Ulster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread.

leonard7

paddy jackson is a better 10 than marshall is a 9 imo

Hagz

leonard7 wrote: »

paddy jackson is a better 10 than marshall is a 9 imo

True. I just don't think he's at that stage yet where he would look "in place" with a Heineken Cup Champion team. But he can definitely get there. But I look at someone like Piennar and he has Heineken Cup Champion written all over him. But I suppose to get there you have to play there.

irishbucsfan

Jackson is the future. What little difference there is between Pienaar/PJ and Marshall/Pienaar is completely outweighed by Jackson's huge potential and young age. For me it's not even that much of a debate in my mind, because i think Pienaar is a better 9 than 10 as well.

I think that Marshall should be starting a lot of games though. Ulster should be looking towards a sustainable IQ halfback group in the case of Pienaar leaving.

bilston

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Jackson is the future. What little difference there is between Pienaar/PJ and Marshall/Pienaar is completely outweighed by Jackson's huge potential and young age. For me it's not even that much of a debate in my mind, because i think Pienaar is a better 9 than 10 as well.

I think that Marshall should be starting a lot of games though. Ulster should be looking towards a sustainable IQ halfback group in the case of Pienaar leaving.

Yep and Marshall has started loads of games this season.

Sinbad_NI

irishbucsfan wrote: »

...

I think that Marshall should be starting a lot of games though. Ulster should be looking towards a sustainable IQ halfback group in the case of Pienaar leaving.

Ulster should be playing their strongest available team, end off. For me that's still RP at 9 and PJ at 10. Especially if RP is going to be place kicking. Otherwise when RP leaves we'll be in a right mess.

the_doctor199

Will certainly be interesting to see who kicks for the next two HC games, seems pretty unanimous that everyone thinks Jackson had a better game without the pressure of kicking.

Hopefully Nick starts at #8 too and bring on Roger around the hour mark.

bilston

the_doctor199 wrote: »

Will certainly be interesting to see who kicks for the next two HC games, seems pretty unanimous that everyone thinks Jackson had a better game without the pressure of kicking.

Hopefully Nick starts at #8 too and bring on Roger around the hour mark.

It seemed to take the pressure of him although he was kicking at the end and still playing very well but by then there was no pressure. Its fine for now but eventually he will have to come to terms with the kicking duties.

One irony from last night is that RTE watched ROGs performance and decided it was Jacksons place in the Ulster team that was worthy of debate...

shuffol

bilston wrote: »

It seemed to take the pressure of him although he was kicking at the end and still playing very well but by then there was no pressure. Its fine for now but eventually he will have to come to terms with the kicking duties.

One irony from last night is that RTE watched ROGs performance and decided it was Jacksons place in the Ulster team that was worthy of debate...

There's that mentality among Irish commentators in particular that kicking the ball out of play for a gain of 10 metres is a good thing. That said ROG is doing the same he's always done only arguably better now than ever, its just that he no longer suits those around him, pundits will never look to him at being the issue though.

Tox56

bilston wrote: »

It seemed to take the pressure of him although he was kicking at the end and still playing very well but by then there was no pressure. Its fine for now but eventually he will have to come to terms with the kicking duties.

One irony from last night is that RTE watched ROGs performance and decided it was Jacksons place in the Ulster team that was worthy of debate...

Madigan was protected from the pressure of place kicking where possible up until this season, and his all round play has developed well because of this. In the Ulster situation it's a no brainer for me. Pienaar is not only more experienced, he is probably a better kicker. 10 doesn't need to kick, and at his age PJ should be learning how to play outhalf, not worrying about his kicking.

jacothelad

Tox56 wrote: »

Madigan was protected from the pressure of place kicking where possible up until this season, and his all round play has developed well because of this. In the Ulster situation it's a no brainer for me. Pienaar is not only more experienced, he is probably a better kicker. 10 doesn't need to kick, and at his age PJ should be learning how to play outhalf, not worrying about his kicking.

....................while learning to kick.

Tox56

jacothelad wrote: »

....................while learning to kick.

Jackson would still be kicking regularly, presumably he would be second choice behind RP? Leinster had an abundance of kickers for the last few years so the situations aren't exactly the same, and even if Pienaar took over as first choice, Jackson would be kicking a lot more than Madigan did when he was 3rd/4th choice at Leinster.

thomond2006

Provisional Ulster squad to play Glasgow, Heineken Cup Pool 4, Fri 11th January, Ravenhill (kick off 8.00pm):

Forwards (16):
Callum Black, Tom Court, Declan Fitzpatrick, Adam Macklin, John Afoa,
Rob Herring, Rory Best,
Lewis Stevenson, Dan Tuohy, Iain Henderson, Neil McComb,
Mike McComish, Chris Henry, Robbie Diack, Roger Wilson, Nick Williams.

Backs (11):
Ruan Pienaar, Paul Marshall, Michael Heaney,
Paddy Jackson,
Paddy Wallace, Darren Cave, Michael Allen,
Craig Gilroy, Andrew Trimble, Chris Cochrane, Jared Payne.

Sinbad_NI

Marshall out for 4-6 weeks...not whats needed at all.

CatFromHue

Is Payne fully fit again?

thomond2006

Sinbad_NI wrote: »

Marshall out for 4-6 weeks...not whats needed at all.

I didn't realise it was that long, damn it.

Edit: Just saw that D'Arcy fractured his ankle, that doesn't sound good.

rchendz92

Sinbad_NI wrote: »

Marshall out for 4-6 weeks...not whats needed at all.

Bad news, he's been fantastic this season and could have challenged for a 6N place. Hope he recovers soon. Good thing Paddy Wallace is in good form

Hype710

If Payne is out would it be Gilroy to 15 and Allen to the wing? Or Marshall to 9 and RP to 15? Peter Nelson must be injured too as he was named in the H Cup squad whereas Ricky Andrew is not in the squad.

ssaye

Sinbad_NI wrote: »

Marshall out for 4-6 weeks...not whats needed at all.

Thats a real pity.
Probably Darcy/Wallace for Ireland now with McSharry missing out.


Taking a leap here but I can see Kidney having Sexton 10 Rog on Bench and moving Sexton to 12 after 60 minutes and ROG in again with this injury. PJ should really be benching on form and for development and I hope im wrong.

bilston

Darn, that's really disapointing for Luke and D'Arcy. That rules Marshall out of 6Ns contention as well even if it was a long shot. Hopefully he gets his chance in the summer.

Luckily for Ulster we have Wallace so we should be fine, Wallace may have started ahead of him anyway.

The good news is the inclusion of both Tuohy and Payne but it's only a provisional squad at this stage so time will tell. But as you can see from the squad it's essential Payne is fit otherwise I think we'll probably have to put Gilroy at 15 with Allen or possibly Cochrane coming onto the wing.

rchendz92

Don't think I've watched Glasgow since we played them in the earlier HEC rounds. Are they any good this season? Where will the real threats come from?

CIARAN_BOYLE

rchendz92 wrote: »

Don't think I've watched Glasgow since we played them in the earlier HEC rounds. Are they any good this season? Where will the real threats come from?

they are out of Europe so god knows if they will make an effort or prefer to rest players for the Rabo where they are having one of their better seasons

Back three is very good Hogg Maitland DTH VDM

I suppose it depends on what team shows up

jacothelad

rchendz92 wrote: »

Don't think I've watched Glasgow since we played them in the earlier HEC rounds. Are they any good this season? Where will the real threats come from?

Ulster only scraped a win in the league at home - 18 / 10.

Glasgow have only conceded 18 tries this season. Only Ospreys and Munster have been better. So they have a really good defence.

Glasgow have scored 30 tries. Only Ulster and Leinster have scored more. So they have a potent attack.

Only Ulster and Os have a better points difference.
Only the Ospreys have conceded fewer poits - 178 to 179 - than Glasgow.

We see here a team that can score tries and not concede many points. They have been there or thereabouts for most of the last few seasons in the league.

They have developed a decent scrum and have found a tight head prop who has suddenly become very efficient.

Ulster will need to be at their strongest and most aggressive best to win this game. Any weaknesses will be exposed. Glasgow are not flashy but they are pretty good at what they do.

dtpc191991

Pity about Marshall missing the 6N the young lad was doing really well he always made nice plays in every match hes been involved in thus far.

dtpc191991

dtpc191991 wrote: »

Pity about Marshall missing the 6N the young lad was doing really well he always made nice plays in every match hes been involved in thus far.

Funny I say young lad when hes a year older than me. XD

CDM001

SUFTUM

sjwpjw

LM defended well against scarlets on friday night. saw him make a real finger type tackle - a real stretch to catch north and hold on until he got a real hold of him. wonder if that is when his finger went.

ssaye

Refs
Gauzere round 5
Owens round 6

http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/heinekencup/officials/match_officials.php?includeref=764&season=2012-2013&round=5

awec

(15-9): J Payne; A Trimble, D Cave, P Wallace, C Gilroy; P Jackson, R Pienaar;
(1-8): T Court, R Best, J Afoa, L Stevenson, I Henderson, R Diack, C Henry, N Williams;
Replacements (16-23): R Herring, C Black, D Fitzpatrick, N McComb, R Wilson, P Marshall, M Allen, C Cochrane.

Very strong starting lineup. Bench not quite as strong as usual.

andrewdcs

CDM001 wrote: »

SUFTUM

Everytime I see this I think its "STFU" and I'm all "jeez, give a guy a break!"

That's probably the form 6 7 and 8 in Europe at the moment.

Remarkable!

bilston

awec wrote: »

(15-9): J Payne; A Trimble, D Cave, P Wallace, C Gilroy; P Jackson, R Pienaar;
(1-8): T Court, R Best, J Afoa, L Stevenson, I Henderson, R Diack, C Henry, N Williams;
Replacements (16-23): R Herring, C Black, D Fitzpatrick, N McComb, R Wilson, P Marshall, M Allen, C Cochrane.

Very strong starting lineup. Bench not quite as strong as usual.

Deccie Fitz being back is a bonus.

Here's hoping for a win and no further injuries!

irishbucsfan

Diack ahead of Wilson is interesting. I've really enjoyed watching Diack play this season, so no complaints here.

thomond2006

Diack has been great this year, deserves his chance.

CIARAN_BOYLE

awec wrote: »

(15-9): J Payne; A Trimble, D Cave, P Wallace, C Gilroy; P Jackson, R Pienaar;
(1-8): T Court, R Best, J Afoa, L Stevenson, I Henderson, R Diack, C Henry, N Williams;
Replacements (16-23): R Herring, C Black, D Fitzpatrick, N McComb, R Wilson, P Marshall, M Allen, C Cochrane.

Very strong starting lineup. Bench not quite as strong as usual.

Pity Tuohy isn't fit but that just means we will get to see more of Henderson in the row. Its good that Payne is fit I was worried about the chances of Allen on the wing and Gilroy at fullback.

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Diack ahead of Wilson is interesting. I've really enjoyed watching Diack play this season, so no complaints here.

Diack is a better 6 imo when in form while Wilson is a better 8.

Sinbad_NI

Looks well capable.

.ak

Wilson is a classy 8 imo, he's just unfortunate to have Nick Williams the cannonball on the team.

ssaye

.ak wrote: »

Wilson is a classy 8 imo, he's just unfortunate to have Nick Williams the cannonball on the team.

Would love to see Nick Williams running at Gorgodze this season

.ak

I wouldn't. The fusion created from such a collision would easily create a black hole and the universe would be destroyed.

awec

So Glasgow are coming with no sub front-row.

Slightly concerning, hopefully none of their front-row get injured as uncontested scrums would suit them more than us I reckon.

bilston

awec wrote: »

So Glasgow are coming with no sub front-row.

Slightly concerning, hopefully none of their front-row get injured as uncontested scrums would suit them more than us I reckon.

Yeah but suely it would mean them playing with 14 men?

awec

Yea I forgot about that.

CIARAN_BOYLE

Low isn't fully fit but is being played anyway, he picked up. Does either Reid or Grant have experience at TH. AFAIK they are both primarily LHs. I know the referee (in HEC games) can refuse to allow front row replacements that don't have experience in that position, could go uncontested scrums early enough.

rchendz92

Love it. Sky bet have Nick Williams down as more likely to score a try than anyone on the park except Gilroy and Trimble. Beast

ssaye

rchendz92 wrote: »

Love it. Sky bet have Nick Williams down as more likely to score a try than anyone on the park except Gilroy and Trimble. Beast

Last week 3/1 anytime, easy money. Tonight 6/4 ha with PP

rchendz92

So rare to see a back row above most of the backs to score. Signing of the season, easily

RobbieRuns

rchendz92 wrote: »

So rare to see a back row above most of the backs to score. Signing of the season, easily

Could not agree more

Sindri

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeYpkY-MUHI

Ferris and Tuohy at the BT Young Scientists Exhibition. I think they entered a project.... and lost

postitnote

Nick Williams out for up to 8 weeks according to BBCNI sport on twitter!!!!

ongarite

postitnote wrote: »

Nick Williams out for up to 8 weeks according to BBCNI sport on twitter!!!!

Injury list for Ulster starting to mount up now.

postitnote

postitnote wrote: »

Nick Williams out for up to 8 weeks according to BBCNI sport on twitter!!!!

puke