Connacht becoming a serious force?

[neiliog93]

It's always annoyed me that they front up against us and then get stuffed by the other provinces. Fair play, great result. Wouldn't mind Roux back, IQ next season and all.

[ichabodscrane]

I really enjoyed the match last night, I thought Connacht's front row were immense, Ah You was good in the loose, McCartney was everywhere even though he was in the wars once or twice.

Mils has been very quiet for the last two weeks but his presence allows the other lads to play with more confidence. I thought Leader played well and kicked well too. Aki & Henshaw (his pace & angles were class, I'd love to see him use a step once or twice) were immense in only their second start together. Marmion was very good, he made some poor decisions at times, passing to static forwards but his pace & aggression certainly made a big difference in the second half.

I was hugely impressed by Muldoon (who seems to put a lot of emphasis on himself as the standard bearer for aggression). Roux is obviously being coached well by Lam, he seems quite a stoic guy but he seems like a different player. One guy (although he didn't complete the game) that continues to impress is Eoin McKeown, whether it be at 7 or 8 he seems to be getting better every game.

Ronaldson was very brave when running in his try, he seemed to dive into Keatley's knee.

The atmosphere after the game reminded me of the ending of the last rocky film, it was brilliant

[goreyguy]

they are well coached.. leinster on the other hand..

[All Blacks nil]

Great game with two committed sides tearing into each other.
Connacht's ball retention was impressive especially in the first half where 65% possession, for obvious reasons prevented Munster from building a match winning lead.
Credit to both games for providing a great game in awful conditions.

A great night, dare I say it full of passion.
Of course many non passionate rugby people might not appreciate such a virtue, and indeed some ( the system analysts) even think it is obsolete.

[sunshiner1]

Michael Swift is meant to be retiring at the end of the season so I'm pretty sure Roux is lined up as his replacement. Can't see him coming back to us while in Connacht he's more or less a starter.

[dropkick]

They need a few more forwards and a 10. But they're on the right track and have quality players in the academy.

[footrush]

They need a few more forwards and a 10. But they're on the right track and have quality players in the academy.

Craig Ronaldson ?.

[deco]

They need a few more forwards and a 10. But they're on the right track and have quality players in the academy.

Who's academy?

[dropkick]

They need a few more forwards and a 10. But they're on the right track and have quality players in the academy.

Craig Ronaldson ?.

I havn't seen enough of him tbh.

[ConnachtCows]

Dont expect many more players to come through the Connacht academy over the next couple of years.
In the last few seasons, Henshaw, Buckley, Leader, and Carty have come through the Connacht academy, and a few others have picked from elsewhere in the country.

The current U-20 team isn't great, and the U-19s aren't supposed to be any better, but from what I've heard, the academy coaches are more excited about the U-18s and U-17s than they have been about any group of young players coming through

[simonokeeffe]

Dont expect many more players to come through the Connacht academy over the next couple of years.
In the last few seasons, Henshaw, Buckley, Leader, and Carty have come through the Connacht academy, and a few others have picked from elsewhere in the country.

The current U-20 team isn't great, and the U-19s aren't supposed to be any better, but from what I've heard, the academy coaches are more excited about the U-18s and U-17s than they have been about any group of young players coming through

without being patronising theres always going to be far more players produced by Leinster underage system that are worth a shot than can be given one, plus you only know for sure if theyre worth an academy spot when they get one, if theyre worth a start when they get one

[dropkick]

One of the players who really impressed me last season for the Ireland U20s was Ciaran Gaffney. His style reminds me of a young Tommy Bowe. Peter Robb was in the same team and is a big center.

[IanD]

Simple answer is No.

They wont be a serious force until they beat the teams around and below them consistently. No point beating Munster and then losing to a team below them in the league.

And yes Hindsight is 20:20 but I was really hoping they could win tonight. The thought of 4 Irish teams qualified for Europe next season pi$$ing off the Welsh and English Clubs fills me with glee.

[nc6000]

They really needed to win that one as it would have put a nice gap between them and Edinburgh in the table and gone a long way in keeping them in the top 6.

[offshorerules]

Was really hopeful that they would have got a result at the weekend but in the end they were well beaten.