Sat Jan 21 8pm Ulster v Sale BT Sport 2 / beIN SPORTS / SuperSport / FloRugby

[StandUp]

Leinster it is then

[jean valjean]

Come on LI. Don't begrudge them a 4th try now.

[CIMANFOREVER]

A good win yes. Improved performances and showed some grit at the end.

But…..

Call me a miserable facker all you like but this won’t do UR any favours. Likely to get the usual tanking by Leinster in the last 16 to end another disappointing Hieny Cup. Ain’t going to be URC champs either.

A plucky draw or a LBP & 4TBP would have secured Challenge Cup qualification which might give a more realistic chance of silverware to break that duck.

I think you’re significantly underestimating the value of the win in terms of shutting up the noise around our recent run of form.

Justin, the "noise " is well justified. It's also a pathology...

It is and it isn’t.

If you weren’t at the wins in Limerick and Galway, then I can just about see how a last kick loss on NYD plus a few close defeats in tough away games can seem like a full blown crisis, if you’re prone to such hyperbole.

Winning a home game that we’d normally expect to win was important, however.

Justin, I've been at many a choke since the start of the Pro Era, so I'm not some blow in Giants fan. First game Vs All Blacks 1978. This is a chronic condition within UR not just this season but from start of Pro rugby bar a couple of flukes. Even with RP, Muller Payne, Ferris etc we still blew our wheels off under pressure.
That's why I said Pathology

[justinr73]

It’s all relative though, isn’t it?

When your other season ticket is for a once great footy team that hasn’t been in the top flight since 1961, knocking on the door in the league and competing in Europe isn’t half bad in comparison…

[DWFinn]

What’s the verdict on Harry Sheridan’s performance last night? I was too engrossed in the scoreboard to notice who was doing what in the tight.

Perhaps some green shoots in our forwards production line with McCann, Sheridan and potentially McNabney coming through in the back row.

[StandUp]

I thought Sheridan did very well. Solid defence. No major mistakes.

[big mervyn]

A good win yes. Improved performances and showed some grit at the end.

But…..

Call me a miserable facker all you like but this won’t do UR any favours. Likely to get the usual tanking by Leinster in the last 16 to end another disappointing Hieny Cup. Ain’t going to be URC champs either.

A plucky draw or a LBP & 4TBP would have secured Challenge Cup qualification which might give a more realistic chance of silverware to break that duck.

I think you’re significantly underestimating the value of the win in terms of shutting up the noise around our recent run of form.

Justin, the "noise " is well justified. It's also a pathology...

It is and it isn’t.

If you weren’t at the wins in Limerick and Galway, then I can just about see how a last kick loss on NYD plus a few close defeats in tough away games can seem like a full blown crisis, if you’re prone to such hyperbole.

Winning a home game that we’d normally expect to win was important, however.

Justin, I've been at many a choke since the start of the Pro Era, so I'm not some blow in Giants fan. First game Vs All Blacks 1978. This is a chronic condition within UR not just this season but from start of Pro rugby bar a couple of flukes. Even with RP, Muller Payne, Ferris etc we still blew our wheels off under pressure.
That's why I said Pathology

Me too CI!

A gloomy autumn afternoon as I recall.

[Dave]

What’s the verdict on Harry Sheridan’s performance last night? I was too engrossed in the scoreboard to notice who was doing what in the tight.

Perhaps some green shoots in our forwards production line with McCann, Sheridan and potentially McNabney coming through in the back row.

I thought he did well. A few robust carries. I noticed one exceptional clearout on 16 mins. He absolutely empties his man, cleanly I might add. Some of the cleaning out was much poorer by other players.

[jean valjean]

We still get isolated too often and allow the opposition to get over the ball. It either slows the ball or worse concedes a penalty. If Sheridan can keep hitting rucks well that's a good start but our ball security and ruck speed needs to improve.

[justinr73]

We still get isolated too often and allow the opposition to get over the ball. It either slows the ball or worse concedes a penalty. If Sheridan can keep hitting rucks well that's a good start but our ball security and ruck speed needs to improve.

There’s a danger, of course, that the effectiveness of our driving maul means that stuff like that is missed.

If Doak is on field he should be sticking it into touch though.

There must have been four or five pens yesterday when we could have been another 10 or 15 yards further up the pitch.

[StandUp]

We still get isolated too often and allow the opposition to get over the ball. It either slows the ball or worse concedes a penalty. If Sheridan can keep hitting rucks well that's a good start but our ball security and ruck speed needs to improve.

There’s a danger, of course, that the effectiveness of our driving maul means that stuff like that is missed.

If Doak is on field he should be sticking it into touch though.

There must have been four or five pens yesterday when we could have been another 10 or 15 yards further up the pitch.

+1. Burns’ kicking to touch is not good. Should be Cooney or Doak kicking.

[promenader 2]

Most encouraging to see Jacob Stockdale put in a half-decent performance. Still well short of his best, obviously, but better than he has been.

[Dave]

Most encouraging to see Jacob Stockdale put in a half-decent performance. Still well short of his best, obviously, but better than he has been.

He caught most things, which is better than not catching anything I suppose. He goes into contact well. I was just hoping that chip n chase would stick. He needs something like that just to lift his self-belief.

[Hawkeye]

https://www.rugbypass.com/news/there-wa ... -saracens/

Was this the UAFC lynch mob?

[Dave]

Pure fantasy. The average Ulster supporter age is 76. There is a reason why the gate is reducing year on year.