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.

[Don Alfonso]

Notch-baiting aside, just read someone else on the interweb pointing out 7 of our 11 backs are 21 and under.

[Kingshu]

Anyone ever notice that ginger is an anagram of another, probably less offensive word.

[clivemcl]

person of African descent

[clivemcl]

Yes I was right, the swear filter works with it!

Why doesnt it do anything with 'ginger', Its just as racist surely...

[AsLongAsBut100ofUs]

Is this thread for Glasgow news as well?

Injury update for the Warriors - in addition to those missing from the final pre-season game against Exe because of injury - Dougie Hall (groin), Ed Kalman (back) Rory Lamont (leg), Pat MacArthur (foot), Tim Swinson (face), Jon Welsh (shoulder) - Stuart Hogg also underwent surgery on an ankle niggle that will keep him sidelined for up to 8 weeks. Tim Swinson is expected to be out for 3-6 weeks, and Pat MacArthur is awaiting further assessment on his foot injury. Presumably no news is good news tho for Tom Ryder, who limped off against the Chiefs.

However, a number of international players that were rested are expected to appear, including Al 'Ruck inspector' Kellock, Schlong Lamont, Chris Cusiter, and Alex Dunbar (still waiting to see if Villiami Ma'afu makes an appearance, and ongoing visa issues almost certainly mean that Fijian scrum half Nikola Matawalu will not be available).

[Rava]

When will Glasgow announce their squad As?

I'll stick it on the OP when they do.

[AsLongAsBut100ofUs]

When will Glasgow announce their squad As?

I'll stick it on the OP when they do.

Not sure if they do announce match-day squads, in which case I'm not expecting a XXIII before Thurs afternoon

[AsLongAsBut100ofUs]

Rav, I tell a lie, it's out already:

Pack for Ulster: 1 Reid, 2 Gillies, 3 Cusack, 4 Ryder, 5 Kellock (c), 6 Harley, 7 Fusaro, 8 Wilson
Backs for Ulster: 15 Murchie: 14 Seymour, 13 Dunbar, 12 Morrison, 11 S Lamont; 10 Weir, 9 Pyrgos

Bench for Ulster: 16 Hall, 17 Low, 18 Grant, 19 Eddie, 20 Barclay, 21 Cusiter, 22 Jackson, 23 Horne

Not considered due to injury: Hogg, Kalman, R Lamont, Ma'afu, MacArthur, Swinson, Welsh

Surprised not to see DTHvdM, easily the Warriors's most dangerous back

[Captain_Sensible]

Dismayed to see Morrison still selected at 12 - looks like we're in store for more constipated, try free rugby.

[Notch]

Dismayed to see Morrison still selected at 12 - looks like we're in store for more constipated, try free rugby.

Exactly what Ulster dread- if you came to Ravenhill to try and run the ball we could thrive. But Glasgow are so dangerous because they drag teams down to their level.

Actually no, that sounds unnecessarily patronising and disrespectful. And I have a lot of respect for Glasgow. Glasgow are dangerous because they dictate the terms on which the game is played. They'll try and strangle us; our discipline and breakdown needs to be so much better than it was on Friday. We need to protect Heaney better. That's where they can get to us. Make it hard for him to get the ball out quickly and then have Morrison shooting up to cut off Jacksons options out wide. It's going to be a good test for Jackson, to see where he is now.

Luckily I think we can count on a very solid set piece and we have some good ball carriers in there too. The backrow will need to get through a huge amount of work for us to win this game. I'd feel much better about this if we had Chris Henry or Roger Wilson available. Still fancy us to shade it but Glasgow are so awkward to play.

[George Carlin]

Rava - maybe we could make this the general 'built up' thread?

Just read Asbo's thread - as he mentioned, 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.

Unavailable with a sick note from their mum:
Stuart Hogg, Rory Lamont, Jon Welsh, Viliami Ma’afu and Tim Swinson

Relatively inexperienced front row and I want to yog seeing Morrison in there again to stuff up the midfield with his glacially slow brand of crash ball nonsense.

[funnyExiledScot]

I think it's the Glasgow team most of us expected to see. I'd rather DTH was in there on the wing, Lamont at 13 and Dunbar at 12. That for me would have been ideal, but Morrison will once again lead the Glasgow defence and carry the ball.

As Notch notes above, playing expansively at Ravenhill perhaps would be playing them at their own game.

I'll be interested to hear how young Finlay Gillies gets on, and welcome back James Eddie. A fully committed player if ever there was one.

[Notch]

The scrum could win us this if we do scrum like we have in pre-season. Thats the area where we have to get the upper hand. What are Gillies darts like?

[funnyExiledScot]

Don't know - I don't recall seeing Gillies play. Kellock, Ryder and Harley are decent line out forwards though, so hopefully it won't be a big issue.

Cusack is a very good scrummager, but I don't know about Gordon Reid. I suspect Afoa could make a mess of him, particularly with Ryder behind him, a small man for a lock.

[George Carlin]

Notch - Gillies is one of Glasgow's elite development youngsters. His darts were always fine with his club side Currie and Kellock is experienced at calling the shots in the set piece so that shouldn't be a problem.

The weakness is possibly that he's still a little lacking in beef (not quite 15 stones yet) although that worry should be offset by the fact that young Gordon Reid (another youngster playing club rugby until last year) and Glasgow's favourite Yorkshireman Mike Cusack are seriously large units at 19 stone and 20 stone respectively. Set piece parity should be considered a 'win' for Glasgow.

[Don Alfonso]

Seriously concerned.

If Glasgow aren't winning but are still within ten with fifteen minutes to go, they could empty that bench, ramp it up a gear, and swing it.

By contrast, our bench will be the likes of McComb, McComich, McIlroy and O'Connor.

Sugar.

[AsLongAsBut100ofUs]

Don, I wouldn't be too worried, Glasgow looked seriously undercooked in pre-season That being said, I'll be happy when Grant, Low, Barclay and Cusiter get on the pitch

[Rava]

OP updated.

[AsLongAsBut100ofUs]

I think it's the Glasgow team most of us expected to see. I'd rather DTH was in there on the wing, Lamont at 13 and Dunbar at 12. That for me would have been ideal, but Morrison will once again lead the Glasgow defence and carry the ball.

As Notch notes above, playing expansively at Ravenhill perhaps would be playing them at their own game.

I'll be interested to hear how young Finlay Gillies gets on, and welcome back James Eddie. A fully committed player if ever there was one.

fES, normally I'd always agree with you (as you know!), but interestingly Morrison was the only other back (DTH t'other) who made consistent yards beyond the gain line when he came on against Exe. Playing expansively is always a risk, but I cast my mind back to the HC semi - Edinburgh without any real set piece to speak of were at their most dangerous when they opened things up a little and offloaded with speed and precision - equally Ulster looked most vulnerable to that style of play

[AsLongAsBut100ofUs]

Notch - Gillies is one of Glasgow's elite development youngsters. His darts were always fine with his club side Currie and Kellock is experienced at calling the shots in the set piece so that shouldn't be a problem.

The weakness is possibly that he's still a little lacking in beef (not quite 15 stones yet) although that worry should be offset by the fact that young Gordon Reid (another youngster playing club rugby until last year) and Glasgow's favourite Yorkshireman Mike Cusack are seriously large units at 19 stone and 20 stone respectively. Set piece parity should be considered a 'win' for Glasgow.

Cusack vs Court should be a good battle, but Afoa versus big Gordy, ouch, can only see one winner (and he's the short beardy fella)

[geoff998rugby]

Black not Court will start but Black has been absolutely outstanding in pre season so not worried. More than held his own against Dan Cole for example

[reallybored]

I think it's the Glasgow team most of us expected to see. I'd rather DTH was in there on the wing, Lamont at 13 and Dunbar at 12. That for me would have been ideal, but Morrison will once again lead the Glasgow defence and carry the ball.

As Notch notes above, playing expansively at Ravenhill perhaps would be playing them at their own game.

I'll be interested to hear how young Finlay Gillies gets on, and welcome back James Eddie. A fully committed player if ever there was one.

fES, normally I'd always agree with you (as you know!), but interestingly Morrison was the only other back (DTH t'other) who made consistent yards beyond the gain line when he came on against Exe. Playing expansively is always a risk, but I cast my mind back to the HC semi - Edinburgh without any real set piece to speak of were at their most dangerous when they opened things up a little and offloaded with speed and precision - equally Ulster looked most vulnerable to that style of play

Really hope Dunbar has a good game, looked quality towards the end of last season and always generates momentum.

Surprised there isn't a single new signing in the squad.

Why isn't DTH in the squad, is he 100% fit?

[AsLongAsBut100ofUs]

I think it's the Glasgow team most of us expected to see. I'd rather DTH was in there on the wing, Lamont at 13 and Dunbar at 12. That for me would have been ideal, but Morrison will once again lead the Glasgow defence and carry the ball.

As Notch notes above, playing expansively at Ravenhill perhaps would be playing them at their own game.

I'll be interested to hear how young Finlay Gillies gets on, and welcome back James Eddie. A fully committed player if ever there was one.

fES, normally I'd always agree with you (as you know!), but interestingly Morrison was the only other back (DTH t'other) who made consistent yards beyond the gain line when he came on against Exe. Playing expansively is always a risk, but I cast my mind back to the HC semi - Edinburgh without any real set piece to speak of were at their most dangerous when they opened things up a little and offloaded with speed and precision - equally Ulster looked most vulnerable to that style of play

Really hope Dunbar has a good game, looked quality towards the end of last season and always generates momentum.

Surprised there isn't a single new signing in the squad.

Why isn't DTH in the squad, is he 100% fit?

Not sure, rb, he looked in good nick at Millbrae, fully of running, asking questions, lovely changes of direction ...

[AsLongAsBut100ofUs]

Rava - maybe we could make this the general 'built up' thread?

Just read Asbo's thread - as he mentioned, 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.

Unavailable with a sick note from their mum:
Stuart Hogg, Rory Lamont, Jon Welsh, Viliami Ma’afu and Tim Swinson

Relatively inexperienced front row and I want to yog seeing Morrison in there again to stuff up the midfield with his glacially slow brand of crash ball nonsense.

Having thought about this some more, it's a shame that Nick Campbell isn't being considered even for lock bench cover - it seems that the option of bringing on an extra backrower type (i.e Jedi) into the boiler room is becoming ever more popular. Equally no place for Angus MacDonald or Byron McGuigan who featured in nearly all pre-season games, nor for Taylor Paris, the young Canadian flyer - a sign of the depth now available to the Scottish teams.

[AsLongAsBut100ofUs]

Out of that squad I would start with this team and replacements: -

1. Black
2. Herring
3. Afoa
4. Muller
5. Stevenson
6. Diack
7. Williams
8. Doyle

9. Heaney
10. Jackson

11. Allen
12. L Marshall
13. Cave
14. Gilroy
16. Payne

Replacements
16. Brady
17. Court
18. Fitzpatrick
19. McCombe
20. McComish
21. P Marshall
22. O'Connor
23. Farrell

Rav, so who are you missing? Best, Ferris, Wallace, Pienaar, Trimble, Bowe, Tuohy, Henry & Wilson? Anyone else that I've missed? That's a lot of firepower to come back in still

[Rava]

Those are the main ones but you could also add Spence and D'Arcy.

[Notch]

Right now we're missing McAllister, Best, Tuohy, Ferris, Henry, Wilson, Pienaar, Wallace, Spence, Trimble, Bowe and D'Arcy.

At least the list is slowly getting smaller! It's not quite a full team anymore. Those three lads (Court, Marshall and Cave) being back is a big help. But I only expect (guess) Cave to start, the other two to come in off the bench.

We could see Bowe/Trimble next week and Ferris against Munster I heard? But Wilson and Wallace are both injured until October and Pienaar is with the Boks until then too.

[Rava]

Notch - Gillies is one of Glasgow's elite development youngsters. His darts were always fine with his club side Currie and Kellock is experienced at calling the shots in the set piece so that shouldn't be a problem.

The weakness is possibly that he's still a little lacking in beef (not quite 15 stones yet) although that worry should be offset by the fact that young Gordon Reid (another youngster playing club rugby until last year) and Glasgow's favourite Yorkshireman Mike Cusack are seriously large units at 19 stone and 20 stone respectively. Set piece parity should be considered a 'win' for Glasgow.

Cusack vs Court should be a good battle, but Afoa versus big Gordy, ouch, can only see one winner (and he's the short beardy fella)

Are you talking about me?

[Notch]

I saw Mark Anscombe said Callum Black has been our outstanding player of the pre-season games. Have to agree; he's been a real find.

[AsLongAsBut100ofUs]

Notch - Gillies is one of Glasgow's elite development youngsters. His darts were always fine with his club side Currie and Kellock is experienced at calling the shots in the set piece so that shouldn't be a problem.

The weakness is possibly that he's still a little lacking in beef (not quite 15 stones yet) although that worry should be offset by the fact that young Gordon Reid (another youngster playing club rugby until last year) and Glasgow's favourite Yorkshireman Mike Cusack are seriously large units at 19 stone and 20 stone respectively. Set piece parity should be considered a 'win' for Glasgow.

Cusack vs Court should be a good battle, but Afoa versus big Gordy, ouch, can only see one winner (and he's the short beardy fella)

Are you talking about me?

You're always a winner with me!

[clivemcl]

I saw Mark Anscombe said Callum Black has been our outstanding player of the pre-season games. Have to agree; he's been a real find.

Great photo:

[geoff998rugby]

Ulster has an 13/14 man injury list last week

Court, Best, McAllister, Ferris, Wilson, Henry, Marshall, Henderson, Wallace, Spence, Cave, Bowe, Trimble (he is the one I am not sure about), D'Arcy

+ you can add Tuohy and Pienaer to that (International duty and Irish resting). Trimble coudl be Irish resting not an injury problem.

Court, Marshall, Cave back this week

Ferris, Henry, Henderson (not 100% on this), Spence, Bowe, Trimble, Tuohy, D'Arcy will all come back in the next 2/3 weeks.

Best, Wallace, Wilson, Pienaer in October

McAllister out for the season

I think that is right

[geoff998rugby]

I saw Mark Anscombe said Callum Black has been our outstanding player of the pre-season games. Have to agree; he's been a real find.

I made a statement last year that 3 of the best 4 Irish LH's were at Ulster.

Glad to see Callum proving the wisdom of my words.

[Notch]

http://www.ulsterrugby.com/news/10714.php

Mark Anscombe on Glasgow, Friday night.

[RDW]

The big question for me is, will Glasgow be able to match last season's try scoring ability and all round entertainment at their games?!

(apologies in advance - private joke with aslongasbut100 - see this thread for further elaboration! https://www.606v2.com/t34232-edinburgh-v-munster-build-up-thread#1506245)

[AsLongAsBut100ofUs]

Su-perb, RDW!

Notch, what are these "plaaaaz" that Anscombe talks about?

[Cryptoyourisan]

No idea why Morrison is in the starting, let alone at 12. Hopefully not a sign of things to come although it's encouraging to see Horne at least make the bench.

[George Carlin]

http://www.ulsterrugby.com/news/10714.php

Mark Anscombe on Glasgow, Friday night.

That's genuinely an interviewer and subject dividing the viewers by a common language.

Two awesome accents, one interview.

[Rava]

Su-perb, RDW!

Notch, what are these "plaaaaz" that Anscombe talks about?

You will get to see our plaaaaaz on Friday Night. Ohh I'm so excited I could crush a grape

[MrsP]

So disappointed!



Not only missing the season opener but also the first visit of the "wee skirted fella" to Ravenhill!

[MrsP]

http://www.ulsterrugby.com/news/10714.php

Mark Anscombe on Glasgow, Friday night.

Just listened to this!

When did they change the name of the league to the "Rabbo"?

[AsLongAsBut100ofUs]

So disappointed!



Not only missing the season opener but also the first visit of the "wee skirted fella" to Ravenhill!

Oh yeah, you arranged your trip AFTER you heard I was coming over!

[MrsP]

Who squealed???

Which airport you arriving into buddy?

[Cari]

Where's Tommy?

[MrsP]

Still in the stands signing flags for the Ps Cari!

[funnyExiledScot]

Having thought about this some more, it's a shame that Nick Campbell isn't being considered even for lock bench cover - it seems that the option of bringing on an extra backrower type (i.e Jedi) into the boiler room is becoming ever more popular. Equally no place for Angus MacDonald or Byron McGuigan who featured in nearly all pre-season games, nor for Taylor Paris, the young Canadian flyer - a sign of the depth now available to the Scottish teams.

I agree - I think Nick Campbell should be involved a fair bit this season. Ryder, Swinson, Harley and Eddie are all lightweight options at lock, and realisically only one can feature at a time. Putting two of those guys together and the inexperienced Gillies and Reid in the front row and you have a recipe for disaster. I've really liked what I've seen of Nick Campbell - looks a better long term prospect than Gilchrist in my view (I consider that high praise). Good sized player who seems to know what to do with his bulk.

[Notch]

Targeting the Ospreys game for his first appearance in an Ulster shirt for four years apparently.

[Cari]

Targeting the Ospreys game for his first appearance in an Ulster shirt for four years apparently.

Bonza! Cause I'm going to that one!

[MrsP]

Well I hope you know which team to cheer for Cari!

Have you been practising?

"Stand uuuuuuup for the Ulllstermen......"

[RDW]

Christ I've only just about got that song out of my head after the semi final....

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