I think hooker is a bit like TH in that a run of games improves the hookers accuracy. Henry has stepped in on occasion to the munster 1sts and struggled out of touch. Irs not easy to hit ground running with eagerness to impress, nerves etc. He has kept a lot of promising hookers at bay in munster so he must have talent.
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.
I always liked heffernan as a backrow. I wish him well at hooker. Deligjted for danny.

Agreed on the need for another hooker, but we can't be keeping ER.

Clarke is in for Fetu, so depending on whether Ah You is classified as IQ/NIQ then ER leaving may be our only possibility to get in another NIQ player.

Qualter is in year 3 so no surprise for him given a dev contract. he has made the seniors which we have alot of cover this season which shows the coachs see something in him.

Im abit surprised Heffernan has went from year 2 to dev skipping year 3. i was impressed with him vs ulster but he would of been able to play for the eagles again still in acedamy and even the seniors.
Now we have 3 hookers on the books of the senior team, same as this year. I do worry that its not enough. i rate JHW very highly, i can see that dave wants it badly and he has a great chance of making it. i worry big time about henry. not to impressed and cant blame the 'he's still young'. he is not that young. still think we need another hooker, maybe give a year contract to fla or ER.

Aaron Conneely not given a contract and he was in year 3. id say he will be let go to prove himself. he seems to be around forever but has never impressed me!

2 development contract's

Academy players graduate to the Senior Squad

The Connacht Academy has produced another crop of professional players with the promotion of hooker Dave Heffernan and second row Danny Qualter to the senior squad.

Dave Heffernan joined the Connacht Academy in 2011 and after two years under the guidance of Nigel Carolan, he will now progress to the senior set up on a development contract. Ballina-born Heffernan went to school in Blackrock College before playing with Connacht at U19 and U20 level. He then went on to represent the Ireland U20s, playing against France in the 2011 U20 RBS 6 Nations.

Heffernan, who plays his club rugby with Buccaneers, has featured predominantly for the Connacht Eagles this season. His first senior cap came last year when, at aged 21, he was named to start against the Scarlets.

While the Mayo native started his rugby career as a back rower, he has, this season, begun the transformation into hooker. He started in the number two jersey just last week in the interpro ‘A’ fixture between the Connacht Eagles and the Ulster Ravens.

Assistant Coach Dan McFarland said:

“Half way through this season, we started training with Dave at hooker. While it’s early days, he has shown great progress and had a fantastic game against Ulster last week.

“He is an excellent athlete and a very physical player. I’m looking forward to working closely with him next season.”

Danny Qualter has been with the Connacht Academy for three years and now advances to a development contract with the club. The Athlone-born lock has represented Ireland at U18, Youth Schools, U19, and has played 15 times for the Ireland Under-20s.

This season he made his debut for the senior Connacht team coming off the bench against Edinburgh at home in the Sportsground. His performance earned him a further two senior appearances in the Heineken Cup games, both home and away, against French side Biarritz.

Dan McFarland said:

“Danny has shown huge potential at underage level. He is a very intelligent rugby player with excellent skills. He did very well for us when we needed him during the year and it’s fantastic to have him as an option in the second row.”

Connacht Rugby CEO Tom Sears said:

“We are delighted that Dave and Danny have graduated from the Academy through to the senior squad. It’s testament to their ability and hard work but also that of our Academy coaches and staff who are doing an outstanding job producing home grown players of real quality.

“This epitomises what the Grassroots to GreenShirts campaign is all about and there are plenty more young players in our system who have the potential to follow the same pathway and go on to represent Connacht and Ireland in the future.”

Brilliant news on Browne signing. He's been top top class this season

Leicester or Toulon, apparently.

Would love to see him sign for Ulster, just to see if the IRFU would get taken to court for denying a British citizen a job in the UK.

john barclay leaving glasgow, doesnt say where he is going. could do a job for us

Glasgow Warriors have today announced that Scotland back-row John Barclay will leave the club at the end of the season.

The 26-year-old has been with the Warriors since the age of 17, after joining as an apprentice in 2004. He made his debut in the November of that year, as a substitute against the Borders.
Barclay, a classic Scottish open-side flanker, has since made 146 appearances for the Warriors and has amassed 41 caps for Scotland to date, having made his debut for the national side a day after his 21st birthday. He faced Richie McCaw and the All Blacks on his first outing at Murrayfield in the Rugby World Cup.

John Barclay said: "The club has been a huge part of my life since I turned professional and I've learnt a lot from the coaches and players that I've worked with at the Warriors.

"I'd like to thank everyone associated with the club for their support over the last nine years and I'm looking forward to being involved in some big games between now and the end of the season."

Glasgow Warriors head coach, Gregor Townsend said: "John has been a fantastic player for the club and we would like to wish him all the best for the future.

"He will be with us until the end of the season and is now back to full match fitness following his recent hamstring injury. It is great to be able to call on a player of his ability and experience for what could be some of the most important games in the club's history."

Any update on Stringer's signing yet?

swift4prez wrote: Decadence, i updated my post on page 90 about an hour ago about browne,didnt know anything till connacht rugby posted on facebook. cant admit i knew anything was coming.

not many more to re-sign now, fifita, b murphy and one of joc/grace. unsure about gannon

I'd really like to see Fifita stay on another year at least, didn't get much of a go at it but could become a solid option and he is a verifiable beast, nearly broke Nick Williams in half.

Decadence wrote: This is an interesting one, it seems like Millard is very highly regarded, but IMO, our backline play only improved this season when Parks began pulling the strings at outhalf. It was turgid at times last year so (unlike Forshaw) it's hard to see where Millard has had major influence. Best of luck to him in the new job, they seem to be a bit vague about the details, is it with US Eagles?

Any speculation as to who Lam will look to bring with him into the two new roles? Will we see changes in Strength and Conditioning coaches or video analyst too?

Just spotted this article which give a bit more info..
www.rugbyrugby.com/news/features/this_is..._hirings_show_growth ?

New York Athletic Club had big news this week as they announced that current Connacht backs coach and former Australia 7’s and Sydney University coach Billy Millard has been added to their staff. Millard will reportedly oversee the team’s backs, which include the Eagles halfback pairing of Mike Petri and Toby L’Estrange, and the team’s 7’s squad. The Millard announcement comes only weeks have Old Puget Sound Beach hired former Irish international Justin Fitzpatrick as their full-time coach.

While bringing in coaches with overseas experience is nothing new (just take a look at some of the top coaches in the country) the reality is that these hiring show that top clubs in this country are taking their game to another level. There have always been a handful of elite clubs throughout the country with more resources than the rest of the domestic field and that has allowed them to have top facilities, paid coaches, and occasionally a paid player. San Francisco Golden Gate has been the best example of this over the last few decades. But still, with Millard and Fitzpatrick’s hiring you get the sense that something bigger is happening in with these top clubs.

What could be spurring on these teams to make big hires? The most optimistic out there may say that these clubs are gearing up for eventual professionalization. That may happen in the future, but in the short-term it doesn’t look like that will be happening with these specific clubs. Possibly the strongest reason for these clubs making moves like this are that the quality of rugby at the elite level in this country is getting stronger. With overseas contracts difficult to come by and U.S.-qualified Americans living overseas look to get the attention of U.S. selectors, these top clubs have become a prime destination.

Certainly having former NYAC head coach Mike Tolkin land the top job with the Eagles has had an influence. But the charge that Tolkin has directed players to only Elite Cup teams is off base. Through conversations with Tolkin he has repeatedly emphasized that players need to get themselves into the best environment possible. Being an Elite Cup team does not automatically put a club in that category and being a strong DI team doesn’t not rule a club out.

Put yourself in the shoes of a player coming from overseas to play in the U.S. for a moment. Are you going to go to a club that has a proven coach and proven track record of producing Eagles? Absolutely you are. It’s unfortunate that not all clubs have the same access to financial backing and general support that some of these bigger clubs have, but it’s the reality and from an national team perspective it only makes sense to continue to let these clubs do what they need to do.

Another aspect of these hires, in particular Fitzpatrick’s hire, is that the clubs involved have become so large in terms of the number of players turning out to practice as well as youth programs, that an administrator is needed to oversee that the club runs properly. Camps need to be set up for youth players, travel needs to be arranged for the first team, etc. All of this takes someone behind the scenes making it work. Having a large club with a number of due payers helps fund the position. It’s a good thing that these clubs need the administrative help. The U.S. is only going to make its impact on the world felt when more clubs have paid administrators.

Millard’s hiring also shows that clubs are beginning to takes 7’s more seriously. Already there have been several programs around the country that have invested a lot of resources into their 7’s program like Tiger Rugby, Serevi Rugby, and Glendale just to name a few. In order to compete nationally and to be involved in the Olympic Development Academy teams need to increase their investment in 7’s. For NYAC, Millard’s position as former coach of the Australia 7’s certainly qualifies. Having better instruction at the club level is only going to help our national team succeed.

It’s a great sign that NYAC and OPSB have been able to make these strong hires and hopefully soon other clubs will be able to follow their lead. We need good coaching in this country whether it be foreign or domestic (being foreign born does not automatically make you a great coach) in order to grow the game. The younger we can get players good coaching the better off we will be.

Curtis Reed is the editor and founder of This Is American Rugby and can be found at www.thisisamericanrugby.com or on Twitter @ThisIsAmerRugby

Thank god for that, like Ummm i was getting worried.

Bit to go yet. A Hec or amlin squad is 38 and we have 29 signed up. Imo 2, 2nd row, 7, 9, 10 and 13 are priorities. Maybe a utility back and backrow too.

Decadence, i updated my post on page 90 about an hour ago about browne,didnt know anything till connacht rugby posted on facebook. cant admit i knew anything was coming.

not many more to re-sign now, fifita, b murphy and one of joc/grace. unsure about gannon

Great news.

Re murphy, i thought we were poreous defensively in midfiel. Whether that was his falt is another matter but groud was made up the middle.

Delighted

Great news. I was going to update the list, but Swift4Prez already did it 4 days ago! You must have known something we didn't!

2016 - Clarke, Muldowney

2015 - White, Loughney, Wilkinson, Marmion, Poolman, Buckley, george, harris wright
2015 - mckeon, kearney, henshaw, carr, henry, Cooney, Browne,

2014 - Tonetti, O'Donohoe, Faloon, Parks, Duffy, McSharry, Griffin, O'Halloran, Muldoon, Swift,
2014 - Ah You, nikora

2013 - Gannon, Moore, Anderson, Brian Murphy, Reynecke, Flavin, Fifita, O'Connor, Vainikolo, Frank Murphy, Grace, Healy, Jarvis, Loxton,

Unknown - Nolan

Murphy has definitely earned a renewal with his last 2 performances, with respect to JHW I thought he was should have been man of the match last Friday.