What the Papers Say 2012/2013

[Mac]

Interesting read, at least a bit of an opinion rather than just stating facts.

Pity there are not more like him.
Do like his "cavalier" style!

[Mac]

Not strictly from the "Papers" but interesting
piece none the less. According to it we could
see 1F and AT as early as next week!

Room to Improve.
New Ulster coach Mark Anscombe is happy that his side managed to get their campaign off to a winning start but warned that there is room for improvement.
Ulster claimed an 18-10 win over Glasgow Warriors at Ravenhill in the New Zealander's first competitive match in charge.
"There is a lot to do but you would expect that, first game up," said Anscombe.
"You can have all the pre-season practice games you like but the heat of a competition game lifts the edge a bit more."
Although Ulster had most of the possession, they failed to take all their opportunities - especially when they were in Glasgow's 22-metre area. And Anscombe conceded that they must work on improving that aspect of play.
"That's what we are here for, to win our first game and we achieved that," he said.
"I wouldn't think any team will be singing their praises, thinking they've got everything right in the first round of the competition.
"Our objective tonight was to win at home and as you'd expect we've got things to work on, but a lot of positives as well."
After leading 15-3 Ulster were made to sweat when Glasgow wing Tommy Seymour scored a try which narrowed the gap to five points.
"We got out to the lead and we were still pushing and trying to play rugby which was pleasing," explained Anscombe.
"I don't think our defence was good.
"We got guys on the deck a bit too much at times and didn't bounce up and spread our D (defence).
"I don't think they were hurting us. There was the odd missed tackle but we kept Glasgow at bay pretty well."
Anscombe indicated that Ireland internationals Andrew Trimble and Stephen Ferris could return to action for next week's clash against the Ospreys but said he was happy with the way his side's overall performance against the Warriors.
"It is about what the boys can do at training and conditioning them," he revealed.
"There is two parts to the conditioning. The work they can do as far as getting their fitness up to speed and then it's getting them into game conditioning.
"Taking some knocks, getting into the contact aspects of training. It's really case by case of how advanced each player is.
"No matter who you are and how good you are, very few, if any in the world, are at their top game if they haven't been playing for two or three months.
"We've got to make sure and look at the ones, when they become available, what work and what content of workload they've done during the week to think if they can challenge to be put into the 23," he added.

http://www.planet-rugby.co.za/story/0,2 ... 09,00.html

[Silverstu]

I think it is going to be interesting to see how Anscombe brings back in the internationals and "1st team" players while still rewarding and giving opportunities to the young guys who have performed well so far. Great problem to have!
[Great work on this thread Mac].

[rumncoke]

I wouldn't agree that Ulster are Roundheads but pretty much a mix roundhead in defence but rather Cavalier ball in hand especially between the 2 - 22s .

I actually thought Glasgow contested the breakdowns quite well -- if sometimes verging on the wrong side of the laws of the game and getting away with it

My ref watch would give friday nights ref about 7/10 he let a lot of round the edge of the ruck go and likewise failure to release after the tackle but penalised failure to release the ball instead -- which in some circumstances recognises that the laws are weighted very much in the favour of the team in possession. He avoided the big No-No of interfering with the game.

[Cap'n Grumpy]

He avoided the big No-No of interfering with the game.

And for that reason and that reason alone, he deserves some credit. Whether we thought he was right or wrong at times, he was quite consistent in applying the laws equally to both teams and that's pretty much what you would ask for.

[ruckover]

I'd prefer we didn't see Ferris next week. I reckon it's too big a risk to play him away to the Ospreys so soon after just coming back from injury and it would be a better idea to reintroduce him with all of the other internationals.

[Mac]

3rd Sept 2012
Slow news day so a quick look at the Flip Side
and what we can expect for the weekend.

JONATHAN Humphreys has challenged the Ospreys' players to redeem themselves with a big performance against Ulster at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday evening.

A disappointing opening to the Pro12 campaign saw the champions crash 12-6 to Treviso at the Monigo Stadium and have Wales second-row Ian Evans red-carded.
Despite losing Evans in the 32nd minute, after the second of two yellow cards, the Ospreys had enough opportunities to have won but were uncharacteristically wasteful, with three try-scoring chances going begging and three out of five shots at goal also failing to find the target.

But with 9,000-plus season tickets sold for the campaign, they are determined to quickly atone, starting against an Ulster side who began the season with a solid 18-10 win over Glasgow.
"We wanted to get off to a winning start but weren't able to," said Humphreys, the region's forwards coach.
"We came up short and now it's about working hard to make sure we perform better against Ulster in front of our own fans at the weekend."

The Ospreys are likely to wait for referee John Lacey's report before deciding whether to contest Evans's dismissal. There is an automatic disciplinary hearing for a red card.
The lock's first yellow looked harsh, the Irish official acting early in the game after Evans appeared to play the ball on the floor. The second followed a high tackle that levelled an Italian attacker.

After the game, the Ospreys didn't have an issue with what had happened.
"I wouldn't criticise the referee on a decision like that," said Humphreys. "Sometimes they go your way, sometimes they don't."
The indiscipline wasn't just confined to Evans, especially before the break when the Ospreys repeatedly incurred the wrath of Lacey.

Treviso weren't even that good.
Despite playing with only 14 men for more than half the game, the Ospreys enjoyed 60 per cent of the possession, but couldn't translate their dominance into points.

"We were very disappointed how it went, especially in the first half," said Humphreys.
"Our discipline let us down. We did everything we'd said pre-match that we wouldn't do, allowing them to build a lead with three, six, nine points.
"We were well aware that it was going to be tough but when you aren't at your best and are lacking discipline then you make life very difficult for yourself, and that was definitely the case against Treviso. They made us pay dearly.
"We were a lot better in the second half.
"It's fair to say we were the dominant team and we created the better opportunities, but for a number of reasons we didn't put them away and finish the game off.

"We can take some positives out of it. You can't fault the spirit and the effort that was shown, to keep on going against very physical opponents a man light — that was pleasing.
"Also, to create the opportunities we did after the break shows that we had the right intention but our execution left something to be desired and we'll have to look at that.
"On another day we'd have taken one of those chances and be talking about a win, but that isn't any comfort for us."

http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/Jonat ... story.html

[Aird]

Just shows that you cannot believe everything you read from Wales.
Must admit I was surprised TNT ny had 9000 ST sold considering heir usual support.

[Eggs]

I'd prefer we didn't see Ferris next week. I reckon it's too big a risk to play him away to the Ospreys so soon after just coming back from injury and it would be a better idea to reintroduce him with all of the other internationals.

I just can't agree with this, if Ferris is fit he should play. I don't think that he is going to be exposed to any significantly higher risk of injury because bowe/Trimble/best/ferris/RP etc arent playing.

Bottom line is yes he is prone to injuries, but if he is fully fit now, he should play

[OneMore]

I'd prefer we didn't see Ferris next week. I reckon it's too big a risk to play him away to the Ospreys so soon after just coming back from injury and it would be a better idea to reintroduce him with all of the other internationals.

I just can't agree with this, if Ferris is fit he should play. I don't think that he is going to be exposed to any significantly higher risk of injury because bowe/Trimble/best/ferris/RP etc arent playing.

Bottom line is yes he is prone to injuries, but if he is fully fit now, he should play

Perhaps the only added risk would be that if he is our only "big name" returner, there may be a tendency to shovel him the ball and have him run at them more than if others were there (Trimble/Bowe/Best in particular).

[Scranner]

Great thread!

I reckon, if Nick Williams is fit, Anscombe will stick with Friday's back row and we might see Fez come off the bench for twenty minutes at the end. I mean which one of the three would you drop on current form?

[Rooster]

Great thread!

I reckon, if Nick Williams is fit, Anscombe will stick with Friday's back row and we might see Fez come off the bench for twenty minutes at the end. I mean which one of the three would you drop on current form?

Think you could be right, Anscome said that those returning would be phased in so Cave did 20 mins last week so I reckon he will do second half this week, or start and only play first half, plus Trimble in for last 20 and if Fez plays he will be the same. These are actually like preseason matches for the returning players so it will get them up to match speed and at the same time continue to give the young lads more time and build a stronger squad for the latter part of the season.

[ColinM]

I'd prefer we didn't see Ferris next week. I reckon it's too big a risk to play him away to the Ospreys so soon after just coming back from injury and it would be a better idea to reintroduce him with all of the other internationals.

I just can't agree with this, if Ferris is fit he should play. I don't think that he is going to be exposed to any significantly higher risk of injury because bowe/Trimble/best/ferris/RP etc arent playing.

Bottom line is yes he is prone to injuries, but if he is fully fit now, he should play

Perhaps the only added risk would be that if he is our only "big name" returner, there may be a tendency to shovel him the ball and have him run at them more than if others were there (Trimble/Bowe/Best in particular).

I think one of the reasons Ferris played so many games last season was that he didnt run at/into/over players like the Ferris of old. He hit the space between players, offloaded before contact once two were committed and looked to exploit wider channels with his handoff and pace off the mark. We have also bought in Williams and Wilson to take the carrying pressure off him.

He seems to be going into this season with his knee in better shape so fingers crossed it'll be a good one for him.

[OneMore]

I think one of the reasons Ferris played so many games last season was that he didnt run at/into/over players like the Ferris of old. He hit the space between players, offloaded before contact once two were committed and looked to exploit wider channels with his handoff and pace off the mark. We have also bought in Williams and Wilson to take the carrying pressure off him.

He seems to be going into this season with his knee in better shape so fingers crossed it'll be a good one for him.

Totally agree re: Williams and Wilson. And say what you like about Williams' fitness, he did a lot of work on Friday night, a lot of carries and went into a lot of contact. Almost to the point of being slightly predictable - if you had the ball at the base of the ruck and didn't know what to do, you gave it to Nick and worked out the rest in a bit.

[mikerob]

Yeah, I think Ulster need to be smart how they use Williams. If the default play becomes "give it to Nick" then Ulster will be very predictable. Yeah, he is hard to stop, but that means people will be looking to take him round the ankles, double team him etc. so Ulster need to be getting people in place for offloads, using him as a dummy runner and the like.