Positives & Negatives: Ulster V Connacht

[againstthehead]

doh, forward....

I really must check the crap I write...

(ps post checked...)

[porterbelly]

personnally running over a player is a bigger statement of intent than running round him, it's the psychological effect it has on the opposition players and also the lift if gives to fellow players and supporters alike....remember last year against Biarritz at Ravers, Ferris receives the kick off and then runs over the top of the Biarritz player, shortly followed by Tuohy doing the same thing to their fullback and the rest is history..........

Is that not how he gets so many injuries though. If he ran around players or through gaps instead of into contact all the time he might not pick up the knocks he does

[Loki]

I've missed a lot of matches already this season so the big positive for me was BBC's internet coverage.

always hard to tell when you're not at the game but my tuppence..

+ves
Fez, with special mention to him not banjaxing his ankle
Afoa - monster, few more games fitness and used to the pack and he'll be an utter demon.
Porter and Gilroy - impressive in snatches, though Gilroy's handling was a bit rum. After the HC matches Porter should get a run, but that's hardly a new opinion.
Danielli - better at full back than I expected
Wallace and Cave - having been sceptical of Cave before the tail end of last season he's winning me round at pace. PW showed good hands and feet on several occasions

-ves
we need to structure our game more
news of Pienaar's injury

that's about it, we just need to build up form now. Looking forward to the HC games, SUFTUM.

[namron]

personnally running over a player is a bigger statement of intent than running round him, it's the psychological effect it has on the opposition players and also the lift if gives to fellow players and supporters alike....remember last year against Biarritz at Ravers, Ferris receives the kick off and then runs over the top of the Biarritz player, shortly followed by Tuohy doing the same thing to their fullback and the rest is history..........

Is that not how he gets so many injuries though. If he ran around players or through gaps instead of into contact all the time he might not pick up the knocks he does

Absolutely Porterbelly. Collisions cause injury especially when you are propelling your 110kg into another 110kg coming the other direction. It would be difficult for Steve to change his style now though .
What I have noticed watching 1F is the fact that He almost delights in collisions with 2 players whose combined Mass/velocity will usually surpass His. Maybe He should be a little more Tactical for the sake of career longevity .
Pedrie seems to go for gaps more and although in individual games He may not be as Effective as Steve ,His injury free run with the Bulls is testament to his technique .A player who has 3 massive games a season and then mostly injured for the rest is not as effective as one who has 15 good games and stays injury free.

[Snipe Watson]

1F has knee problems that are not caused by running through opponents.

[namron]

Think it depends which leg He is on when driving into the opposition-if its the damaged leg when impact occurs surely there would be more risk of exacerbating the injury. He is awesome to behold in full destruct mode though and for the opposition maybe a little too awesome

[TheWonDon]

Not a great game but a win is a win. My major concern is the apparent falling attendances. I do believe Tv live broadcasts are now affecting these as well, of course, as a silly kick off times.
Many of thoses who were playing or watching local rugby simply stayed in their clubhouses to watch on TV. I really wonder is the clear loss in gate receipts and corresponding lack of atmosphere in any way compensated for by the money we are getting from live broadcasts. I very much doubt it.

Unless a game someone was playing in/watching was in and around Belfast then there wasn't much chance of getting to the Ulster game in time. I was playing in Belfast and literally ran off the pitch, into the shower and straight to Ravenhill. A few guys in my team said they were just going to watch it in the bar or at home. It'll be even more of an issue for people involved in club games next week but we'll of course have the big game fans turning out.

[Snipe Watson]

Think it depends which leg He is on when driving into the opposition-if its the damaged leg when impact occurs surely there would be more risk of exacerbating the injury. He is awesome to behold in full destruct mode though and for the opposition maybe a little too awesome

He was too scary for Vainikolo last night anyway..literally ran away...funniest thing I've seen in years.

[Yoda]

I've missed a lot of matches already this season so the big positive for me was BBC's internet coverage.

always hard to tell when you're not at the game but my tuppence..

+ves
Porter impressive in snatches, though Gilroy's handling was a bit rum. After the HC matches Porter should get a run, but that's hardly a new opinion.

Clearly it was hard to tell - watch it again - Porter was not good when he came on last night and was solely responsible for the break down of 3 passages of play after he came nearly always as a try scoring opportunity seemed to be coming

[BaggyTrousers]

No harm in wishing somebody well but I think the Porter praise is fueled by hope rather than reality of how he performed. If he has it I suspect he would have been given a better opportunity by now. I also hope he has something to contribute but still awaiting the evidence.

Official attendance 6887 is actually our 2nd highest and probably not bad for a Saturday tea time. Treviso was the only time we have topped 7000 this season. Next week will be interested to see if we get 10000 or more, I have my doubts. Oh, in case you missed it there is a recession on. Think this is the most impactful thing rather than ko times etc. £20 terrace for Connacht is dear enough if you are considering bringing waynes/weans/nippers/childer and the like.

Lots of kowtowing to the legendary Ferris. Thought he was decent but it is difficult to see much understated comment. I thought he was very far from awesome - just very competitive and powerful, nothing exceptional last night. Good solid performance. Am I allowed to say that?

[Snipe Watson]

Only if you want me to agree.

[cheese]

agree with most of the common positives. i thought Cave's defence was outstanding. We just lack a bit of pace in the centers though. Pack dominated but was very impressed with McCarthy (no5) for Connacht. probably the only player that tackled Ferris on the gainline and a good bit of niggle in him. more noticeable than Tuohy.
Thought small P played well and porter did well when he came on but think marshall has the upper hand still

[ruckover]

the defence deserves a mention - we kept them out very well when they were camped on our line in the 1st half (albeit at the cost of a penalty) and once more in the second half. need to do that against clermont though, and better

[John_e_boy]

again from the perspective of my laptop screen watching the BBC NI coverage.....

scrappy game, Ulster dominated for most of the game but a lot of unforced or silly errors. I thought the support play for players who'd broken the first tackle was a tad too slow, Danielli guilty of overunning a few support lines (to me that's criminal) and yeah, take off Court and Afoa and our scrum is a shambles.

but, a win's a win, wonderful performances from 1F, Cave, Afoa, Trimble and wee Gilroy. iHumph used his head well and without wishing to get into the protracted Marshall debate, he does seem to be improving. Can't ask for more than that.

We'll need to up the intensity a notch and cut out the unforced errors against Clermont, but there's no reason not to believe in a home win, probably without a bonus point though, our nemesis it would seem.

[Cornerfleg]

He was too scary for Vainikolo last night anyway..literally ran away...funniest thing I've seen in years.

That was Youtube material ... you could see his think bubbles ... "Oh Oh ... that's Ferris" - Brave Sir Vainikolo ran away ... straight into Cave coming at him like an exocet. Then there was NOCs kick followed buy the dummy, dummy, drop - TRY, genius.

Who was it Trimble mullered near the end of the game ... came off his wing and nearly broke him.