Squad against the Hairsprays

[backawaygoonahead]

1-Young, 2-Best, 3-Fitzpatrick, 4-Barker, 5-Muller, 6-Ferris, 7-Faloon, 8-Wannenburg, 9-Marshall, 10-O'Connor, 11-Seymour, 12-Whitten, 13-Cave, 14-McIlwaine, 15-D'Arcy

Brady, Court, McAllistar, Caldwell, Diack, Porter, Wallace, Shiells

So , after the summer musing on how powerful we were going to be, a dose of reality strikes with the announcement of the first competitive team.

In short, that backline wouldn't put the wind up Connacht never mind the champions. Fortunately there is more to come in when Deccie/Injuries permit but I will be astonished if we can get enough points together to win this one - its just hard to see where its going to come from. Has D'Arcy - the trialist - been practicing his kicking this week? Can NOC hit a cow's Brennan with a banjo if and when the ball is thrown to him for a potshot?

These and many more questions will be answered tomorrow night. Still in a state of fevoured anticipation but my god the pack are going to have to be magnificent. Could happen.

[kf15]

Does anyone know much about the club form of our 2 wingers for tomorrow? I havent seen anything from them in an Ulster shirt to be impressed with. Hopefull they have shown something in training that has moved them ahead of Spence and McCrea. Had Smith and Gilroy not been injured, they perhaps would have started on the wings instead.

Very worried about our back 3. Could cost us teh match if they dont step up

McIlwaine had a very good season for Queens but that was in Division 3 in a team wiping the floor with everyone and also at fullback not wing! Dont think he's every played a game, in 3 seasons at Queens, on the wing.

Seymour was at best anonymous for Ballymena last season....must have done a lot to impress over the summer.

Hope to God they prove me wrong but im very worried as fussell and prydie are both lightening and walker is huge!!

[Tevez]

Mr Boo Radley

Go along to the URSC tent tomorrow and ask i-Humph yourself.......

[Rooster]

Looks like a side where Hairsprays catch ball, 1F and 3N's double hit player with ball then Willie steals ball and 1f and 3N's play keep ball for rest of match

[The Boo Radleys]

Here Tevez, what's he doing there???

[promsandwich]

I really don't think the Ulster pack can be *that* much better and none of the Ulster backs are clearly better than their opposite numbers.

MR, when you look at the pack man for man I don't see that we have any particular advantage over them upfront - either pack could dominate and it will depend on who fronts up on the night.

Looking at the respective backlines fills me with dread. I've gone from being overwhelmingly optimistic about the start of the season to feeling slightly quesy!!

Any crumbs of comfort? Er....we're at home!

Hope these young lads can put in a shift. We could still beat them but we need to have our A-game out. Maybe the plan should be to keep Caldwell on the bench for as long as possible - don't want him teeing up Biggar

[Rooster]

I really don't think the Ulster pack can be *that* much better and none of the Ulster backs are clearly better than their opposite numbers.

MR, when you look at the pack man for man I don't see that we have any particular advantage over them upfront - either pack could dominate and it will depend on who fronts up on the night.

Looking at the respective backlines fills me with dread. I've gone from being overwhelmingly optimistic about the start of the season to feeling slightly quesy!!

Any crumbs of comfort? Er....we're at home!

Hope these young lads can put in a shift. We could still beat them but we need to have our A-game out. Maybe the plan should be to keep Caldwell on the bench for as long as possible - don't want him teeing up Biggar

Caldwell should be superglued to the bench
As for pack Collins is only back from injury with no game time and I would expect him to get a warm welcome to his return, we should have the edge on them.

[ColinM]

massive surprise on the wings!! lets hope fussell and prydie doent get a run...too much pace for our boys!

Gusher predicted this on tuesday. He's never far wrong.

He also said that D'Arcy would be signed by the weekend

[UlsterJock]

These and many more questions will be answered tomorrow night. Still in a state of fevoured anticipation but my god the pack are going to have to be magnificent. Could happen.

.......Will the 9 be fit enough to keep the speed of service required going even for half the game? is 10 really an undercover Galway agent intent on sentencing UR to a boring, rugby by numbers future ? Will Brian find out in time? Has the other 10 really been caught with his trousers down in the chairman’s office doing something he shouldn’t in his in-tray which would explain why he’s not even on the team sheet? Centre M is he really like Soldier F, the Stig, Zorro or the Scarlet Pimpernel i.e. no-one has really ever seen him? Is it true that the back line were all actually abducted by aliens?– These questions—and many others—will be answered in the next episode of Ravers – Friday night 7.oo pm

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Everything crossed that at least we make a good show of it

[stickinout]

Our pack will front up IMO and there are some able bodies to file of the bench but I'm not sure if that will be enough. Our backline looks very patched together, our back three virtually unknown to eachother and our subs bench interestingly made up in the backs department. A lot will depend ultimately on O'Connor, he gifted the Ospreys 14 points last season with a charge down and that fecking intercept. Leeds was probably the first game I didn't turn the air blue when referencing him though the Ospreys with the aggressive line-speed in defence will put a lot more pressure on him and I'd suspect his get out of jail ball to Whitten won't get as much change out of Sonny Parker as it did out of the Leeds midfield.

Interestingly I note that Dan Biggar is still only 20, sort of chalk and cheese when you compare him to O'Connor really isn't
it.

Now if only we had a biggar........ liked the look of him from the first match i saw him in. NOC kicking from hand gives me a right twitchy hole

This game might be tight enough though, as both teams will prob be blowing out the cobwebs of the summer holiday, lots of knock-ons, mistimed runs and players excited to get on to the ball so maybe our patched up backline might get out of jail compared to if this was in the middle of a season. I fancy our pack to beast them, though Holah & co. might have something to say about that. I really want to see a toughened edge to our front 8, dictating the game, and showing lots of physicality. Hopefully we've come up with a few other options than give it to the big guy to go round the corner x 8 phases.

My main worry is that from what i remember of the match at Ravers last season, they had the psychological edge. They knew how to beat us and it was quite apparent from their body language that they did. Fingers crossed our lads will get stuck in, put a few of them back on their arses and not let anything through. Hopefully, somebody in the backroom has done their homework on how to open them up, but let's face it they're a decent team with a ridiculous squad size riddled with internationals.

C'mon the men

[Cap'n Grumpy]

Wonder what iHumph has/hasn't done to not even make the replacements???

Mr Boo Radley - Go along to the URSC tent tomorrow and ask i-Humph yourself.......

Here Tevez, what's he doing there???

Answering questions ..... apparently


Big worry for me would be that even if 1f, 3ns etc front up and bully the Hairsprays off the park, Mr A will assume it to be illegal and US off the park

[shamalicious]

Not so optimistic now. Wondering why Paddy is on the bench and no iHumph at all.

[WhiteKnightoftheWeld]

biggar........ liked the look of him from the first time i saw him ... gives me a right twitchy hole
... tight enough ... blowing ... excited ... ball ... up ... beast them... dic... come up .. big guy ... Fingers ...on their arses


C'mon the men

such a fruit stickinout

[Gromit]

Its a very worrying backline. Key issue is a choice of outhalf who quite frankly are AIL standard and no better. No creativity in centres and no caps in the back three.

If this D'Arcy bloke is as exciting as people think and has a line break lets turn him into an out half ASAP. Given he's got a harp on his passport should be no complaints.

Thanks goodness it'll be the one dry (not necessarily warm) night so it wonat be a complete disaster.

[Ulsterscall]

stickinout wrote:
biggar........ liked the look of him from the first time i saw him ... gives me a right twitchy hole
... tight enough ... blowing ... excited ... ball ... up ... beast them... dic... come up .. big guy ... Fingers ...on their arses


C'mon the men

Bravo!!!!