Ed Sarraf 📝

It doesn’t feel much better today. I’m still shocked at just how badly Connacht were humiliated last night. Three defeats from five URC games, with our only two wins coming against the sides sitting bottom and second-bottom of the table. We’ve already played three of our more favourable fixtures, and any realistic ambition of securing a home knockout match has taken a serious hit. It’s certainly not where Connacht supporters expected to be heading into the November internationals. I was chatting to a former Connacht player yesterday and he was convinced we would lose. His reasoning was interesting. Over the last couple of seasons, whenever Connacht have faced a weakened second or third-string side while fielding a weakened team themselves, we’ve generally come off second best. And I think he’s onto something. Our strongest XV can compete with most teams in the URC. But take away a handful of key players and the drop-off is frightening. Leinster can field lads who probably should have been at home studying for exams and still look better organised, more physical and more comfortable with the ball than we do. That’s not just a coaching problem. It’s a recruitment, development and squad-depth problem that has been there for years. But Lancaster can’t escape scrutiny either. He’s now into his second season, with 16 wins from 32 competitive matches. A 50% win rate. For a coach who arrived with his reputation, those numbers are hardly inspiring. The Champions Cup victory over Saracens showed what this team is capable of. But how do you go from scoring seven tries against Saracens to being completely humiliated by a weakened Leinster side just two weeks later? Even last week’s bonus-point win over Zebre was deeply unconvincing. The warning signs were there for anyone willing to look beyond the scoreboard. Nobody expected Connacht to stroll past Leinster. Losing an interprovincial is one thing. Being dismantled at home by a side missing so many established internationals is something else entirely. And that’s what worries me most. Not simply the defeats, but the lack of consistency, the defensive problems and the enormous gap between our best players and those expected to replace them. Is Lancaster getting the best out of the squad available to him? Or is he discovering that Connacht simply don’t have the depth to compete when their internationals are missing? After more than a season in charge, both questions deserve answers. We’re not quite at the stage of borrowing Eamon Dunphy’s famous “He’s a spoofer, Bill!” line just yet, but another few performances like last night and we might not be far off it. 😂

TADHG FURLONG (CITING)  A Disciplinary Committee will meet on Thursday, October 29 following the citing of Tadhg Furlong (No.3) of Leinster Rugby in their match against Munster Rugby on Saturday, October 24. The Citing Commissioner in charge made a complaint about an act of foul play by the Player (Tadhg Furlong No 3) against opponent Gavin Coombes (No 8). The Player has been cited under Law 9.27 –  A player must not do anything that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship including but not limited to grabbing, twisting or squeezing the genitals. The Player will face a Disciplinary Panel via video conference, the Panel will comprise of Simon Thomas (Chair – Wales), Attie Heyns (South Africa) and Pamela Woodman (Scotland).