Ryan Caldwell :
Height 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)
Weight 112 kg (17 st 9 lb)

Mike Mc Carthy :
Height 1.94 m (6 ft 4 1/2 in)
Weight 115kg (18 st 1 lb, 253 lbs)

Eoin Sheriff
Height: 6ft 5in (1.96m)
Weight: 17st 1lb (109kg)

Ian Nagle
Height 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
Weight 114 kg

James Sandford
Height 2.00 m (6 ft 6 1⁄2 in)
Weight 116 kg (260 lb; 18.3 st)

a belfast born player living and playing in as nice a spot as bath!

it will be difficult to turn his head west if bath are interested in keeping him.

your right in that he fits the profile of what we are looking for. i have to admit that i dont recall much about him tho.

connachtexile wrote: Lets have a look at the irish second row options abroad:

Andrew Farley (ex-Connacht) - our former captain and major quality is now the captain of Grenoble in France. I'd say the chances of him leaving there are slim even though I love to have him back.

Christian Short (ex-Connacht) - plays for Lyon? Another good player and one we might tempt back but doubtful.

Ed O'Donoghue (ex-Ulster and Leinster) - had his off-field problems and can be erratic for these reasons probably should be left alone as we can't afford a tourist.

Eoin Sherriff (ex-Leinster) - now at Saracens and has signed a contract extension abroad so not an option for at least another season.

James Sandford (ex-Ulster) - now playing for London Irish and seems to be doing well. Like Sheriff has another year on his contract.

Others I;m not sure what there doing are Shane O'Connor (Bordeaux-Begles), David McGowan (La Rochelle), Lugha Verling (Blagnac)

If we want a lad to fill the second row it looks like there going to be either another provincial signing or a project player.

I've a last and far better option : he's IQ, 28 years old (the golden age for a lock), was an INTERNATIONAL player, and last but not least, his contarct expires at the end of the season, and his team, Bath, has 5 other quality options in 2nd row!

Please let's "persistently target" Ryan Caldwell!

I don't see any of the munster lads moving to Connacht if they've already been capped and have a chance of making the squad in the next two-three years, and tbh I don't want a player who would want to return to their home province, simply because second rows obviously take a long time to mature. If we pick up a second row under 24-26 they will get 2-3 years game time to help develop them and then look to move home, we won't get the benefit of their maturity and I don't think we can afford to be developing second rows for other provinces.

gannon played well for the eagles today. kinderegan also. he looks a big lump of a lad.

i dont think nagle will leave munster and foley imo is too light for what connacht need. brian hayes( year 3 acadamy) mite be a better option.

Its not just our problem. Look at the lack of options Ulster have for example.

True and you have to figure that if Sandford moves it will be back to Ulster to replace Johan Muller when he goes.

connachtexile wrote: Lets have a look at the irish second row options abroad:

Andrew Farley (ex-Connacht) - our former captain and major quality is now the captain of Grenoble in France. I'd say the chances of him leaving there are slim even though I love to have him back.

Christian Short (ex-Connacht) - plays for Lyon? Another good player and one we might tempt back but doubtful.

Ed O'Donoghue (ex-Ulster and Leinster) - had his off-field problems and can be erratic for these reasons probably should be left alone as we can't afford a tourist.

Eoin Sherriff (ex-Leinster) - now at Saracens and has signed a contract extension abroad so not an option for at least another season.

James Sandford (ex-Ulster) - now playing for London Irish and seems to be doing well. Like Sheriff has another year on his contract.

Others I;m not sure what there doing are Shane O'Connor (Bordeaux-Begles), David McGowan (La Rochelle), Lugha Verling (Blagnac)

If we want a lad to fill the second row it looks like there going to be either another provincial signing or a project player.

Its our key recruitment area for next season. We need a major signing in the 2nd row and really I think our big signing will have to be NIQ. Apart from that I'd love to see Farley back. Don't know how Short is getting on but on past form I'd be happy to see him back.

Really we need a serious physical presence in the 2nd row. Swifty can't be viewed as first choice for next season imo. He'll still probably play himself into being 1st choice but if we're serious we have to work from a starting point that we'll get 10-12 games out of him and anything after that will be a bonus.

Andrew Browne is rotating between the 2nd and back row but I think needs to be given a run of games in the 2nd row. Kearney is making good progress, Qualter has it all to prove yet, Dillane doesn't seem to be coming through in the short term at least. I don't want to pin any hopes on David Nolan given all his injury setbacks, lets just see if he's ready for the start of next season.

David Gannon seems to have been moved aside which may be a tad hasty looking at the lack of IQ options. Maybe one of the two lads down south will make the move.

Its not just our problem. Look at the lack of options Ulster have for example.

Lets have a look at the irish second row options abroad:

Andrew Farley (ex-Connacht) - our former captain and major quality is now the captain of Grenoble in France. I'd say the chances of him leaving there are slim even though I love to have him back.

Christian Short (ex-Connacht) - plays for Lyon? Another good player and one we might tempt back but doubtful.

Ed O'Donoghue (ex-Ulster and Leinster) - had his off-field problems and can be erratic for these reasons probably should be left alone as we can't afford a tourist.

Eoin Sherriff (ex-Leinster) - now at Saracens and has signed a contract extension abroad so not an option for at least another season.

James Sandford (ex-Ulster) - now playing for London Irish and seems to be doing well. Like Sheriff has another year on his contract.

Others I;m not sure what there doing are Shane O'Connor (Bordeaux-Begles), David McGowan (La Rochelle), Lugha Verling (Blagnac)

If we want a lad to fill the second row it looks like there going to be either another provincial signing or a project player.

ya i couldnt find anythin on how long it is for.
If he is making the bench on the saracens team he must have some quality.

yeah but his contract extention last February was unclear. 1 or 2 years deal??

And I think we badly need a 10/kicking 12... Apart from Parks (most of the time) nobody is able to clear the line. we've seen it today against Biarritz... We need a Noel Reid/Gareth Steenson profile

24yr old Eoin Sheriff who is on the bench for Saracens v Munster might be worth keepin an eye on !
Ex ireland U-18 19 and 20 and ex leinster.

I'd prefer Ruddock than Jordi Murphy but wouldn't turn my nose up at either. And after some of the nags/journeymen we've brought in getting a quality player who can help us achieve more success on the field is something I've never had a problem with.

As for the second rows there a lad who plays for Shannon called Sean McCarthy who the munster boys are raving as the second coming. How about we do some poaching of our own?? :evil: :evil:

phatguerilla wrote: Anyone know how that lad from Tralee is progressing at second row? He's hardly going to fill maccas boots but he might be worth a few games next year at least.

Ultan Dinnane? Got a few A games but he's while off the first team with Kearney Qualter and Gardiner all ahead of him.

rossie wrote: i was looking at carrs try scoring record here. 34 in 70 odd games. i wasnt around then but based on those stats id vigourously pursue him.

Thst includes a "paltry" single figure return in his last season; the others his scoring record was Visser-like, and in one of them scored half our tries.

Isn't every young Irish back rower said to be able to play across the three positions these days? Doesn't count for much ATM IMO anyways. Personally I don't want to be giving Leinster players game time just so they can leave when theyre up to speed, if murphy is any good then he should be looking to displace a'vuva in the next two years.

Regarding reynecke, he seems like the type that will work all day and I think that's valued by team mates but without accurate throwing its not enough from a hooker.

Anyone know how that lad from Tralee is progressing at second row? He's hardly going to fill maccas boots but he might be worth a few games next year at least.

its_phil wrote: We definitley need a hooker, but I'm very interested to see JHW this year. Has put in a couple of nice performances after a couple of shaky ones. Could have a word in Jordi's ear too. I'd like to keep Reynecke but his NIQ spot is too valuable. Reynecke is a great influence on the province too from what I hear.

thats interesting to hear about reynecke. ive never been overly impressed with his performances. hes been okay to good but imo never excellent which jhw was las week. if jhw continues to perform at even 80% of last weeks level on a consistant basis then reynecke would suffice to share the position with him but it remains to be seen if jhw can do that.
his niq spot is valuable tho so if we cant recruit at least 1 experienced good iq 2nd row then he may have to go. Imo browne is to replace Swifty and flanagan to share responsibility of replacing macca with kearney. id give swift another yr if he wants it and use him like joc is this season.

i was looking at carrs try scoring record here. 34 in 70 odd games. i wasnt around then but based on those stats id vigourously pursue him.