On the subject of title sponsors a glasgow warriores fan contacted the robo people to inqure about prize money for winning, runner up and semi positions. He got a pjrompt polite reply from some girl who confirmed that there wasnt any prize money on offer just the cup. I always thought that was the purpose of title sponsors. In those circumstances the b+i cup could survive on its own steam.

rossie wrote: Are we not entering a team in the b+i next season then?

Without a title sponsor how long can it last really as a competition?

Are we not entering a team in the b+i next season then?

well it can only be these players and no surprise really. apart from fetu (who we cant keep) and joc nobody else will be missed. others did there job but not much of a loss. id still keep a few to give depth but not to bothered.
this is all covered in the ''signing thread''. no need for new one

Gannon, Moore, Anderson, Brian Murphy, Reynecke, Flavin, Fifita, O'Connor, Vainikolo, Frank Murphy, Grace, Healy, Jarvis, Loxton, Nolan,

Big clear out underway in the Sportsgrounds apparently!! alot of fringe players and older players being let go!

Watched him at Leinster as well and was surprised when he left as he was doing well. Nothing spectacular but he was consistent. The guy has a good attitude and didn't want to rot behind Cronin and Strauss at Leinster but backed himself and moved. Has made himself our no. 1 as well. Will be interesting to see if Heffernan getting a dev. contract means Flavin will retire.

rossie wrote: Wasnt aware of hec so stand corrected. How many here actually saw jhw play either live or on tv before he came though. I know i didnt or at least dont remember him.he came here from a div 2 team in uk and many were skeotical about him as they are about henry. Henry has the disadvantage of 2 cameo appearances on tv and poss 1 live for people to cast judgement on. He has played in 2 b+i finals winning 1 and may yet feature in another this season. Imo that standard matches up to bristol so comparisons can be made.
All hookers have there demons with the throw. Regular games and sensible lineout calls help. Woody couldnt hit his man to save his life some days if i recall.

I saw JHW a fair bit as he came through with Leinster. He got knocked out after about 5 mins on his debut. He was great in the loose but seemed lightweight for a hooker. In schools and at Greystones he was in back row, but never had the height for professional rugby. He moved to Bristol when Cronin came in. He has bulked up a lot since, especially this year. Apparently he really has a great attitude and he was well respected in Leinster. If he keeps developing he could play himself into the Irish squad at some time.

rossie wrote: Wasnt aware of hec so stand corrected. How many here actually saw jhw play either live or on tv before he came though. I know i didnt or at least dont remember him.he came here from a div 2 team in uk and many were skeotical about him as they are about henry. Henry has the disadvantage of 2 cameo appearances on tv and poss 1 live for people to cast judgement on. He has played in 2 b+i finals winning 1 and may yet feature in another this season. Imo that standard matches up to bristol so comparisons can be made.
All hookers have there demons with the throw. Regular games and sensible lineout calls help. Woody couldnt hit his man to save his life some days if i recall.

I saw JHW a fair bit as he came through with Leinster. He got knocked out after about 5 mins on his debut. He was great in the loose but seemed lightweight for a hooker. In schools and at Greystones he was in back row, but never had the height for professional rugby. He moved to Bristol when Cronin came in. He has bulked up a lot since, especially this year. Apparently he really has a great attitude and he was well respected in Leinster. If he keeps developing he could play himself into the Irish squad at some time.

Afaik tho a dev contract isnt much better than an acadamy one so it wud be minimal risk to give him one now that grace is leaving.

As a player you have to make tough decisions if you want a Pro career, and opting to stay playing with his mates at Corinthians is hurting him. Since he left the Jes when not playing for the Eagles he really needed to be challenging himself at higher level week in / week out than Div 3 of the AIL.

You'd imagine someone would have said this to him? If so he only has himself to blame. If I was Lam I'd tell him to move next year and after a year at Div 1 have a look at him again.

rossie wrote: All hookers have there demons with the throw. Regular games and sensible lineout calls help. Woody couldnt hit his man to save his life some days if i recall.

So true .Remember one of his later games for Ireland v France.He threw to No.2 (which is normally the easist one) and the ball went to the extreme extreme left of the lineout.If it kept going it would have went to the outhalf.

Generally speaking ,i find the more dynamically mobile the Hooker ,the worse they are at lineouts.
Tis one of those strange things like,despite being professional's and training day in,day out,very few Props and 2nd rows can pass,bar the underhand shovel method .

I think his failure to shift grace from the 7 spot for eagles is a sign of his lack of progress. Grace is average at best.

connachtexile wrote: No Connelly eh? Well that's a shame but it was something a lot of people have hinted at. I wonder is Qualter being brought in to replace Nolan? Anyone know how he's going injury wise?

Great shame if he doesn't cut it, but he's been slipping back as a player and it was noticeable during his U-20's involvement.

As a player you have to make tough decisions if you want a Pro career, and opting to stay playing with his mates at Corinthians is hurting him. Since he left the Jes when not playing for the Eagles he really needed to be challenging himself at higher level week in / week out than Div 3 of the AIL.

He's got to get out of the comfort zone if he's serious, otherwise like his brother he'll end up doing a Masters degree somewhere..

Johnny O'Connor isn't going to be around forever, and he really needs to make his mark sooner rather than later if it's a Connacht shirt he wants..

Wasnt aware of hec so stand corrected. How many here actually saw jhw play either live or on tv before he came though. I know i didnt or at least dont remember him.he came here from a div 2 team in uk and many were skeotical about him as they are about henry. Henry has the disadvantage of 2 cameo appearances on tv and poss 1 live for people to cast judgement on. He has played in 2 b+i finals winning 1 and may yet feature in another this season. Imo that standard matches up to bristol so comparisons can be made.
All hookers have there demons with the throw. Regular games and sensible lineout calls help. Woody couldnt hit his man to save his life some days if i recall.

No Connelly eh? Well that's a shame but it was something a lot of people have hinted at. I wonder is Qualter being brought in to replace Nolan? Anyone know how he's going injury wise?

rossie wrote: Jhw looked dodgy too when he first started here but has improved with games. Both come from similar backgrounds in that they failed to establish themselves after acadamy level. Jhw didnt even est himself as no 1 on leinster a team which henry has achieved for 3 seasons. Given time he will do fine.

jhw started 3 games and 9 subs for leinster.
sean henry in 3 seasons has come on as sub ONLY 6 times!

jhw has also played in a heineken cup final and won. jhw was much better when he came here