Ulster v Connacht

[CIMANFOREVER]

Hansen is available for them.

Makes our job that bit harder but he’s someone I’m more than happy to pay to watch.

Just so long as he and Aki don't act like ballbegs in front of the Memorial end

Hansen doesn't act like one, he is one

[Horse15]

Lowry and Ewers out with Addison and Sheridan in.

[jean valjean]

Big test of our credentials in the 2nd half. Have we the fight for it?

[fermain]

Good game so far. I tink we should be able to stay on top

[Jetstream]

A woeful experience. Is tackling now optional? Bobby B couldn't tackle a fish supper

[Neill_M]

Scrappy game, take the win and move on. Some obvious defensive issues in 2nd half.

[CIMANFOREVER]

Some very poor defensive sets again. Bobby and Addison both poor. Our defence is way too passive compared to Connachts.

No one concerned that few of our scores are from back moves? Shocking lack of creativity. Indeed overall we lack penetration and ability to consistently break lines. Little creativity, lateral or going backwards and no exploitation of vast swathes of backfield space, especially as Connacht were up fast in a phalanx.

Scrum held up well against Connachts. Warwick steady and gave nothing against Bealham. Moore and Buckley an arm wrestle.

Surely Timoney was MOM? Thought he's in real form even without Ewers and McCann. Refell made some very disruptive ruck work and tackling.

That Connacht team can be bullied but we didn't have the heft to do so. We lack real bulk with Treadwell and AOC. Skin if the teeth stuff and 10 remains significantly problematic. I like Flannery but he's prone to real costly lapses. Cooney and Stockers the pick of the backs.

[big mervyn]

Hansen is available for them.

Makes our job that bit harder but he’s someone I’m more than happy to pay to watch.

Just so long as he and Aki don't act like ballbegs in front of the Memorial end

Hansen doesn't act like one, he is one

Aki was Ballbeg-in-chief the night. Needs to spend a bit less time trash talking.

[justinr73]

Fortunately, we had the gumption to take the three a couple of times.

The three mile walk home in the rain would have been even less enjoyable otherwise.

Had a few glasses of some unusually good mulled wine before the game.

[Tel]

Gluhwien is normally the mulled wine of choice especially when they add star anise and cinnamon. As for the rugby I would stick to the Gluhwien

[CIMANFOREVER]

It's telling there's little commentary on the game lol

[Ravenhillman]

Stockdale’s defence is woeful too. He keeps biting in when he should stay wide. I think he’s getting worse rather than better??

[Ravenhillman]

Bell, the side's defensive specialist, said he could not criticise the players' efforts however.

"I missed hundreds in my career," he said.

[rumncoke]

The Defence ( all provinces seem to use the same plan ) is based on a two up mid field with the opposition wing left to the full back thus if the opposition get the ball to their wing quickly the defending wing appears out of position with yards to cover to get close .


Flannery was flaky last night played well until he had a kick charged down and let the mistake haunt his game thereafter .

He tends to go across field closing the distance between 10 and 12 --with 12 taking the ball standing still and the backline lacking pace or running unto the ball . Personally i thought Doak should have been brought on earlier ( except Clooney appeared to have injured his shoulder and Ulster(i think )only had Doak as cover for both 9 and 10 .

I wasn't greatly impressed with the referee in the first half -- quick on the whistle against Ulster with a few call the Ulster players didn't seem happy with -- the effect was it kept the score down to a 14- 7 lead going into the second half facing a strong breeze which affected Ulsters game in the second half --ie an inability to get into the Connaught half.

The game thus was a game not so much won by Ulster but lost by Connaught aided by some wise decisions of taking the points when on offer rather than trying to get a bonus point 4 try win . ( with an "ify" ref -- who might blow a crooked throw(the avoidance of the call accounts for the lost line outs ) -- and a hard to lift, pass and catch wet ball ) the rumbled try opportunity was an illusion

[Dharper]

A decidedly mediocre performance, and zero surprise. It definitely falls into the category of take the pts/win, and move on.

The double miss by Balacoune and Addison for the Connacht try was very poor especially being so close to the touch line.

However there were elements i did like: the pop passing/off loads did help half breaks in congested defensive channnels in the first half. The taking of pens for posts, a long overdue strategy of pragmatism, giving the pack a breather, and hopefully building more than a 1score buffer.

A gametime bonus for Addison showed improvement from previous games. I felt his passing and offloading was more accurate and his timing was better. His footwork pre contact is good. My major worry as previously stated is whether he has the pace to get to/through half gaps, in order to feed trail runners for the big bust. Time will tell.

No S Moore again, injured? He’s a good player, sparse mins in multi positions will do nobody any favours.