Ulster Team Talk Thread IV... Go On My Henderson...

There's a 3rd year academy lock at Munster who could have been available, Paddy Kelly. He's also a big lad and I don't think he's getting a contract with Munster.

On a side note, there's MacNamee and Glasgow with the u20's. Both could be in the Ulster academy next year!

Ok! Didn't see that! I hope Bradshaw works out. He's clearly invested in a rugby career.

Frank Bradshaw Ryan is a very good player, I was surprised he didn’t get a senior contract in Munster but they had a few to choose from. Has done very well in France and is still only 26. I think he’s athletic enough too, a bit like Beirne but only time will tell if he’s as effective.

Some u20's thoughts again:

McCormick - Think he nailed just about every throw, very good lineout operator. Don't think he showed up as well round the park this time against a physical Italy side.

McLoughlin - had a nice cameo off the bench. Not the biggest although he had a couple of energetic carries but I'd need to see more of him.

Postlewaite = fairly clear to see what he brings and why he went straight into the side. Very physical carrier and loves an offload. Would like to see him hit the line harder, he's a little hesitant at times and a more organised defence would have cut him down easier a few times. I think he's probably the academy player/prospect I'm most excited about at the moment.

McNabney - had some nice carries against one of the stronger packs in the tournament. He's clearly growing in confidence but his handling can be very poor and him falls off tackles. He looks like a year or two of strength and conditioning will do him a world of good, he's a large lad but the muscle/power isn't quite there yet.

Crothers - thought he struggled with the physicality at times. He didn't miss any tackles they got plenty of forward momentum and he didn't really impact the breakdown as well as you might like.

Hanlon and McNamee got on for a little bit but didn't really get to show much.

Baloucoune, Hume, Hendo and Timoney released back to Ulster for gametime.

Expect them all to feature. Typical - we get Hendo for Cardiff at home. He'll probably get injured against England and we won't see him the rest of the season.

Hopefully see McCann back - maybe Rea Jr to be rested? Izzy as well.

On Shea O'Brien - delighted. Newry lad, has come through City of Armagh RFC, staked a claim playing Ulster A and inter-provincial development. Brilliant to see lads from non-traditional routes there.

Shea's a fullback. Wondering if Ulster are expecting to see less of Lowry.

Yeah, agree with the above.

It's vital that the best club players are at least looked at and if good enough get a run with the As and then who knows from there.

This guy has obviously come from a non traditional route so probably didn't play a lot at school, so great to see.

Managed to get to the schools cup semi final yesterday, it's unfortunate they aren't streaming them this year.

The methody 15 and 7 were very very good, I would imagine they are two of the frontrunners for academy places. The 8 was on the smaller side but he was a cracking player as well.

Couldn't really make out the numbers on the rbai shirts but it was a bit of a one sided game anyway. To their credit they had an excellent maul which kept them within touching distance in the first half.

Judging by scores from earlier in the year and a quick glance at the ireland rep squads, I think campbell are slight favourites for the tournament? Should be a good final anyway.

I know Campbell beat Methody earlier in the season but Methody looked imperious especially in the second half against Inst and were on a different level altogether. Should be a good final though.

Ah good spot on Stewart, I didn't pick up on that earlier.

Yeah Moore at 15 is the most interesting call there. Its a risky enough call, Moxham is still finding his feet in the back three as well and then we have the very raw Sexton as cover. A bit of versatility for Moore could be a very good thing for him in the future though.

That was a tidy finish from Baloucoune.