Connacht v Scarlets - Sat 29th April 2017 - Match Thread

PRO12 Preview: Connacht v Scarlets
25th April 2017

Did you know?

The Irishmen have lost just twice in Galway since mid-September: against Munster on New Year’s Eve and Leinster in round 20.
Connacht’s only two home defeats to Welsh regions in the last three seasons have both been to Ospreys.
Connacht Rugby’s only victory in the last four rounds of the Guinness PRO12 came on a visit to Edinburgh on 7 April.
Scarlets only loss in the last nine rounds of the Guinness PRO12 was to Leinster in Dublin on 4 March, a defeat which also saw them end a four game winning run against Irish provinces.
Connacht have won only two of their last ten encounters against Scarlets – both in Galway, in November 2014 and January 2016.
Overall Guinness PRO12 head to head record:
Played 27, Connacht 8 won 16, Scarlets won 18 with 1 game drawn.



Ahead of Saturday’s Guinness PRO12 game at home to Scarlets, the Connacht Rugby medical team have provided the following update.

Conor Carey will integrate into training with the squad this week following his foot injury sustained in December.

Quinn Roux has completed his GRTP protocols following the head injury he sustained v Leinster.

Eoin McKeon has completed his GRTP protocols following the head injury he sustained v Leinster.

Steve Crosbie sustained an AC joint injury in the game v Leinster and will be monitored this week.

Niyi Adeolokun sustained a hamstring injury in the game v Leinster and will be out of action for 4-5 weeks.

Matt Healy has recovered from his recent hand injury and will return to partial training this week.

Cian Kelleher will integrate into training with the squad this week following his hamstring injury sustained in December.

CONNACHT v SCARLETS
Saturday 29th April
At the Sportsground, 7.35pm.
Live on TG4 / S4C

Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU, 7th competition game)
Assistant Referees: Lloyd Linton (SRU), Helen O’Reilly (IRFU)
Citing Commissioner: Murray Whyte (IRFU)
TMO: Charles Samson (SRU)

Looking forward to this one. Would like to get a chance to see Boshoff before the playoffs. We're fairly short on the wings, I'd rather see one of the academy lads given a chance on the wing over Poolman, although Rowland is in with a shout as well. Guess the centres will be Ronaldson and Farrell if Bundee gets a ban.

James Davies is out for the Scarlets, which is a big plus for us considering he has the most turnovers in the league and we have been turned over the most.

Bundee banned for the next 3 matches, so the next time he'll play will be the playoff final should we make it that far

connemara man wrote: Bundee banned for the next 3 matches, so the next time he'll play will be the playoff final should we make it that far

I think we can all agree that he needs to learn to hold his tongue, but this is ridiculous. 3 games for an offence the ref didn't punish at the time and was fully aware of? Clearly scapegoating him

To be fair Ian Davies and Bundee have a lot of history which undoubtedly counted against Bundee. There was a lot of aggro visible between the pair when Davies blew a penalty late on in the game but its poor on our behalf that he was let near the ref after the game given where his head was at.

Three games is definitely to make a point. Two games would have had no impact.

Anyway so be it. At least we know and can plan for the play offs from here.

Scarlets have so much more to play for in this game than us and are having a great season. I wouldn't rule them out causing a surprise in the play-offs.

A result would be great but for me the most important thing is we try and mix up the game a bit and put in a strong performance to boost confidence before the play offs.

I hope I'm wrong but realistically I see it being the last home game of the season, let's hope the departing management and players get the send off they deserve.

Amsterdamage wrote:

connemara man wrote: Bundee banned for the next 3 matches, so the next time he'll play will be the playoff final should we make it that far

I think we can all agree that he needs to learn to hold his tongue, but this is ridiculous. 3 games for an offence the ref didn't punish at the time and was fully aware of? Clearly scapegoating him

The decision should be appealed by Connacht immediately. I have no doubts that Bundee used some choice expletives but you need a penalty that fits the crime. He should have been fined. Connachts season should not have been put at risk by his stupidity. It is absolutely ludicrous the Connacht must suffer for this. If this happened in another sport it would be a player fine. This decision is off the wall and should not be accepted

When you see some of the ludicrous short bans that are handed out for dangerous play on the field it really highlights how much of a joke this ban is

Connnnnacht wrote: When you see some of the ludicrous short bans that are handed out for dangerous play on the field it really highlights how much of a joke this ban is

Bundee admitted the charge of verbal abuse of match officials under law 10.4, which carries a minimum sanction of 6 weeks. The maximum reduction you can give is 50%. So the citing committee were exceptionally lenient, and there don't seem to be grounds for appeal.

salmson wrote:

Connnnnacht wrote: When you see some of the ludicrous short bans that are handed out for dangerous play on the field it really highlights how much of a joke this ban is

Bundee admitted the charge of verbal abuse of match officials under law 10.4, which carries a minimum sanction of 6 weeks. The maximum reduction you can give is 50%. So the citing committee were exceptionally lenient, and there don't seem to be grounds for appeal.

Not to be overly pedantic this wasn't a citing commission call, a citing has to happen within 72 hours of the match. This was a disciplinary panel hearing which would have different procedures. It isn't a 6 ban week reduced to 3, it's a straight 3 week ban so somewhere in the process there is something different.

Not trying to condone the actions of Bundee in anyway. Just pointing out the difference in procedures and the lack of clarity this shows in the process. Also if no other players get picked up for this type of thing, which has started creeping into the pro 12, this is kinda pointless in one way.

Shelflife wrote: He didnt punish it at the time because the final straw was after the full time whistle, when Bundee seemingly said something to Davis as he walked passed him without shaking hands.

You simply cant have players abusing officials, otherwise there would be complete anarchy when you have 17st testosterone filled players flying around the pitch into each other. If theres any doubt as to who is in charge of the game then it would be carnage.

By all accounts he was petulant/rude/abusive before during and after the game. Its a tough punishment but if there isnt a proper deterrent then it leads to more trouble down the road.

Yeah in all fairness he's let his teammates​ down at an important part of the season, which is what I'm more annoyed about.

My initial reaction was ah here FFS three weeks... The fecking idiot

Shelflife wrote: He didnt punish it at the time because the final straw was after the full time whistle, when Bundee seemingly said something to Davis as he walked passed him without shaking hands.

You simply cant have players abusing officials, otherwise there would be complete anarchy when you have 17st testosterone filled players flying around the pitch into each other. If theres any doubt as to who is in charge of the game then it would be carnage.

By all accounts he was petulant/rude/abusive before during and after the game. Its a tough punishment but if there isnt a proper deterrent then it leads to more trouble down the road.

Absolutely agree with this. Respect for the ref is paramount in rugby and I support any punishment to help enforce that, all you can ask for is consistency. It would be nice if blatant simulation was punished in the same way

We really need Boshoff to start tomorrow night.

Scarlets have rotated a bit in the backs (which means they have a tasty set of backs replacements) but the pack is as close to full strength as injuries permit.

15 Johnny Mcnicholl, 14 Liam Williams, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Jonathan Evans, 1 Rob Evans, 2 Ken Owens ©, 3 Samson Lee, 4 Jake Ball, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 6 Aaron Shingler, 7 Will Boyde, 8 John Barclay

Replacements; Ryan Elias, Wyn Jones, Werner Kruger, David Bulbring, Josh Macleod, Gareth Davies, Scott Williams, DTH van der Merwe

Interesting team, great to see Kelleher and especially Leader back, that would be my first choice back 3 if everyone was fit and firing. Finally a chance to see what Boshoff's like, probably not ideal to have centre partnership number 11 (probably) of the year outside him.

Good to see Denis getting a rest, it'll be good to have another look at Robertson-McCoy, he needs to offer a bit more around the park for me. Have Cannon and Browne started together before? Lineout should be good but I wonder will we lack a bit of grunt around the park. Excited to see Masterson in action again, that could be our backrow for years to come so I'm hoping to see a big game from them