Ulster v Northampton 6pm Ravenhill

duckysauce

peno saints game over

Fireball07

Absolutely mangled the Ulster scrum there. Ever since Mujati came on, they've been well on top.

Utopia Parkway

Turning into a bit of a disasterous weekend for Ireland.

awec

Ah well, we were going to lose eventually. Worried about the bowe situation by the sounds of it on here.

Hopefully a bit of a backlash is shown next Friday.

duckysauce

tits to that

Irlandczyk

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

Turning into a bit of a disasterous weekend for Ireland.

True, especially given last weekend showed a lot of promise. Munster burying Sarries tomorrow would be a consolation at least though.

mfceiling

awec wrote: »

Ah well, we were going to lose eventually. Worried about the bowe situation by the sounds of it on here.

Hopefully a bit of a backlash is shown next Friday.

+1

thomond2006

At least Hartley isn't there to enjoy this with that bloody smug head on him. That is a genuine consolation.

Fair play Saints, it's a big thing to beat a team that haven't lost all season after getting hockeyed last week at home.

irishbucsfan

Not good for Leinster

Irlandczyk

thomond2006 wrote: »

Hartley isn't there to enjoy this with that bloody smug head on him.

Thank f**k.

Tox56

Wide open H Cup this year, the two teams in best position are probably Clermont and Ulster, and in the last 2 weeks both sides have looked fallible. Toulouse and Leinster both lost today, the two runner-up spots are up for grabs, and there isn't really a clear favourite to win the thing.

cloneslad

Gutted after that display and then the injury to bowe too!! Poor handling throughout, it was so frustrating!

If ulster beat win at home with the bonus and lose away with the bonus we'll finish on 21 which is not good for Leinster.

Though I'm hoping we win our next two games and Northampton lose at home to castres, Dylan Hartley can then fook right off!!

leonard7

starting to wish dylan hartley had played, wouldve meant we'd have a period against 14 men at least

Fireball07

leonard7 wrote: »

starting to wish dylan hartley had played, wouldve meant we'd have a period against 14 men at least

And his replacement was pretty good.


Made the break that led to their try and all, if I'm not mistaken?

OisinS94

Disappointing loss.... not used to losing in a while lol.

Am sure we'll bounce back though.

mfceiling

A loss will do no harm.

Pressure of being unbeaten is off now and maybe a touch of complacency had set in (maybe??).

Time to focus on winning the next game and not to dwell on tonight's loss - all good teams will lose games - it's how they respond to those losses that define where they are headed.

Bowe didn't look to be in much discomfort (serious bit of straw clutching here)...

I suppose when you're on a run like Ulster were and you win the first part of a double header so convincingly away, a bit of you does think that we'll manage to get the job done at home and you drop your guard.

Dissapointing defeat. It leaves Ulster with no room for error now if they want to guarantee a home quarter final which is vital for them imo.

The good thing for Ulster is that this will kill a lot of the hype stone dead, there will be no more unbeaten record talk, its how Ulster react over the next month that will show what they're made of.

leonard7

if you had asked ulster if theyd be happy with 6 points from the head to head before last weekend im sure they wouldve said yes

bilston

Really disappointed. I suppose we're still in a very strong position but still not a good night. We'll need to win in Castres now to too the group in all likelihood.

Irlandczyk

bilston wrote: »

Really disappointed. I suppose we're still in a very strong position but still not a good night. We'll need to win in Castres now to too the group in all likelihood.

Could be worse... could be in Leinster's position

Sinbad_NI

Pity they couldn't claw back at the end... still in the drving seat in the group buta big game in France to come, no better time to get an win over there.

jacothelad

Yes, two fairly kickable penalty misses and one long range effort that needed a bit of wind to help it, Tommy Bowe landing badly when he could have scored and Trimble not making a tackle cost us the game. Kicks get missed. Ask Brock James and Sexton. Players miss tackles in rugby. Trimble should have known to go low on the guy. Didn't. Hey ho.

I've kept well clear of the over-exuberance regarding the teams performances. I've really enjoyed them but you can't win every game. The one thing that the very best sides need - especially to win games in which the team is not playing well - is a top line goal kicker. It doesn't matter what the number is on his back but for the last three seasons Ulster have lost a load of games by missing vital kicks. Paddy Jackson is a real prospect and he is coming on well but if he can't make his kicks and someone else can the solution is obvious. Ulster's kicking coach is just one of the boys - Neil Doak. he's a good coach but there are specialists in this area. When you watch guys like Parra, Elisalde, Dominguez and Yachvilli etc they all have / had very simple, relaxed, effortless styles. They won/win games that otherwise would have been lost by kicking well under pressure.

If Ulster really want to dine at the top table they need an 85%+ kicker, not a 50% guy. Either get one or make Jackson or Luke Marshall into one. Adam D'Arcy was a deadly place kicker in Oz but there is hardly a spot for him most weeks. Most of the rest is in place.

I hope Bowe's injury isn't as bad as it looked. A hyperextended knee can damage ligaments, cartilage and other stabilizing structures in the knee. A limited hyper-extension will only take a few weeks but a more serious one involving ligament damage could be 6 to 9 months. Tommy will then miss the 6Ns and the Lions tour.

Digifriendly

Thought the crowd gave Nigel Owens a rough time but generally thought he had a decent game.