Ulster v Connacht, Ravenhill KO 7:05pm, BBC2 NI

freyners

Ulster:
Ricky Andrew; Andrew Trimble, Tommy Bowe, Luke Marshall, Craig Gilroy; Paddy Jackson, Paul Marshall; Andrew Warwick, Rob Herring, Ricky Lutton; Johann Muller (capt.), Iain Henderson; Robbie Diack, Chris Henry, Nick Williams.

Replacements: Niall Annett, Tom Court, Adam Macklin, Lewis Stevenson, Sean Doyle, Michael Heaney, James McKinney, Stuart McCloskey.

Connacht:
Robbie Henshaw; Tiernan O’Halloran, Eoin Griffin, Dave McSharry, Fionn Carr; Dan Parks, Kieran Marmion; Denis Buckley, Jason Harris-Wright, Rodney Ah You; Aly Muldowney, Mick Kearney; John Muldoon (capt.), Eoghan Masterson, Eoin McKeon.

Replacements: Dave Heffernan, Ronan Loughney, Finlay Bealham, Michael Swift, Andrew Browne, Frank Murphy, Miah Nikora, Darragh Leader.

Bowe at 13 is the call that is getting most of the attention pre game. A possible contender for the Ireland 13 jersey, all eyes will be on the Bowe vs Griffin match up. Two other match ups that will determine this fixture is Marshall vs Marmion at 9 and Williams vs McKeon at 8.

Connacht haven't won in Ravenhill in donkeys years and looking at the two teamsheets wouldnt make me overly optimistic. Our front row should look to target Ulster, they have been doing damage of late and an early statement of intent could set the tone for the match. However Ulsters 2nd and back row are one of the best in Europe, even without Stephen Ferris. Faloon out for Connacht is blow, while he may have not impressed at Ulster, he was a revelation for Connacht before injury. Masterson has been an able replacement but is out of position at 7 and does not have Faloons ability to contest and slow down opposition ball

Out the backs the half backs will be crucial, Jackson will get a good test vs the very experienced Dan Parks while Marmion will have a interesting battle with Marshall, with both set of scrumhalfs noted for an ability to snipe at rucks. Whichever set of half backs have the better game could be the winning of this match as both centre partnerships can cause damage through there physicality and passing while out wide are two sets of very pacey wingers that will exploit any gaps in a defense. Henshaw has been on a roll as of late, a big game from him will be crucial to Connachts chances of success

Despite Connachts recent form and an ability to field an unchanged, winning team, this match is Ulsters to lose. Ravenhill is an intimidating ground to travel to and there will be a backlash after the defeat to Saracens. Despite the loss of Pienaar, Payne and Ferris, this is a team with lots of international experience and have a better bench to bring on. Based on recent history of this fixture even a LBP could be hard to come by but I expect this Connacht team to run Ulster surprisingly close.

on the river

Great post.



Connacht will have nothing to lose facing the Ulster men. Henshaw and Ohalloran will be provided with a strong test from Trimbe and bowe .

Upfront Muldoon will lead from the front and challenge Chris Henry.

Ultimately this night will be down to the kickers the question is can Jackson redeem himself and become a great NO.10

OR can Parks rekindle his former form when he played for Scotland.

I am going with my heart in this one Connacht by 3.

ssaye2

Ulster -13 with the bookies

Parks is past it, reclaim Scotland form, jaysus

freyners

ssaye2 wrote: »

Ulster -13 with the bookies

Parks is past it, reclaim Scotland form, jaysus

I wouldnt say hes past it yet, been on form recently and has been key to some of our wins. His place kicking has been very poor for the majoirity of the year however. In every comparable department Jackson trumps parks bar experience, if connacht are to compete that may be crucial

thomond2006

on the river wrote: »

Ultimately this night will be down to the kickers the question is can Jackson redeem himself and become a great NO.10

Jackson is a great no. 10 and doesn't have to redeem anything.

ssaye2

freyners wrote: »

I wouldnt say hes past it yet, been on form recently and has been key to some of our wins. His place kicking has been very poor for the majoirity of the year however. In every comparable department Jackson trumps parks bar experience, if connacht are to compete that may be crucial

36 next month and is very limited now, if thats not past it I dont know what is but however a long career must come to an end sometime.

stephen_n

I would expect Marmion to dominate Marshal in the battle of the scrum halves, will be interesting to see how Tommy handles the defensive capabilities, there is no question of his attacking threat but how he does against an experienced 13 like Griffin will be worth seeing. Ulster still should have too much class and I'd expect Jackson to bounce back from last week with a big performance.

Is Cave injured or just rested?

freyners

ssaye2 wrote: »

36 next month and is very limited now, if thats not past it I dont know what is but however a long career must come to an end sometime.

Age doesnt necessarily mean past it. One of the symptoms but not the main cause. Parks is certainly not the OH he was but he can still influence a game when on form, which he has been lately. Cant see him playing another season however

ssaye2

freyners wrote: »

Age doesnt necessarily mean past it. One of the symptoms but not the main cause. Parks is certainly not the OH he was but he can still influence a game when on form, which he has been lately. Cant see him playing another season however

Fair enough, just not a fan of his at all.

on the river

ssaye2 wrote: »

36 next month and is very limited now, if thats not past it I dont know what is but however a long career must come to an end sometime.

but not without one last throw of the dice.

Parks was a great servant of Scotland and his clubs.

He will play with honour in the battle of witts against the Ulstermen.

molloyjh

Playing on the streets of Belfast.....

https://mtc.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/3F8B2434DF1066361370536198144_24fd1e4c9d0.0.0.14806041549025898441.mp4?versionId=czs1F3WCpHEkw5J_j4Q0Zrqv4HYFCDUM

.ak

molloyjh wrote: »

Playing on the streets of Belfast.....

https://mtc.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/3F8B2434DF1066361370536198144_24fd1e4c9d0.0.0.14806041549025898441.mp4?versionId=czs1F3WCpHEkw5J_j4Q0Zrqv4HYFCDUM

LOL, don't even give them a training paddock.

ssaye2

on the river wrote: »

but not without one last throw of the dice.

Parks was a great servant of Scotland and his clubs.

He will play with honour in the battle of witts against the Ulstermen.

WTF?

its_phil

on the river wrote: »

but not without one last throw of the dice.

Parks was a great servant of Scotland and his clubs.

He will play with honour in the battle of witts against the Ulstermen.

Lay off the Game of Thrones a wee while.

Teferi

on the river wrote: »

but not without one last throw of the dice.

Parks was a great servant of Scotland and his clubs.

He will play with honour in the battle of witts against the Ulstermen.

its_phil

molloyjh wrote: »

Playing on the streets of Belfast.....

https://mtc.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/3F8B2434DF1066361370536198144_24fd1e4c9d0.0.0.14806041549025898441.mp4?versionId=czs1F3WCpHEkw5J_j4Q0Zrqv4HYFCDUM

They were doing the exact same thing on one of the main streets of Toulouse too!

on the river

ssaye2 wrote: »

WTF?

Connacht has made considerable progress in are facilties and in are players.

I admit we are not at the level of european greats , but at least we have pride in are jersey.

You may laugh at Connacht and the team but least show respect for the effort made in the west.

Yes Connacht has received hammering (alot of them) but they come now with new young talented players full of potential.

Connacht represents the underdog, the challenger and the fool .

Ulster may have the players and the experence but connacht has spirit in bucket loads.

Connacht has awoken from its slumber .

The west is wide awake.



Rant over.

cuculainn

on the river wrote: »

Connacht has made considerable progress in are facilties and in are players.

I admit we are not at the level of european greats , but at least we have pride in are jersey.

You may laugh at Connacht and the team but least show respect for the effort made in the west.

Yes Connacht has received hammering (alot of them) but they come now with new young talented players full of potential.

Connacht represents the underdog, the challenger and the fool .

Ulster may have the players and the experence but connacht has spirit in bucket loads.

Connacht has awoken from its slumber .

The west is wide awake.



Rant over.

WTF?

freyners

on the river wrote: »

Connacht has made considerable progress in are facilties and in are players.

I admit we are not at the level of european greats , but at least we have pride in are jersey.

You may laugh at Connacht and the team but least show respect for the effort made in the west.

Yes Connacht has received hammering (alot of them) but they come now with new young talented players full of potential.

Connacht represents the underdog, the challenger and the fool .

Ulster may have the players and the experence but connacht has spirit in bucket loads.

Connacht has awoken from its slumber .

The west is wide awake.



Rant over.

and this why drug are bad kids, m'kay:p

Loving the passion for the province OTR but tbf most of the posters here a quite supportive of connacht and want the best for the province. They show plenty of respect for the most part

I am pie

on the river wrote: »

Connacht has made considerable progress in are facilties and in are players.

I admit we are not at the level of european greats , but at least we have pride in are jersey.

You may laugh at Connacht and the team but least show respect for the effort made in the west.

Yes Connacht has received hammering (alot of them) but they come now with new young talented players full of potential.

Connacht represents the underdog, the challenger and the fool .

Ulster may have the players and the experence but connacht has spirit in bucket loads.

Connacht has awoken from its slumber .

The west is wide awake.



Rant over.

Oh we've no lack of spirit in Ulster!

Bushmills for all !

Interesting match up, hopefully a few Connacht fans are able to travel although the Friday night kick off doesn't help you. Must win for Ulster.

Ugo Monye spacecraft experience

mother of jesus this is entertaining

thomond2006

on the river wrote: »

Connacht represents the underdog, the challenger and the fool .

Whew, I'm welling up here. Seriously emotional stuff.

Fireball07

I'm actually going to talk about the game for a minute, sorry lads.


I would have thought Connacht had a big chance of causing an upset with all the Ulster players missing- but it's still a very strong Ulster pack. Front row is the one place where Connacht might be able to target. Is Masterson much of a 7? I think they do miss Heenan badly.


I'd nearly rather have the Connacht backline, looks settled at the moment, and with Parks playing a bit better, alongside Marmion who is playing brilliantly, it will be interesting- Marshall can be a liability at times.

Home advantage and an experienced pack should give Ulster the edge, but I think Connacht could give it a good rattle, certainly should be targeting a victory.

wp_rathead

I am pie wrote: »

Oh we've no lack of spirit in Ulster!

Bushmills for all !

Interesting match up, hopefully a few Connacht fans are able to travel although the Friday night kick off doesn't help you. Must win for Ulster.

There a decent crowd of us going to be in thr East Terrace
Atm Im currently on bus en route from Galway with a Buckfast comedown and a dead iPod

Zzippy

So, anyway.....

Last game vs Scarlets we coughed up a lot of possession by not protecting our own ball, not using pods, single ball carriers getting isolated and turned over. Play like that against Chris Henry and we won't have any possession to speak of. Forwards really need to front up for this and be quick to the breakdown, and solid over the ball. Our front row should have the upper edge in the scrum, but lineout is going to be a challenge, and their back row is on paper much superior. Marmion and Henshaw apart their backline looks stronger all over, and Marmion won't have much impact if our pack can't control our own ball.
Ulster to continue that long winning streak, but Connacht confidence is high with the recent results, so will really put it up to them, at least for a while. Muller is retiring soon and I expect him to inspire his team to forget last week and make amends.

wp_rathead

Fireball07 wrote: »

Is Masterson much of a 7? I think they do miss Heenan badly

He is doing an able job - but he is an academy 8 playing out of position (why Connacht fans got our backs up when he was heavily criticsed after Scarlets by RTE panel)

Faloon was goin to start but pulled up in training midweek

ssaye2

on the river wrote: »

Connacht has made considerable progress in are facilties and in are players.

I admit we are not at the level of european greats , but at least we have pride in are jersey.

You may laugh at Connacht and the team but least show respect for the effort made in the west.

Yes Connacht has received hammering (alot of them) but they come now with new young talented players full of potential.

Connacht represents the underdog, the challenger and the fool .

Ulster may have the players and the experence but connacht has spirit in bucket loads.

Connacht has awoken from its slumber .

The west is wide awake.



Rant over.

Never did that so don't suggest I did and stop playing the victim card, your misinformed posts are more embarrassing that anything else.

Ignored.

budgie001

connacht fan here, chill, on the river, chill morto

connemara man

Head says Ulster, coming of a loss like last weeks they will be smarting, there is a lot of injuries but he strength of the squad they have is showing now where we can really only say we edge it in the front row. Heart says Connacht playing well 4 tpb in a row and a settled team, not full strength with injuries in key positions and a dip when the bench comes on. you could tinker with it but when a team is playing well they should be kept together IMO unless someone is tearing it up in training. Ulster by a score or two I'd say but I can dream otherwise

Naux

Connaught will have to play very very well to have any chance.

Why no Ferris for Ulster? Injured again??

awec

on the river wrote: »

Connacht has made considerable progress in are facilties and in are players.

I admit we are not at the level of european greats , but at least we have pride in are jersey.

You may laugh at Connacht and the team but least show respect for the effort made in the west.

Yes Connacht has received hammering (alot of them) but they come now with new young talented players full of potential.

Connacht represents the underdog, the challenger and the fool .

Ulster may have the players and the experence but connacht has spirit in bucket loads.

Connacht has awoken from its slumber .

The west is wide awake.



Rant over.

on the river

wprathead wrote: »

There a decent crowd of us going to be in thr East Terrace
Atm Im currently on bus en route from Galway with a Buckfast comedown and a dead iPod

freyners

awec wrote: »

ahem

on the river

ssaye2 wrote: »

Never did that so don't suggest I did and stop playing the victim card, your misinformed posts are more embarrassing that anything else.

Ignored.

awec

It's alright lads, get the optimism on to the thread now before you take a good pasting later on.

Zzippy

awec wrote: »

It's alright lads, get the optimism on to the thread now before you take a good pasting later on.

That's fightin' talk! Hope it rebounds on ya later!

[Jackass]

I'd like to see Connacht start the first half with the intensity of a thousand burning suns and acquit themselves as though protecting the honor of their maiden.

Switch it up in the second half and arise with the spirit of several kings, with fire in their belly and tingling in their loins.

Zzippy

[Jackass] wrote: »

I'd like to see Connacht start the first half with the intensity of a thousand burning suns and acquit themselves as though protecting the honor of their maiden.

Switch it up in the second half and arise with the spirit of several kings, with fire in their belly and tingling in their loins.

"tingling in their loins"... now that's a phrase I never thought to read in the rugby forum!

freyners

Zzippy wrote: »

"tingling in their loins"... now that's a phrase I never thought to read in the rugby forum!

considering some of the posts here on some pieces of skill tingling is the leas that happens :P

wp_rathead

*tries to think of witty pun involving red wedding and red cards*

BeardySi

wprathead wrote: »

There a decent crowd of us going to be in thr East Terrace
Atm Im currently on bus en route from Galway with a Buckfast comedown and a dead iPod

hope there'll be some in the West Terrace too... it gets tiresome being a lone speck of green in the sea of red and white at this fixture!

on the river

Treadhead wrote: »

hope there'll be some in the West Terrace too... it gets tiresome being a lone speck of green in the sea of red and white at this fixture!

Don't worry reinforcements are on its way:) . Just had a pitstop in Portadown.

Ravenhill won't know what hit them.

former legend

With four games left and absolutely nothing to play for, I'm baffled as to why Connacht have selected Parks.

wp_rathead

former legend wrote: »

With four games left and absolutely nothing to play for, I'm baffled as to why Connacht have selected Parks.

Cause he has actually been playing well since the Sarries debacle

Zzippy

wprathead wrote: »

Cause he has actually been playing well since the Sarries debacle

Playing for a contract?

former legend

Zzippy wrote: »

Playing for a contract?

Hang on, is he not retiring at the end of the season?

Buer

Zzippy wrote: »

That's fightin' talk! Hope it rebounds on ya later!

I have no idea what it is but whatever is in your signature is wearing the Ulster colours!

CIARAN_BOYLE

former legend wrote: »

Hang on, is he not retiring at the end of the season?

Rumours link him with a move to ProD2

Zzippy

former legend wrote: »

Hang on, is he not retiring at the end of the season?

I heard he was looking to play on for one more season

its_phil

former legend wrote: »

With four games left and absolutely nothing to play for, I'm baffled as to why Connacht have selected Parks.

There isn't "absolutely nothing to play for". We've a very much outside shot of qualification for Europe and chance to finish in our highest position. Likelihood of finishing 6th is quite slim but may as we'll go for it and go down swinging.

7th might not mean much for supporters at the top but it's still progress for Connacht climbing from the foot of the table a few years ago and means quite a bit to Connacht supporters. Parks has been very good since Sarries and deserves to start.

on the river

Whatever Parks wants to do , Connacht will back him 100 percent.

He owes connacht nothing.

A great servant to the club and he will relish tonight as a oppountity to showcase his talent.


He is one of Connachts best adopted sons