been a great ride this season in the HC, and hopefully it wont be too long before we back hosting Europes elite again.

Come on Connacht

Prediction: Connacht 18-14 Harlequins