Carty at 10, Craig R at 12, Robbie at 15, and Dan not in the 23, maybe? Why name 3 outhalves in the matches squad a la Deccie?

if Robbie drops back to 15, do we have Leader or Gav on the bench? My vote would be for Leader, but Gav might have the mindset.

even though Ronaldson has'nt played in a few weeks, i'd still have him back in the team, the advantage of playing him at 12 is that Henshaw can be moved back to 15, it does weaken our midfield however I don't see a viable alternative at 15 where if we play either Duffy or Leader I'd have real concerns, especially against Saracens it will be a a key position, Saracens like to use the kick/chase on their artificial surface where their back 3 put pressure on the other teams back 3.

swift4prez wrote: when did kearney injure himself, was it trying that crazy 22 drop out?

Yeah, read that in a match report.

Great news that the Craigs are back. Start CR at 10? I do like your suggestion to have him at 12, mind.

Word from our main reporter:

Dave Finn ‏@Furlo 2m
#connachtrugby Injury Update: Mick K has a shoulder knock. He's doing light work atm & is still in contention. Craigs R & C are both ready

Go to have Clarke back! Id stick Ronaldson at 12, Griffin 13, henshaw 15. Carty at 10. we'll have 2 kickers on the pitch!

when did kearney injure himself, was it trying that crazy 22 drop out?

phatguerilla wrote: Stander is listed at the same height as McKeon and 114kg, no real reason why McKeon couldn't go from his listed 103 to at least 108-110 without hurting his speed. SOB is 6'2" and 108 according to the Irish rugby website. The power gained from another stone on McKeon would more than make up for any marginal loss in speed/mobility (which really shouldn't be affected in any case until its all flab).

McKeon is listed as 103KG on the Connacht site, George is 112KG..

www.connachtrugby.ie/#team

salmson wrote:

sea_point wrote:
I'm hoping it's to bulk him up, and not to make a man out of him... :ohmy:

Is that the first recorded instance of a "Yo Mama..." joke on this forum? Well played, sir.

I'm claiming an assist...

Stander is listed at the same height as McKeon and 114kg, no real reason why McKeon couldn't go from his listed 103 to at least 108-110 without hurting his speed. SOB is 6'2" and 108 according to the Irish rugby website. The power gained from another stone on McKeon would more than make up for any marginal loss in speed/mobility (which really shouldn't be affected in any case until its all flab).

Benji wrote: Thanks, Mom jokes aside.
He seems to have the head for it but he needs to get stronger and have more of a presence. His young and you just cant put weight on that fast.

He's already bulked up quite a bit, but at 6'2" there's only a certain amount of extra bulk that makes sense to add onto his frame before he loses mobility, if he was 6'4" then I'd be looking at him going north of the 17st/110KG mark where George (6'5") is at...

Thanks, Mom jokes aside.
He seems to have the head for it but he needs to get stronger and have more of a presence. His young and you just cant put weight on that fast.

sea_point wrote:
I'm hoping it's to bulk him up, and not to make a man out of him... :ohmy:

Is that the first recorded instance of a "Yo Mama..." joke on this forum? Well played, sir.

RonanL wrote:

Benji wrote: McKeon I think will develop into a fine no 8 but needs to spend the summer with my mother

What?!

I'm hoping it's to bulk him up, and not to make a man out of him... :ohmy:

Benji wrote: McKeon I think will develop into a fine no 8 but needs to spend the summer with my mother

What?!

As above I thought Leader didnt have as great a game as people were saying. He looked flustered and unhappy with himself. Im surprised none of the senior players or staff werent able to get him to calm down. Any mistake seemed to stick to him. The Zebre game wasnt anything like what the pressure will be next week.
Any chance of McSharry being back as we missed his carrying in midfield.
George or McKeon ? Im 50/50 I think that George coming off the bench offers more. McKeon I think will develop into a fine no 8 but needs to spend the summer with my mother and doing weights.
I think that in a game against Sarries that McKeon will burst his b****ks to get around the park and stay going longer than George.
George is only 30 but his not playing as well as he should be.
I wouldnt play Parks again if it was my choice. Id leave Carty there and let him develop. Sure he might make a few mistakes but Parks is making them all season.
Sarries know very little about Carty and Parks is a one trick pony who has been poor in defence this year.
Leader/ Duffy. If leader could get his head together I'd start him. His got a massive boot which we will need if Farrell is kicking the ball too us.

I'd love to be going to this but Im afraid its a no

menacethedenis wrote: It's astonishing really that we're even discussing the possibility of getting into the quarter-finals of this competition. Did any of us genuinely think we'd be in with a shout going into the final weekend? Our desperate league form, while worrying, shouldn't detract from what has been an excellent European campaign, regardless of what happens in London. I really, really hope we're in it, whatever format the cup takes, next year.

Careful now that's dangerously close to targeting games talk. Realistically Zebre were there for the two tbp's and it was only Connacht's lack of killer instinct that prevented them getting it in Italy. We could be ahead of Saracens going into this game which would really have put the cat amongst the pigeons. As it is I think the European campaign as usual has proven a reliable synopsis of Connacht's strength and weaknesses - able to beat anyone on their day, looking dangerous against mid tier teams, struggling to beat teams they know shouldn't be a problem.

swift4prez wrote: against Toulouse away, we shot ourselfs in the foot kicking the ball away without getting touch, it happened so often i think the game plan was NOT to hit touch but let toulouse attack after attack.

I asked some of the players about this in the airport after the game, and they confirmed that it was the game plan. They felt that they were fitter than Toulouse, and wanted to keep the ball in play as much as possible. Strange game plan, but it worked that day, and I spotted them doing the exact same thing at home against Toulouse as well, where it didnt work