Ulster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread.

MolBee · 17-04-2013 2:34pm

bilston wrote: »

It would be amusing if Leinster nominated the Aviva as their choice of venue for any final.

Actually Leinster probably could nominate the Aviva. I'm assuming Ulster didn't because they can't risk the chance of playing someone other than Leinster and then only selling 25,000 tickets, where as Leinster would probably sell it out for anyone in a league final or at least be very close to selling it out given it's in their home city.

Then I think I would be in a very confused state of sort of hoping Leinster finish first for the playoffs?? Haha. Odd situation anyway. I understand the issue about only partially filling out the Aviva but sure Edinburgh do it all the time with Murrayfield.... you would be compromising slightly on atmosphere but I would rather that than the possibility of gifting real home advantage to our opposition...

Edit: I just realised that their fans may outnumber us in that case, so maybe the RDS is preferable, although I see that as their 'spirtual' home that would give them a big mental boost. Ah well, we haven't been doing too badly "away" from home this season so if it's to be it's to be!

totallegend · 18-04-2013 12:21pm

Ulster XV and replacements to face Connacht, RaboDirect PRO12, The Sportsground, Friday 19th April 2013 (kick off 19.45);

(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.

Strong team.

Is Fitzpatrick injured again or is Lutton now ahead of him?

CIARAN_BOYLE · 18-04-2013 12:25pm

totallegend wrote: »

Ulster XV and replacements to face Connacht, RaboDirect PRO12, The Sportsground, Friday 19th April 2013 (kick off 19.45);

(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.

Strong team.

Is Fitzpatrick injured again or is Lutton now ahead of him?

I think Lutton may be ahead of Fitz. Perhaps the Ulster management think Lutton would be a good backup going forward while they can't trust Fitzpatrick so they are giving Lutton as much gametime as is available.

Very strong team for Ulster. Bowe lining at 11 for the first time in a lot time is very interesting. Nice to see Muller back even if only on the bench.

rchendz92 · 18-04-2013 12:27pm

Reckon it will be a comfortable victory, hoping for another bonus point and all but we'll see how much Connacht want it.

thomond2006 · 18-04-2013 12:31pm

Lutton (born Feb 1986) is three years younger than Fitzpatrick (July 1983), plus Fitzpatrick keeps getting injured.

Hype710 · 18-04-2013 1:14pm

Lutton has come from nowhere really. Was a loosehead until this year AFAIK. Could well get capped in the summer.

Sinbad_NI · 18-04-2013 1:28pm

Strong team and bench.
Lets hope for a performance to go with it.

bilston · 18-04-2013 1:33pm

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

I think Lutton may be ahead of Fitz. Perhaps the Ulster management think Lutton would be a good backup going forward while they can't trust Fitzpatrick so they are giving Lutton as much gametime as is available.

Very strong team for Ulster. Bowe lining at 11 for the first time in a lot time is very interesting. Nice to see Muller back even if only on the bench.

Evidence, if it were needed, as to who is regarded as the top winger is in Ulster.

It will be interesting to see Tommy on the left, I remember when he played there at the start of his career for Ireland he was fairly ineffective. We keep talking about lucky we are to have three great wingers at Ulster, yet they're all really 14s.

CIARAN_BOYLE · 18-04-2013 1:36pm

bilston wrote: »

Evidence, if it were needed, as to who is regarded as the top winger is in Ulster.

It will be interesting to see Tommy on the left, I remember when he played there at the start of his career for Ireland he was fairly ineffective. We keep talking about lucky we are to have three great wingers at Ulster, yet they're all really 14s.

On the other hand it would boost Bowe's Lions chances if he was seen as competent in positions other than 14. Maybe Mark is doing Bowe a favour.

Maybe not mind you but you can't read anything into selection in a Rabo league match.

bilston · 18-04-2013 1:40pm

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

On the other hand it would boost Bowe's Lions chances if he was seen as competent in positions other than 14. Maybe Mark is doing Bowe a favour.

Maybe not mind you but you can't read anything into selection in a Rabo league match.

Maybe, although i'd be surprised if MA was picking his team with that in mind. Maybe he's doing Trimble a favour! Who knows.

Despite what I said above about Bowe not being as effective on the left in his younger days I don't think it will make much difference to him now as he is a real rover of a winger and pops anywhere and everywhere.

CIARAN_BOYLE · 18-04-2013 1:44pm

bilston wrote: »

Maybe, although i'd be surprised if MA was picking his team with that in mind. Maybe he's doing Trimble a favour! Who knows.

Despite what I said above about Bowe not being as effective on the left in his younger days I don't think it will make much difference to him now as he is a real rover of a winger and pops anywhere and everywhere.

Agreed I was just making the point that we can't read anything into selection for a Rabo match.

Hype710 · 18-04-2013 1:50pm

I think it's a recognition that Trimble is far more effective on right that left, whereas Bowe may only be marginally less effective on the left.

awec · 18-04-2013 7:24pm

awec · 23-04-2013 2:00pm

So, do we have any rumoured signings or any craic like that?

thomond2006 · 23-04-2013 2:03pm

awec wrote: »

So, do we have any rumoured signings or any craic like that?

David McIlwaine is confirmed to be leaving Bristol, rumoured to be returning to Ulster.

Hagz · 23-04-2013 2:30pm

Doncaster were gutted to see him leave to Bristol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfJhB4pVOWg

bilston · 23-04-2013 2:47pm

awec wrote: »

So, do we have any rumoured signings or any craic like that?

From what I can gather...

Rumoured INs
David McIlwaine - Bristol
James McKinney - Rotherham

Rumoured OUTs
Stephen Ferris - Japan, anywhere that will have him
John Afoa - NZ
Adam D'Arcy - Somewhere in France, can't remember where but Agen rings a bell
Ali Birch - Rotherham (confirmed?)
Niall O'Connor - Jersey (confirmed?)
Chris Cochrane - Connacht
Nigel Brady - Retirement??

Thinks that's about it, to be fair I've put 2 and 2 together with Brady, he was supposedly going to retire last season and was persuaded otherwise so I assume he will retire this year. For what it's worth and for no real logical reason I'm a bit more confident that Afoa will stay now than I was a while ago. Also no news is good news as far as I'm concerned with Ferris but we'll see what happens.

Added to the incoming players I'd say the likes of Olding, Nelson and Joyce will be promoted from the Academy to senior contracts be they development or full.

bilston · 23-04-2013 2:50pm

Hagz wrote: »

Doncaster were gutted to see him leave to Bristol.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfJhB4pVOWg

I've seen that video a few times, it proves that he has either improved a lot or that the Championship is way way way below the level of the Pro 12. It's probably a combination of both, and to be fair to him when he was at Ulster originally he ended up on the wing quite a lot which probably didn't show him in his best light, he seems to be an out and out full back.

awec · 23-04-2013 4:37pm

TBH I reckon Afoa will go.

ssaye · 24-04-2013 4:06pm

UlsterRugby Ulster Rugby 1h
This is the view from the top of the new Aquinas stand #redevelopment pic.twitter.com/f3rsTVI4Uk

bilston · 26-04-2013 12:15pm

From Sky Sports...confirmation on McKinney and McIlwaine's return.

Paddy Wallace has signed a new-one year deal with Ulster.

The centre is Ulster's longest-serving player, having made his senior debut back in 2001 and he has played 188 times, scoring 439 points.

Wallace said: 'I am delighted to have agreed a new deal and I look forward to recovering from injury and playing next season.

"This Ulster squad is the strongest that I have been involved in and I have no doubt that we will be competing for silverware next year. I want to be a part of that and to hopefully to become the first player to make 200 appearances for the Province."

Ulster director of rugby David Humphreys said: 'Paddy Wallace has unrivalled experience and knowledge of the game. It was important for us to keep him, not just for his playing ability, but also for the significant role that he fulfills in mentoring the young players that we have coming through.

Meanwhile back-row forward Mike McComish has signed a two-year contract extension that will see him remain at the club until 2015.

And former Ulster players James McKinney and David McIlwaine have agreed contracts to return to Ulster.

McKinney has spent this season playing for Rotherham Titans whilst McIlwaine, 23, has spent this season at Bristol.

Humpreys said: "Mike McComish has shown a remarkable level of consistency this season and James and David will come back to us having benefitted considerably from their time in England.

"It is now more important than ever to have a strong panel of players to be able to compete in both the league and Europe. These four players will add considerably to our strength in depth for next season."

awec · 26-04-2013 12:16pm

Not sure about McComish getting a 2 year deal.

iamjenko · 26-04-2013 12:17pm

Good bit of business by Ulster there! Great to see all these boys back playing for their home province after a year or two getting experience over seas!

thomond2006 · 26-04-2013 12:21pm

iamjenko wrote: »

Good bit of business by Ulster there! Great to see all these boys back playing for their home province after a year or two getting experience over seas!

It could be a model for the future, you'd wonder if someone like Ian Nagle could have benefited with a year in England.

bilston · 26-04-2013 12:46pm

awec wrote: »

Not sure about McComish getting a 2 year deal.

I think his "ability" to play 7 is probably what earned him a contract. Birch is supposedly going to England and while what we saw of Doyle early in the season was reasonably positive we need a third O/S to back Doyle and Henry up.

I wonder if Conor Joyce could play 7?

opinionatedfan · 26-04-2013 1:11pm

Joyce is a 6 in my book.

His build and style of play is perfect for it.

the_doctor199 · 26-04-2013 3:11pm

bilston wrote: »

Humpreys said: "Mike McComish has shown a remarkable level of consistency this season..."

That's correct, consistently pisses me off.

justsomebloke · 26-04-2013 3:37pm

thomond2006 wrote: »

It could be a model for the future, you'd wonder if someone like Ian Nagle could have benefited with a year in England.

It really is something the IRFU should be pushing, there are so many fringe players in Ireland that would benefit massively by spending a couple of seasons abroad.

Hype710 · 26-04-2013 3:43pm

With Jackman and now Prendergast at Grenoble that could be a decent avenue. I'm not sure how the 'Espoirs' system is run in France but it covers players under 23. Birch on Against the Head said they needed a prop as a medical joker and should have been able to get one in Ireland but couldn't.

bilston · 30-04-2013 8:18am

So how many Ulstermen are we expecting to make the cut today? Just Tommy and Rory? Could anyone else sneak in? I don't think he will be named today but I wonder if Henderson puts in some big performances in the Rabo play offs could he find himself on standby later in the tour.

Also thinking back we havent provided many Lions recently.

2009 - Ferris (cant count Bowe)
2005 - None
2001 - Howe (controversially)
1997 - Davidson

Mad to think Humphreys didnt make it, I think he'd walk into the 2013 squad with Sexton.

Ulster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread.

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