Ulster v Leicester +ines and -ives

[bangorboy]

Well what a match and what a day - glorious sunshine certainly made a change from a cold Friday night!!

Positives
Sean Doyle - seems like a cracking find put in some good work at the rucks and looked hungry
Nick - couple of big hits and again looking for work - enough of the fat jibes I reckon
Heaneys try saving tackle on Waldrom
The scrum!!! Black & Deccie Fitz
Defence - were under sustained pressure in our 22 for quite a bit of the match and defensive line held pretty well
Payne - glad he is back - though to be honest he is like a new start

Negatives
Deccie Fitz hand bandaged on pitch and he came out with large ice pack on it - hope it's OK
Lost a lot of ball on turnovers early in the match but this improved later on
Chances are a lot of guys today may not get much of a run out again for a while when first choice players come back

[rumncoke]

Nothing can really be read out the game two teams playing preseason rugby where the result was secondary
and the teams were a mixed bag of hopefuls and we need the mind set back

While the Leinster scrum was in all kinds of trouble the basic cause was the fact that second row were inexperienced light weights.as evidenced by both scrum and line out were their hooker was forced to throw crooked.

Thus in some respects the teams were totally opposites Leicester seemed to have an inexperienced front five and experienced back line and Ulster had a fairly experienced pack with a very young back line excluding Payne the average age must have been 21

[bangorboy]

Fair dues but given our starting XV had about 2/3 first team starters against Leicesters 7/8 I think they guys did incredibly well.

Another positive was the new black kit looks awesome!

[jamsodonnell]

Nothing can really be read out the game two teams playing preseason rugby where the result was secondary
and the teams were a mixed bag of hopefuls and we need the mind set back

While the Leinster scrum was in all kinds of trouble the basic cause was the fact that second row were inexperienced light weights.as evidenced by both scrum and line out were their hooker was forced to throw crooked.

Thus in some respects the teams were totally opposites Leicester seemed to have an inexperienced front five and experienced back line and Ulster had a fairly experienced pack with a very young back line excluding Payne the average age must have been 21

Have to take issue with "an inexperienced front five " I'm sure English prop Dan Cole and Italian prop Martin Castrogiovanni, English lock Geoff Parling,Tongan lock Steve Mafi, English 8 Thomas Waldrom, English 8 Jordan Crane would not constitute inexperience. Dont know who hooked or who was on flanks, but they weren't tubes either. Our forward effort was immense. Dont need to list our absentees. The depth we crave is beginning to show.

[Cornerfleg]

One swallow does not a summer make ... but thon was class.

Fat Nick, Black, Deccie, Farrell, Allen ... looked very good. Doyle is a ground hog - yeah, could be a real star in the making there.

But I'm sorry as someone who regularly couldn't see the point of Robbie Diack - the guy looked awesome today, fit, agressive, hard athletic (some line out work was sublime). Long may that continue. The guy is as big as Fez and maybe this is the season he starts to actually realise it!

[Yoda]

Agree with Jams and fleg

They had plenty of experience all over the park and we dealt adequately with their pressure for all but 5 or 10 minutes in the second half after all the changes had been made.

Yes it was a friendly game and kicks at goal weren't being taken, but if all we were doing was using that game to test our defensive patterns then I'd say it was a big success. They came at us with everything they had for sustained periods in both halves and we held them out. Our scrum, with arguably only 1 or 2 of our first choice players owned them for the whole game.

Other than a few silly decisions when players went for off loads which weren't on to try and keep the game alive, I thought pretty much everyone who played did well. Thought NOC's distribution has improved and like the look of NW.

Bring on the new season

[scrum5]

Nothing can really be read out the game two teams playing preseason rugby where the result was secondary
and the teams were a mixed bag of hopefuls and we need the mind set back

While the Leinster scrum was in all kinds of trouble the basic cause was the fact that second row were inexperienced light weights.as evidenced by both scrum and line out were their hooker was forced to throw crooked.

Thus in some respects the teams were totally opposites Leicester seemed to have an inexperienced front five and experienced back line and Ulster had a fairly experienced pack with a very young back line excluding Payne the average age must have been 21

What Leinster/Leicester had Dan Cole and Castrogiovanni in the front row with Steve Mafi and England international Geoff Parling in the 2nd row, what part of that is lightweight. It was an excellent performance from an Ulster side missing Best, Bowe, Tuohy, Ferris, Henry, Wilson, Pienaar, Wallace, Cave, Court, Gilroy and Trimble against what was almost Leicesters full strength team......

[damianmcr]

He played good end of last season and then played well 10/11 season from what I remember too.

He is some machine and I think he has bag of potential.

[Mac]

But I'm sorry as someone who regularly couldn't see the point of Robbie Diack - the guy looked awesome today, fit, agressive, hard athletic (some line out work was sublime). Long may that continue. The guy is as big as Fez and maybe this is the season he starts to actually realise it!

Thought that Robbie D had a good outing today. Put in the mileage, assured in the LO, good all round performance - looked like someone who wanted the ball and was prepared to go in search of and get it. Actually think this improvement is rooted in the back end of last season, the last couple of months in particular where there seemed to be a marked change mentally in his whole approach. The lad has always had potential. Hopefully now, as Fleg says, we are beginning to see it realised.

[Gael]

+ I absolutely love the second try. Dummy switch and then boom hit them with the inside ball. Could watch that all day. In fact I'm only home from work now and it's 03:40 am and I'm gonna go have another look.

[rumncoke]

wouldn't argue that the front row was inexperienced but their second row was definitely not up to the task in either scrum or line out and therefore while we mauled them in the scrum in the first half I consider in reasonable to conclude that they were as bad as we were good.

I would say Leicester went home wondering were the h-ll do all these backs come from since not one of them played in the ERC match last year. But again I consider the back line in the first half was considerable assisted by some woeful handling by the Leicester centres and there are those who would say it was due to pressure and those who say it was due to the fact it is pre -season and a hot day both could well be valid.

It is not that I wish belittle the performance -- i don't want to read to much into it.

[againstthehead]

wouldn't argue that the front row was inexperienced but their second row was definitely not up to the task in either scrum or line out and therefore while we mauled them in the scrum in the first half I consider in reasonable to conclude that they were as bad as we were good.

I would say Leicester went home wondering were the h-ll do all these backs come from since not one of them played in the ERC match last year. But again I consider the back line in the first half was considerable assisted by some woeful handling by the Leicester centres and there are those who would say it was due to pressure and those who say it was due to the fact it is pre -season and a hot day both could well be valid.

It is not that I wish belittle the performance -- i don't want to read to much into it.

ur far too sensible for this forum....

[rumncoke]

It comes with age and watching rugby for a long time . You learn there are a lot of competent players and few really great ones, that results can be influenced by the toss of a coin or the overlooked or unseen error a slip leading to a missed tackle. And the opposition is seldom as useless or stupid as you think they are.

[Cornerfleg]

Just in passing does anyone know or does anyone know anyone who has ever seen Tuilagi actually pass the ball ... that guy is meant to be an international ... I've coached kids who would get slapped for playing like that and know they deserved it!

[ulsterham]

Whilst trying to be positive, and far from negative in terms of the performance yesterday. Unfortunately I was not able to go to the match and so have made my observations from watching the video on BBC and reading comments on this forum.

A penalty try is a fantastic boost to any pack of forwards but, unless I am mistaken, Leicester had 2 tight head props in the scrum - Castro & Cole and this would have made a huge difference. Castro out of position against Afoe was not a fair match up. Remember Twickers when Tom Court was destroyed out of position at tight head.

Still, early days and it shows that Ulster are able to capitalise on opposition weaknesses when available.

Looking forward to another long, successful season.