Ulster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread.

phog

I'm thinking of heading up to our Rabo game in Ravenhill on 3/1/14.

Looking for recommendations on hotels - will have a car so something with car parking and possibly within walking distance to Ravenhill or a public transport connection.

When will tickets be available for the game?

awec

Taxis are dirt cheap in Belfast so I wouldn't worry about staying close to the ground. Anywhere in the city centre would do.

I think the tickets went on sale a while ago, looking at ticketmaster there is only family terrace left?

http://www.ticketmaster.ie/rabodirect-pro12-ulster-rugby-v-belfast-01-03-2014/event/38004B16F3DF0ED4?artistid=33354&majorcatid=10004&minorcatid=225

I'd be surprised if it is sold out already.

shuffol

Buer wrote: »

Farrell, Olding, McAllister, Payne....exciting new prospects don't do injuries in halfs up north....

You could add Pollock and Ferris to that list.

Sinbad_NI

That's really depressing about SO. He was just starting to hit form this year as well. A very exciting player and will be badly missed for the rest of the season.

bilston

So who are our half backs this on Friday.

Pienaar with SA, Jackson with Ireland, Olding, Heaney, Porter and Wallace injured

Starting halfs

Marshall and McKinney - fine

Who on earth will sit on the bench? Shannahan might be the bench scrum half I guess? Is there anyone else and who will cover 10?

RobbieRuns

Pretty scarce on the ground for 10's with Olding out now. Who are the options?

awec

Do we even have options?

.ak

I suppose you could dip into the AIL.

thomond2006

You'll have to recall someone from Jersey...

bilston

Gareth Anscombe is over visiting his dad at the moment.

I wonder if we could get him a short term (2 week) contract.

RobbieRuns

he is over visiting............... because he is injured too !

bilston

RobbieRuns wrote: »

he is over visiting............... because he is injured too !

Ah well.

I genuinely don't know who will be out half cover this weekend then. Payne maybe? Cave if he is released by Ireland? Haven't a scooby.

Isn't the Ulster U20 out half this year still at school? So that rules him out then as well.

Might just have to go to the AIL.

Stanza2

I always thought that Ulster should have gone for Sean O'Hagan to their academy. One of the most promising young players around and top scorer in the 20's interpros and the AIL. He should have been a target for them

mfceiling

RobbieRuns wrote: »

Pretty scarce on the ground for 10's with Olding out now. Who are the options?

Does peter nelson cover 10?

CatFromHue

I was just on the Ulster website earlier and it's not very good.

There wasn't anything really wrong with the last one so I don't know why they changed.

I wanted to see Dan Touhy's stats for the season but they didn't list any of the second rows on the team profile page.

I had to scroll through the tickertape thing at the top to get to his page. They don't seem to list the appearances by season either but by opposition or something like that.

Anyway it wasn't anywhere near as good as the previous version

bilston

mfceiling wrote: »

Does peter nelson cover 10?

Good point. Think he has done at other levels.

Digifriendly

bilston wrote: »

Good point. Think he has done at other levels.

He plays No. 10 for Dungannon in AIL.

mfceiling

Digifriendly wrote: »

He plays No. 10 for Dungannon in AIL.

That's why i mentioned it. Dungannon are my "home" club, so i always keep an eye on match results/reports. He played there recently and by all accounts had a very good game.

RobbieRuns

He also played for the Ravens did he not in the game where SO got injured, full back i think? He has been doing well for Gannon.

bilston

It seems that Payne is out of tomorrow's game. But Cave, Trimble and Tuohy should be released by Ireland. Henderson may be back as well.

We might actually be able to put out a decent side, I'd just worry a bit about the half backs, especially 10 and the cover.

awec

Tuohy released by Ireland? Sigh...

Oh well, Ireland's loss is Ulster's gain.

Ugo Monye spacecraft experience

awec wrote: »

Tuohy released by Ireland? Sigh...

Oh well, Ireland's loss is Ulster's gain.

Very unfair, deserved a shot. McCarthy hasn't exactly been brilliant

$ausage$

Hi guys,

I was at the ravens game last week and obviously alot of coaches and players where there also some stuff i over heard I would rather not repeat as it made me look on people negatively but on a plus I heard this from more than 1 source and when I heard it again last night I searched and cant see anything about it.

I have heard that the Franks Bros are coming to join. This would replace court and Afoa obv but would they come the year before a WC? I dont see why they wouldn't wait unless they are not going to get picked.

Would be a big cou.

Your thoughts? Also I hear Paddy McAlister hurt himself again in a AIL game last week

awec

Ben Franks was a name that came up ages ago whenever it was thought that Afoa might leave early.

jacothelad

CatFromHue wrote: »

I was just on the Ulster website earlier and it's not very good.

There wasn't anything really wrong with the last one so I don't know why they changed.

I wanted to see Dan Touhy's stats for the season but they didn't list any of the second rows on the team profile page.

I had to scroll through the tickertape thing at the top to get to his page. They don't seem to list the appearances by season either but by opposition or something like that.

Anyway it wasn't anywhere near as good as the previous version

It's a total f@%king embarrassment.

$ausage$ wrote: »

Hi guys,

I was at the ravens game last week and obviously alot of coaches and players where there also some stuff i over heard I would rather not repeat as it made me look on people negatively but on a plus I heard this from more than 1 source and when I heard it again last night I searched and cant see anything about it.

I have heard that the Franks Bros are coming to join. This would replace court and Afoa obv but would they come the year before a WC? I dont see why they wouldn't wait unless they are not going to get picked.

Would be a big cou.

Your thoughts? Also I hear Paddy McAlister hurt himself again in a AIL game last week

Bad news about Big Paddy if true.

I wouldn't think the Franks Bros would
a) leave N.Z. coming up to a RWC and
b) the IRFU may have relaxed the belt abit concerning overseas players but I can't see Ulster getting 2 NIE props.

I would think we will be left to our own devices at loosehead or sign someone who is IE but mayne not top level a,d we will sign a TH project player = or even better one who can tie his own shoelaces and who is actually IE.

We've had shockingly awful luck with props over the last few years.
Joeli Veitayiiaki - he didn't work out but - Joeli Veitayaki is now the Associate Professor and Head of the School of Marine Studies, Director for the International Ocean Institute Pacific Islands based at the USP and is leader of the University Research Cluster on Pacific Ocean and Fisheries Management. So he did o.k. Good for him.
Simon Best having to retire.
The Bear not kicking on.
Injuries to Macklin and McAllister and many. many ,many to Fitz.
Afoa's missus not liking the cold - (Who the feck does?- it's like being back in the 1970s today).

LH
I'm telling yee, Jack O'Connell(23) is there for the sweeping off his feet. Serious player, McGrath(24) and Healy (26) both ahead of him at Leinster, not a lot of room for him there really.

TH
Try to tempt Hagan back across the waters? Andress capable enough to lead an Ulster scrum?
Nathan White to be poached?

---
McAllister is a very very good player. This spate of injuries is horrendous though. Between himself, Macklin and Fitzpatrick yee have the guts of a solid front row, but none of them can stay near fitness.

$ausage$

Yeh but I dont want to make the mistakes Leinster made with Bent. Would rather promote from within AIL for LH as you say.

your allowed 5 foreign players arnt you? Maybe with Payne becoming "Irish" next year it frees up a spot?

Muller & Ruan are the only ones that will be there next year or am i missing someone

$ausage$

Deleted User wrote: »

LH
I'm telling yee, Jack O'Connell(23) is there for the sweeping off his feet. Serious player, McGrath(24) and Healy (26) both ahead of him at Leinster, not a lot of room for him there really.

TH
Try to tempt Hagan back across the waters? Andress capable enough to lead an Ulster scrum?
Nathan White to be poached?

---
McAllister is a very very good player. This spate of injuries is horrendous though. Between himself, Macklin and Fitzpatrick yee have the guts of a solid front row, but none of them can stay near fitness.

I forgot about Ricky Lutton too. He looks good enugh for a young chap.

I would love McGrath!!!! They will never let him go though he has no IRFU contract that I know of so leinster wont let him go. If the IRFU said he had to go to get game time though that would work very well for us.

jacothelad

$ausage$ wrote: »

Yeh but I dont want to make the mistakes Leinster made with Bent. Would rather promote from within AIL for LH as you say.

your allowed 5 foreign players arnt you? Maybe with Payne becoming "Irish" next year it frees up a spot?

Muller & Ruan are the only ones that will be there next year or am i missing someone

I think Muller retires at the end of this season - as he should. He's getting more and more fragile despite still playing very well.

$ausage$ wrote: »

I forgot about Ricky Lutton too. He looks good enugh for a young chap.

I would love McGrath!!!! They will never let him go though he has no IRFU contract that I know of so leinster wont let him go. If the IRFU said he had to go to get game time though that would work very well for us.

Lutton isn't young... he's a late bloomer and in reality he might scrape by in the Rabo but he'll never be a top end t.h.

bilston

$ausage$ wrote: »

Yeh but I dont want to make the mistakes Leinster made with Bent. Would rather promote from within AIL for LH as you say.

your allowed 5 foreign players arnt you? Maybe with Payne becoming "Irish" next year it frees up a spot?

Muller & Ruan are the only ones that will be there next year or am i missing someone

Muller won't be here (probably), but Nick Williams will be.

At the minute there are probably two NIQ spots and one Project spot up for grabs so plenty of recruitment to be done.