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

Thinking about last night...

Taking Herring off looked pre meditated, and yes Andrew has been great recently, but with Carter and Coetzee gone and Herring playing out of his skin, I think this was a mistake...I understand it, but at the time I raised an eyebrow, and with the benefit of hindsight I'm raising two!

Also, Id have brought Moore on for Hume when we were chasing the game in the last 15-10 minutes...Hume was pretty non existent last night in attack. Now I get you lose a bit defensively, but given the set up of the competition is a LBP at home really enough anyway?

In reality Europe was always among shot this year given the set up. No idea how many points you need to qualify, even getting to 12 will very hard now. I expect the French teams to go well this year. Secretly I'd quite like that Toulouse team to win it.

bilston wrote: »

Yeah, we played well, you can't fault anyone. There were a couple of moments where we could have done better...the difference is that in the Pro 14 you get away with it...against Dupont, Kolbe and Ntamack you don't...

Makes you wonder without Dan’s coaching with the same team/situation how big a defeat we would of had.

launish116 wrote: »

Can’t really see Dan submitting and focusing on the Pro 14.

Though are hand could be forced, Coetzee & Carter may have HIA return to play protocols.

Gloucester could lose today as well I guess.

Yeah...I don't think we give up the ghost just yet. But as awec says it is very unlikely we will qualify. Two BPs against Gloucester gets us to 11 and a LBP in Toulouse gets us to 12. That's the best I see us getting. We can't gauge yet what you need to finish top 4. But even winning in Gloucester will be tight if we are missing Carter and Coetzee, as well as the others.

Keep fighting the good fight. It's sport.

Let's say we deprioritised the HEC - let our young bucks have a crack. Use the games to try stuff out. And we get a 4 point win at home and a LBP or draw away to Gloucester.

Then, before we go to Toulouse, Dupont and Kolbe are injured. Or they get Covid and have to forfeit. Or one of their players gets a red card in the third minute.

You have an Ulster squad that can achieve nothing with a good result in France, because we decided not to try our best against Gloucester.

Paul Smeenus wrote: »

Ulster A 22 Munster A 10

Encouragingly, two tries were from our second rows and one from Aaron Sexton that was apparently a bit special.

Ulster A continuing to win while I'm not there to watch, great.

Would've really liked to see how that backline went, looks really dynamic.

Honestly I was expecting a handy enough Munster win - Darren Sweetnam, Dan Goggin, Chris Cloete and Tommy O'Donnell are all good pro14 players with European experience. We had are own players with experience, but not of their quality. Add in a deeper bench and prospects like Ahern, Crowley and O'Sullivan who I reckon will all be very good and they look to have a better team than us imo. So wins against Leinster and Munster now must mean we're doing something right.

Moxham and McMenamin standout as two names that will want to have impressed, given they don't have an academy contract and rugby games are hard to come by right now to show what they're capable of. Both two players who looked decent when I saw them but I was unsure of.

launish116 wrote: »

Was thinking the same, that Munster team had plenty of senior experience.

Real shame they don’t stream these games or provide some form of highlights!

Has the boat sailed on McMenamin with Ulster contracting Cormac Izuchukwu? I know things can change, just seemed strange to sign up a 7s player before him, albeit Izuchukwu looks like an athlete!

Be interesting to hear how Saunderson & Bradley got on!

**Edit CEO John Petrie on Twitter saying highlights be out start of week and Ulster looking at streaming options for future games.

I thought McMenamin was a decent player but lacked size to be a pro 2nd rower last time I saw him. Izuchukwu signing certainly isn't a great sign for him, especially given Izuchukwu's unorthodox career so far.

Streaming would be great and might get more people interested. I'm not local to the usual pitches they use, so I'm not always excited to drive an hour to stand in a thunderstorm and watch the scarlets run in 7 or 8 tries against us.

Locke_Lamora wrote: »

I thought McMenamin was a decent player but lacked size to be a pro 2nd rower last time I saw him. Izuchukwu signing certainly isn't a great sign for him, especially given Izuchukwu's unorthodox career so far.

Streaming would be great and might get more people interested. I'm not local to the usual pitches they use, so I'm not always excited to drive an hour to stand in a thunderstorm and watch the scarlets run in 7 or 8 tries against us.

Izzy fits the parameters of what Ulster forwards are supposed to be under this coaching ticket - skillful, fast, good endurance - but whether he's a second row is seriously in question. So yeah, you've got to think they don't have a great deal of expectation for McMenamin.

On the other hand, the cupboard is bare at 4 and 5. I haven't seen anything from DOC that gives me any faith - although, in fairness, maybe he has to get to grips with the level of professional fitness and physicality. But, as things stand, if McMenamin or Izzy have anything about them, they could be on Pro14 benches by the end of the season.

Now that Dunleavy has disappeared over the horizon, Conor is potentially the first professional Ulster Rugby Donegal man, something I'd dearly love to see.

awec wrote: »

On last night I was impressed with Matty Rea. He did something that properly annoyed their 6 and that’s always a redeeming quality in my eyes.

Ok he messed up for one of their tries but he’s going the right direction.

I genuinely have no idea why Murphy was originally to start ahead of him.

Going to be about sustainability going forward. IRFU will look at Coetzee’s pay cheque as 2-3 squad players wages. Pissing us off hasn’t stopped them before. Which is a shame but really see a move towards internal player growth combined with provincial moves being pushed. Irony being the IRFU can now use COVID & financial concerns as a way of pushing/justifying it.

John Petrie stated
"It is really important for us as under Dan (McFarland) we have built a really strong squad and I say a squad because we have got a lot of good young Ulster talent coming through the ranks and playing really well for us.

"It is important we continue to invest in that group and see that grow and succeed over the next few years."

Will be a big push now to make as many of our academy make the step up. The players are there and financially it makes sense. If it works we have potential a decades worth of a squad back bone for once.

awec wrote: »

Don't even joke about this launish, it'd be a bigger two fingers to Ulster Rugby than the Pienaar affair. He's our best player. The IRFU can quite genuinely go fcuk themselves if they try to short change us on this one.

They gave oul Denis a good shakedown to ensure that Leinster got their best player back, surely we can expect the same treatment?

Trim that obscene D4 squad and there'll be plenty of cash to keep us competitive.

If the IRFU tell us we need to ditch Coetzee then I am officially done because this game is completely rigged.

Obviously it’s all hypothetically I just find it very suss for our CEO to state he hopes he remains at the club “in the long term” when he’s still in contract for two?? More seasons.

We all know how it will be portrayed, we’ve had x years to progress a natural no8 and haven’t.

Sounds like I’m trolling, but hard to begrudge him if he wanted to return to South Africa and a deal beneficial to all parties was done. Combined with our 50% reduction in finances, it doesn’t look good.