Will Connacht rise to the top soon?

[QLD]

Gutsy win over Scarlets. Huge potential. Will they become a top 5 side soon?

 

[Prestwick]

Eh, they're still seen as Ireland's developmental side, right?

They're kind of like what Ohio Valley Wrestling is to the WWE..just an incubator for future talent.

 

[feicarsinn]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Dale @ Nov 1 2009, 07:26 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Gutsy win over Scarlets. Huge potential. Will they become a top 5 side soon?[/b]

Nope, at least not until they start developing some young talent of their own, get a new coach and get a fairer deal off the irfu.

 

[An Tarbh]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (feicarsinn @ Nov 1 2009, 10:32 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Dale @ Nov 1 2009, 07:26 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Gutsy win over Scarlets. Huge potential. Will they become a top 5 side soon?[/b]

Nope, at least not until they start developing some young talent of their own, get a new coach and get a fairer deal off the irfu.
[/b][/quote]

two of which are increasingly unlikely.

 

[shazbooger]

Talent and development will come through improved funding. Its all to do with the funding. The "fans" only seem to turn up when their future is threatened so they dont have a chance of funding themselves.

 

[munstermuffin]

Think thats all Connacht are capable of is big win here and there, No consistency and they have to challenge for Challenge cup do get any respect from IRFU

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (munstermuffin @ Nov 1 2009, 10:49 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Think thats all Connacht are capable of is big win here and there, No consistency and they have to challenge for Challenge cup do get any respect from IRFU[/b]

You're absolutely right. They have some very talented players who can help them pull off a big win from time to time but their squad depth is non-existant and their coaching staff has gone stale. Come the back end of the season they'll be shipping 40 points per game again.

Their best chance of development rests with the other provinces in my opinion. Heineken Cup qualification has changed so that a country gains an extra place if a team from that country wins the Amlin Cup or Heineken Cup. Leinster and Munster are live contenders to win the HC while Ulster could potentially challenge for the Amlin Cup should they qualify as a 2nd placed HC team.

If another Irish province wins a European competition, it will make Connacht more attractive to better quality players and also make them more likely to hang onto the likes of Keatley, Carr, Cronin, Wilkinson, Upton and Ta'auso. Better players = better results = bigger crowds = more funding.

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

Nope, at least not until they start developing some young talent of their own, get a new coach and get a fairer deal off the irfu.[/b]

It'll take a few years for them to develop but there are some very gifted players aged between 16 and 19 in Connacht. Tiernan O'Halloran is primed to break through sooner rather than later while Aaron Spring, Denis Buckley and Eoin Griffin are huge talents. Spring and O'Halloran seem destined for full international honours down the line.

 

[munstermuffin]

If an Irish Province win Amlin Cup will that put Connacht in H'Cup

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (munstermuffin @ Nov 1 2009, 03:34 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

If an Irish Province win Amlin Cup will that put Connacht in H'Cup[/b]

I think so but I'm not 100% certain.

 

[munstermuffin]

Hope Not for simple reason ... IRFU and Connacht Union wont have finance to Fund 4 competitive provinces in H'Cup.
I'D rather if Connacht were to get in to H'Cup it through their own work and not fortunes of others

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

It would absolutely be better for Connacht if they qualified for the Heineken Cup due to their own performances but that's not going to happen. Ulster, Munster and Leinster are way too far ahead of them.

I disagree that the IRFU don't have the finance to fund 4 pro teams. Interest in rugby in Ireland has never been higher. The IRFU recently signed a massive deal with Puma which dwarfed their previous deal with Canterbury. The Aviva Stadium has apparently already paid for itself or is damn close to achieving that feat. The Magners League itself is generating more money. All that factors into more cash being available for Connacht.

While funding Connacht will obviously place more strain on the IRFUs coffers, it's more than worth the investment. Connacht could hold onto their current playing staff, bring in about 5 quality players (I'm talking Donnacha Ryan and Fergus McFadden type of skill level) and a couple of new coaches for not much more than E1.0m extra per year. The increased exposure the province gets would lead to more sponsorship and higher gate receipts. That could come quite close to paying for the increased investment in the sport out west.

 

[munstermuffin]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (snoopy snoopy dog dog @ Nov 1 2009, 04:03 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

It would absolutely be better for Connacht if they qualified for the Heineken Cup due to their own performances but that's not going to happen. Ulster, Munster and Leinster are way too far ahead of them.

I disagree that the IRFU don't have the finance to fund 4 pro teams. Interest in rugby in Ireland has never been higher. The IRFU recently signed a massive deal with Puma which dwarfed their previous deal with Canterbury. The Aviva Stadium has apparently already paid for itself or is damn close to achieving that feat. The Magners League itself is generating more money. All that factors into more cash being available for Connacht.

While funding Connacht will obviously place more strain on the IRFUs coffers, it's more than worth the investment. Connacht could hold onto their current playing staff, bring in about 5 quality players (I'm talking Donnacha Ryan and Fergus McFadden type of skill level) and a couple of new coaches for not much more than E1.0m extra per year. The increased exposure the province gets would lead to more sponsorship and higher gate receipts. That could come quite close to paying for the increased investment in the sport out west.[/b]

But problem is Munster, Leinster & Ulster get big crowds if not sell-outs to generate their own money too where Connacht don't get anything near that.
Also another major stumbling block is would the players want to go to Connacht like Donnacha Ryan & McFadden aregoing to get chances with Munster & Leinster and eventually get in.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Players like Ryan and McFadden would be more inclined to move west if they're guaranteed gametime at Heineken Cup level. Looking at those players, Ryan is almost 26 and has three 30 year old internationals ahead of him and a couple of talented younger players coming up fast behind him. I'm not saying he will end up at Connacht but I do think that starting regularly in the Heineken Cup would be very attractive to him. Likewise McFadden who's buried in the AIL at the moment and has to get ahead of O'Driscoll, D'arcy, Berne and Fitzgerald for a shot in the centre. Does he sit on his arse waiting for his chance like Kieran Lewis did, to the detriment of his career?

Connacht won't get big crowds because they keep losing and they're left scraping the bottom of the barrel for potential players. Bad players means more bottom placed finishes and dwindling crowds. It's easy for the IRFU to justify not throwing money at them because results aren't good enough. Why throw money at a team with a losing culture in the hope that they may become strong enough to compete in the Heineken Cup?

What I'm saying is that if Connacht piggyback into the HC as a result of Ulster, Leinster or Munster's success, it would provide the IRFU with a valid reason to fund them to a greater extent. They wouldn't have had to throw money at Connacht helping them get there, rather they'd be investing money in them keeping them at that level. The IRFU wouldn't want Connacht to be humiliated in European rugby's blue ribband event. An extra E3m over three season's (as a trial period to see if they use it wisely) wouldn't break the Union and could be of immense benefit to Irish rugby in the long term almost like how the ARU began funding the ACT Brumbies to a greater extent all those years ago.

 

[MunsterMan]

I think getting rid of Bradley should be the first step. Even something as simple as promotion Elwood and bringing in Niall O'Donnovan would be huge. Call me crazy, but if I was a talented 20 year old rugby player who was getting to train with Paul O'Connell and Jean De Villier/Brian O'Driscoll and Rocky Elsom every day of the week I wouldn't jump at the opportunity to go and get beaten by 30 points for Michael Bradley every week, he hasn't got the best reputation when it comes to developing young players, and I don't see him as a great man manager.

Funding needs to be increased, they need to be able to compete pay wise with the other provinces. They need to sign Foreign players to boost morale/proffesionalsim and teach the young guys a thing or two. Guys like Ta'auso and Upton are the right kind of signings, would like to see them bring in guys like BJ Botha who definately raised the bar when it came to scrummaging at Ulster.

 

[munstermuffin]

Munsterman I think a mix of you and snoop views could be best recipe.

Bring in if possible few players of McFadden and Ryan calibre to strengthin the team but also 2/3 overseas players who have had stints in international to breed new younger players. ie. Contepomi & Sexton, Howlett helping likes of Earls but also it new inventive ideas and extra options.

But we all agreed Bradley is there too long and things getting stale.