Ulster Team Talk Thread IV... Go On My Henderson...

bigmac86

Any updates on Dalton? He was having a big game before going off. Didn't notice a moonboot or crutches when he was on the sidelines

Paul Smeenus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124029880#Comment_124029880

Saw him with what I presume was his daughter at end of game and he had nothing that suggested an ongoing injury.

Paul Smeenus

Really excited about Friday night, and it's been a while since I've been able to say to that. Not confident we'll win, but I now have faith that we'll play some good rugby.

I really hope that we give the Challenge Cup our full attention. Obviously it's not the Champions Cup, but we have Racing 92 and Stade Francais, two big French teams, coming to Belfast.

However, Richie is clear that finishing in the top eight of the URC is the priority. I hope that doesn't mean sending out the cubs to face a big French team at home, but I suspect that's what he's getting at here -

"You look at the two French teams we're going to play at home. They're in the top seven in France so they're top class teams.

"But I think it's really important we look at this 10-game bloc and think what's most important for us. I think it's really important that we work our way up the URC and get into the top tier of Europe.

"That's one of our big targets. Those Challenge Cup games are really important but there will be times across this bloc when we have to rotate our squad and rely on some of the young guys coming through. It's going to be exciting to see that."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/c208epg5zyyo

Deramore

Given how thin the squad is, there will have to be some ducking and diving. The run of fixtures on consecutive weekends is

Racing (H)

Cardiff (A) Challenge cup

Leinster (A)

Connacht (A)

Munster (H)

Cheetahs (A)

Stade (H)

Scarlets (A)

Cardiff (H) URC

4 games in December and 5 in January. Reckon they might go weaker for Cardiff, Leinster and Cheetahs away. And there’s always a chance that the French teams send the espoirs, especially Stade who are currently 4th in the Top 14.

bilston

I'd have thought an extra home game would be something to aim for for all sorts of reasons and finishing top 2 in our Challenge Cup pool seems more realistic than finishing top 4 in the URC.

I could be proved wrong but I'd be amazed if Racing send anything other than a second string next weekend.

bilston

Also, it feels like we got the short straw in terms of home matches over the Christmas period. I mean you can call Friday 2nd January the Festive period if you want...but personally I think you'd be clutching at straws!

FtD v2

Really confident and assured Ulster performance on Friday night.

Scrum struggled at times (seems to be mostly Crean), but felt the pack generally played well. Charlie Irvine gave a good account of himself despite being dropped in last minute.

I thought the half backs were excellent - Doak looks to have really re-found his confidence and Murphy is just very quietly good at what he does. He's like an old-school 10 who just facilitates play well around himself without a lot of fuss. For a guy with a very small frame, he's also looked relatively solid as a defender.

I love watching Jude Postlethwaite play - I can see no argument for why he shouldn't be part of the 6N squad for Ireland. He's got everything - big, fast, direct, aggressive, has a bit of a kicking game and good skillset for a big guy. Get some minutes into him in a green shirt IMO. Baloucoune is so physically talented too, I'd love to see him get another chance if he can stay healthy.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124031897#Comment_124031897

Kind of conflicted about this.

I agree that the league has to be our priority, but the Challenge Cup is a competition we could genuinely win outright, so I hope we take it seriously.

Paul Smeenus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124033832#Comment_124033832

Completely agreed. I understand the need to prioritise, but there's glamour to playing the big French teams and it would be great to keep up momentum.

ShineyShiney

The Challenge Cup always poses a big question. Connacht have had this experience a few times and imo got the balance wrong. The first focus of all Irish provinces is league finishing position but playing the young guys in the Challenge cup risks taking big losses and denting overall squad confidence. Ulster have started the season so well I would hate to see that.

Not an easy balance to find with fairly thin squads. If i was ulster coach I think i'd go full strength pack for the first game with some rotation in the backs.

FtD v2

Genuinely what’s a better season, winning the challenge cup or finishing 6th in the league and doing nothing in the URC playoffs?

As a fan I think winning the Challenge Cup would be way more enjoyable.

Paul Smeenus

Absolutely. Even just having a knock-out game in Belfast, something we can make a fuss over, seems a no-brainer to me, and that's much more likely to come through Europe, I think. If we give it a proper go.

ShineyShiney

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124034409#Comment_124034409

Yeah me too, but to win the Challenge Cup you have to beat some heavy hitters in the semi and final. Not sure if Ulster or Connacht have the horses for that at present.

The real question for me, is a semi final loss worth risking dropping from 6th to 9th and being out of the champions cup.

Obviously both would be great.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124034679#Comment_124034679

I don't think we could afford a second season out of the Champions Cup so qualifying for that has to be the absolute minimum bar.

Hopefully we don't find ourselves in the scenario where those sort of tradeoffs are required.

Obviously the challenge cup winner qualifies for the champions cup but I wouldn't want to be in the situation where we're relying on that route either!