Ulster v Glasgow (Friday 19.05) Discussion Thread

[Rava]

First topic message reminder :

Ulster XV & replacements to play Glasgow, RaboDirect PRO12, Fri 31st August (7.05pm), Ravenhill

(15-9): J Payne; M Allen, C Farrell, L Marshall, C Gilroy; P Jackson, M Heaney;

(1-8): C Black, R Herring, J Afoa, J Muller (c), L Stevenson, R Diack, S Doyle, N Williams.

Replacements (16-23): N Brady, T Court, D Fitzpatrick, N McComb, M McComish, P Marshall, N O'Connor, D Cave.

Glasgow team is out:

15. Peter Murchie
14. Tommy Seymour
13. Alex Dunbar
12. Graeme Morrison
11. Sean Lamont
10. Duncan Weir
9. Henry Pyrgos

8. Ryan Wilson
7. Chris Fusaro
6. Rob Harley
5. Al Kellock (c)
4. Tom Ryder
3. Mike Cusack
2. Finlay Gillies
1. Gordon Reid

Replacements:
Dougie Hall, Moray Low, Ryan Grant, James Eddie, John Barclay, Chris Cusiter, Ruaridh Jackson, Peter Horne.

[funnyExiledScot]

BBC Alba are showing it live gents (and non-Gents)

1. Excellent info.

2. Welcome back!

[AsLongAsBut100ofUs]

BBC Alba are showing it live gents (and non-Gents)

1. Excellent info.

2. Welcome back!

+1

Really looking forward to my trip to Belfast, back in time for Sandy Park too!

[21st Century Schizoid Man]

Cracking trip ASBO.

Did you get up to Ayr last week ?

[UlstermaninGlasgow]

Cannot wait for this now...

Going to my first Ravenhill game, for my shame, having been an Ulster supporter for nearly 10 years now...

But such mixed loyalties considering I've got to know quite a number of the Warriors boys quite well over the last year and a half.

AAARRGGHHHH!!

[neilthom7]

SUFTUM

[AsLongAsBut100ofUs]

Cracking trip ASBO.

Did you get up to Ayr last week ?

I did, mate, had a good evening at Millbrae and a very pleasant few in the clubhouse afterwards - great to see my two teams playing each other

[AsLongAsBut100ofUs]

Cannot wait for this now...

Going to my first Ravenhill game, for my shame, having been an Ulster supporter for nearly 10 years now...

But such mixed loyalties considering I've got to know quite a number of the Warriors boys quite well over the last year and a half.

AAARRGGHHHH!!

Great stuff, UiG, may bump into you

[Don Alfonso]

SUFTUM

[AsLongAsBut100ofUs]

Mon the Weegies

[Don Alfonso]

soap-dodging neds...

[UlstermaninGlasgow]

Cannot wait for this now...

Going to my first Ravenhill game, for my shame, having been an Ulster supporter for nearly 10 years now...

But such mixed loyalties considering I've got to know quite a number of the Warriors boys quite well over the last year and a half.

AAARRGGHHHH!!

Great stuff, UiG, may bump into you

Asbo haven't even a clue where I'm standing but sure we'll see!

And Don, I'm no soap dodger! This ulsterman is 100% pure Tyrone beef! ;-)

[AsLongAsBut100ofUs]

soap-dodging neds...

What is this soap stuff that you talk of, Don?

[Ozzy3213]

Only just realised this is on the box tonight.

Score!!!

Beer in fridge and I will be settled down for this one.

SUFTUM!!!

[Don Alfonso]

Cannot wait for this now...

Going to my first Ravenhill game, for my shame, having been an Ulster supporter for nearly 10 years now...

But such mixed loyalties considering I've got to know quite a number of the Warriors boys quite well over the last year and a half.

AAARRGGHHHH!!

Great stuff, UiG, may bump into you

Asbo haven't even a clue where I'm standing but sure we'll see!

And Don, I'm no soap dodger! This ulsterman is 100% pure Tyrone beef! ;-)

Och, I'm part soap-dodger myself.

Fambly frae Paisley.

Secret shame.

[Don Alfonso]

soap-dodging neds...

What is this soap stuff that you talk of, Don?

Dinnae ken. Summin' tae do wi' themmuns frae Edinbra.

[AsLongAsBut100ofUs]

Right you are, drugs related probably then

[Don Alfonso]

Ha! They do love the aul' smack over in Edinburgh, right enough.

[WillyGilly]

Go time

[WillyGilly]

Come on lads. Discussion time and play by play analysis where are we all?

[Cari]

Watching the defending champions on BBC 2 Wales Willy!

[WillyGilly]

Why not switch over to BBC ni and watch the this seasons champions cari?

And no I don't mean Glasgow

[Artful_Dodger]

Nick Williams has been immense, I had a sneaky feeling that a lot of people were jumping the gun assuming Roger Wilson would be first choice 8, Williams definitely given Anscombe something to think about. Aside from that this is a typical Ulster vs Glasgow game, great for the purists but don't expect see a lot of flair.

[Thomond]

Sent a PM to the fella who was asking for it no guarantees but should help you, for HC games anyway. Rnning late to go a proper soccer match though so laters

[LondonTiger]

Watching the defending champions on BBC 2 Wales Willy!

Still watching them?

[LondonTiger]

Careless, losing the ball forward when crossing the try line

[asoreleftshoulder]

Diack and Williams have been very good so far,would like to see a bit more from the backs but considering how young they are it's not surprising that they aren't seeing much ball.

[asoreleftshoulder]

Great bit of play from Ulster,some really nice passes and offloads in there.

[21st Century Schizoid Man]

Homer ref - outrageous !

[asoreleftshoulder]

Lovely try Ulster,conversion is missed so they're winning 8-3

[Artful_Dodger]

Glasgow's spoiling game and attempts to make it as attritional as possible coming undone with that Ulster try. Hoping Ulster's pack can ascert more dominance in the second half.

[WillyGilly]

Heaney making some silly errors. Marshall please?

[asoreleftshoulder]

Nice try from Seymour and Jackson converts to make it 15-10,Ulsters winger tap tackled his own inside centre in the build up to that try.

[asoreleftshoulder]

Niall O'Connor misses another kick,he's had a good game in general play but a mare with the boot.Ulster will struggle if they can't find a better back up kicker.

[Artful_Dodger]

Pienaar first choice kicker Paddy Jackson second - O'Connor really needs to sort out his place kicking though, as he had a decent game aside from that.

Diack was easily man of the match for me, carried well, tackled well, imperious in the lineout at the tail with a couple of steals. Williams was very good, Herring was good, Afoa destroyed them in the scrum, Muller tackled like a mad man and had a great game all round. Young backline acquitted themselves well, but Gilroy will be very disappointed not to stop Seymour for his try.

[Artful_Dodger]

Also thought Jared Payne had a great game got a glimpse of what he can do with open ground in front of him and he put in some lovely passes and offloads, has a good kicking game as well.

With players like Best, Tuohy, Ferris, Henry, Pienaar and Bowe to come into the team we are looking pretty healthy to me.

[asoreleftshoulder]

I though Stevenson made some very strong carries too,the Ulster pack really stood up when they were needed.

[Artful_Dodger]

I though Stevenson made some very strong carries too,the Ulster pack really stood up when they were needed.

Yeh forgot about him the forward drive which setup Allen's try was fantastic, we have a very strong second row even without Tuohy.

[Pot Hale]

Great game. Big improvement on that Rugby Championship Poopie from the last couple of weekends. Well done Ulster.

[neilthom7]

Diack was superb, was great to be back at Ravenhill, O'Connor should have knocked over at least 2 of the kicks he missed. Also Cari was still watching the defending champs London Tiger because they will be defending champions all season until whoever wins it this year lol. Was pretty happy to get the win, think there was some poor decisions at the end when we went for the try just before the final penalty.

[AsLongAsBut100ofUs]

Good win for the ULSTERMEN, disappointed to miss out on the LBP at the end. Enjoying the Murphys now and learning about the stadium redevelopment plans - great trip

[Ozzy3213]

Glad you made it Asbo. Say hello to Rava and any of the others you see from me. Enjoy you mate.

[toml]

Great result to start the season! Just woke up in Oz so didn't see it. What happened to Jackson? Was Doyle and the Centres any good?

A player by player grades out of 10 would be awesome if anyone would have the time.

SUFTUM

[Artful_Dodger]

toml - just my opinion. I think Doyle had a reasonably solid game, always hard to tell with a 7 given so much of their work is supposed to be unseen. He made a couple of good carries and was pretty quick around the breakdown when it came to cleaning things up. Farrell and Marshall were ok, I think Marshall was the better of the two, struggled to find space but made good use of the ball when he got it. Was always going to be very tough for that young backline against a team like Glasgow who very effectively disrupt their opponents game.

Callum Black - 6.5 - Little disappointed given how impressive he's been in pre season. Still scrummaged well and made a few carries.

Rob Herring - 7.0 - Threw well in the lineout apart from one not straight, carried and tackled well.

John Afoa - 8.0 - Destroyed the Glasgow scrum on several occassions and made some good carries, a lot of big tackles as well.

Johann Muller - 8.0 - Ferocious tackling, put in some massive hits and won some key turnovers. Good in the lineout but Diack was used a lot here as well.

Lewis Steveneson - 7.5 - Some great carrying particularly in the lead up to Allen's try, gives the team a real physical edge the same way Tuohy does, not much between them.

Robbie Diack - 9.0 - Man of the match, brilliant carries, some huge tackles particularly the double team tackles with Williams, and was constantly used as an option at the back of the lineout. Not just on Ulster's lineout but stole some of Glasgow's as well.

Sean Doyle - 6.5 - Not a bad performance but maybe struggled physically a little compared to his comrades in the pack.

Nick Willaims - 8.0 - Was particularly impressive in the first half, made some brutal carries always seeming to break the first tackle. Also put in a couple of huge hits with Diack. Going to be a great battle between him and Roger Wilson for the 8 shirt. Williams did his campaign a lot of good tonight, no doubt.

Michael Heaney - 7.0 - Nothing particularly stood out apart from one big tackle which is something he offers and Marshall doesn't. Service was decent but not spectacular.

Niall O'Connor - 6.5 - If it wasn't for his place kicking he would of had a good game. Kicking out of hand was good and he may have developed more of a running and passing game since we last seen him in an Ulster shirt.

Michael Allen - 7.0 - Took his try well but it was all about the pass from Payne and setup from Stevenson really. Still looked pretty assured in the 11 shirt. One for the future.

Luke Marshall - 7.0 -Tried side steps and arched runs but never really had enough space. Put in a couple of decent kicks and didn't make any mistakes.

Chris Farrell - 6.5 Similar to Luke Marshall, didn't make any mistakes tried as best he could to create something but had little space or quality ball to work with, much of which was down to Glasgow.

Craig Gilroy - 7.0 - Scored an intercept try which was well read but didn't really ignite anything aside from that. Will also be disappointed not to have stopped Seymour on a 1v1 for Glasgow's try.

Jared Payne - 8.0 - Made a couple of good breaks and some very good passes such as the one for Allen's try. Couple of sneaky offloads as well and very assured under the high ball. Seems to have a good kicking game and if he continues to improve will be one of Ulster main men this season I feel.

[toml]

Thank you very much Dodger, great write up. Sounds promising on the depth front, especially the backrow.
Hopefully NOC gets his kicking back in order, think he was pretty good last season... Maybe Elwood was the key.

[neilthom7]

BTW there was a great pick up off his feet by one of the front row in the first half couldn't see exactly who from behind but think it was Afoa off a Heaney pass. Heaney did ok but got caught at times and took his eye of an easy catch in the first half.

[dw7]

.

Niall O'Connor - 6.5 - If it wasn't for his place kicking he would of had a good game. Kicking out of hand was good and he may have developed more of a running and passing game since we last seen him in an Ulster shirt.

Don't agree with last statement based on tonight.
Didn't create anything in attack. No line breaks. Stayed in comfort zone behind the gain line. Simple take & give 'wrap around type' passes in a static position for the most part.
The Guy just doesn't have an instinctive rugby brain.

(I hate the way he suspends the ball above his head before the slow motion kicking (aimless) out of hand!).

And wears a scrum cap to protect his 'model' looks, LOL!

[neilthom7]

Jaysus DW7 that's quite the rant, it was all going well too until the scrum cap too lol. His place kicking was off tonight but out of hand he was generally was very good tonight. We all know he's not a great runner but it certainly wasn't worst performance.

[Artful_Dodger]

.

Niall O'Connor - 6.5 - If it wasn't for his place kicking he would of had a good game. Kicking out of hand was good and he may have developed more of a running and passing game since we last seen him in an Ulster shirt.

Don't agree with last statement based on tonight.
Didn't create anything in attack. No line breaks. Stayed in comfort zone behind the gain line. Simple take & give 'wrap around type' passes in a static position for the most part.
The Guy just doesn't have an instinctive rugby brain.

(I hate the way he suspends the ball above his head before the slow motion kicking (aimless) out of hand!).

And wears a scrum cap to protect his 'model' looks, LOL!

You might be right, if there was a weak link in the Ulster team tonight it was O'Connor at 10. Still, I think if Pienaar was taking the place kicks he wouldn't be terrible. Territorial kicking he is good at, everything else he is average at best.

[Don Alfonso]

Delighted with the win. Delighted.

Diack brilliant. Williams very good. Marshall (L.) very good I thought - first to rucks when trouble threatened, a number of times stopped tunrover ball. Heaney some lovely positional kicking. Allen good for a lot more than his try - couple of high-pressure, difficult takes, couple of good decisons. Stevenson excellent. Always working at the rucks, a couple of good carries, where he is usually kind of alright.

We haven't gelled as a team, but a lot of fellas working their patooties off. It would have been very easy for us to forfeit the LBP, but we didn't. A couple of seasons ago, we were losing games in the last ten with our first team.

For a very inexperienced ref, I was very impressed. Came down like a tonne of bricks on ruck - very clear - stopped it getting really tedious.

[dw7]

Quick ball is time sensitive & A poor ten screws the options of your outside backs.
It's simple - Ulster are a Classy no. 10 away from Toeing it with Leinster et al in the big daddy games this season.

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