Team v Neath

[Rooster]

Sounds like another fall asleep in second half session

[cables]

McIlroy Try + Jackson converts

15 - 27

Final whistle anytime now.

[cables]

Full back Peter Nelson scored final try. Ulster win 34-15

[scrum5]

Hope we get a timbering like that every week.....

[Rooster]

Sounds like another fall asleep in second half session

And then they woke up again

[Gael]

Fair play to them!

[Rooster]

Neath 15 Ulster 34: Match Report and Reaction
19 August 2011, 10:12 pm ::
Match Report By Richard Finlay
Ulster travelled to The Gnoll with a very young side but they rose to the challenge and came away with a hard earned win.
Fullback Peter Nelson, 18, centre Christopher Farrell, 18 and winger Michael Allen, 20, all made their first starts for Ulster as Brian McLaughlin continues to increase the size of his playing panel.

Ulster started brightly despite playing into a strong breeze and were 3-0 up inside 4 mins as Paddy Jackson slotted a difficult penalty.

Two minutes later, hooker John Burns scored the first try of the game after an excellent midfield break by Farrell. Jackson failed with the conversion attempt so the score read 8-0.

In the 21st minute Craig Gilroy added a second try for his side with a clinical finish. Neath responded with a penalty shortly after to reduce the arrears to 13-3.

Ulster continued to dominate affairs up front and Robbie Diack was rewarded for an industrious first half with a try just before the break. Jackson was this time able to add the extras.

Half-time: 20-3

Neath started the second half with a bang and crossed the whitewash within 3 minutes of the re-start. Robbie Diack was shown a yellow card a minute later and the Welsh side capitalised immediately with another try, this time converted.

The next half hour was a tense affair with both teams putting in magnificent defensive performances. There were limited scoring opportunities and neither side was able to score until three minutes from the end.

It was replacement scrum half Blane McIlroy who made the game safe for Ulster as he scored a debut try. Peter Nelson then scored a fifth try right at the death to complete a 34-15 win.

Ulster coach Brian McLaughlin was happy with his team's performance:

"I'm pleased with the effort from everybody, the young guys and the older hands did really well. They fought hard together and we came away with a very impressive win."

"Chris Farrell, Peter Nelson, Stuart Olding and a few others were starting in a senior Ulster jersey for the first time and were a credit to themselves. They did an outstanding job for us."

"The more experienced players deserve praise too because they encouraged and helped the younger players. I thought Lewis Stevenson did very well for us as captain tonight," enthused McLaughlin.

He continued, "In the first half, the quality and tempo of our play was outstanding. In the second half we had to dig deep. They came at us exceptionally hard, just like they did when they played the Ravens at Shaws Bridge last year."

"All credit to us; we leaked two tries early in the second half but we came back strongly and scored two excellent tries at the end to complete the game."

McLaughlin believes his side are shaping up nicely ahead of the RaboDirect PRO12 opener against Glasgow on September 2nd. "We are looking forward to our next friendly against Harlequins next week and can take confidence from this performance."

"The tempo we played at tonight and the courage we showed in the second half will certainly stand us in good stead next week and for the season ahead," concluded the Ulster coach.

http://www.ulsterrugby.com/9590.php

[cables]

"The tempo we played at tonight and the courage we showed in the second half will certainly stand us in good stead next week and for the season ahead," concluded the Ulster coach.

Sounds good but I don't see the connection.

[BaggyTrousers]

Don't think he is making a connection Cables, unless you have heard the words spoken & thats how it sounds. Seems just that these were the two factors which pleased him most to me.

[fuzzylogic]

by cables » Fri Aug 19, 2011 9:52 pm

"The tempo we played at tonight and the courage we showed in the second half will certainly stand us in good stead next week and for the season ahead," concluded the Ulster coach.

Sounds good but I don't see the connection.

Perhaps its that the squad knows the real kind of pace the can push in a match and that they can really take the game to other teams.

and

After losing a man in the second half to the sin bin and letting Neath back into the game that they showed courage to get back in it and score more points, this will be in their minds if the same scenario occurs during the season or next weekend?

[cables]

I still fail to see how this win against Neath will do anything for the future contribution of Cave, Danelli, D'Arcy, Humphreys,
Payne, Pienaar, Trimble, Wallace, Afoa, Barker, Best, Court, Ferris, Henry, Muller, Tuohy, Wannenberg et al.

[fuzzylogic]

No but it will have been a good run out for the younger members of the squad and a lesson to them that they can make a step up in competition and play ball and can come out on the winning side when playing with their backs to the wall a man down.

Something which may seem highly insignificant after tonight's game but you dont know what the experience gained in that position tonight is going to do to someone like Patrick Jackson if he gets thrown into the deep end this season in the ML and Ulster give up a strong lead with a few minutes to go left in the game.

That period tonight might just trigger something in the mind of Jackson and give him the confidence he needs to find a massive clearance kick or play a pass that eventually wins us the game.

[againstthehead]

I think it#sall about getting the right mentality throughtout the squad. if you look at great sides like NZ and Leinster, it doesn't really matter who takes the field - they play with a savage intensity that the opposition just cannot deal with. On occasions last season particuarly in the heiny cup we played at a very high tempo. In celtic league rugby, you're going to be reguarly without your key players so you need a squad that can all play to the same ethos. Wise words from the Glock.

[Aird]

Unless we pla y these youngsters there is no way of knowing their capabilities. This would have been a big game for Neath, the chance to take aCeltic League scalp but one in which Ulste had nothing to loose. With the RWC and the potential to pick up knocks and injuries among our remaining front line players it was essential tat these guys got exposure. if only to give em encouragement that they have a future with Ulster.

[AyeYerMa]

"The tempo we played at tonight and the courage we showed in the second half will certainly stand us in good stead next week and for the season ahead," concluded the Ulster coach.

Sounds good but I don't see the connection.

Sounds to me like someone who feels obligated to give the press a rugby related quote rather than say "Glad we won, I'm off for a Subway and maybe a couple of pints of the dark stuff".