Connacht v Ulster

First topic message reminder :

(15-9): J Payne, A Trimble, D Cave, S Olding, T Bowe, P Jackson, R Pienaar; (1-8): T Court, R Best (c), R Lutton, L Stevenson, D Tuohy, R Diack, C Henry, N Williams;
Replacements (16-23): R Herring, C Black, J Afoa, J Muller, I Henderson, P Marshall, M Allen, P Nelson.
 

http://www.ulsterrugby.com/news/11389.php
Connacht XV

Robbie Henshaw, Poolman, Eoin Griffin, Brian Murphy, Gavin Duffy (captain), Dan Parks, Kieran Marmion, Brett Wilkinson, Adrian Flavin, Ronan Loughney , Michael Swift, Mike McCarthy, Mick Kearney, John Muldoon,George Naoupu

Replacements:   Ethienne Reynecke, Rodney Ah You, JP Cooney, Andrew Browne, Mata Fifita, Paul O’Donohoe, Miah Nikora, Fetu’u Vainikolo

Apologies to Dodger as i know he posted this in the Dragons thread but thought a new topic would do it justice. Strong squad with only Luke Marshall still missing really.

rodders wrote:

Notch wrote:

rodders wrote:No one on here has complained it should be in Belfast. Most accept that Ravenhill was never an option but the many seem to agree that the RDS is the worst of the options available for reasons Kingshu has succinctly summed up.

Well, it's very easy for you to say that when you're not going to be travelling to the game. The extra pain of trying to get to Limerick isn't something I need in my life. I also think it's not in our advantage to be outnumbered by Leinster fans in the Aviva.

Notch this is the issue, most other fans here are mainly concerned about our chances of winning or losing the final should we get there, whereas your priority seems to be your own convenience.

People are arguing two different points.

I don't know if you're being deliberately ignorant in saying my concern is "my own convenience" to try and wind me up or if thats a sincere post. Either way its a willful misinterpretation of what I'm saying which is the RDS is the best option of a bad bunch of options and people need to wise up and face reality. I don't think whats most convenient for the fans who are actually traveling to the the game is a bad thing and the extra inconvenience of getting to Limerick makes it a pain in the hole not just for me but for 9000 others. But the main thing is we don't want to be outnumbered in the Aviva.

Any game in Dublin is home advantage for Leinster. Lets not give them the advantage in the stands as well- and lets bear in mind Leinster didn't nominate the Aviva as there home stadium on the basis that it takes them four to six weeks to sell it out and they only have two. I'd be near certain we'll be taking about 9000 (maybe less) to Dublin whatever stadium we're in. Lets go to the smaller one where we can make our voices heard and nullify any 'home advantage' the opponents might have. On the field, I'm very cognisant of the fact our worst performances this season have by and large all been at Ravenhill and we've just demonstrated that facing Leinster at the RDS in a real home game holds absolutely no fear for us, so all of that lessens the blow.

I wish we could play the game in Belfast for the reasons Don lists but we can't. The whole reason for the upgraded stadium is so we can host these games but these things don't happen overnight. Any time you're doing major construction work there is some short time inconvenience for long-term gain and it baffles me people weren't expecting this.

Don Alfonso wrote:In fairness, Notch, if we were only to talk about things we can change, we might as well shut down this form. We couldn't stop Deccie picking ROG; didn't stop us moaning.

Deccie had other options- Ulster Rugby do not.

And how much sway did our opinions have? Our posts were just as futile.

Team is up in the OP.

Henry, Payne, stenvenson, Trimble, Jackson all in

Muller and Henderson to bench with Afoa

I hope we aren't giving a sucker an even break to quote brent pope by not starting Afoa. That said it's a great opportunity for Lutton and court to get one over on what will in all likelihood be two other IQ prop

Also I may be reading this wring or reading too much into it but is Tommy Bowe not usually a 14 and Trimble the one that switches?

Standulstermen wrote:
Also I may be reading this wring or reading too much into it but is Tommy Bowe not usually a 14 and Trimble the one that switches?

Yup.

Well I am going to ignore the stadium talk because we are not in the final yet, leinster are not in the final yet and quite frankly if we want to win this league we should be able to beat anyone anywhere anyways. What I do want to say is I am glad Anscombe picked Lutton he has been playing well and alongside 2 experianced guys in the front row I think he will be ok besides we need to develop this guys for the future too because we cannot keep relying on NIQ tightheads and at the minute he seems our best back up plan. Looking forward to the match does anyone know if it is being broadcast anywhere? As in TV station not pub wise SUFTUM

Probably the big surprise is Bowe at 11, I think that just shows how Anscombe sees Trimble- as our number one winger. They are both best on the right wing. And now, Bowe is the one who has to move to accommodate Trimble and not vice versa. Trimbles been moved around to accommodate Tommy a fair bit!

Trimble has been our best winger this year, and is a player of the season candidate.

I'm pretty pleased with the team. We have the heavy artillery on the bench, but enough in the starting XV to make sure they should be coming on to a team thats in a strong position and making it stronger. It's definitely one of the stronger teams we've managed to put out in the league this year and it shows the respect we have for Connacht. I think only first choice guys missing are Muller, Afoa and Ferris (who is obviously a long-term absentee). Diack certainly ahead of Henderson for blindside on merit and form.

Should be a real battle, this game.

(1-8)Wilkinson,Flavin,Loughney; McCarthy,Swift; Kearney,Muldoon,Naoupu;
(9-15)Marmion,Parks; Duffy,Murphy,Griffin,Poolman,Henshaw

Connacht the same team from last week.

Connacht team is named and has no changes. Man for man this should be a W but you just know with Connacht that it is never that easy. Seeing how the respective THs do will be interesting as will watching the half backs up against each other

John Afoa just tweeted that he's back in the UK just now, so that kind of shows why he's on the bench and not starting...

Given Lutton has been training as first choice tighthead for the last couple of weeks and has had two good games in Afoas absence I feel like thats the right call. I also feel Afoa is consistent and professional enough to make a big impact off the bench so I'm happy with the 3 situation.

Fair enough indeed

On paper one area they might be better is the lineout, were I expect Diack will have to be prominent and both Stevenson and Tuohy are new age second rows that whilst being decent jumpers aren't fantastic lineout technicians. McCarthy is probably the best second row on the pitch.

I'm glad Fetu Vainikolo isn't starting as well, he is lightning fast. Their backline is pretty good and as noted above they play beyond the sum of their parts. Still expecting at least 4 points.

Mick Kearney is a lock/blindside too I believe so Diack will have his work cut out. Not sure swift is much cop in that facet?

I'm a bit more confident seeing the teams and especially seeing as Nathan White and Buckley who sorted out their scrum at ravenhill are both out

Man for man
I think Griffin V Cave is intresting
Loughney and Lutton could be close

thats about it, but we could compare man for man or units V units and Ulster could look better, but still lose the game, team V team is th eone that matters, and this Connacht team are good 9th in table with a game in hand that could take them to 7th

Solid defence, they have shiped the same number of points as Leinster (joint 5th best in league) and conceded less tries than Leinster, which is something considering that they are in the bottom half of the table.

With stats like that it easy to see why they are now considered a team that is hard to beat.

Bad news for them is Connacht centre Dave McSharry is facing as long as six months on the sidelines and could miss the start of next year's RaboDirect PRO12 season.

Lutton looks to be doing very well. A few months ago all the talk was about Hagan, Fitzpatrick and Bent. Lutton looking as good a prospect as any of them.

That wouldn't be hard to be fair. They are all pretty mediocre prospects.

Notch wrote:That wouldn't be hard to be fair. They are all pretty mediocre prospects.

My point though is that it is a bolt out of the blue. I might be wrong and apologies if I am but were you talking up Macklin for ages?

There seemed to be no talk about Lutton not bigged up or talked about in the same vein as the other emergnig props at Ulster - Paddy McAllister, Callum Black, Declan Fitzpatrick and Adam Macklin.

Why did we hear so little about him?

He's much older than Macklin and McAllister at 26 and hasn't really featured before now. So yes it has been a bolt out of the blue, don't think many saw it coming.

Artful_Dodger wrote:He's much older than Macklin and McAllister at 26 and hasn't really featured before now. So yes it has been a bolt out of the blue, don't think many saw it coming.

Nice to see. One of those feel good stories.

Like James Coughlan at Munster. Everyone assumes he is so young as he was never really getting a shot until 2008 and wasn't a first team player at Munster until 2010. By that stage he was nearly 30 already and he turns 33 this year.

Still room for late bloomers. At 26 Lutton has loads of time especially for a tighthead prop.

Stag, let me give you some advice. Let's call it a life lesson for you. If you set the bar really low in life then you can never be disappointed. Thats what I do, and let me tell you, every day is more joyous than the last. So if we expect an Irish tight head to be horrific but they are just below average then by my rules they are superb.

Well he's only signed at the start of this season whereas those guys have been at the club for much longer.

Also, at the start of the season he was primarily a loosehead where we have good strength and depth and has been asked to convert to tighthead, so it's not like that was guaranteed to work out as well as it has done.

After he came back from Canterbury he played one season in the AIL (mainly at loosehead I think) and won Ulster Rugby Clubs Player of the Season and Ulster signed him on the back of that for this season. Here's a good article about him

http://harpin2.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/the-long-way-to-top.html

I don't think he was big into rugby until he went to University in Oxford and after that he played all his rugby as an amateur in the SH so it makes sense no-ones heard of him until now.

He is an AIL loose head so that's why there is no talk. We still don't know hoe Macklin would get on with a run of games and remember Macklin got us that decisive penalty against Edinburgh in the HEC semi last season. He has shown he can scrummage but not consistently.

I like Lutton though. He is a big enough unit but mobile with it. A full preseason with the first squad will hopefully stand to him. There is plenty of power coming through the ulster scrum so he has support.

Hookisms and Hyperbole wrote:Stag, let me give you some advice. Let's call it a life lesson for you. If you set the bar really low in life then you can never be disappointed. Thats what I do, and let me tell you, every day is more joyous than the last. So if we expect an Irish tight head to be horrific but they are just below average then by my rules they are superb.

Sorry Hooky no can do. I am inbuilt with a chip that requires all players to be "Ligends". I expect the same from Lutton.

Little known fact: Ligendary status can apply to players outside of Munster. Andrew Trimble has it. Brian O'Driscoll has it. 99% of Munster players have it.

Duncan Williams does not.

Really? Is it because Andrew Trimble runs around looking for someone in opposition colours to get into some handbags with every time the ball goes dead? Oh sorry, I mean, is it because he is 'confrontational' and 'passionate'?

red_stag wrote:

Hookisms and Hyperbole wrote:Stag, let me give you some advice. Let's call it a life lesson for you. If you set the bar really low in life then you can never be disappointed. Thats what I do, and let me tell you, every day is more joyous than the last. So if we expect an Irish tight head to be horrific but they are just below average then by my rules they are superb.

Sorry Hooky no can do. I am inbuilt with a chip that requires all players to be "Ligends". I expect the same from Lutton.

Little known fact: Ligendary status can apply to players outside of Munster. Andrew Trimble has it. Brian O'Driscoll has it. 99% of Munster players have it.

Duncan Williams does not.

I love Duncan Williams. I mean he is so terrible but yet he tries his little heart out. God loves a trier. Rugby fans do not.

Notch,

Nah just a good player who is extremely likeable and always seem to do the business when required. Gives it his all and brings something unique to the table.

red_stag one of the few Munster men to appreciate Trimble.

I know a lot of Ulster fans that are not as fond of Trimble, think he comes out of the line to often, and can be caught out of position. And others who would have Gilroy and bowe on the wings no matter who is in or out of form, (just because they are the in names in Irish rugby right now).

Personnally I like him, hes hard and direct Gilroy is fast and agile, I like a horses for courses approach.

Traditionally

Connacht in the west is the kingdom of learning, the seat of the greatest and wisest druids and magicians; the men of Connacht are famed for their eloquence, their handsomeness and their ability to pronounce true judgement.

Ulster in the north is the seat of battle valour, of haughtiness, strife, boasting; the men of Ulster are the fiercest warriors of all Ireland, and the queens and goddesses of Ulster are associated with battle and death.

Leinster, the eastern kingdom, is the seat of prosperity, hospitality, the importing of rich foreign wares like silk or wine; the men of Leinster are noble in speech and their women are exceptionally beautiful.

Munster in the south is the kingdom of music and the arts, of harpers, of skilled ficheall players and of skilled horsemen. The fairs of Munster were the greatest in all Ireland.


Do you think any of it holds true today?

I think Trimble has been superb this season. And his tend to shoot has actually worked very well. He has seldom misjudged it.

Bowe has had an interrupted season with injury and has never really got going, but Trimble has outshone Gilroy in provincial colours this year for sure. Gilroy has shown he can more than step up to international level and has been playing very well, don't get me wrong, but I think Anscombe rates Trimble as his number one winger. I think having the confidence of the coach is a big reason why his Ulster form is so much better than his Ireland form.

Trimble is slightly the forgotten man in discussions about the Ireland team but if the new coach can get him to reproduce his Ulster form in green he will push Zebo, Gilroy and Bowe for a spot in the first team.

Kingshu wrote:Traditionally

Connacht in the west is the kingdom of learning, the seat of the greatest and wisest druids and magicians; the men of Connacht are famed for their eloquence, their handsomeness and their ability to pronounce true judgement.

Ulster in the north is the seat of battle valour, of haughtiness, strife, boasting; the men of Ulster are the fiercest warriors of all Ireland, and the queens and goddesses of Ulster are associated with battle and death.

Leinster, the eastern kingdom, is the seat of prosperity, hospitality, the importing of rich foreign wares like silk or wine; the men of Leinster are noble in speech and their women are exceptionally beautiful.

Munster in the south is the kingdom of music and the arts, of harpers, of skilled ficheall players and of skilled horsemen. The fairs of Munster were the greatest in all Ireland.


Do you think any of it holds true today?

Yeah. The first three are fine. But no mention of shagging your cousins or sheep in the last one.

Notch wrote:I think Trimble has been superb this season. And his tend to shoot has actually worked very well. He has seldom misjudged it.

Bowe has had an interrupted season with injury and has never really got going, but Trimble has outshone Gilroy in provincial colours this year for sure. Gilroy has shown he can more than step up to international level and has been playing very well, don't get me wrong, but I think Anscombe rates Trimble as his number one winger. I think having the confidence of the coach is a big reason why his Ulster form is so much better than his Ireland form.

Trimble is slightly the forgotten man in discussions about the Ireland team but if the new coach can get him to reproduce his Ulster form in green he will push Zebo, Gilroy and Bowe for a spot in the first team.

Notch Kidney had him reproducing his form at time but just wouldn't pick him at times which was a shame because there were some guys were his style of wing play would have be useful

Im looking forward to seeing Marmion play again, think hes got the potential be overtake Murray soon

Connacht drawback this year is scoring, they have the defense tobe up in the top half of the league, but they are not scoring enough points,

Hopefully Lam can keep the defense tight, but open up the backs, they have some very good young backs who are capable of scoring lots of tries.

Its Connachts backs plus Marmion that I look forward to seeing play.

Kingshu wrote:Connacht drawback this year is scoring, they have the defense tobe up in the top half of the league, but they are not scoring enough points,

Hopefully Lam can keep the defense tight, but open up the backs, they have some very good young backs who are capable of scoring lots of tries.

Its Connachts backs plus Marmion that I look forward to seeing play.

Anytime Ive seen them this season theyve been able to make some decent linebreaks but lacked the support runners

If it hasn't been pointed out already....this is Paul Marshall's 100th cap. Congratulations to him.

I see radio Ulster making comments like "Ulster are tantalisingly close to winning the league". Does anyone at the BBC NI remember that there are playoffs ever?

I've not once heard them mention the significance of a home semi. They all think if your top your top!

What is with Henry not being captain for this?

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:What is with Henry not being captain for this?

Pete its gone to Best who was captain before Muller so hardly like its a huge problem

clivemcl wrote:I see radio Ulster making comments like "Ulster are tantalisingly close to winning the league". Does anyone at the BBC NI remember that there are playoffs ever?

I've not once heard them mention the significance of a home semi. They all think if your top your top!

I think they remember that they don't have rights to show the play off games .....

So they'll give a BBC NI cup to Ulster if they end the league on top and declare the season over?

That's the BT spirit BBC NI!!

I think rodders is making that up to be fair- unless Shane Logan has nominated RTE as our home broadcaster for the Playoffs

Anyway, late change for Connacht- Henshaw is out of the game injured. Duffy to fullback and Vainikolo to wing. I'm not actually sure this weakens them very much at all, if at all. Henshaw is class but Duffy is back in his most natural position and Vainikolo is a very threatening runner ball in hand, the kind we've struggled with at times this year.

http://www.connachtrugby.ie/2013041983287/late-change-to-connacht-team

Henshaw is a big loss. He was their main attacking threat. They cant afford to miss 3 or 4 key players and they have for this one.

Was going to say Connacht to ambush Ulster. But, I think Ulster by a score now. Be some game. Connacht want this bad too. 'Bragging rights twixt them Treviso and now Blues. Could be their highest ever finish.

Hey All

Scrap that...it's only available in Northern Ireland

And in De Dam. Check yer PM darlin.

No howling wind and torrential rain for these 2 sides. They wont know how to play in this weather.

This really suits Ulsters running-game.

Gibson wrote:And in De Dam. Check yer PM darlin.

Thanks...it is available in the UK!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/22200061

Notch wrote:I think rodders is making that up to be fair- unless Shane Logan has nominated RTE as our home broadcaster for the Playoffs

Aw sure Logan's a closet Leinsterman ....

Right anyways...who am I supporting tonight again .....

Gilroy's emergence has really rattled Trimble's cage, in a very positive way.

He is back to his best.

G'wan Bestie!

What an evening for rugby in De Wesht!

Not sure I like Tommy hanging to the left...