Connacht v Ospreys Rainbow Cup R5. Fri 4/6/21

Who are the centres coming through other than Hawkins? Brad Roderick was rather surprisingly one of the releases from the academy. Has Ruddock managed to pull anybody into the Swansea Uni link up other than Hickey and the SA tighthead?

The back three is real issue for us as we saw at Connacht yesterday. Fidow has struggled to get game time at Worcester so should be nowhere near as expensive as Cutty. Fissler in TRP today who broke the alleged Cutty approach two weekends has us also after Exeter third choice hooker Elvis Taione.

14 13 and 11 are probably on cheap enough contracts to be loaned out if we get more depth. 15 needs to go on a crash diet/training regime and lose some weight in the hope he can be a sericeable back up 15 next season. He must have put on stones from last season.

@JMG I completely agree that we are way ahead of where we used to be but last night it was our tackling and our defence that badly let us down from both forwards and backs.

When you look back to where we were when Booth arrived there are more positives than negatives. We sometimes focus on the weak links because too many will always expose you but look at the players who have emerged to become serious first 23 contenders and very good players. Protheroe Rhys Davies Will Griffiths Morgan Morris Ifan Phillips have all had tremendous seasons. Unfortunately three of our highest ceiling players Giles Lake and Harri Morgan have not been available for long periods. Garyn Phillips Joe Hawkins and Max Nagy have given brief glimpses that they look real prospects.

This was the season we got back some self respect and became a middle of the table type of side rather than the cellar dwellers we had become. We are laying foundations but if we are to kick on there has to be considerable improvement of personnel behind the scrum and additions to the coaching team. You have to continually bring in better players and coaches because the teams around us are not going to stand still.

There is a massive difference between the Ospreys now than under Tandy and Clarke. The line out maul and scrum now gives us a foundation. You are deluding yourself if you think any coaching team anywhere in the world could inherit the mess they disd and within one year turn us into regular winners.There have been good signings but they have failed to be ruthless enough with the remnants of the Tandy/Clarke squad particularly in the outside backs where they have made re-signings of players who should have been churned. There will be better players who have failed to win contracts in the pro game than some of the re-signings. Cross and Ashley were poor re-signings but the depth in the rest of the forward squad will allow us to give them the odd game against mediocre opposition and carry them. We have not got the depth in the backs to do that which makes the r-signings of Dan Evans LukeMorgan and TTW particularly disappointing. We will struggle to cover any one of those three in defence against a good side

I believe the law changed this season and you cannot roll on the ground after a completed tackle.

Our outside backs have no idea how to defend space and we give sides the outside very easily.The problem is compounded by a 15 with no pace. I don't know if the defence coach is not capable of devising a decent system or the players out there tonight are not pro standard. Could be either or both.

I don't ever recall TTW nullifying Aki and if you are right he did so 2 years ago then he must have suffered the greatest regression of any pro athlete over a 2 year period in the history of any sport because at the moment he does not look capable of nullifying a Womans' Rugby Team.

A brace of what is the problem? Moments of ineptitude that get you screaming at the tv perhaps?

@Allthewaythere One former player said he’s so daft, he doesn’t understand a lot of the calls/set pieces. He must have compromising pics of a higher up in the club, because I’m absolutely baffled as to why he plays?! I’d rather see Carson given a go.

@MD Milldew As sad as that sounds, I’m really not surprised. I put the multitude of pointless grubbers down to the fact that he has forgotten what he’s actually meant to be doing. You’ve just confirmed that for me