The UAFC

Forwards or head coach? Hmm…not for me though if head coach. A proven track record with young player development a must. The knowledge of young ire players a bonus. I wouldn’t have an issue re rest of coaching dept frankly, no one has covered themselves in glory. Contract buy outs could be an issue,...

I think our goose is cooked, and we won’t qualify for Champ Cup. That said I’m bizarrely excited for next yr, and pre season. I think we’ll try to play a far more attractive brand of rugby, and there’ll be opportunities for young pups if they show promise. For me these few games are a free hit out, ...

We approached cruden but he turned it down - see rumour thread.

I’ll happily say it. If we are effectively going to be playing a side heavily filled with pups, so be it. It’ll likely be the closest thing to a home grown UR side for yrs. Non CC qualified, ok….a yr in the challenge cup with pups might not be a bad thing for their development. I don’t know re parti...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7p7qKt6ATyk&pp=ygUMdWxzdGVyIHJ1Z2J5 18:50 in. Appears we did approach Cruden. Between this and a non commital answer from the new CEO in the interview with Trimble. I take 3 things from them: 1 - we are sniffing around for a 10 for next season 2 - painfully obvious ...

https://www.the42.ie/irfu-national-contracts-6359757-Apr2024/ You have to scroll it down slowly to read the article but it can be done. Explains the funding system pretty well. Ultimately Leinster have weaponised their natural advantages brilliantly. A couple of things are very clear: The privately...

Absolutely love Sheridan Wilson and McCann. There will be good and bad days at the office, but every game minute is an investment in their development. Thought postlewaite had good moments too, raw but very talented, and worth the game time. Hopefully theres a few more back row boys close to getting...

https://www.the42.ie/irfu-national-contracts-6359757-Apr2024/ You have to scroll it down slowly to read the article but it can be done. Explains the funding system pretty well. Ultimately Leinster have weaponised their natural advantages brilliantly. A couple of things are very clear: The privately ...

I thought Ewers was in a 2yr deal.

Interesting that we are gonna operate with Doak and Flannery at 10 next season, absolutely damning.
Strap yourselves in it’s gonna be a bumpy ride for a good few yrs.

Whether guys are staying or leaving we have a smallish squad, and we don’t know re levels of fitness. Even if it doesn’t mean sense, truth is we may just need game mins off players even if they are leaving end of season. I’d also say although out of contract etc end of season if by some miracle RM s...

The FH issue for me is it looks like Doak is the 10 going forward, no 10 moving north. Issue is Doak wants to start in 1 position, Cooney is 34, so potentially will be replaced in 1/2seasons, meaning another switch for Doak to 9? It’s a mess. No one cheap import is gonna help this mess, far too much...

Why is Cruden without a club? Is he that bad nowadays? Pretty sure the narrative around him was he was injury prone, and that was a good few yrs ago. I’d have major major concerns around his conditioning and durability for the pro game at his age. Hopefully it’s just gossip. I very much doubt Irfu ...

I’ll be very interested to see what happens at UR in the off season. There should definitely be an overhaul but what if any will be the replacements. Bell should go. Soper has unfortunately shown nothing for me as an attack coach. Newby is going skills have been poor. Then the squad - no way this cu...

To be fair it shows in stark terms how far UR has fallen, it’s a damning indictment.
Fair play McCloskey for calling it out. It’ll be a tough few yrs to rebuild. We were a long way behind in the power stakes. We are yrs away for being genuine contenders against any good power sides.