Ulster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread.

durkadurka

Uh oh



richard mulligan (@r_mulligan1)
3/30/12 9:42 PM
@UlsterRugby coach Brian McLaughlin is 'genuinely worried' about Ferris ankle injury. Full story in @News_Letter sport on Saturday

CatFromHue

durkadurka wrote: »

Uh oh



richard mulligan (@r_mulligan1)
3/30/12 9:42 PM
@UlsterRugby coach Brian McLaughlin is 'genuinely worried' about Ferris ankle injury. Full story in @News_Letter sport on Saturday

That's bad, but it's too early to comment. No harm in letting Munster know he's a doubt though.

leonard7

jacothelad wrote: »

Imagine how good MacAllister and Macklin will be when they are old enough to shave.

macklins had a beard since he was 12...

jacothelad

Ironically it was against Aironi that he crigged his knee. He then missed the quarter final v. Saints. Bellix. At least it's his ankle.......if that's any consolation.

bilston

At least it's not his knee, I'm clinging to the hope that the mind games have started already and that he'll be fine. Also worried about Cave. Wallace and Cave were both excellent tonight. But they've been excellent all season. Easily the best centre partnership in Ireland IMO.

Very enjoyable game to watch with countless attacking phases and not just from Ulster to be fair. The Samoan winger for Aironi looks a good player, he had a few of the Ulster lads grasping at thin air at times!

Paul4As

Over 10,000 at the game last night...3rd highest attendance at Ravenhill for the season. Must've been the good weather...although there was a bit of drizzle in the second half and it was freezing walking back to the car at the end.
Hope Ferris gets the treatment to sort his ankle out...but if he doesn't make it for Sunday week...one man doesn't make a team. If someone comes in to replace him then who knows, they could play a blinder!
The focus on Sunday will be the players we have fit...what they can do...not who is missing.

Tox56

Probably been mentioned already but Ferris tweeted:

"Rolled my ankle but will hopefully be sweet for next sun."

Sounds relatively upbeat. From a neutral viewpoint, wouldn't be the same if he wasn't playing.

GerM

If it's just rolled and the swelling isn't too bad, I'd be shocked if he wasn't playing next week. Strap it up, ice the hell out of it and get out on the field. He's absolutely crucial to Ulster's chances. He's the one man that can take the game to Munster up front and comprehensively win his battles. We saw last year what happened in MK when Northampton just outmuscled Ulster without Ferris. They need someone that can set the tempo and lift the side when the chips are down. Afoa has a touch of it but Ferris has that quality in spades.

Banbridgeman

GerM wrote: »

If it's just rolled and the swelling isn't too bad, I'd be shocked if he wasn't playing next week. Strap it up, ice the hell out of it and get out on the field. He's absolutely crucial to Ulster's chances. He's the one man that can take the game to Munster up front and comprehensively win his battles. We saw last year what happened in MK when Northampton just outmuscled Ulster without Ferris. They need someone that can set the tempo and lift the side when the chips are down. Afoa has a touch of it but Ferris has that quality in spades.

Ferris will move heaven and earth to play. If he plays I'm very confident. I believe ulster have the best backrow in Ireland with Ferris on it.

Benny Cake

Ferris is already playing without a knee, losing an ankle is a mere fly in the ointment! No doubt in my mind he'll start next weekend.

the_doctor199

Ferris' scan today confirms he's a major doubt for Sunday, big loss.

Big Nelly

From twitter

Stephen Ferris ‏ @StephenFerris6

There is life in the old dog yet...

Sounds positive!!!!

irishbucsfan

Could all be a bunch of mind games.

I think the Ulster team really picks itself. Court, Best, Afoa, Muller, Tuohy, Ferris(?). Henry, Wannenburg, Pienaar, Humphreys, Trimble, Wallace, Cave, Gilroy, Terblanche.

All very predictable. They really really need Ferris in Thomond.

Clegg

Who would move to 6 if Ferris were injured?

Tox56

With my limited knowledge of Ulster rugby, would Faloon go 7 and Henry 6?

irishbucsfan

Tox56 wrote: »

With my limited knowledge of Ulster rugby, would Faloon go 7 and Henry 6?

Probably the most likely. Robbie Diack would come into the bench.

Clegg

Thats what I thought but Henry is having a very good season at 7. I'd be wary of disrupting the team further by moving your best openside to the blindeside.

Its probably going to be necessary though.

thomond2006

Ferris is worth at least 7 points to Ulster, for what he brings.

jacothelad

There are a number of options open to Ulster if Ferris is absent.
6) Wannenberg, 7) Faloon, .8) Henry.
6) Henry, ..........7) Faloon, 8) Wannenberg,
6) Wannenberg, 7)Henry , .8) Diack
6) Tuohy, .........7) Henry, .8) Wannenberg.

There are other back row players available but they are sh1te.....or too inexperienced.

Benny Cake

If Ferris misses this game his ankle must literally be dangling by a thread from his shin! He's a proper hard b*stard and will be dying to get on the pitch against Munster... Despite being a Munster fan, Ferris is easily my favorite Irish player, hope its not serious...

thomond2006

I want him to play, it would be terrible for a player of his class to miss his team's highest profile game for years.

Hype710

It begs the question, was it really necessary to risk Ferris against Aironi? He's not the type of player that needs constant games to maintain a high standard of play, so surely 15 minutes off the bench would have sufficed? Either way I think he'll play, there was similar doubt about Heaslip against Clermont last year but he pulled through and had a great game, but if i remember correctly the problem persisted for a few months after.

Hype710

Were he to miss the game, however, I'd give serious consideration to playing Tuohy at 6 and Muller and Stephenson in the row. Stephenson is a good player and very physical, Tuohy is effectively a lock version of Ferris. Away from home you need to front up so I'd play a physical pack and bring on the likes of Falloon when the game breaks up.

Henry and Faloon playing as 2 7s, with Tuohy taking blind side responsibility for carrying could be a great option...

irishbucsfan

Dexter Enough Sweeper wrote: »

Henry and Faloon playing as 2 7s, with Tuohy taking blind side responsibility for carrying could be a great option...

Not nearly enough grunt for Thomond park. You'll spend the game defending. Ferris is completely necessary.

bilston

Clegg wrote: »

Who would move to 6 if Ferris were injured?

Probably Henry to 6 and Faloon to 7 and Diack to the bench.

CatFromHue

Has anyone been on the Ulster website recently? I just noticed they've a direct link to Paddy Power's rugby page in their main toolbar.

jacothelad

Sponsorship. Hard to turn down.

CatFromHue

Definitely and it's not obtrusive in anyway. I'm talking about the button on the home, news, rugby etc bar.

thomond2006

Provisional Ulster Squad to play Munster, Sunday 8th April, Thomond Park (kick off 1.45pm):

Forwards:
Callum Black, Tom Court, Adam Macklin, Declan Fitzpatrick, John Afoa, Paddy McAllister,
Rory Best, Nigel Brady, Andi Kyricaou,
Lewis Stevenson, Dan Tuohy, Johann Muller (captain), Neil McComb,
Stephen Ferris, Mike McComish, Willie Faloon, Pedrie Wannenburg, Chris Henry, Robbie Diack

Backs:
Paul Marshall, Ruan Pienaar, Ian Porter,
Ian Humphreys, Paddy Jackson,
Luke Marshall, Paddy Wallace, Ian Whitten, Nevin Spence, Darren Cave,
Stefan Terblanche, Conor Gaston, Craig Gilroy, Andrew Trimble, Adam D’Arcy

Unavailable due to injury:
Jared Payne (achilles tendon), Simon Danielli (hamstring), Tim Barker (back), Chris Cochrane (foot), James McKinney (shoulder)