Starting Connacht second row partnerships and their success rates:

Names, games started together, lineouts won/ total lineouts, percentage

Roux-Dillane: 5, 60/79, 76%
Dillane-Qualter: 2, 24/27, 88.9%
Dillane-Browne: 2, 23/27, 85.2%
Roux-Browne: 8, 97/110, 88.2%
Roux-Cannon: 7, 70/83, 84.4%
Stevenson-Cannon: 1, 20/20, 100%
Dillane-Cannon: 1, 17/18, 94.4%
Stevenson-Browne: 1, 17/18, 94.4%
Cannon-Browne: 1, 10/11, 90.9%

Bazzo wrote:

tlocke wrote:
PS: Both Roux/Dillane can (and will) improve in the calling department, they are inexperienced at it after all.

And I didn't say they wouldn't. But unless one or the other has made huge improvements in the last few months then the only way we had a functional lineout was with a different caller on the pitch.

You'd swear I was making slanderous personal accusations or something, I just started a fact, our lineout was terrible with that second row, and far better with an experienced caller.

You're absolutely correct. The most notable example was the Wasps away game, where our 64% lineout success rate ( www.espn.co.uk/rugby/matchstats?gameId=290659&league=271937 ) lost us the game imo, and the lack of even a bonus point eventually knocked us out of Europe.

tlocke wrote:
PS: Both Roux/Dillane can (and will) improve in the calling department, they are inexperienced at it after all.

And I didn't say they wouldn't. But unless one or the other has made huge improvements in the last few months then the only way we had a functional lineout was with a different caller on the pitch.

You'd swear I was making slanderous personal accusations or something, I just started a fact, our lineout was terrible with that second row, and far better with an experienced caller.

It's a simplification just to blame the caller. A pitfall that many fans fall into. There are many facets to a consistent and solid lineout.

PS: Both Roux/Dillane can (and will) improve in the calling department, they are inexperienced at it after all.

I'm really not arsed going back and getting the statistics for every match but I can guarantee you when Browne, Cannon or even Stevenson were on the pitch the %s were far better than without them.

What games was I watching? All of them.

That's right, I forgot that Connacht lost no lineouts in the second half of the season ......

The lineout wasn't solid all year. Don't know what games you were watching.

But the problem was immediately rectified as soon as an experienced lineout calling second row was brought in, it's fairly obvious where the issue was.

Let's not forget the hooker is involved in the lineout as well ... and the lifters.

it was so bad in one game Mul had to completely take over the calls and be the main lineout catcher.

both unproven but you'd hope one of gallager\claffey will step up a level this year

Bazzo wrote: The problem wasn't the jumping, it was the calling. Neither of them had any success. Our lineout was a complete shambles for half of the season with no sign of improvement.

If it's the calling system, Keane may change and fix it. Easier to improve than physical matters..

connachta wrote:

Mark Mostyn wrote:

connachta wrote:

Mark Mostyn wrote: Senior squad as it stands, new academy class yet to be announced.

Players in orange have finished their academy contracts but weren't announced as staying or leaving.

.

You could update with Butler.

It's a 42-man squad for now
We won't have over 44 senior players
Maybe 1 or 2 last signings. One of them might be Conroy
Brennan should be definitely mainly a centre then.
And the last NIQ signing would be a lock (my prefered choice) or a LH (Buckley isn't injury prone and not capped with Ireland, but it's true we're light there too with Cooney/McCabe/O'Donnell.
It's a bet : more confidence in that back-up trio or in the ThornburyClaffey/Gallagher back-up trio

You're not comparing like with like there. The lock backups are Roux, Cannon, and Thornbury. An injury at lock and we have Quinn Roux, an Ireland international, to step in. An injury to Buckley and we are in huge trouble imo.

Got your point but partly disagree.
We need 1 LH but 2 locks. And you can't that easily switch TH-lock with LH-lock, jumping lock with ball-carrier lock etc.
Roux/Dillane are way above the rest, and if both are selected with Ireland/injured in the same time, the troubles begin.

It'll be interesting to see how we use our locks, will Keane stick with the TH lock in midfield and the LH out on the wing?

My point is that in a match day squad you would have Dillane, Roux, and Browne at SR, and Buckley and (we'll say) Cooney at LH. I would say the second row options are stronger.

If we lose one man to injury, the next men in are Cannon and McCabe. I would say again second row is stronger until McCabe shows otherwise.

Lose another man and Thornbury and O'Donnell are the next men in. We'll call this a toss up between two unknown quantities, but you have to remember the torrid time O'Donnell's had with injuries..

Then the next two options are Kyne/Dever (think I saw him in a preseason picture) and Claffey/Gallagher. I'm gonna say second row edges it again.

Sorry for the complete rambling it was the only way I could get my point across!

The problem wasn't the jumping, it was the calling. Neither of them had any success. Our lineout was a complete shambles for half of the season with no sign of improvement.

Roux is ok to jump, Dillane young enough to improve.
You have to add an extra-jumping solution like SOB (or Browne as 6) and it could be ok...

Roux, Dillane was a disaster at lineout time, it took Browne or Cannon to steady it. Thornbury is a big fella and I've a feeling he's handy enough in the lineout too.

Mark Mostyn wrote:

connachta wrote:

Mark Mostyn wrote: Senior squad as it stands, new academy class yet to be announced.

Players in orange have finished their academy contracts but weren't announced as staying or leaving.

.

You could update with Butler.

It's a 42-man squad for now
We won't have over 44 senior players
Maybe 1 or 2 last signings. One of them might be Conroy
Brennan should be definitely mainly a centre then.
And the last NIQ signing would be a lock (my prefered choice) or a LH (Buckley isn't injury prone and not capped with Ireland, but it's true we're light there too with Cooney/McCabe/O'Donnell.
It's a bet : more confidence in that back-up trio or in the ThornburyClaffey/Gallagher back-up trio

You're not comparing like with like there. The lock backups are Roux, Cannon, and Thornbury. An injury at lock and we have Quinn Roux, an Ireland international, to step in. An injury to Buckley and we are in huge trouble imo.

Got your point but partly disagree.
We need 1 LH but 2 locks. And you can't that easily switch TH-lock with LH-lock, jumping lock with ball-carrier lock etc.
Roux/Dillane are way above the rest, and if both are selected with Ireland/injured in the same time, the troubles begin.

Bazzo wrote: If Boshoff IS gone surely they'll be chasing a 10? Carty, Crosbie and Ronaldson as a spare can't be the only out halves in the squad, that's asking for trouble.

Boshoff was in the 42-man squad table. He doesn't count.