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@dregin I was only barely over last year when this year happened

@robincafolla @dregin I actually think this year was worse. 17-nil lead to watch the game drift away from them with mistake after mistake....

@michaelthebrady @dregin definitely felt worse afterwards, but just like last year it was a couple bounces of the ball in it.

Just need to get better I think - a focus on dealing with the pressure in those last minutes and still thinking and executing.

We might also look at improving our momentum into the final instead of limiting load. Maybe the time to play the B team is at the start of the year and toward the end of the season you ensure consistency by using the same smaller group.

@robincafolla @dregin our scrum is just not good enough at the top end of European rugby. First choice and definitely not our backups. It is what brought them back into the game and got them a foothold at 17-0 and a man in the bin. I would get a replacement for McBride as forwards coach personally.

To be in such a commanding and lose both finals leave mental scares at this point. The team looks brittle in the white heat of a final. Very hard problem to fix without a new coaching ticket/environment for those players.

@michaelthebrady tbh I think that's probably an over reaction given that we lost by a point.

We could do with strengthening the scrum, but I don't think that was what cost us the game.

@robincafolla @michaelthebrady Decision making from the halfbacks in the closing minutes is what killed me. Screaming at Byrne to go for the drop goal and he kept bringing it to the line. The last penalty that he went to the corner instead of posts for was maddening.

@dregin @robincafolla @michaelthebrady and then compounded that mistake by no setting a maul. Leadership failures all round

@SimonB @dregin @robincafolla this loss is no once off for this group of players and coaches. Look at the last few seasons:

-19/20 - Saracens stuffed them in the Aviva at home (destroyed our scrum and lineout)
-20/21 - La Rochelle destroyed us in France
-21/22 - La Rochelle beats us at the buzzer in France
-21/22 - Bulls destroy us in URC in the RDS
-22/23 - La Rochelle beat us after a really strong second half

Something has to change here and it is not just the players.....

@michaelthebrady @SimonB @robincafolla Nienaber should shake things up a lot.

@dregin @SimonB @robincafolla Hopefully! I feel more is needed that just that though to course correct so badly ingrained habits...

@michaelthebrady @dregin @SimonB but I just don't see bad habits beyond a certain lack of leadership in the crucial moments. We've come up against powerful teams and we haven't quite worked out the tools to beat them because we generally only get one game a year at that level.

I think next year we need to start sending the full squad to South Africa. I thought the Ulster comeback would be enough to harden the team this season, but sadly it wasn't.