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

I'd love to see him go. He's had a fantastic season, he's versatile and a leader. Back row is completely stacked though.

Newby away to Ealing Trailfinders

Gotta be better than messing with Doak's development.

Aidan Morgan confirmed - two years.

IQ through his Belfast granda.

Looks like a good option

"If he hits the ground running, I'd be surprised if he wasnt in the next 6N camp"

It always amazes me how people who've never seen a player play will come out and make statements like this…

Richie obviously rates him highly from their time together with the 20s. From what I've heard he is a very good coach - especially around lineout and maul.

Duffy is a good coach. Looking forward to Ulster being a much better team. Some good signings done.

Watched the supporters' Q&A with Richie, Bryn, Hendo and Hugh.

Quick salient points:

There were actually a few flyhalf options. Aidan was brought in as something other than a sticking plaster that would do for a year, leaving us in the same position further down the road.

Jimmy Duffy is going to work with the forwards alongside Roddy.

There has been investment in the academy and there's a pathway review ongoing. Reading between the lines, they are prioritising more physical robustness in young forwards coming through.

There's 8-10 schools in Leinster that have as big a budget for rugby as our academy. We cannot replicate their pathways.

Hugh wants greater transparency. Some of what comes from the pathway review will be made public.

There has been a loss of trust and confidence in Ulster as a result of the instability this season - for the IRFU, supporters and sponsors.

However, the cost-cutting has been done.

There's a "missing generation" of Ulster players between Hendy and O'Toole/Stewart that Ulster let slip. This 19-24 generation is the best since Ferris/Bowe etc.

Hendy - it's a much better place to be than a year ago. Players were despondent after the early season wins against Leinster, Munster and Connacht - it's not just about winning.

Ulster kicked the ball 12 times more than Leinster in the Ravenhill game , and no-one seems to have noticed. But it was a key part of exerting pressure. Were not just going to offload like eejits

Ulster have just signed the best kit deal they've ever had. The stuff in Balls.ie and subsequently the Bele Tele was simply wrong. Hugh very emphatic and raging about the story.

Kingspan sponsorship runs out in summer '25 and they need a replacement by February '25. They have three agencies looking for sponsors, nationally and internationally. The TV viewership of the URC went from 34 million last season to 54 million this year, so it's reasonably enticing for sponsors.

There'll be a whole series of events next season for the centenary of Ravenhill. They really want to improve engagement with fans.

There were four or five games which got smaller crowds than expected - the biggest disparity was one crowd that was three and a half thousand less than expected. Part of that was the way that the team was performing - another issue was when we had four home games over six weeks before Christmas, and non-season ticket holders would pick and choose a couple to go to. The biggest deciding factor is what happens on the pitch, but they're looking for other elements to improve game nights.

Was quite a spiky audience in places - one woman said she had not renewed her season ticket for the first time, people railed against having a blue alternate kit and so on.