Ulster V Leinster Friday 30th Sept

[allezlesverres]

A proper interpro would indeed be most welcome if both team had full squads to pick from. We have been unnecessarily weakened by a ridiculous excuse of a tour.

I think we all take your point and agree to some extent but the reality is this tour is only costing us Baloucoune out of the starting XV and two probable subs. Yes it weakens us but wing is a position of relative SID for us so we have decent options to cover BB. At 9, yes Doak would have benched ahead of Shanners but lets not pretend Doak is the finished article - he isn't going to win us a game that we weren't going to win with Shanahan. Likewise, we have cover at Centre/Utility Back so not having Moore on the bench isn't the end of the world.

To put it another way, if we lose, we will struggle to blame emerging Ireland. We are more likely to feel the loss of Hendy, DV, and Hume (nothing to do with Emerging Ireland) than Baloucoune and Doak.

This will be the closest to a full strength contest we have seen in years and I am hugely looking forward to it. My prediction is we will make a real game of it. I don't think Leinster will be travelling with undue optimism, they will be expecting a tight game that could go either way, which is saying a lot considering they will be bringing much of the Ireland team who just beat the ABs in a test series.

[jean valjean]

Leinster sending a strong team is a good indication of where they see us in terms of rivalry. Normally they prefer to let munster know their place but us doing the double over them has caught their attention and they will come with a point to prove. It is a compliment to us tbh and while we may come up short in the end up, it should be a terrific match and a real test of where we stand.

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[jean valjean]

Referee: Andrew Brace
AR: Eoghan Cross, Andrew Cole
TMO: Brian McNeice

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[StandUp]

Brace needs to be handled correctly. He can get niggly if he gets annoyed with a team or player. Cross did well on his last outing.

[StandUp]

A proper interpro would indeed be most welcome if both team had full squads to pick from. We have been unnecessarily weakened by a ridiculous excuse of a tour.

I think we all take your point and agree to some extent but the reality is this tour is only costing us Baloucoune out of the starting XV and two probable subs. Yes it weakens us but wing is a position of relative SID for us so we have decent options to cover BB. At 9, yes Doak would have benched ahead of Shanners but lets not pretend Doak is the finished article - he isn't going to win us a game that we weren't going to win with Shanahan. Likewise, we have cover at Centre/Utility Back so not having Moore on the bench isn't the end of the world.

To put it another way, if we lose, we will struggle to blame emerging Ireland. We are more likely to feel the loss of Hendy, DV, and Hume (nothing to do with Emerging Ireland) than Baloucoune and Doak.

This will be the closest to a full strength contest we have seen in years and I am hugely looking forward to it. My prediction is we will make a real game of it. I don't think Leinster will be travelling with undue optimism, they will be expecting a tight game that could go either way, which is saying a lot considering they will be bringing much of the Ireland team who just beat the ABs in a test series.

I hope you are right Allez, but god forbid if someone like Jenkins breaks Cooney early in the match, this could go t!ts up very quickly.
I also would have liked to see Izzy get some time from the bench.
Anyway, here’s to another 5 pointer

[SparkyClarky]

Izuchukwu On the tour so No benching me thinks unfortunately.

[allezlesverres]

Izuchukwu On the tour so No benching me thinks unfortunately.

That's the point Standup is making Sparky. He's saying he would add Izzy to the list of Baloucoune, Doak and Moore as someone who would have made the 23 but for the emerging Ireland tour. It's a fair point too. Still, not likely to be game defining. For all that the Leinster team will be strong, I very much doubt Sexton will be planning to do 80 and they'll be much weaker when he goes off.

[Dave]

Izuchukwu On the tour so No benching me thinks unfortunately.

That's the point Standup is making Sparky. He's saying he would add Izzy to the list of Baloucoune, Doak and Moore as someone who would have made the 23 but for the emerging Ireland tour. It's a fair point too. Still, not likely to be game defining. For all that the Leinster team will be strong, I very much doubt Sexton will be planning to do 80 and they'll be much weaker when he goes off.

McCann would be starting ahead for Matt Rea also.

[UlsterNo9]

Any chance of seeing Vermeulen in the matchday 23? He didn't exactly rack up big minutes in The Rugby Championship. Wishful thinking.
Remember Pienaar returning to the bench straight of the back of Saffer duty. The try versus Montpellier for the bonus point a fond memory.

6/8/22 Vs New Zealand - Did not play
13/8/22 Vs New Zealand - 36 mins
27/8/22 Vs Australia - 45 mins
3/9/22 Vs Australia - 20 mins
17/9/22 Vs Argentina - Did not play
24/9/22 Vs Argentina - 31 mins

[Hans Indaruck]

According to Dan DV will be back for the Ospreys match - he is having a week at home first.

[jean valjean]

According to Dan DV will be back for the Ospreys match - he is having a week at home first.

Comes up here for a week then flys back to SA a few days later with the team? Hardly seems worthwhile.

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[Cap'n Grumpy]

The tour is not just about the games to be played --its about the how well you blend into a group of strangers over a prolonged period of time , how you apply yourself to training both individually and in a group situation when placed in a group of players you don't know , how quickly you adapt -- how quickly you adapt to a number of roles and plays over a number of phases with players you don't know.

Basically an International squad has only about 2 weeks to gel in a team -- and that fact is the reason why groups of players from a single province tend to get picked at international level . Not all the best players in their position but they get picked because they have a group understanding . eg centre pairings Henshaw and Ringrose The Leinster back 3 , Leinster Half backs the sum of parts is greater than the parts individually.

If you can't then your potential to advance into an international squad could be limited.

The games are there to test how well you have absorbed the lessons of training and apply them.

As stated elsewhere very few of those selected have a chance to be included in the world cup squad for 2023 but many in that squad and many of the players in the provincial match day 23s will be selected for the next world cup. the fact is an emerging tour should have been organised for both summer 20 and summer 22 and weren't.

A lot of sense in that post . . . and more than the usual amount of punctuation making it easier to understand than previous posts.

Own up - who's hacked rumn's account?

[Neill_M]

Not specifically related to this game, but saw a post on the Munster forum that in theory John Cooney could turn out for Scotland in 2023 6N under the new 3 year stand down rule and via his dad from Glasgow.

[justinr73]

Not specifically related to this game, but saw a post on the Munster forum that in theory John Cooney could turn out for Scotland in 2023 6N under the new 3 year stand down rule and via his dad from Glasgow.

Can you imagine if he ruined Sexton’s party at the World Cup?!

[Dave]

A Cooney pen in the dying seconds to deny Ireland their dream of a World Cup semi final trophy.....