Connacht Signing Announcments - 2012-13

With the talent available in the back three I can't see why Leinster would use up a valuable NIE spot on the wing. Sounds very strange.

Goneva is equally adept in the centre, which is where I'd imagine he'd be been signed for. Da'rcy's decline has been well flagged, Drico has shag all left in the tank which leaves the cupboard pretty thin. O'Malley and McFadden would be the next 2 established centres, outside that not a whole lot else, not particularly impressed with Macken. Goneva would offer a different option, big strong carrier who could punch holes.

Carr is up in the air I'd say. TBH, even if he leaves Leinster, I can't see him coming back. In the world of inflated egos and all that, Carr coming back would almost seem like admitting defeat on his part. I could see him end up in the Eng Prem. Would love to get him back though. Duffy, TOH, Carr, Vainikolo (who's really improving), Layden as options in the back 3 would be terrific

I think we need another FB. We have plenty of wings that can play FB if needed, and Jarvis too, but we don't have any out-and-out FBs other than Gav. We've been very lucky he's been injury free all year.

Darcy while he has been a great player for Ireland his international position isnt looking good . He could finish with Ireland and still have two more years with Leinster.
Bod from what I hear is on the mend and lifting bigger weights than he has for years and he cant wait too play again.
Shaggy is supposed to be shagged with his knee.
McFadden O'Malley are two very good options for centre longterm while Macken has looked ok imho he will be ok after a missing a good bit with injury.
They also have Eamon Sheridan (Joe's brother from meath gaa)whose a big lump of a lad that plays 12.
At a push Isa has enough football too play centre or O'shea whose been getting time lately and has a dev contract for next year.
I dont think they need too make a signing but sure Joe knows best.

ummm, wrote: I think we need another FB. We have plenty of wings that can play FB if needed, and Jarvis too, but we don't have any out-and-out FBs other than Gav. We've been very lucky he's been injury free all year.

Given his ability in the air and mazy running lines, I'd have thought TOH was the obvious longterm successor to Gav? Maybe bringing in another FB would hinder his development?

If he is then we've been remiss in trying him out and giving Gav time off. We've given the lads very few breaks this year.

Layden???? Toh?

Layden and TOH. Jarvis is another option

Nobody else needed

if this is official now its great news.

It begs the question though about the niqs in squad. If im correct we are allowed 5 niq and 1 project per season. Parks?,white,rodgers, reynecke, naupu, henry, ray, fetu and rodney as project. with parks and white coming in does that mean we have to lose 3 of the others or have the rules changed under our new agreement with irfu? i havent included nikora as someone said here that he was iq next season but if he isnt thats 4. Can anyone clarify the position here?

Parks will reward the forward effort with points on the scoreboard which was so often lacking for all their effort this season. As ummmm already pointed out he will also play the game in our opponents half which can only be good for what is a potentially excellent pack.
As for getting the backline moving he will be no worse than Noc in this regard and we must remember that for all the potential that we have in the backs we have continually made handling errors and given penos away for holding on in games when trying to play the expansive game. Noc wasnt responsible for this and neither will parks be but under his guidnace they should happen in the opposition half and not in scoring zone.
By my reckoning if we had a goalkicker of Parks ability playing this season we would have 10/12 pts more on the board and would be in a position to directly challenge ulster for that 3rd hec spot with a home game against them to come.Thats how much his presence could potentially improve us.

Id say we will be saying goodbye to the AMAZING legend that is Ray Ofisa along with Rodney Ah You and Henry. Nikora will become IQ and White will move into the development slot.
Thats my take on it not saying that its right.

Dan Parks is done

www.connachtrugby.ie/2012022882774/legen...s-signs-for-connacht

Think we have to thank Billy for this one

Connacht Rugby are delighted to confirm the signing of former Scottish international outhalf Dan Parks.

Parks will join Connacht from the Cardiff Blues at the end of the current season on a two year deal which will see the legendary Scottish outhalf ply his trade at the Sportsground until at least the end of the 2013/14 season.

Dan is the RaboDirect’s all-time leading point’s scorer with a phenomenal 1322 points to his name. In his seven seasons with Glasgow and two with Cardiff Blues he has scored an impressive 19 tries and kicked 274 penalties to leave his haul of points a staggering 473 points ahead of nearest rival Ronan O’Gara. As a prolific goal kicker he has a kicking record of 73.4% which puts his accuracy ahead of kicking sensations such as Stephen Jones, Ruan Pienaar and Leigh Halfpenny.

The pivotal position was an area Connacht identified for strengthening and the 33 year old, New South Wales born outhalf will be charged with bringing through Connacht’s emerging talent whilst helping to turn some of Connacht’s narrow losses into significant victories.

The experienced outhalf, who was the first to reach the 1000 points milestone in the Magners League, comes with serious international pedigree. He has amassed 67 caps for Scotland since his international debut in 2004, the most recent being against England in this year’s RBS 6Nations Championship. It is this knowledge and expertise that Connacht will look to harness and Dan’s considerable experience looks set to compliment the exciting, youthful backline that Head Coach Eric Elwood and Backs Coach Billy Millard already have in place.

Millard spent two seasons with the Cardiff Blues as Backs Coach and he was key to enticing the outhalf to Connacht.

Speaking about the signing Billy Millard said:

“I’m excited about working with Dan, especially in the setup we have here at the moment. He’s an absolute professional and I think he will bring an extra layer of experience to the squad. We spoke at length about the ambitions of Connacht Rugby, Dan knew the culture of the club and respected what we’re trying to do here and this was one of the main reasons he agreed to come to Connacht. He is a great guy, a leader and will add value on and off the field”

Looking forward to the move Dan added:

“It’s been a huge decision in my life to move away from Cardiff to Connacht but a move which I am thrilled about. There is a fantastic mix of youth and experience at the club and for me I am really excited about the future of Connacht rugby. With my nine years of playing in the league I will be looking to bring that experience to Galway. I am looking forward to the next two seasons and the great challenges that will come with it. The four coaches Eric, Dan, Billy and Mike have lots of energy and are very determined to make Connacht rugby a fun and successful club. I am very happy to be joining a club which I believe is on the up and has a very bright future ahead.”

Head Coach Eric Elwood was delighted with the signing:

“Having Dan Parks come on board next season is a huge boost to the club. Having someone of his experience, both internationally with the number of caps he has and in the league as the highest points scorer of all-time, is a massive bonus. As a seasoned international we are confident he will bring a huge amount of experience to our team. He knows what we’re about, what we’re trying to do and his attitude and work ethic will add to the culture of the club. We are all looking forward to working with him and bringing through the next generation of Connacht players”

The NIE thing is all a bit fuzzy I think. It used to be 5+1 for everyone. Then it was changed to something like 6+1 for us as part of steps to help with our 'development'.

Our 6+1 are : Rodney (project), Edna, Dylan, George, Fets, Henry & Miah.

Next year Miah becomes IE, Ray moves to NIE.

Where it gets complicated is the 5+1 rule for the other three will be changed to 4+1 next year (accelerating Mr White's departure from Leinster)

It's not clear if the NIE rule is being reduced by 1 at all provinces, or just the other three. In other words, it's not clear if we go from 6+1 to 5+1, or possibly we'll have extra project players? Maybe a 5+2?

It's clear with two in two will have to leave, if not three players if the quota is reduced.

Ray has given his all for us and it will be a sad day when he moves on, but with Grace, Browne, Conneely and Kearney showing talent I'm afraid he's a luxury we will be unlikely to afford. Ray knew putting on the Samoa shirt for one game in the hopes of going to the RWC would probably mean the end of his time at Connacht, but who can't love him for it? He had a dream to wear his country's shirt and went for it. I hope I'm wrong, but if I'm not then Rock on Razor, it's been great.

Dylan and Rodney are under threat with Whites arrival. Can't see us holding on to both, and at this stage Dylan has shown more this season, even though Rodney has been troubled with injury. It'll be a downer if Rodney leaves, when he first arrived he couldn't be moved in the scrum, he was an absolute rock. I wonder how much of our own coaches have to take the blame for his loss of technique?

One thing going for him is Rodney was signed as a designated project player. That assumes a kind of investment that the IRFU probably won't want to waste.

Fets has been ok, but has hardly lit the place up. It was great to see he got his first try last week, but there's something wrong when your marquee Carr replacement scores his first try 22 games into the season.

Henry is on a 1 year contract. That alone might be the deciding factor between him and Fets. While Henry hasn't impressed everyone I think he's been honest and looks to get others involved. He has more challengers in the centre though.

Edna has done his job. Whether or not you liked what he had to say on his blog that one time at least he put himself forward to reach out to the fans, rather than leaving it to an established player. I liked that.

George you will have to prise from my cold dead hands.

With two to leave, assuming no other NIE's to come in, I'd guess Ray & Rodney. Which would leave us with White, Edna, Dylan, George, Fets, Parks & Henry - assuming 6+1 still, or Henry to drop out if 5+1.

Now that Parks is sorted. What do we need next?
Which of the following do you think we need to be looking at?

A Hooker?
A number 7?
A scrumhalf?
A center?
A winger?

I'd be happy with a starting 15 next season consisting of

Wilkinson, AN OTHER, White
Swift, McCarthy
Muldoon, AN OTHER (or fully fit JOC), NAOUPU
AN OTHER, Parks
O'Halloran, McSharry, Griffin, AN OTHER/Vainikolo
Duffy

cows id be happy withflavin at hooker, always does a very good job and his lineouts are close to 100%.

fetu has time to prove himself but what has happen to mark mc crea AGAIN???? id have him at 14.
when he stopped playing he had a little injury but nothing serious

Don't know what's happening with McCrea. Or TJ Anderson for that matter. They were in the mix at the start of the season, which was when we had 3 of our 4 wins in the pro12.

I don't think they lacked effort and McCrea at least has plenty of potential (allegedly). It seems the only way onto this team is on the back of anothers injury. Fets himself didn't become a regular starter until Tuohy's leg injury.

Forcing players to always aim to take a place on merit is a fine mentality, but not very realistic. And with no 'A' team it's impossible for fringe players to play their way into contention.

I guess the problem has been that as our losing streak continued the pressure to win became more intense and the opportunity to rest players and rotate in others was something we couldn't afford.

But even from the bench we could have had TJ, Mark & Miah subbing for Kearney, Henry & Jarvis.

The A game really needs to get off the mark for getting the younger guys through.
~Theres alot of talent out there that will not get a look at a game other than AIL or Ulster bank or whatever its called.Those guys are the future and only the likes of A games will get them through and keep the other guys in the squad ticking over.