Positives & Negatives from Munster match

[jackthelad]

Thanks for putting me in my place, Jack the lad, and I really feel like the little rodent's bag of balls after that.

I was trying to be helpful by pointing out the unacceptable. For the money paid, Pienaar's hospital pass to Ian Humphreys leading to the loss of the bonus point was unacceptable. The performance by some of the other imports was also unacceptable.

Contrast this with the Connacht guys having one year contracts for their journeymen and still getting reasonable results.

We need value for money in Irish rugby and I don't need to be abused for pointing this out.

Cameron Jowett anyone? Joking aside, did you actually bother to read the Ulster team sheet for Friday's game or did you just hear George 'lanyardbrain' Hook say that Ulster had their full side out. The following players who would have been first choice were missing.
Court
Best
Botha
Ferris
Wallace
Cave
Trimble
Danielli
We've alas in the last week or so also lost Cunningham for good and Pollock it seems. Those 10 would have been sure selections to start. Even your 'Leinster friends' might recognise some of those absentees. It's amazing how little people actually read these days. Most of the backs were getting their first starts as were some of the forwards yet you have the temerity to come on here and blather on about 'heart' in Connacht.

As a final point:

4 Ulster Rugby Ulster 7 4 1 2 134 131 3 8 8 0 1 19
5 Leinster Leinster 7 4 0 3 140 139 1 13 11 1 1 18.

You guys obviously lack even more heart than Ulster despite getting the Lion's share of the booty from the IRFU. Maybe you really should give Connacht some cash.

[Ardglass2]

Dublin4 I have seen Leinster play crap this year also.

That match against Edinburgh was far worse than anything Ulster have dished up and that is saying something

[Dublin4]

We won though. With a lot of second choice players.

Look, I am sorry I seem to offend you, but all the provinces need to learn lessons and be very cagey about who they import from the SH. Money is very scarce at the moment and it has to be made go as far as possible. Leinster fans suffered enough with van der LInde's relaxing sojourn in Dublin.

[Ardglass2]

I was talking about the 32-24 defeat in the Magners - sorry for not being clearer.

Regarding wasting money I think it way too early to be passing judgement.
If we are no better in 12 months time fair enough but not yet.

[scrum5]

Would like to apologise unreservedly whither it is accepted or not to Mr Backawaygoonahead for insinuating that he was either Trevor Brennan, Alfie Thomas or Delon Armitage, no Ulster supporter ( I assume you genuinely are) should be labeled along with those three langers.....

[backawaygoonahead]

Thanks for putting me in my place, Jack the lad, and I really feel like the little rodent's bag of balls after that.

I was trying to be helpful by pointing out the unacceptable. For the money paid, Pienaar's hospital pass to Ian Humphreys leading to the loss of the bonus point was unacceptable. The performance by some of the other imports was also unacceptable.

Contrast this with the Connacht guys having one year contracts for their journeymen and still getting reasonable results.

We need value for money in Irish rugby and I don't need to be abused for pointing this out.

Well done sir, people here don't often take my suggestions seriously Dublin4 so as Joe Mercer would have said "Much merit to the lad."

On the negative side I see you are persisting with the folly that earned Jack's rebuke. Seems somewhat unwise, Piennar took the risky option to try to save a game he had made a huge contribution to losing & I am glad he tried to win the game rather than being dull and walking into touch to save a bonus point. Regarding Connacht, again you are repeating the same thing without having responded to Jacks points about Connacht horsing Leinster in recent years.

I accept that you don't need to be abused and would suggest that you check your posts for garbage before submitting them to avoid such abuse.

[backawaygoonahead]

Would like to apologise unreservedly whither it is accepted or not to Mr Backawaygoonahead for insinuating that he was either Trevor Brennan, Alfie Thomas or Delon Armitage, no Ulster supporter ( I assume you genuinely are) should be labeled along with those three langers.....

Life is full of surprises, 2 in one visit. I can confirm that I am not from Barnhall, Wales or Trinidad & am & have been an Ulster rugby supporter for 50 plus years.

Gladly accepted.

Edit: Sorry, should have added that there is no need to apologise, I dish some & can take some - just thought that since you made the effort I should acknowledge it.

[Cap'n Grumpy]

Edit: Sorry, should have added that there is no need to apologise, I dish some & can take some - just thought that since you made the effort I should acknowledge it.

Try taking your own, oft quoted advice - never apologise!

[jackthelad]

We won though. With a lot of second choice players.

Look, I am sorry I seem to offend you, but all the provinces need to learn lessons and be very cagey about who they import from the SH. Money is very scarce at the moment and it has to be made go as far as possible. Leinster fans suffered enough with van der LInde's relaxing sojourn in Dublin.

All very true and 'your friends' patronising support for Connacht would be all the more worthy if it a) Wasn't borne out of some bizarre wish to deprive Ulster of financial support and b) If Connacht were not full of crap overseas players. Here are the Non-IQ players currently on Connacht's books. Money doesn't seem that scarce down Galway direction considering the following list.
Miah Nikora, Ray Ofisa, Niva Ta'auso, Ezra Taylor, Bernie Upton, Barry Fa'amausili, Dylan Rogers, Rodney Ah You. Additionally they have Troy Nathan who is qualified by residence.
Now tell me which of these players are better value for money than Botha, Muller, Pienaar, Wannenberg and Danielli. You can pontificate all you like about wasting money and Connacht but you and 'your friends', who seem to know soooooo much about rugby yet they don't know how many foreign players Connacht have, should maybe get your facts lined up correctly before putting your foot in their mouths. Additionally I don't think we can take lessons from guys who currently have Shaun Berne and Ben Prescott in your squad. They might be IQ but they have as much chance of playing rugby for Ireland as Graham Norton. They are taking up places that could be used by local players to better effect.

[darkside lightside]

I hesitate to join in internal Ulster debate but I really question some decisions up there.
Ruan Pienaar was a massive disappointment. He is not worth the money, so far, and I question why you dispensed with Isaac Boss.
Boss impresses me and many others at the RDS. Some of the other imports, apart from Pienaar, you have are not doing it either. Contrast Isa Nacewa and Richard Strauss to name but two.
I wanted Ulster to add to Irish rugby this season and widen international choices. This is not happening.
A lot of my Leinster friends are saying: why not give Connacht a bit of the money Ulster get as they seem to be doing better on a shoestring? At least Connnacht have pride and commitment.

I find it amusing that we are all slating Ulster management player the lot, but then when some guy from Dublin does it we suddenly get all offended and get up in his face I think it's certainly fair to point out that, if our plan was to bolster the squad with imports of sufficient quality to generally improve the overall strength of the squad, and particularly when our (few) Irish players are absent - then the jury's still very much out..

I too question the Boss decision, and in some ways would have preferred to have seen money put towards a top-notch back 3 player. However, while Pienaar wasn't great the other night, he's still head and shoulders above any other scrum-half in Ireland, and I'm pretty sure he'll do good things for us over time.

Ulster have had their fair share of imported flops, but I think the current batch are exactly the right kind of guys that the Irish teams should be bringing over. Leinster (and Munster) have both had their share of poor NIQ signings - Berne and Galarza in this year's squad don't do much for me, but don't forget some of the guys Cheika brought in, like Johnny Hepworth, Juan Gomez, Michael Berne... complete journeyman who added nothing to the squad, and flagged up a lack of confidence in the younger guys..

I don't think there's any prospect of attention and funds being switched from Ulster to Connacht - maybe if Connacht actually finished above Ulster in the league (or Leinster for that matter ) the IRFU's hand would be forced to an extent, but until Connacht look like they can double their average crowds I think the status quo will remain, i.e. the IRFU's main goal will be to get Ulster working..

[pwrmoore]

Connacht have already a substabtuially increased average crowd - though that may be swayed by having played two home interpros already. I have them at 3238 over the 3 home games so far which puts them ahead of both Scottish teams.

[backawaygoonahead]

All very true and 'your friends' patronising support for Connacht would be all the more worthy if it a) Wasn't borne out of some bizarre wish to deprive Ulster of financial support and b) If Connacht were not full of crap overseas players. Here are the Non-IQ players currently on Connacht's books. Money doesn't seem that scarce down Galway direction considering the following list.
Miah Nikora, Ray Ofisa, Niva Ta'auso, Ezra Taylor, Bernie Upton, Barry Fa'amausili, Dylan Rogers, Rodney Ah You. Additionally they have Troy Nathan who is qualified by residence.
Now tell me which of these players are better value for money than Botha, Muller, Pienaar, Wannenberg and Danielli. You can pontificate all you like about wasting money and Connacht but you and 'your friends', who seem to know soooooo much about rugby yet they don't know how many foreign players Connacht have, should maybe get your facts lined up correctly before putting your foot in their mouths. Additionally I don't think we can take lessons from guys who currently have Shaun Berne and Ben Prescott in your squad. They might be IQ but they have as much chance of playing rugby for Ireland as Graham Norton. They are taking up places that could be used by local players to better effect.

Now missing the rats bag Dublin4? I did suggest that you should quit whilst you are.........well not ahead exactly, but with the odd shred of dignity remaining and the potential to recover some credibility.

You said something about not wanting to be abused or similar words, you are currently in a hole - stop digging.

At the current rate of progress on this topic, I fear that I will be hearing reports of you self-harming before long as Jack continues to tear you a new asshole.

Confucius say: The wise general knows when to feck off home, when the battle is lost and the war all but over.

[Rooster]

McLaughlins positives and negatives from match

Half an hour after Friday night’s full-time whistle at Ravenhill Ulster coach Brian McLaughlin looked and sounded a deeply worried man.

By lunch-time the following day, however, he had recovered sufficiently to be able to highlight causes for optimism in the wake of his side’s 16-6 Magners League defeat by Munster.

“Having studied the video I was able to take an awful lot of positives from it,” he said.

“After the match I felt we’d got nothing right, but when I sat down and looked at things properly I was able to see how close we were to winning that match.

“We didn’t lose as a result of having been outplayed; Munster didn’t outplay us. Of the two sides we looked far more likely to score until we gave them that bizarre try right at the end.

“We missed a penalty when we were 6-3 up in the first half and we missed another when we were |9-6 down in the second.

“In games as tight as that you have to put those between the posts, so those were costly.”

He also highlighted moments when he felt the rub of the green had gone in Munster’s favour.

“We were unlucky not to have scored early on when Mark McCrea would have been in from Ian Humphreys’ cross-kick if we’d got a better bounce of the ball.

“We were unlucky, too, when Pedrie (Wannenburg) charged down an Alan Quinlan kick but that just didn’t go for us either and he (Quinlan) got away with it.

“And I take encouragement from the performances of two of our youngest players, Nevin Spence and Luke Marshall who were asked to step up and proved they could.

“That means they can put pressure on Ian (Whitten) and Paddy (Wallace) who now know they have two good kids challenging for their places.

“The bottom line is that we’re in a much better place than at the same stage last year. This is a better squad, no doubt about it.

“It takes time to build a team but that is what we’re doing. I’d just ask people to be patient and realistic.”

Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport ... z14CtMccKx

[notj]

To be honest Rooster, McLaughlin is just saying exactly what I was thinking when the final whistle blew.

[jackthelad]

To be honest Rooster, McLaughlin is just saying exactly what I was thinking when the final whistle blew.

Ditto.