Match thread Mexicans v Wildlings (Leinster v Ulster) Kick off 5.30pm 1/4/23

Larbre34 · 01-04-2023 5:33pm

Dangerous dive in there by some Wilding, near knocked Porter out with a flying knee.

Clegg · 01-04-2023 5:39pm

I'm sitting very close to the touch line and just before that Ulster throw James Ryan made a few steps closer to the front.

Excellent read

Larbre34 · 01-04-2023 5:41pm

**** off Pearce ya useless **** and do your ****ing job.

CIARAN_BOYLE · 01-04-2023 5:46pm

James Hume is the victim as Ulster finally get a yellow card.

Burns limping after being treated by medics. Ulster without backup at 10.

awec · 01-04-2023 5:49pm

Pearce is having a howler here.

01-04-2023 5:49pm

Could easily be a knock on here

Clegg · 01-04-2023 5:49pm

Great try.

But VDF off injured. Fook

01-04-2023 5:51pm

That's out on the full surely?

CIARAN_BOYLE · 01-04-2023 5:51pm

Moore on for Burns.

Lowry at 10 and Moore at 15??

I hope VDF being subbed is just percautionary.

Larbre34 · 01-04-2023 5:53pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120428633#Comment_120428633

When every game he has is a howler - and they all are - when does that become a serious issue for the authorities.

This eejit is going to rob somebody of silverware, sooner or later.

pickarooney · 01-04-2023 5:54pm

Give it a **** rest with the whingeing about refs

Larbre34 · 01-04-2023 5:56pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120428656#Comment_120428656

No. Its a blight on the game. I'll remind you of it the day someone you're shouting for gets ****ed over.

Clegg · 01-04-2023 5:57pm

Huuuuge Leinster scrum

Stockdale filling in the Hume rile to coont it up afterwards

pickarooney · 01-04-2023 6:00pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120428659#Comment_120428659

Every **** game, perennial moaners are a blight on the game

01-04-2023 6:07pm

The workrate from Leinster is off the charts.

Baird is going to force the hand of the Irish and Leinster coaches if he keeps on like this. You can't leave out a guy playing the way he is.

Clegg · 01-04-2023 6:08pm

That's a high tackle on Ross Byrne

CIARAN_BOYLE · 01-04-2023 6:17pm

That was the second time that there was knock on advantage called back after a kick.

99% of the time of referees call advantage over after a kick. Or am I wrong?

Larbre34 · 01-04-2023 6:19pm

Leinster have won this is 2nd gear. No Doris, no Sexton.

I'm afraid 6 Nations dominance is not currently translating at all to the provincial game as a whole.

Clegg · 01-04-2023 6:19pm

James Ryan or Ryan Baird are motm for me.

Both contributed so many pivotal moments whether at the defensive lineout or in carries in attack.

Clegg · 01-04-2023 6:21pm

Leinster's pack has been so dominant that I can't remember Stockdale or Baloucoune getting any decent attacking ball.

Delighted that they adapted to the conditions so well.

ulsteru20s · 01-04-2023 6:25pm

I thought Leinster’s pack were great and kicking game in general was excellent.

I thought the call against Hume was absolute **** horseshit. In general Pearse’s proclivity to award the attacking team in the red zone no matter what did not help us as the underdog. In that case, he wasn’t the tackler… why does he have to release? Bullshit call. Completely killed the game for us realistically.

LostArt · 01-04-2023 6:27pm

That was grand

Clegg · 01-04-2023 6:28pm

Ulster never got going in the second half really. After 50 minutes Leinster just ground their pack down despite Ulster bringing on their subs earlier. That wason paper, a strong Ulster bench. Let's Mayer manhandled them.

01-04-2023 6:32pm

Anyone know what time the QF is on Friday? Don't think it's up on the EPCR site.

01-04-2023 6:32pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120428747#Comment_120428747

It was absolutely a bad call - but I don’t think it killed the game, regardless of the scoreboard at that time.

You could also argue Hume took the bullet that 100% should have been given to Tom O’Toole prior to half time.

Ulster never fired a shot though - scored two easy quick tries from two visits to the Leinster 22, but never looked like building a score through phase play or even stretching the Leinster defence. They got some good change from up and unders (Stockdale was good today), but that was it.

The conditions probably saved them from shipping another 15-25 points, because you can’t win rugby games where you’re getting blown away at every collision and ruck.

CIARAN_BOYLE · 01-04-2023 6:34pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120428780#Comment_120428780

Where did you hear that it would be on on Friday?

Bobb Sapp · 01-04-2023 6:36pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120428548#Comment_120428548

That says it in a nutshell. Leinster played the percentages and I almost puked at the mind frame they brought to this game. Play negative winning rugby. They played the conditions but it was a very negative stand off philosophy. No mistakes use the attacking mall , kick well - puke. Purist (in more ways than one) rugby for the lads from the 80’s/70’s/50’s/40’s/30’s.

01-04-2023 6:40pm

Good win - despite the score it never felt like a game Leinster were in danger of losing.

Pack absolutely demolished them. James Ryan in particular was just immense. There isn’t a harder working player in Irish rugby arguably and he is just so impactful in everything he does.

Ryan Baird would have been my MotM. His athleticism is off the charts. Michael Lowry will be having nightmares about him.

Thought Ross Byrne had a poor game. I know conditions were tough, but he still looked more indecisive than I typically expect him to be out there.

Only real concern is how bad JvDF’s ankle is - will be surprising if it’s good enough to risk him in a week’s time.

Bogwoppit · 01-04-2023 6:42pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120428792#Comment_120428792

That’s one of the maddest takes I’ve seen in a while and that’s saying something, the lads from the 60’s must be mightily disappointed.

01-04-2023 6:42pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120428783#Comment_120428783

They'd said it on BT. It's at 8pm anyway.

01-04-2023 6:43pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120428792#Comment_120428792

What do you expect? Try a fast paced offloading game when the ball is like a bar of soap?!

They did exactly what they needed to do to win the game by fifteen points without ever getting out of second gear.

Sorry if you weren’t entertained but I doubt Leo and the lads give a ****.

01-04-2023 6:45pm

You’ll never convince me Kieran Treadwell is a better rugby player than Ross Molony, and games like today really underlined that.

Genuinely it was hard to know if Treadwell was out there today; he was utterly anonymous.

It will be a disgrace if Molony finishes his career uncapped.

ulsteru20s · 01-04-2023 6:46pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120428781#Comment_120428781

I’d agree that Leinster were well on top in the pack and generally their kicking game was beyond excellent.

I also have no problem with the yellow assuming that was actually a penalty, it just wasn’t a penalty.

When you are the underdog and the underdog for good reason, you need some stuff to go your way. I think we have good backs but our pack just isn’t on the same planet right now.

We also self inflicted alot today. The ryan steal in the lineout looked like a blown call to me. He threw it to the front.

One more thing on Pearse, this modern reffing thing to ref the offside line religiously near the goalline and almost not at all anywhere else annoys the crap out of me.

My takeaway from watching a ton of leinster and ireland this year, is that ulster need to find a 15 who is better in the kicking game. Lowe ate our backs’ lunches.

Leinster are WAY ahead in that aspect than any other province.

01-04-2023 6:50pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120428823#Comment_120428823

I 100% agree on the practice of referees generally seeming to be militant on the offside line at the try line, and oblivious everywhere else, but I don’t think it’s just Luke Pearce who could be saddled with that one.

Also, realistically, given Leinster’s possession and territory if Pearce had been harsher on offsides all over the field it would have been uglier for Ulster.

On the Hume call - I 100% agree, Hume should have had the penalty. He didn’t deserve the yellow, but on balance you couldn’t say Ulster didn’t deserve to get two yellows.

ulsteru20s · 01-04-2023 6:54pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120428839#Comment_120428839

True, although not all of them. I watched the last ten of the la rochelle game and that ref was more lenient around the line lol. It was a war zone.

TRC10 · 01-04-2023 6:58pm

It's funny how literally every referee is terrible and shouldn't be allowed near a field again, isn't it

Bobb Sapp · 01-04-2023 7:00pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120428815#Comment_120428815

They played the conditions and Cullen knows how to play winning rugby but at times it hasn’t been attractive rugby. Grind, quick ruck, hit on the break, rinse repeat. Minimal errors, wait for opponents to cough up penalties or handling errors, it’s like waiting for paint to dry, they often don’t go out to win and create game winning moments. It’s stand off and wait for your opponents to make errors. Its not the sort of long range rugby from Leinster of old.

Ulster in fairness came to slow down the game like England did but if you pop the ball from rucks and fall on the ground at the first sign of contact you’re never going to get go forward momentum. Ulster were expecting Leinster to crack without putting them under pressure.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Leinster have handling drills every session and do things like 100 press ups every drop ball. They have probably made it a priority but it’s a negative philosophy. It’s negatively coached, excellent at the basics rugby. And this focus on the kicking game is just mind numbing.

ulsteru20s · 01-04-2023 7:08pm

Nothing wrong with percentages rugby.

OldRio · 01-04-2023 7:12pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120428812#Comment_120428812

We are.

CIARAN_BOYLE · 01-04-2023 7:13pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120428813#Comment_120428813

Am watching the post game on RTE now (I hadn't watched it earlier) and Leo mentioned it in his post match interview.

OldRio · 01-04-2023 7:14pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120428861#Comment_120428861

BT having a melt down about the ref's. But to be fair if the English teams lose they always do.

OldRio · 01-04-2023 7:16pm

God that last 20 mins was muck. Ulster had no idea.

01-04-2023 7:27pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120428867#Comment_120428867

You’re taking the way Leinster played today in a knock out game played in awful conditions when they had clear superiority up front and claiming that’s the only way they know how to play.

That couldn’t be less correct. Leinster have massacred teams in Europe and domestically multiple times this season playing some magnificent fast paced rugby (and Ireland team backboned by Leinster players won a Grand Slam doing the same largely).

James Ryan said as much in his post match interview - that Leinster were disappointed to have to play such a limited game plan but sometimes conditions dictate that. They comfortably got the win today and that was the sole outcome.

lawrencesummers · 01-04-2023 7:34pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120428921#Comment_120428921

I think some of the reffing is poor, its putting the spectacle of attacking rugby above accurate application of the rules. The refs seem to be leaving loads go

Bobb Sapp · 01-04-2023 7:37pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120428959#Comment_120428959

I rarely if ever have seen long range tries of set pieces or phase play from Leinster this season. It’s a short coming and makes watching them boring. They hit on the break or go through multi phases and grind down teams or play the percentages and wait for opponent errors. Up the line, lineout mail cross field kick etc. Although I know that’s a generalisation without bringing out specific examples it’s my impression and it sucks, they NEVER score long range tries off set moves.

01-04-2023 7:56pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120429000#Comment_120429000

Well you genuinely haven’t watched a whole lot of them this season then.

Go back and watch the highlights of them shredding the Sharks earlier this season, or the two hidings they dispensed to both Gloucester and Racing and you’ll see plenty of quality tries and quality attacking rugby.

Clegg · 01-04-2023 8:08pm

I'm delighted for Conan winning the MotM award. He has been under a huge amount of pressure from Doris and been the subject of unfair criticism in comparison with Coombes(who has shat it the last two fixtures)

He's a super player and deserves to be recognised as such.

Bobb Sapp · 01-04-2023 8:14pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120429066#Comment_120429066

I honestly don’t believe any of the tries were long range backline moves off set piece or phase play. In fact I’m fairly certain none of the scores were. I don’t need to look at the highlights off those games. But I will, and I will report back to you later.

01-04-2023 8:16pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120429123#Comment_120429123

Maybe try watching some 7s rugby while you’re at it? That might be more your speed by the sounds of things.

01-04-2023 8:20pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120429101#Comment_120429101

We shouldn't really mistake internet shite talk for anything real. He's miles ahead of Coombes.

Match thread Mexicans v Wildlings (Leinster v Ulster) Kick off 5.30pm 1/4/23

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