fatgav wrote: What would Connacht have received, if anything, for Willie? Freeing up funds and letting youngsters come through seem to be slim justification for letting him go

Why not Ian Humphreys? :whistle:

fatgav wrote: What would Connacht have received, if anything, for Willie? Freeing up funds and letting youngsters come through seem to be slim justification for letting him go

Depends who the funds might be freeing up for #inpatwetrust

What would Connacht have received, if anything, for Willie? Freeing up funds and letting youngsters come through seem to be slim justification for letting him go

When I think of the size of Dillane now compared to the size he was when he was Romaine's age- it is frightening to think how big Cian could get over next few seasons. Our very own Henderson in the making

Craic Head wrote:

connachtexile wrote: Is Kearney actually going? All I've heard is rumours but no definite declaration. With Faloon gone and us already needing a 6/8 I hope Pat is scouring at home and abroad to get us some quality talent in the backrow as apart from Masterson none of the other guys look ready to step up any time soon.

I think that the Kearney move is a done deal, Willie moving north suits everyone. Masterson is getting so much better and personally I see Cian Romaine stepping up sooner than most people think, he will have a great 20's campaign this season.

agreed, this time next year you will see Cian Romaine getting selected for the senior squad. he's still got a bit more development to make.

connachtexile wrote: Is Kearney actually going? All I've heard is rumours but no definite declaration. With Faloon gone and us already needing a 6/8 I hope Pat is scouring at home and abroad to get us some quality talent in the backrow as apart from Masterson none of the other guys look ready to step up any time soon.

I think that the Kearney move is a done deal, Willie moving north suits everyone. Masterson is getting so much better and personally I see Cian Romaine stepping up sooner than most people think, he will have a great 20's campaign this season.

He can be called back to Leinster up to a Wednesday,on any given week for the rest of season.

Is Kearney actually going? All I've heard is rumours but no definite declaration. With Faloon gone and us already needing a 6/8 I hope Pat is scouring at home and abroad to get us some quality talent in the backrow as apart from Masterson none of the other guys look ready to step up any time soon.

Best of luck to Willie Faloon. Think its a good deal for all sides, he probably wants to move back home at this stage, he's been good for us but has missed a lot of games also and I'd imagine he was on decent wages which can now be freed up to spend on areas where we need a bit more quality. With Kearney and Faloon leaving we could do with some reinforcements in the pack for next season along with a 10 which mightn't be easy to get our hands on with the big sides likely to stockpile players with the World Cup in mind.

pinky wrote: So how does the Cooney thing work?
I assume he is a Leinster player until the end of the season now and then he's back to us?

Yep, exactly he's still a Leinster employee.
They no doubt have a clause in the loan agreement which allows them to recall him if they have an injury crisis..

Westie85 wrote: Confirmed Willie back to Ulster www.ulsterrugby.com/News/LatestNews/TabI...o-Ulster-Rugby-.aspx

Sad, but it does clear the path a bit for Jake, and then we have Masterson also pushing for a spot next season.

So how does the Cooney thing work?
I assume he is a Leinster player until the end of the season now and then he's back to us?

The IMF wrote:

Slightly odd Ulster have only offered him a 1 year contract? Hardly a vote of confidence in Willie but maybe there is an option to extend which hasn't been mentioned in the press release.

It seems like Ulster have bought out the remainder of Connacht's contract with him which runs for one more year rather than renegotiate a new deal with him. As all contracts are now partly signed by the IRFU in some way this apparently makes it doable. That is apparently the theory behind it anyway.

Pat's been in McCaws ear. He's coming over after the World Cup :silly:

If Connolly/Maloney don't make it through main squad, maybe we can imagine to bring Gilsenan back next year or the following..

Like everyone else I'm sorry to see him go, but I have to admit I'm not gutted. I would have been last year, but not this one, we seem to have enough to survive this.

Willie on form was great to watch, but he was also an injury magnet.

It's still a shame, though. Jake and Willie were a new JOC/Razor combination when both were heathly, it's just that they hardly ever were.