Next year would have been our 4th HEC season if the current rule was in place as far back as 2006, so swings and roundabouts.

Borders no.2 wrote: A few years back it would have been enough to get us HC qualification/play off on our own steam(ahead of Dragons).

You said it Borders!!Bit frustrating having to rely on the others to win the flipping thing.

Yeah it was weird. Munster had theirs after the Ulster game and they still have a semi to play. Maybe it's to make sure that all the players are their?

I question the logic of having an end of year awards shin dig before this match instead of after, but that's by the by.

Don't get me wrong Ummmm I'm well proud of the lads for turning around a season that was shaping up to be a car crash of epic proportions. I think that the lads didn't have their head in the Glasgow game at all and I think us relying on other results is a nasty habit to get into. They did well to get themselves in that position. It irritates me though that they switched off with one game left. If we're to push on next year we need to break that habit of relying on other teams to do us favours.

connachtexile wrote: Glad we got 8th but obviously would have done it off our own back. Lets call the season for what it was transitional and start looking forward to next year with a more settled squad.

But we did do it off our own back.

At the start of this thread we needed to win 50% of our remaining games. Considering that we hadn't managed that for a long while that was a huge task facing us.

Ok, so the final game was nothing to be proud of, but beating Ulster and winning away to Dragons were way more than I expected, so lets be happy.

Blues were too far away for us to catch, and we made life tough for ourselves at times, but we still turned a season with a 14 match losing streak around and hung on in for our best league placing.

We've done that while taking part in our first ever Heineken Cup season, which by rights should have meant we had no right to believe we could better our league position from last year.

So lets forget the final match, this is all about the overall result now.

Am happy with our season, considering it was practically a brand new team. 8th is our best ever finish and that shows that the new ethos that Eric has brought in is really taking hold.

You can count on 1 hand the matches we didn't perform in this season, usually you need both and probably a foot thrown in for good measure.

We play an exciting style of rugby that is bringing the punters back and getting us recognition in the National press, and we are bringing our own players through the system, giving us a Connacht centric core to build the team around.

Off the pitch, nobody would have believed how much an impact the Clan Terrace would have, remember the posters on other boards laughing at the mock up showing a full stand. The PGB have done a brilliant job and you can really see the pride Connacht take in their own facilities with the way the place is always gleaming these days.

Selling over 2000 season tickets before we even qualified for the HEC is a testament to how much people enjoy both the Sportsground and the team these days.

We have also made some astute signings but the pressure will really be on for us to do what Glasgow have done this season and make it to the top half of the table, competing for the play-offs. It will be interesting to see how the players and management team handle this new expectation and from what I have seen so far, I think they will be well able for it.

Thank you to everyone in Connacht Rugby and in the Clan for making it a very enjoyable rollercoaster of the season, keep up the good work.

Borders no.2 wrote: All things considered 8th is ok. Glasgow were the only other team I could see us finishing ahead of at the start of the season and they improved big time so no chance of that.

A few years back it would have been enough to get us HC qualification/play off on our own steam(ahead of Dragons). 37 points isn't great in a wc year but given the number of changes to the squad and the number of games we could/should have won perhaps not too bad. I suppose its top of the mini-league at the bottom.

However looking ahead its a fair gap to bridge to the next batch of teams.

We could probably reel in Cardiff given the drastic changes they're undergoing

If we're to bridge the gap or at least make an attempt at bridging the gap, long losing streaks must be stamped out. It's hard to see where we'll makeup all the points

All things considered 8th is ok. Glasgow were the only other team I could see us finishing ahead of at the start of the season and they improved big time so no chance of that.

A few years back it would have been enough to get us HC qualification/play off on our own steam(ahead of Dragons). 37 points isn't great in a wc year but given the number of changes to the squad and the number of games we could/should have won perhaps not too bad. I suppose its top of the mini-league at the bottom.

However looking ahead its a fair gap to bridge to the next batch of teams.

Glad we got 8th but obviously would have done it off our own back. Lets call the season for what it was transitional and start looking forward to next year with a more settled squad.

A final league finish of 8th ain't the worst considering our losing streak stretching either side of christmas.

Dragons only getting the losing bonus point against Leinster was a big decider in our final position, Edinburgh proved too strong for Treviso.

Even if the Weeg get an LBP they'll be fine for the playoffs. The bigger part will be the fact that it's the last game at Firhill and popular names like Gray are leaving.

But yes, 80 minutes non stop from everyone, and that means no cards!

For us it'll be all about patience, Glasgow have to win to secure a play-off slot. The pressure is all on them, so they'll look to get out of the blocks early. They're expecting a big home crowd this weekend on the back of the Glasgow IRB 7's tournament and they'll try to get them involved. We need to be absolutely ruthless early on, smash then in defence and take any three pointers on offer. If we can get out in front from the start it will ratchet up the pressure, they're a very decent outfit as they're consistent results testify to this season so we need an 80+ minute performance from everyone.

Will be absolutely brilliant if we can finish off for the season with four in a row, great momentum builder for next season. With the game on the telly, there are a few lads playing for tour places to NZ also.

Glasgow are seriously up for this game.

Taken from the Warriors website

A season of endeavor and progress is on the line for Glasgow Warriors on Saturday night as they seek to secure a place in the RaboDirect play-offs by beating Connacht at Firhill (kick-off 7.30pm).
Sean Lineen's team still have plenty to do to make the semi-finals, with Scarlets and Ulster hot on their heels in the race to claim the final knock-out spot alongside Leinster, Ospreys and Munster.

A draw would mathematically guarantee the Warriors passage to the play-offs, but players and coaches alike are gunning for the win that could see them climb into third place come the final whistle on a night when the club will bid farewell to Firhill ahead of the summer move to Scotstoun Stadium.

A measure of how difficult a challenge awaits Glasgow tomorrow evening is contained in the sobering statistic that they haven't beaten Connacht in the last four meetings between the teams.

Two of those games have ended in draws, most recently at the Sportsground in Galway back in February, with Connacht doing the double in last season's head-to-heads.

Eric Elwood's team are looking to secure four straight RaboDirect PRO12 wins for the first time in their history, and are determined to force a best-ever placing in the competition table.

Warriors head coach Lineen believes the match will be up there with the toughest his men have faced, telling www.glasgowwarriors.org : "There's been a lot of talk outside the camp about the various play-off scenarios, but our message to the players has been very simple.

"This will be a hugely difficult game against tenacious and confident opponents, and our minds will be focused on one thing and one thing only: doing whatever it takes to win the match.

Lineen said: "I'm looking forward to seeing Firhill absolutely buzzing one last time. With players, coaches, staff and supporters all pulling together, we're more than capable of giving the ground a fitting send-off with a win."

GLASGOW WARRIORS TEAM TO PLAY CONNACHT AT FIRHILL ON SATURDAY 5 MAY (KICK-OFF 7.30PM)
15 Stuart Hogg
14 Federico Aramburu (CAPTAIN)
13 Alex Dunbar
12 Graeme Morrison
11 DTH van der Merwe
10 Duncan Weir
9 Henry Pyrgos
1 Jon Welsh
2 Dougie Hall
3 Moray Low
4 Tom Ryder
5 Richie Gray
6 Rob Harley
7 Chris Fusaro
8 John Barclay
SUBSTITUTES
16 Pat MacArthur
17 Mike Cusack
18 Ryan Grant
19 Al Kellock
20 Calum Forrester
21 Chris Cusiter
22 Ruaridh Jackson
23 Colin Shaw

Glasgow v Connacht is on TG4 Saturday which is good to see. We won there last season but Glasgow are a different animal now. The most important thing is to end the season with a strong performance. A win would be a great finish and would set us up nicely for next season.

In the other games, Chris Paterson is playing his final game on Saturday and given everything I reckon Edinburgh will want to finish strongly at home and should beat Treviso.

Dragons away is always a tough game, depends what team Leinster put out but I'd imagine there'll be the carrot of gametime in the Rabo semi-final for those that impresss on Saturday so hopefully Leinster can do us another favour.

It will be a tough game with Glasgow trying to stay in the top 4, but if Connacht win there are no worries about what Treviso or Dragons do. It will be that much nicer if they finish on a run of 4 wins and finish 8th under their own steam.