Leinster Vs Ulster Pro12 Semi

[Russ]

I have worries about bringing a lot of Ulstermen to Parkhead.

Glasgow has a scary underbelly far worse than Belfast

Sent from my Crozier

Hijacked by the wrong people could turn it into something its not

That's my worry. Sadly Glasgow is a rough place

Sent from my Brennan

[Windeos]

It would be really silly to have any final in Celtic park. It would look really poor crowd wise and reflect poorly on the league with all the empty seats.

You want a full stadium for a final with a real atmosphere. Rugby Park would've been much better venue wise. If you can't find a venue that holds around 20k then the wise choice would be Ravenhill.

Of course we have the small matter of having to win versus Leinster 1st before any of this is relevant.

I'd be seriously worried about playing at Ibrox or Celtic Park

[BaggyTrousers]

Funny, I feel exactly the same way I did before the HEC quarterfinal in Munster.

.
Same feeling has been building in me this week.

Not underestimating the size of the task, but just having that feeling again ....

As you know Grumps faith can move mountains.

At present I'm quietly thinking that we can do this but commonsense tells me it's a long shot given the results at the venue.

I'll not go into the areas that worry me but they exist. What is in our favour I think is that the ref is not Irish. Rightly or wrongly I can't shake the belief we come out on the wrong side of them.

It may be a lovers mentality but my main requirement is that we don't put in one of those RDS performanceshort were the game seems to pass us by and we don't seem to land a blow. Hard to see that today.

I hope against reason that Ruan is right, Rory will find it in him to survive and contribute. Diack worries me but we probably have to start him in case he breaks. Being down to maybe 19 of the preferred 23 is also a worry when you fill your bench with a guy you Hope never plays in white again.

I've got the worry monkey on my shoulder and almost expect another unbearable twist of fate. I think it will be close but I'm finding a winning feeling hard to come by

Mind you I had a good slap of drink last night and the ould head is a but Meh.

Burn me

[againstthehead]

With ya on this one baggers. We're not a million miles but I too have concerns:
- scrumtime is going to be interesting. They've a couple of changes at lock so it's incredibly hard to predict how it's going to go. If we can get parity and not give away too many penalties then I'll be incredibly happy. A fit Afoa would have made all the difference.
- with diack, henderson and Muller, you would expect the lineout to be okay, however, toner can be a right pain in the butt. On cronin's throw it might be worth having a pop.
- backrow is where Leinster are really strong, particuarly with SOB off the bench. Can we match the intensity? Hard to say with Wilson and Diack having recent injuries. Like Afoa up front, we just need a bit more quality in this area today. Williams or 1F on the bench would have made me a lot more confident.
- half-backs. On paper, we have the edge here but the pack need to pull off something heroic to provide the ball they need.
- centres. Very very interesting call from Anscombe. Two 'players' in the middle of the park who I reckon might just be able to create something if they can get the right ball. Cave has got decent hands so I'd expect a few runners off his shoulders. It adds a bit of an unknown quantity which I really like.
- back 3. Trimble and Bowe on paper should be causing these guys problems. If ruan brings his 'A' game and delivers the appropriate kicking-game then we could create havoc in the air down the tram-lines. That said, Kearny on form in terrific in the air so that kicking needs to be incredibly precise.
Bench
- sheesh, we have very little on the bench. I think we'll have to do a Thomand park a few years back in the HEC QF and the starters pretty much complete the game.

Overall, not too much between the starting XV's. Our pack need to play the game of their lives. Intensity and ferocity in the tackle-zone whilst maintaining discipline is the order of the day. Basically, just like Glasgow last night. They caused Munster all sorts of trouble at the contact area but managed to keep the penalty count down.

The lack of ball-carrying capacity up front concerns me somewhat which is why I would have started Dan T and had Henderson at 6. To win this one, we'll obviously need to do the basics really well and play in their half. However, when in their half, I think we may need to be a bit more high-risk than normal and throw the ball about a bit to break this leinster side down. We need to rattle them and get them out of their comfort zone. Once they establish their gameplan and tempo, we're in trouble. In guys like Cave and Payne in the centre and Diack and Henderson up front we have players that can provide that off-loading game and cause a few problems. I can't see us bashing through them but with a bit of tempo and soft soft hands we could cause problems, particularly if you have trimble and bowe off the wings at pace.

All too often in this big games of late, our guys show guts and ferocity when down to 14 or when already beaten on the scoreboard. Tonight, is the night to show we can display this passion, intensity and resolve from the 1st minute to the last.

[bazzaj]

Ridiculous if true. Payne is a full back and Cave is a 13.

Cave may also be a very useful 12 imo.
Bottom line, we need a good back up 15, more than anything...

I'd be happy enough with Cave 12 and Payne 13, if we had a quality FB behind. Maybe Olding going forward...

Agree completely CI.
I have said for years 12 is Caves best position.
He is the defensive leader and since you defend in to out it makes sense he is inside.
He is a ball player,thinker, reads the game well and creates made for 12 but does not the hit line like Payne or Bowe can which a 13 should really do.
He hasnt got the pace of others but the closer inside the more congestion and less space there is so that of defuses the pace issue.
The pace and threat comes further outside and Cave can create the room for others to play.
It would not surprise me if he is considered for Ireland in that position and he may get a career boost similar to Wallace when he started playing there.

No problem with Jared at 13 other than that makes Gilroy 15.
Again good on the counter and under the high ball but it is an art to time and hit a line from deep like Payne and Kearney can do and Gilroy does not do that to date.
That can come with experience but he has not played there consistantly enough to get his timing.
Also we will miss Paynes unerring tactical decision making in that knowing when to run and when and where to kick.

For me our strongest back line is the same one I suggested 2 years ago with Cave 12, Bowe 13, Gilroy and AT on the wings with Windy at 15.
Dont know what this new signing is like but I can see Olding being our long term 15 as he has the skills and atributes to play there since Payne doesnt fancy it.

[cardoc]

Really really don't want to go to Celtic Park ... But hey ho, we can cover the place in Ulster flags

Was the grass for Celtic Park not taken from Ulster, I seem to recall a sign somewhere in the west of Donegal stating that fact so I suppose it could be considered a home ground for Ulster

[big mervyn]

Baggy obviously hasn't had his "breakfast" yet.

Too late for keenly argued debates about who plays where. Got to banish those negative thoughts, get a jorum of strong drink intae ye, get down there and gulder till your hoarse!

[MCBwinwinwin]

Funny, I feel exactly the same way I did before the HEC quarterfinal in Munster.

.
Same feeling has been building in me this week.

Not underestimating the size of the task, but just having that feeling again ....

As you know Grumps faith can move mountains.

At present I'm quietly thinking that we can do this but commonsense tells me it's a long shot given the results at the venue.

I'll not go into the areas that worry me but they exist. What is in our favour I think is that the ref is not Irish. Rightly or wrongly I can't shake the belief we come out on the wrong side of them.

It may be a lovers mentality but my main requirement is that we don't put in one of those RDS performanceshort were the game seems to pass us by and we don't seem to land a blow. Hard to see that today.

I hope against reason that Ruan is right, Rory will find it in him to survive and contribute. Diack worries me but we probably have to start him in case he breaks. Being down to maybe 19 of the preferred 23 is also a worry when you fill your bench with a guy you Hope never plays in white again.

I've got the worry monkey on my shoulder and almost expect another unbearable twist of fate. I think it will be close but I'm finding a winning feeling hard to come by

Mind you I had a good slap of drink last night and the ould head is a but Meh.

Burn me

That is harsh on the bench. Any you may have had question marks over played well against Munster.


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[bazzaj]

Really really don't want to go to Celtic Park ... But hey ho, we can cover the place in Ulster flags

At this point I would love to be going to Celtic Park.

[BR]

Really really don't want to go to Celtic Park ... But hey ho, we can cover the place in Ulster flags

At this point I would love to be going to Celtic Park.

I'd love to be going to Nairobi Park in a fortnight! Tighten up gentlemen, we are Ulstermen!

[bangorboy]

I thought Glasgow had forfeited the final as they couldn't get a venue in time? Leinster tweeted last night they would get a home final if they won today?

[BR]

Really really don't want to go to Celtic Park ... But hey ho, we can cover the place in Ulster flags

Was the grass for Celtic Park not taken from Ulster, I seem to recall a sign somewhere in the west of Donegal stating that fact so I suppose it could be considered a home ground for Ulster

A section of turf from Donegal was laid in the centre circle when they rebuilt the stadium.

[Rooster]

Going to win as the only previous time I missed Ulster in RDS I wasn't there and I won't be there tonight.

[BaggyTrousers]

Baggy obviously hasn't had his "breakfast" yet.

Too late for keenly argued debates about who plays where. Got to banish those negative thoughts, get a jorum of strong drink intae ye, get down there and gulder till your hoarse!

You are right if course Merv, I find it difficult sleeping in a strange bed without Mrs Trousers beside me. Tend to wake early and a little "Grumpy" - sorry skipper - and the joys of spring seem just a distant whimsical notion.

Just about to head for an Ulster Fry which should sort things out prior to departure for Mexico.

[shamalicious]

Today's a special day so I get to do what I like Wee day out in the Big Smoke, spot of lunch then back home to enjoy the game. Would be a nice birthday present if they could beat Leinster in their own back garden ;-)