Will Ospreys lose (Ulster gain) Bowe in the summer?

First topic message reminder :

Theres normally a lot of talk but it seams this summer is the year it could happen, Bowe returns to Ulster.

What do Ospreys fans think about their chances of keeping Bowe?
Do you wish to keep him as much as in prev years?
would it free up a NWQ player spot for another position?

What do Ulster fans think of the chances of getting Bowe back?
Do we need him as much as we used to?
Could the unthinkable happen and he moves to another Province?


Does it all depend on how well the Ospreys and Ulster do this year and he'll go with the one he sees as having the best chance of winning things with?

Have to say the current Ulster squad with Bowe added would scare any team (plus whatever else Humph manages in the summer).

I'd imagine not Rava - he "technically" covers 10 and 12 positions where we have little cover so he would be on standby

No, you always have a couple of extra players around in case someone pulls up in the warm-up don't you? Which is the worst crack to fall in.

Either Wallace or McFadden will be with the squad but sitting in the stands comes Wales! On that note, any idea on when the squad for Wales and France will be announced?

Stag, I'd still hold he is more ready to cover 10 at test level than any of the young bucks in the As or the uncapped Humphreys. That doesn't mean I want to see him there mind you.

The scary thought is that Kidney has named squads with him as cover for 15.

I'd imagine the extended squad announced tomorrow with the match day squad Friday at 1pm

Speak of the m'f'ing devil.

http://www.irishrugby.ie/news/25479.php

Ireland Squad

Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster)
Tommy Bowe (Ospreys)
Tom Court (Malone/Ulster)
Sean Cronin (St. Mary's College/Leinster)
Gordon D'Arcy (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster)
Stephen Ferris (Dungannon/Ulster)
Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)
Jamie Heaslip (Naas/Leinster)
Chris Henry (Ballymena/Ulster)
Denis Hurley (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Shane Jennings (St. Mary's College/Leinster)
Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster)
David Kearney (Lansdowne/Leinster)*
Fergus McFadden (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster)
Sean O'Brien (Clontarf/Leinster)
Donncha O'Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Paul O'Connell (Young Munster/Munster)
Ronan O'Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Peter O'Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster)*
Eoin O'Malley (Old Belvedere/Leinster)*
Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster)
Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)
Rhys Ruddock (St. Mary's College/Leinster)
Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary's College/Leinster)
Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster)
Dan Tuohy (Ballymena/Ulster)
Paddy Wallace (Ballymena/Ulster)
Brett Wilkinson (Galwegians/Connacht)*
Simon Zebo (Cork Constitution/Munster)*

*Denotes uncapped player

Is that just when you think it will be announced Stag, or is that confirmed? Getting excited now

Rory, well the extended one is above.

I would bet my house match day will be Friday at 1*

* Not that I own a house

Well that was a nice coincidence! Thanks for the link Notch!

So cullen and his replacement coughlan drop out and Tuohy comes in. Maybe Deccie will surprise us all and include the likes of Tuohy and Henry/POM on the bench.

Can't read too much into it though

Going to keep my mouth shut about the selections though.. oh dear.

EDIT: Wait didn't read it correctly - thought the * noted the players drafted in. Whoops!

Broken down by position.

Prop: Cian Healy, Tom Court, Brett Wilkinson, Mike Ross

Hooker: Sean Cronin, Rory Best

Lock: Paul O'Connell, Donnacha Ryan, Dan Tuohy, Donnacha O'Callaghan

Backrow: Rhys Ruddock, Peter O'Mahony, Chris Henry, Sean O'Brien, Jamie Heaslip, Stephen Ferris, Shane Jennings

Scrumhalf: Eoin Reddan, Conor Murray

Flyhalf: Jonathan Sexton, Ronan O'Gara

Centre: Eoin O'Malley, Fergus McFadden, Gordon Darcy, Paddy Wallace

Winger: Dave Kearney, Simon Zebo, Andrew Trimble, Tommy Bowe, Keith Earls

Fullback: Rob Kearney, Denis Hurley

Very interesting. O'Mahony, Henry and Ruddock all named in the backrow. Dave Kearney and Simon Zebo named in the wings. Dan Tuohy in second row and based on the numbers Im not sure anymore if he sees Earls as a centre or not.

A lot of food for thought. Wilkinsons inclusion suggests Court will need to cover tight head.

Like the look of that squad, a few surprises there too!

Delighted for Zebo, Henry, O'Mahoney, Tuohy and Dave Kearney.

Ruddock and Wilkinson are lucky boys though...

Does he not usually go with 3 scrum halfs and 3 hookers?

Yep, Court as tighthead.

Only 2 hookers, 2 scrum-halves. But seven backrows and five centres. Some positions are clearly decided; others might be up for grabs?

Earls will start; but where? Interesting.

I've started a separate thread for this.

Have to say this represents a change from Deccie.

I was going to say, the amount of back-row players selected looks a bit OTT.

So to amend my Ulster side Friday week, and on reflection making a change

McAllister/Black, Kyriacou, Afoa, Muller, Stevenson, Wannenberg, Diack, Faloon, Pienaer, Humphreys, Gilroy, Whitten, Spence, Terblanche, D'Arcy

Well I'm already saving for trips to Ravehill....

McLaughlin being replaced made the radio news this morning giving more substance to the rumours. You have to suspect EOS for the job, he's been hanging around Ulster like a fly round...

In terms of expertise, I'd be delighted with eddie, but I'm just worried about personality... I wonder if part of the good thing thats happening at Ulster is to do with the relationships. I could be completly wrong though. And who am I to really know what EOS is like relationally.

Hopefully McL isnt sent back to teaching though, he deserves more than that. Our time with him has been brilliant!

I've heard a lot better names than O'Sullivan being bandied around. I would be genuinely disgruntled to see him at Ulster.

Not if we're looking at the likes of John Kirwan, Matt Sexton or John Plumtree.

I'd be happy enough with EOS, the only thing concerns me is his man management skills....also would he bring back Easterbuy and drop Ferris.... ...actually Eddie feck off somewhere else....

Cari you'd love it at Ravenhill...plus Tommy looks great in an Ulster kit....

I'm hearing that Bowes salary expectations are VERY high. Is there a danger that we (Humph) will allow the idea of getting our Golden boy back to influence him to pay out more than he deserves, especially on recent form.

I'm not sayings hes not class, but I'm hearing he's looking one of the highest IQ salaries in the land.

I don't like that Tommy maight be playing the teams off against each other to grab the most money.

I guess i'd rather he came to Ulster because he wanted to be here, his family are here, he feels he belongs here.

If anyone can show him the light, its the Doctor!

like Geoff says we get some more funding by the IRFU to pay for the NIQ players due to the fact we get less for centrally contracted players.

If this is the case and Bowe comes back on an expensive central contact would the money we get for NIQ be reduced to compensate, and hence could we afford the possible Kaino? or the ones we already have?

It's his career Clive at then of the day, Tommy has to get the best deal he can at his stage of his career. This could be his last big contract.

You can't blame him for that.

I would prefer this to be settled in the next few days, can't be good for the squad ahead of the Wales match to have all the speculation etc.

Notch wrote:I would prefer this to be settled in the next few days, can't be good for the squad ahead of the Wales match to have all the speculation etc.

Would it be around the squad? Don't the main contracts get sorted out in Feb/March every year? Last year it was Sexton, BOD and Heaslip (DOC too). Bowe will be told to keep his mouth shut and only talk about how great every team is, blah, blah, blah. Who is his agent? He'll be the key.

It feels like IRFU get enough access to him over in Ospreys so it is not like it is a catastrophe if he stays there. End of the day, he has earned his right to choose his destination.

His agent is former Ulster centre Ryan Constable. He represents a lot of Ulster players, but also a few Leinster and Munster boys and a couple of Saffers in Europe (including Pedrie Wannenburg).

roddersm wrote:It's his career Clive at then of the day, Tommy has to get the best deal he can at his stage of his career. This could be his last big contract.

You can't blame him for that.

Absolutely right. I can't think of any professional sportsmen who wouldn't want to maximise their earnings at any stage in their career, let alone possibly the last big opportunity.

thebandwagonsociety wrote: End of the day, he has earned his right to choose his destination.

A rugby player, a pilot and a Jedi???? The man has many talents and will command a high price for such qualities...think I.

I didnt say he shouldnt care about money, just though maybe if Ulster offered 95% of what Munster offered, he might choose Ulster.

Surely the fact that it's Ulster must count for something in terms of his heart versus his brain? No?

But I suppose IRFU will be contributing, so it's definatly worth fighting for him.

The Os said that their offer to him 2 years ago was not the highest one he got but that he stayed anyway.

Obviously he has to maximize his earning potential but I doubt he would quibble. He'll go where he gets the overall package that siuts him best, ie, money, happiness, chances to play at the highest level etc.

My impression is that Tommy is driven more by a desire to play where he is happiest rather than where he is best paid. Haven't said that he will get the best he can.

There will not be a salary war between Irish provinces for an Irish player but the tax thingy will make a difference.

geoff998rugby wrote:My impression is that Tommy is driven more by a desire to play where he is happiest rather than where he is best paid.

Spot on. That's why Tommy went to the Ospreys in the first place. He discussed the move with his folks and psychologists at the time, and decided it was the better option for his own welfare. It hasn't done his career any harm. I think the O's offered him a three year contract at the time with the last year as an optional one. Like I said, I'll miss him loads, but it'll broaden my horizons to go and see him "at home" and I've already invented a class T-shirt that I can wear when I watch him play

clivemcl wrote:I'm not sayings hes not class, but I'm hearing he's looking one of the highest IQ salaries in the land.

I don't like that Tommy maight be playing the teams off against each other to grab the most money.

Thats good business and plain common sense.
Why not get the best deal he can for himself?

Doesnt everyone try and do that as a matter of practice, if Wayne Rooneys market rate is £250,000k a week, then why would he sign for £2,000 a week...

clivemcl wrote:I didnt say he shouldnt care about money, just though maybe if Ulster offered 95% of what Munster offered, he might choose Ulster.

Surely the fact that it's Ulster must count for something in terms of his heart versus his brain? No?

But I suppose IRFU will be contributing, so it's definatly worth fighting for him.

He will be getting the same money at Munster and Ulster - money is not the primary issue.

It has more to do where Tommy wants to play and where Dublin want him to play - there are some indications that these might not be the same place. The Ulster dressing room believe he will be an Ulster palyer next year.

Any word on when it might be decided Geoff? Strange to have this going on when tommy is in camp with both the munster and ulster lads. I would have thought this needed resolving before the 6N

Standulstermen wrote:Any word on when it might be decided Geoff? Strange to have this going on when tommy is in camp with both the munster and ulster lads. I would have thought this needed resolving before the 6N

Why? That stuff doesn't bother the players or Tommy at Irish camp. It's where they're at and why they're there that matters. I have noticed that Tommy has been avoiding social media which is unusual for him, but having seen some of the sh*t so-called "fans" post, I can't say I blame him. I miss him though

I know tommy Bowe comes across as a really laid back character but if as Geoff says he and the IRFU don't see eye to eye about where he should be playing next year he would need to be superman to not have it on his mind. Not ideal IMO.


Or it could just be I'm impatient

I'd like to think he's professional enough not to let the politics get in the way of his Irish duty. I'm sure they don't wholly agree on where he should play, but what's important is the team he's playing in at the moment.

...and yes you are impatient.

Must admit I was expecting something this week. I'll ask this afternoon but the break between Rounds 2 and 3 seems more likely now.

Is this just speculation that the IRFU would prefer him to go to Munster?

This seems a bit strange to me. It shouldn't matter to them which province he is at as he will still be back in the Irish system and under the IRFU's control.

I can't recall any previous scenario like this were the IRFU have tried to push a player to one province against their will. Surely the IRFU would not and should not be showing preferential treatment to one province over another?

Ah Rodders, but do the IRFU really want to see Ulster as the No.1 team in Ireland?

I don't think so

As far as I am aware yes it is speculation but a lot of media and supporters sites are carrying it. My gut feeling it is wish of some Munster supporters/sympathetic journos and it has morphed into fact.

A contrary point of view though is that if he it was obviously Ulster why no announcement to confirm.

In counter to that are we waiting for Humphreys to come back from his ski-ing holiday and all will be clarified then.

Mu guy feeling is it is Ulster but we are waiting for Humphreys to return as there is still some negotiation to be done re final salary. Bowe was on silly money at Ospreys.
As I have mentioned the Ulster dressing room think he is coming back to Ravenhill

All smoke and mirrors to be sure.

Is there a possibility he could stay by any chance? I know the final year of his Ospreys contract was optional. Maybe they're renegotiating the wages?


....this could just be wishful thinking with my ovaries

Very wishful - Ospreys are desperate to get his salary off the books nad Tommy wants to come home.

Also Tommy wants to wins more trophies - he knows to do that he needs to come home

I admire the guy. Putting his rugby career before his sex life

ooh get you! He did get a ML medal with us remember so it wasn't a complete drought

I know in my heart he's going. Like I said, I have a brilliant idea for a tee shirt to wear at Ravenhill when I go to see him and I've never been to Northern Ireland. Coincidentally on S4C they've been showing those Discover Ireland adverts about the North recently....trying to tell me something...

Cari wrote:ooh get you! He did get a ML medal with us remember so it wasn't a complete drought

I know in my heart he's going. Like I said, I have a brilliant idea for a tee shirt to wear at Ravenhill when I go to see him and I've never been to Northern Ireland. Coincidentally on S4C they've been showing those Discover Ireland adverts about the North recently....trying to tell me something...

It will be our pleasure to welcome you to NI Cari.

But he won 2 winners medals at Ulster when we were supposedly rubbish - how many is he going to win when we are good.