He was looking to wrap but his own teammate got in the way. I don't think it'll be upgraded.
Anyway for Connacht Aki , Jansen and Prendergast have been excellent and Jack Carthy is having a great game.
Bealham card is a bit of a lottery whether it will be upgraded I think. Hopefully it won't.
Very poor game overall in the condition lot of poor handling. Just a note for bundee has been excellent in defense
First eight and a half minutes of the second half are crucial. We've been the better team but the mistakes have cost us.
He's frustrating but it's probably evened out so far. That Aki turnover could have gone either way.
I'm getting annoyed with this ref. He just gave Ulster a scrum when they had knocked on a few seconds earlier. The penalty against Carthy was ridiculous, he let a player steal the ball when off his feet. There's been a couple of other things as well.
Indeed, great days.
Crazy game, lots of errors but we've been the better team and have a deserved lead.
And who else but Jansen with a good push from Prendergast.
you could count the amount of times Connacht have won in Belfast over the past century on a couple of fingers.
Dream of what? We beat Ulster in Ravenhill in a URC quarter final 3 years ago, under Andy Friend.
That's my take also eagle eye. I know Carty and Reilly isn't terribly exciting. But if Connacht hang in there for the first hour I think Murphy and Ioane can do some damage. I also see from the 23 there is cover for Bundee should he blow up which I think is a smart move.
As a team selection it is exactly what I would do. If it fails well my argument falls with it.
It's nice that after 9 years that Connacht supporters can dream again
premier sport
Is it being shown on any channels?
Ulster in Belfast is a different beast though. Even if Ulster have a poor 60 minutes, they can still put up and score a couple of quick scores.
time will tell though, should be a good competitive game though
Have to think Connacht have the edge at Centre and Lock.
Away in Ravenhill, awful record in the inter-pros, Ulster are still favorites.
If Connacht can stay in the game by the time Ioane and Murphy come off the bench they could get the win.
Jansen THE inform Irish player not involved in Test squad?
Ulster:
Michael Lowry; Werner Kok, Jacob Stockdale, Ben Carson, Zac Ward; Jack Murphy, Nathan Doak; Angus Bell, Tom Stewart, Scott Wilson; Iain Henderson (capt), Joe Hopes; David McCann, Marcus Rea, Juarno Augustus
Replacements: Rob Herring, Sam Crean, Tom O'Toole, Matthew Dalton, Bryn Ward, Conor McKee, Jonny Scott, Ethan McIlroy
Ulster have 9 Players with significant mins over the last 2 rounds. With Carson and McKee also having played mins in the last 2 rounds.
With TOT (TH!!!), Stewart, Doak & Stockdale returning from 6N squad.
Connacht:
Seán Naughton; Shane Jennings, Cathal Forde, Bundee Aki, Finn Treacy; Jack Carty, Colm Reilly; Billy Bohan, Dave Heffernan, Finlay Bealham; Joe Joyce, Darragh Murray; Josh Murphy, Cian Prendergast (capt), Sean Jansen
Replacements: Matthew Victory, Peter Dooley, Sam Illo, Niall Murray, Paul Boyle, Ben Murphy, Josh Ioane, John Devine`
Connacht have 7 Players with significant mins over the last 2 rounds.
With Bundee, DMurrAy, Finlay and Prendergast returning from 6N squad.
I think we will need an average of at least 1BP from each of the last 6 games if we are to finish top 8 with 8 wins.
Honestly I wonder if we're better off in the Challenge Cup for another season.
I think if we get parity up front, and Reilly and Carty perform at half back, we could sneak this. Ulster have dropped silly points in recent games in Wales and our form has been improving. The top 6 are probably out of sight, although Cardiff and Ulster themselves could still slide, and we need an absolute minimum of three wins and bonus points to sneak into the top 8. A minimum of 46pts, and likely 47/48 will be required to qualify. Our best chance of wins are Ospreys and Munster at home, and tonight. We could pick up a point or two in South Africa and whatever happens if we can go into the last game away in Embra with something to play for we'll have done well.
ulsters 4 best centres are absent.
Moore/mccloskey/postlewaithe/hume.
im worried about ulsters 10/12 channel in defence.
mushy is a very poor tackler and Carson will have a tough evening up against Aki.
There's no mystery, they've named their team. Jacob Stockdale is at 13.
Big selection for him, his only prior start there as a pro was against Zebre 9 years ago.
I honestly think we are up to taking the win tonight.
They are missing a fair few players tonight. Izuchukwu, Irvine and Sheridan which means their second row is decimated.
They are also missing Hume and Postlethwaite, I've no idea whose going to play 13 for them.
So I'd expect to see us going up the middle a lot tonight.
hmm, bookies aren’t stupid, but I’m not sure they’ve realised the quantity of injuries/absentees Ulster have to their 1st XV.
I don't think we'll run through the Ulster centres. We should however be challenging Stockdale's decision making as much as possible; send late runners on his outside, overload his channel, etc. Defending at 13 is hard (which makes Harry West's performances this year so impressive to me) and Jacob hasn't done it for almost 10 years now. His only career start at 13 was at home against Zebre.
Apparently Ulster are 13 point favourites with the bookies - that surprised me, as I feel we have a decent shot at winning. Hopeful of at least a losing bonus. Bundee and Cathal haven't made a great pairing in the past, but I'd love to see the two of them running over/through their opposite numbers tonight.
Ben and Josh are a known good unit. So perfect for the bench
I wonder that B.Murphy doesn't start as SH. Is he in the short time slump? Or peak out of his ability? I think it is the latter.
I like the selection for tomorrow. First off it doesn't include Denis. Second Bundee has a point to prove. Third I think Jack is a better selection to Josh. Reason I say that is that Josh can break through lines but the Ulster line is hard to break. So Jack plays positional play which is what is required against Ulster.
So I am of the belief it is the best selection for the game in front of us
Lancaster said himself this week Reilly was injured when he arrived, has had to wait for his chance but he felt he played very well last week. I'd say it's just a case of he played well and they're rewarding him for that.
Yeah, I think there are different ways certain players move on. A lot of the time the club is fine with the player moving on, but that definitely isn't the case with Devine at all.
There's a balance to be struck for sure - as you said, if there's a similar quality player who is staying, then pick them, but if the departing player is better and the game is important, that's a different matter. In the case of Devine, I get the sense there has been a falling out, but we'll probably never know the ins and outs.
Not always. You need to look at the long term picture too. It's not straightforward.
We totally banished Ultan Dillane when it was announced he was leaving, which I hated from a fans perspective.
Yet, we're playing Joe Joyce without issue, despite him leaving at the end of the season
Trust is important too. If you dont believe players will give it their all, as they are leaving, then there is no point in playing them.
Or if there is very little between the player leaving, and a player staying, giving the time to the player staying will help them develop
He had been going around with a brace on his knee for the last while so I suspect just not back fit enough to feature yet, same for the likes of SHL who is back training but not involved yet
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