Benetton Treviso v Ulster Sun 2pm UK Time BBCNI

[Russ]

What happened our defence today? What system were we even trying to play?

When Cave was on we were pushing up slowly but leaving gaps close to the ruck

With Payne on we played a very narrow drift, still with gaps ons out from the ruck

[Snipe Watson]

What happened our defence today? What system were we even trying to play?

When Cave was on we were pushing up slowly but leaving gaps close to the ruck

With Payne on we played a very narrow drift, still with gaps ons out from the ruck

Treviso didn't start to press until late in the first half so up to that point defence was a dawdle. Once they started to play, we started to stand off them and allow them to build up steam.
It was a shocking second half performance, not just bad, absolutely shocking.

[Russ]

Treviso read my thread at half time

[ruckover]

I too want to know the logic in our substitutes.

Ross comes on and our scrum begins to suffer a bit. Why not throw on Warwick in the hope that he might do a bit of damage on the other side and turn things around? Or even as a fresh ball carrier?

Herring was worth throwing on for the last few minutes, again as a fresh ball carrier, but mainly because Best was beginning to tire. He puts in such a shift each week I don't know how we expect him to play a full 80 and by the end our line-outs were struggling. Maybe not his fault but they weren't improving so what was the harm in bringing on Herring?

Reidy should have been on sooner. Ross is anonymous both at the breakdown and in the loose.

Marshall stayed on the bench where he belongs. Sadly Payne did not stay there.

Nelson, much like Warwick and Herring, should have come on to provide some fresh legs. Personally I thought Bowe was struggling a little to impose himself on the game despite his decent inside runs. For someone who did quite well last weekend I was surprised he wasn't involved in some facet.

Not the first time under Doak I've been concerned about how we've used our replacements.

[Cockatrice]

Herring was stripped and ready to come on for a while.......

[BR]

Unless you are totally undercover we will see you there!

I should be easy to spot, I will the one wearing the Ulster Jersey, carrying a fleg and my pockets full of screwdrivers.

Hope to meet you at some point over the weekend especially if you are buyig vin rouge

Sounds like we're more likely to meet you if we're buying fadka n orinj

[Shan]

I prefer when players are subbed for a reason... injured, not playing well or to change something etc. yet in the case of Payne it seemed little more than a sub for sub sake.

I would say Payne sub was planned in advance because they wanted him to get some game time this week before he starts at 13 in the next two European games. Happens all the time when a team wants to ensure their returning best player in his position needs gametime before a big challenge. In this case of course he is not the best player in the position they have him playing in though they seem to think he is.

[Snipe Watson]

Herring was stripped and ready to come on for a while.......

I could see that Rory was losing the plot from our house. How could Doak not see it from there in the stadium? He should have been on.

[Wee Woman]

Herring was stripped and ready to come on for a while.......

I thought I heard Gusher say Herring was ready to come on. So what was that about?

Why didn't he come on - is this evidence of substitution indecision on the touchline now?? They had no such problem with Payne going on. It smacks of just winging it tbh.

On a side note, when's Herring's contract up? If he can't get game time against the likes of Treviso is he going to settle for playing a bit part when Rory is away?

[Fly Half]

Herbst went off injured after a couple of minutes of the second half so Bross had to come on. The scrum held up fine on the LH side so debatable about Warwick when Ulster needed all the experience they could get on the pitch.
There was a shot of Cave bent over (maybe throwing up) and blowing hard - maybe he was done in? Payne back after months off was never going to be any great shakes.
Stevenson for O'Connor was a poor substitution, especially as his first touch gave away a penalty, and O'Connor looked fairly fresh.
Ross may not have been great, but Reidy wasn't any improvement so the sub for the last quarter was timed OK.

With Ulster panicking, bringing on the rookie Nelson could have just made things worse.

Herring should have come on for Best - definite mistake by Doak


The real problem with the bench is that it's not Toulon's.

[Snipe Watson]

Herring was stripped and ready to come on for a while.......

I thought I heard Gusher say Herring was ready to come on. So what was that about?

Why didn't he come on - is this evidence of substitution indecision on the touchline now?? They had no such problem with Payne going on. It smacks of just winging it tbh.

On a side note, when's Herring's contract up? If he can't get game time against the likes of Treviso is he going to settle for playing a bit part when Rory is away?

Some genius decided that we needed to keep our leader on the field......

[Snipe Watson]

Herbst went off injured after a couple of minutes of the second half so Bross had to come on. The scrum held up fine on the LH side so debatable about Warwick when Ulster needed all the experience they could get on the pitch.
There was a shot of Cave bent over (maybe throwing up) and blowing hard - maybe he was done in? Payne back after months off was never going to be any great shakes.
Stevenson for O'Connor was a poor substitution, especially as his first touch gave away a penalty, and O'Connor looked fairly fresh.
Ross may not have been great, but Reidy wasn't any improvement so the sub for the last quarter was timed OK.

With Ulster panicking, bringing on the rookie Nelson could have just made things worse.

Herring should have come on for Best - definite mistake by Doak


The real problem with the bench is that it's not Toulon's.

Stevenson should not have been penalised, treviso dropped their own player Louis put his hands on him as he fell, but there was no offence that I could see.

[Jackie Brown]

Best has NEVER been captain material. I was worried when the decision was made. I remember thinking, "have we not tried this unsuccessfully before??"

[Cockatrice]

Herring was stripped and ready to come on for a while.......

I thought I heard Gusher say Herring was ready to come on. So what was that about?

Why didn't he come on - is this evidence of substitution indecision on the touchline now?? They had no such problem with Payne going on. It smacks of just winging it tbh.

On a side note, when's Herring's contract up? If he can't get game time against the likes of Treviso is he going to settle for playing a bit part when Rory is away?

Some genius decided that we needed to keep our leader on the field......

Snipe... I think that same genius dithered for a while and didn't know whether to bring him on or not...

[Cockatrice]

Herring was stripped and ready to come on for a while.......

I could see that Rory was losing the plot from our house. How could Doak not see it from there in the stadium? He should have been on.

I reckon Herring could be a better flanker than either Ross or Reidy...