Ulster v Connacht

[DodgyEverything]

[So It Is]

Not sure why Hume is starting, unless Luke is injured?

[Neill_M]

CONNACHT RUGBY MATCHDAY 23 VS ULSTER RUGBY
Friday 5th May, 19:35 @ Kingspan Stadium

Number/Name/Caps

15. Tiernan O’Halloran (220), 14. John Porch (78), 13. Tom Farrell (97), 12. Bundee Aki (125), 11. Mack Hansen (26), 10. Jack Carty (193) (C), 9. Caolin Blade (168), 1. Denis Buckley (226), 2. Dave Heffernan (180), 3. Finlay Bealham (187), 4. Josh Murphy (16), 5. Niall Murray (54), 6. Shamus Hurley-Langton (18), 7. Conor Oliver (61), 8. Cian Prendergast (45)

16. Dylan Tierney-Martin (22), 17. Jordan Duggan (38), 18. Jack Aungier (48), 19. Oisín Dowling (42), 20. Jarrad Butler (112), 21. Kieran Marmion (228), 22. Tom Daly (76), 23. Byron Ralston (13)

[justinr73]

So 7 of our 23 could be emptying their locker for good at the end of the game.

[So It Is]

So 7 of our 23 could be emptying their locker for good at the end of the game.

The big question is who's getting the Big Dog Duane Vermeulen's locker when he leaves?

My money is on Greg Jones.

[thecrouch]

I'd pick Sheridan on the bench over Carter tbh.

[SUFTUM_19]

Reckon it’ll be Sutherland, Herring, JTA, AOC, Treadwell, McCann, Timoney, Vermeulen, Cooney, Burns, Stockdale, McCloskey, Hume, Baloucoune, Lowry
Subs - Stewart, O’Sullivan, Warwick, Carter, Sheridan, Doak, Moore, Gilroy

So close yet so far

[jean valjean]

Strong connacht squad with no glaring weaknesses. This is a big test of ulster's mental attitude, a knockout game they are expected to win. If we lose there could be serious ramifications with Jobs on the line.

[nonplussed]

Connacht by 7 unfortunately

[Cap'n Grumpy]

Some of you will remember Ulster v Leinster being reffed by Alain Rolland, little more than a season after he retired as Leinster 9. Most of the Leinster team were his team mates. He didn't seem to be too bothered to demonstrate his impartiality.

Would that have been the match in pre-clock stopping days (so fans didn't know how long was left) , where Ulster were winning by a couple of points at 80 minutes, but he played 8 or 9 extra minutes until he awarded Leinster a kickable penalty to win the game?
They duly dud and he blew the final whistle.

Or am I mixing it up with another match, also at Donkey Rook?

[StandUp]

Strong connacht squad with no glaring weaknesses. This is a big test of ulster's mental attitude, a knockout game they are expected to win. If we lose there could be serious ramifications with Jobs on the line.

That is what we would expect but this is UR.
If they lose, they will trot out some sh!te about taking the learnings going forward etc. etc. and then plod along doing exactly the same as always.

[So It Is]

Strong connacht squad with no glaring weaknesses. This is a big test of ulster's mental attitude, a knockout game they are expected to win. If we lose there could be serious ramifications with Jobs on the line.

That is what we would expect but this is UR.
If they lose, they will trot out some sh!te about taking the learnings going forward etc. etc. and then plod along doing exactly the same as always.

I'd expect the marketing team would have Petrie fronting up and looking like a big man, using very frank terms, while Bryn is in the background speaking yoga babble, chucking out buzzwords like synergies, The Pathway (tm) etc., and 90% of Bakebook will forget the team shat the bed and will be screaming how brill they are, SUFTUM and renewing their season tickets

[Neill_M]

Bookies corner:

Ulster -10 / Connacht +10. Straight match odds Ulster 1/5, Connacht 7/2.

[BR]

Some of you will remember Ulster v Leinster being reffed by Alain Rolland, little more than a season after he retired as Leinster 9. Most of the Leinster team were his team mates. He didn't seem to be too bothered to demonstrate his impartiality.

Would that have been the match in pre-clock stopping days (so fans didn't know how long was left) , where Ulster were winning by a couple of points at 80 minutes, but he played 8 or 9 extra minutes until he awarded Leinster a kickable penalty to win the game?
They duly dud and he blew the final whistle.

Or am I mixing it up with another match, also at Donkey Rook?

That's not the one I remember. But yes, we're probably talking about 98, so ref kept time with a sundial or a candle and a pin for Friday nights at Ravenhill. Not sure how it was done in Galway where there is seldom sun and a candle would blow out in an instant.

[Marco]

Just want to say that if the result, whatever it is, is put down to the referees, or TMO's performance, then we've lost. We need to win, period, regardless of refs, cards, weather, time of the month for the backs, or whether Greg Jones is fit, we must be better than that!