Ulster vs Munster, Sat 2nd Jan 3pm, Sky Sports

bilston · 02-01-2016 5:38pm

vang wrote: »

Wouldn't trust his kicking from the tee at Ireland level. Madigan is more reliable and better defensively

Jackson is a great little defender.

Sure Madigan is a better kicker than Sexton so maybe he should start for Ireland.

Plus Jackson's kicking has actually been grand this season.

vang · 02-01-2016 5:42pm

Maybe he just had an off day today but Joe doesn't seem to pick him as he doesn't have the versatility to play st full back or in the centre. Time is on his side as seems to be better this year.

Moflojo · 02-01-2016 5:43pm

Fair play to Keatley, he had an awesome game. Can anyone shed light on why Cathal Sheridan isn't playing these days? Has he had an injury setback? Both Munster scrumhalves were liabilities today. I don't remember seeing Keatley receive a single pass into the bread basket, and Scannell was forced off with injury after a hospital pass from O'Leary. Even the pass for Keatley's drop goal was behind him and over his head, he had to take two steps back and to his left before he kicked the drop goal. Keatley's performance was even more impressive considering the standard of delivery he received all day!

irishbucsfan · 02-01-2016 5:51pm

vang wrote: »

Maybe he just had an off day today but Joe doesn't seem to pick him as he doesn't have the versatility to play st full back or in the centre. Time is on his side as seems to be better this year.

He certainly didn't have an off day in the first half when Ulster were on the front foot, he was very good and their backline looked really nice when the forwards were able to keep the ball under control and give the backline time/space.

He's definitely the one I'd go with for Ireland at the moment.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO · 02-01-2016 5:55pm

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Really? When was that?

I'm thinking of the kick to put us level (I think) with Argentina in the QF at the World Cup and then his kick against Scotland in the 6 Nations last year. We had the game well won but given we knew we would be looking at points difference at the end of the day there was a bit more pressure on him.

I'm not trying to slate Madigan here, he's unquestionably a better kicker than Jackson and even Sexton. I'm just saying when it's a last minute kick to win an important match even the best of kickers can miss.

Brewster · 02-01-2016 6:02pm

irishbucsfan wrote: »

He certainly didn't have an off day in the first half when Ulster were on the front foot, he was very good and their backline looked really nice when the forwards were able to keep the ball under control and give the backline time/space.

He's definitely the one I'd go with for Ireland at the moment.

Jackson had a great game. He should have got first penalty but it was such a lovely strike it would be hard to criticise him too much. 2nd penalty into wind wasn't on. Not sure who made call to kick it. His general play and control of game in first half was top quality.

vang · 02-01-2016 6:02pm

Agree that is why ROG was so great he thrived on pressure

bmm · 02-01-2016 6:17pm

A let off thanks to thanks to Jackson.

Axel gets to breath again.

Keatley played surprisingly well .

bilston · 02-01-2016 6:40pm

Anyway as far as the game is concerned I was convinced we'd lost from the moment it went 7-6. We were just far too inaccurate in the first half when we had possession and territory. Maybe it was the conditions and perhaps we overplayed it but the round the back passes failed to come off on three or four occasions. If we had converted say the opportunity when Marshall picked a great line off Williams only for Stevenson to muck it up we could have gone in 14-3 up and in those conditions it would have been hard for Munster to come back.

The second half was poor but Munster, thanks to Keatley got a stranglehold. We still had possession, but we didn't have territory, so fair play to Keatley for pinning us back.

Hopefully this will serve as a kick up the arse ahead of next week.

flouncer · 02-01-2016 6:50pm

dubal wrote: »

See, all to plan :-)

Dubal

If you keep saying as above you are bound to be right eventually. Todays game proves how important a functional Ian Keatley is to the Munster team. And I agree the backline is non-functional. I blame that on TOL giving such obvious ball that it is easy to cover and the fact that saili never passes the fecking ball

Del.Monte · 02-01-2016 7:03pm

bmm wrote: »

A let off thanks to thanks to Jackson.

Axel gets to breath again.

Keatley played surprisingly well .

Very accurate analysis.

BBDBB · 02-01-2016 7:04pm

flouncer wrote: »

If you keep saying as above you are bound to be right eventually. Todays game proves how important a functional Ian Keatley is to the Munster team. And I agree the backline is non-functional. I blame that on TOL giving such obvious ball that it is easy to cover and the fact that saili never passes the fecking ball

That's right, TOL is too ponderous at the breakdown. He's no Harry "Green Cross Code" Ellis but given his excellent mobility if he could just speed up half a second per breakdown we would make so much more ground before defences set

Utah_Saint · 02-01-2016 7:49pm

Utahs steaming conclusions

Ulster were poor
Munsters towards were a bit better than ulster's hence the win
Munster Fans are sound
Munster have no back plays at all. Honestly I would panic as a Munster fan. There is zero ability in your back line at present.
Ulster were poor hence the defeat.
Keatly will never play for Ireland again.
Ref was reasonable fair

8 pints later in feeling ropey

Utah_Saint · 02-01-2016 7:51pm

Utah_Saint wrote: »

Utahs steaming conclusions

Ulster were poor
Munsters towards were a bit better than ulster's hence the win
Munster Fans are sound
Munster have no back plays at all. Honestly I would panic as a Munster fan. There is zero ability in your back line at present.
Ulster were poor hence the defeat.
Keatly will never play for Ireland again.
Ref was reasonable fair

8 pints later in feeling ropey

And if the rumors are true about ludik leaving ill be gutted...

Now...more water..................................

former total · 02-01-2016 8:08pm

Munster need to go shopping for as many backs as they can lay hands on. Scannell looked decent at 12 and Saili will put in a good shift but there's a definite lack of class and creativity.

Keatley kicked very well, great awareness of where the space was and executed perfectly, but in terms of creative backline play, not much to talk about.

Ulster were just really inaccurate. They had enough possession to win at a canter but too many handling errors and obviously their try should never have stood. Jackson was poor enough I thought, sprayed some lovely passes around in the first half but to no real effect, didn't offer much in the second half at all.

Good result for Munster but not sure Foley will be happy with too many aspects.

Utah_Saint · 02-01-2016 8:23pm

former total wrote: »

Munster need to go shopping for as many backs as they can lay hands on. Scannell looked decent at 12 and Saili will put in a good shift but there's a definite lack of class and creativity.

Keatley kicked very well, great awareness of where the space was and executed perfectly, but in terms of creative backline play, not much to talk about.

Ulster were just really inaccurate. They had enough possession to win at a canter but too many handling errors and obviously their try should never have stood. Jackson was poor enough I thought, sprayed some lovely passes around in the first half but to no real effect, didn't offer much in the second half at all.

Good result for Munster but not sure Foley will be happy with too many aspects.

Good post

Yes, ulster couldve won easily but very inaccurate

TheGoldenAges · 02-01-2016 8:37pm

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I'm thinking of the kick to put us level (I think) with Argentina in the QF at the World Cup and then his kick against Scotland in the 6 Nations last year. We had the game well won but given we knew we would be looking at points difference at the end of the day there was a bit more pressure on him.

I'm not trying to slate Madigan here, he's unquestionably a better kicker than Jackson and even Sexton. I'm just saying when it's a last minute kick to win an important match even the best of kickers can miss.

Not excusing the Scotland miss (Was an easy kick by international standards) but the Argentinian miss was a tough kick. It was just over the half way line on his bad side. Many easier kicks were missed by better flyhalfs throughout the tournament. Don't forget he's nailed many pressure kicks throughout his career.

flouncer · 02-01-2016 8:39pm

former total wrote: »

Munster need to go shopping for as many backs as they can lay hands on. Scannell looked decent at 12 and Saili will put in a good shift but there's a definite lack of class and creativity.

Keatley kicked very well, great awareness of where the space was and executed perfectly, but in terms of creative backline play, not much to talk about.

Ulster were just really inaccurate. They had enough possession to win at a canter but too many handling errors and obviously their try should never have stood. Jackson was poor enough I thought, sprayed some lovely passes around in the first half but to no real effect, didn't offer much in the second half at all.

Good result for Munster but not sure Foley will be happy with too many aspects.

hard for any backline to be creative if they dont get quality distribution. example connacht yesterday. so dont blame the backline. they can only work with what they are given and what they are currently given is rubbish.

thomond2006 · 02-01-2016 9:19pm

That Saili drop under the posts from Jackson's miss was a knock on right? That was a big let off for Munster IMO, although I haven't seen it back.

irishbucsfan · 02-01-2016 9:21pm

thomond2006 wrote: »

That Saili drop under the posts from Jackson's miss was a knock on right? That was a big let off for Munster IMO, although I haven't seen it back.

I thought it went backwards myself

flouncer · 02-01-2016 9:24pm

not a bit of it. as knock-ons go that was a definite knock-on

aimee1 · 02-01-2016 9:43pm

thomond2006 wrote: »

That Saili drop under the posts from Jackson's miss was a knock on right? That was a big let off for Munster IMO, although I haven't seen it back.

either way given the ulster try should never have been ........

mfceiling · 02-01-2016 10:27pm

flouncer wrote: »

hard for any backline to be creative if they dont get quality distribution. example connacht yesterday. so dont blame the backline. they can only work with what they are given and what they are currently given is rubbish.

Doesn't matter what possession they are getting, there is no cutting edge or creativity. They crab across the pitch reminiscent of the Penney era. It's hard to see them cutting teams to pieces with some serious backline play.

bilston · 02-01-2016 10:40pm

One positive today for Ulster was Rory Scholes, I thought he had a good game. I think he has the potential to be a very good player. He is deceptively elusive. He doesn't quite have the same game breaking ability as Gilroy but as far as the all round package is concerned I don't see him stepping in for Gilroy as a step down in anything bar experience.

Stheno · 02-01-2016 10:42pm

bilston wrote: »

One positive today for Ulster was Rory Scholes, I thought he had a good game. I think he has the potential to be a very good player. He is deceptively elusive. He doesn't quite have the same game breaking ability as Gilroy but as far as the all round package is concerned I don't see him stepping in for Gilroy as a step down in anything bar experience.

Today was the first time I really noticed him tbh, thought he played a good part in the game.

irishbucsfan · 02-01-2016 10:43pm

bilston wrote: »

One positive today for Ulster was Rory Scholes, I thought he had a good game. I think he has the potential to be a very good player. He is deceptively elusive. He doesn't quite have the same game breaking ability as Gilroy but as far as the all round package is concerned I don't see him stepping in for Gilroy as a step down in anything bar experience.

I think he has the perfect blend of Gilroy's elusivity and also he refrains from scoring excellent tries enough to make him a real option at international level.

bilston · 02-01-2016 10:47pm

irishbucsfan wrote: »

I think he has the perfect blend of Gilroy's elusivity and also he refrains from scoring excellent tries enough to make him a real option at international level.

Aye, he'll never run away from support! I don't know whether he hits enough rucks though!

On a serious note he goes hunting for the ball off his wing and links up well with the midfield, he strikes me as the type of winger Joe would probably quite like.

leakyboots · 02-01-2016 11:02pm

flouncer wrote: »

not a bit of it. as knock-ons go that was a definite knock-on

Thought it went backwards myself.

Surprised at people saying his place is under threat, he was one of our best players against Leinster (one of the few who can hold his head up high), he wins a couple of turnovers a game too, happy with him in our midfield.

Good old-fashioned win, delighted for Keatley. Getting optimistic for my trip to Paris this week!

Utah_Saint · 02-01-2016 11:13pm

Chatting to rob herring there. Top bloke...

Slightly taller Tha him so I'm delighted...lol

Buer · 02-01-2016 11:19pm

leakyboots wrote: »

Surprised at people saying his place is under threat, he was one of our best players against Leinster (one of the few who can hold his head up high), he wins a couple of turnovers a game too, happy with him in our midfield.

He's worth his spot but he's not justifying the reputation he arrived with. Against Leinster he was decent but that pass for the try was a stinker, nowhere near the intended target which you don't expect from someone with his pedigree.

He takes too much out of the ball, currently. The break after the charge down fell to ROM was selfish from him. I don't know if it's a case of him not rating his fellow backs or what but he needs to start trusting those around him and the coaching staff need to start using Saili more effectively too.

He's still not anything in the same bracket as Amorosino, though, who just annoys me. A 50 cap international who was starting for Argentina in the RWC and looks like he'd rather be anywhere else in the world when he's called on to involve himself.

flouncer · 02-01-2016 11:21pm

Utah_Saint wrote: »

Chatting to rob herring there. Top bloke...

Slightly taller Tha him so I'm delighted...lol

well if you were on your 8th pint earlier as quoted and two hours have passed since then you must be hitting the 10 margin. At that point you get taller than even Devin Toner. Let me assure you its just an illusion. It will pass

Utah_Saint · 02-01-2016 11:23pm

flouncer wrote: »

well if you were on your 8th pint earlier as quoted and two hours have passed since then you must be hitting the 10 margin. At that point you get taller than even Devin Toner. Let me assure you its just an illusion. It will pass

6"3" big lawd...lol

phog · 03-01-2016 12:32am

Lots of errors from both teams and the officials, the offside just before their try being the worst as it gave them the opportunity to recycle and score.

A similar knockon by Ulster and collected by an offside Ulster player happened earlier and went unpunished and Saili knocking on under the the post.

Overall, I thought it would have been a travesty if we lost there today but we should have tried for a 2nd DG to put more than a penalty between us.

phog · 03-01-2016 10:07am

WTV's blog of the game

Pink Fairy · 03-01-2016 11:08am

Saili and who, it it FNW?

mfceiling · 03-01-2016 11:59am

Pink Fairy wrote: »

Saili and who, it it FNW?

The one and only!!

Mahatma Geansai · 03-01-2016 12:30pm

Rory Scannell is looking like a good player. Sherry, despite uncharacteristically poor darts, looks to be finding form. JOD had a fantastic game.

However, the most important thing for Munster was having a 7 and 10 on the pitch. Had TOD been fit and had Keatley shown this form a month ago, Munster could be on the back of a much longer winning streak.

Akrasia · 03-01-2016 1:09pm

Mahatma Geansai wrote: »

Rory Scannell is looking like a good player. Sherry, despite uncharacteristically poor darts, looks to be finding form. JOD had a fantastic game.

However, the most important thing for Munster was having a 7 and 10 on the pitch. Had TOD been fit and had Keatley shown this form a month ago, Munster could be on the back of a much longer winning streak.

These games are turned on the missed opportunities. If Keatley had scored his kicks in those games it probably would have been the difference between winning and losing, but not just that, the lack of confidence in our kicking meant not taking the option of kicking at all on many occasions and this in turn gave the opposition more leeway to play loose with the rules knowing they're not likely to be punished

phog · 03-01-2016 7:56pm

The full game is currently on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlK1NkJr88w

CatFromHue · 03-01-2016 8:04pm

Van der Heever wasn't exact;y busting his balls to get up on Scannell's break at 29.05 on the youtube clock!!

Tomtom364 · 04-01-2016 1:11am

CatFromHue wrote: »

Van der Heever wasn't exact;y busting his balls to get up on Scannell's break at 29.05 on the youtube clock!!

His running is actually very deceptive. He seems to match people's speed without putting any effort in and then has after burners for more acceleration. The pass or kick through was on.

04-01-2016 9:58am

Mahatma Geansai wrote: »

Munster could be on the back of a much longer winning streak.

I was speaking to my Auntie the other day and she said something mad. She said that if she had been born male, she would be my uncle!

Couldn't get over it. #headmelted

shootermacg · 04-01-2016 12:18pm

CatFromHue wrote: »

Van der Heever wasn't exact;y busting his balls to get up on Scannell's break at 29.05 on the youtube clock!!

Ah now, everyone was sprinting and he had approx 15 meters to make up, that's a big ask for anyone, no one here can question his pace, which is off the charts.
Except for the offside, I thought he had a very good game. As far as attacking is concerned that guy can change direction like a fly. It was great to see the shape of the 2 wingers and full back in defense whenever Ulster had the ball.

Pink Fairy · 04-01-2016 3:43pm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I was speaking to my Auntie the other day and she said something mad. She said that if she had been born male, she would be my uncle!

Couldn't get over it. #headmelted

You're related to that Bruce Jenner lad? The tales you could tell us!

mfceiling · 04-01-2016 4:36pm

Pink Fairy wrote: »

You're related to that Bruce Jenner lad? The tales you could tell us!

The only person who has won "woman of the year" when they haven't even been a woman for a year!!

04-01-2016 5:39pm

Pink Fairy wrote: »

You're related to that Bruce Jenner lad? The tales you could tell us!

Buckle up, Buckeroos!

Ulster vs Munster, Sat 2nd Jan 3pm, Sky Sports

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