It's unfollowable at times
Lucky Ulster barely have any representation or we'd all be getting stuck in as well.
It’s the same 6/7 posters constantly it’s a cess pit now
I think McCann should do the summer tour to SA with Ireland, maybe he will and that wouldn't rule him out in travelling with the EI tour too.
I'd love to see him go. He's had a fantastic season, he's versatile and a leader. Back row is completely stacked though.
Yes and as a Munster fan, I'd like to see a few Munster guys in there too but I don't accept the "excuse" that the backrow is completely stacked or worse "who do you drop", we're in the start of a new RWC Cycle, a summer tour, bring a few new guys, even if to see them in training.
From what I've seen of McCann he should be on the summer tour rather than an EI tour.
I'm with you! Definitely would like to see Prendergast/McAnn. I wonder if Rassie starts a rebuild? Will the boks bring the tried and trusted?
Agree, and he might be close, but there's so much competition. I think more likely he backs up his form from this season at the start of 24/25 and gets a go in the Autumn.
Assuming O'Mahony, VDF, Doris, Baird and Conan are locked in, it doesn't leave a lot of room for others.
Newby away to Ealing Trailfinders
Sounds like Aidan Morgan is happening. He's over 20 appearances for the Hurricanes at 22 if that means anything. Never seen him play so time will tell if this is a good signing or not (if confirmed).
Gotta be better than messing with Doak's development.
Got to love the age profile. Really looking forward to seeing him play.
Presume he has a parent or a granny who makes him IQ? Judging by the name anyways
Yep Irish qualified
Aidan Morgan confirmed - two years.
IQ through his Belfast granda.
Presumably that is the squad more or less sorted for next season.
We're still light at 13 IMO and have to hope one of these Ireland U20 players are ready to step up. LH is a bit bare as well.
Possible 1st team...??
EOS/Warwick
Herring
O'Toole
Henderson
Sheridan
Izzy
McCann
Timoney
Cooney
Morgan
Stockdale
McCloskey
Kok
Lowry
McIlroy
Looks like a good option
Is he a real flyhalf, I wonder? Sometimes in the Southern Hemisphere you get things like thinking guys like Nacewa, James O'Connor, Kurtley Beale are 10s when up here they'd be thought of as not having the right instincts for outhalf.
All of his senior pro starts (which admittedly are not a lot) have been at 10, except for one game at 15.
He's on the small side - 5ft 8ins and 82kg so can't see him being deployed at centre.
Yeah, I see that now on all.rugby. For some reason I had it in my head he'd played a bit more fullback.
Ulster need this signing to work out, so hopefully he's good.
Canes fans seem to be fairly positive about him, so hopefully it works out fantastically.
If he hits the ground running, I’d be surprised if he wasn’t in the next 6N camp
Jimmy Duffy joining as, apparently, a kind of second forwards coach.
"If he hits the ground running, I'd be surprised if he wasnt in the next 6N camp"
It always amazes me how people who've never seen a player play will come out and make statements like this…
Duffy is a good coach
Richie obviously rates him highly from their time together with the 20s. From what I've heard he is a very good coach - especially around lineout and maul.
Well, apparently Jackman was waffling about us getting a lineout specialist coach. Must be him.
Duffy is a good coach. Looking forward to Ulster being a much better team. Some good signings done.
That’s the whole point of saying “if he hits the ground running” aka, if he performs well.
He hasn’t exactly got to set the place on fire to get ahead of the two Byrne’s or Carty, especially with Carbery out of the picture.
Unless he plays amazingly and guides Ulster to impressive wins against some big guns in the CC, he isn't going to leapfrog either Byrne before the 6N. It remains to be seen if he is even better than Burns.
As long as he doesn't immediately go on the EI tour, as happened with Mike McDonald.
Watched the supporters' Q&A with Richie, Bryn, Hendo and Hugh.
Quick salient points:
There were actually a few flyhalf options. Aidan was brought in as something other than a sticking plaster that would do for a year, leaving us in the same position further down the road.
Jimmy Duffy is going to work with the forwards alongside Roddy.
There has been investment in the academy and there's a pathway review ongoing. Reading between the lines, they are prioritising more physical robustness in young forwards coming through.
There's 8-10 schools in Leinster that have as big a budget for rugby as our academy. We cannot replicate their pathways.
Hugh wants greater transparency. Some of what comes from the pathway review will be made public.
There has been a loss of trust and confidence in Ulster as a result of the instability this season - for the IRFU, supporters and sponsors.
However, the cost-cutting has been done.
There's a "missing generation" of Ulster players between Hendy and O'Toole/Stewart that Ulster let slip. This 19-24 generation is the best since Ferris/Bowe etc.
Hendy - it's a much better place to be than a year ago. Players were despondent after the early season wins against Leinster, Munster and Connacht - it's not just about winning.
Ulster kicked the ball 12 times more than Leinster in the Ravenhill game , and no-one seems to have noticed. But it was a key part of exerting pressure. Were not just going to offload like eejits
Ulster have just signed the best kit deal they've ever had. The stuff in Balls.ie and subsequently the Bele Tele was simply wrong. Hugh very emphatic and raging about the story.
Kingspan sponsorship runs out in summer '25 and they need a replacement by February '25. They have three agencies looking for sponsors, nationally and internationally. The TV viewership of the URC went from 34 million last season to 54 million this year, so it's reasonably enticing for sponsors.
There'll be a whole series of events next season for the centenary of Ravenhill. They really want to improve engagement with fans.
There were four or five games which got smaller crowds than expected - the biggest disparity was one crowd that was three and a half thousand less than expected. Part of that was the way that the team was performing - another issue was when we had four home games over six weeks before Christmas, and non-season ticket holders would pick and choose a couple to go to. The biggest deciding factor is what happens on the pitch, but they're looking for other elements to improve game nights.
Was quite a spiky audience in places - one woman said she had not renewed her season ticket for the first time, people railed against having a blue alternate kit and so on.
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