Connacht - Biarritz HC

Seems there are no Westies on 606 - so it's up to a ladyboy fan to start a thread on Connacht-Biarritz on Friday night - and despite the bookies making Biarritz 1-3 favourites I can see a home win here.

Biarritz form in both HC and T14 no great shakes - hammered by Quins in first HC game away and beat Zebre at home. In T14, Blanco had a real go at the team last weekend after they struggled to beat Bordeaux 25-22, also struggled in previous home game to beat Perp 15-3 and before that were beaten 34-21 by Grenoble before that. A won 6 lost 6 record in Top 14 doesn't suggest a team in tip-top form and their away record is pretty poor.

OK, Connacht's recent form is not great but in what's expected to be a bitterly cold Friday night in the Showgrounds I can see Connacht put one over the Biarritz fancydans. Certaintly won't be pretty, but the Quins game last year was one of the best of the year and that was hardly a lesson in silky skills,

Bookies giving 23-10 against Connacht, add in Munster (with a -4 spread) to beat Sarries at 10-11 and Ulster to beat the Saints at 11-10 and there's a nice Irish treble. Would be nice to add Leinster and make it a four-way Irish accumulator but sadly can't seem our boys with a second row of Leo and that lump Browne doing a number on Clermont.

Anyone know how Poolman has been doing for Connacht, and will Griffin be back?

Connacht have a big injury list, just that since no Connacht fans here we don't here about it.

For Edinburgh game Unavailable through injury: Rodney Ah You, Thomas Anderson, Finlay Bealham, Mata Fifita, Eoghan Grace, Eoin Griffin, Shane Layden, Darragh Leader, Mike McCarthy, John Muldoon, Frank Murphy, George Naoupu, Dave Nolan, Ethienne Reynecke, Michael Swift, Kyle Tonetti, Nathan White

The big names for Connacht there who would normally be starting or on bench are Nathan White, Ethienne Reynecke, Michael Swift, John Muldoon, George Naoupu, Mike McCarthy, Eoin Griffin, Rodney Ah You,

lets hope they are all fit for this game.

Well done Connacht !!

I wonder what that ballbag Beshocked has to say....

Front up stand up!

Well played the C men

BoyneRFC wrote:Well done Connacht !!

I wonder what that ballbag Beshocked has to say....

ballbag is a bit harsh. He's just a guy with some very fixed ideas on things.

I'd say if Connacht won the HC he'd still think they were muck.

Congratulations to Connacht - great scalp taken.

Fantastic result lads! Well done!

What a result!

Didn't see the game as we were playing at the same time but was cheering every score update.

Ummm, must be ecstatic. Oh I miss that guy"

Great result for Connacht, am a follower I suppose than a fan, certainly not a hardcore one.

Very pleased with the result.

Didn't think they would do it with all their injury in the pack.
Parks had a great game so has Marmion, Henshaw and Browne.
McCarthy had a good game even if he forgot how to catch the ball.

It was relatively easy actually, they were better in every sector.

Really impressed with McSharry. Can we have him back please

BoyneRFC wrote:Well done Connacht !!

I wonder what that ballbag Beshocked has to say....

I called it so told you so. Poor show boyne Connacht are still a weak side

Yes, poor show that Boyne uses the words he uses.

But beshocked. HEC is about weak v strong. It's what happened between Ulster and Saints. Being weak doesn't mean you should give your place to a considered 'better' side. Nope, with weakness you must meet the strong, and learn quickly from those games. Connacht is learning.

Not every side can or ever will make it through to the QFs...the weak ones won't - even if they happen to be 'strong'.

Any way fair play to Connacht, now they need to prove they can win away.

Progress is important I agree. You see it with some clubs but others.....


Beat Quins or Biarritz away and I will sit up and take notice.

Ulster are showing yet again they are getting stronger every season. Very impressive.

Can Leinster and Munster make it a perfect weekend for Irish clubs? Who knows?

There you go...not so certain at all. There's a real risk that Leinster might turn out to be one of the weaker sides this HEC and not get past pool stages. Every chance.
They need to genuinely up their performance in just about every aspect of the game to even achieve a level that might hold off Clermont for a while. To win away against Clermont, they'll perhaps need it to be their 'final' in terms of effort.

Munster are a shadow of themselves in recent years and this season looks like continuing the trend but with a touch of hope that the new coach needs more time to get things moving. There are signs but I think it's too early for this year and against Saracens it looks a long shot.

It'd be nice to think 4, from an Irish perspective of course - but the usual law of averages gig means at least one looks like losing... I actually think more Munster than Leinster although I really shouldn't as Clermont will be a much tougher ask for Leinster.

Connect. You bag of legends.

I must say, this result wasn't a (be)shock.

The big thing for Connacht is that Mike McCarthy showed that if you play well in Galway you should be considered for Ireland. Too often fans and commentators put up too many hoops for Connacht players to jump through; 'they aren't playing at a high enough level' etc etc. Plenty of people on here have had their say about whether they deserve to be in the competition, but compared to the Welsh sides and some English sides they are clearly as deserving if not more deserving of their place based on performances. By the time of the Six Nations we really should be talking about McSharry and Marmion alongside McCarthy in the Irish squad as genuine contenders for an Irish shirt.

As I said in the OP this result is not a total surprise. (i) Connacht played superb stuff (ii) Biarritz are a team in steep decline (iii) Biarritz are lousy away from home (iv) Biarritz don't like it when it's cold.

Don't have a red button so wasn't able to watch the game apart from the bits and pieces Sky showed at HT in the Saints-Ulster game, but clear this was no fluke and Connacht should be aiming for one of the runner-up slots to get into the Amlin. As for Biarritz, would have loved to have seen the look on Blanco's face at the end of the game.

Oh and thank you Connacht and Ulster for a very nice 13-2 double, part of the proceeds now reinvested in a Munster-Leinster double.

Great stuff Connacht very impressed and proud too. Love the lads out Wesht!

Great result Connacht!!

As a Quins fan can I say a very big thank you and if you could just give us 5 points when you travel to the Stoop that would be grand

I thought Vinakolo would be a good signing and see he's got a key one in this match.

He's a great winger all round, his try for Tonga against Scotland in the AI's was fantastic, Visser got smoked.

Great result and this really helps both Munster and Leinster.I think both teams have a good chance of finishing as a best runner up now.

And the meantime Quins are murdering the Zebre set piece

Even Gwent Dragons murdered the Zebre scrum!

True but from what I can tell 3 penalty tries is a lot!

EDIT: Sorry, only 2

2 pen tries is still good going!

I pressed record on my Sky box and left it to record the Quins game, went to watch it just now and although it say's Zebra v Quins it's actually recorded the Exeter game

10 mins in to the game and the sounds gone as well now.

To top it off the recording finished on 70 mins...

brennomac wrote:Seems there are no Westies on 606 - so it's up to a ladyboy fan to start a thread on Connacht-Biarritz on Friday night - and despite the bookies making Biarritz 1-3 favourites I can see a home win here.

Biarritz form in both HC and T14 no great shakes - hammered by Quins in first HC game away and beat Zebre at home. In T14, Blanco had a real go at the team last weekend after they struggled to beat Bordeaux 25-22, also struggled in previous home game to beat Perp 15-3 and before that were beaten 34-21 by Grenoble before that. A won 6 lost 6 record in Top 14 doesn't suggest a team in tip-top form and their away record is pretty poor.

OK, Connacht's recent form is not great but in what's expected to be a bitterly cold Friday night in the Showgrounds I can see Connacht put one over the Biarritz fancydans. Certaintly won't be pretty, but the Quins game last year was one of the best of the year and that was hardly a lesson in silky skills,

Bookies giving 23-10 against Connacht, add in Munster (with a -4 spread) to beat Sarries at 10-11 and Ulster to beat the Saints at 11-10 and there's a nice Irish treble. Would be nice to add Leinster and make it a four-way Irish accumulator but sadly can't seem our boys with a second row of Leo and that lump Browne doing a number on Clermont.

Will you pick my lotto numbers for next week, O Delphic one?

Top drawer call.

Hookisms and Hyperbole wrote:The big thing for Connacht is that Mike McCarthy showed that if you play well in Galway you should be considered for Ireland. Too often fans and commentators put up too many hoops for Connacht players to jump through; 'they aren't playing at a high enough level' etc etc. Plenty of people on here have had their say about whether they deserve to be in the competition, but compared to the Welsh sides and some English sides they are clearly as deserving if not more deserving of their place based on performances. By the time of the Six Nations we really should be talking about McSharry and Marmion alongside McCarthy in the Irish squad as genuine contenders for an Irish shirt.

The big task is for Connacht to hold on to McCarthy. The last time they started to put something together a few seasons back they were gutted with Hagan/Cronin/Keatley moving away. Now they are coming up to that same point. They will need the players to want to stay and not get seduced by the 'luxuries' elsewhere, they need Connacht to figure out how to afford to keep them, they need to market the success, promote the youth coming through in Griffin/Henshaw? (don't know his age)/McSharry/TO'H and get bums on seats/people onto the terraces/sell merchandise et al.

thebandwagonsociety wrote:

Hookisms and Hyperbole wrote:The big thing for Connacht is that Mike McCarthy showed that if you play well in Galway you should be considered for Ireland. Too often fans and commentators put up too many hoops for Connacht players to jump through; 'they aren't playing at a high enough level' etc etc. Plenty of people on here have had their say about whether they deserve to be in the competition, but compared to the Welsh sides and some English sides they are clearly as deserving if not more deserving of their place based on performances. By the time of the Six Nations we really should be talking about McSharry and Marmion alongside McCarthy in the Irish squad as genuine contenders for an Irish shirt.

The big task is for Connacht to hold on to McCarthy. The last time they started to put something together a few seasons back they were gutted with Hagan/Cronin/Keatley moving away. Now they are coming up to that same point. They will need the players to want to stay and not get seduced by the 'luxuries' elsewhere, they need Connacht to figure out how to afford to keep them, they need to market the success, promote the youth coming through in Griffin/Henshaw? (don't know his age)/McSharry/TO'H and get bums on seats/people onto the terraces/sell merchandise et al.

Rumours are that both Cronin and Jordi Murphy along with Carr could be heading to Connacht next season.

Jordi would be a great signing for them. Is there another year in Johnny O'Connor so that Jordi could learn the trade from him.
With my Irish hat on, Cronin needs game time as he is the third choice option behind Best and Strauss. I love having such a strong option from the bench, but in the bigger picture I can rationalise that out.
Carr if he does move back, might find it hard to get back infront of the kids that have grown up in his absence.
The other guy that needs to get out of Leinster to get playing time I think is Ruddock because there is another batch coming through from the Academy and underage.

Don’t forget that Ruddock is just gone 22, he’s captained Leinster, played for Ireland and is captain of the A’s.

Leinster obviously think he has a future with us and he started at 7 recently, he could well be groomed for Jenno’s spot in the squad when he retires.

Mickado wrote:Don’t forget that Ruddock is just gone 22, he’s captained Leinster, played for Ireland and is captain of the A’s.

Leinster obviously think he has a future with us and he started at 7 recently, he could well be groomed for Jenno’s spot in the squad when he retires.

Wow is he still that young,he's been around so long I would have said he must be 24.I'll definitely give him more leeway in future so as he still has plenty of time to develop.

He is younger than you would think, but we are loaded in backrow options this year and there will be more kids coming through. We can't hold on to all of them, unless we start converting more into other position players. At the minute, there is at least;

Heaslip, O'Brien, McLaughlin, Jennings
Ruddock, Dom Ryan, Leo Auv'a
Marshall, J Murphy
Gilsenan, Coghlan, Conan
Leavy, Van Der Flyer

That is a lot of backrow options in the pipeline.

Connacht can really be said to be getting some depth

look at the injury list
Unavailable through injury: Duffy, Rodney Ah You, Thomas Anderson, Finlay Bealham, Mata Fifita, Eoghan Grace, Eoin Griffin, Shane Layden, Darragh Leader, Mike McCarthy, John Muldoon, Frank Murphy, George Naoupu, Dave Nolan, Ethienne Reynecke, Michael Swift, Kyle Tonetti, Nathan White


To beat Biarritz is a good result, to beat Biarritz while suffering an injury criises is something really special.

The big names for Connacht there who would normally be starting or on bench are Duffy, Nathan White, Ethienne Reynecke, Michael Swift, John Muldoon, George Naoupu, Mike McCarthy, Eoin Griffin and Rodney Ah You.

Any other Province would struggle with 9 first team players out.

Shows a real sign for the future,
If they did add Cronin, Jordi Murphy and Carr next season they would be some team.

Add that when the H-cup entry is (maybe) changed, it will prob be easier for Connacht to get into the H-cup than currently, meaning it may be easier to attract players.

thebandwagonsociety in regards to crowds, Connacht have doubled thier gates over last 2 years, they are doing a fine job in that regard, and hopefully it continues to grow.

Also
Former Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan has not been offered an interview to replace Eric Elwood at Connacht,

http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/heineken-cup/connacht-snub-for-osullivan-3323241.html

Kingshu wrote:Connacht can really be said to be getting some depth

look at the injury list
Unavailable through injury: Duffy, Rodney Ah You, Thomas Anderson, Finlay Bealham, Mata Fifita, Eoghan Grace, Eoin Griffin, Shane Layden, Darragh Leader, Mike McCarthy, John Muldoon, Frank Murphy, George Naoupu, Dave Nolan, Ethienne Reynecke, Michael Swift, Kyle Tonetti, Nathan White


To beat Biarritz is a good result, to beat Biarritz while suffering an injury criises is something really special.

The big names for Connacht there who would normally be starting or on bench are Duffy, Nathan White, Ethienne Reynecke, Michael Swift, John Muldoon, George Naoupu, Mike McCarthy, Eoin Griffin and Rodney Ah You.

Any other Province would struggle with 9 first team players out.

Shows a real sign for the future,
If they did add Cronin, Jordi Murphy and Carr next season they would be some team.

Add that when the H-cup entry is (maybe) changed, it will prob be easier for Connacht to get into the H-cup than currently, meaning it may be easier to attract players.

thebandwagonsociety in regards to crowds, Connacht have doubled thier gates over last 2 years, they are doing a fine job in that regard, and hopefully it continues to grow.

Mike McCarthy played against Biarritz and Eoghan Grace played for the Eagles, so at least those two are back.
Young Eoin McKeown had a great game at the weekend. He is definately one to look out for as he is a No.8, which is a postion, we Don't have a huge amount of dept in.

Connacht should be heading to Biarritz Friday night with a fair bit of confidence. With Serge Abramovich Blanco having sacked the coaching team after last week's defeat, Biarritz look to be a club in crisis and after two defeats their prospects of making the QF's are pretty much gone. Having said that basque pride is going to mean that Harinordoquay, Yachvili et al will want to put last week's affair behind them although you'd wonder how much their confidence has been affected.

Connacht no great shakes on the road and away from the Sportsgrounds, but if there ever was an opportunity to win away against a big name then Friday night in Biarritz is it. Bookies still make Biarritz red hot favourites with Connacht on 6-1. After an Irish treble last weekend did wonders for the brennomac family coffers - a Connacht (6-1), Leinster with a -6 spread (10-11) and Munster (7-5) punt is on for this weekend. A bit of left field bet I know but might as well invest some of last week's winnings.

Kingshu wrote:Also
Former Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan has not been offered an interview to replace Eric Elwood at Connacht,

http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/heineken-cup/connacht-snub-for-osullivan-3323241.html

That sounded like it was going to be the case from day 1, too much baggage from his treatment or perceived attitude towards the 4th province from his time as Ireland coach.

Oh, on the crowd front, definite improvements have been made. They need to push on and capitalise on it. Having HCup the last two years will definitely have helped boost. They need to turn some of those big game attendees into every game attendees. (I'm not saying the can't, just that it is a tricky task that shouldn't be taken for granted).

10-0 to Biarritz at half time. The pitch looks completely flooded which is making it very hard to put the phases together. Biarritz could have had a couple more. Nywenga has butchered a certain try. Connacht are hanging in there but doesnt look good for them.

Great support from the Connacht fans though. Not sure on how many have headed over but the Fields of Athenry has gone around a few times. Certainly making their voice heard.

Connacht look good in defence, but i'm not sure they have even been inside the Biarritz half yet. Parks seems to keep persisting with these up and unders which haven't worked well once. They need to find a way to threaten the Biarritz defence, which looks near impossible in those conditions. These up and unders are really not working though.

Low hard kicks will work, the ball is holding up and Brew isn't amazing under pressure.

Yeah i thought he would have been hitting it for the corners but havent really seen him do that. Conditions are awful though

Seems to be sticking to a gameplan that needs to be changed! Put pressure on Biarritz lineout and rush up on their 10...stick it into the corners Dan!

Im amazed how Dan Parks shirt is still spotless clean

Surely you saw him when he was playing for the Blues viewto??!! Don't think that 10 top get's washed all season!!

Eoin McKeon is a fantastic defender!

Theres some noise coming from the Connacht fans. I wouldn't have thought they would have the best travelling support but its great to see