Glasgow Warriors v Connacht Rugby, 26 September

                         
Glasgow Warriors v Connacht Rugby
Friday 26 September 2014
KO 19:35
Scotstoun Stadium
Alex Salmond's Favourite City

Categorically not on bloody telly

Referee: Cladio Blessano (FIR, 6th competition game)
Assistant Referees: Mike Adamson, Stephen Ward (both SRU)
Citing Commissioner: John Montgomery (SRU)

A. Teams:

Glasgow Warriors

15. Stuart Hogg
14. Sean Lamont
13. Mark Bennett
12. James Downey
11. DTH van der Merwe
10. Duncan Weir
09. Henry Pyrgos
 
01. Gordon Reid
02. Pat MacArthur
03. Euan Murray
04. Tim Swinson
05. Al Kellock (Captain)
06. Rob Harley
07. Chris Fusaro
08. Adam Ashe

16. Kevin Bryce
17. Jerry Yanuyanutawa
18. Rossouw de Klerk
19. Tom Ryder
20. James Eddie
21. Murray McConnell
22. Finn Russell
23. Tommy Seymour

Connacht Rugby

15. Darragh Leader
14. Danie Poolman
13. Robbie Henshaw
12. Dave McSharry
11. Matt Healy
10. Jack Carty
09. Ian Porter

01. Denis Buckley
02. Dave Heffernan
03. Rodney Ah You
04. Michael Swift
05. Aly Muldowney
06. John Muldoon ©
07. Eoin McKeon
08. George Naoupu

16. Shane Delahunt
17. Ronan Loughney
18. Nathan White
19. Quinn Roux
20. Mick Kearney
21. John Cooney
22. Craig Ronaldson
23. Fionn Carr

B. Form - head to head:

24 Played 24
14 Wins 7
7 Losses 14
3 Draws 3
57 Tries 41
39 Conversions 29
52 Penalties 50
2 Drop Goals 5
525 Points 428
25 Avg. Age 25

C. Form - last season:

Saturday 2 November 2013
Connacht Rugby 12 - 19 Glasgow Warriors
Sportsground

Sunday 9 February 2014
Glasgow Warriors 8 - 6 Connacht Rugby
Scotstoun Stadium

Connachts next block of games are:

Glasgow (A)
Blues (h)
Treviso (a)
La Rochelle (H)
Exeter Chiefs (A)

To be honest I'd be tempted to rest everyone against Glasgow and concentrate on the next block of games.
On the other hand it would be good to keep momentium going.
but in the League Connancht must be targeting Blues and Terviso as wins, LBP away to Glasgow.

You've got to back Glasgow for this, despite some decent recent Connacht performances (although only beating Edinburgh by one point is now looking liking a duff performance).

Toonie will no doubt rotate the entire XV, but Glasgow are looking extremely strong this season.

funnyExiledScot wrote:You've got to back Glasgow for this, despite some decent recent Connacht performances (although only beating Edinburgh by one point is now looking liking a duff performance).

Toonie will no doubt rotate the entire XV, but Glasgow are looking extremely strong this season.

Or worse losing to them at home by one point,
Munster v Ospreys will be intresting to see were Munster really are?

If Glasgow were to rotate and Connacht put thier best team out it could be very intresting.

Top of the table clash.

I dunno - if I was Pat Lam, I might figure that this is the best time to take some points at Scotstoun, when his team has momentum. Will you take a look at how close the previous games have been?

Can I ask Connacht fans some pathetically ignorant questions?:
1. Clarke had to hang up his boots for a while at least, right?
2. Will Bundee Aki be playing? Is he here yet?

Not really related to rugby, but I just want to go on record and say that the best pint of Guinness I ever had in my life (and there have been plenty) was in the Garravogue in Sligo town.

The OP contains an error. Dundee is Salmond's favourite city, positively frothing at the mouth with nationalism compared to Glasgow (which was a much closer result as well as having a far lower turnout). 53% of the votes cast with a 75% turn out. It's hardly a fairy tale of nationalism to tell the grand kids is it!!

George Carlin wrote:I dunno - if I was Pat Lam, I might figure that this is the best time to take some points at Scotstoun, when his team has momentum. Will you take a look at how close the previous games have been?

Can I ask Connacht fans some pathetically ignorant questions?:
1. Callum Clarke had to hang up his boots for a while at least, right?
2. Will Bunde Aki be playing? Is he here yet?

Not really related to rugby, but I just want to go on record and say that the best pint of Guinness I ever had in my life (and there have been plenty) was in the Garravogue in Sligo town.

Craig Clarke has had to retire due to repeated concussions. He had like 10 over 2 years. Hopefully hes ok later in life. As far as Im aware Bundee Aki hasnt come over yet.

Jake Heenan busted his up his shoulder again in their first game and is going to miss about 5 months, which will be a major blow.

McConnell, Russell and Maitland all subbed tonight. I am sure we will be seeing them in the squad on Friday night.

Connacht have been incredibly resilient in their last 2 games, they were under the cosh against Edinburgh and then Leinster (even being a man down) but they kept fighting and defending, and when the opportunity came they seized it with both hands, very clinical.

To think they still have some players like Aki, McCartney and a certain Muliaina to come over! As for Clarke thats a shame really but Roux is a more than decent replacement, very underrated player.

So far, lets face it, they are looking like the only team from the bottom 6 to have made progress.

Teams are out at lunchtime.

Glasgow announcements are always fascinating with Toonie at the helm. I wonder who the roll of the dice will favour today!?

I reckon we'll see a re-jigged back three - Maitland, Hogg and Rory Hughes to start, with DTH on the bench.

Rory Hughes would be an interesting one. Haven't really seen much of him to date.

Hogg
Lamont
Bennett
Downey
DTH

Weir
Pygros

Reid
McArthur
Murray
Swinson
Kellock
Harley
Fusaro
Ashe

Bench
Bryce
Jerry
de Klerk
Ryder
Eddie
McConnell
Russell
Seymour

Great to see Tom Ryder back a proper lock who will do the donkey work all day. In my unpopular opinion i would have him starting in the first 15 with Jonny Gray.

IanBru wrote:I reckon we'll see a re-jigged back three - Maitland, Hogg and Rory Hughes to start, with DTH on the bench.

Oh well, one out of four ain't bad...

Bit more of a conservative team selection there - very much lacking the 'pure mental' factor.

The win is most important but a try BP would be very beneficial too - not sure if they will achieve it missing some of their game breaking players.

Ryder and McConnell coming off the bench to push for 4 ties isn't quite the same as the two mental Fijians, and Downy and Lamont more solid yet unspectacular compared to Dunbar and Seymout/Maitland.

Obviously they need to win the game first!

Downey and Lamont in the backs will counter Connacht's attritional style, both big men who will carry the ball hard into contact. DTH is another pretty physical and direct player and Hogg and Bennett will hopefully add a bit of spark around them. The two Fijians are being given a break, so I think this will be a more pragmatic performance with Pyrgos and Weir at the helm of a hard working pack.

Pleased that Ashe is being given a start, and it's good to see Russell back on the bench.

Not available due to injury: Mike Cusack (medical/illness), Ryan Grant (shoulder), Jonny Gray (chest/ribs), Sean Maitland (quadriceps), Niko Matawalu (back), Leone Nakarawa (foot), Josh Strauss (quadriceps), Richie Vernon (achilles), Jon Welsh (shoulder) and Ryan Wilson (shoulder).

RDW_Scotland wrote:Bit more of a conservative team selection there - very much lacking the 'pure mental' factor.

The win is most important but a try BP would be very beneficial too - not sure if they will achieve it missing some of their game breaking players.

Ryder and McConnell coming off the bench to push for 4 ties isn't quite the same as the two mental Fijians, and Downy and Lamont more solid yet unspectacular compared to Dunbar and Seymout/Maitland.

Obviously they need to win the game first!

Quite a few guys are listed as injured, including the Fijians and Maitland, Dunbar and Horne are being rested. I agree its not the flashest of backlines, but with Bennett, Hogg and DTH there is still enough strike power there.

Considering how Connacht are playing, I'd happily settle for simply getting the win.

I suppose the selection makes a lot of sense then!

Connacht:

15. Darragh Leader
14. Danie Poolman
13. Robbie Henshaw
12. Dave McSharry
11. Matt Healy
10. Jack Carty
9. Ian Porter

1. Denis Buckley
2. Dave Heffernan
3. Rodney Ah You
4. Michael Swift
5. Aly Muldowney
6. John Muldoon ©
7. Eoin McKeon
8. George Naoupu

16. Shane Delahunt
17. Ronan Loughney
18. Nathan White
19. Quinn Roux
20. Mick Kearney
21. John Cooney
22. Craig Ronaldson
23. Fionn Carr

Connacht have shuffled around too.

Big tests for Porter and Cooney - dropped straight into the fray.

I think Glasgow will win, but no bonus point.

Given the way Connacht defended against Leinster (who were admittedly sh1te on the night), can't see Glasgow getting a try BP. Should win ok but I'm putting money on a Glasgow getting a 4pt win and Connacht a losing BP. Tackling in midfield by Henshaw and McSharry against Leinster was fantastic, likewise Muldoon in the back row. Jeez, even Quinn Roux followed up a Marmion box kick and helped to marmalise Kearney in the tackle - don't seem to remember him doing anything last year with us, must be the air out wesht.

This Glasgow side looks like Toonie's version of the 3R's. Rested, Rotated and Returning (from injury).
The scary thing is, no disrespect to Connacht, but I can't see us losing. Actually, if that fifteen were put out against the MFL I would feel uber confident. Glad to see Henners Piecrust and Meatball getting another run out and very pleased to see Russell fit again. We do seem to lack the pure mentalness on the bench that we normally have but Tennessee Tam and Russell can make hay against a tiring defence.
I am very impressed with Connacht this season, but they have tended to defend, defend and then just nick the win.(Fair do's, what wouldn't the MFL give for a tenth of their tenacity?) I just think that if Meatball has his kicking boots on and puts us into a nine point lead early on then Connacht need to come out and play: we're better than most teams at that! If Connacht take an early lead and Meatball has an off-day then it will be very interesting.
I just wish I could be there because I don't think we'll see Mr Glasgow lead the team out too many more times. He is a special player and I'll bet every club in the country envies Glasgow.

The confidence we all have is worrying, very worrying!

It is Dot, but let's see what a different 23 can offer.

We absolutely have to be targeting their front row. Heffernan has only been a hooker for one season, Buckley I have never seen play age grade for Ireland and whilst admittedly I haven't been following this season for Connacht all that closely, Rodney Ah You was (sorry in advance for this) one of the worst scrummagers in the entire league last season and was presented with his backside on a number of occasions that I saw.

With Big Shrek back and Euan Murray in good form (and de Klerk on the bench), I really do think we should be looking to march them backwards at a rate of knots.

With Downey and Lamont on the field, some of those midfield collisions will be massive. Downey and Bennett could be a properly good combination.

George Carlin wrote:It is Dot, but let's see what a different 23 can offer.

We absolutely have to be targeting their front row. Heffernan has only been a hooker for one season, Buckley I have never seen play age grade for Ireland and whilst admittedly I haven't been following this season for Connacht all that closely, Rodney Ah You was (sorry in advance for this) one of the worst scrummagers in the entire league last season and was presented with his backside on a number of occasions that I saw.

With Big Shrek back and Euan Murray in good form (and de Klerk on the bench), I really do think we should be looking to march them backwards at a rate of knots.

With Downey and Lamont on the field, some of those midfield collisions will be massive. Downey and Bennett could be a properly good combination.

Are you sure that wasn't two seasons ago? Since the change in the rules Rodney has actually been playing very well and even earned himself an Ireland call up in the summer. He also was part of the Connacht scrum that dominated Leinster in the second half last week.

George Carlin wrote:It is Dot, but let's see what a different 23 can offer.

We absolutely have to be targeting their front row. Heffernan has only been a hooker for one season, Buckley I have never seen play age grade for Ireland and whilst admittedly I haven't been following this season for Connacht all that closely, Rodney Ah You was (sorry in advance for this) one of the worst scrummagers in the entire league last season and was presented with his backside on a number of occasions that I saw.

With Big Shrek back and Euan Murray in good form (and de Klerk on the bench), I really do think we should be looking to march them backwards at a rate of knots.

With Downey and Lamont on the field, some of those midfield collisions will be massive. Downey and Bennett could be a properly good combination.

Glad you mentioned Murray. Possibly slipped under the radar a little, how well he has played. Granted it's only a small sample size, but he has been playing as well as he has in a long time.

If he can continue like this he is going to be a cracking signing.

LeinsterFan4life wrote:

George Carlin wrote:It is Dot, but let's see what a different 23 can offer.

We absolutely have to be targeting their front row. Heffernan has only been a hooker for one season, Buckley I have never seen play age grade for Ireland and whilst admittedly I haven't been following this season for Connacht all that closely, Rodney Ah You was (sorry in advance for this) one of the worst scrummagers in the entire league last season and was presented with his backside on a number of occasions that I saw.

With Big Shrek back and Euan Murray in good form (and de Klerk on the bench), I really do think we should be looking to march them backwards at a rate of knots.

With Downey and Lamont on the field, some of those midfield collisions will be massive. Downey and Bennett could be a properly good combination.

Are you sure that wasn't two seasons ago? Since the change in the rules Rodney has actually been playing very well and even earned himself an Ireland call up in the summer. He also was part of the Connacht scrum that dominated Leinster in the second half last week.

Excellent - look forward to seeing him again, in that case.

If Connacht fans don't sing 'Rodney Ah You' to the tune of the 'baby why you' bit from Flowers and Football Tops by Glasvegas, they're missing a trick.

I have a telly link for this amongst my dodgy links - so someone is televising it It doesn't say what channel - I'll update when the stream is on air if it reallyhappens

Good man TJ, feel free to PM me.

If it happens - big if and those that know more than me seem to understand its not televised so could be nonsense

Crikey oh blimey, I am so nervous about this match!

In all the games I can remember against Connacht, Glasgow have dominated in terms of overall performance, and yet we always seem to win by less than a score. Planet Rugby and The Rugby Blog are both predicting 17+ point victories for Glasgow, but I've a feeling this one's going to be tighter than my brother's purse strings.

Dead link - sorry to get hopes up :-) I cannot believe it is not being televised by somone. could be a real cracker. Have to watch Edinburgh instead. Now that likely to be painful

Your brother has a purse.
I thought your hand stitched llama skin money belt was interesting, but obviously it's a family thing.
As for your nerves: seek out the schizoid one and point to your Better Together tattoo, smile and say "Told you so". You'll soon stop worrying about the result.

Jim, nothing complements moleskin skinny-fit breeches and Italian leather winkle-pickers like a llama skin money belt, hand stitched by Belorussian orphans.

I had a conscience once...

IanBru wrote:Jim, nothing complements moleskin skinny-fit breeches and Italian leather winkle-pickers like a llama skin money belt, hand stitched by Belorussian orphans.

I had a conscience once...

So they're quite prescriptive as to what you need to wear to attend Pimp School these days?

anyone got a link? mines is down

Hogg furra linee!

Great from Pyrgos! Bloody loverly!

I doff my purple feathered hat to you.

It will be a full curtsey with bells on if we get the BP try.

C'mon Brumeister how was the game?

2 tries from Mister AP. Is he officially 'back'?

George Carlin wrote:2 tries from Mister AP. Is he officially 'back'?

He played well last week and was good again tonight. His second try was a good finish to an excellent try.

Well well well... Jimbo old bean, let me first say that the score line doesn't really reflect the nature of the match. I wouldn't say we were lucky, but we scored points when we had our chances, while Connacht didn't always. We certainly didn't dominate.

I'll say this right now: if Connacht play like that for the rest of the season, they'll be in Europe for certain and possibly even challenging for a playoff spot. Without a doubt, they have combined their traditional niggly, awkward style of play (which is why I'm always so worried when we play them) with a real hard edge in attack, particularly through the forwards. Their back play actually reminds me of Glasgow's but without the finesse and obvious practice that we see with the Warriors (like Connacht are B-4 to Glasgow's Data, for any TNG fans out there). The thing that most impressed me was their speed to the breakdown and their overall defensive line speed. These things layer a big part in neutering Glasgow for significant portions of the match.

Be in no doubt, Connacht will worry the vast majority of teams they come up against this year.

Glasgow were solid, if unspectacular for the first half. They didn't seem to be trying their normal offloading game, but they got some good value from kicking in behind Connacht, particularly with the wind behind them. Two tries and a ten point lead at halftime were about right.

In the second half, with Connacht spreading the ball a bit more and gaining the upper hand in the scrum (for sure, Reid-MacArthur-Murray is superior to Jerry-Bryce-Du Klerk) I was getting a bit worried. What impressed me about Glasgow is that they played smart rugby - they built a lead, maintained it long enough to force Connacht to play 50/50 rugby, then fed off the mistakes, with Bennett's interception try being the classic example.

And now for my final thought: while Henry Pile Cream was good tonight, my MoM award definitely goes to Rob Harley. Like fine wine, he just gets better with age, and he is absolutely central to our defensive structure. If Kelly Brows really is seen as a 7 in a Scotland shirt, then the case for the Ginga Ninja to  make the 6 shirt his own is fast becoming inescapable.

Pretty strange game, we dominated the first half (strong wind behind us) yet despite the pressure it took a great Pygros charge down to give us a comfortable lead at half-time.

Connacht scrum which had been under pressure in the first half came to play in the second 40 and with the wind the game was more even in the second. Glasgow just had the cutting edge and in broken play looked like they could score from anywhere at any-time.

Plus points - Weir played well and Pygros was very good. DTH and Hogg looking sharp again. Lineout went well.

Negatives - Missed tackles and plenty of them, Downey missed a crucial one in the build up to Connachts first Try. Scrum was starting to creek just before Murray went off, but it fell apart when he left. Back-row looked very unbalanced without Strauss.

Overall a BP win was a great result and 4 out of 4 is a great start. With Cardiff falling away at the moment it does look like we have had an easy(ish) start, but all games have been won well and the squad has been rotated. Crowd, just under 6,000 and standing room only again tonight which is good.

Great summaries Bru and Dot - thanks very much.

Am delighted with a BP win - it's more than I was hoping for, actually.

Four from four, a bonus point win and a crowd of nearly 6000 for a game against Connacht, not traditionally one of the great draws of the league. All very impressive and what's not to like!

As others have said Connacht are rapidly becoming the dark horses of the league and will trip up plenty sides this year. This was far from our strongest side as well. We would not have got five points in this game at the same time last year!