Ulster squad additions

First topic message reminder :

All things relating to Ulster squad changes

Yep

I would be comfortable with iain Henderson as 4th choice, is ridiculously exciting to see such a good young lock coming through. And he is obscenely good

I actually quite like Neil McComb- although the other four locks are better- but I would much rather see McComb at blindside than Robbie Diack. Baffles me the coaches see DIack as an option anywhere but 8. I like McComb at 6- grafter.

McComb hasnt let us down yet and was excellent against Leinster iirc.

I think consistency might be an issue because otherwise he would surely be used more.

He is an enigma. Every time I've seen him he has impressed, with his pace and handling. He is the tallest lock at Ulster yet hardly gets a look in, so something must be amiss?

But remember Muller is not signed up for 2013-14

Without Barker we would be Tuohy, Stevenson, Henserson, McComb.

Tuohy joins the Ireland squad, someone is injured and we are screwed. We must retain Barker

Kaino out for 6 months! Tell me he hasnt touched a pen to anything with an ulster Rugby Letterhead?!

Phew!

Sad for him though, UNREAL player.

He was looking for a big money deal out of our league - he has signed nothing !

Although having said that 6 months from now would not be a big issue

Big news on the coaching front.

It appears Anscombe is prepared to wait and see what Doak and Bell offer before making any chances.

That means goodbye Stefan. Probably was going to go anyway but sad to see him go. He has made himself an instant crowd favourite both from his performances and the way he has conducted himself.

I very much hope this wasnt a stipulated from Ulster in hiring a coach. I'm sure most people agree that Brian McL being moved on whilst Doak and Bell remain is a bit of a joke.

It wasn't - he appears to be prepared to see what people have to offer first.

One thing that is coming across is that he is a blunt speaker and if he disapproves you'll know it.

I would have thought that McLaughlin would have been more worth keeping than some of the others?

Though I can understand that it would be difficult to bring in a new head coach and "demote" McL. It also would not have offered the job security he was after.

Hmmm...

That must mean Doak and Bell automatically get contracts for next season?

Is this decision symptomatic of a cautious conservative approach appreciative of what has been a reasonably successful set-up? It maintains continuity at the interface to the players and these guys know the Ulster psyche.

OTOH if the team starts performing worse and the rest of the coaching team is the same then the conclusion would be that Anscombe isn't as good as McL. So MA is either foolish or has a complete belief in his own ability to succeed.

On balance I think this is a good decision and shows he is going to treat people on their merits as judged by himself.

I think he has the self confidence. As far as he is concerned everyone has a chance to impress. The flip side appears to be he wont take second best, and if you fall short your out.

I like the sound of this.
Ulster has been a cosy club too long and it is only the professionalism of our recent imports that has raised the playing bar in recent years in my view.

The Great Aukster wrote:Hmmm...

That must mean Doak and Bell automatically get contracts for next season?

Is this decision symptomatic of a cautious conservative approach appreciative of what has been a reasonably successful set-up? It maintains continuity at the interface to the players and these guys know the Ulster psyche.

OTOH if the team starts performing worse and the rest of the coaching team is the same then the conclusion would be that Anscombe isn't as good as McL. So MA is either foolish or has a complete belief in his own ability to succeed.

On balance I think this is a good decision and shows he is going to treat people on their merits as judged by himself.

As I understand it both Bell and Doak are employees and therefore not on contracts as such. That might be the reason they haven't been moved on.

Thanks Rava that would explain something I have heard and never understood. McLaughlin is, effectively, in the same boat.

Having said that the talk was that all coaching positions were under consideration - does that mean they could be moved sideways or made redundant if Anscombe doesn't rate them ? He sounds like a man who is not prepared to work with people he doesn't rate.

Time will tell

If they aren't going to fit into Anscombe's plans then they should be sent out around the country into the schools and clubs to help coach our youngsters. That is something that should be happening in any case.

I'd say if Anscombe thinks he needs different coaches, we will go out and get them. Simple as that.

The next season is basically a long audition for Doak and Bell to keep their current jobs. I'm happy about that.

Just been reading about this Anscombe fella and I think I'm pretty pleased with his appointment. I suppose there is some excitement with the unknown. Interesting to hear that he felt ulster were keen on whoever they appointed to be primarily a forwards coach. What does that say about Muller and the job he has been doing this season? Also not hugely thrilled that Doak is staying on, I've had a little experience of his coaching and his people skills/man management skills weren't the best! Anyway thats getting ahead of ourselves, got two trophies to win first!!

I think Muller has done an ok job, but he was always a stopgap for this season. He has no coaching experience at all.

He can teach so much because he knows his role inside out, is a real leader and has lots of experience but he isn't a coach.

I hear that EoS is a good backs coach?

JayMaster3000 wrote:I hear that EoS is a good backs coach?

This is my reaction to that;

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

JayMaster3000 wrote:
I hear that EoS is a good backs coach

Maddog wrote:Also not hugely thrilled that Doak is staying on, I've had a little experience of his coaching and his people skills/man management skills weren't the best!

If I could give you an award it would be for understatement of the century. I too have a little experience of Doak's 'skills' and they left alot to be desired. Imagine the famous hairdryer of Sir Alex Ferguson 24/7 except with no tactical knowledge. Ulster should expect better than coaches of his ilk.

Hookisms and Hyperbole wrote:

Maddog wrote:Also not hugely thrilled that Doak is staying on, I've had a little experience of his coaching and his people skills/man management skills weren't the best!

If I could give you an award it would be for understatement of the century. I too have a little experience of Doak's 'skills' and they left alot to be desired. Imagine the famous hairdryer of Sir Alex Ferguson 24/7 except with no tactical knowledge. Ulster should expect better than coaches of his ilk.

Well I was giving him the benefit of doubt as is was only a small number of training sessions but I don't recall a positive word that came out of his mouth! I remember my team gettibg all excited at the prospect of a former pro passing on his wisdom but when he was there just wishing he'd leave us alone. What is his role again, backs &/or kicking coach?

I expect Faloon's departure to be announced next week

Going west Geoff? I don't know if I'm regurgitating old news but is Jerry Cronin leaving as well?

geoff998rugby wrote:I expect Faloon's departure to be announced next week

Good Luck Willy!

Yep going west.

Jerry Cronin is still be decided. It will come down to how Macklin has been seen to have progressed and what the long term prognosis is around Declan Fitzpatricks neck.

Doubt around either and he will be offered a one year extension. If both are given the thumbs up I think Cronin will go

So is Willie replaced like-for-like with Birch? And no word yet on P3?

Essesntially the back row changes are Wilson in, Birch promoted, Faloon out and Joyce joining in some capacity.

In addition there is a NIE slot with a re signing of Wannenberg being the preferred option. If he doesn't re sign I would expect a different NIE player signing.

However the new coach may have other ideas - not sure of his input at this stage.

Are we not leaving it a bit late in the season to sign someone new or is it pretty much understood Wannenburg will stay?

Well in the pre Humphreys years we left it a lot later.

Wannenberg is far from sealed - being offered more to play in France and there appears to be a rule that NIQ over 30 can only sign for 1 year.

This is a man torn between money and greater security on the one hand and staying at a club he has grown to love on the other.

A 50/50 call imv.

Would not blame him- he has to take care of his family. Would wish him all the luck in the world at France.

But would love him to stay. Also, your happiness is your wealth and if he's happy here? He can always go to Japan after this.

Yeah what Notch says, good luck to him if he moves on but I hope he stays. Wouldn't blame him if he takes a longer contract in France.

Presumably if he goes we'll need at least one more backrower?

Any thoughts on what the plan is Geoff?

Munster have just announced signing Sean Dougal (22) from Rotherham on a one year deal. Said he came through the Ulster Academy. Know anything about him?

Looking on boards.ie, somone has constructed a table of Munster players' comtracts, and (counting Chambers and Tokula as one) there are 46 full time players. 46! Almost a full team more than Ulster.

I'm guessing that is because we are paying big bucks to a certain number of top players like Pienaar, Ferris, Bowe, Afoa etc.

The downside is that we don't seem to be able to retain valuable squad guys like Faloon and Whitten.

I have mixed feelings about this and am not sure how sustainable this approach is in the long term.

Ideally we should be expecting to get more players into the Ireland squads in coming seasons and therefore depth is needed to compete on two fronts.

Time will tell though and so far so good at Ulster, so I'll trust that Ihumph knows what hes doing.

Rodders if Wannenberg goes we willsign another NIE players.

Now this would be a backrowerl unless the new coach has both the influnce and the desire to sign a player for a different position - 10 being the obvious one.

Our budget is similar to Munsters and Leinster. Bottom line is we do pay more to our NIE players than they do. The reason is simple we do not have as many top IQ players as they do. If our Irish player get better overall then the money spent on NIE players will go down. The reality is without Afoa, Pienaer in particular we would be screwed. Also a 15 (Terblanche/Payne) and Muller make a hugh difference to our overall team quality.

We also have to pay our top IQ players slightly more as they don't get tax breaks.

These two things together mean our squad has to be smaller to balance the books.

Accepted Geoff and its clearly working for the now. No complaints.

However its a risky policy and one I'd imagine and hope will change with time.

At the minute we are only a few injuries and/or Ireland call ups away from struggling.

The club themselves see this as a short term measure.

I'll go further and they would hope to reduce the number of NIE players over time

We are going from 6 to 5 this year and I think the goal is to reduce that to, something like 3, in say 3 years.

http://www.ulsterrugby.com/news/10323.php

Wannenburg leaving Ulster - such a shame. Anybody heard where he's going or who we'll bring into replace him - a 7 I heard was the most likely.

thats a shame, wish Pedrie all the best, and a big thanks for his efforts on the pitch!

It was on the cards. Do hope he gets a good deal somewhere and that we get a top class replacement for him.

In regards to the budgets is it affected by the revenue generated by Heineken runs or does that all go into the pot to be split amoungst the provinces?

And while Pedrie will be missed heres hoping he does well where ever he lands and whats the odds on him returning to Ravenhill next season with his new team to score a try?

Shame.

Best of luck to him though. A true ulsterman that gave his all in the jersey. Hope he goes out celebrating.

Yeah, sad to see Wannenburg leave to be honest. Do feel we may be better served by signing an openside though, with Henry and Wilson at 8. Henry can also play 7.

So long Pedrie. You'll be missed. Xavier Rush is a poor man's Wannenburg.

But a 6/7 would be useful. We have Wilson, Henry and Diack who can play 8.

I beleive the 1 year contract was the sticking point.

As suggested more likely to be a 7 or a 6/7 than a 8 coming in.

So who would play 6 when Ferris isn't playing if we bring in a 7 - Henry?