Ulster Bank League 2018-2019 Talk/Gossip/Rumours

young munsters man

well sheep we will deal with it as i have said i dont have a problem with it during regular season
out of interest what players were nenagh missing for play off matches due to provincial call up?

Cookiemunster

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

All games are set for the default time on Saturdays at 2.30pm or Fridays 8pm. Up to clubs to request changes to that by making agreement with their opposition on day in question and applying for change

I'm well aware of that. And I'm also aware of opposition clubs regularly refusing to change. If the IRFU was serious about promoting the league they'd avoid the possibility of these clashes. It's not as if there aren't enough weekends.

The Lost Sheep

teams named so far today by Des Berry
Navan v Dolphin
P Fox; S McEntaggart, R Maloney, R van der Vyver, B McEntaggart; C O’Reilly, B Haugh; S Faulkner, D Clarke, L Jackson, D Magee, R Scott, C Hand, C Farrell, C Ryan.
UL Bohemian v Galwegians
J Murray; S Mullins, C Ryan, H Fleming, O Scannell; H Corkery, H Bourke; J Conway, J Bennett, M Bromell, E Kelly, S Seymour, D Rowsome, D O’Grady, B Walsh
Garryowen v DUFC
A O’Byrne; J Heuston, P Collins, D McCarthy, C O’Shea; J Gavin, R Guerin; B Rowley, L Cronin, A Keating, K Seymour, D Moore, T Ferguson, D Ryan, S Rennison.
Naas v Buccaneers
F Higgins; A Ellis, F Carr, R Bailey-Kearney, J Murphy; P Hastie, P Osborne; C Doyle, G Reynolds, A Coyle, M Russell, D Benn, C Dempsey, W O’Brien, P Tolofua.
Cashel v Old Crescent
J Rae; R Kingston, A McDonald, J Newton, F Kelleher; D Lyons, A Barron; C Ryan, N Fitzgerald, M Kelly, K Melbourne, I Rqibi, J Ryan, E Leamy, M Casey.
Old Belvedere v Banbridge
D Riordan; J Keating, D Butler, J McAleese, C Carey; S Crosbie, P O’Beirne; A Howard, J McKee, D Lavery, J Kelly, E Sweeney, K Miller, T de Jongh, C Mallon.
Seapoint v Midleton
D Byrne; A Guerin, G Hayes, B Guerin, T O’Reilly; B Champion, C Buckley; B Duggan, C Cunningham, A Heffernan, K Bittel, M McCoy, A McAuley, Z Jungmann, P Crowne.
Clontarf v Lansdowne
J Power; J McKeown, M Courtney, M D’Arcy, C O’Donoghue; D Joyce, A Lloyd; I Soroka, D Adamson, R Burke- Flynn, C Daly, B Reilly, A Ryan, A D’Arcy, M Noone.
Terenure v Young Munster
M Byrne; H Moore, S O’Neill, M Hiney, S Dardis; M O'Neill, K O'Neill; C Madden, A Clarkin, C McCormack, M Melia, A Ryan, K McCoy, P Thornton, E Joyce.

The Lost Sheep

Cookiemunster wrote: »

You're trying to get people through the gates. That's not going to happen when you've got games clashing with Euro games (in the same city) or international matches.

So thats 8/9 weekends of the season gone minimum. You cant just miss all these weekends

Stainalert wrote: »

Reality is that it will be very rare for a club to field 6 full time professionals in one match. Only very few clubs have that many full-timers on their books and even if they do they all have to be released by the province. Might help the likes of Buccs and one or 2 of the Ulster clubs but that is probably it.

of course i did use too many as example but is this really an issue

young munsters man wrote: »

well sheep we will deal with it as i have said i dont have a problem with it during regular season
out of interest what players were nenagh missing for play off matches due to provincial call up?

Look this is just repeating what was said over and over last seasons thread. Can it just end here? Do you have to bring it up again and again. Just let it go man!!

Cookiemunster wrote: »

I'm well aware of that. And I'm also aware of opposition clubs regularly refusing to change. If the IRFU was serious about promoting the league they'd avoid the possibility of these clashes. It's not as if there aren't enough weekends.

Theres 20 weekends needed for the league to run and how many weekends do we need to avoid?
Irish home games/european games etc? Thats 10 or so weekends.

young munsters man

sheep out of interest what players were nenagh missing for play off matches due to provincial call up?

young munsters man

sheep correct me if im wrong but for the last few seasons i dont think they played ail during european pool stages, think they played provincial cup, shows it can be avoided

The Lost Sheep

young munsters man wrote: »

sheep correct me if im wrong but for the last few seasons i dont think they played ail during european pool stages, think they played provincial cup, shows it can be avoided

There was at least one division 1 round played during europe group stages last season.

Anyway more teams named
Tullamore v Ballina
S McCabe; T Gilligan, J Mendez, K Dunne, B Gilligan; S Burns, A Hyde; M Murphy, C Feighery, C Higgins, S Rigney, E Bracken, K Browne, G Ridgeway, B Bracken.

CMcsporty

Stainalert wrote: »

Reality is that it will be very rare for a club to field 6 full time professionals in one match. Only very few clubs have that many full-timers on their books and even if they do they all have to be released by the province. Might help the likes of Buccs and one or 2 of the Ulster clubs but that is probably it.

Oh yea....Good point!

young munsters man

correct sheep we beat nure at home in december later that night munster beat leicester in thomond, our worst home crowd of season, good nure crowd travelled , more for repeat performance tomorrow

young munsters man

can anyone tell me have lansdowne relaid there back pitch, thanks

The Lost Sheep

young munsters man wrote: »

correct sheep we beat nure at home in december later that night munster beat leicester in thomond, our worst home crowd of season, good nure crowd travelled , more for repeat performance tomorrow

Thats on ye that that was worst attendance of season. The game is pro and the game needs pro game to survive.
You cant avoid all clashes. Its not possible and now can we stop bringing up clashes from previous seasons and just talk about this season. This conversation is boring as its the same crap over and over and is just repitition of what was said in previous seasons.
Any chance you can just discuss the rugby like predictions for games across all divisions?

Chico Flores

young munsters man wrote: »

can anyone tell me have lansdowne relaid there back pitch, thanks

They have - much less of a car park now.

But not as good as Clontarf or Terenure.

Cookiemunster

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

Thats on ye that that was worst attendance of season. The game is pro and the game needs pro game to survive.
You cant avoid all clashes. Its not possible and now can we stop bringing up clashes from previous seasons and just talk about this season. This conversation is boring as its the same crap over and over and is just repitition of what was said in previous seasons.
Any chance you can just discuss the rugby like predictions for games across all divisions?

It's on Munsters that a game was scheduled for a day that Munster had a home CC game? Seriously?

The Lost Sheep

Cookiemunster wrote: »

It's on Munsters that a game was scheduled for a day that Munster had a home CC game? Seriously?

They can move kick off/day of game on weekend. The Munster game was a 7.45 kick off the AIL finished at at max 4.10/4.15. That isnt really a reason to give out about 2 games on same day.
How many weekends do you avoid? You will have people complaining about so much more.
Its club rugby. You cant avoid every pro game.

Stainalert

Chico Flores wrote: »

young munsters man wrote: »

can anyone tell me have lansdowne relaid there back pitch, thanks

They have - much less of a car park now.

But not as good as Clontarf or Terenure.

Why do you say that?

Cookiemunster

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

They can move kick off/day of game on weekend. The Munster game was a 7.45 kick off the AIL finished at at max 4.10/4.15. That isnt really a reason to give out about 2 games on same day.
How many weekends do you avoid? You will have people complaining about so much more.
Its club rugby. You cant avoid every pro game.

Stop with the straw man arguments. I never said that you have to avoid every pro game. You stated that it was Young Munsters own fault that they got a smaller gate on the same day that Munster were playing a CC game in Limerick. That is complete and utter BS on your part.

For many various reasons plenty of people can't get to two matches in one day. Any club that has a home game in Limerick the same day as Munster are playing are going to have a reduced crowd. Simple logic.

The Lost Sheep

Cookiemunster wrote: »

Stop with the straw man arguments. I never said that you have to avoid every pro game. You stated that it was Young Munsters own fault that they got a smaller gate on the same day that Munster were playing a CC game in Limerick. That is complete and utter BS on your part.

For many various reasons plenty of people can't get to two matches in one day. Any club that has a home game in Limerick the same day as Munster are playing are going to have a reduced crowd. Simple logic.

It isnt if a club can be clever with their marketing. Bus from club ground to Aviva/Thomond after club game with meal deal thrown in.
Yes some cant go to 2 games but many can.

young munsters man

did the two games myself loved it enjoyed them both, two games in a day for me is a holiday! 
was at marys v munsters in templeville road - was told by marys lads crowd was down on their game v con the week before - because later that afternoon ireland played france, factor in there was  good travelling support from us, and marys had a pre match function with a speaker  
i know clashes cant be avoided but ye can say what ye like -they do affect club gates and revenues

D14Rugby

Stainalert wrote: »

Why do you say that?

From pictures looks like the Lansdowne Road pitch just had a new carpet put down which will help a bit but not bring it to the same standard as Donnybrook, Terenure, Clontarf.

I'll reserve judgement until its bedded in and I see it in person though

Stainalert

D14Rugby wrote: »

Stainalert wrote: »

Why do you say that?

From pictures looks like the Lansdowne Road pitch just had a new carpet put down which will help a bit but not bring it to the same standard as Donnybrook, Terenure, Clontarf.

I'll reserve judgement until its bedded in and I see it in person though

New carpet & filler. This has all been laid on top of a shock absorber (which is the best on offer and as good if not better than any other pitch in Ireland). Can't vouch for Terenure & Clontarf pitches but the "old" pitch (before New turf and filler) tested much better on bounce test than Donnybrook so this will have only been enhanced. Up until now the only area where Donnybrook was superior was the turf.

D14Rugby

Stainalert wrote: »

New carpet & filler. This has all been laid on top of a shock absorber (which is the best on offer and as good if not better than any other pitch in Ireland). Can't vouch for Terenure & Clontarf pitches but the "old" pitch (before New turf and filler) tested much better on bounce test than Donnybrook so this will have only been enhanced. Up until now the only area where Donnybrook was superior was the turf.

Unless you're saying they put in a new shock pad, something I've seen no pictures of, the shock pad they had may have been the best when it was put in but anyone that has played on the pitches will tell you that old pitch was like playing on concrete.

Bounce isn't a test of a pitch because it's almost completely dependent on how long its been down and how much of the rubber filling is put in it. A pitch can have a "good bounce" and be absolutely awful to play in in open play.

Having played on all 4 pitches and the UCD one the UCD and old Lansdowne pitches were in precisely 0 ways better than the other 3(4 including Donnybrook back pitch) and I'd wager anyone who has played on them all would testify as such.

Stainalert

D14Rugby wrote: »

Stainalert wrote: »

New carpet & filler. This has all been laid on top of a shock absorber (which is the best on offer and as good if not better than any other pitch in Ireland). Can't vouch for Terenure & Clontarf pitches but the "old" pitch (before New turf and filler) tested much better on bounce test than Donnybrook so this will have only been enhanced. Up until now the only area where Donnybrook was superior was the turf.

Unless you're saying they put in a new shock pad, something I've seen no pictures of, the shock pad they had may have been the best when it was put in but anyone that has played on the pitches will tell you that old pitch was like playing on concrete.

Bounce isn't a test of a pitch because it's almost completely dependent on how long its been down and how much of the rubber filling is put in it. A pitch can have a "good bounce" and be absolutely awful to play in in open play.

Having played on all 4 pitches and the UCD one the UCD and old Lansdowne pitches were in precisely 0 ways better than the other 3(4 including Donnybrook back pitch) and I'd wager anyone who has played on them all would testify as such.

Ok you obviously have issues with the pitch but you haven't played on the new surface and you if you talk to pitch manufacturers you will find that the shock absorber has a much longer shelf life than the turf and depending on the quality of the shock absorber can last more than twice the length of time the turf will last. Donnybrook doesn't actually have a shock absorber. The bounce test that I refer to is actually an insurance test and the insurance companies use this test to calculate the potential for injury on the pitch. The test itself actually has very little to do with the length of time a pitch has been laid. The old Lansdowne pitch did test better than the Donnybrook - not an opinion. Anyhow this is all academic as the old pitch is gone now and I can tell you from experience it is a big improvement.

D14Rugby

Stainalert wrote: »

Ok you obviously have issues with the pitch but you haven't played on the new surface

I said as much and that I'd reserve judgement.

and you if you talk to pitch manufacturers you will find that the shock absorber has a much longer shelf life than the turf and depending on the quality of the shock absorber can last more than twice the length of time the turf will last.

That doesn't mean it's currently the best, as i said it may have been when it was laid but it isnt now.

Donnybrook doesn't actually have a shock absorber.

Yes it does.

The bounce test that I refer to is actually an insurance test and the insurance companies use this test to calculate the potential for injury on the pitch. The test itself actually has very little to do with the length of time a pitch has been laid. The old Lansdowne pitch did test better than the Donnybrook - not an opinion.

The biggest factors in the bounce test is the length of the carpet "grass" blades, the amount of rubber pellets in the pitch and how deep they are in the pitch, this means that older pitches once they are brushed semi well have an advantage over their newer counterparts.

It's not an insurance test either its a sports governing body test that has to be done for the body to sign it off as IRFU/FIFA etc approved which is what insurance companies look for, insurance companies dont ask for that specific test just the certification that the test allows the pitch to gain

The Lost Sheep

results
1A
Clontarf 16 Lansdowne 3
2A
Old Crescent 20 Cashel 34
2B
Skerries 44 Barnhall 49

Chico Flores

Stainalert wrote: »

Why do you say that?

Because it's less painful to play on now from what I'm told.

And not as good as the other two named.

Heres Johnny

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

results
1A
Clontarf 16 Lansdowne 3
2A
Old Crescent 20 Cashel 34
2B
Skerries 44 Barnhall 49

I was in skerries. Barnhall much the better team but made hard work of it

Stainalert

Good win by Clontarf - very impressive performance. Lansdowne never really got going. Welsh referee was awful - stop start the whole day, 7 yellow cards and 38 penalties between the two teams. Tarf were full value for their win though.

iminterestd0

Stainalert wrote: »

Good win by Clontarf - very impressive performance. Lansdowne never really got going. Welsh referee was awful - stop start the whole day, 7 yellow cards and 38 penalties between the two teams. Tarf were full value for their win though.

howd their hooker play? is u20 eligible.

James Kenny involved with Lansdowne seniors at all?

Chico Flores

iminterestd0 wrote: »

howd their hooker play? is u20 eligible.

James Kenny involved with Lansdowne seniors at all?

He was subbing for the Metro 1 side last week.

Assume he will play in the Premier 1 20s this weekend

ArmchairQB

D14Rugby wrote: »

From pictures looks like the Lansdowne Road pitch just had a new carpet put down which will help a bit but not bring it to the same standard as Donnybrook, Terenure, Clontarf.

I'll reserve judgement until its bedded in and I see it in person though

From 7s coaches and players they say the Lansdowne pitch is much improved and at least equal to Donnybrook & Clontarf & better than Terenures which apparently has been having a few issues. UCD likely next in line for new pitch expect to see more and more over the next few years

Stainalert

iminterestd0 wrote: »

howd their hooker play? is u20 eligible.

James Kenny involved with Lansdowne seniors at all?

Hooker was pretty decent

James Kenny injured at the moment

The Lost Sheep

Didnt make it to a game today but here are all results from weekend

1A
Cork Con 27 Shannon 7
Garryowen 27 Dublin University 25
UCD 39 UCC 28
Young Munster 22 Terenure College 5
Clontarf 16 Lansdowne 3
1B
Ballymena 0 Malone 27
Buccaneers 13 Naas 36
Armagh 17 Old Wesley 22
Old Belvedere 42 Banbridge 28
St Marys 37 Ballynahinch 27
2A
Dolphin 3 Navan 23
Galwegians 15 UL Bohemians 27
Highfield 41 Queen's University 43
Nenagh Ormond 23 Blackrock College 31
Old Crescent 20 Cashel 34
2B
Belfast Harlequins 12 Sundays Well 15
Greystones 33 Corinthians 7
Rainey Old Boys 12 Wanderers 26
Sligo 33 Dungannon 25
Skerries 44 MU Barnhall 49
2C
Bangor 39 Thomond 10
Bruff 45 City of Derry 15
Omagh 32 Malahide 17
Seapoint 10 Midleton 28
Tullamore 17 Ballina 36

ArmchairQB

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

Didnt make it to a game today but here are all results from weekend

1A
Cork Con 27 Shannon 7
Garryowen 27 Dublin University 25
UCD 39 UCC 28
Young Munster 22 Terenure College 5
Clontarf 16 Lansdowne 3
1B
Ballymena 0 Malone 27
Buccaneers 13 Naas 36
Armagh 17 Old Wesley 22
Old Belvedere 42 Banbridge 28
St Marys 37 Ballynahinch 27
2A
Dolphin 3 Navan 23
Galwegians 15 UL Bohemians 27
Highfield 41 Queen's University 43
Nenagh Ormond 23 Blackrock College 31
Old Crescent 20 Cashel 34
2B
Belfast Harlequins 12 Sundays Well 15
Greystones 33 Corinthians 7
Rainey Old Boys 12 Wanderers 26
Sligo 33 Dungannon 25
Skerries 44 MU Barnhall 49
2C
Bangor 39 Thomond 10
Bruff 45 City of Derry 15
Omagh 32 Malahide 17
Seapoint 10 Midleton 28
Tullamore 17 Ballina 36

Big wins for Belvo, Naas & Mary’s in 1b

madds

Heres Johnny wrote: »

I was in skerries. Barnhall much the better team but made hard work of it

Indeed. Skerries scored 3 tries when BH had a man binned in the second half.

Ster

Any insights into 2C? Surprising start for Malahaide, would have expected more. Also for Ballina who’ve had an excellent start. Have they strengthen considerably or were they just a phenomenal junior side to begin as strongly in AIL as they have?

iminterestd0

Hat-trick for Jack Keating on debut for Belvo.

CMcsporty

ArmchairQB wrote: »

Big wins for Belvo, Naas & Mary’s in 1b

From the Marys scoreline it looked like a good open game?
But what about Highfield 41 Queen's University 43...must have been at least 12 tries?

The Lost Sheep

Ster wrote: »

Any insights into 2C? Surprising start for Malahaide, would have expected more. Also for Ballina who’ve had an excellent start. Have they strengthen considerably or were they just a phenomenal junior side to begin as strongly in AIL as they have?

Cant really comment on Malahide too much. Why would you have expected more for them.
Ballina didnt strengthen too much. Virtually all players who brought them up to senior with some stronger underage players coming through as well though i think theyve some dual status players as well

Malmedicine

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

Cant really comment on Malahide too much. Why would you have expected more for them.

Maybe because they were in top 4 last year and should probably have won the division? Maybe because they had Ross, Gannon, Poolman former pros and some AIL seasoned players last year ?

Ballina to do very well this season . Tight out fit. If they keep best 15 fit, they'll be top 4 at least. Tough divison though and depends sometimes on when and where you play !

realhorrorshow

Was at the Wegians game, was tighter than the scoreline suggests. Wegians lost Morgan Codyre early and subsequently left a lot of points behind through missed kicks. Still disappointing to go down by 12 points at home to an apparently very understrength Bohs team.

The Lost Sheep

realhorrorshow wrote: »

Was at the Wegians game, was tighter than the scoreline suggests. Wegians lost Morgan Codyre early and subsequently left a lot of points behind through missed kicks. Still disappointing to go down by 12 points at home to an apparently very understrength Bohs team.

Not sure Bohs were that understrength. Theyre not that good this season. Dont see them near going back to 1B

realhorrorshow

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

Not sure Bohs were that understrength. Theyre not that good this season. Dont see them near going back to 1B

One of their guys was telling me they have a lot of injuries, including one after the team was named. Either way, worrying for Wegians. Rory Gaffney was electric once again.

stephen_n

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

2B
Belfast Harlequins 12 Sundays Well 15
Greystones 33 Corinthians 7
Rainey Old Boys 12 Wanderers 26
Sligo 33 Dungannon 25
Skerries 44 MU Barnhall 49

Defence was clearly optional in that game :eek:

ArmchairQB

Heard Gerry Thornley on radio this morning refer to Welsh ref who was linesman at Leinster game was also ref for Clontarf v Lansdowne and handed out 6 yellow cards and 38 penalties?? Anyone at the game must have been eventful.

shoutman

ArmchairQB wrote: »

Heard Gerry Thornley on radio this morning refer to Welsh ref who was linesman at Leinster game was also ref for Clontarf v Lansdowne and handed out 6 yellow cards and 38 penalties?? Anyone at the game must have been eventful.

7 Yellow cards...

It wasn't even a dirty game, very physical but not full of handbags or the likes.

Chico Flores

Fixtures this weekend

1A

Shannon V Young Munster
UCC v Cork Con
Trinity v UCD
Garryowen v Lansdowne
Terenure v Clontarf

1B

Ballynahinch v City of Armagh
Banbridge v Buccaneers
Malone v St Mary's College
Naas v Ballymena
Old Wesley v Old Belvedere

2A

UL Bohs v Nenagh
Cashel v Highfield
Dolphin v Old Crescent
Navan v Blackrock
Queens v Galwegians

2B

Corinthians v Sundays Well
Dungannon v Belfast Harlequins
Greystones v Rainey
Barnhall v Sligo
Wanderers v Skerries

2C

Ballina v Malahide
City of Derry v Seapoint
Midleton v Bangor
Thomond v Armagh
Tullamore v Bruff

The Lost Sheep

Chico Flores wrote: »

Fixtures this weekend

1A
Friday
Shannon V Young Munster
UCC v Cork Con
Saturday
Trinity v UCD
Garryowen v Lansdowne
Terenure v Clontarf

1B
Saturday
Ballynahinch v City of Armagh
Banbridge v Buccaneers
Malone v St Mary's College
Naas v Ballymena
Old Wesley v Old Belvedere

2A
Friday
UL Bohs v Nenagh
Saturday
Cashel v Highfield
Dolphin v Old Crescent
Navan v Blackrock
Queens v Galwegians

2B
Saturday
Corinthians v Sundays Well
Dungannon v Belfast Harlequins
Greystones v Rainey
Barnhall v Sligo
Wanderers v Skerries

2C
Saturday
Ballina v Malahide
City of Derry v Seapoint
Midleton v Bangor
Thomond v Armagh
Tullamore v Bruff

Just a few Friday night games this week.
Early stages yet big week for some of the sides yet to win a game in division 2.

Chico Flores

Big game in 2B with Rainey away to Greystones and yet to get off the ground.

Ditto on Ballina and Malahide in 2C

Long drive for Wegians up to Belfast.

Tarf1234

shoutman wrote: »

ArmchairQB wrote: »

Heard Gerry Thornley on radio this morning refer to Welsh ref who was linesman at Leinster game was also ref for Clontarf v Lansdowne and handed out 6 yellow cards and 38 penalties?? Anyone at the game must have been eventful.

7 Yellow cards...

It wasn't even a dirty game, very physical but not full of handbags or the likes.

Did his best to ruin the game. Just below his whistle and made no effort to help the game flow. Some of the yellows were so ridiculous. Don't think there was a single flair up of note.

The Lost Sheep

3 games on Friday night and all in Munster
Will start with the 2A game. Nenagh have started season poorly. Dont have a point yet and will need to take something from UL if they want to get out of the relegation battle. Nenagh beat Bohs by 5 points when they played in the charity cup at the end of August. Think Bohs will edge this based on the confidence they'll have gained from a good win in Galway last time out.

UCC Con and Shannon Young Munster in 1A are the remaining Friday games and i think it'll be the away teams winning both games.