Ulster Waywards and Exiles

[colinh]

Tommy makes the Ospreys starting line up:

15 Lee Byrne
14 Nikki Walker
13 Sonny Parker
12 Andrew Bishop
11 Tommy Bowe
10 James Hook
9 Rhys Webb
8 Ryan Jones (C)
7 Marty Holah
6 Andy Lloyd
5 Ian Evans
4 Ian Gough
3 Cai Griffiths
2 Huw Bennett
1 Paul James

Replacements:

16 Ed Shervington
17 Duncan Jones
18 Alun-Wyn Jones
19 Filo Tiatia
20 Rhodri Wells
21 Gareth Owen
22 Shane Williams

[WhiteKnightoftheWeld]

good to see tommy in there, would be decent to see him do well over there. would also bode well for ireland
will be tough enough to nail a regular spot, what with shane williams, nicky walker et al there - hope he can step up another level (and then come back to ulster in a year or 2!)

[ColinM]

Beastie and Roger earn a start at Northampton http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_u ... 596772.stm

[WhiteKnightoftheWeld]

we are well rid of those 2

[Ball Boy]

ITV Guinness Premiership coverage starts at 6.30 on Sunday ITV4.

[ColinM]

we are well rid of those 2

A bit harsh. Ireland needs players of their caliber playing well week in week out to give the national squad more depth and keep the incumbents on their toes.

Best can be as good as anybody in the country and Roger is a willing and consistent, if unspectacular performer who would be a useful asset to any club squad.

[WhiteKnightoftheWeld]

we are well rid of those 2

Best can be as good as anybody in the country and Roger is a willing and consistent, if unspectacular performer who would be a useful asset to any club squad.

Best can be, but far to often isnt. no consistency and on too many occasions no commitment
started to believe the hype about himself and quickly went backwards

there is also a lot of talk from both ulster and ireland camps about a negative influence. my view - well rid.

roger not always willing, as with best there were far too many occasions where he just didnt commit to a big performance.
he's a squad player at best. if he was consistent, it was consistently average

we need players who are prepared to utterly bust their guts for ulster. these 2 let themselves be carried and there was a lot of whispering about the negative influence they were having on the team around them. give me a dawson or a ferris or a pollock who will give 100% every time and be more interested in bettering themselves ON the field, not getting rinsed in the bar afterwards.

[bogboy]

WK I too have negatives about Best

a good player and well respect by other players but in the last couple of years you could nearly see the chip on the shoulder

I therefore am of the opinion that Ulster could be better off with out him and that he could and would be better off away from Ulster

[Neil F]

Aside from the arguments, is seems that Tim Barker starts for Glasgow against the Dragons tonight.

And Tommy scores a try on his debut for the Ospreys.

[Jackie Brown]

I was always a fan of Wilson, but the writing was on the wall once Ferris started to play at 8.

N.Best is best off away from Ulster.

[Big-al]

I went onto the northampton forum just to have a look what they think about wilson and best.

They seem to think wilson is one of the best 8's they've ever had and Neil Best is already a crowd favourite with his agression

http://www.northamptonsaints.co.uk/foru ... php?t=8563

I actually feel disappointed that our homegrown players are away shining for other clubs while we are struggling

http://www.northamptonsaints.co.uk/foru ... php?t=8569

[Freebird]

So based solely on the first 40 minutes of the GP season Neil Best seems to be good again. Stand out player so far. Aggression, positioning and mobility. The move is obviously doing him good.

[darkside lightside]

So based solely on the first 40 minutes of the GP season Neil Best seems to be good again. Stand out player so far. Aggression, positioning and mobility. The move is obviously doing him good.

Best has been superb, and looking unbelievably hungry. He and Wilson both look markedly bigger than last year - although it may just be the shirt which is cut off higher up the arm. Wilson has been serially under-rated for his entire career - glad to hear the saints fans at least recognise him.

I must say I've been really impressed by the saints openside, a scottish guy called gray i think. hadnt heard of him before, but he's been all over the place.

also interesting to see that they've signed Downey after his year in Italy.. they have a bit of an obsession with big irish 12s (quinlan and mallon and now downey!)

[darkside lightside]

the entire saints back row were very good, wilson showed up strongly in the second half. best should have had a try in the first half and was very present throughout. we could definitely have used him on friday night.

[Ithryn]

let him bulk up and improve his game over there and grab him back in 2 years along with bowe

3/8 of the saints pack is ex ulster with shields there too.