Ulster Rugby 2018-19

First topic message reminder :

https://www.606v2.com/t68145-ulster-rugby-2017-2018-part-2


Last thread was at risk of self combusting, so started a new one for you. 


Bye.

Heard that Coetzee is out for 12 weeks with an ankle injury.
Sucks he will miss the world cup and the opening of the season

carpet baboon wrote:Heard that Coetzee is out for 12 weeks with an ankle injury.
Sucks he will miss the world cup and the opening of the season

Ah that sucks for the big man, poor guy has had absolutely no luck with injuries.

Interesting article here

https://www.rugbypass.com/news/convincing-a-record-breaking-sprinter-to-swop-spikes-for-boots-illustrates-the-fresh-ulster-charm-offensive-kieran-campbell/

Lets hope the decision to reach out to these guys from other sports and outside the traditional rugby areas continues to give us talent like Sexton

Just seen the A team selection for the game against Cardiff. Graham Curtis has been picked on the wing. Isn't he a 9??

WOW!!!

We've actually been allowed medical cover in the huge form of Thomas Du Toit, if he passes his medical of course. I'll believe it when I see it but it looks likely.

Pete330v2 wrote:WOW!!!

We've actually been allowed medical cover in the huge form of Thomas Du Toit, if he passes his medical of course. I'll believe it when I see it but it looks likely.

Christ on a bike. He ain't small is he

carpet baboon wrote:

Pete330v2 wrote:WOW!!!

We've actually been allowed medical cover in the huge form of Thomas Du Toit, if he passes his medical of course. I'll believe it when I see it but it looks likely.

Christ on a bike. He ain't small is he

I think the technical term is 'A Unit'.

After looking at the Ireland squad, from a selfish Ulster point of view, we're looking pretty strong for the start of the season. McGrath, Herring, Murphy, Cooney and Addison all available. But I do expect at least two of them to go as injury replacements during the tournament.

Pete330v2 wrote:

carpet baboon wrote:

Pete330v2 wrote:WOW!!!

We've actually been allowed medical cover in the huge form of Thomas Du Toit, if he passes his medical of course. I'll believe it when I see it but it looks likely.

Christ on a bike. He ain't small is he

I think the technical term is 'A Unit'.

According to his wikipedia he is 6 foot 3 and almost 22 stone, thats fairly large

Maine man wrote:After looking at the Ireland squad, from a selfish Ulster point of view, we're looking pretty strong for the start of the season. McGrath, Herring, Murphy, Cooney and Addison all available. But I do expect at least two of them to go as injury replacements during the tournament.

Was thinking that but you are right, Addison and Murphy will surely be called up if there is an injury.

Also on the plus side for Ulster I may add, the likelihood of cooney being called up as cover is slim as they've only taken 2 scrum halves. Marmion is highly likely to be the back up unless he needs Cooney as fly half cover in case Carberry doesn't make it.

Anyone know where Graham Curtis will be playing this year? He came to us as a promising 9 but last week played wing and for this week's Glasgow game he's down as back 3 replacement.

Will Addison dropped out of the Ulster team to the bench today just as Henshaw picks up an injury, I doubt that is a coincidence.

Ulster looked pretty good today and look to have had a decent pre season. I fancy they might be a bit of a handful in the early part of the season while a lot of the other teams are depleted by international call ups.

Even if they have to give up Addison, as seems likely, they are still relatively well off.

Getting off to a good start is very important and as Glasgow have shown over the past couple of years, it is a hard job to catch up with the front runner.

neilthom7 wrote:Will Addison dropped out of the Ulster team to the bench today just as Henshaw picks up an injury, I doubt that is a coincidence.

I bet he will be in Japan in the next few days

Announcement from Joe at 0100 our time apparently

BigGee wrote:Ulster looked pretty good today and look to have had a decent pre season. I fancy they might be a bit of a handful in the early part of the season while a lot of the other teams are depleted by international call ups.

Even if they have to give up Addison, as seems likely, they are still relatively well off.

Getting off to a good start is very important and as Glasgow have shown over the past couple of years, it is a hard job to catch up with the front runner.

We have kept a large number of players so that's good for Ulster. Only thing is our first 5 games are Ospreys, Kings, Cheetahs, Cardiff and Zebre (not necessarily in that order) those teams really shouldn't lose many players and by the time we meet Zebre and following them Munster the majority of players will likely be back. Unless Ireland go all the way off course which I hope for.
Would have been nice to get Glasgow and Leinster in the first few games lol

Any news on Addison's "lower limb Injury"

(15-9): Matt Faddes; Craig Gilroy, Luke Marshall, James Hume, Rob Lyttle; Billy Burns, John Cooney;

(1-8): Jack McGrath, Rob Herring (Capt), Tom O’Toole, Kieran Treadwell, Sam Carter, Matthew Rea, Jordi Murphy, Sean Reidy.

Replacements: John Andrew, Eric O’Sullivan, Ross Kane, Alan O’Connor, Greg Jones, David Shanahan, Michael Lowry, Louis Ludik.

Thats a good side, hoping for good stuff tomorrow night

Looks like a pretty strong osprey's team.
Looking forward to seeing the new lads play.
Hoping for a bit of a statement performance

Thats a great start, good use of the cross field kicks by burns

For the first party of the season this game had a decidedly reserved feel. The new mix of players started with an uncertainty of each other and their play hardly went beyond the level of polite small talk. It was the Ospreys that told the Titanic joke to go 8-0 up and break the ice.
Suddenly the older hands were reminded of a few funny stories of their own with Burns and Gilroy sharing the one about the cross kick and the try line. Sam Carter was surefooted in all his exchanges and looked like someone who could manage the set pieces and maintain the flow. Jack McGrath looked like an awkward guest who wasn't sure if he was at the right party but didn't embarrass himself recounting any dodgy stories. Matt Faddes wasn't put off by throwing a pass into touch or kicking in directly and came back with some deft handling that promises to excite the party for the rest of the season.

Have to be happy with that result. Both coaches with a proper pre-season and seems like McFarland has our boys working together. After-match comments were all saying how coordinated the squad looked.

Good to have Gilroy back, what’s the chat on his contract situation?

What’s the feeling on Carter? We could use a proper European player, both O’Connor and Treadwell are great Pro 14 players (both have the potential to be good Heineken players at mid / early 20s) but we could use a proper foil for Henderson now.

Good to see Jones, Hume and O’Toole getting a chance at home. Need to continue to build the 40-50 player pool.

What’s the feeling on McGarth? Gotta feel that if he doesn’t regain a bit of form O’Sullivan will over take.

Ulster team to play Toyota Cheetahs, Guinness PRO14 Round 2, Saturday 5 October 2019 at Toyota Stadium (kick-off 6.15pm local time / 5.15pm UK/Irish time):

(15-9): Matt Faddes; Craig Gilroy, Luke Marshall, James Hume, Rob Lyttle; Bill Johnston, John Cooney;

(1-8): Jack McGrath, Rob Herring (Capt), Tom O’Toole, Kieran Treadwell, Sam Carter, Matthew Rea, Sean Reidy, Greg Jones.

Replacements: John Andrew, Eric O’Sullivan, Ross Kane, Alan O’Connor, Clive Ross, David Shanahan, Michael Lowry, Louis Ludik.

Johnston in at the deep end on debut. Burns out of the squad.

We all just going to pretend that didn't happen then? Sounds good to me.

Sure, World Cup depletion and all....

(don't mention the fact we had players like Faddes, Gilroy, Luke Marshall, John Cooney, Jack McGrath, Herring, Carter, Reidy and even Lowry and Ludik on bench! )

Glasgow and Ulster won't be the only teams to get a bashing down there this year.

If Cheetahs can find some away form they may well be a force this year!

The old boy Pineer still knows how to run a game.

Faddes was the biggest disappointment - poor positioning and then weak defence. However the whole backline looked ponderous compared to the speed of the Cheetahs and Jarrod Payne has serious defensive questions to answer. Hard grounds and heat are alien to Ulster and they are nowhere near being a play-anywhere side. Dropping Johnston into such an alien environment for his debut was a big ask almost to the point where Dan is targeting the Kings game alone.
Having said all that Ulster got the four try bonus which was a very good result considering how outplayed they were.

I don't think I've ever seen a Pro14 team play with that much pace, it was a joy to watch. Ulster look huge up front but they got blown away there. I think Cheetahs could definitely be this year's hot pick if they don't mind the cold. You'd certainly bet on it on recent form.

I had predicted a 10 - 15 point loss for Ulster, a 63-26 thrashing was surprising, the loss was not. The Cheetahs showed last season how much of a threat they could be and they look even better this year with Ruan running things. They have had the advantage of a lovely pre-season Currie Cup win that means they are fully up to speed where Ulster were not but I strongly believe many more will come a cropper on the high veldt. Getting the bonus point cannot be underestimated, many will return from Bloemfontein with nothing.

Heard any rumours about Fraser Brown coming over to you guys as a replacement for Rory Best?

One of the Scottish Rugby Blogs was tweeting about it following RBs retirement this afternoon.

Might not be such a bad idea for both parties. We are fairly well stocked with hookers now and FB probably looking for a decent payday. He is 30 now and probably won't do another WC cycle.

Dout its true Biggee, Ulster have already got 3 NIQ which it seams is what the IRFU are aimimg for. May be allowed an extra in exceptional cases but Hokker isnt a weak spot, Herring has been playing about as well as Best the last year (without the leadership skills) McBurnley is a good prospect and McCall is highly rated, which means its not really a position that needs a NIQ, if getting one we could use it at back row, fly half back up scrumhalf more.

I guess that someone just thought FB is retiring from international Rugby, and thought which team could use him and thought Rory Best is retiring they could do with him, without looking at the depth Ulster already have at hooker.

Would be very surprised if he went to Ulster.

Interesting. The Thistle Blog went back on Twitter later and clarified they thought it was for next season.

I guess the coach is well familiar with him from his Glasgow and Scotland days and that could be a factor.

Will keep an eye on this one.

Quick question, how long will it be before the world cup lads are available? I'd assume Herring, possibly Murphy would be be available sooner than Henderson Stockdale.

BigGee wrote:Interesting. The Thistle Blog went back on Twitter later and clarified they thought it was for next season.

I guess the coach is well familiar with him from his Glasgow and Scotland days and that could be a factor.

Will keep an eye on this one.

Is Herring's contract up after this year I wonder. We've had foreign players in the past make Ulster their home, but we aren't guaranteed that any of our projects intend to remain for their whole career are we?
Perhaps if Herring feels his Ireland chances are now on the decline, he might be considering options.

That said, it would seem odd to leave given he now has the best chance ever being number one for his position at his club.

But only way I can imagine us getting an NIQ hooker would be if Herring departs.

Herring isn't a project, he's fully qualified. With Rory leaving there will be a chunk of money available that might tempt him to stay even if his contract is up. McBurney and McCall could be harmed by a NIQ import and Andrew is a very solid squad player.
Why would Herring's chances for Ireland be in decline? Scannell hasn't been great, and Cronin's ship has probably sailed. Then you're down to Marshall and O'Byrne at Munster, Tracy, Byrne and Kelleher at Leinster, with McCartney Heffernan and Delahunt at Connacht

Cronin will be reborn as the fastest top scoring hooker on the planet when Farrell and Catt get to work! The revival is a'comin'!

I guess I was thinking in terms of WC cycles, but given the older age profile in the front row, Herring probably would still be in the mix for next WC at age 31/32, so yea, you are right, things are looking good for him if he can kick on.

Ulster team to play Cardiff Blues, Guinness PRO14 Round 4, Friday 25 October 2019 at Kingspan Stadium (kick-off 7.35pm):

(15-9) Will Addison, Craig Gilroy, Luke Marshall, James Hume, Louis Ludik, Billy Burns (Capt.), John Cooney;

(1-8) Jack McGrath, John Andrew, Tom O’Toole, Alan O’Connor, Kieran Treadwell, Matthew Rea, Sean Reidy, Marcell Coetzee.

Replacements (16-23) Adam McBurney, Eric O’Sullivan, Ross Kane, Sam Carter, Nick Timoney, David Shanahan, Bill Johnston, Matt Faddes.

I see Addison went off after 17 minutes tonight. Anybody know what happened? Didn't see the game myself.

Looked like an injury to his right arm, and his face looked like a burst balloon afterwards.
Up until that point he was very disappointing in his play. He is obviously on a different wavelength to those around him because a lot of the magic he tried no one could read, but more importantly his high risk magic was completely at odds with the conditions. The night called for conservative decision making and Ulster consistently failed to deliver on that.

Ulster were crying out for a Pienaar to make the clever calls. Shanahan is an enthusiastic Beagle2, but unfortunately there is too much headlessness and lack of empathy for the match circumstances.
Johnston was playing a flat passing game when the lashing rain was crying out for high territorial kicks. His natural instinct is to attack but he has to be more realistic on what can be achieved - maybe that will come but right now he looks cut from the same cloth as Madigan.

Luke Marshall was the only one who showed any degree of maturity and was the MOTM. Good to see Angus Curtis off the bench - made a positive difference and now looks fully conditioned.

Was going to ask how Curtis got on. Did he play centre?

I thought Curtis looked good when he came on, and I'd be interested to see him get a few starts.
Faddes is running out of chances in my book, and especially when Stockdale returns I'm not even sure I'd have him in matchday base on his performances so far.

And Shanahan being Beagle mark2 - Nah - Paul Marshall would have made the line after that offload from Luke Marshall. Again, lack of reading the conditions. You go to ground last night two metres from the try line and you slide over it.

clivemcl wrote:I thought Curtis looked good when he came on, and I'd be interested to see him get a few starts.
Faddes is running out of chances in my book, and especially when Stockdale returns I'm not even sure I'd have him in matchday base on his performances so far.

And Shanahan being Beagle mark2 - Nah - Paul Marshall would have made the line after that offload from Luke Marshall. Again, lack of reading the conditions. You go to ground last night two metres from the try line and you slide over it.

Shanahan did score a try, so gets some credit in the bank, but yes he should have went low and would have scored. That unfortunately was the lasting impression I got from the game - Ulster have a lot of Leinster cast-offs that don't have the coolness that keeps them from being top players. I'd level that statement against McGrath, O'Connor and Timoney as well as Shanahan.

Faddes didn't show great hands but he did put himself about for the cause. While his handling and passing weren't great, he contributed enough (and more than Addison) to give him the benefit of the doubt.

In Faddes defence (I didn't see the game) he played most of the time in super rugby on the wing not centre.
Any news on the Mccloskey?

Faddes is still building his confidence in an alien culture and deserves the benefit. Right now he looks a bit like a poor man's Ludik - about the same speed but not as comfortable in the conditions.

McCloskey might make an appearance against Munster but that won't mask the fact that Ulster's real problem is at 13. Luke has been doing a good job there but he's far more suited to 12 as he doesn't have the pace to make a great 13. Addison has everything to be a great 13 but should have a large red 'fragile' stamped on his shirt and is missing way too much. Hume is a 12 and maybe his body hasn't hardened yet to cope with the strains. That leaves Ludik and Faddes who are really back three players who can at a pinch play outside centre. Angus Curtis is a 10/12 and maybe it's time to expose Stewart Moore?

Stockdale has the size and pace to play 13, and given his dip in form on the wing it might be good for him to play outside centre for a while to sharpen up his defence.

Ulster team to play Munster Rugby, Guinness PRO14 Round 6, Saturday 9 November at Thomond Park (kick-off 5:15pm):

(15-9) Matt Faddes, Rob Lyttle, Luke Marshall, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale, Angus Curtis, John Cooney.

(1-8) Jack McGrath, Rob Herring (Capt.), Marty Moore, Alan O’Connor, Sam Carter, Sean Reidy, Jordi Murphy, Nick Timoney.

Replacements: Adam McBurney, Eric O’Sullivan, Tom O’Toole, Kieran Treadwell, Matthew Rea, David Shanahan, Bill Johnston, Robert Baloucoune.

Terrible game with zero class on show.
Stander was probably the stand out of the match but Conway with his moment of magic was the decisive factor in the result. Rory Scannell got MOTM because Peter Stringer can see things that no one else can.

... even Johann van Grann must be struggling to appreciate Rory's qualities or he wouldn't be sniffing after De Allende?