Ulster v Leinster Friday 21st December

First topic message reminder :

Back to Rabo Pro 12 action this weekend at Ravenhill when we host our nearest and dearest neighbours, the Boys in Blue.

Ulster's unbeaten run has ended but they are still in prime position in both league and Cup competitions...for now. Leinster have had a more mixed bag in both competitions so far but have by far the better record in this head to head battle.

Both teams have fresh injuries from their HEC matches at the weekend as well as longer term absences of significant personel.

Who is coming up to Belfast for the game? What kind of teams will the coaches put out? Who will be available?

The match has been sold out for quite a while so if you don't have your mitts on a ticket you'd better be near a telly come 7pm.

The Teams

Ulster

J Payne;
A Trimble,
D Cave,
L Marshall,
C Gilroy;
P Jackson,
R Pienaar;
------------
(1-8):
T Court,
R Best,
J Afoa,
I Henderson,
N McComb,
R Diack,
C Henry (c)
N Williams;
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Replacements (16-23):
R Herring,
C Black,
A Macklin,
A O'Connor,
R Wilson,
P Marshall,
P Wallace,
A D'Arcy.



LEINSTER:

15:Noel Reid
14: Andrew Conway
13: Brendan Macken
12: Gordon D'Arcy
11: Fergus McFadden
10: Ian Madigan
9: Eoin Reddan

1: Cian Healy
2: Sean Cronin
3: Michael Bent
4: Leo Cullen CAPTAIN
5: Devin Toner
6: Kevin McLaughlin
7: Sean O'Brien
8: Jamie Heaslip

REPLACEMENTS:

16: Aaron Dundon
17: Heinke van der Merwe
18: Jamie Hagan
19: Tom Denton
20: Rhys Ruddock
21: Isaac Boss
22: Andrew Goodman
23: Adam Byrne

valjester wrote:Idiotic play by Leinster. I still can't believe Leinster allowed O'Connor go to Ulster, they are extremely weak in the second row and that they let an excellent prospect go to Ulster is, frankly, mindblowing.

Who is this O Connor you speak of? Never even heard of him. Obviously not Leinster Way material. Our waste-bins are Munster, Ulster and Connacht. In that order.

Well done btw. Answered a few questions there.

Gibson wrote:McFadden is so hungry. He will decide this game.
|
Believe.

He didn't quite decide it.... just got on the end of a 4 man overlap

Trimble decided it. Funny how people have started writing him off at 28

Neil McCombe had a great game. He is not 4th/5th choice lock material... a few more games like that and DT will struggle to get back!

Gibson wrote:

valjester wrote:Idiotic play by Leinster. I still can't believe Leinster allowed O'Connor go to Ulster, they are extremely weak in the second row and that they let an excellent prospect go to Ulster is, frankly, mindblowing.

Who is this O Connor you speak of? Never even heard of him. Obviously not Leinster Way material. Our waste-bins are Munster, Ulster and Connacht. In that order.

Well done btw. Answered a few questions there.

He was Henderson's second row partner in the Irish u20s this year, was seriously impressive.


Healy's performance tonight was a bit of a worry from an Irish pov, he looked quite tired.

Caught btis in between a family matter, jaysus Ulster looked good. Healy is coming on leaps and bounds but Afoa showed him there's a lot of growing left to be done. Admittedly he got no help form his flankers or his second rows in the scrum though

valjester wrote:

Gibson wrote:

valjester wrote:Idiotic play by Leinster. I still can't believe Leinster allowed O'Connor go to Ulster, they are extremely weak in the second row and that they let an excellent prospect go to Ulster is, frankly, mindblowing.

Who is this O Connor you speak of? Never even heard of him. Obviously not Leinster Way material. Our waste-bins are Munster, Ulster and Connacht. In that order.

Well done btw. Answered a few questions there.

He was Henderson's second row partner in the Irish u20s this year, was seriously impressive.


Healy's performance tonight was a bit of a worry from an Irish pov, he looked quite tired.

As to O Connor and Henderson. Henderson is a live prospect. He has major potential. But that is all right now.

Healy looked well out of sorts. He has been the best, most consistent, Leinster and Irish player, for the last 2 years. Ja, maybe he's tired.

Me bollix. Hes a youngfella. I was riding, drinking and playing hurlin and Sawker GAA football, at his age. And rearin other wimmins kids. All at the same time man.

Phhoke im. Its a Rath Eannaigh Wimp!

He needs to grow up and grow bigger.

I know him well.

Great night.

Fanatsic to see plenty of Leinster fans there. Really chuffed they made the effort to come up despite the potential for delays and disruption. I know all Ulster fans appreciate their solidarity.

Very pleased with the performance and the result.

And, the only sign of Fleg problems was the disguarded Leister one we liberated on our way home!

And...

What about that scrum??????

What a great match, great job both sides putting on a top match. Great win for the boys how they bounced back after a defeat was always going to be the making of this team. Thought McComb did great, Hulk was awesome too kicking at goal was a bit off at times but sure we can let that go.
On that note though the person who roared at Jackson's first kick, feel free to not come back to Ravenhill. Ulsters scrum was excellent even when Best got binned (didn't look a binning from where I was btw but maybe tv showed it was) they stood up well.
Just the little game of Munster away now that should be a walk in the Thomond Park

Good game. Great win. Some muppets in the crowd (seemed to be in the new boxes) but other than that a good tough atmosphere and match.

Williams motm for me but Afoa and court were superb. The pack stood up in a big way as I thought we were going to get bullied after the first quarter. Jackson had a tough night but the decision to get Ruan kicking was the right one and was made early enough.

Good to see loads of Leinster ones up. Great craic to be had.

Woohoo... We've beaten everybody in the league. 9 points clear at the top. Just one more win to match our TOTAL number of league wins from alst season. Life is good!

Good display tonight against a classy, well organised Leinster side.

Look. Ye did well ja?

That's all I'm sayin here.

We wanted that one badly. Hope it makes it even nicer.

Standulstermen wrote:Good game. Great win. Some muppets in the crowd (seemed to be in the new boxes) but other than that a good tough atmosphere and match.

Williams motm for me but Afoa and court were superb. The pack stood up in a big way as I thought we were going to get bullied after the first quarter. Jackson had a tough night but the decision to get Ruan kicking was the right one and was made early enough.

Good to see loads of Leinster ones up. Great craic to be had.

Good man Stand. I bet yer Pub was rockin.

Wish Id been there.

Basterds.

There were parts that weren't full strength of course, same for both sides but this is a monumental win for Ulster. On the Irish note I'm slightly disappointed Jackson wasn't kept on the tee after he missed a couple (watched most of it at this stage on tape delay), you wonder how far he can progress in terms of a goalkicker if that keeps happening. Of course he can be a great flyhalf even if he doesn't kick goals, but the Irish don't seem to look kindly on ones that don't. Hope for his sake that he continues to build on this area as he can improve there, thought he did good besides that.


I fear Ulster more so than Leinster, obviously. I don't see us beating either of them in a meaningful game unless one has their eye on a HC QF/Semi/ final.


Mediocrity is alright for now, we need to get rid of ROG (should have been done a long time ago) and give the reins to Keatley/JJ to try and match the success of these provinces. We will find ourselves behind otherwise.

I was roaring on both sides even though I knew the result, nice release after a tough day.


Laighin Abú/SUFTUM

It is incredible how different a player Williams is at 8 than at 6!

He was top notch tonight clive in full Hulk former laying Leinster players down all over the place and he did well at the base of the scrum too

Thomond wrote:There were parts that weren't full strength of course, same for both sides but this is a monumental win for Ulster. On the Irish note I'm slightly disappointed Jackson wasn't kept on the tee after he missed a couple (watched most of it at this stage on tape delay), you wonder how far he can progress in terms of a goalkicker if that keeps happening. Of course he can be a great flyhalf even if he doesn't kick goals, but the Irish don't seem to look kindly on ones that don't. Hope for his sake that he continues to build on this area as he can improve there, thought he did good besides that.

I'm not too worried about Jackson, he's still carrying the leg injury that he came off with last week after all. His kicking was off tonight, both from hand and from the tee, but that can happen if you're carrying a knock. At the age of 20 he will have a few bad days but he has the minerals to cope.

.

Marshall putting serious pressure on Wallace again too. Looks the part IMO. Henderson as well.

Great to see from an Ireland perspective. Plenty of youth out there tonight. Leinster are so well drilled. The covering of the back three and madigan totally nullified our kicking game and Reid was massively protected. That being said our chasing improved as the game went on and only on a couple of occasions did the lose kicking cost us.

Two great derbies at ravenhill so far between this and the munster game.

Enjoy it Stand. Sometimes, its just enough to know ye know... We did/do that so well. For a while anyway

We can handle it. We are rich an ting. We will be involved for years to come. Just don't upset Munster ja? Let them win. Be magnanimous. Be nice. They have inter-bred issues.

Ah, its all knowledge ye will have to earn by rights.

Well played Ulster. Just took us by the jugular. Respect.

Grey and anyone else who is baffled by the situation. Which, to be fair, is likely to be most of us including me.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-20651163

I'd rather just talk about the rugby!!!!!

I agree MrsP i see our politicians making decisions as the IRFU picking when to keep and let go of coaches, they cant reach a unanimous decision and usually get it the decision wrong or decide on something else which isnt important instead. Think that covers it

SUFTUM

Rava wrote:SUFTUM

Love you mon. In a Ladyboy Way.

The Ulster Caravan marches on to Lansdowne bro. X.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44wDwMQVqCc

MrsP wrote:Grey and anyone else who is baffled by the situation. Which, to be fair, is likely to be most of us including me.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-20651163

I'd rather just talk about the rugby!!!!!

No worries. Understand completely. Thought it might be a reach on a Rugby board.

Thanks for the pm, Mrs.P. Time for a little sleep, sun comes up in a few hours.

So it comes down to Munster to put these little upstarts in the north back in place next week. As usual, its all up to Munster to restore parity in Ireland


Seriously though, well done Ulster. Really turning into an excellent side and have superb fans. The biggest personal compliment i can give is that Ulster are now no longer a side i used to keep an eye on and hope they do well, they are now a side i keep an eye on and fear match days against them.

Well done Ulster and the fans, totally deserved of where you are at right now

Gibson wrote:Look. Ye did well ja?

That's all I'm sayin here.

We wanted that one badly. Hope it makes it even nicer.

Thanks Gobby

Gibson wrote:Enjoy it Stand. Sometimes, its just enough to know ye know... We did/do that so well. For a while anyway

We can handle it. We are rich an ting. We will be involved for years to come. Just don't upset Munster ja? Let them win. Be magnanimous. Be nice. They have inter-bred issues.

Ah, its all knowledge ye will have to earn by rights.

Well played Ulster. Just took us by the jugular. Respect.

Now now Gibbo not all of us are inbred around here, only some of the Limerick lads and maybe a few of the Clare ones. The Northside of Cork yeah but sure they wouldn't know what a rugby ball is like, it's all about the soccer and hurling up there like.

Gibson wrote:Enjoy it Stand. Sometimes, its just enough to know ye know... We did/do that so well. For a while anyway

We can handle it. We are rich an ting. We will be involved for years to come. Just don't upset Munster ja? Let them win. Be magnanimous. Be nice. They have inter-bred issues.

Ah, its all knowledge ye will have to earn by rights.

Well played Ulster. Just took us by the jugular. Respect.

Hey, my sister was an excellent mum to me...

Well there is a little tableau of the changes in Ireland.

We have moved form inter provincial slagging to intra provincial slagging!

Progress!!!!

Did you say slagging or shagging?
These provincial matches might be more fun than I thought??????

I think Leinster are entering a transitional phase. The only thing is I dont think it will be as long as munsters. They have NIQ places to play with and they have already addressed a glaring weakness in recruiting McCarthy. I think there may be some dead wood cut and I can see the likes of Ruddock losing out as gilsenan et al come through.

Somewhat ironically I think they will need to recruit foreign in the centre unless McFadden is shifted there full time. Who replaces Schmidt would be big but I genuinely think the three provinces will all be top tier in european rugby in the next few years. Good times

Standulstermen wrote:I think Leinster are entering a transitional phase. The only thing is I dont think it will be as long as munsters. They have NIQ places to play with and they have already addressed a glaring weakness in recruiting McCarthy. I think there may be some dead wood cut and I can see the likes of Ruddock losing out as gilsenan et al come through.

Somewhat ironically I think they will need to recruit foreign in the centre unless McFadden is shifted there full time. Who replaces Schmidt would be big but I genuinely think the three provinces will all be top tier in european rugby in the next few years. Good times

I agree Stand. Well summed up too. I think the Leinster guys in charge have a bit more sense than the Munster ones and they don't have to fight through the cultural stuff that Munster have (and won them a lot) so I think we'll be ok. There was always going to be a come-down after the HCup win, it is just great that we won 2 more and got to a semi before the real come down kicked in.

Also bare in mind our injury list. Cough excuse cough.

Congrats Ulster. Easily by 2nd favourite team and I really like the way you guys go about your business. Well done lads keep it up (and get Marshall in to 12 full time so he can be ready for the RWC-thanks)

At some point its going to become apparent that Ulster are a decent side this year isnt it

Ulster have been a very good side since Christmas last year I think

Leinsters big problems are the lack of impressive prospects coming through at lock and centre. Cullen, D'Arcy and BOD are all but done. Toner never had it to begin with.

Ulster are good in the scrum, we have a brilliant front row but the real thing is our locks and backrows bind so tight and push. Leinsters underpowered second row was exposed last night in the scrums. And Cullen looked like yesterdays man being swatted aside by Williams. They are a smarter rugby team than us, better drilled at a lot of things, but they're beginning to struggle to match the power and dynamism of the likes of Ulster and Clermont. They need more ball carriers in the tight five.

They have McCarthy coming in, but they need another lock signed and at least one centre.

O'Malley will do the job at 13 once BoD retires but we need McFadden to step up or a young fella to burst on the scene.2nd row is a problem but we're just not producing quality in that position right now,don't know what the solution is unless we can get a quality NIQ.

Alan O'Connor came on for Ulster making his debut at lock; he's from Skerries. He and Henderson were the U20s lock partnership, he did well in the JRWC there. Have we poached one from under your nose?

I thought Macken did well for Leinster at 13, actually. He broke the Ulster defence a few times, and made ground every time he got the ball.

Either Macken or O'Malley will make the 13 shirt their own pretty soon I reckon. If not them, Fitzgerald may get a shot there. At 12, I think Madigan may end up there in the future. McFadden is the most likely option there for Leinster though.

Fitzgerald is done, they just haven't called it yet. He'll be doing very well to come back.

Macken and O'Malley are decent, but thats all. They don't have the same class they once did in those positions.

It is too early to write off Macken and O'Malley just yet.

As for Fitzgerald, do you mean he is done due to injuries or due to his competition? He was the form winger in Ireland last season, playing the best rugby of his life.

There is potential in Macken and eom but Schmidt has never trusted either one enough to give them a decent run in one position (ditto for McFadden) which is the only way to bring guys through. Until that changes (and they will probably endure some dodgy performances in the meantime) these lads won't make the step up properly.

Marshall now needs a run of games at 12 too

Rory_Gallagher wrote:I thought Macken did well for Leinster at 13, actually. He broke the Ulster defence a few times, and made ground every time he got the ball.

Either Macken or O'Malley will make the 13 shirt their own pretty soon I reckon. If not them, Fitzgerald may get a shot there. At 12, I think Madigan may end up there in the future. McFadden is the most likely option there for Leinster though.

Madigan is too small for 12, I think. It would be much more likely that Sexton would go to 12 with Madigan at 10.

Ah he has given O'Malley plenty of games in the 13 shirt,he trusted him against Clermont away from home.He's 2nd choice to BoD and has been unlucky with injuries lately but he's the heir to the 13 shirt and imo we won't have any worries about that position when BoD hangs up the boots (not saying we won't miss BoD,just that OC won't be a position of weakness for us).

Rory_Gallagher wrote:It is too early to write off Macken and O'Malley just yet.

As for Fitzgerald, do you mean he is done due to injuries or due to his competition? He was the form winger in Ireland last season, playing the best rugby of his life.

Due to injuries. He has no date set for his return. Every week he's 'close to returning' then the comeback is put off. I'm not writing them off, I'm just saying they aren't top class. Just decent provincial players. They will do well for Leinster but they aren't in the same league as D'Arcy/BOD where in their pomp.

EOM has never held down the shirt though asls. I know obviously bod is the main reason but has EOM ever started 3 games consecutively at 13. I don recall that which is the only way to improve.

I think Leinster will try and get McSharry from Connacht. That would be a shame.

Has anyone heard anything about the young Leinster fullback?

I know he eventually walked off but that was a very nasty neck injury. I hope he's okay.

for the Leinster fans. Form is temporary but class is permanent .

Delighted with the win. Merry Xmas and happy new year all. SUFTUM.