RACING 92 V ULSTER Saturday 20th Oct KO:18.30 TV: BT

[jean valjean]

Hope people remember zero pointing out Lowry when the return match comes around.

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[Columbo]

Hope the scumbag plays in the return game.

Lowry will end up with more Irish caps than him anyway.

Gary.. I hope we don’t try to turn him into a FB from all accounts he could be the real deal at 10 and with us having obvious problems there I would hate to see us overlook an obvious fix in order to just bring another player thru in due course..

Now on defence I am going to stick my neck out and say I am as yet unconvinced by the genius of Payne.. early days and new players but as yet not sure.

I actually think I disagree, I really like him at 15, I think his pace and eye for a gap are his big strengths, for me 15 is ideal for that.

On the defence point, for a great defence in rugby you need 3 things, a good coach, a settled group of players and time - this season we are going to have at most 1 of those.. so my expectation is that for at least the rest of the season our defence will be susceptible to strong sides. We know that Payne is a greater reader of defence, the players like him, it’s frustrating but I think we just need to buckle up and wait it out..


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[Columbo]

2 big problems, firstly our skills don’t hold up under pressure. We probably left a couple of tries, and a heap of pressure, out there through breakdown of skills under pressure. Some of it (most of it?) is due to players still familiarising themselves with each other - but if we can’t sharpen it up we won’t be a serious threat to any really good side..

The second one gets more frustrating for me the more I think of it - and blame is squarely at Bryn’s door - we don’t have a decent loose head. We were given the nod to go out and buy one - and he came back with SVDM. That is shocking, and tbh is a big component in our struggle to be competitive.


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[Dave]

Hope people remember zero pointing out Lowry when the return match comes around.

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He is complete trash. Nope I'll not forget that. I'm not one for booing but I would make exception for that POS.

[Gary]

Columbo, Lowry is a 10 who can play 12 and 15. He'll be a good player at 12 and 15, but a great one at 10. That is his position and where his talent will serve Ulster best and for years to come. Burns is a fine player, but I've always said we didn't need him. We are actually well-stocked at out-half - McPhilips, Lowry, Curtis, with Cooney there as well. Remember a young, supremely talented back called Paddy Wallace? His career didn't reach the heights it should have because both Ulster and Ireland fecked him about. I hope that sort of mistake doesn't happen to Lowry.

[Spiffsson]

Ulster gave it a decent enough thrash before running out of steam, but in reality there was not much they could do against that monster Racing team. We just don't have enough big lads with dog.

[BaggyTrousers]

LOOK, I haven't read what has been written here since before the match and I suspect it may be unwise as I'd just want to slap a few Warren Gatland.

The prime requirement for these guys is that they fight the bit out for 80 minutes, they did that.

Only an utter clown would have expected any better than that performance, I'm quietly pleased with it. A little better decision making under pressure and they could have got that TBP which realistically was all that was going to be available against one of the best-resourced clubs in Europe with a hell of a squad.

We had a hotchpotch of nippers, a few stars and a few players who realistically have no business out there. Shanners for example & yet for the second game in a row I'm left thinking, is he really a total dud? Might he actually do ok if he had people feeding confidence into him? Certainly, he was not atrocious and amidst his struggles, he coped bloody well under intense pressure at times.

Lowry, mainly good decisions, the odd bad one, but what potential he has. I take Colon's point about his ability to do really well at 15 but for me, that is almost certainly down to his skillset and it would be an absolute calumny for his supposed ability to run a game from 10 to be wasted. If he is as good as I'm told I want to see his goods at 10 before long. The injury crisis in the centres and fullback have given him this opportunity and I'm certain he's glad of it.

So look, little to be said, they went, they fought, they got chinned, just as expected but I tell you, they played some very good rugby in patches, I remain encouraged at the direction of travel, I hate it when we pack it in during a game, that hasn't happened this season, not even when destroyed in Toemund.

Good night, sweet dreams.

[Dave]

Too many basic errors gifted Racing a big win. We left a few scores out there. Basic skills let us down.

[Shan]

Zebo is a very naughty boy and he deserves a bit of a hot welcome if he plays at Ravenhill.

Overall this was a game Racing were always going to win. There were some positives there for Ulster. The backrow for example has the look of one which can develop into a decent fighting outfit. Some lively attacking play too and when the errors are cut out that will yield more rewards.

[solidarity]

I got the feeling that Racing just let us run ourselves out and didn't mind giving up a couple of tries because they knew they'd be strong enough to break our hearts in the middle of the game, then coast to a win. We probably got as much as we could expect. A couple of lads blooded, a toughening up exercise against a seriously good team and no injuries. Fair enough.

[Cockatrice]

2 big problems, firstly our skills don’t hold up under pressure. We probably left a couple of tries, and a heap of pressure, out there through breakdown of skills under pressure. Some of it (most of it?) is due to players still familiarising themselves with each other - but if we can’t sharpen it up we won’t be a serious threat to any really good side..

The second one gets more frustrating for me the more I think of it - and blame is squarely at Bryn’s door - we don’t have a decent loose head. We were given the nod to go out and buy one - and he came back with SVDM. That is shocking, and tbh is a big component in our struggle to be competitive.

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As for the second some lay the blame for poor front row recruitment at the door of Kiss and yes he apparently watched the video but it remains my firm opinion that Bryn as the man responsible for contracts/signings could have said NO..

He took the credit for spotting Coetzee... someone should take the responsibility for signing a farmer.

[Dave]

Why bring on McPhillips? It's more of the same at 10. Lowry could be a game changer at flyhalf.

The backs on the bench were Stewart, McP and Kernohan. Looked like straight swaps at hb were always planned, and once the game was over Billy got hauled off.

Was only listening but sounded like there were a few mismatches Racing exploited for tries, which meant they got a lot of quick ball. Didn't hear Jordi's name mentioned so much this week and back row in general seemed outplayed?



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The game became very disjointed at times with the number of mistakes. The backrow did well. Marcell had a few turnovers and some great carries. He gets a little flat footed though as I think he has lost some mobility. He left a big gap in the defence for one of their scores.

[Big-al]

Hope people remember zero pointing out Lowry when the return match comes around.

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His card is marked.

[Cockatrice]

Why bring on McPhillips? It's more of the same at 10. Lowry could be a game changer at flyhalf.

The backs on the bench were Stewart, McP and Kernohan. Looked like straight swaps at hb were always planned, and once the game was over Billy got hauled off.

Was only listening but sounded like there were a few mismatches Racing exploited for tries, which meant they got a lot of quick ball. Didn't hear Jordi's name mentioned so much this week and back row in general seemed outplayed?



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The game became very disjointed at times with the number of mistakes. The backrow did well. Marcell had a few turnovers and some great carries. He gets a little flat footed though as I think he has lost some mobility. He left a big gap in the defence for one of their scores.

If not mistaken he left one with Hendo and Hendo left yet another.... both led to tries.

Glad McPhilips and others got some time on pitch.. this is a project that will take time but it shouldn’t excuse basic simple mistakes.

[BaggyTrousers]

Zebo is a very naughty boy and he deserves a bit of a hot welcome if he plays at Ravenhill.

Overall this was a game Racing were always going to win. There were some positives there for Ulster. The backrow for example has the look of one which can develop into a decent fighting outfit. Some lively attacking play too and when the errors are cut out that will yield more rewards.

A developing team, barely know each other in many cases, quite a few with very little rugby, nothing happens to develop a team in less than 2 months, this will be a long recovery, all I want is it moving in the right direction, it is. Patience is a virtue.

Zebo is now bracketed with Felon Armitage as an utter gobshite. He has no understanding of rugby values, what he did was despicable. I enjoyed Nigel schooling him in manners and etiquette.

Frankly, I hope he "enjoys" a career-ending injury very soon. Warren Gatland, I'd never have expected that from him.