Charles looks a cracking player, very quick, powerful and direct. Saw both games and there is no doubt strength in depth . I thought Alex Thompson acquitted himself very well in the A game in second row and certainly brought physicality to the fore against a BIG Canadian side. Charles aside a special mention goes to young Robert Lyttle who had an outstanding first half before taking a knock. Composed and very assured when it came to slotting the kicks from any angle. Big Rodders was excellent and looked to be enjoying himself out there last night. Stockdale looks bigger and ran some lovely lines and Ross Kane looked good/ assured when he came on at THP and I know he is equally at home at LHP from school days. Special mention to Roger Wilson and beagle who were both excellent. All in all great night and plenty to look forward to
Hands up I surrender. Decided to go and had a great night. Spoke to my friends and they had the time of their lives. Their kids were over the moon. Money well spent they said. So alls well that ends well.
Really impressed. We played the Saints off the field in the first half. The whole team were fantastic and while I hesitate to pick anyone out I was so pleased to see Ah You doing really well and Browne dominating the line outs and his great play around the park. Ludik is also back to his best form after injury. A good call to get his contract extended and next year will be Irish qualified.
What a find young Lyttle is and what a kicker. Cool and confident.
On tonight's display our back up out half problems have been solved as I thought that Herron really controlled the game against the English Internationals on display. Always cool passed well and never rushed.
I cant say anything about Charles. I could not praise him enough in the words available to me. Only one word comes to mind. Magnificent.
Only one problem I can forsee. When all our players are available, selection is going to be a problem with such an array of talent available. Nice problem to have. What a fantastic amount of young upcoming talent we now have so the academy system is clearly working well.
Despite all the lauding of both Ulster team's performances with which I wholeheartedly agree I am surprised that no mention has been made about the stadium announcers. The comedian (Q Radio?) who read the teams out for the second match was embarrassing. UR need to get a grip if they don't want to become a laughing stock. For both the matches I would have thought that someone could have been found who knew the names of the players for scorers and substitution announcements.
It was a great game, but Ulster aren't brill just yet.
The Saints pack seemed as interested in making sure they were fit for next week as competing for possession. Can't remember ever seeing Picamoles and Wood look as toothless and just going through the motions. Myler was outside his comfort zone trying to run everything and it was no coincidence that the Saints backline looked far more dangerous when JJ was at the helm.
It was better that Ulster won than lost for the confidence of the team, and it is good that guys like Lyttle and Rea got the experience of playing at Ravers, but the perennial problems of lack of leaders and quality backrows haven't gone away.
One noteworthy point from last night. The touchline on the terrace side has been moved. Has the pitch been narrowed to mitigate our tendency to defend a bit narrow, or has the whole thing been moved towards the prom side?
Why Oh Why can we import neutral refs for "meaningless" pre season friendlies and then will be forces to suffer Irish refs for important pro12 derbies ???
Charlie "Man Crush" Piutau and Lyttle go without saying. I think many of us felt what's the point buying a world class player in a position we are well stocked but it seems he has had a general positive effect on the squad.
Rodders, as Brett Herron pointed out at "Meet the Players" does indeed have a filthy side step for a big lad and is enjoying running hard. He managed 55 mins last night and was busted so will need to improve.
But you know you've had a good night when you leave thinking actually p, Clive and Pete Brown all had good games.
Fair enough Northampton didn't play to their full but they did look genuinely hacked off afterwards.
We'll know more next week after we score 3 tries in the first 20 mins and fail to get a bp lol.
As an aside, real selection headaches ahead especially in the backs/ back 3.
Never wrestle with a pig. You end up covered in muck and the pig loves it.
I thought McCloskey looked very good also, picking from last season, busting the gainline and holding players up to turn them over. I think we all will sleep easier after that display without getting carried away of course. Fears over the scrum have been eased somewhat. Keeping big Rod fit will be imperative as he is clearly an effective ball carrier if used correctly. Not often you see a tight head prop being used as a ball carrier in midfield. The options are stacking up in the 2nd row, which will be a very competitive position.
The backrow for the next two games looks to be Diack, Roger and Ross. With Roger doing 50/60 mins and Rea being blooded off the bench. Enough to get past the dragons/Treviso with hopefully Hendo/reidy coming in for the more difficult fixtures after that. Plenty of willing youngsters waiting in the wings should an injury occur.
I think it will be hard to pick a bad back line this year and the one that started last night would give most teams in the pro 12 a go. Good luck to Les picking it when the Irish players return.