Ulster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumour Thread II

former total

ULSTER (v Exeter Chiefs): Charles Piutau; Louis Ludik, Darren Cave, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale; Brett Herron, Ruan Pienaar; Callum Black, Rob Herring (capt), Rodney Ah You, Peter Browne, Franco van der Merwe, Robbie Diack, Clive Ross, Roger Wilson.

Interesting that it's Piutau at FB and Ludik at wing.

bilston

It is interesting.

What we want to know is what happens when Piutau and Payne are both available. I suspect the answer may not be that pleasing to some. It will probably have ramifications for Ireland too.

launish116

bilston wrote: »

It is interesting.

What we want to know is what happens when Piutau and Payne are both available. I suspect the answer may not be that pleasing to some. It will probably have ramifications for Ireland too.

Piutau wing & Payne Fullback

Really wish some new back rowers were blooded first! and a new scrum half!

mfceiling

Fairly strong team there.

bilston

Let's be honest we all know that Piutau will get injured (probably his ACL) in the next couple of months, so there probably won't be a debate over Payne or Charles at 15....

launish116

still no sign of lorcan dow either

bilston

launish116 wrote: »

still no sign of lorcan dow either

Lost 25-19.

Rob Lyttle with 2 tries, Stockdale with the other.

bilston

launish116 wrote: »

still no sign of lorcan dow either

Lost 25-19.

Rob Lyttle with 2 tries, Stockdale with the other.

launish116

bilston wrote: »

launish116 wrote: »

still no sign of lorcan dow either

Lost 25-19.

Rob Lyttle with 2 tries, Stockdale with the other.

Chiefs had a live text feed, from a glance seems like score flattered us! They seeme to dominate and we held on by our nails. 2 tries in last 10

bilston

launish116 wrote: »

bilston wrote: »

launish116 wrote: »

still no sign of lorcan dow either

Lost 25-19.

Rob Lyttle with 2 tries, Stockdale with the other.

Chiefs had a live text feed, from a glance seems like score flattered us! They seeme to dominate and we held on by our nails. 2 tries in last 10

Ah I wouldn't worry about it. How strong a team did Exeter have out? (apparently we aren't allowed to call them the Chiefs anymore...)

The fact Rob Lyttle scored twice gives an idea of how strong our side was that finished the match. Although the starting backline was pretty strong.

Next weekend will give us a better indication of where we are at.

bilston

So two teams in action this evening at Kingspan.

The A team kick off at 5.15 against Canada A.

15 David Busby
14 Conor Kelly
13 Mark Best
12 Rory Butler
11 Aaron Cairns
10 Johnny McPhillips
9 Angus Lloyd
1 Kyle McCall
2 Zack McCall
3 Craig Trenier
4 Kieran Treadwell
5 Alex Thompson
6 Nick Timoney
7 Conall Boomer
8 Stephen Mulholland

16 Adam McBurney
17 Tommy O'Hagan
18 Michael Lagan
19 Peter Cooper
20 Alistair Burke
21 Aaron Hall
22 Marcus Rea
23 Jonny Stewart
24 Andy Magrath
25 Conor Field

I'm looking forward to hearing how these guys get on. The front row looks useful. Trenier supposedly impressed for a struggling Ballynahinch side last year and we'll learn a bit more about Treadwell and Timoney I guess. Boomer is an interesting one, he spent some time with the Brumbies academy last year and I think played one game during the JWC. I don't know a lot about the starting backs apart from McPhillips. Mark Best's name has cropped up a bit during pre season.

There may be some stars of the future on the bench. Adam McBurney, Marcus Rea and Jonny Stewart are all tipped to do good things in their career.


As for the seniors

15 Charles Piutau
14 Louis Ludik
13 Darren Cave
12 Stuart McCloskey
11 Rob Lyttle
10 Brett Herron
9 Paul Marshall
1 Andrew Warwick
2 Rob Herring
3 Rodney Ah You
4 Peter Browne
5 Franco Van Der Merwe
6 Robbie Diack
7 Clive Ross
8 Roger Wilson

16 John Andrew
17 Callum Black
18 Ross Kane
19 Alan O'Connor
20 Conor Joyce
21 Matthew Rea
22 Dave Shannahan
23 Sam Windsor
24 Jacob Stockdale

The back row doesn't inspire but what else can we do? You could maybe shift Browne to 6, and O'Connor into the row with Diack at 7 or something, but it's not really sustainable. It's why I'd love to see Boomer or Timoney really stand out for the As just to give us another option.

We'll get a better idea of what Herron can offer, but bless him, he is outside Wee P!

Rob Lyttle gets a start after two tries last week, check them out on Youtube, his second was quite an effort, albeit he should have passed it! Still good to see the Ulster backs factory isn't letting up its production levels, although surprisingly looking at the A team I'm more excited by some of the forwards than backs in terms of the future.

bilston

Game on youtube.

Ulster 7-0 up after a Ludik try.

I'm liking this kid Rob Lyttle a lot. He is even taking the kicks at goal

bilston

Piutau!!

bilston

Touchline conversion from Lyttle. Seriously where has this guy come from!

17-0 to Ulster

Sinbad_NI

Dry weather rugby is entertaining.
Enjoying this game.

Scythica

Enjoying the commentary from the guys on YouTube!

bilston

Scythica wrote: »

Enjoying the commentary from the guys on YouTube!

More enjoyable than the professionals

Sinbad_NI

Oh Charles. You'll do for me. WOW.

bilston

Wow

That was seriously good

bilston

Final score 29-19.

I honestly didn't see that coming when I saw the two line ups.

Piutau was obviously the standout, that run and offload for Stockdale's try was just something we have probably never seen from an Ulster player before. Rob Lyttle went well in the first half and his goal kicking was a pleasant surprise, he looked very comfortable and I'd start him ahead of Stockdale next week. That said the most encouraging thing was the scrum. Rodney was rock solid and carries well, and Ross Kane did well in the scrum too. It was a bit of a cameo but Mattie Rea looks like he might be a handy squad player to have this season.

Good win.

jacothelad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7DCpniTsQU

The Piutau / Stockdale try is at 2.06. It is so good I laughed out loud.

molloyjh

jacothelad wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7DCpniTsQU

The Piutau / Stockdale try is at 2.06. It is so good I laughed out loud.

Saw it earlier. Insane offload.

swiwi_

jacothelad wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7DCpniTsQU

The Piutau / Stockdale try is at 2.06. It is so good I laughed out loud.

Yes yes jaco. High fallutin' offloads, scoring tries, making breaks. But did he clear out rucks?

case885

swiwi_ wrote:

Yes yes jaco. High fallutin' offloads, scoring tries, making breaks. But did he clear out rucks?

He's no Dave Kearney that's for sure

swiwi_

https://youtu.be/SBBgxyWg-_w

Try and 2 try-assists one of which was above international standard...

former total

Yeah it was alright, s'pose.

Ulster are going to have to play this guy at full back.

thomond2006

The quality on paper of a fully fit Ulster backline is frightening. It's still a pity Rory Scholes was lost to feckin' Edinburgh.

bilston

thomond2006 wrote: »

The quality on paper of a fully fit Ulster backline is frightening. It's still a pity Rory Scholes was lost to feckin' Edinburgh.

Hopefully he comes back but (admittedly on the basis of two pre season games) Rob Lyttle looks a serious prospect on the wing and Stockdale is looking good too.

Up to now I've been thinking Payne at 15 with Piutau and one from Trimble and Bowe on the wings, but I think FT is right. Charles has to play 15. What that means for Payne is unclear. He would probably move to 13, (I think there will be less objection to him there now that we have Charles) but then that means TWO of Marshall, McCloskey and Olding miss out.

In a roundabout way the main winner in all of this is Rob Kearney!

Sinbad_NI

There'll be plenty of injuries during the season unfortunately.... as well as internationals.

Lots of opportunities for them all.

thomond2006

Ruan Pienaar leaving at the end of the season.

http://www.ulsterrugby.com/news/15138.php#.V8aGufkrJdh

I'm not on board with any player leaving due to a 'succession policy' unless there's a player ready to step up. Is there one at Ulster? In any case Pienaar will be 33 next summer so probably won't have many years left. His rumoured destination is Montpellier, where there are loads of South African players.

awec

Sigh. I dunno who we will sign, 9 is going to be a seriously weak link.

Tarf1234

In fairness we are very short on scrum halves in Ireland and having Pienaar there is not/has not helped that.

RobbieRuns

Was that wee Paul who was doing a celebration jig on the telly last night in Belfast?

greg090

awec wrote: »

Sigh. I dunno who we will sign, 9 is going to be a seriously weak link.

Michael Heaney or John Cooney.

molloyjh

Peinaar is in his 7th (?) season with Ulster now. In that time Munster have brought through Murray (and, eh, Williams). Leinster have developed McGrath and Cooney plus are bringing through guys like McCarthy and Rock. Connacht have developed Marmion and Blade. They've had more than enough time to develop a scrum half of reasonable quality just like the other provinces. They haven't. At some point they have to carry the can for it. There are over 2 million people in Ulster. They should be able to find/develop a decent scrum half in there somewhere.

errlloyd

I don't think Pieenar is the reason they haven't found one. It's not as if he's always been there - he's usually missing a chunk of the season. Ulster have always had incentive to find someone else.

awec

2 million people only a fraction of who play rugby.

It's disappointing. Pienaar showed loyalty to Ulster two years ago when Toulon came knocking.

We tried to develop Shanahan but he just isn't good enough. We had Marshall who just isn't good enough. We cannot magically come up with a 9 and it's such a critical position that anyone not up to scratch will drag the whole team down.

greg090

molloyjh wrote: »

Peinaar is in his 7th (?) season with Ulster now. In that time Munster have brought through Murray (and, eh, Williams). Leinster have developed McGrath and Cooney plus are bringing through guys like McCarthy and Rock. Connacht have developed Marmion and Blade. They've had more than enough time to develop a scrum half of reasonable quality just like the other provinces. They haven't. At some point they have to carry the can for it. There are over 2 million people in Ulster. They should be able to find/develop a decent scrum half in there somewhere.

Leinster have yet to develop a good scrumhalf this century.. look at the need to sign a project player at the position FFS.

Johngoose

Will Ulster win their game at the weekend,the bookies have them at -14.

awec

Johngoose wrote: »

Will Ulster win their game at the weekend,the bookies have them at -14.

Yes, will definitely win and should hit the spread.

molloyjh

awec wrote: »

2 million people only a fraction of who play rugby.

It's disappointing. Pienaar showed loyalty to Ulster two years ago when Toulon came knocking.

We tried to develop Shanahan but he just isn't good enough. We had Marshall who just isn't good enough. We cannot magically come up with a 9 and it's such a critical position that anyone not up to scratch will drag the whole team down.

You're not being asked to magic someone up. You've had 7 years to develop one. In that time every other province has developed at least 1, if not more. And Ulster has the second largest catchment area in the country. At some point you have to start looking at your Academy and wonder what they are doing wrong. Because clearly they are doing something wrong. Rather than be frustrated with the IRFU for not helping to cover up Ulsters shortcomings in the area you should start looking at the development structures in Ulster and asking why are they not doing better.

Buer

thomond2006 wrote: »

Ruan Pienaar leaving at the end of the season.

http://www.ulsterrugby.com/news/15138.php#.V8aGufkrJdh

I'm not on board with any player leaving due to a 'succession policy' unless there's a player ready to step up. Is there one at Ulster? In any case Pienaar will be 33 next summer so probably won't have many years left. His rumoured destination is Montpellier, where there are loads of South African players.

I know I suggested this needed to happen before and was met with some objection but it really is high time. He has delivered everything he can at Ulster and is at an age now where his contribution is going to diminish significantly. He's already far less influential than he was 3-4 seasons ago.

His departure will free up a decent chunk of money. Ulster should be looking hard at recruiting an IQ scrum half and developing internally. At most, a project player should be brought in but I would be surprised if they were permitted.

Ulster could be badly hindered next season now if they can't identify an IQ scrum half to bring in.

irishbucsfan

greg090 wrote: »

Leinster have yet to develop a good scrumhalf this century.. look at the need to sign a project player at the position FFS.

If Ulster were to sign a project player at the position then they'd be doing their bit. They never did.

In saying thay, a lot of Leinster fans moaned when the same thing happened to us, let's remember. Nathan Hines wasn't allowed to sign and a lot of Leinster fans threw their toys out of the pram, despite the IRFU being completely right (even if maybe not great in how they handled it).

molloyjh

greg090 wrote: »

Leinster have yet to develop a good scrumhalf this century.. look at the need to sign a project player at the position FFS.

That depends on what you label "good" I suppose. I'd class both McGrath and Cooney as "good". McCarthy is looking good too and Rock has a good bit of potential from what I've seen of him.

awec

Buer wrote: »

I know I suggested this needed to happen before and was met with some objection but it really is high time. He has delivered everything he can at Ulster and is at an age now where his contribution is going to diminish significantly. He's already far less influential than he was 3-4 seasons ago.

His departure will free up a decent chunk of money. Ulster should be looking hard at recruiting an IQ scrum half and developing internally. At most, a project player should be brought in but I would be surprised if they were permitted.

Ulster could be badly hindered next season now if they can't identify an IQ scrum half to bring in.

I am unaware of any IQ 9 who'll be good enough. Cooney is alright but not really first choice material. Stringer is just too old.

We're going to have to go hunting in the SH for someone with an Irish granny.

molloyjh

irishbucsfan wrote: »

If Ulster were to sign a project player at the position then they'd be doing their bit. They never did.

In saying thay, a lot of Leinster fans moaned when the same thing happened to us, let's remember. Nathan Hines wasn't allowed to sign and a lot of Leinster fans threw their toys out of the pram, despite the IRFU being completely right (even if maybe not great in how they handled it).

Yeah, a few years ago I'd have agreed with awec on this. But when you look at it in retrospect where would Toner be if we had kept Hines on? Would guys like Molony and Ryan be making the progress they are? Not allowing Leinster to extend Hines' contract was the correct call at the time, even though I did disagree with it back then.

awec

Maybe he can retire and then we can re-sign him out of retirement?

Teferi

molloyjh wrote: »

That depends on what you label "good" I suppose. I'd class both McGrath and Cooney as "good". McCarthy is looking good too and Rock has a good bit of potential from what I've seen of him.

McGrath has a decent ceiling too, don't think he's reached it quite yet.

irishbucsfan

awec wrote: »

I am unaware of any IQ 9 who'll be good enough. Cooney is alright but not really first choice material. Stringer is just too old.

We're going to have to go hunting in the SH for someone with an Irish granny.

Well there's James Hart who has plenty of Top 14 starts under his belt.

But even an IQ scrum have from the SH would be better from an Irish perspective.

awec

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Well there's James Hart who has plenty of Top 14 starts under his belt.

But even an IQ scrum have from the SH would be better from an Irish perspective.

Has Hart not turned down moves home in the past?