Connacht Vs Leinster 19.35 Sat 26th March

[curates_egg]

We have some seriously talented redheads.
Osborne was the pick of the bunch for me. Excellent in defence and attack.
Tommy O’Brien is a serious athlete: looks much stronger this season.
Frawley is a hugely talented rugby player. Probably shouldn’t have been allowed back on the pitch. And I reckon he got MOTM because Flannery merged him and Osborne into one player. But he has great vision and skills.

[Blue Man]

The final score line flattered us.
It was a pathetic first 55 mins. Tracy and Luke a disgrace. A hooker who can’t throw and a scrum half who can’t pass... Deegan was also poor, he’s a bit of a flat track bully these days. Way off where he was when he was picked to start for Ireland in the 6 Nations. There were so many bad passes, poor lines and dropped balls; it’s just baffling. The only good thing was the enthusiasm of the young players and the five points

[wixfjord]

The final score line flattered us.
It was a pathetic first 55 mins. Tracy and Luke a disgrace. A hooker who can’t throw and a scrum half who can’t pass... Deegan was also poor, he’s a bit of a flat track bully these days. Way off where he was when he was picked to start for Ireland in the 6 Nations. There were so many bad passes, poor lines and dropped balls; it’s just baffling. The only good thing was the enthusiasm of the young players and the five points

WTF were you watching?

[hugonaut]

That was a really, really poor first half from us. Our lineout malfunctioned, too many of our passes [from multiple players] were off target and we couldn't secure the ball with any level of efficiency.

Connacht badly ran out of gas in the second half, and we able to turn it around and pile on the points. That's a hell of a lot better than struggling all the way through, but that first half was s-l-a-c-k.

Ross Molony had his worst game of the season by a distance.He's been a very consistent performer for us this season but came nowhere near his usual standard this evening. Scott Penny too – very unusual to see him making the number of mistakes he made out there. Pete Dooley had a very noticeable underperformance ... strange when you consider how well he has been playing. Out of nowhere, he just turned in a dud. He looked so wooden and immobile compared to recent performances, and he couldn't get any advantage over Aungier at the scrum. Some of JT's throwing was poor, but the lineout looked disorganised on at least one occasion – a unit failure as well as some personal technical errors. Luke hasn't been able to kick out of the funk he has fallen into this season, although hopefully his sharply taken try will buck him up and remind him of what he can do.

With that said, I thought a number of our players did a good job. Tommy looked sharp and again made a couple of sensational tackles. Jimmy didn't look fully fit but was able to willow-the-wisp through the chase line time and again. Osborne's pass to TOB for the second try was absolutely perfect – amazing touch and absolutely no giveaway with the eyes. He doesn't turn 21 until well into next season and we have put quite a load on him already; he's a long way ahead of the curve.

Frawley stuck in there well after a [physically] bumpy first half and finished the game very strongly. Hawkshaw's first couple of touches were ropy – to my memory – but he seemed to be able to flick a switch rather than being discouraged and ended up putting in easily his best performance in a Leinster jersey ... he was a genuine MOTM candidate.

Rhys is a great pro and his engine is non-stop for such a big man. Max held up his end of the deal as our No8 – he was really our only forward to consistently get over the gainline and generate us some momentum. Big Joe is another fella with a good engine for a big man. I thought Tom Clarkson did very, very well when he came on and absolutely turned the screw on Greg McGrath on the right side of the scrum. He did an excellent job.

Tom Daly dug Connacht a big hole to climb out of with that high shot. A real example of a rush of blood to the head: he has never been a dirty player in his entire career, but that was a real cheapshot. The fact that he made no attempt whatsoever to wrap is enough to tell me that he was going for the shot rather than the tackle.

EDIT: Clarkson part.

[Serb]

I’d be reluctant to blame Tracy for our line out woes. I think, to my untrained eye at least, it was hard to pinpoint the source of the issues. The throws actually looked accurate enough to me, Connacht were just able to read the jumper every time.

A couple of times we barely got the jumper in the air. Again, hard to call if Tracy threw too early, got the call wrong, or there was another system failure from the jumper / lifters.

Maybe there’s a lack of deception in our line out plays, we’re too predictable in who we throw to in various situations, or the hooker is just shite

It did get better in the second half, but a lot of personnel changed beyond just the hooker.

[hugonaut]

I’d be reluctant to blame Tracy for our line out woes. I think, to my untrained eye at least, it was hard to pinpoint the source of the issues. The throws actually looked accurate enough to me, Connacht were just able to read the jumper every time.

A couple of times we barely got the jumper in the air. Again, hard to call if Tracy threw too early, got the call wrong, or there was another system failure from the jumper / lifters.

Maybe there’s a lack of deception in our line out plays, we’re too predictable in who we throw to in various situations, or the hooker is just shite

It did get better in the second half, but a lot of personnel changed beyond just the hooker.

They probably know all our calls via Oisin Dowling.

[Fireworks]

How close to a full strength Connacht team was that selection. With 14 men they caused our B's some discomfort and 15v15 it could have been close but do they have more in the tank to deal with our A's.

[cormac]

How close to a full strength Connacht team was that selection. With 14 men they caused our B's some discomfort and 15v15 it could have been close but do they have more in the tank to deal with our A's.

They've got Bealham, Aki and Hansen to come back in. Thornbury may be fit enough to be in the 23 in two weeks also. On the flip side Tom Daly will probably be suspended and Buckley could also be a doubt after limping off in the first half.

[enby]

Porch looked injured too. O'Halloran is a big weak link and he seems to have forgotten how to defend.
Maybe they are trying to rope-a-dope us but I doubt it.

[hugonaut]

Porch looked injured too. O'Halloran is a big weak link and he seems to have forgotten how to defend.
Maybe they are trying to rope-a-dope us but I doubt it.

Nah, they flew into us this evening. The score would have been very different in a 15 vs 15 game, but they only have one of their own players to blame for that.

[Fireworks]

Porch looked injured too. O'Halloran is a big weak link and he seems to have forgotten how to defend.
Maybe they are trying to rope-a-dope us but I doubt it.

Nah, they flew into us this evening. The score would have been very different in a 15 vs 15 game, but they only have one of their own players to blame for that.

We will never know what might have happened if it had stayed 15v15 but I didn't see anything that should scare a fully loaded Leinster.

[Twist]

Hey not just watching it now. I’m f%~king sick of hearing people in the media publicly advising Ciarán Frawley to leave Leinster.

The guy wants to play at the best and most successful team possible, which just happens to be his native province. Leinster donate huge numbers to Ireland and will be permanently losing Sexton next year. Frawley is a Leinster player. Find some other drum to bang. Why not tell Jack Crowley he needs to get out from under Carbery and Healy?

[riocard911]

Hey not just watching it now. I’m f%~king sick of hearing people in the media publicly advising Ciarán Frawley to leave Leinster.

The guy wants to play at the best and most successful team possible, which just happens to be his native province. Leinster donate huge numbers to Ireland and will be permanently losing Sexton next year. Frawley is a Leinster player. Find some other drum to bang. Why not tell Jack Crowley he needs to get out from under Carbery and Healy?

Hugh Cahill drove be bonkers describing every Connacht offload, even if it didn't go to hand as "brilliant".

Maybe it's just me, but since the Saffer teams have joined our league, I've been impressed with and enjoy the South African TV commentary. Dunno what the guys names are, but they seem to be the same fellas do the URC and the Rugby Championship and they're always very knowledgeable, enthusiastic and fair in the sense of not just bigging up the Boks or the RSA clubs teams. At this stage I'd rather listen to them than any of the Scottish, Welsh and most of the Irish commentators.

[Dave Cahill]

Instead of complaining about RTE, subscribe to Premier Sports - excellent commentary from Ryle and Berch. You get what you pay for.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Read the thread before watching the game and am honestly baffled by the criticism of Luke. I know I always defend him, no personal connection at all I just always pay attention to guys who are criticised, and thought he’d a good game. I counted two loopy passes to Hawkshaw (one of which he scored from) and the kick on the full but that’s it in terms of big errors. He went the wrong way when he passed to ROL who then got tackled into touch but really nothing else to get exercised about. There were other times he got caught but two were due to penalty offences and another was when Dowling knocked it on so to my mind don’t really count. I feel like I’m watching a different game at times but hey ho I’m sure others feel the same reading this. His defence was excellent as usual (including one brilliant tackle on Heffernan after an overthrow), he secured rucks better than most of the forwards, his passing was good aside from the ones I’ve mentioned, and he scored a brilliant try. And to illustrate that I’m not a fanboi, I fully admit he’s been in poor form in recent months and JGP’s Ireland performances (although overrated and a step down from November IMO) mean the jersey should be his to lose over the next while.

I thought the forwards were poor in general. A couple of carries by Max in the first half and then Rhys in the second but otherwise most were anonymous. The set piece was poor and the breakdown was a mess. They were better in the last quarter when they ran hard close to the breakdown and then sent two guys in to secure the ball. The space opened up then after a couple of phases.

Penny had a nightmare in the first 60 minutes or so but actually finished very strongly then. He seemed to focus more on just securing the ball and carrying close in which worked well, and his defence was really solid as well.

Some very classy performances in the backs, I thought Frawley, Osborne, and JOB (aside from the kick on the full) were all excellent. Osborne really seems to be getting more involved in attack now which is great to see. Hawkshaw had some lovely touches and took his try really well. TOB was quiet in the first half, maybe he was reluctant to get involved after the yellow, but had a great second half and would have had a hat trick if Cosgrave passed.

There’s a lot to improve on but if we just nail down the set piece then Connacht shouldn’t have any entry into the CC games.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Forgot to mention that Big Joe is top class at tackling people just as they’re passing and causing errors. He did it at least twice today when the guy on the ball had no idea he was coming. It’s borderline legal at times but he seems to always time it just right.

[elephantman]

Instead of complaining about RTE, subscribe to Premier Sports - excellent commentary from Ryle and Berch. You get what you pay for.

Seconded.

[hugonaut]

Hey not just watching it now. I’m f%~king sick of hearing people in the media publicly advising Ciarán Frawley to leave Leinster.

The guy wants to play at the best and most successful team possible, which just happens to be his native province. Leinster donate huge numbers to Ireland and will be permanently losing Sexton next year. Frawley is a Leinster player. Find some other drum to bang. Why not tell Jack Crowley he needs to get out from under Carbery and Healy?

Hugh Cahill drove be bonkers describing every Connacht offload, even if it didn't go to hand as "brilliant".

Maybe it's just me, but since the Saffer teams have joined our league, I've been impressed with and enjoy the South African TV commentary. Dunno what the guys names are, but they seem to be the same fellas do the URC and the Rugby Championship and they're always very knowledgeable, enthusiastic and fair in the sense of not just bigging up the Boks or the RSA clubs teams. At this stage I'd rather listen to them than any of the Scottish, Welsh and most of the Irish commentators.

The South African guys are very polished and professional. Hugh Bladen set a very high standard for rugby broadcasting in South Africa over his long career and it seems to me that that's the direction that they've followed and the standard that they are continually trying to meet.

Obviously rugby is a very big sport in SA and has been for years, and their broadcasts have always been well-resourced [financially] and gone out to a big audience. I find lots of parallels between their broadcasts and NFL broadcasts: a play-by-play commentator with a 'golden voice' who is a professional broadcaster and who leads the commentary, and a very polished, highly-regarded ex-pro as colour commentator. Typically there is a third broadcaster with a clearly discernible different voice on the sideline who is used for variety.

The two main commentators treat the game respectfully and neutrally – they don't favour either team, they're big on the values of the game, they don't spend a lot of time talking about the referee, they don't make a lot of jokes, and they don't go off on uneven jags, with one of them speaking for long, uninterrupted periods on a pet topic. Their focus is on the match in front of them, not the overall state of rugby.

The English version that came in with BT is far too chummy and matey for my tastes, but they've got very good play-by-play commentators. Some of their colour guys are excellent as well, and really shine when removed from the matey-chummy environment ... Ben Kay, Jim Hamilton and David Flatman are all excellent when the banter level is reduced to occasional.

I don't share the same level of opprobrium about Hugh Cahill on a personal level as many others on the board [he's a nice guy] but I think his general commentary style is pretty terrible – far too opinionated, too loose and too banter-y and practically unprofessional. When he commentated on the women's internationals at the end of last year he was far better, because he was very obviously concentrating on not saying something loose that somebody would get offended by [or choose to get offended by].

[the spoofer]

Hey not just watching it now. I’m f%~king sick of hearing people in the media publicly advising Ciarán Frawley to leave Leinster.

The guy wants to play at the best and most successful team possible, which just happens to be his native province. Leinster donate huge numbers to Ireland and will be permanently losing Sexton next year. Frawley is a Leinster player. Find some other drum to bang. Why not tell Jack Crowley he needs to get out from under Carbery and Healy?

Hugh Cahill drove be bonkers describing every Connacht offload, even if it didn't go to hand as "brilliant".

Maybe it's just me, but since the Saffer teams have joined our league, I've been impressed with and enjoy the South African TV commentary. Dunno what the guys names are, but they seem to be the same fellas do the URC and the Rugby Championship and they're always very knowledgeable, enthusiastic and fair in the sense of not just bigging up the Boks or the RSA clubs teams. At this stage I'd rather listen to them than any of the Scottish, Welsh and most of the Irish commentators.

The South African guys are very polished and professional. Hugh Bladen set a very high standard for rugby broadcasting in South Africa over his long career and it seems to me that that's the direction that they've followed and the standard that they are continually trying to meet.

Obviously rugby is a very big sport in SA and has been for years, and their broadcasts have always been well-resourced [financially] and gone out to a big audience. I find lots of parallels between their broadcasts and NFL broadcasts: a play-by-play commentator with a 'golden voice' who is a professional broadcaster and who leads the commentary, and a very polished, highly-regarded ex-pro as colour commentator. Typically there is a third broadcaster with a clearly discernible different voice on the sideline who is used for variety.

The two main commentators treat the game respectfully and neutrally – they don't favour either team, they're big on the values of the game, they don't spend a lot of time talking about the referee, they don't make a lot of jokes, and they don't go off on uneven jags, with one of them speaking for long, uninterrupted periods on a pet topic. Their focus is on the match in front of them, not the overall state of rugby.

The English version that came in with BT is far too chummy and matey for my tastes, but they've got very good play-by-play commentators. Some of their colour guys are excellent as well, and really shine when removed from the matey-chummy environment ... Ben Kay, Jim Hamilton and David Flatman are all excellent when the banter level is reduced to occasional.

I don't share the same level of opprobrium about Hugh Cahill on a personal level as many others on the board [he's a nice guy] but I think his general commentary style is pretty terrible – far too opinionated, too loose and too banter-y and practically unprofessional. When he commentated on the women's internationals at the end of last year he was far better, because he was very obviously concentrating on not saying something loose that somebody would get offended by [or choose to get offended by].

On a complete tangent but I’m lucky to be old enough to remember the golden age of sports commentary: Murray Walker, Bill McLaren, Micheal O’Muircheathaig, Peter Aliss and even our own beloved Fred Cogley!

[ronk]

In Ireland we like our bias commentators who can talk over lulls in the game and bring a personable informal air to the game. It's no problem to misread elements of the game and give person of the match awards to the wrong player.

I've noticed that the SA commentators are very good. It's a simple formula of making it about the game always, not about yourselves (although I've seen that too from them).

But I think most rugby viewers don't understand that a Tony Romo can enhance your appreciation and understanding of the game you are watching. So they don't expect it or recognise it when it happens.