Connacht 2019/20/21

[king]

Connacht have plenty of history of blowing hot and cold but from time to time they are actually beaten by a better side. Dragons were better in defence, attack, set piece and game plan. Played the ref well as well and totally managed the pace of the game. Their young Centre was excellent and their back row dominated Boyle and butler with only prendergast and later on Oliver getting parity.

Dragons were miles better than the bulls the week before.

[hugonaut]

Connacht have plenty of history of blowing hot and cold but from time to time they are actually beaten by a better side. Dragons were better in defence, attack, set piece and game plan. Played the ref well as well and totally managed the pace of the game. Their young Centre was excellent and their back row dominated Boyle and butler with only prendergast and later on Oliver getting parity.

Dragons were miles better than the bulls the week before.

Yeah, I thought the Dragons were pretty good and in the end it was quite comprehensive. Their defense was well organised and committed against us, which goes a long way to being a good team. Given the performances and results of the other Welsh teams this weekend - heavy home losses for the Ospreys [13-27 vs Sharks], Cardiff [19-29 vs Bulls] and the Scarlets [13-43 vs Munster] - that was by some distance the best Welsh performance of the week.

[Fan with smartphone]

They’ve been playing above the level people associate with them for a fair while now. Dean Ryan seems to be doing a good job on them.

[dropkick]

Yup Ryan doing a good job there. Dragons have a beefy pack. Arguably the best in Wales this season.


Connacht blow hot and cold but that's to be expected. They don't have the depth to be more consistent. Players naturally go in and out of form to varying degrees. While leinster have the squad to drop out of form players, Connacht don't. You'd think it would be the opposite but player fatigue, physical or mental, is a thing and can outweigh consistent selection.

[Oldschoolsocks]

devastating defeat for the Westies there, they were well on top but an offside try just before half time was really the difference on the night

[enby]

Some really dubious decisions against them in such a tight match. The first Munster "try" was an appalling decision. The TMO should be stood down after that one. Connacht back row outplayed their much hyped opponents and did not deserve to be on the losing team.

[ronk]

Some really dubious decisions against them in such a tight match. The first Munster "try" was an appalling decision. The TMO should be stood down after that one. Connacht back row outplayed their much hyped opponents and did not deserve to be on the losing team.

Thought it was odd to give a yellow for the head clash compared to the no call on Frawley.

[cormac]

Was watching in the pub after our game but was Tadhg Beirne not clearly offside for the try in the first half?

[enby]

By a mile

[riocard911]

By a mile

That's PO'M captaincy for you: Munster falling behind, in danger of losing the match? Start a row or two, put the ref under massive pressure, get the decisions going in the Reds' favour. Bingo!!!

Show Spoiler:

[the spoofer]

Thought Zebos shoulder charge into Blade should have been looked at. Real cheap shot.

[hugonaut]

Was watching in the pub after our game but was Tadhg Beirne not clearly offside for the try in the first half?

A horrorshow miss for the ref, touch-judges and TMO. They had the massive advantage of having a line to help them - Scannell was on one side of the 22 when he kicked it, Beirne was on the far side of it – in their decision-making and not one of them managed to make the correct call. Huge, game-changing error.

I think Busby will probably turn into a good ref given time, but at the moment he makes a lot of mistakes.

[ronk]

Was watching in the pub after our game but was Tadhg Beirne not clearly offside for the try in the first half?

A horrorshow miss for the ref, touch-judges and TMO. They had the massive advantage of having a line to help them - Scannell was on one side of the 22 when he kicked it, Beirne was on the far side of it – in their decision-making and not one of them managed to make the correct call. Huge, game-changing error.

I think Busby will probably turn into a good ref given time, but at the moment he makes a lot of mistakes.

I'd be worried that Connacht fans will think that the big calls always go against them and it will erode trust in the game. The earlier knock on was also caused by a player off his feet and it was clear as day.

Anyway, what's the point wasting time on replays if they're not even watching them properly.

[ronk]

I actually think there should be focus on the defending for Barron's try. He was the primary target and there was time for the defence to set. But no one picked him up.

[Oldschool]

Was watching in the pub after our game but was Tadhg Beirne not clearly offside for the try in the first half?

A horrorshow miss for the ref, touch-judges and TMO. They had the massive advantage of having a line to help them - Scannell was on one side of the 22 when he kicked it, Beirne was on the far side of it – in their decision-making and not one of them managed to make the correct call. Huge, game-changing error.

I think Busby will probably turn into a good ref given time, but at the moment he makes a lot of mistakes.

Zebo was even further offside.

[the spoofer]

Was watching in the pub after our game but was Tadhg Beirne not clearly offside for the try in the first half?

A horrorshow miss for the ref, touch-judges and TMO. They had the massive advantage of having a line to help them - Scannell was on one side of the 22 when he kicked it, Beirne was on the far side of it – in their decision-making and not one of them managed to make the correct call. Huge, game-changing error.

I think Busby will probably turn into a good ref given time, but at the moment he makes a lot of mistakes.

Zebo was even further offside.

Yeah but Beirne outpaced him to the ball

[ronk]

Zebo was offside but didn't advance. That's what caused enough confusion that Beirne wasn't called.

[OTT]

Thought Zebos shoulder charge into Blade should have been looked at. Real cheap shot.

Watched the game back yesterday and thought the same thing. Commentators didn’t even mention it. Surprised Hugh Cahill wasn’t impressed by the X-Factor of it, it was the only thing Zebo did all match.

[Oldschool]

Zebo was offside but didn't advance. That's what caused enough confusion that Beirne wasn't called.

Well I wasn't confused watching so I really don't understand how paid, professional match officials could be confused.
It wasn't even marginal, a meter maybe, that's 39.37 inches in old money.

[ronk]

Zebo was offside but didn't advance. That's what caused enough confusion that Beirne wasn't called.

Well I wasn't confused watching so I really don't understand how paid, professional match officials could be confused.
It wasn't even marginal, a meter maybe, that's 39.37 inches in old money.

Oh I wasn't defending them.