Its not far off it. We still have too many players who wouldn't be mapped at the other three provinces.

Thats not a viable way to analyze our team, if a large proportion of our team was indeed mappable onto other provinces then we would be serious european cup contenders.
The question should be is the team far better than a 60 point drubbing at the hands of saracens and if yes then what went wrong. I would say that yes we are far better than what we saw today with marmion, clarke, henshaw, white, JHW, Heenan and perhaps healy on form being very good quality players.

fluffychickens wrote: I don't accept that viewpoint whatsoever. Met a buddy of mine some days back who is a professional player. He lives and breathes this stuff. He doesn't go out on a Saturday night. He gets a number of weeks off each year. So good for you in your pub in Kerry. The only work you had to do was train your eyes on a TV screen. If you want to be critical then please be constructively critical. All of us are hurting but your post does not help

Many of us play the game because we love it, we may give up some things so we can play better but professionals are a different story entirely, its their job!.
They are paid well out of supporters and others pockets to perform of course they shouldnt be out on the tear on a saturday night. Would you be acclaiming a surgeon from not being hung over while doing his job, most everybody has to make scarifies for their profession and most are far harder than giving up a night out.

fluffychickens wrote: That is such utter arse of a comment. We ran Saracens close first time out, we beat Toulouse at home. Now we got whipped. Are we suddenly shite. There is a damm good reason but your answer is not the reason

Its not far off it. We still have too many players who wouldn't be mapped at the other three provinces.

Its no different to any other season so far. A couple of top performances against very good sides and a series of poor displays against average to poor sides.

Anyone can raise their game against a good team . Its consistently beating the teams around you that provides progress to the next level.

There are no signs we are progressing on that front. I'm not disappointed we were hammered today. I knew we would be. I'm disappointed in the basic skill execution failures.

Duffy supplied for kicking game that didn't happen, so otherwise useless
Dan cross field kicking done twice, seemed to miss the concept of what a cross-field kick means.
Poolman would have made no difference
White should have been red-carded
Henshaw and marmion only decent players
Paul as winger made no difference. Team wasn't functioning
Most important is there was no passion. Coach?

fluffychickens wrote: That is such utter arse of a comment. We ran Saracens close first time out, we beat Toulouse at home. Now we got whipped. Are we suddenly shite. There is a damm good reason but your answer is not the reason

Some differences between the two games:
home advantage
Saracens had their first choice centres today
Catching saracens out in Galway with a kicking game they didn't expect.
Playing into Saracens hands today with a kicking game they definitely expected, then that kicking game deteroriating.
No poolman to go after the high ball/cross field kicks.
White sin binning.
injury to at least three players plus Henshaw going off while actually being one of the few players who seemed to have some go forward momentum and was still managing to tackle.
Playing a sh on the wing, Leader at 13 and an injured healy for long periods of the second half.
Defense in galway was frantic at times as Ronaldson had his first hec start, but otherwise it was much more aggressive than today where the passive line allowed big ball carriers to run at speed.

Some of the differences in the two games. Not saying that should equate to a 60 point difference today but some obvious reasons why the two games were vastly different even with the same team as a whole.

That is such utter arse of a comment. We ran Saracens close first time out, we beat Toulouse at home. Now we got whipped. Are we suddenly shite. There is a damm good reason but your answer is not the reason

fluffychickens wrote: So the players have lost their desire. Just going on human emotions how does carty feel about taking toh's position on the bench. Likewise how does toh feel. How does the rest of the team feel about this shenanigans. And lam is not to blame. All he had to do was pick a sensible squad in the first place with carty included. Nobody would have objected. Utterly stupid antics by coach reflected by utterly lame performance by team

All he needed today was 4/5 All Blacks and we might have had a chance! Its hilarious that the coach gets he blame when we were utterly outclassed.

I'm not saying he's blameless but we aren't good enough for the HEC and thats the reality. To me the only mistakes Lam made were not picking Carty and Leader. Couldn't have done worse.

/never mind found a different angle of the incident.

I don't accept that viewpoint whatsoever. Met a buddy of mine some days back who is a professional player. He lives and breathes this stuff. He doesn't go out on a Saturday night. He gets a number of weeks off each year. So good for you in your pub in Kerry. The only work you had to do was train your eyes on a TV screen. If you want to be critical then please be constructively critical. All of us are hurting but your post does not help

Thats just beyond pathetic, ashamed to call myself a Connacht man after that total rubbish and even I am at my limit now,

+1

White stamped on a lads head and got in on the cheek was very lucky it wasn't a red. Healy and Carr injured and worse performance I've seen in a while. I was watching this in a pub in Kerry as I'm visiting the parents and I was embarrassed to be a Connacht supporter for the first time ever.

So the players have lost their desire. Just going on human emotions how does carty feel about taking toh's position on the bench. Likewise how does toh feel. How does the rest of the team feel about this shenanigans. And lam is not to blame. All he had to do was pick a sensible squad in the first place with carty included. Nobody would have objected. Utterly stupid antics by coach reflected by utterly lame performance by team

People can blame Lam's selection all they want but this one is on the players. They just didn't show up. So many missed tackles and such a lack of urgency in defence, it was embarrassing to watch. They have damaged the reputation of the club with that performance.

Think too much is being made about Lam's decision on Carty and the bench selection. A more likely reason was that Carty pick up a minor injury in practice and came good for the game.

I think the first try of the 2nd half is my reason for not agreeing with removing Lam. Healy, Connacht's pick of a poor lot, makes a good run, kick, then chase. He forces the man laterally across the field but no one else comes up with any conviction so the Saracens easily work the ball for a try. The players have to shoulder a lot of the blame. Is Lam faultless? No, but he shouldn't have to trying to coach desire or the basics to players at this level and he can only select players available to him.

Not sure what White was thinking, he will be cited. If his foot hit Barritt's face it was just a glancing blow, but it was completely unnecessary & will be view a reckless.

Simply can't understand why the lads weren't up for the game. Team selection would not have affected the result. In the year to date I have not seen the pack so outplayed. And to compound it the backs left gaping holes everywhere. A lot of soul searching required. Maybe the players mentally are not where they should be. The strange squad selection without carty, followed by a u-turn just before kickoff surely must impact the players confidence. If the coach is messing players around like that, it must be hard to know whats happening. Toh must simply love lam.

Connacht have been threatening a performance like this all season, they already have done to an extent against Ospreys and Edinburgh but this was obviously a different level.

In the first few minutes I thought Parks and Duffy seemed up for this, but after a few things went wrong they receded into themselves and it just got worse and worse as the game progressed.

The defense was the complete opposite of the Toulouse game which coupled with a good 10 bringing his big forwards onto the ball at speed was just horrendous. Parks went deeper and deeper throughout the game until near the time he was subbed he was almost at fullback receiving the ball from Marmion.
The most threatening moments of the game came about when Henshaw, Carr or anyone but Parks stood in at first receiver which just further underlined the liability Parks is at this point.

There might have been some justification for giving Parks, Duffy and Swift their chance to have one last big european game but the first two at least are just beyond a ROG v Clermont performance. Literally seconds before Healy was injured I was thinking we might have to call on him as scrum half cover during the six nations while Marmion is away. Hope its not serious, looked like a strained oblique/ab muscle just based on what he was grabbing.

White needs some time out, however with Rodney away for a few weeks he'll have to bench.

The game itself just highlighted all the problems that have been discussed here since the Leinster game and before; no big ball carrying forward of note, average Rabo-level hookers (both carrying knocks?), a poor defensive plan and a 10 who is unwilling to attack.

If anything, this result has shown the two biggest losses of Connacht personnel have been Millard and Forshaw. Not being able (allowed?) to replace our defence and backs coach has doubled our problems, we're scoring less and conceding more.

Mental strength is also missing, the try in the last minute of the first half seemed inevitable, 40 minutes of leaving it up to everyone else followed on from there