URC The Round 10 Commandments

First topic message reminder :

So time for a quick interval in the 6 nations then as we see round 10 of the URC this weekend. How will the international call ups affect this one, feels like this is a week where we could see some unusual scorelines.

Friday 16th February 2024

Scarlets v Munster
Parc Y Scarlets, Llanelli – KO 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA / 21.35 SA
Live on: BBC Wales, TG4, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

Zebre Parma v Edinburgh Rugby
Stadio Lanfranchi, Parma – KO 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA / 21.35 SA
Live on: Sky Italia, SuperSport, Viaplay, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv


Saturday 17th February

Emirates Lions v Vodacom Bulls
Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg – KO 13.00 IRE & UK / 14.00 ITA / 15.00 SA
Live on: SuperSport, Viaplay, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

Leinster v Benetton
RDS Arena, Dublin – KO 15.00 IRE & UK / 16.00 ITA / 17.00 SA
Live on: RTÉ, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

Hollywoodbets Sharks v DHL Stormers
Hollywoodbets Stadium, Durban – KO 15.05 IRE & UK / 16.05 ITA / 17.05 SA
Live on: SuperSport, Viaplay, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

Cardiff Rugby v Connacht
Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff – KO 17.15 IRE & UK / 18.15 ITA / 19.15 SA
Live on: S4C, RTÉ, Viaplay, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

Glasgow Warriors v Dragons RFC
Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow – KO 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA / 21.35 SA
Live on: Viaplay, S4C, SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv


Sunday 18th February 2024

Ospreys v Ulster
Swansea.com Stadium, Swansea – KO 15.00 IRE & UK / 16.00 ITA / 17.00 SA
Live on: Viaplay, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

So is Flannery our starting 10 next year?

That Ospreys try just about sums Ulster up in a nutshell really.

would they be winning now if they had actually taken some of their penalties. Probably.

I dont think its as doom and gloom as you think Geoff. Now I will give you the Dragons and Scarlets are terrible at the minute but Ospreys and Cardiff actually are not to bad given the spending difference between them and the top teams in the league.

Not winning any more

neilthom7 wrote:That Ospreys try just about sums Ulster up in a nutshell really.

Yeah - i really thought Ulster at the beginning of the season would be better than this. I cant even really put my finger on why they have dropped of so badly from last year.

Ulster could be in real trouble now.

big scrum set piece move could end this game....

Seriously if the whole coaching team ain't let go after this it's going to be a rather speedy decent down the league for Ulster.

Welshmushroom wrote:

neilthom7 wrote:That Ospreys try just about sums Ulster up in a nutshell really.

Yeah - i really thought Ulster at the beginning of the season would be better than this.  I cant even really put my finger on why they have dropped of so badly from last year.

I didn't exactly what I expected.

Coaches who have totally lost the plot would be a good starting point to explain

crikey another bad lineout from Ulster. So many errors this match

carpet baboon wrote:So is Flannery our starting 10 next year?

Probably alongside Doak with Lowry as the emergency replacement

carpet baboon wrote:Seriously if the whole coaching team ain't let go after this it's going to be a rather speedy decent down the league for Ulster.

It does seem like there is something going wrong....I know Ulster dont have the biggest budget in the league but a top 8 finish should be the bare minimum for them with their spending.

Bizarre - now from 50 mins they take the penalty.....some of this is down to the players choices as well.

They did manage the kick though so right call but it really shouldnt have come to this during this game.

lovely drop goal that....

I'm satisfied with Ulster losing for the 1st time in my life. The clowns stealing a living as coaches surely cannot remain after that.
F off Dan and the crew.

Glad we lost.

The Poopie show that is the management of Ulster rugby need to be exposed and eradicated.

and thats the game - didnt think Ospreys were that good. As I said earlier had they taken just 3 of the penalties Ulster put to the corners this game would have been a win.

I understand kicking for lineouts when your at home. But away? Dont think that generally is the way to go unless you are scoring everytime...

Congratulations ospreys

Welshmushroom wrote:

I understand kicking for lineouts when your at home.  ..

I understanding kicking for lineouts when you are a good well coach side

I don't understand kicking for lineout when you are a clueless rabble

Ulster are definitely the latter

Doak and Lowry havent looked the same since their breakout seasons.....its always a danger as players can always have a strong showing but when teams start doing their homework on players it gets a little harder. But in both cases it looks like they have also lost confidence.

Honestly can't see Ulster getting more than one win the rest of the season if those "in charge" stay.
Absolutely no game plan today, normally you could say that at least the players put the effort in, but today they looked completely disinterested. No structure no leadership no fu*kin clue.

The coaches all have to go and Petrie needs to follow them too. IRFU at this stage may need to step in at Ulster and take control of the decisions being made

Has there ever been a fan protest at rugby match asking for the management to leave? You see it at wendyball matches.

ok listening to Dan post match interview seems bizarre. He pointed out the 2 turning points of the game were losing the ball and ospreys going to score the game and the other being the maul bind at the end where ospreys were given the scrum to attack again.

Fair enough on the first but the second one was a weird point.

To be honest i also dont think either of those were the reason they lost that game. Maybe Dan does need to go now...

Clutching at straws. Absolute

He looked embarrassed and broken. I hope to he'll he is. He's now presiding over a side that's worse than the basket case era.

At least when we were fighting Connacht to avoid bottom place you saw some team spirit and commitment

Not now

Poor reaction from Dan at the end, looks like he is under some pressure. I think he's a decent enough coach but Ulster need someone else who can bring a new way - I think the same of Wales with Gatland.

As I have mentioned, on the Ulster folder, having met the man he is not a pleasant individual

Word is that the Ulster players were far more gracious after the final whistle, and gave Dan Edwards high praise.

The one thing I will say is its good to see these youngsters getting in early. I do think the regions haven't done well in terms of blooding youngsters early enough in the past.

Welshmushroom wrote:The one thing I will say is its good to see these youngsters getting in early.  I do think the regions haven't done well in terms of blooding youngsters early enough in the past.

But it's only Ospreys doing it well, isn't it? Arguably Cardiff too to an extent although they are continually on the wrong end of the result. There aren't as many to get excited about at Dragons. Ackerman, Coghlan, maybe Yendle?

mikey_dragon wrote:

Welshmushroom wrote:The one thing I will say is its good to see these youngsters getting in early.  I do think the regions haven't done well in terms of blooding youngsters early enough in the past.

But it's only Ospreys doing it well, isn't it? Arguably Cardiff too to an extent although they are continually on the wrong end of the result. There aren't as many to get excited about at Dragons. Ackerman, Coghlan, maybe Yendle?

We’re blooding plenty. Dyer and Aneurin Owen were blooded fairly young, and lately there have been the others such as Scarfe, Che Hope, Woodman, Westwood, Rosser (younger brother), Oli Andrew, Reed, George Young, etc. Some of these are still listed as being in the senior academy rather than in the Dragons main squad. The problem is that the dragons squad is already struggling with the best team put out. So parachute a few youngsters in and they’re not surrounded by sufficient quality. Dan Edwards at Ospreys was probably given a bit of an armchair ride with such a good pack in front of him. I know they had a lot out but still had the likes of Botha, Nicky Smith, Tipuric, Ratti, Morse. A number of them could and should be in the Wales squad. Compare that to the Dragons team where you had academy players coming off the bench into an already weak pack. We couldn’t get any platform at all. I read the other day that we made 0 line breaks! And I think missed 39 tackles! I’m convinced it’s a matter of coaching. I’m sure these same players can do better, so it comes down to the coaching (defence, attack, conditioning, etc. All of it). We haven’t even got a defence coach which is starting to show!

Some decent youngsters that we've found there. I'm not sure if they have played enough that they can be considered good, yet. We are stocked at hooker but I'd much rather have Scarfe there than Benjamin. I'm not seeing it with Owen, who is a good player but doesn't seem to be big or fast enough for pro rugby. I also think our lot overhype Woodman - every time I have seen him for Wales U20 and Dragons he doesn't carry much and just stands around rucks, reminds me of Max Williams who was the same. I think it will be incredibly difficult for them all coming through anyway, as they're coming into a losing environment where they don't seem to know how to play (the stats you've alluded to back that up).

mikey_dragon wrote:

Welshmushroom wrote:The one thing I will say is its good to see these youngsters getting in early.  I do think the regions haven't done well in terms of blooding youngsters early enough in the past.

But it's only Ospreys doing it well, isn't it? Arguably Cardiff too to an extent although they are continually on the wrong end of the result. There aren't as many to get excited about at Dragons. Ackerman, Coghlan, maybe Yendle?

Your not wrong Mikey. The real sad thing is this is the first season the Dragons have the same spending power as the other 3 who where spending a lot more than us. Dai doesnt have that excuse and should be as competitive as the Ospreys are. That shows how bad some of the spending has been even with these re-signings.

TAFKA The Oracle wrote:

mikey_dragon wrote:

Welshmushroom wrote:The one thing I will say is its good to see these youngsters getting in early.  I do think the regions haven't done well in terms of blooding youngsters early enough in the past.

But it's only Ospreys doing it well, isn't it? Arguably Cardiff too to an extent although they are continually on the wrong end of the result. There aren't as many to get excited about at Dragons. Ackerman, Coghlan, maybe Yendle?

We’re blooding plenty. Dyer and Aneurin Owen were blooded fairly young, and lately there have been the others such as Scarfe, Che Hope, Woodman, Westwood, Rosser (younger brother), Oli Andrew, Reed, George Young, etc. Some of these are still listed as being in the senior academy rather than in the Dragons main squad. The problem is that the dragons squad is already struggling with the best team put out. So parachute a few youngsters in and they’re not surrounded by sufficient quality. Dan Edwards at Ospreys was probably given a bit of an armchair ride with such a good pack in front of him. I know they had a lot out but still had the likes of Botha, Nicky Smith, Tipuric, Ratti, Morse. A number of them could and should be in the Wales squad. Compare that to the Dragons team where you had academy players coming off the bench into an already weak pack. We couldn’t get any platform at all. I read the other day that we made 0 line breaks! And I think missed 39 tackles! I’m convinced it’s a matter of coaching. I’m sure these same players can do better, so it comes down to the coaching (defence, attack, conditioning, etc. All of it). We haven’t even got a defence coach which is starting to show!

Don't disagree with the coaching being the issue. Our guys at that level are probably not at the level needed

Welshmushroom wrote:

mikey_dragon wrote:

Welshmushroom wrote:The one thing I will say is its good to see these youngsters getting in early.  I do think the regions haven't done well in terms of blooding youngsters early enough in the past.

But it's only Ospreys doing it well, isn't it? Arguably Cardiff too to an extent although they are continually on the wrong end of the result. There aren't as many to get excited about at Dragons. Ackerman, Coghlan, maybe Yendle?

Your not wrong Mikey.  The real sad thing is this is the first season the Dragons have the same spending power as the other 3 who where spending a lot more than us.  Dai doesnt have that excuse and should be as competitive as the Ospreys are.  That shows how bad some of the spending has been even with these re-signings.

When were the budgets actually agreed though? Weren’t we pretty much into the new season when they finally agreed what we’d get? Not sure if it was possible to make the signings we wanted in light of the additional funding. Not entirely sure on that though but remember grumblings about not knowing where they were with the new season imminent. Dai has come out in the last few weeks saying about strengthening with some foreign imports, so maybe it’s more next season that this additional/equal funding will kick in?

TAFKA The Oracle wrote:

Welshmushroom wrote:

mikey_dragon wrote:

Welshmushroom wrote:The one thing I will say is its good to see these youngsters getting in early.  I do think the regions haven't done well in terms of blooding youngsters early enough in the past.

But it's only Ospreys doing it well, isn't it? Arguably Cardiff too to an extent although they are continually on the wrong end of the result. There aren't as many to get excited about at Dragons. Ackerman, Coghlan, maybe Yendle?

Your not wrong Mikey.  The real sad thing is this is the first season the Dragons have the same spending power as the other 3 who where spending a lot more than us.  Dai doesnt have that excuse and should be as competitive as the Ospreys are.  That shows how bad some of the spending has been even with these re-signings.

When were the budgets actually agreed though? Weren’t we pretty much into the new season when they finally agreed what we’d get? Not sure if it was possible to make the signings we wanted in light of the additional funding. Not entirely sure on that though but remember grumblings about not knowing where they were with the new season imminent. Dai has come out in the last few weeks saying about strengthening with some foreign imports, so maybe it’s more next season that this additional/equal funding will kick in?

Actually, thinking about it a bit more........ I think the other regions were coming down to Dragons level of funding, rather than us coming up to meet them! Hence a lot of players leaving those other regions. So I don't think we'll have much/any more to spend going forward.

carpet baboon wrote:Apart from Thomas Young that game was awful. If you didn't see it don't watch it, in fact avoid any reports in the press at all, it's not worth your time

Was at the game. Very bad. But the right result for Connacht and a great weekend.