RIP Connacht?

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/...4265201873.html

THERE IS deep disquiet within Connacht's ranks that, yet again, the Sword of Damocles may be hanging over them following the IRFU's recent decision to permit only one-year contracts for those already on the province's books.This also follows a recent governance and operations review of the professional game within Connacht, which has either yet to be completed or the results of which have yet to be made known.

Apart from a handful of players who were already under longer contracts, it is understood the IRFU are only sanctioning one-year deals for any other players whom Connacht are looking to re-sign beyond the end of the 2009-10 season.

This is in stark contrast to the other three provinces, where most of their squads have already been signed up for next season and where the union have not applied such an across-the-board ceiling on the length of contracts.

For example, Ulster have recently signed Johann Muller and Xavier Rush, as well as home-grown players Stephen Ferris, Paddy Wallace and Rory Best, on longer deals.

What's more, Leinster have already found a successor to Michael Cheika and secured the Clermont Auvergne assistant coach Joe Schmidt on a three-year deal, and Tony McGahan has re-signed for another two years at Munster, whereas Connacht have been unable to confirm Michael Bradley's successor.

This is despite Bradley announcing his decision to stand down after seven years at the helm as far ago as early November and, on top of which, Connacht quickly lined up his assistant, Eric Elwood, as the man to replace Bradley.

However, as with player contracts, the IRFU will only sanction a one-year contract for Elwood which, understandably, has not gone down well with the province or, presumably, Elwood.

In truth, the threat to Connacht has never fully gone away ever since the IRFU considered axing the province as a professional entity in the 2002-03 season. That was only averted after the supporters rallied round the province and marched on Lansdowne Road.

Within the province, it is feared that one or two influential committee men, as opposed to the executive staff, are again looking at the possibility of saving the union an estimated â'¬2.5 million per annum by abandoning Connacht as a professional entity at the end of the 2010-11 season.

This is in light of the financing of the Aviva Stadium (the loan for which is being paid off in five years), the estimated halving of the valuation of their property portfolio in the economic downturn and undisclosed financial assistance to Ulster.

Regarding the policy to offer only one-year contracts to the Connacht players, an IRFU spokesperson last night confirmed: "That's correct," adding: "The reason behind that is that the union have conducted a governance and operations review which has only just been completed.

"That was on the basis that Connacht came to the union to ask us to look at their rugby and business model. Connacht felt that they were in an unsustainable position and asked the IRFU to conduct a review in order to create a more sustainable model to operate in.

"Pending that review the union felt it was prudent not to offer more than one-year contracts.

"Very few people have seen that review," he added, but said that it would soon be circulated.

It could be that when the results of the review are released, the purse strings will yet be loosened and contracts of more than one year will be sanctioned.

But until that happens, those within Connacht's professional ranks will remain deeply concerned.[/b]

It's not looking promising for them. Who in their right mind would agree to move to Connacht if all they're going to be offered is a one year contract?

It's very short sighted of the IRFU if they do shut down Connacht. They probably feel they aren't getting anything out of the western province and with Italian team likely to join the Magners League in either 2010 or 2011, cutting Connacht will ease fixture congestion. The downside is that it'll destroy rugby in the west which is growing massively at underage level (Connacht now have as many underage international representatives as Ulster and Munster). Abandoning them won't provide an outlet to others who are starved of gametime elsewhere - ask Ian Keatley, Sean Cronin, Fionn Carr, Jamie Hagan, Jerry Flannery, Tony Buckley, Paul Warwick, Bernard Jackman and John Fogarty if moving to Galway helped their careers.

From a selfish point of view, I hope Leinster have a long chat with some of Connacht's better players about a move to Dublin. They've some terrific schools and under 20 players who'll hugely help the academy along with players like Ian Keatley who'll benefit the squad immediately.

 

[munstermuffin]

As stated Snoop the likes of Warwick, Cronin etc all learn the trade there and improve.
Connacht probably having their best season in the Amlin going unbeaten.

Also this could damage us as a whole because if a future Cronin etccan't get a game at Munster/Leinster etc they can't go to Connacht so will move abroad and that will be problematic for the IRFU in terms of training camps etc.

Hope it doesn't get rid of Connacht as it is a vital development area of Irish game.

 

[DonBilly]

They should get rid of Connacht and Ulster while merging Leinster and Munster. This should solve the calendar issues...

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

There's no need to merge Ulster and Leinster - we're already stealing their best players. Ed O'Donoghue and Isaac Boss are all but confirmed to be moving south of the border. We'll take BJ Botha, Stephen Ferris, Paddy Wallace, Rory Best and Chris Henry next!

 

[munstermuffin]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (snoopy snoopy dog dog @ Feb 26 2010, 11:08 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

There's no need to merge Ulster and Leinster - we're already stealing their best players. Ed O'Donoghue and Isaac Boss are all but confirmed to be moving south of the border. We'll take BJ Botha, Stephen Ferris, Paddy Wallace, Rory Best and Chris Henry next![/b]

Ferris and Wallace to Munster

 

[feicarsinn]

[rant]What a load of Bullshit. Absolutley unjustifyable. It ain't Connacht's fault the IRFU finds itself in financila trouble and the hypocracy of contemplating shutting down the Connacht brach while Leinster,Munster and Ulster can all bring in players on extravagent wages. I'd be very surprised if the wagesof Doub Howlett, CJ Van Der Linder, Nathan Hines, BJ Botha and Jean DeVilliers weren't higher than the entire Connacht starting 15. Want to save money? That's how. It's supposed to be the Irish Rugby Football Union, not the Leinster, Ulster and Munster Union. I'm rightly ****** off now.[/rant]

 

[munstermuffin]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (feicarsinn @ Feb 26 2010, 12:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

[rant]What a load of Bullshit. Absolutley unjustifyable. It ain't Connacht's fault the IRFU finds itself in financila trouble and the hypocracy of contemplating shutting down the Connacht brach while Leinster,Munster and Ulster can all bring in players on extravagent wages. I'd be very surprised if the wagesof Doub Howlett, CJ Van Der Linder, Nathan Hines, BJ Botha and Jean DeVilliers weren't higher than the entire Connacht starting 15. Want to save money? That's how. It's supposed to be the Irish Rugby Football Union, not the Leinster, Ulster and Munster Union. I'm rightly ****** off now.[/rant][/b]

Well said Feicarsinn like don't get me wrong they are great player's Howlett etc and their experience and knowledge is very important.
But like money can be saved ie. If Howlett went then Johne Murphy is there now or Dowling.
Hines is keeping Toner, now EoD and well Leinster have lots of youth prospects coming through.
Like is Nacewa (well he may be important), Berne or any of them absolutely vital.
Nacewa can be replaced by Carr, Berne can be replaced by McFadden.

I know this weakens teams when Internationals are away but it saves money (& Connacht)
But I do think front-row imports are needed like Leinster would not cope without CJ & Stan Wright for years and Munster without likes of Freddie(who changed the H'Cup QF in '08) in the past Bruggernaut now is a good player and Du Preez was excellent.
Like Horan and The Bull always struggled and Ireland don't have alot of talented front row players coming through at moment.

 

[roscommon guy]

CONNAUGHT WILL NEVER DIE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[stormer2010]

What doesn't make sense to me is- who would want to sign Johan Muller?

 

[roscommon guy]

Wouldn't mind him coming over to connaught.

Would Todd Clever like to spend time on rucked hills of Galway ?

Connaught are not that bad. 1/4 of the Amlin should get to the semis and why not win it. And the race for the 2nd from bottom place in the ML is not over.

With the likes of McFadden, Jones, La Grange, Clever , Toner, McCormack, Conway, and McCrea we could do well.

 

[roscommon guy]

And GOerge Hook as head coach.

I agree with you Feicarsinn and munstermuffin we need MUNSTER and LEINSTER to help Connaught out by giving some players on a loan

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

I'll assume for a second that this is just the IRFU's way of telling Connacht to cut their cloth more effectively........

.....The Connacht squad is listed here and their academy is listed here. A lot of fat can be trimmed from the former. Adrian Flavin, Kieran Campbell, Liam Bibo, Brian Tuohy, Miah Nikora, Troy Nathan, Liam Scahill and Mike McComish are easily expendable. Others like Michael McCarthy, Mike Swift, Ray Ofisa and Robbie Morris are decent players but can be replaced by younger, cheaper options without too much difficulty. If all the above were cut and assuming the remainder of the squad stay in place, Connacht would be left with a squad and academy looking like this:

Fullbacks: Gavin Duffy, Danny Riordan, Niall Morris
Wingers: Fionn Carr, Tiernan O'Halloran, Shane Monahan, Ciaran O'Boyle
Centres: Niva Ta'auso, Keith Matthews, Aidan Wynne, Eoin Griffin, Eoin O'Malley, Kyle Tonetti
Flyhalves: Ian Keatley, Ian Madigan
Scrumhalves: Frank Murphy, Conor O'Loughlin, Mark Dolan, Adam Kennedy
Props: Brett Wilkinson, Jamie Hagan, Ronan Loughney, Conor Higgins, Dennis Buckley, James Robinson, Ronan McCormack, Darragh Hurley
Hookers: Sean Cronin, Dermot Murphy, Jason Harris Wright
Second Rows: Bernie Upton, Andrew Browne, David Nolan, Ian Nagle, Trevor Hogan
Backrows: John Muldoon, Johnny O'Connor, George Naoupu, Eoin McKeon, Shane Conneely, Thomas Anderson, Tommy O'Donnell, Paul Ryan

The above is the nucleus of a young, relatively inexperienced squad which can take them forward. In red are possible realistic targets (but it's very speculative on my part). Quite a few are members of other teams academies so a loan/contract sharing arrangement with their current province could be explored. Would the above get Connacht off the foot of the Magners League table? No but it would bring them more in line with their remit as a development province and wouldn't cost more than the current squad (probably). It's also a young squad with the potential to improve.

I don't know whether it's been tried before but if the iRB want to help emerging nations, placing players from countries like Russia, USA, Canada, Georgia, Portugal in professional clubs/provinces could be explored. Could a club signing these players be entitled to an iRB grant? If so, it would help teams like Connacht fill out their roster with decent players for little financial outlay. Just a thought, don't know how practical it is.

Also, rather than cutting Connacht, the IRFU should look to increase revenue streams so that the province can be retained. I wonder whether we'll see Ireland play tests overseas in places like Dubai (as was rumoured against South Africa). Hopefully Connacht will pull their finger out of their ass and try increase revenue on their own too. There's no point constantly asking for handouts only to sign crap players who aren't of benefit to Irish rugby. If it means they move a lot of games from the Sportsground to Athlone because it's more cost effective, so be it. The Connacht public and Galway public in particular need to get out and support their team and not organise another pathetic march on IRFU headquarters.

 

[munstermuffin]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (snoopy snoopy dog dog @ Feb 26 2010, 03:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

I'll assume for a second that this is just the IRFU's way of telling Connacht to cut their cloth more effectively........

.....The Connacht squad is listed here and their academy is listed here. A lot of fat can be trimmed from the former. Adrian Flavin, Kieran Campbell, Liam Bibo, Brian Tuohy, Miah Nikora, Troy Nathan, Liam Scahill and Mike McComish are easily expendable. Others like Michael McCarthy, Mike Swift, Ray Ofisa and Robbie Morris are decent players but can be replaced by younger, cheaper options without too much difficulty. If all the above were cut and assuming the remainder of the squad stay in place, Connacht would be left with a squad and academy looking like this:

Fullbacks: Gavin Duffy, Danny Riordan, Niall Morris
Wingers: Fionn Carr, Tiernan O'Halloran, Shane Monahan, Ciaran O'Boyle
Centres: Niva Ta'auso, Keith Matthews, Aidan Wynne, Eoin Griffin, Eoin O'Malley, Kyle Tonetti
Flyhalves: Ian Keatley, Ian Madigan
Scrumhalves: Frank Murphy, Conor O'Loughlin, Mark Dolan, Adam Kennedy
Props: Brett Wilkinson, Jamie Hagan, Ronan Loughney, Conor Higgins, Dennis Buckley, James Robinson, Ronan McCormack, Darragh Hurley
Hookers: Sean Cronin, Dermot Murphy, Jason Harris Wright
Second Rows: Bernie Upton, Andrew Browne, David Nolan, Ian Nagle, Trevor Hogan
Backrows: John Muldoon, Johnny O'Connor, George Naoupu, Eoin McKeon, Shane Conneely, Thomas Anderson, Tommy O'Donnell, Paul Ryan

The above is the nucleus of a young, relatively inexperienced squad which can take them forward. In red are possible realistic targets (but it's very speculative on my part). Quite a few are members of other teams academies so a loan/contract sharing arrangement with their current province could be explored. Would the above get Connacht off the foot of the Magners League table? No but it would bring them more in line with their remit as a development province and wouldn't cost more than the current squad (probably). It's also a young squad with the potential to improve.

I don't know whether it's been tried before but if the iRB want to help emerging nations, placing players from countries like Russia, USA, Canada, Georgia, Portugal in professional clubs/provinces could be explored. Could a club signing these players be entitled to an iRB grant? If so, it would help teams like Connacht fill out their roster with decent players for little financial outlay. Just a thought, don't know how practical it is.

Also, rather than cutting Connacht, the IRFU should look to increase revenue streams so that the province can be retained. I wonder whether we'll see Ireland play tests overseas in places like Dubai (as was rumoured against South Africa). Hopefully Connacht will pull their finger out of their ass and try increase revenue on their own too. There's no point constantly asking for handouts only to sign crap players who aren't of benefit to Irish rugby. If it means they move a lot of games from the Sportsground to Athlone because it's more cost effective, so be it. The Connacht public and Galway public in particular need to get out and support their team and not organise another pathetic march on IRFU headquarters.[/b]

Snoop that an excellent idea as it'd benefit on a playing side but also comercially which would bring revenue.

 

[roscommon guy]

Todd Clever and LaGrange from the Golden Lions would be good signings.