Player ratings – Connacht lack killer instinct against Sharks

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Sometimes supporting Connacht is about separating the result from the performance of the team. That can work both ways. We often see losses paired with good performances and then sometimes we see wins that are paired with poor performances.

Last night Connacht achieved a bonus point win over the Sharks on a windy and wet night in Galway. The score line read 24-12 and during the week we all wanted a win and ideally a bonus point win and we got that as fans.

Credit has to go to the players and coaches for that. They knew a win was needed or else the season was more than likely over and the stepped up and won.

The Sharks didn’t come to Galway to play rugby and they were atrocious in that first half. Playing against a team like that isn’t as easy as you would think. Connacht dealt with that well in the first half and did what they had to do.

The second half of last night’s game was unfortunately for Connacht very predictable. I knew and I am sure a lot of Connacht fans knew, Connacht were not going to kill this game off and be ruthless.

Once Cathal Forde scored his second try, Connacht stopped playing. They let a Sharks team that didn’t want to be there back into a game they shouldn’t have been in competitively.

The question is what does this keep happening? Is the answer bad game management? Is it a lack of leadership? Is it a mindset issue? I don’t know the answers, but I have noticed a lack of leadership, in my opinion, this year especially. Bundee normally is that loud voice but even this year when he has played, he seems quitter than normal.

Whatever it is, they need to fix as it is the reason Connacht leak points at times and why they are not further up the table.

Players ratings

1.       Dennis Buckley – The scrum was dominated by the Sharks in the first half and Connacht were lucky not to get pinged more about it. He was up against some big bodies but not his best night. 6/10

2.       Shane Delahunt – Throwing was great on a night where it was far from easy. Picked up a yellow in the second half which was harsh in my opinion. He didn’t return after that. 7/10

3.       Finlay Bealham – Not the Viking’s best night in a Connacht jersey. At the scrum the Sharks were dominant, and the ref seemed to be pointing the finger at Finlay. He did link up nicely in open play which is an underrated part of his game. 7/10

4.       Oisin Dowling – picked up an injury early and was replaced by Prendergast. Hopefully not a bad injury. 6/10

5.       Darragh Murray – The man with the mullet continues to impress. Plays with a fearlessness of youth and has bags of potential. Nice touch donating the mullet to a good cause. He will steal your line out and your heart. 8/10 Please click here to donate https://www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/DarraghMurraysHairDonation

6.       Josh Murphy – Big game from Josh. He brings a steeliness to the pack and a bit of bite that can be missing. Huge turnover in the second half when Sharks looked to be building. 8/10

7.       Conor Oliver – Back to his best tonight. Was ferocious on defence and bagged himself a try also. Love how vocal he is on the pitch and that’s something Connacht can lack. Connacht’s most impactful player on the night for me. 9/10

8.       Shamus Hurley-Langton – I am sure he worked hard and carried well but I don’t remember seeing too much of him during the game. Not sure if he is Connacht’s answer to the number eight jersey, probably better suited to the 6 jersey. 6/10

9.       Kieran Marmion – Good game from Kieran. He always pushes the tempo and rarely makes the wrong decision. If he does leave at the end of the season, he will be a huge loss. 7/10

10.   Jack Carty – A game of two halves for Jack. First half was good and looked a bit more confident. Second half he tried to do too much and made some bad decisions. As captain he didn’t show the leadership required to kill that game off. Not going to criticize his kicking as it was a small hurricane. 7/10

11.   Mack Hansen – He is Connacht’s X factor and produced some magic for Cathal Forde’s fist try. He got involved in a lot of work as always and makes Connacht better every time he plays. 8.5/10

12.   Cathal Forde – I asked for a big game from Cathal, and we got it. He is a talented player and did all the small things right. Worked hard all night and was rewarded with two tries. Both tries came from him working hard.  Was nice to have him as a left footed kicking option also. 8.5/10

13.   Tom Farrell – Another impressive performance from Tom. Always a carry and off load threat and defensively made some big hits on some big physical Sharks players. 8/10

14.   John Porch – Much more like it from Porch. As always, he’s an absolute energizer bunny and never stops working. Chases kicks better than anyone in the league and was much more involved in the attack this week. 7/10

15.   Tiernan O’Halloran – Overall a solid game from Tiernan. On a night where safe hands were a huge asset, Tiernan was solid under a spiralling ball. Didn’t make any bad decisions and finished off the nicest Connacht strike play this season so far. 7/10

16.   Dylan Tierney-Martin – Made an impact as soon he came on. Great young talent and a dead eye at line out time. 7/10

17.   Jordan Duggan – Scrum seemed to improve when the front row was replaced. A huge boost of confidence for Jordan as he continues to progress in his career. Very physical player who loves to get stuck in. 7/10

18.   Dominic Robertson-McCoy – Scrummed very well when he came on and tackled well. You can see him getting better and better every time he plays. 6/10

19.   Leva Fifita – A game which suited Leva down to the ground. A monster of a man who could live with the Sharks physicality. He doesn’t feature as often now which could be a sign he is leaving but a big asset to have for when big teams come to Galway. 6/10

20.   Cian Prendergast – Came on earlier than expected and as always got through a mountain of work. As always, my only criticism is he gives away too many silly penalties. 7/10

21.   Caolin Blade – Came into a very sloppy game and at a time where the pack was on the back foot so a hard game to impact on. 6/10

22.   Conor Fitzgerald – Not much to say about Conor as he came into a game that had very little structure and was petering out. I would like to see him more involved because of his kicking abilities. 6/10

23.   Byron Ralston – Similar to Fitzgerald, came into a game that was sloppy. Has shown that he is capable of battling however and a very useful asset for Connacht going forward. 6/10

Player of the match – Conor Oliver

Referee:

Adam jones took charge of this one. My main frustration with Adam was not implementing the new law changes for speeding up the game. The Sharks were slow at rucks, line outs and scrums and it was clear they wanted a slow and stop start game. Jones had the power to change that and didn’t.

Connacht coaches:

Overall, pretty good. Like I said earlier, playing against a team like the Sharks yesterday was not easy. They took some minor chances with selection and believed in a fairly young and inexperienced front row bench, and it paid off. They deserve credit for sticking with Darragh Murray and rewarding his play. Still some questions regarding full back but Tiernan had a decent game last night so fair play to him, but I still don’t see a plan for when Tiernan isn’t available or moves on from the club.

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