Are London Irish still better than Connacht?

Ozzy3213 wrote:As a London Irish fan this is a very interesting question. The answer I guess could depend on how you define 'better'.

It is fair to say that with the pool of players available to us we have underperformed this season, and I would imagine that a match between us and Connacht would be a close affair on current form.

I have the impression with Connacht that Eric Elwood is building solidly and trying to improve them on and off the field, and is succeeding with small steps being taken all the time. At London Irish this season there has been no improvement and there have been off field issues and question marks raised about Toby Botth's stewardship of the club. Since the return of Brian Smith there is a different atmosphere around the place and I believe that he has already made some astute signings who could do very well for us next season. I am not overly concerned about any of this seasons leavers, as none are palyers who have set the world alight this season and as others have stated we have good youngsters coming through who will benefit from this years experiences.

Off field, I think the London Irish 'brand' is still bigger than Connacht although through a lack of Irish players in recent years means that it may have lost some of it's draw with the exiled community in and around London. I know that this is something that Brian Smith is also looking to address.

I don't think there is any real answer as to who is 'better' of Connacht and London Irish to be honest, but both look to be trying to make improvements to 'better' themselves. Hopefully both will be on an upward curve next season and will have better seasons than they have this.

formerly known as Sam wrote:

You're comparing apples and oranges there Sam. You can't compare a league game to a one-off, must win HEC game.

Do you seriously believe Exeter are better than Clermont?

It's a pointless comparison.

Nope just an idication of the quality Exeter can manage. Small name but big team performances. It was in reply to the assumption that Exeter would not accomplish the same level of performance in the Rabo as they would in the AP.

beshocked wrote:Profitius it's not really a fair comparison because Exeter have been a lot more successful than Connacht this season.

Exeter did well in the Amlin and have really exceeded expectations in the AP.

Sticking to the London Irish vs Connacht argument is probably fairer because the form has been similar.

rodders wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:

You're comparing apples and oranges there Sam. You can't compare a league game to a one-off, must win HEC game.

Do you seriously believe Exeter are better than Clermont?

It's a pointless comparison.

Nope just an idication of the quality Exeter can manage. Small name but big team performances. It was in reply to the assumption that Exeter would not accomplish the same level of performance in the Rabo as they would in the AP.

All that is is an assumption, and a pretty pointless one imo.

If Exeter can beat the Tigers home and away you could make the assumption that they have the quality to do well in the Rabo, likewise you could assume that Connaght would take quite a few scalps at home if they were in the AP.

We'll never know though.

Ozzy3213 wrote:Golden

I know that he has been actively looking at Irish qualified players. O'Leary has been signed for next season and I believe that there are other Irish players being spoken to. Other than that I do not know what else is in the pipeline or indeed what else could be done in order to raise the 'Irishness' of the club again.

Golden wrote:I think the point that trying to be made was that Exeter are similar to Connacht in that they are/were a small lower table team and have done really well in growing into a very competitive team which is exactly what Connacht are trying to do. I dont think he meant that Connacht are at the same standard as Exeter.

Golden wrote:I think the point that trying to be made was that Exeter are similar to Connacht in that they are/were a small lower table team and have done really well in growing into a very competitive team which is exactly what Connacht are trying to do. I dont think he meant that Connacht are at the same standard as Exeter.

profitius wrote:Didn't Edinburgh beat LI twice in this seasons HEC? Of course Edinburgh put all their eggs in one basket this year and are second last in the Rabo league. Last if you leave out the weak Aironi team.

Gone are the days when teams didn't have to take the Rabo seriously. Nowadays its more competitive than given credit for and thats why Edinburgh are second last.