The UAFC

Why the tiredness do you think? with a weeks rest compared to Sarries who had a hard game against Toulouse…

I know nothing of their fitness levels, but look at how hard Ulster had to work in first half to keep possession as they moved from side to side across the pitch. Saracens defended well and I think it played a prt in the poor performance in second half. It's only a suggestion, a way of explaining the poor performance In the second half as even though Saracens made a few mistakes too, just Ulster didn't capitalise and Saracens seemed to be capable of making the most of our mistakes. Much like Ulster do against weaker Pro12 opposition.

On the night it did not matter what Ulster's game plan was the Bellends imposed their game plan on the match .

The killer try on the night was kick ahead and the over the shoulder flick in for the try

After that Ulster realised it wasn't their night and bad went to worse .


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Sarries played as a unit while we played as individuals. we were not slick enough or accurate enough. Sarries just kept pressing and eventually our defence crumbled. There was an inevitability about it from the start ov the second half. They just played simple keepball rugby and ground us down. When we needed aggressive defence there was nothing there but more passive meh that became capitulation. and let there be no doubt about it. that was what happened in the last 20. Talking about fitness is a distraction, we were beaten men after an hour.

Or even animated enough.

Saracen's didn't even have to get out of second gear. Reminded me of the Toulon game last year.

We have lost the arms race with players who are not good enough, have not developed, or are past their peak. It's not about fire, bottle, passion and all that shyte, we were beaten by a better game plan and squad of players with a bench that took over seamlessly with no loss of quality. Brits off after 50 min and they put 17 points on us, even with 14 men for a quarter of the match. We have 3 quality starting forwards, Best, Henry and Hendo. Herring on the bench, and that's it. They had a 23 stone prop on the bench fs.
Delude ourselves all we want, but we are mid table Pro 12 and that's it. We need Hec standard cover in all forward positions, and we have maybe 4 forwards in total capable of it. That leaves us 12 short. We brought on Humphries fs, and put herring to 7. Says it all. The writing was on the wall at 20 min, not 50, when we made 0 line breaks. It reminded me of a school bully with his hand on the speccy kids forehead, yawning whilst keeping him at bay swinging and missing, then poleaxing with a straight right. Comedy gold performance. We will not win with "passion" and a feral18k crowd alone. That team is currently not fit for purpose, and neither are, I suspect, most of the coaching staff.
We have international wingers and outhalves who cannot even kick accurately or to a game plan. 9-5 up with the wind, and we play a kicking game into it......miles of space behind their flat defensive line, and no Dink's in behind to turn them even once... Dumb as f#ck. 40 mins of 1 inch mauls and rucks would've done me, but we give the ball away continually to a superior shower of c#nts. Stupid and weak minded. The drivel talked afterwards that we we inaccurate and threw it away is full on BS and pablum for the dumb. We are not good enough, and not even smart enough to make it hard for them. We were bp'd at home fs, and that cannot be covered up or talked away.

A Stark but factual summation CI .Its been a long time since I left Ravenhill so annoyed .A weak team performance coupled with inadequate ,amateurish organisation by UR and not much hope for turning things around. We are a second class side from a second class league and it makes matters worse that that shower proved it.

That's the killer: cornholed by bellends, abeit superior ones.interesting to calculate the international caps on each team. Anyone? They don't have that much more than us I'd guess, just a better overall level of quality and players capable and chosen to play to a specific, simple, but effective plan. Knife to a gunfight comes to mind again! How long we going to keep talking about it?

True CIMAN, but is it realistic for us to expect to be competitive with a team who just throw money around them like there's no tomorrow and flout their own league's spending rules. We operate within spending and recruitment constraints and at the moment that is crippling us. This should not be a surprise to anyone.

Where is Brian McLaughlin these days? Or Kieran Campbell? I'm not sure which one runs the academy. Is there any light at the end of the tunnel? Or are we going to waste a top class set of backs playing behind nonexistent forwards.

Anscombe was a better head coach than Doak. Why was McLaughlin shuffled sideways and down the stairs?

Logan isn't running the ship any better than Reid in my opinion. The cash injection a few seasons back from both the government and IRFU have covered his ineptitude.

McGlocks is up at BRA I believe - saw him working up there a few weeks ago anyway...

The truth is Ulster don't have the players - especially forwards. The schools system discriminates against power players, and the Ulster Academy doesn't develop those they do have. The first team has no evidence of forwards coaching and the IRFU restrict the signings. It isn't changing any time soon.

Having said all that the Pro12 sides are at a major disadvantage for this round of games. They have had far more players away at the World Cup than the English with no time to integrate them back into the club sides.

Toulouse will be a better indicator of how far Ulster are behind.

Snipe Watson wrote:True CIMAN, but is it realistic for us to expect to be competitive with a team who just throw money around them like there's no tomorrow and flout their own league's spending rules. We operate within spending and recruitment constraints and at the moment that is crippling us. This should not be a surprise to anyone.

We are hamstrung by the IRFU. So are Munster and Leinster, there appears no chance of any getting out of their groups and that may be no bad thing in the long run. To think they had considered reducing the NIQ numbers.

I understand their issues but look, you can see the effect a good coach and a series of OK NIQs has made to Connacht and the progress that has occurred with young players benefitting and although only Henshaw has really broken through, there are a few others who look to have the potential to follow him.

Good players have in the past brought great things to all the provinces over and above their talent, wisely selected they can enhance the progress of young locals

One of our number suggested on Friday night that it could be time to think in terms of levels of NIQ, the marquee players and the lesser lights who may not be guaranteed starters but can bring something to the squad and are players that will lift the overall standard.

You could think, no they would block young Irish players or you could look at the disaster that has been Ulster's lot in most of the recent seasons when we have been on the bare bones of the squad on too many occasions. By all means put a limit on the number of NIQs who can figure in a match day squad but all the provinces are bottoming out at a time when the Irish team has been comparatively successful.

It needs a bit more imagination, so probably no chance then.

Jackie Brown wrote:Where is Brian McLaughlin these days? Or Kieran Campbell? I'm not sure which one runs the academy. Is there any light at the end of the tunnel? Or are we going to waste a top class set of backs playing behind nonexistent forwards.

Anscombe was a better head coach than Doak. Why was McLaughlin shuffled sideways and down the stairs?

Logan isn't running the ship any better than Reid in my opinion. The cash injection a few seasons back from both the government and IRFU have covered his ineptitude.

It's Kieran Campbell running the academy these days, yet another job for the old boys with no credible higher level coaching credentials.