Casey Returns for Connacht Tonight

What do you think? You can have your say by posting below.
If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.

Any Ponty heads on here that can elighten me on Kristian Baller?

Not even sure Baller is first choice at Sardis but still better than Cooper in the time he had.

Cooper was truly awful game time or not, carried on where he finished last season, i.e. sending Blues backwards and delivering slow ball.

A win is a win,but it was a terrible game by the Blues standards. One piece of brilliance from Lala and Parks boot was the difference. Sorry to say Cooper is not good enough for this squad with the high tempo game we play. It was slow ball from rucks and mauls, then for Cooper to crab sideways,then throw some wayward passes, his reading of the game actually affected the way we played tonight, it slowed us down, thats why Parks was under pressure for most of the game.
Hopefully we will have everyone fit next week!

Quote:

amstel
A win is a win,but it was a terrible game by the Blues standards. One piece of brilliance from Lala and Parks boot was the difference. Sorry to say Cooper is not good enough for this squad with the high tempo game we play. It was slow ball from rucks and mauls, then for Cooper to crab sideways,then throw some wayward passes, his reading of the game actually affected the way we played tonight, it slowed us down, thats why Parks was under pressure for most of the game.
Hopefully we will have everyone fit next week!

Well said

Didn't see the game but it sounds like Cooper was himself.

Hope he never plays again for the Blues.

Last confirms that he's at least only 3rd choice.

Gareth had some bad luck (with forwards legs getting in way of ball etc) and I generally thought he got the ball away quicker than last season BUT his choices and awareness of options are just as poor and I'm not sure how much it was him making Parks look like SNK last night. It was just like the start of last season (except for having a creative genius in the centre last night). It certainly shows Gareth is 3rd choice and the Ponty lad was sharper etc when he came on.

A great crowd number so a real shame the game was so poor. Not helped by the weather for sure but I think it shows we need Ceri starting at Stand off as things stand. Parks played like some feared he would do and it seemed to lead to a general 'safe' game for much of the night - I mean kicking for goal when 22-6 up with 8 mins to go! - I was glad he missed to be honest. His little kicks to 'space' (not) were very poor as well and against a great backline they would have caused us real problems.

Might well have been a good game for the team when we look back at end of season as it showed up why we have been playng so well for much of the start of the season (and end of last) and the type of game we don't want to play (IMO) + who are half-backs need to be at moment.

Daf again showed we have 4 excellent centres.

As said pity about the game but over 11,000 for a Thursday night game against Connacht in the rain and with it being on TV shows the demand is there BUT also how price-sensitive people naturally are at the moment.

Good Post Rich.

I think if we are going to persevere with Parks we need to develop a defensive plan to cover his channel like Ireland do when O'Gara is playing.

Cooper was dreadful last night, his passing was way off and he was being caught in possesion too often. Parks had an off night, this could be due to living off scraps from Cooper. The rest were OK but handling could be better, tho the ball was very slippery! I was hoping for a bonus point win, but Connacht seem to be a little stronger this season, after all they battled to a draw with Ulster last outing!!

Dare 2B Different - Dare2bBlue

Congrats on a deserved win last night. Was disappointed for a number of reasons but one that surprised me was the lack of hush for the kicker of pens/cons. Are the Swansea attendees always so disrespectful. It's a given that this happens in France but I expected more from Welsh followers of the game.
Was I wrong in this expectation of just niaive?
I note that Parks got very little more silence than Keatley did, so my issue is not borne of partisan intentions. I'm just a rugby fan with traditional values and a struggling team.

LGWT
Independent Connacht Rugby Supporters Community.

Quote:

lgwt@castlebar
Congrats on a deserved win last night. Was disappointed for a number of reasons but one that surprised me was the lack of hush for the kicker of pens/cons. Are the Swansea attendees always so disrespectful. It's a given that this happens in France but I expected more from Welsh followers of the game.
Was I wrong in this expectation of just niaive?
I note that Parks got very little more silence than Keatley did, so my issue is not borne of partisan intentions. I'm just a rugby fan with traditional values and a struggling team.

LGWT
Independent Connacht Rugby Supporters Community.

I too was disapointed with the crowd last night. Not only the noise during the kicks but the general attitude of the crowd, but that's more to do with the Cardiff Blues having so many school kids (and thier teachers/parents) attending what for many was their first game of rugby.

We went from a fantastic atmosphere against the Dragons to last nights farce.

I think the problem related to the number of free tickets given out to school children who feel this is the norm. This behaviour is not the norm from Blues supporters.

Quote:

Rich.
Parks played like some feared he would do and it seemed to lead to a general 'safe' game for much of the night - I mean kicking for goal when 22-6 up with 8 mins to go! - I was glad he missed to be honest.

I don't agree - Connacht were more than dogged in defence and more than willing to concede penalties throughout the game. It was clear that we were not going to be running in any more tries and I felt that the policy of punishing Connacht with three points each time was the right one, even though it's not the type of rugby we want to see.

Cooper was dire and Parks unremarkable but I can't believe no one has mentioned our set piece failures. Rhys Williams couldn't hit a barn door last night and our scrum was a shambles despite a very strong pack.

I can't believe it. top of the League and people are commenting on the poor Scrum Half and scrum. Surely with a 11000 crowd on a Thursday (freebies or not ) and a win putting the side top everything is rosey. Is it not?

Quote:

Nosmo King
I can't believe it. top of the League and people are commenting on the poor Scrum Half and scrum. Surely with a 11000 crowd on a Thursday (freebies or not ) and a win putting the side top everything is rosey. Is it not?

Go away ref you pest!

Quote:

amstel
Go away ref you pest!

Nice to see you think you have a right to insult people.

You realy have a problem don't you. Didn't your mother love you then? How many times do you need to be told. I am not your precious ref. You really have a fixation on the guy. Are you sure you don't harbour a fantasy for him?

Quote:

shrekogre
I think the problem related to the number of free tickets given out to school children who feel this is the norm.

I blame the teachers.

Quote:

lgwt@castlebar
Congrats on a deserved win last night. Was disappointed for a number of reasons but one that surprised me was the lack of hush for the kicker of pens/cons. Are the Swansea attendees always so disrespectful. It's a given that this happens in France but I expected more from Welsh followers of the game.
Was I wrong in this expectation of just niaive?
I note that Parks got very little more silence than Keatley did, so my issue is not borne of partisan intentions. I'm just a rugby fan with traditional values and a struggling team.

LGWT
Independent Connacht Rugby Supporters Community.

Fair point LGWT, but this is what happens when thousands of tickets are given away willy nilly to students, kids and random grown ups, the majority of whom have probably never been to a game of rugby in their life, will never return if they have to pay full price and who also think it's ok to have a football type attitude.
You may ask yourself why Cardiff are giving away thousands of tickets. That would be a very reasonable question and I have no doubt some posters on this forum would be more than happy to answer.

As for the Irish way of total silence when kicks are being taken, I actually find it to be a bit eerie. It's not natural. A bit of background noise is acceptable, but total silence is unfair to the opposition kicker.

Listen to the crowd a Raving Hill. They are not always silent for the kicker. Also all over the world, including the Republic of Ireland, a player waiting to catch a high ball is whistled at and noise is made to put him off. Why is he not afforded the same "politeness" as a kicker?

The French are not rude in making noise . That is just what they do. Like wise Munster and Leinster are quiet as are connacht. However there are other ways that Munster and Leinster intimidate oppositing players and referees. So each to their own. Cardiff were top of the league after Thursday because of what is happening on the field. The players are doing their talking. Let's hope they keep it up!

Quote:

Dim Cais

Quote:

shrekogre
I think the problem related to the number of free tickets given out to school children who feel this is the norm.

I blame the teachers.

I blame the parents. The Teachers may have something to do with it though. They take the children from the parents early in the morning and then provide a breakfast (breakfast club) They then look after the children all day providing, toilet training and some lessons. The teachers then provide an evening meal for the kids (after school club). Then late in the evening the parents or parent or gaurdian arrives to collect the children. The children are then taken to a place known as "home". There they are released onto the streets to cause mayhem. Later they return to the place called home, where they sleep. The parents, parent or gaurdian arrives back later that night to check if the kids are still alive. The next day is a repeat of the previous

Good on you Shrek.

Teachers will have 30+ kids, ridiculous targets and often work lat evenings and weekends tofit all the paperwork and planning the government make them do.
Parents usually have one, two or three kids, sometimes even two parents but it is all the teachers fault. Go figure.

For what it is worth, i think majority of teachers do a fantastic job. Yes if they were there Thurs night they should probably have got the kids to quieten down during kicks but they were also there in their own time.

Quote:

shrekogre

I blame the parents. The Teachers may have something to do with it though. They take the children from the parents early in the morning and then provide a breakfast (breakfast club) They then look after the children all day providing, toilet training and some lessons. The teachers then provide an evening meal for the kids (after school club). Then late in the evening the parents or parent or gaurdian arrives to collect the children. The children are then taken to a place known as "home". There they are released onto the streets to cause mayhem. Later they return to the place called home, where they sleep. The parents, parent or gaurdian arrives back later that night to check if the kids are still alive. The next day is a repeat of the previous

I can't disagree with you there Shrek. Some parents/guardians need a kick up the backside too. Also education has been messed about with far too much over the last 10-20 years mostly for political reasons in my opinion.

But I have to say, when I was carrying out some work in a comprehensive school in west Wales a couple of years ago the organisation didn't impress me much. The weather was a bit drizzly, so a lot of kids with obviously nowhere to go to get out of the rain at dinner time, decided it would be a good idea to mingle in the main entrance. Myself and a colleague could hardly squeeze through and there were no teachers around to kick their @#$%& out of the way.

While we are at it, I would be interested to know what Mrs Shrek thinks about this. Nothing to do with discipline, but when my son was in comp, I received a letter from the head teacher, which was sent to all parents towards the end of term, stating that she believed it was essential that every pupil should receive an award of some kind at the end of the school year. When I showed my son the letter he laughed and like me thought it was bollux. Why should a kid who is as thick as two short ones and who doesn't really give a monkeys get an award just because it's the end of the school year?

Hi Dim, re the problems at the main entrance, health and safety kicks in. When I was in school we had to brave the elements, now parents get upset if the children get wet or fall over in the mud. It becomes a school issue as responsibility for the kids from breakfast club thru to after school club lies with the teachers. Maybe a teacher wasnt present as they may have been having lunch themselves or looking after other children in the food hall Having been a chairman of governors of one school for 12 years and a vice chairman of another for 10 years, I have sat on many a panel dealing with the "blame culture".
RE your comments on rewards, the labour government did not like pupils being singled out for good work or effort. So everyone had to be rewarded no matter how Dim (play on words) or disrutive they are.

I probably wasn't clear enough Taffspick - I don't blame us for going for kicks at goal up till that point (Connacht good side needing to be put away - so right thing to do) the only one I had an issue with was the one with 8 mins to go when we were 22-6 up.

Still - kick up the backside for the team going into this weekend - and as had been said (here and by Dai) it shows something if we can play that badly and still fairly comfortably beat Connacht (as good as they are this year)