Connacht V Dragons [11/12] Match Thread

Table this morning maks for wonderful reading

1  Munster 4 - 17
2  Ospreys 4 - 16
3  Connacht Rugby 4 - 13
4  Ulster Rugby 4 - 12
5  Cardiff Blues 4 - 11
6  Leinster 4 - 9
7  Scarlets 4 - 6
8  Benetton Treviso 4 - 6
9  Edinburgh 4 - 6
10  Glasgow Warriors 4 - 5
11  Newport Gwent Dragons 4 - 5
12  Aironi Rugby 4 - 5

Nice bit of a gap opening between 6th and 7th hopefully we can remain in the top half but next weekend up against the hairsprays we will have it all to do. Ulster well beaten there yesterday, a losing BP might be as much as we can get, but hopefully they will see this as an "easy" game and take us for granted.

If we do get something out of fridays game it will give us HUGE confidence to go to the RDS the following week and look for a few points, but for lets just play one game at a time and try to keep our good start going. We must keep the pressure on ourselves for the next few weeks because when the WC finishes everyone else will get a boost from the players returning..

The table does indeed look particularly attractive  ;D

I can't see the Ospreys taking us for granted. That might have been the case if it wasn't for their scare against Edinburgh. That's a trick they'll only let one team pull so early in the season and they're already forewarned.

An away LBP would still be a good result. These guys are tougher than Edinburgh and we'll still need to raise our game to threaten them. The Liberty has not been a nice place to visit over the years.

The table does indeed look particularly attractive  ;D

I can't see the Ospreys taking us for granted. That might have been the case if it wasn't for their scare against Edinburgh. That's a trick they'll only let one team pull so early in the season and they're already forewarned.

An away LBP would still be a good result. These guys are tougher than Edinburgh and we'll still need to raise our game to threaten them. The Liberty has not been a nice place to visit over the years.

That's my understanding also. It seems more than a tad unfair that we might not qualify even if we finished agead of all the Welsh, Scottish & Italian sides.

It's unfair, but it's something we've always known about. The situation as it stands is still better than the old scheme of the IRFU ignoring league standings and always sending the other three to the HEC.

With a good start to this year, excellent attendances so far (ok, only two games, but games we've more than doubled in terms of attendances in previous years) a major sponsorship deal etc we are looking like a proper team. I could see the IRFU actually wanting to get the pro12 to agree to a HEC qualification based on position only, but I can't see the other unions agreeing to it, especially the Scots and Italians who are guaranteed 100% HEC representation each year.

I think you will find that the four Welsh Regions are in the same boat as the Irish only three qualify for the Heineken Cup unless one of them wins one of the two European Competitions.

Yup, that's why I said the Scots and the Italians 

I'd say the WRU would be happy to use the Pro12 as a straight HEC qualification league as well, all 4 regions would be a safe bet to qualify that way.

But at the end of the day the Pro12 is a marriage of convenience for 4 small unions and it's the unions that are invited to the HEC, not the Pro12.

Apols Ummm, couldn't see it for looking.

Highlights here from 135 minutes in: http://www.s4c.co.uk/clic/e_level2.shtml?programme_id=499902093

Don't know if it works outside the UK.

Doesn't appear to

Cheers seapoint.

Thanks Sea Point, great to be able to see the tries

Nice tries, good interplay between TOH and Griffin.

Nice tries, good interplay between TOH and Griffin.

Its not the first time that they have linked up in creating a try, if anyone remembers us getting a hiding away against the Scarlets a couple seasons ago (April 2010 I think, sometime around the same time as the Amlin games anyways) and they worked a few 1-2's up the pitch for Griffin to score

I do as I was there in Parc Y Scarlets, it was season before last when a very youthful side was spanked by 50 points. We had three games in a week against Munster & Leinster at home and then Scarlets away. Lads were shot after the Amlin run and had managed on last brilliant hurrah against Leinster before crashing and burning agaisnt Scarlets away and conceding bones of 100 points in the two games....

Yip, that's the one, can remember catching it online on the S4C website alright. O'Halloran and Griffin are only going to get better as well, real positive stuff going forward along with all of the talent coming through from victorious U20 Connacht sides