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Re: Northampton 16th Jan
Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2022 8:53 pm
by StandUp
Stephen Jones is a forgotten man who is trying to make himself relevant by being controversial. Bit like Ferris I suppose.
Anyone who follows rugby will know that comment was pure horsesh!te. F@ck him.
Re: Northampton 16th Jan
Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2022 9:04 pm
by richardt84
In amongst the other eye catching performances it was a commendable performance from O’Sullivan. I was a bit worried about him coming on given he’s not been in top form and with limited minutes recently 65 minutes was a big ask. Hopefully the start of him returning to the performances we know he can deliver.
Re: Northampton 16th Jan
Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2022 9:42 pm
by StandUp
Trying very hard not to get excited about next week.
Clermont at Ravenhill is mouth watering but who knows which Ulster will turn up!
Can we expect any players back this week?
Re: Northampton 16th Jan
Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2022 9:48 pm
by Sue Dename
Marco wrote: ↑Sun Jan 16, 2022 6:48 pm
Tweet from Stephen Jones: “ The much-hyped Chris Boyd era in grave danger of petering out completely without trophies or even improvement. A big club like Northampton really should be seeing Ulster off in a home game.” Charming!
Stephen Jones is a C U Next Tuesday.
Re: Northampton 16th Jan
Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2022 9:50 pm
by wanderer
Impressive spin passes by Marty Moore from the base of rucks - not just shovelling it out until #9 gets back in play. Good attention to detail by the skills coach etc. It can make a crucial difference.
Re: Northampton 16th Jan
Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2022 10:06 pm
by skiboo
I am a constant critic of Burns but today he was excellent chip kicks kept Northampton honest while his link work with the backs was good. I thought Treadwell had a great game particularly in the loose.
A great display and after O’Driscoll’s comment about Lowry I hope he was watching the game today.
The ref was a bit hit and miss and I was getting frustrated with him until my blogger friend said he thought he looked like Mr Bean I just laughed every time I saw him after that.
Re: Northampton 16th Jan
Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2022 10:10 pm
by StandUp
I’ll be the first to admit I wasn’t overly enthused by Marty’s signing but I was utterly wrong. Marty has been fantastic since he came to Ulster.
His set piece was always brilliant but he has really worked on the other areas of his game and become a complete tighthead. I love watching him in action now.
Re: Northampton 16th Jan
Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2022 10:52 pm
by paddybrown
To be fair to Stephen Jones, a team that can call on Lions like Biggar and Lawes, and emerging England internationals like Mitchell, Furbank and Ludlam, should on paper perform better than they do against a team like Ulster who don't have as many seasoned internationals to call on. Most of our key players today have international caps in single figures - Baloucoune, Hume, Timoney, Treadwell, O'Sullivan, Burns - or have no senior caps at all - Alan O'Connor, Marcus Rea, Nathan Doak, Stewart Moore, and man of the match Mike Lowry. This board was pretty apprehensive before the game, so before the match most of us would have agreed with Jones. Based on the players both teams have available, Ulster are overachieving, and Northampton are underachieving. Take the compliment.
Re: Northampton 16th Jan
Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2022 10:55 pm
by wanderer
Talking of compliments, this is what their posters have said ....
Ulster clearly have a bit left in the tank if they really wanted to turn the screw. Some very classy play across the pitch from them, Ballycoombe (apologies unsure of the spelling) has been a joy to watch.
Their offloading game is quite exciting. Their 9 also stood out.
Enjoyed watching Ulster's off load game.
Ulster reserves far too good for us.
Ulster did play well, but I agree with another poster that they never really hit top gear and could just sit back and capitalise on our mistakes and inability to put them under pressure. I think Burns and Ballaccoune had good games but I don’t think there performances were game winning if we actually provided a challenge.
To be fair that Ulster side is strong even with some absentees, some of their top players today were the newer ones.
When we did score the momentum shift was noticeable and the Ulster forwards were blowing (so were we mind). Yes there were too many unforced errors, and Ulster off-loaded well and rode their luck. We scored two well constructed tries, their scores benefitted from our errors or luck in the case of the knock-on that wasn’t for their second try.
Re: Northampton 16th Jan
Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2022 10:58 pm
by Bart S
How did Marcus Rea do today? Couldn't really tell from where I was in the ground. More big game experience for him and confidence shown in him anyway I guess.
Re: Northampton 16th Jan
Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2022 11:04 pm
by Cap'n Grumpy
paddybrown wrote: ↑Sun Jan 16, 2022 10:52 pm
To be fair to Stephen Jones,
Sorry, you lost me at that bit . . .
Re: Northampton 16th Jan
Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2022 11:08 pm
by Jackie Brown
Tackled everything.
Fair play to Burns and Treadwell. I'm the first to criticise, especially after last week, they did good today.
Re: Northampton 16th Jan
Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2022 11:15 pm
by Cap'n Grumpy
wanderer wrote: ↑Sun Jan 16, 2022 10:55 pm
Talking of compliments, this is what their posters have said ....
Ulster clearly have a bit left in the tank if they really wanted to turn the screw. Some very classy play across the pitch from them, Ballycoombe (apologies unsure of the spelling) has been a joy to watch.
Their offloading game is quite exciting. Their 9 also stood out.
Enjoyed watching Ulster's off load game.
Ulster reserves far too good for us.
Ulster did play well, but I agree with another poster that they never really hit top gear and could just sit back and capitalise on our mistakes and inability to put them under pressure. I think Burns and Ballaccoune had good games but I don’t think there performances were game winning if we actually provided a challenge.
To be fair that Ulster side is strong even with some absentees, some of their top players today were the newer ones.
When we did score the momentum shift was noticeable and the Ulster forwards were blowing (so were we mind). Yes there were too many unforced errors, and Ulster off-loaded well and rode their luck. We scored two well constructed tries, their scores benefitted from our errors or luck in the case of the knock-on that wasn’t for their second try.
I've said several times before on this forum that their fans are a pretty decent lot. Good craic and very knowledgeable.
I was there when we scored a bonus point win against them the first time, and so many of there supporters were shaking my hand and congratulating "us" on outplaying them as they left the ground. It would have been easy to walk away disappointed, but they were decent enough to stop for a few words.
They're up there with Tiggers fans as among the best around.
Re: Northampton 16th Jan
Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2022 11:17 pm
by StandUp
Bart S wrote: ↑Sun Jan 16, 2022 10:58 pm
How did Marcus Rea do today? Couldn't really tell from where I was in the ground. More big game experience for him and confidence shown in him anyway I guess.
He was solid. Wasn’t able to capitalise on his groundhog skills much but did well. I have big hopes for him.
Re: Northampton 16th Jan
Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2022 11:23 pm
by richardt84
StandUp wrote: ↑Sun Jan 16, 2022 11:17 pm
Bart S wrote: ↑Sun Jan 16, 2022 10:58 pm
How did Marcus Rea do today? Couldn't really tell from where I was in the ground. More big game experience for him and confidence shown in him anyway I guess.
He was solid. Wasn’t able to capitalise on his groundhog skills much but did well. I have big hopes for him.
The back row of Rea, Timoney and Vermuelen has had the most balance we’ve had in a while. When Murphy is back there is an extremely strong 4 to pick from.