rossie wrote: worryingly Leyden has been playing on wing for both buccs and eagles while boland, who left acadamy in summer, and loxton have played 15.
Henshaw afaik hasnt played more than 30 min at 13 at senior level( even ail). his reputation as a 13 is based purely on his school form. He imo is currently a fullback and a damn good one. he may well switch back to 13 aat some stage but there is no guarentee he will be as good there as he is at 15.

Henshaw has been fantastic at 15 this year but if it wasn't for an injury crisis at fullback would he even have been tried there? Sometimes school form is overstated with young players but it shouldn't be entirely discounted either. And in fairness as CC pointed out we could do wtih some depth at 13 and it would be worth finding out if Henshaw could provide that.

Anyone know whats up with Bolland? He's still playing in the Eagles but is not in the academy which strikes me as just odd. As regards Henshaw I'm a great believer in if it's not broke don't fix it.

worryingly Leyden has been playing on wing for both buccs and eagles while boland, who left acadamy in summer, and loxton have played 15.
Henshaw afaik hasnt played more than 30 min at 13 at senior level( even ail). his reputation as a 13 is based purely on his school form. He imo is currently a fullback and a damn good one. he may well switch back to 13 aat some stage but there is no guarentee he will be as good there as he is at 15.

I'd like to see Jarvis take a run at 12 or 13 and specialize in that position. He's not a 10 or a winger.

ConnachtCows wrote: I dont think it's been mentioned before, but we could seriously do with strengthening at 13 as well.
Griffin has been ok, but we need to improve on him if we want to take another step forward.
We dont score enough tries, I think everyone can accept that. Surely we need to improve in the backs.
9 and 10 are decent. I do think Marmion could be with pressure coming from another scrum half though (Stringer would be ideal)
We've Carr/O'Halloran/Poolman covering the wings next season
McSharry is a lovely rugby player. I'm happy to keep him. Tonetti is a nice replacement as well.
Henshaw and Duffy covering full backs.

Please feel free to eat me alive for this post

More knowledgeable people than me believe Henshaw's future lies at 13, plus we have layden and another one of two academy players coming through who will challenge for the fullback position soon so if they stay fit Henshaw can be freed up to play centre.
Possibly next year Carty can start playing at 12 or 15 (if he is capable of this) it would help get him experience on the pitch and open up the possibility of being a utility bench option for Ireland in a few years if he shapes up (getting ahead of myself but I'm sure any player of quality has ambitions to play for Ireland).

salmson wrote: In the aftermath of the Quins game Nathan White admitted that Buckley was little over 100KG.

Therefore I'd imagine he won't ever bulk up beyond 110KG.

The various websites (Connacht, Rabo, ERC) give his height at 5' 9" or 5'10". I've met the guy, and he's barely taller than my 5'7".

But to those who say there's no place on the game for 5'8" 110KG props, I give you 2 words: Thomas Domingo.

Indeed Buckley's 5'8 at a push, he's definately more than 8" shorter than me. I was standing right beside him after the HCup game the Stoop and he is absolutely tiny..

I did say he is a fabulous player, and for me I want every Connacht player to be the best player that they can be and their talents utilised to the full.

But in the pro game smaller props are more injury prone over time. While they have an advnatage when the srcum is set, the hit itself takes a massive toll over time..

Domingo who you've pointed to as a fine example of a smaller prop is a classic example. Another fabulous rugby player but he has missed the last RWC through injury and hasn't re-established himself as first choice at Clermont since (he didn't appear in either of the Leinster HCup group games)..

I just feel we could get a lot more out of Buckley talents from Hooker, sort of like a Sean Cronin with Brains. The big ask would be can he throw in..

salmson wrote: .

But to those who say there's no place on the game for 5'8" 110KG props, I give you 2 words: Thomas Domingo.

Exactly. Even Mas is only 5'11"

rossie wrote: i wasnt aware of what white said but for me buckley and the acadamy staff can be proud of his efforts to date. he has been part of a scrum performing well and excelled in the loose. this applies to pro12 and hec. imo he doesnt have to be of international standing to enjoy a good career at connacht.

Absolutely agree with you Rossie on the Provence V International point.

All across the 4 Provinces we are getting too hung up IMO on trying to get every eligible player into a Green Jersey.

Lots of professional players will never make it anywhere near their National sides but that does not mean that they can not have a long and distinguished career as a professional rugby player, look at our own Michael Swift, 15 years with Connacht.

As a short 5’10” (in the modern game) ex prop myself, one of the most enjoyable matches for me was watching Denis take Tom Court apart in the Ulster game last year in the Sportsground.

In the aftermath of the Quins game Nathan White admitted that Buckley was little over 100KG.

Therefore I'd imagine he won't ever bulk up beyond 110KG.

The various websites (Connacht, Rabo, ERC) give his height at 5' 9" or 5'10". I've met the guy, and he's barely taller than my 5'7".

But to those who say there's no place on the game for 5'8" 110KG props, I give you 2 words: Thomas Domingo.

sea_point wrote:
The stats for Buckley are fictitious, he's not even over 100KG let alone 110KG(as was conceded by Nathan White in interview around the time of the Quins HEC game in Galway). Fantastic attitude and a tidy footballer, but he is too small to make it long term as a Prop of international standing, given his age profile I personally believe he should be groomed as a hooker if anything...

First off, I'd say he is well on 100KG but agree on 110KG. Second, being short as a prop is an incredible advantage for a prop as it means they can get low and force, in Buckleys case, a tighthead to arch their back slightly which diminishes some of their power. I'm no expert on the scrum I just remember that from training one day when I was standing in at scrum-half and watching our 5ft 8in prop demolish everything in his path even though he wasnt the biggest prop on the pitch.

All just an opinion may I add, don't mean to sound aggressive.

i wasnt aware of what white said but for me buckley and the acadamy staff can be proud of his efforts to date. he has been part of a scrum performing well and excelled in the loose. this applies to pro12 and hec. imo he doesnt have to be of international standing to enjoy a good career at connacht.
that said these new rules on trial could change everything for props if implemented. proposed trial is for props to bind on touch command before set command. its designed to remove the impact of the hit hoping to reduce amount of binding pens blighting game atm. next they will be trialing the straight feed ! lol.

Devils own wrote:

Funk It wrote:

Devils own wrote: Well done to everyone invovled in the top class signing of clark just the type of player we need to make the next step up.

<strong>I think Loose head is a bit of a problem area buckley is a liitle light weight and brett can be up and down and offers less around the park.</strong> Paddy mccallister in ulster would be a good purchase seeing as mcgrath in leinster is being tightly held onto. I might be wrong but i dont think loughney will every make the top tier in the tight head position, i wonder would he make a very good hooker though his physique would seem to be is more suited to that postion.

Great to hear there is a big clear out ahead aswell and we are now on the top quality over quantity ship.

To be fair, it wasn't that long ago that we were all calling for Brett to be put into the Irish team, and Buckley has been playing outstanding all season, holds himself well in the scrums and has been brilliant in the loose. I wouldn't be at all against strengthening that area of the team, but don't think that it is the biggest concern.

In fairness to me i was never calling for brett to be in ireland team i was calling for healy long before his inclusion tho, hmm i could be wrong about buckley i thought he was smaller (has done really well) but stats say 112kg which is big enough but think mcallister at 120kg could be in contention for ireland rotation with healy when he returns from injury and gets a good run ..academy lads need to make the step up in the backrow badly also carty at 10 and maybe walsh at scrumhalf..but your right loose head is not a priority but was just throwing it out there, if we could get mccallister it would be great with him and white either side think we would be more than a match for the 3 ter's

The stats for Buckley are fictitious, he's not even over 100KG let alone 110KG(as was conceded by Nathan White in interview around the time of the Quins HEC game in Galway). Fantastic attitude and a tidy footballer, but he is too small to make it long term as a Prop of international standing, given his age profile I personally believe he should be groomed as a hooker if anything...

I dont think it's been mentioned before, but we could seriously do with strengthening at 13 as well.
Griffin has been ok, but we need to improve on him if we want to take another step forward.
We dont score enough tries, I think everyone can accept that. Surely we need to improve in the backs.
9 and 10 are decent. I do think Marmion could be with pressure coming from another scrum half though (Stringer would be ideal)
We've Carr/O'Halloran/Poolman covering the wings next season
McSharry is a lovely rugby player. I'm happy to keep him. Tonetti is a nice replacement as well.
Henshaw and Duffy covering full backs.

Please feel free to eat me alive for this post

Agree with Rossie on the props issue. We're well served there.

Priorities are hooker as back-up to JHW (what a find he has been, by the way). Openside cover for Wullie Faloon (although I would argue Eoghan Grace could still be the answer here). And Stringer!

mc allister will have to get in contention for a starting place in ulster first which is something he has only managed 8 times so fsr in his career. i dont know much about him but i do know that we have uncovered a gem in buckley. hes a fine player and is developing nicely. afaik hes a yr younger that paddy mac and killer too. hes also 3in shorter than paddy which prob puts his weight in proportion.

we are well served with props atm. i wouldnt swap our 1st and 2nd choice lh and ths with any of the other provinces. we also have bealham and reilly doing well in acadamy. dever is there too but i havent seen him. cooney looked decent in scrum the couple of times i saw him too. cud be more mobile tho but thats what you get at 120kg.

Funk It wrote:

Devils own wrote: Well done to everyone invovled in the top class signing of clark just the type of player we need to make the next step up.

<strong>I think Loose head is a bit of a problem area buckley is a liitle light weight and brett can be up and down and offers less around the park.</strong> Paddy mccallister in ulster would be a good purchase seeing as mcgrath in leinster is being tightly held onto. I might be wrong but i dont think loughney will every make the top tier in the tight head position, i wonder would he make a very good hooker though his physique would seem to be is more suited to that postion.

Great to hear there is a big clear out ahead aswell and we are now on the top quality over quantity ship.

To be fair, it wasn't that long ago that we were all calling for Brett to be put into the Irish team, and Buckley has been playing outstanding all season, holds himself well in the scrums and has been brilliant in the loose. I wouldn't be at all against strengthening that area of the team, but don't think that it is the biggest concern.

In fairness to me i was never calling for brett to be in ireland team i was calling for healy long before his inclusion tho, hmm i could be wrong about buckley i thought he was smaller (has done really well) but stats say 112kg which is big enough but think mcallister at 120kg could be in contention for ireland rotation with healy when he returns from injury and gets a good run ..academy lads need to make the step up in the backrow badly also carty at 10 and maybe walsh at scrumhalf..but your right loose head is not a priority but was just throwing it out there, if we could get mccallister it would be great with him and white either side think we would be more than a match for the 3 ter's