Updated for week 8
We're 13 points up. This is starting to get impressive

In terms of 6th place, 55,54,56 points have got 6th the last few years so that is kind of the benchmark. Its a big ask considering we have a grand total of 0 bonus points to date. We are just about on course if we repeated the first 7 games two more times but personally think that's a bit unrealistic.

However, no use looking too far down the road. We need to take the season in segments and target points from those segments.

Our immediate aim should be to get the 2 games won in November and put a bit of daylight between ourselves and Cardiff and Edinburgh and try and give ourselves a bit of an edge on Scarlets.

A bonus point against Zebre has never materialised at home, they are down a few internationals for that game so it may be a target but that can be looked at if we can get the game wrapped up. The minimum I expect in that match is that we would have it won with 10 or 15 minutes to go.

Scarlets is the big one. You need to at least break even against these sides in the head to head so a 4-0 victory could prove important further down the line.

connachta wrote: I except we're able to beat one or two of Munster/Ospeys/Ulster/Glasgow home. the rest will be BP, especially one or two in Wales during 6 nations...

Munster is do-able, especially as they'l have played Leinster 5 days previously and we'll have (hopefully) sent the under-12s to Ravenhill.

The others are against teams that will be vying for top 4 or positions within the top 4 at the business end of the season. I remember Ulster and Glasgow absolutely smashing us in similar circumstances a few seasons ago.

I except we're able to beat one or two of Munster/Ospeys/Ulster/Glasgow home. the rest will be BP, especially one or two in Wales during 6 nations...

Most that's been required for 6th place since the Italian teams joined in 13 wins, but with such a split between top and bottom we may require just that many (unless Cardiff suddenly get it together and beat Scarlets home and away over Christmas or something, which would lower the target to 11 or 12).

If we have any ambitions to finish top 6 then we have to take the home games against Treviso, Scarlets, and Edinburgh, and beat Zebre home and away. That's 10 wins, but even assuming we don't slip up in those 5 it's hard to see where the other 3 wins will come from. The run-in is horrible.

My session expired whereas I've done a worse/best situation for each match
Realistically, a result below 35 is very well possible
But with my intermidiate prediction, I've got a total of 51-54 points. 7th would be great, already

salmson wrote: You're missing the Leinster away match. What would you hope for there? LBP?

Sorry, I ignored it on purposes. I was thinking about how we'd be after playing every team once
Dont expect anything from the RDS this year personally

I don't see us getting the bonus point from Zebre, but those 3 games will define our season IMO, we absolutely have to beat Scarlets and this has to be the year we beat Munster at home.

You're missing the Leinster away match. What would you hope for there? LBP?

With four games to go before the half way point, we should be optimistically hoping for 13 points
5 vs Zebre
4 vs Scarlets
4 vs Munster
0 vs Ulster

That would put us another 8 points ahead of last season, of +20, half way through the season. Anyone not happy with that?

We are in a great league position at this stage of the season.
But bar Leinster we have not taken any point off the top teams.
After we play Zebra and Scarlets at home I think we will have a better view of how the team is performing.
Not looking forward to December but maybe we can get 2015 off to a home win against a hard working Munster team.

A big step up this season, and it's very welcome too.

ConnachtCows wrote: Updated for Week 7.
New table is in the first post on pages 1 and 2

Score for Ospreys is the wrong way round. Nice work on this btw, timely reminder that despite the horrible performances the last fortnight we're well ahead of where we were last season.

Updated for Week 7.
New table is in the first post on pages 1 and 2

As well as that its not a simple like for like comparison, Ulster had Zebre twice in the opening six games. Obviously they still managed to lose one of those games but picked up a losing bonus. Likewise Munster have played Scarlets and last year we picked up a tbp and lbp in the same match away to scarlets, there's still plenty of time to make up some points and score more tries (although I don't think we're doing badly on that front anyways).

We'd be second or third bottom based on last seasons results, but this season we're 6th
If we match last season, for the rest of the year, we'll pick up another 29 points, putting us on 47 points