Match Report

Talk about the men in white, and everything Ulster!!

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colinh
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Match Report

Post by colinh »

As admin is probably having a long chat with huey down the big white telephone and unable to publish here is the match report:

Colin :twisted:
SHINE ON YOU CRAZY DIAMOND
If ever there was a resounding victory this was it as Ulster stormed their way through a supposedly high flying Borders team that saw their defensive record crumble and Alain Tate has only the nightmares to look forward to tonight in his slumbers. Three times this supposedly rock solid defence was breeched by rampaging Ulster who looked a totally different side from the one that last season whimpered its way to a just about respectable mid table position in the league. The reverberations of this stylish win tonight will be felt all over the league as the Borders came down to earth with a bang heard all over the kingdom. Already in the league there is a breakaway group consisting of Ulster and Munster four points ahead of their nearest rivals. But with Ulster on four away games and Munster on four home wins and a bonus being the difference Ulster are better placed to prepare for an assault on the league and indeed a sustained campaign in Europe is beckoning with all the allure that only the big nights at Ravenhill can offer.

It started off in an error strew opening quarter mainly thanks to the slippery due of early autumn but Ulster got the better of the early exchanges dominating the line out and gaining the upper hand in the inevitable kicking contest with David Humphries back to his very best. But it was quickly evident that the Borders tight five were under pressure giving the unfortunate Cuisiter poor ball that forced him to kick wildly as McCullough was glaring at him with all the intent of a great white shark looking at his supper. But despite the early pressure it was well into the half before Ulster registered a penalty by none other that David Humphries. The pressure on the Borders defence was both sustained and intense with well-organised Ulster attacks going for the jugular and looking to rip the life and soul out of the Scottish side. Trimble made the break with his usual menace and guile that belies the youthfulness and fresh face of the assassin. Cuisiter held on to him and spent the next 10 minutes admiring the Ulster attacks that came wave after wave from the relative sanctity of the sin bin.

But being proud people and used to pushing English raiders of their land the Borders were always ready to attack looking very useful when mauling forward but ex Ulster hero and European Cup medal winner Mark Blair has always been good for the odd penalty or two duly obliged and allowed Ulster to relieve the pressure after some good movement by the impressive Walker and a bit of a dust up when Thompson the New Zealander decided to have a difference of opinion with Justin Harrison. But the last laugh was with the Australian when close to the end the Kiwi was pinged for backchat to the referee much to the delight of Harrison and the large Ulster support. There was certainly no love lost between these two. Ulster pressed on inspired by good intelligent and safe football by Bryn Cunningham launched another salvo into the Borders territory from the boot of the impeccable David Humphries. Neil Best broke the line in midfield close to the half way only to be denied by the corner flag showing a burst of speed that would have pleased many backs. But it was not long before the Borders line broke as Neil Best raced to the head of the try-scoring table with his fourth of the season as he barged his way over from 2 very hard yards. Eddie take note as Mr Best is on a mission. After a brief flurry and a muffed kick by Borders Ulster went in at half time 10 Borders yet to score.

It was hardly the half that the home side wanted as they obviously fancied themselves but it was not to get any better for them. But Ulster started to develop a very worrying habit of giving away unnecessary penalties. The referee Mr Fear from the WRU was always on top of his game and not afraid to send players off should they warrant it as Cuisiter and McDougall found out. He penalised fairly and squarely using his authority wisely although I suspect Ulster were at the wrong end of the penalty count. But that is something for Mark McCall to and the players to sort out. Justin Fitzpatrick was warned about his propping as was his protagonist and was immediately penalised for dropping and lost a further ten for back chat which was totally unnecessary. This was perhaps the only flaw in what was the best performance of the season to date.

James Topping proved that his disco boots had gifted him back his youth when he raced over virtually unopposed for the second and decisive score after good pressure from the visitors who were very much a menacing side each time they attacked which was unmatched and unrivalled by the home side. Two dummy runners offered the Borders options but no decisions as Topping glided in for another 7 pointer. Borders played like a team that were undoubtedly capable but were under so much pressure from Ulster that they were unable to string phases together due to a combination of the due which was minor and more significantly due to the intense on the ball pressure Ulster had them under for the full 80 minutes. Ulster folk all over the land are grateful that Neil Kelly did not land the Ireland job as this is mostly his good work and organisation. Borders dropped the ball when they had any sort of momentum but it was due to extreme pressure by Ulster and that only comes about by hard graft commitment and determination. Isaac Boss came on at half time for the injured Kiernan Campbell and before long added his name to the score sheet breeching the defence for the third time and sent Alan Tate home to think again. Humphries made a break in the 22 but was well tackled before passing to Boss who made a score out of nothing to slither over and finalise the scoring less the conversion and complete the rout.

Borders spent most of the second half chasing the game that was rapidly slipping away from them and running anything that moved as you would expect a team that to do in such a position. They utilised the space well from the kicking of Humphries as he pinned them safely to their own line but broke through on occasion threatening to score but heroic work by Boss and the Ulster pack accompanied by Bowe and Maxwell saw the thwarting of any incursion. It was clear after the first quarter that there was only going to be one winner and only stout Border defence prevented the bonus point and the top slot in the league being decked in the white and red of Ulster. But with four away games resulting in 3 wins and a bonus from the other the season looks bright, the season looks white. This is the stuff of champions. Final score Borders 0 Ulster 27.
Last edited by colinh on Sun Oct 16, 2005 3:05 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Post by Rooster »

Drinking last night or not it's time the boss was up :lol:
“That made me feel very special and underlined to me that Ulster is more than a team, it is a community and a rugby family"
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Post by fermain »

:drunken: I've gotta go to rugby this morning so all page updates will be done later...
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Re: Match Report

Post by ballpark »

colinh wrote:. Eddie take note as Mr Best is on a mission.
Will Eddie take note though

Well looks like we're still not putting away our chances like we should and to me the scrummaging sounded a bit suspect although Mark Palmer writing in the Sunday Times claimed, "their pack, probably unrivalled in the Celtic League stormed into rucks and mauls....".

Excellent report Colin, you must have stormed into your hotel room in Netherdale immediately after the match with a bottle of Ard Macha Chardonnay, to type that, even as the dew was still settling
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Post by rocky »

No, BP, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the scrummaging. Far from it - the Borders front row was taken apart by Fitzy and the Bros. I suspect the Borders missed their two Samoans very badly but they were never going to win this game. Ulster simply get better and better at the moment. Long may it continue. Cheers.
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Re: Match Report

Post by Rooster »

ballpark wrote:
Excellent report Colin, you must have stormed into your hotel room in Netherdale immediately after the match with a bottle of Ard Macha Chardonnay, to type that, even as the dew was still settling
More like he bate his way back through the mist from the chicken house to get back to his pc with a high speed connection :lol:
“That made me feel very special and underlined to me that Ulster is more than a team, it is a community and a rugby family"
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Post by ballpark »

rocky wrote:No, BP, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the scrummaging. Far from it - the Borders front row was taken apart by Fitzy and the Bros. I suspect the Borders missed their two Samoans very badly but they were never going to win this game. Ulster simply get better and better at the moment. Long may it continue. Cheers.
Rocky
Cheers Rocky, they did say in the Scotland on Sunday that they missed their Samoans but also that it wouldn't have made much difference to the result if those two had played.
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Post by colinh »

you must have stormed into your hotel room in Netherdale immediately after the match with a bottle of Ard Macha Chardonnay, to type that, even as the dew was still settling
Aye twas the Clan Dew ..... only older readers will know about this vile noxious chemical we used to pump into our bodies. Not really in the same league as Mundies this was Premiership stuff.

Colin :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
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Post by pwrmoore »

didn't spot this at the time but this will please colinh

from the Riever's web-site:-
Visitscotland man of the match: Neil Best
Thought Both Best and McMillan were immense last night.
Paul.

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Post by colinh »

pwrmoore wrote:didn't spot this at the time but this will please colinh

from the Riever's web-site:-
Visitscotland man of the match: Neil Best
Thought Both Best and McMillan were immense last night.
It certainly does Paul thanks. Besty is becoming a colossus. I remember the first time I saw the skinny runt play a few seasons back. He had the potential and the madness but now he has added the brawn and is becoming a very formidable player. He was also Man Of The Match in the Sunday Times. Eddie cannot ignore him for much longer. He has started to play the same game as Quinlan does at Munster but it doing it better.

Colin :twisted:
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Post by Freddie Benson »

Easterby, although fortunate to be called up, was impressive on the Lions tour and remains the man in possession. Interesting selection posers wrt the back-row.

Foley, who has been consistently solid for several years, was below par last year. But will EO'S drop him now and bring in Wilson or Heaslip to get the necessary experience before RWC 2007?

Open-side - now that Gleeson's back will Eddie revert to him or stick with O'Connor and Leamy? Then you've got Jennings and of course McMillan.

Blind-side - yes Best is in the frame, but unlike say Millar, Quinlan or Leamy can't cover other positions limiting his chances of reaching the pine.
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