Connacht Thread

[tackle-bag]

The QF against Bourgoin will be very winnable for Connacht. Bourgoin are a shadow of their former selves these days and by the time that match comes around, they will be in the middle of a brutal relegation dogfight on the domestic front. As things stand, they're lying in 12th position in the Top 14, with the bottom 2 teams facing relegation. They're 6 points clear of Bayonne in 13th as things stand, but the latter have a game in hand. Don't rule out the possibility of them sending over a second string/a disinterested first team.

Connacht, by contrast, are unlikely to have anything to play for in the ML by that point and will be focussing all of their energy on the Amlin. A win for the Westerners in this fixture and they could go all the way. The very best of luck to them!

[Sea_point]

The QF against Bourgoin will be very winnable for Connacht. Bourgoin are a shadow of their former selves these days and by the time that match comes around, they will be in the middle of a brutal relegation dogfight on the domestic front. As things stand, they're lying in 12th position in the Top 14, with the bottom 2 teams facing relegation. They're 6 points clear of Bayonne in 13th as things stand, but the latter have a game in hand. Don't rule out the possibility of them sending over a second string/a disinterested first team.

Connacht, by contrast, are unlikely to have anything to play for in the ML by that point and will be focussing all of their energy on the Amlin. A win for the Westerners in this fixture and they could go all the way. The very best of luck to them!

That's the Bourgoin who beat Irish in the Mad-Stad last year en route to the final...?
Very simplistic viewpoint there T_B...

As I posted on our messageboard

At many levels Bourgoin are the worst possible draw for us, they are very much an unknown quantity. Olivier Milloud, Benjamin Boyet and Julien Frier apart there aren't any remotely well known players outside of France. They won't bring a big crowd in to watch as they're not known as an attractive side to watch or bring a lot of support with them. They are a dour practical side who only managed 14 tries in an extremely weak group .

I'd be more wary of Bourgoin than I would of Toulon or many of the other sides, we will have to be really up for this game and fully focused to get the right result....

If we win why wouldn't we stay at the Sportsground, what opposition would merit switching to a bigger ground and the extra costs associated with it? The Sportsground is not a ground opposition sides enjoy particularly so we should utilise it as much as possible. If anything It would also serve to highlight how badly the IRFU has underfunded Connacht Rugby in terms of facility development....

[[Jackass]]

I honestly believe Connacht could do it this year, and it would be one of the most amazing achievements in Irish rugby if they did. I beleive they can win this QF, and with a biut of luck of the draw, they get a home semi, I believe the winning teams from the other QFs will be Toulon, Gloucester & Cardiff. No matter what, it'll be a tough semi and final, but on their day, Connacht are a good side, and at home, as Munster & Leinster will tell you, are a tough side to beat.

Best of luck anyway, I think it would be spectacular if they could do it, a semi final would be an excellent return, a final or even trophy would be outstanding.

[madridlion]

We really enjoyed having Connacht in Madrid this weekend, the match was a bit one-sided but there was a great athmosphere and we retired to Finnegan´s for the third half and to watch the London Irish Leinster match.

One negative point was the display by the Borat impersonator in the Connacht green thong, it was a horrible sight but will be posted on Facebook soon.

[Mauler]

Eric Elwood is expected to be named as Connacht coach for next season within the next 24 hours. Connacht have called a press conference for 11.30am tomorrow morning where Elwood is due to be announced as the successor to the outgoing Michael Bradley.


Bradley signalled his intention to stand down after seven years in charge last November and Elwood, who has worked as his assistant coach for the last four and a half seasons, is set to be handed the reins tomorrow.

It is expected that Elwood will only be awarded a one-year deal due to the unpopular IRFU policy of only permitting one-year contracts for those already on the province’s books.

The former Ireland international made 168 appearances for the province over 17 seasons, between 1989 and 2005, and has also coached the Irish under-20s side since retiring as a player.

http://www.irishtimes.com/sports/rugby/ ... 75357.html

[Mauler]

Eric Elwood is expected to be named as Connacht coach for next season within the next 24 hours. Connacht have called a press conference for 11.30am tomorrow morning where Elwood is due to be announced as the successor to the outgoing Michael Bradley.


Bradley signalled his intention to stand down after seven years in charge last November and Elwood, who has worked as his assistant coach for the last four and a half seasons, is set to be handed the reins tomorrow.

It is expected that Elwood will only be awarded a one-year deal due to the unpopular IRFU policy of only permitting one-year contracts for those already on the province’s books.

The former Ireland international made 168 appearances for the province over 17 seasons, between 1989 and 2005, and has also coached the Irish under-20s side since retiring as a player.

http://www.irishtimes.com/sports/rugby/ ... 75357.html

[Scott]

As was expected no? With the players only getting 1 year contracts it looks like crucnh time out West. No one would touch the job

[Donny B.]

Think Elwood was in line to get in anyway.

You'd have to wonder what chance he'll have with the whole of his squad looking at the sword of damocles above their heads .

[suisse]

Did you feel it was necessary to post the same story twice? You must be very excited for Elwood

[sarah_lennon]

Been a few rumblings about this.

Gerry Kelly said that the recent decision by the IRFU to sanction only one-year contracts for playing and coaching staff had not had any significant repercussions for the province.

...Kelly was also keen to refute rumours which had been circulated in recent days, suggesting that members of the committee were considering the possibility of abandoning Connacht’s professional status after next season in order to save the province an estimated €2.5 million a year.

Moves by the IRFU to remove the professional status of the province eight years ago were abandoned after vehement resistance by supporters who marched on Lansdowne Road. Kelly was quick to rubbish the rumours that circulated last week.

http://www.galwaynews.ie/11543-kelly-ki ... erns-touch

[ronk]

Interesting that this is coming up, IRFU are obviously feeling the pinch, still can't see it happening though. Funny how these rumours really tend to surface when Connacht appear on the way up rather than on the way down.

[ronk]

I have a lot of time for Elwood, I'm hopeful he can get Connacht to kick on.

[Shane]

Wonder whats to become of Bradley? I think he is an excellent coach. He coached Ireland to a summer tour down under and almost got the better of the all blacks. Connacht get a lot of stick and results dont go their way but i have a lot of respect for them. They are a hard little team to break down.

[ceemec]

Will reserve judgement on Elwood for a while. Anything has to be better than Bradley though. People always point to the U20 GS as an indication of Elwood's ability but the fact is, that team was simply ridiculously good and would have won with any one of a number of coaches. 4 or 5 of them are already full internationals and a good chunk of the rest are A internationals. Hopefully a change of coach gives some renewed enthusiasm down west but I'm cynical. He's been part of the furniture down there for God knows how long. If there was any real desire to see Connacht improve I think they'd bring in an outsider. The fact that he has one armed tied already with the contract fiasco won't exactly help his cause.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Will reserve judgement on Elwood for a while. Anything has to be better than Bradley though. People always point to the U20 GS as an indication of Elwood's ability but the fact is, that team was simply ridiculously good and would have won with any one of a number of coaches. 4 or 5 of them are already full internationals and a good chunk of the rest are A internationals. Hopefully a change of coach gives some renewed enthusiasm down west but I'm cynical. He's been part of the furniture down there for God knows how long. If there was any real desire to see Connacht improve I think they'd bring in an outsider. The fact that he has one armed tied already with the contract fiasco won't exactly help his cause.

Yeah I was thinking that too, hard to know how much he can freshen things up. One change I'd like him to make is not to target certain games, imo they should play their first choice team in every single game. The other method hasn't exactly worked so far.

[ronk]

Will reserve judgement on Elwood for a while. Anything has to be better than Bradley though. People always point to the U20 GS as an indication of Elwood's ability but the fact is, that team was simply ridiculously good and would have won with any one of a number of coaches. 4 or 5 of them are already full internationals and a good chunk of the rest are A internationals. Hopefully a change of coach gives some renewed enthusiasm down west but I'm cynical. He's been part of the furniture down there for God knows how long. If there was any real desire to see Connacht improve I think they'd bring in an outsider. The fact that he has one armed tied already with the contract fiasco won't exactly help his cause.

Yeah I was thinking that too, hard to know how much he can freshen things up. One change I'd like him to make is not to target certain games, imo they should play their first choice team in every single game. The other method hasn't exactly worked so far.

You can't treat every game the exact same. Connacht do leave a lot of points behind them. They should be well able to launch the occasional ambush against non-Irish teams away. They'll never get anywhere if they only try in the harder matches.

[bgmusic]

Connacht beat dragons 16/3 tonight,yet another try for Carr.

[ronk]

Another match, another prime TV slot missed by Setanta.

Big win by Connacht, would have been nice to see it.

[Oldschool]

Will reserve judgement on Elwood for a while. Anything has to be better than Bradley though. People always point to the U20 GS as an indication of Elwood's ability but the fact is, that team was simply ridiculously good and would have won with any one of a number of coaches. 4 or 5 of them are already full internationals and a good chunk of the rest are A internationals. Hopefully a change of coach gives some renewed enthusiasm down west but I'm cynical. He's been part of the furniture down there for God knows how long. If there was any real desire to see Connacht improve I think they'd bring in an outsider. The fact that he has one armed tied already with the contract fiasco won't exactly help his cause.

Yeah I was thinking that too, hard to know how much he can freshen things up. One change I'd like him to make is not to target certain games, imo they should play their first choice team in every single game. The other method hasn't exactly worked so far.

You can't treat every game the exact same. Connacht do leave a lot of points behind them. They should be well able to launch the occasional ambush against non-Irish teams away. They'll never get anywhere if they only try in the harder matches.

Connacht are almost a microcosm of Ireland.
In order to maximize results amd maintain squad rotation,
they should have a policy of bringing on all subs with between 30 and 20 minutes to go.
This for them would be a way of resting players.
It would also be a way of developing players and they would thus be making a virtue out of necessity.

[ronk]

Congrats Connacht. A good win puts Connacht within reach of moving off the bottom of the league plus they're only 4 points off.

They've also done us (and Munster) a huge favour. We're now 7 points clear with a game in hand (or 9 points with no game over the Ospreys).

With 4 matches to go, we're 12 points clear of 5th place.