Ulster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumour Thread II

Utah_Saint

well at least The Ulster Ravens A have the same game plan as the senior step. Aimless and getting beat.

The decline at Ulster over the past 4 year has been unbelievable. Murphy (former brumbies prop) is on the bench for Ulster A??!!

bilston

Utah_Saint wrote: »

The decline at Ulster over the past 4 year has been unbelievable.

Surely you mean in the last year and not 4 years?!

Utah_Saint

bilston wrote: »

Surely you mean in the last year and not 4 years?!

Actually I meant to write 2years....

Our world domination plan is on course... Id be shocked if kiss makes any real difference. We don't have the players. Not sure if even Eddie jones could do it

bilston

Utah_Saint wrote: »

Actually I meant to write 2years....

Our world domination plan is on course... Id be shocked if kiss makes any real difference. We don't have the players. Not sure if even Eddie jones could do it

As far as the first team is concerned we just haven't replaced Court, Afoa, Muller and Ferris. Van Der Merwe has done fine, Henderson when he plays 6 can certainly fill the boots of 1F but is exactly a like for like for player. Muller's leadership and the two props are huge losses. Plus our back row is two years older and even Ruan maybe isn't quite the force he was (still better than most).

2014 was our big chance and we didn't take it for a number of reasons.

We need to rebuild but unfortunately I don't see the players in the Academy or the A team.that are.coming through. There are two or three backs that might make it but up front we are struggling big time and that is where we need players.

jacothelad

bilston wrote: »

As far as the first team is concerned we just haven't replaced Court, Afoa, Muller and Ferris. Van Der Merwe has done fine, Henderson when he plays 6 can certainly fill the boots of 1F but is exactly a like for like for player. Muller's leadership and the two props are huge losses. Plus our back row is two years older and even Ruan maybe isn't quite the force he was (still better than most).

2014 was our big chance and we didn't take it for a number of reasons.

We need to rebuild but unfortunately I don't see the players in the Academy or the A team.that are.coming through. There are two or three backs that might make it but up front we are struggling big time and that is where we need players.

A team that has in effect no back row wins sod all. Even the scrum has become crap.
How can that happen over a summer break? It looks like a team that has lost all focus and belief. It reminds me of what happened to the team at the end of '06 and into '07 when despite quite a few good players it just was individuals rather than a team. Also Ulster already have 12 players out with injury and some - like Bowe - are out for the season.

bilston

jacothelad wrote: »

A team that has in effect no back row wins sod all. Even the scrum has become crap.
How can that happen over a summer break? It looks like a team that has lost all focus and belief. It reminds me of what happened to the team at the end of '06 and into '07 when despite quite a few good players it just was individuals rather than a team. Also Ulster already have 12 players out with injury and some - like Bowe - are out for the season.

Bowe is out for the season? Jeepers. That might be the end of him...certainly as a first choice...

Aye hopefully Kiss can bring a bit of order, but yes I can see the similarities with 06/07, albeit we aren't that bad (or maybe the rest of the league isn't as good).

It is hard to be optimistic. I can only hope we sign a top drawer back row for next season, preferably a No.8 and somehow keep VDM as well. It would mean 4 NIQs but I can't see us being competitive otherwise.

MJohnston

I think that's Bowe's time in a green shirt done anyway, but who knows?

mfceiling

MJohnston wrote: »

I think that's Bowe's time in a green shirt done anyway, but who knows?

If there's a plus there it's that gilroy will get a great chance to cement his place on the wing.

bilston

MJohnston wrote: »

I think that's Bowe's time in a green shirt done anyway, but who knows?

Even at Ulster he will be up against it with Trimble, Gilroy and Piatau competing with him next season.

If his time with Ireland is over I hope he comes back and gives us a big season next year. It hasn't quite wored out for him since he came back and it is a bit annoying that his best club years were probably with the Ospreys.

Still he will still be an important squad member.

bilston

The Kingspan has the atmosphere of a library by the sounds of things.

Ulster 0-3 Cardiff after 4 mins

bilston

Great offensive "D" from McCloskey

bilston

Some nice touches from Trimble early on.

Utah_Saint

I'm pretty sure I could get a start on this ulster team. They've been completely doaked....

Utah_Saint

Big mac breaks the gainline everytime. Dead cert for 6n

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Utah_Saint wrote: »

Big mac breaks the gainline everytime. Dead cert for 6n

At FB.

bilston

Utah_Saint wrote: »

Big mac breaks the gainline everytime. Dead cert for 6n

Aye he has been impressive. Strong defensively as well.

I was thinking is there an element of Doak being a dead man walking. The Ulster squad aren't playing for him because they know he is about to be replaced?

Utah_Saint

bilston wrote: »

Aye he has been impressive. Strong defensively as well.

I was thinking is there an element of Doak being a dead man walking. The Ulster squad aren't playing for him because they know he is about to be replaced?

Maybe, although he'll still be there as a coach

irishbucsfan

Utah_Saint wrote: »

Maybe, although he'll still be there as a coach

He'll be head coach, right? He's still going to be very influential.

Utah_Saint

irishbucsfan wrote: »

He'll be head coach, right? He's still going to be very influential.

He'll be coaching the backs at very least

This ref is not allowing any comp at the breakdown!

Utah_Saint

Ref clearly doesn't understand how to ref a maul going backwards

bilston

Anyone see Paddy Jackson's post match interview?

He was talking about injuries and he made reference to injuries to "Tommy and Hendy and stuff"

Henderson????

bilston

So last night.

Lots of aimless kicking again, kicking is fine if it is accurate and the chase is good, otherwise it is just terrible to watch.

Our clearing out was poor. Players were getting pinged for being lazy and clearing out from the side, and then players were getting pinged for holding on because the player clearing out couldn't before their job...pathetic...

Also we need to engage the brain sometimes, the first instinct is to kick even if there are opportunities to run the ball. One moment in the second half summed it up, Jackson moves the ball off a scrum just outside our 22, he throws a miss pass to young Arnold who runs onto it, uses a bit of footwork, makes the break, offloads to McCloskey, suddenly we are 40 metres down the pitch by keeping the ball in hand. Prior to that 4 on 3s were being turned down in favour of the default setting of the kick. Let's see more exploitation of opportunities. Chances will be few and far between against better opposition.

Some players went well, Williams was generally excellent, Trimble was hungry and looking sharp which was great to see and McCloskey continued his good start to the season. Arnold, while not setting the world alight, definitely looks at home at this level already and is clearly a big hope for the future.

One thing, how on earth was the Cardiff player not given a red card for his challenge on Gilroy. The referee was pretty good but for me that was a red card. I agree with the YC rather than red for Turnbull as the incident with Marshall was clearly an accident, however where is the consistency? Luke Marshall got a 6 week ban for an accident last season which involved a boot to the face. I'm not saying he should but all things being equal Turnbull will be cited for that...if there is consistency that is...

Utah_Saint

bilston wrote: »

So last night.

Lots of aimless kicking again, kicking is fine if it is accurate and the chase is good, otherwise it is just terrible to watch.

Our clearing out was poor. Players were getting pinged for being lazy and clearing out from the side, and then players were getting pinged for holding on because the player clearing out couldn't before their job...pathetic...

Also we need to engage the brain sometimes, the first instinct is to kick even if there are opportunities to run the ball. One moment in the second half summed it up, Jackson moves the ball off a scrum just outside our 22, he throws a miss pass to young Arnold who runs onto it, uses a bit of footwork, makes the break, offloads to McCloskey, suddenly we are 40 metres down the pitch by keeping the ball in hand. Prior to that 4 on 3s were being turned down in favour of the default setting of the kick. Let's see more exploitation of opportunities. Chances will be few and far between against better opposition.

Some players went well, Williams was generally excellent, Trimble was hungry and looking sharp which was great to see and McCloskey continued his good start to the season. Arnold, while not setting the world alight, definitely looks at home at this level already and is clearly a big hope for the future.

One thing, how on earth was the Cardiff player not given a red card for his challenge on Gilroy. The referee was pretty good but for me that was a red card. I agree with the YC rather than red for Turnbull as the incident with Marshall was clearly an accident, however where is the consistency? Luke Marshall got a 6 week ban for an accident last season which involved a boot to the face. I'm not saying he should but all things being equal Turnbull will be cited for that...if there is consistency that is...

Summed up perfectly....kicking over running and offloading is the same criticism we had of the ire team. If we would just try to keep it in hand for a few phases gains can be made.

Your man Bert bacarack was brought in to coach the breakdown....we actually seem worse than last year!

bilston

Some chat on uafc that we will still have 4 NIQs and not 3 as previously thought. We know two of them will be Pienaar and Piatau, I hope the other two are forwards, preferably back rows!

CIARAN_BOYLE

bilston wrote: »

Some chat on uafc that we will still have 4 NIQs and not 3 as previously thought. We know two of them will be Pienaar and Piatau, I hope the other two are forwards, preferably back rows!

I saw mention of 3+2 for Ulster somewhere else. supposedly 2 backrows coming in. 1 marquee and 1 project.

Herbst being near qualification is a mitigating factor

Scythica

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

I saw mention of 3+2 for Ulster somewhere else. supposedly 2 backrows coming in. 1 marquee and 1 project.

Herbst being near qualification is a mitigating factor

Can we start a rumour that Pocock is coming to Ulster and maybe see how it develops?

Utah_Saint

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

I saw mention of 3+2 for Ulster somewhere else. supposedly 2 backrows coming in. 1 marquee and 1 project.

Herbst being near qualification is a mitigating factor

Yes the rumor is we have 2 back-rows coming in....as Ciaran has mentioned..

Prob Rocky Elsom and some reserve from an ITM Cup team with an O' or Mc in their second name....:)

Utah_Saint

Scythica wrote: »

Can we start a rumour that Pocock is coming to Ulster and maybe see how it develops?

Until very recently I never knew Pocock was so vertically challenged for a back-row. Hooper likewise. Maybe that's the key to their turnover success? Small, compact, lower center of gravity but incredibly strong.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Is Bowe the only Irish born Ulster player who is from Ulster but not Northern Ireland? Just wondering as you can see people appearing at other provinces from counties you wouldn't normally associate with rugby.

Utah_Saint

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Is Bowe the only Irish born Ulster player who is from Ulster but not Northern Ireland? Just wondering as you can see people appearing at other provinces from counties you wouldn't normally associate with rugby.

Yeah think so...

RuPi

Whitelock and Vito were names I heard at Ravenhill on Friday. Would be surprised if both came, if you got one you would be happy.

awec

Sam Whitelock?

Yea right. Someone living in dreamland there. Dan Carter in for 10 and Steffon Armitage signing too. :pac:

irishbucsfan

Scott Fardy.

He would be a great fit for Ulster in a position they badly need help and he lives in Canberra so surely Ulster can attract him over.

aimee1

bilston wrote: »

Anyone see Paddy Jackson's post match interview?

He was talking about injuries and he made reference to injuries to "Tommy and Hendy and stuff"

Henderson????

Maybe the and stuff is to do with guys being given a week off after rwc who had built up gametime.

Heaslip is in nyc currently going by his facebook posts

jacothelad

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Scott Fardy.

He would be a great fit for Ulster in a position they badly need help and he lives in Canberra so surely Ulster can attract him over.

Well, the ship was built here.

MJohnston

Annoying news about Henderson:

Tommy Bowe
Tommy sustained posterior cruciate ligament and meniscal injuries to his right knee during the Rugby World Cup quarter final against Argentina. He had successful surgery to repair the damage yesterday and he will be ruled out for at least six months.

Iain Henderson
Iain will undergo surgery later today to stabilise a joint in his hand, which was also injured in the Argentina fixture. He will be of action for approximately six weeks.

Jared Payne
Jared's fractured foot was stabilised through successful surgery. Ulster Rugby is awaiting his first post-operative review, after which a prognosis will be known.

Payne's injury sounds like 15-20 week range, I reckon?

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

MJohnston wrote: »

Annoying news about Henderson:



Payne's injury sounds like 15-20 week range, I reckon?

Trimble missed nearly an entire season with a toe injury, would assume a foot injury will be as long.

awec

Bye bye McCafferty Cup hopes. :mad:

bilston

Bowe and Payne we can replace with Gilroy and Cave so while it's a blow it is controllable.

However no Henderson for Europe is a disaster.

This season is looking like a write off. I just hope we stay in touch in the league and sneak into the Play Offs.

Edit - Potentially Hendy could be back for rounds 3 and 4 in Europe so can we miracle 8 or 9 points from our first two games without him?

MJohnston

bilston wrote: »

Bowe and Payne we can replace with Gilroy and Cave so while it's a blow it is controllable.

However no Henderson for Europe is a disaster.

This season is looking like a write off. I just hope we stay in touch in the league and sneak into the Play Offs.

Edit - Potentially Hendy could be back for rounds 3 and 4 in Europe so can we miracle 8 or 9 points from our first two games without him?

Oyonnax maybe (they're a bit of an unknown to me tbh), but I'd be surprised if we get anything from the Sarries match. He'll be cutting it very close for the Toulouse matches too.

awec

Losing to Saracens again is more than I can bear.

Without Henderson though we have pretty much no chance.

bilston

The only hope is that we are at home to Sarries.

To be honest, and I say this without much knowledge of Oyonnax, I see no reason to think we can win there given how bad our away form is.

We could easily be gone by round 2. Hopefully Kiss, plus Best, Henry, Pienaar, Jackson and Cave make a profound difference to our us away from Kingspan.

aimee1

awec wrote: »

Losing to Saracens again is more than I can bear.

Without Henderson though we have pretty much no chance.

John lacey is declaring himself french so he can ref this one.

thomond2006

Oyonnax is very winnable. A decent team got absolutely murdered at Toulon at the weekend who were missing many RWC players. They have only 1 win in 6 and if it continues they may need to focus on the Top14.

mogwai81

thomond2006 wrote: »

Oyonnax is very winnable. A decent team got absolutely murdered at Toulon at the weekend who were missing many RWC players. They have only 1 win in 6 and if it continues they may need to focus on the Top14.

Very physical battle between Eamonn Sheridan and Stuart McCloskey

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

RuPi wrote: »

Whitelock and Vito were names I heard at Ravenhill on Friday. Would be surprised if both came, if you got one you would be happy.

I know these names were only rumours but Vito is on the Hurricanes squad list for 2016, and Whitelock is on the Crusaders one. Both released yesterday.

bilston

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I know these names were only rumours but Vito is on the Hurricanes squad list for 2016, and Whitelock is on the Crusaders one. Both released yesterday.

I have no ideas if those names are accurate or not (I hope they are!!). However playing Super rugby in 2016 wouldn't stop them joining a NH team for 2016/17.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

bilston wrote: »

I have no ideas if those names are accurate or not (I hope they are!!). However playing Super rugby in 2016 wouldn't stop them joining a NH team for 2016/17.

Oh, I thought they were being talked about as coming in now when the WC is over.

Utah_Saint

still no word on Olding's progress?! I believe he had a meeting with the specialists last Thursday. Hopefully they update us soon.

https://instagram.com/p/9ZZvWaup3Z/

looks like a serious unit though.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

This is from 3 weeks ago. Only a quick sprint but looks good.

https://instagram.com/p/8dzlTpSQ3k