Ulster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread.

Ugo Monye spacecraft experience

awec wrote: »

So, the next Ulster coach. This weekends result pretty much sealed Anscombe's fate - he'll be gone at the end of next season at the latest. Maybe we'll announce our new man when the SH season is over later this year?

Who would ye want?

Rob Penney ? :pac::pac:

Neil3030

awec wrote: »

So, the next Ulster coach. This weekends result pretty much sealed Anscombe's fate - he'll be gone at the end of next season at the latest. Maybe we'll announce our new man when the SH season is over later this year?

Who would ye want?

Only one man for the job:

awec

I'll ban both of you for that talk.

Also moving this to the thread I meant to post it in!

Matt Sexton, anyone?

Neil3030

When is Michael Foley's contract up at the Force?

damianmcr

Are you taking all this from UAFC awec?

awec

damianmcr wrote: »

Are you taking all this from UAFC awec?

Yes!

Some of it, though the talk of Anscombe not being around for much longer is not new.

thomond2006

Give Mad Marc a job!

leonard7

would like Nick Mallett is he free? EOS shouldnt be scoffed at with that backline also

leonard7

if we are looking home grown that is

bilston

awec wrote: »

I'll ban both of you for that talk.

Also moving this to the thread I meant to post it in!

Matt Sexton, anyone?

What has Sexton done as a coach? Not a rhetorical question, I'm just wondering. He was supposedly the first choice before Anscombe. Is he an option because he is the right man for the job or because he is an ex Ulster player?

Agree Anscombe will be gone at the end of next season but not because of what happened against Saracens. JS would have done well to have gotten a result in those circumstances.

awec

I just heard his name, both now and before MA got his extension. It seems we wanted him last time.

Ugo Monye spacecraft experience

I know Anscombe hasn't won anything during his time with Ulster but he seems to be a good coach and has undoubtedly improved the province.

Is there a reason he's not having his contract extended?

stephen_n

What about Humphries? Was talk along way back that he'd be a future Irish coach.

awec

The rumours / talk is that he's not much of a "man manager" - will heavily criticise players etc.

I don't think his time has been the success that was wanted, and I think the only reason he got an extra year was to avoid another embarrassing situation like McLaughlin (i.e. us getting to the final and getting rid).

ssaye2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99dYyg3CWsM

Tox56

Ugo Monye spacecraft experience wrote: »

I know Anscombe hasn't won anything during his time with Ulster but he seems to be a good coach and has undoubtedly improved the province.

Is there a reason he's not having his contract extended?

Has he? Not saying he's a particularly poor coach but they reached a H cup final before he arrived and haven't reached that again with what I would argue is a better team. Certainly time after time their team sheet looks so good (on paper id say best in Ireland) but although they have excuses for being knocked out of the H cup this time around they were comfortably outplayed this time last season and they're currently third in the Rabo I think. Their home game against Munster and particularly against Leinster the RDS stick out where they failed to deliver what they had on paper, same story the other week against Cardiff

I said it in the match thread imagine what a coach like Schmidt would be doing with that squad

mfceiling

Hard to know with Anscombe. We went something like 17 or so matches unbeaten at the start of last year and went 6 from 6 in the HC pool this year. We've also played some brilliant stuff under him in the pro12.

However we've also played some poor games along the way and even seem to play really poorly in games we've won. Aimless kicking, passes to no one, and lack of support for attackers. How much you can blame him for that i don't know?

I fear if we don't win something in the next couple of years we could get a reputation as being gallant losers or something along those lines.

bilston

I suspect Humphreys wanted rid of Anscombe this year but that maybe the favoured replacement wasn't available. Why else a one year extension? If Humphreys and Logan were that convinced that MA was the man to take Ulster forward he would have got a two year deal.

mfceiling

bilston wrote: »

I suspect Humphreys wanted rid of Anscombe this year but that maybe the favoured replacement wasn't available. Why else a one year extension? If Humphreys and Logan were that convinced that MA was the man to take Ulster forward he would have got a two year deal.

Good point.

Wonder has humph got his eye on any particular coach who's out of contract at the end of next season?

bilston

mfceiling wrote: »

Good point.

Wonder has humph got his eye on any particular coach who's out of contract at the end of next season?

I'd be surprised if he didn't have a plan but presumably he will have a number of options.

Matt Sexton has long been admired. Mark McCall and Conor O'Shea may be possibilities if they want to go Irish, perhaps even EOS, but he may have been out of the game at the top level for too long.

Maybe there is an international coach they fancy post WC. Joe Schmidt anyone....:pac:

CIARAN_BOYLE

I heard a rumour that Humphries talked to a stormer player during the week

Any ideas?

awec

I think we've been linked to just about every player who ply their trade south of the equator.

awec

Anyway, just to summarise the UAFC gossip:

We have 5 signings, 2 already announced 3 more to be announced.

An IQ 9 who has played / is playing in France is one rumour being thrown around by more than 1 person. He can also apparently play 10, and is starting for his current club.

We have a back and a forward to come in. The back referred to isn't iHumph or O'Hagan. This comes from a pretty reliable in-the-know.

thomond2006

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

I heard a rumour that Humphries talked to a stormer player during the week

Any ideas?

Etzebeth?

awec

Brynn Cunningham and Ryan Constable were in Cape Town this week, by the way.

case885

awec wrote: »

Anyway, just to summarise the UAFC gossip:

We have 5 signings, 2 already announced 3 more to be announced.

An IQ 9 who has played / is playing in France is one rumour being thrown around by more than 1 person. He can also apparently play 10, and is starting for his current club.

We have a back and a forward to come in. The back referred to isn't iHumph or O'Hagan. This comes from a pretty reliable in-the-know.

The 9 sounds very much like james hart but he signed a new contract didnt he?

thomond2006

case885 wrote: »

The 9 sounds very much like james hart but he signed a new contract didnt he?

Yes, until 2017. Aside from that, moving to Ulster to sit on the bench would make no sense!

bilston

case885 wrote: »

The 9 sounds very much like james hart but he signed a new contract didnt he?

I thought so but it would be a great move for him. Granted he is first choice at Grenoble but he would get loads of game time for Ulster, particularly in September and November and he would be on the bench in Europe. But as you say I think he recently signed a new contract so I doubt it's him.

Ulster need to replace the tight 5 players leaving, that has to be the priority followed by a back up 10 who preferably can cover 15 and perhaps a couple of squad players at hooker and 9 although in the case of hooker hopefully the Academy will provide someone, be that Kyle McCall or Paul Jackson.

bilston

thomond2006 wrote: »

Yes, until 2017. Aside from that, moving to Ulster to sit on the bench would make no sense!

Disagree with the last bit. In terms of his Irish aspirations he would be better off on the bench for Ulster than playing for Grenoble especially as he would get a good few starts and experience from learning off Pienaar.

Might be more prudent for him to move to Leinster though if he was to return since their first choice 9s are practically pensionable now.

awec

http://www.ulsterrugby.com/News/LatestNews/TabId/149/ArtMID/793/ArticleID/1407/Ulster-Rugby-sign-prop-Dave-Ryan-from-Zebre.aspx

"Ulster Rugby have signed Irish qualified prop, Dave Ryan, from Zebre on a two-year contract.

The 27 year-old from Cork, came through the Munster Academy and played 10 times for the Munster Senior side between 2009 and 2011."


Munster fans - know anything about this lad?

Buer

awec wrote: »

Munster fans - know anything about this lad?

Not to be intentionally disparaging but he's 28 and a sub for Zebre after spending a season playing club rugby in Italy. Munster cut him loose a few years back.

He has played all of his rugby in the last 3 years at tighthead. With Lutton, Fitzpatrick, Murphy and Herbst all on the books for next season, I don't see the point of the signing at all.

awec

Yes, I'm surprised we've added another TH.

thomond2006

I thought Ryan was going to stick around in order to qualify for Italy.

He looked decent in sporadic appearances for Munster but was too injury prone.

former legend

awec wrote: »

Yes, I'm surprised we've added another TH.

I'm surprised you've added this tighthead. A very strange signing.

RobbieRuns

You can never have enough tightheads !

bilston

We are losing Court, Afoa, McAlistair and Macklin and Kyle McCall is being converted into a hooker so I suppose a few squad additions are necessary. No harm.in signing him, although I'd like to see the likes of Warwick and maybe Taylor get a run in the odd game next season.

awec

Yea, but Munster kept Archer and got rid of this guy. That worries me.

razorblunt

awec wrote: »

Yes, I'm surprised we've added another TH.

Tim Ryan's brother, I don't think either set the world alright when they left Munster.

awec

He's probably no better than what we have just let go.

él statutorio

thomond2006 wrote: »

I thought Ryan was going to stick around in order to qualify for Italy.

He looked decent in sporadic appearances for Munster but was too injury prone.

Open to correction but I thought he'd been in a few US squads as his mam is American?

The Lost Sheep

él statutorio wrote: »

Open to correction but I thought he'd been in a few US squads as his mam is American?

Was in some US squads but didn't play in any games so still eligible to play for another country.

thomond2006

awec wrote: »

Yea, but Munster kept Archer and got rid of this guy. That worries me.

Ryan was a loosehead so it's not really comparable. I suppose they saw Killer's potential and this was still when Horan and du Preez were first choice.

él statutorio

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

Was in some US squads but didn't play in any games so still eligible to play for another country.

Fair enough, I thought I had read someplace that he had declared for the US. Maybe I got mixed up.

LeeroyJones

Speaking to an American rugby fan who said Ryan was initially planning on playing for the US, but then Zebre signed him on the condition that he would become an Italian Project Player type-thing thus could not feature for the US. That's obviously gone out the window so I wonder if Joe is trying to cast as big a net as possible and get him back playing at home. Certainly down the list as of now but who knows if he gets a run.

shuffol

Very underwhelming signings from Ulster so far, nowhere near the quality of what they're losing.

CIARAN_BOYLE

If Brandon Ross is leaving he would be a perfect replacement

bilston

shuffol wrote: »

Very underwhelming signings from Ulster so far, nowhere near the quality of what they're losing.

Wiebhan Herbst is highly rated.

I don't think there will be any big names to be honest... Although Rory McIlroy tweeted a pic of him and Dan Carter the other day...

CIARAN_BOYLE

bilston wrote: »

Wiebhan Herbst is highly rated.

I don't think there will be any big names to be honest... Although Rory McIlroy tweeted a pic of him and Dan Carter the other day...

He couldn't get a Super Rugby contract for 2014, so not that highly rated.

bilston

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

He couldn't get a Super Rugby contract for 2014, so not that highly rated.

Fair enough I don't follow SA rugby, I'm only repeating what others have said elsewhere.

There probably won't be any big signings this summer, maybe next year but even then we will all be at the mercy of the French and even Premiership clubs. Just holding onto our top Irish players will be a big enough challenge as Leinster have already discovered.

ssaye2

UAFC saying 2 weeks for Payne



edit confirmed on ERC

http://www.ercrugby.com/news/28312.php#.U0VD685ZhfI

...

As there were no aggravating factors, and taking into account the player's clean disciplinary record and his exemplary conduct at the hearing, the Judicial Officer reduced the sanction by the maximum of one (1) week and imposed a suspension of two (2) weeks.

He commented that the case had been a particularly challenging one and conveyed his thanks to the Ulster Rugby representatives for the quality of their defence during the hearing.

Payne is free to play on Monday, 21 April.

Miss Connacht and Glasgow game and he will have a month of no rugby before Leinster game