From the BBC website:

Connacht v Glasgow (Fri)

Michael Bradley has made six changes to his side for Connacht's Magners League clash with Glasgow Warriors at the Sportsground on Friday.

Robbie Morris, John Hearty, Andy Dunne and Keith Matthews all start after coming through fitness tests on Thursday morning.

In the backs, Liam Bibo and Hearty will occupy the wing berths while Frank Murphy will start at scrum-half.

Connacht suffered a 45-3 hammering by the Scarlets last weekend.

Up front Robbie Morris starts at tighthead prop alongside Sean Cronin with Colm Rigney getting the number eight jersey.

Fit-again Ireland international Johnny O'Connor is named in the replacements.

Connacht skipper John Muldoon says Friday's game is a "massive match" for the Irish province.

"We were very disappointed with our performance away to the Scarlets and we want to correct that," said the Connacht captain.

LAST SEASON'S LEAGUE MEETINGS
5 October:

Glasgow 16-15 Connacht
30 November:

Connacht 10-6 Glasgow

"We are now in our own backyard and we want to show our fans what we can do.

"Glasgow are a very good side, they have 15 or 16 internationals in their squad, but this is one we need to win and with the crowd behind us we can do that."

Connacht players Tim Donnelly (shoulder), David Gannon (foot), Conor O'Loughlin (hip), Daniel Riordan (hamstring), Michael Roberts (calf) and Michael Swift (leg) were not considered for selection because of injury.



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Connacht (from): F Carr; L Bibo, G Duffy, K Matthews, J Hearty; I Keatley, F Murphy; B Wilkinson, S Cronin, R Morris; M McCarthy, A Farley; J Muldoon (C), R Ofisa, C Rigney. Replacements: A Flavin, R Loughney, A Browne, J O'Connor, K Campbell, A Dunne, M Deane.

Glasgow: (tbc)

From Main Site:

Not far off our best team given injuries I'd say.

Connacht:
F Carr; L Bibo, G Duffy, K Matthews, J Hearty; I Keatley, F Murphy; B Wilkinson, S Cronin, R Morris; M McCarthy, A Farley; J Muldoon (C), R Ofisa, C Rigney.

Replacements: A Flavin, R Loughney, A Browne, J O'Connor, K Campbell, A Dunne, M Deane.

How is Liam Bibo given a professional contract? I wouldn't have him playing with the OLBC 3rds on the back pitch! A winger who is slower than a prop...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008:09:18:14:48:40 by ruckin_hell.

Glasgow: B Stortoni, H O'Hare, M Evans, G Morrison, T Evans, D Parks, M McMillan, J Va'a, D Hall, M Low, O Palepoi, A Kellock (C), S Swindall, J Barclay, K Brown. Replacements: E Milligan, K Tkachuk, D Turner, Beattie, A Henderson, C Gregor, R Jackson.

"under fire" from whom?
s

Big result for us tonight.The first 30 mins were as bad as I've seen from Connacht but once we got the break for the try and worked the 2nd try very nicely we had a lead which despite our best efforts to make hard work of we held on to.

First of all full credit to the lads for keeping putting the tackles in during the 2nd half where every time we won possession either our kicking failed to find touch or was blocked down or we made a balls of it in some other way.We were lucky to get away with it on the night.Parks missed a couple of handy ones and in their sheer arrogance Glasgow had 2 shots straight in front of the posts and decided to kick to touch.The 2nd one went over touch in goal much to our relief.

The commitment couldn't be questioned and Fionn Carr was unlucky early in the 2nd half not to get a try in the corner when the ref adjudged a knock on.I thought in my biased view he had done enough and that could have made the night a lot more comfortable for us.

This is like a broken record at this stage but the ref was dire.Some of the thing he missed or ignored were unbelievable.Also stoppage time seemed to go on interminably.I'd be interested if someone knew how long it went on for I thought he'd never blow it up.

Anway for all that a win is a win.Dragons beating Ulster is dissapointing but it keeps Ulster down in the bottom and we are going to Ravenhill in a few weeks.If we are going with the business of targeting games a win in Ravenhill would be worth far more than 4 points and is well within the capabilities of this side.

Carr was excellent tonight,Hearty and Matthews put in some huge hits.Bibo did his defensive work adequatley.Keatley was playing well and I must assume he had picked up a slight knock that he came off so early.Gavin Duffy wasn't great and the blame for the first try lies with him.

In the pack Wilkinson was excellent,Cronin did well but had a burst of the yips at lineout time at a key stage in the 2nd half,Mike Mccarthy and Andrew Farley were v.good as usual and in general everone did their job in the 2nd half at least.Even Loughney wasn't bad and in the short time he was on Andrew Browne put himself about.

There is potential in this team and I'd love to see them play with a proper coach.Having said that we are stuck with Bradley.If we can get Danny,Roberts and Swift back and with the arrival of Ta'auso imminent this team is well capable of competing.

However we need to start games a lot faster than we did tonight and when we get a chance to clear our lines we need to bloody well take it.Not every team will let us off the hook like Glasgow did.

Final word being the crowd really got behind the team but there wasn't half enough there.Let's hope this win can get a crowd down for the big matches ahead.

Roll on Cardiff next week!!

Important win no matter how ugly it might have been, but the question is can they build on it. That was never the case last year. Cardiff are beatable even at the Arms Park and a little moment would be nice for when Leinster come to Galway.

What are Connacht up to on the yellow cards for the season? 5 yellows in 3 games? I know the refs have been less than stellar but this is a trend that has to be turned around. They have already knocked themselves out of the Specsavers' Fairplay League.

Besides Connacht's brutal performance last week, Galway United having a home match on the same night would have an affect on attendance. If the attendance isn't up significantly for the Leinster game there is definitely trouble.

United only had about 1400 in the ground according to the Radio, and there was about 1k in the Sportsground......

Mad that a town the size of Galway can only get 2400 out for professional sport.........

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Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.
Muhammad Ali

I actually thought the game wasn't that bad at all. The first few minutes were poor alright and Gav really messed up to concede the try but up to that point Connacht were slowly gaining the upperhand. Great try from Carr and it is great to see a training ground move work with Murphy running through the hole in the lineout even if it is a move stolen from Eoin Reddan and the Irish team. I thought Connacht showed a few glimpses of creativity, Keatley made a lovely little dink over the top in the first half and the move for Carr to almost get his try was well worked too. A lot to be positive about, all in all, at the same time if Parks had had his kicking boots on or if Gregor had gone for the sticks twice in the second half it could have been very different. Neither kicker obviously has any confidence going for the posts, we won't be so lucky with other teams.

Quote:

S_P said:
Mad that a town the size of Galway can only get 2400 out for professional sport.........

They must have been out enjoying Culture Night. You know the Galwegians and their love for the arts.

It's not often we get a break, but the signing of Fionn Carr certainly seems to be a major one. I can't remember the last time we had a back who is a quick as he is and can play, his try was the major turning point for both the players and the crowd, up to that point the body language both on and off the field was incredibly down - after it we seemed to develop a bit of belief and the crowd really got behind the team. It felt like the crowd really were the 16th man, and it was needed because Glasgow appeared to have one in yellow last night! Let's hope we can keep that fighting spirit going for the rest of the season.

Fionn Carr must remain at full back and if that means putting Gavin Duffy on the bench so be it.I can see why he might have been played out wing during his career but he offers so much from full back and his pace for the try that nearly was was electrifying and it deserved to be crowned with a try.

Carr is an exciting prospect but what pleased me was that we didn't have lots of possession but scored 2 tries and Carr was unlucky for a second and also if he was on the end of the chance that went wide to Bibo late in the first half he probably would have scored.

There is 3 big home games and 1 friendly coming up now in the near future so lets hope that this side gets the support it deserves in the coming weeks.If the commitment and creativity(at times) they showed last night for the final 50/55 mins is repeated on a regular basis then it'll be the best 20 euro you will spend all week.

So lets see all the people who can make it to the Sportsground get along to the games adn if we do that we can create the atmosphere to turn the sportsground into a fortress.

I concur with Borders. Looking at Glasgow on Friday was like looking at Connacht last year - lots of possesion but not able to do feck all with with. There's been a change however, we didn't have much possesion in this match, but we made the most of what we had. So, for next week, we need to control the kicking side of our game somewhat better. I was disappointed with Gav on Friday - hope he can get over this "blip".

Quote:

Sea_Point
United only had about 1400 in the ground according to the Radio, and there was about 1k in the Sportsground......
Mad that a town the size of Galway can only get 2400 out for professional sport.........

Where to start?
sean

IN fairness I think that Gavin Duffy was very good for us on Friday, putting his dire attempt to gather the high ball aside. The man had a huge game in defense and he was rucking like a champion. He certainly saved at least one try all by himself.
He was sin-binned for nothing really, but the ref was annoyed because the crowd were riding him and the game was a tough one to control (mainly due to his own lack of ability). I think it is totally unfair to be looking to Gavin Duffy on this. Without him on the pitch on Friday we would have lost...no doubt about it.

Hearty and Bibo both had anonymous games. I think that when we have our center options I'd have Gavin and Tua'oso in center, with Riordan and Roberts on the wings and Carr at full back.

Fair enough! I accept that there are times when one doesn't see all that a player does on the field. SUpporters in different places n the stand, can have very different views!

I thought Duffy was slack enough and I might have been unsighted but I think the try he saved was caused by his mistake but as pointed out it depends where you are to see different things.I agree on dioms choice of wingers once fit.The big choice for me is Matthews or Duffy in the centre.Matthews was very solid in defence the last night.At least now we can all see some semblance of a backline developing.We'll have to see how Ta'auso works out.

I have to say I thought Gavin made some very high profile mistakes on Friday. The one that lead to the Glasgow try was the most obvious, but towards the end he also had a very dodgy kick blocked down in our own 22, which Bibo (I think) did well to recover from. I also noticed a few missed tackles, but then again, they spent most of the game defending so maybe that it to be expected.

Fionn Carr was very impressive. The run he made for the try that was disallowed was something else - he showed great pace. I can see why Bradley was looking to try him out on the wing in the pre-season, but he does look more comfortable at full back. Hopefully Mike Roberts can recover from his injury sooner rather than later.

Unfortunately it doesn't appear to be just a "blip" for Gavin. He as not played consistently well for the full 80 minutes since he returned from last year's RWC. The good always seems to be accompanied by the bad. He'd better improve over the next handful of games or he will find himself on the bench when Tua'oso is ready to go.

I like diom's choice for backline going forward but I wonder if it would give up to much in defense.

Maybe I have been blinded by past loyalties...but surely Duffy is only as suspect as many others for mistakes on Friday. I think EVERYONE had a kick or two blocked down, including Matt Mostyn and Eric Elwood. Joking aside, the game was rife with errors, from nearly everyone, and we were just very lucky with the poor rate at which glasgow took advantage.

As for Gav in center, I think that we would be a lot stronger with him there defensively. Gavin gets himself in trouble by trying to run around after other people mistakes and not playing in his given position (evidence Friday night going for the high ball). I think that if he was told firmly to stay at center that he'd do well, and with Tua'oso beside him it would give our midfield a physical presence that has been sorely lacking for a long time. My worry about Gavin would be his natural reluctance to release the wingers.

Matthews is a good player as well and I'm more than willing to give him a go if the Duffy as center experiment looks to be dodgy.

Gav is certainly giving his best efforts even if they are sometimes a bit erratic, seems to be a confidence player. a couple of try's for him from centre and we could see a wole new Gav.

I am happy overall with his input from centre and believe it will get better with game time. Agree that Friday night was not his best proformance in a connacht shirt but everyone has off days.

I think Gav needs to be played in one position, and to be told that this is where his future lies and let him focus on working on the specific skills required. He's talented but being shifted every odd week will not do his confidence any good. If Carr is doing the business at, he should be let stay there (Gav even when he got a long run was way too inconsistent). Duffy has the physique and hands to do a very decent job in midfield, he just needs to commit mentally to it though...

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Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.
Muhammad Ali

I'd agree that centre is where Duffy and the team should direct his focus especially with Carr coming on at FB.

I say again
UNDER FIRE FROM WHOM?
s
they only way he will be going if he dies there!
s