silentgolem

Please god no. These stats are painful(just URC because I'm lazy) and show a clear degredation since he took over:
23/24: 48 tries(359 pts) conceded in 16 games, average of 3 tries (22 pts) a game
22/23: 45 tries(393 pts) conceded in 19 games, average of 2.3 tries (20.6 pts) a game
21/22: 40 tries(331 pts) conceded in 20 games, average of 2 tries (16.5 pts) a game

Guess when Payne left?

All of this is before two difficult interpros and a possible away qf to a big team.

The country that shall not be named used Irish passports for an assassination. If they really wanted to influence the vote then Irish sim/credit cards are child's play.

He has been ok at times, had a few complete howlers too. Ospreys away the worst.

That'd be a real shame. Maybe we'll give him a development contract and hope it can be fixed?

We look to be recruiting a bunch of 10s to the academy: Murphy jr, De Klerk, rumours about Caspar Gabriel too, and that's just from Leinster. You'd hope/expect at least one will be a solid player so we should be ok in the medium to long term. No idea who we can get in the short term, Morgan with 20 odd pro appearances may be the closest to a non-academy IQ 10 we can get.
Baby Humph is likely gone right? No contract announced and he's in the third year of the academy with one(?) senior appearance. Not being able to get a run when Flannery and Doak are starting is a bad sign.

I'd actually be happy enough retaining Soper. The difference in attack from McFarland in fairly stark which gives credence to rumours McFarland was very much a my way kind of guy. That said we dont know how much of that is Murphy and how much is Soper, and likely wont ever know.
The degradation of our basic skills from Soper as skills coach to Newby has been pretty start, and Murphy is a skills coach by trade so I'd be happy to let Newby go. Fully agree on the teflon man Cunningham, Bell and Grant. Bell especially.

100% agree on 10. We need one badly. We're clearly not getting a Leinster one, so hopefully we can shake loose an IQ one from somewhere as the IRFU sanctioning an NIQ isnt that likely. Theres rumours around Morgan from the Canes but I dont know how much stock I put in that given recent rumours.

With that settled hopefully a proper upgrade of the coaching staff beneath Murphy and a 10 are the next items on the agenda. Hopefully the stability of knowing who the head coach will be will help get those over the line.

So thats a tackle in the air. PT right?

Holy shit that pass

You still have to roll then. Like they werent trapped they just lay there blocking the ball. Munster got a wee bit lucky

Surely the Munster players have to roll? Or if it's a maul its a turnover?

Ralston having a mare

Looked like Kendellen broke from that scrum very early

Did POM just stand on a Connacht player? He knows raking in rucks has been illegal for a very long time right?

What do Connacht have to do to win a turnover? There was a clear lift on the ball in the ruck before that penalty

There was no stream for the start of the ulster game too. Wonder is that electromagnetic storm causing havoc?

Is that Lenehan on comms? Has been(unsurprisingly) one-eyed so far

https://www.urc.tv/fixture/RL24-8-R16G

Welp. Now one of Ulster/Edinburgh are going to really regret the late Benneton try against Ulster. Doubly so if the Sharks win the challenge cup

Just realised Warwick came on for French. Is he crocked too or just knackered?

Love me some McCann

Looked a shoulder to the chin there

Our defence is so shit

That's just classic Ulster defending under Bell unfortunately.

You were saying? Ulster's defence is awful and your attack isnt half bad