Ulster v Ospreys (Ravenhill) 3:05pm BBC2NI

vienne86

Stheno wrote: »

is John Cooney a former Leinster player?

He got a Heineken Cup winners medal when he came on as a sub in the Leinster v Ulster final in Twickenham in 2912.

bilston

vienne86 wrote: »

Stheno wrote: »

is John Cooney a former Leinster player?

He got a Heineken Cup winners medal when he came on as a sub in the Leinster v Ulster final in Twickenham in 2912.

Oh yeah...the game where Leinster won their 438th star!

Tigerandahalf

Delighted to hear that Phillips went well again.
When he played with the Ire u20s he looked to have a great boot on him. He could really strike the ball out of hand. I'm not sure if he is the guy who was close to pro soccer level in England. If so you can see why he would have a good kick developed.

With Ulster now in the CC they should probably go for an overseas 10 who can dovetail with McPhillips next season. Going for Carberry is risky as he could be away on Ireland duty and end up playing little rugby.

I don't think Carberry is good enough for 10 yet, although being beside J Cooney could be an aid as he takes the goalkicks. Carberry for me still lacks the control at 10 that you need. For me Byrne is a better option at the moment at Leinster and Ulster might as well back Phillips since he has done so well thus far.

O'Toole seemed to play well which says a lot about the conveyor belt from the u20s. None of the other 6 nations sides are having such quick breakthroughs. With O'Toole now a viable TH along with Moore, Herbst, Ah You and Kane you'd wonder if Ah You will be switched back to LH as they are unbalanced in those positions.

Ulster need to secure a top quality LH as they are very light there with just Warwick and V der Merve, neither who have been pro14 level.
It should be their no.1 priority.

Former Former

A loose head would be great and should be OK since Ireland are well stocked.

Signing a foreign out half might have been possible if Ulster had lost today but Champions Cup rugby means Carbery arriving is more likely. They can't sign a foreigner and they have to sign someone so...

Back three is another problem position. Really low on numbers there.

joseywhales

If Ulster have McPhillips and carbery, they would surely end up just playing carbery at 15, since they also are stuggling there.

pickarooney

awec wrote: »

Personally I'd rather stick with what we have than this proposed Carbery for one season bollocks. Just cannot get behind that at all, it's such a half-arsed attempt a solution that does nothing but kick the can down the road.

It's kicking the can down the road if Ulster spend another 12 months faffing about instead of securing/developing a quality 10 and a solid back up for the following season. That, or hoping he'll change his mind.

pickarooney

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

Delighted to hear that Phillips went well again.
When he played with the Ire u20s he looked to have a great boot on him. He could really strike the ball out of hand. I'm not sure if he is the guy who was close to pro soccer level in England. If so you can see why he would have a good kick developed.

With Ulster now in the CC they should probably go for an overseas 10 who can dovetail with McPhillips next season. Going for Carberry is risky as he could be away on Ireland duty and end up playing little rugby.

I don't think Carberry is good enough for 10 yet, although being beside J Cooney could be an aid as he takes the goalkicks. Carberry for me still lacks the control at 10 that you need. For me Byrne is a better option at the moment at Leinster and Ulster might as well back Phillips since he has done so well thus far.

O'Toole seemed to play well which says a lot about the conveyor belt from the u20s. None of the other 6 nations sides are having such quick breakthroughs. With O'Toole now a viable TH along with Moore, Herbst, Ah You and Kane you'd wonder if Ah You will be switched back to LH as they are unbalanced in those positions.

Ulster need to secure a top quality LH as they are very light there with just Warwick and V der Merve, neither who have been pro14 level.
It should be their no.1 priority.

At the risk of a trickle becoming a flow, Dooley is a fine LH with very little game time in perspective.

molloyjh

pickarooney wrote: »

At the risk of a trickle becoming a flow, Dooley is a fine LH with very little game time in perspective.

He's also just signed a new deal with Leinster.

pickarooney

I suppose if you wait until late May to go looking your chances of strengthening your squad are limited. Maybe Ulster have a load of signings to announce, dependent on the win last night,, oraybe they have real faith in their academy, but it just looks like they're doing nothing to avoid a crisis.

launish116

pickarooney wrote: »

I suppose if you wait until late May to go looking your chances of strengthening your squad are limited. Maybe Ulster have a load of signings to announce, dependent on the win last night,, oraybe they have real faith in their academy, but it just looks like they're doing nothing to avoid a crisis.

PR department be all over it! We trust our academy and don’t require further support!