Ulster vs Edinburgh, Build Up Thread

[Notch]

First topic message reminder :

Ulster vs Edinburgh
5.45pm, Saturday 28th April
AVIVA Stadium Dublin
Heineken Cup Semi-Final

Nice sparkly new thread for the build-up to the Heineken Cup Semi-Final. Links to press interviews, team speculation, breaking news and discussion in the week ahead.

Let's kick off with interviews with Ulster defence coach Jonathan Bell and Edinburgh coach Michael Bradley.

Jonny Bell thinks Ulsters fans can be the difference as he reflects on his own win in the 1999 competition.

Michael Bradley talks about the Toulouse quarter-final and assesses the threat of Ulster.

Post any and all match-related chat here

[rodders]

Wow Geoff you don't think IHumph will even make the bench? Thats a huge gamble imo.

Jackson looked very good on Friday but this is a different planet in terms of pressure.

Great to hear so many Ulster fans are going

[geoff998rugby]

Why is it a gamble ?

We would have Pienaer for 10 and Marshall for 9.

There is no point having two half backs on the bench when Pienaer is on the pitch.

[RuggerRadge2611]

I expect Edinburgh to Play the following

1 Allan Jacobsen
2 Ross Ford
3 Geoff Cross
4 Grant Gilchrist
5 Sean Cox
6 David Denton
7 Ross Rennie
8 Netani Talei

9 Mike Blair
10 Greig Laidlaw CAPTAIN
11 Tim Visser
12 Matt Scott
13 Nick DeLuca
14 Lee Jones
15 Tom Brown

Substitutes
16 Andrew Kelly
17 Kyle Traynor
18 Jack Gilding
19 Stuart McInally
20 Roddy Grant
21 Chris Leck
22 Phil Godman
23 Jim Thompson

Basicly unchanged from Touluse. I really hope Edinburgh go out from the start and throw the ball around instead of trying to weather the initial Ulster blitz that left Munster a bit shell shocked.

Ulster's game against Munster will be harder to emulate since I would say Rennie and Denton are better at the breakdown than Munster's backrow, and if they can deny Ulster time on the ball or at least slow it down a bit the game will be open.

Ulster will aim to blow Edinburgh away like they did to Munster in the opening 20 minutes and if they can they'll win the match. It's up to Edinburgh to try and weather that storm, dominate the set piece and the breakdown.

If Edinburgh can do that they'll have a chance to win the match.

The 1st 20 will be critical.

Edinburgh were successful in frustrating Toulouse into mistakes, if they can frustrate Ulster in the same way they'll win the game. Although I think Ulster will demonstrate more composure than Toulouse if their scrums and lineouts find themselves under the cosh. Best is Key for Ulster IMO, if he keeps the Ulster lineout firing they'll have the platform for the win.

[RDW]

Thought Marshall was crocked?

[SecretFly]

Ulster will try and over power Edinburgh early - dont expect the ball be thrown about too much in the first 20 mins.

They believe their front 5 has what it takes - that is why Fitzpatrick out scrummaging Healy on Friday was so important. It means we can stick with the original game plan.

Outscrummaging a Healy who was looking to get through a game operating on a percentage below his HC levels. I don't know if I'd read too much into 'outscrummaging' there and transfer the 'feel-good' automatically to Edinburgh in HC.

[rodders]

Why is it a gamble ?

We would have Pienaer for 10 and Marshall for 9.

There is no point having two half backs on the bench when Pienaer is on the pitch.

If Pienaar got injured we'd be left with Marshall and Jackson. It also leaves us with one proven place kicker at this level.

It's a form pick and Humph maybe doesn't deserve to be there but its a risky move imo.

[MrsP]

On the tickets front.

I've been keeping an eye on the ticketmaster site and suddenly huge blocks of seats disappeared last week or at the weekend leaving pretty much only the south east corner available. Less than 3,000 seats.

Just checked this morning and all those blocks are suddenly available again and about 7,500 seats in total unsold!

I would be ragin if we had wanted to get seats near friends and hadn't be able to book them even though they were actually unsold!

The priority booking thing was over ages ago, no?

[Notch]

I would like four halfbacks in the squad for this one. Adam D'Arcy to fill the last outside back spot. Jackson and Trimble to cover the centre positions.

[AsLongAsBut100ofUs]

Some thoughts from Paul Ackford in the Torygraph:

Heineken Cup 2012: Edinburgh must continue the momentum to raise more eyebrows in Europe

By Paul Ackford

Ulster against Edinburgh in the semi-final of the Heineken Cup on Saturday. I know. Edinburgh. In the semi-final of the Heineken Cup. It takes some getting used to.

One, because they are the first Scottish side to reach that level, ever.

Two, because many of the players doing so well for Edinburgh this season combined so ineffectively for Scotland in the Six Nations.

And three, because they beat Toulouse, one of the great institutions of European rugby, in front of a Murrayfield crowd approaching 38,000, a number almost as gob-smacking as the victory itself, to get there.

And now the big question. Can Edinburgh back it up against Ulster, a team, according to Edinburgh head coach Michael Bradley, “built to win trophies”, away from home in Dublin?

The precedents aren’t great. When these two sides met in the RaboDirect Pro12 – by some distance the stupidest name for a league in rugby – Ulster ran in four tries to record a bonus point in their 42-20 victory.

Only 3,792 turned up to Murrayfield on that January Friday night by the way, a figure more in keeping with Murrayfield’s mausoleum-like reputation outside of the Six Nations.

But here’s the hope. Ulster were at full strength that evening, bristling with their big-name South Africans – half-back Ruan Pienaar, No 8 Pedrie Wannenburg, lock Johann Muller and full-back Stefan Terblanche – as well as fielding Stephen Ferris, arguably European rugby’s most effective wrecking ball of a flanker, whereas Edinburgh were not.

Missing from Edinburgh’s line-up were the back-row forwards David Denton and Ross Rennie, who both made such an impact for Scotland in the Six Nations later in the year.

The other change of significance was that Greig Laidlaw started at scrum-half rather than the outside-half slot he filled with distinction against Toulouse. Strange that both Pienaar and Laidlaw can play with equal facility in either position, but that’s the modern game for you. Confusing.

So, Edinburgh’s chance of another upset would seem to rest on the contributions of two men and a positional change. They have nothing to fall back on.

No direct knowledge of the intensity of a major European semi-final, but, then, neither really do Ulster whose only appearance at this stage of the tournament occurred back in 1999, the year the English clubs boycotted the competition and Ulster sneaked up on the rails and won the thing.

What Edinburgh do have, though, is the bounce following their Toulouse triumph which must be set against Ulster’s similarly faintly surprising win against Munster, another European giant, at Thomond Park.

And momentum, as every coach will tell you, is crucial. “There is as much talent in this group of players as there is in any side left in the competition,” believes a bullish Bradley.

“The basics of what we have to do were on show in the quarter-final where our defence shut out Toulouse in the second half. There aren’t many sides who can say that. Ulster have been the form side in the competition from about mid November onwards.

"They’ve recruited well in the last couple of years and they’ve put together a side that is built to win trophies. But if we play to our potential we won’t fear anybody.”

“Play to our potential”. That’s a phrase which should send shivers of apprehension down the spines of anyone associated with Scottish rugby because it is a long, long time since a Scottish side kept to that contract.

But for now, with just under a week to go to a match which might kick-start a national revival, it is legitimate, and rather comforting, to hope that they can.

[geoff998rugby]

Paddy Wallace can play 10.

The trouble with D'Arcy on the bench is no cover for the centre - Jackson and Trimble are not good enough for me. We need to keep players playing out of position to a minimum.

I dont see see Jackson, Pienaer sub Marshall being any different from Humphreys, Pienaer sub Marshall which has been our standard selection all season.

A centre cover is better than a 4th Half back in my view.

[Notch]

I would like Paddy Jackson to start at 12 if Wallace is out, which would mean an extra centre on the bench.

[AsLongAsBut100ofUs]

From today's Herald, a nice focus piece on young Grant Gilchrist:

Nothing taken for Granted

by Alasdair Reid, Rugby reporter

Having lived through the violent aftershocks of the tragic and devastating earthquake that reduced much of Christchurch to rubble last year, Grant Gilchrist has acquired a familiarity with seismic events that should allow him to take Edinburgh's Heineken Cup semi-final clash with Ulster in Dublin next weekend in his considerable stride.
inShare
Grant Gilchrist has had an amazing 12 months Photograph: SNS
Grant Gilchrist has had an amazing 12 months Photograph: SNS

Such experiences lend a certain perspective too, so you would hesitate to allude to rumbles and Richter scales in connection with Edinburgh's European campaign in the company of a man with vivid, recent memories of what happens when the earth really does move beneath your feet.

Yet the magnitude of Edinburgh's achievement in becoming the first Scottish club to reach the last four of the Heineken Cup still draws expressions of wonder and amazement from the amiable young lock, not least because success has come so quickly to a player who, at 21, is still in the infancy of his professional career.

Not that many infants can boast the sort of 6ft 7in frame that is Gilchrist's meal ticket in the professional game. Of course, Scotland's second-row skyscrapers have all too often been nothing more than elongated dreeps or uncoordinated gallumphers, but Gilchrist brings serious poundage – 18st and still growing, according to club coach Michael Bradley – and rugby nous to the job.

In which light, it is almost certainly no coincidence that the most feeble forward performance, and only defeat, of Edinburgh's Heineken Cup run this season was in their away match to Cardiff, the only game in which Gilchrist was not involved. Better still for the club, with Sean Cox filling the other second-row slot, Edinburgh now have the mix of muscle and menace in the boilerhouse that is a requirement for any top European side.

Yet a year ago, Gilchrist was still pottering around Bridgehaugh in Stirling County colours, while Cox's career was going nowhere as a bit-part player at Sale. Small wonder that Gilchrist is almost rubbing his eyes in disbelief at how the last 12 months have panned out.

The critical period in that time was unquestionably the three months he spent as a MacPhail Scholar in New Zealand, playing for Lincoln University – Richie McCaw's old team – and training with the Canterbury provincial side. Yet even before he left, his potential had been identified by Edinburgh's forwards coach Tom Smith. The club were running low on locks after the departures of Fraser McKenzie and Scott MacLeod, so Gilchrist was brought home early.

"Sometimes we've spoken in quieter moments about what a great season he is having in the sense of where his expectation level was and now playing in the semi-final of a Heineken Cup," said Bradley. "He's just had one of those good seasons, and he is enthusiastic, which is great to see."

The situation may have been forced on him to some extent, but Bradley has been fearless in his application of the good-enough-is-old-enough principle, blooding players such as Gilchrist, Harry Leonard and Matt Scott. The Edinburgh brat pack has been integral to the success of the club in Europe, and Bradley's policy has been a massive boost for Gilchrist's confidence.

"The coaches aren't the type who will stick with players just because they played well two seasons ago or they played well a couple of games ago," Gilchrist said. "I feel that if I was a young player here and I wasn't involved, I'd know if I put some performances together and played and trained well I would be pretty sure Michael and the other guys would put me in the team.

"That's a good place to be as a player and I think it is good for the squad as a whole. Having young guys who are ambitious, trying to work their way in, is definitely going to drive the rest of the team up."

But how far can they go? Edinburgh surpassed all expectations by emerging from a fiercely difficult pool with five wins from six games and a home draw in the quarter-finals. They then wrote Heineken Cup history by dynamiting Toulouse before a record crowd on an epic afternoon at Murrayfield two weeks ago. Bradley, whose side have been wretched in the RaboDirect PRO12 league, dismisses talk of some kind of European destiny, but Gilchrist admits things have tended to tumble their way on the Heineken trail.

"I think we have had the bounce of the ball, but we have performed better," said the player. "It's not all been luck. I think we have shown promise in the Rabo games for periods but we have only really put our complete performances together in the Heineken games.

"Obviously, we had a bit of luck. We had a last-minute drop goal against Racing Metro in Paris and we won a crazy match against them at Murrayfield. We beat London Irish by a point. But I think you have got to do that to get to the final of the Heineken Cup. You are going to be in tight games because it is the best teams in Europe you are playing against. That's just how close things are. You have just got to get an edge here and there, and it becomes a bit of a habit if you keep doing it."

Playing in front of crowds such as the 37,881 who packed into Murrayfield for the Toulouse match is also the sort of habit Gilchrist could happily develop. Edinburgh's players, including seasoned internationals, have been buzzing about that game for the past two weeks, and the atmosphere at the Aviva Stadium next weekend will be similar, albeit more hostile given that Ulster will bring the lion's share of supporters.

Giddy days for Gilchrist, and a dream he's not ready to relinquish just yet. Ulster are a fearsomely effective side – their 41-7 pool-stage thrashing of Leicester was one of the great performances of Heineken Cup history – but Edinburgh have found a way to win time and again. After the Toulouse match, anything is possible from Bradley's team.

And Gilchrist doesn't hide his enjoyment of the magic carpet ride. "Because I didn't play in Cardiff I am still holding on to my 100% record in the Heineken Cup," he smiled. "I hope that will just continue for my whole career. That would be nice. Or maybe I should walk away now and tell everybody I played for 10 years."

[RDW]

with just under a week to go to a match which might kick-start a national revival,

That is the key line here - this will be a massive boost for whichever club wins, in terms up publicity and hopefully increasing national exposure and crowd levels. Ulster already have a really good fan base and backing financially, so I think Edinburgh would definitely benefit the most in terms of raising the profile of the club.

[RuggerRadge2611]

“Play to our potential”. That’s a phrase which should send shivers of apprehension down the spines of anyone associated with Scottish rugby because it is a long, long time since a Scottish side kept to that contract.

Precisely, I hope Ackford has not jinxed us with a comment like that.

Bradley is spot on though. Edinburgh when playing thier best will not fear Ulster. No disrespect to the Ulster team but I would have to say Tolouse would have been a more fearsome spectre at the start of the tournament. I think if you were to ask any fan who they would rather face in the Knockout stages of the HC I'm sure the majority would rather face Ulster.

Thats not to take anything away from Ulster. Their win win at Thormond showed how much determination and belief the Ulster team has. That is the main differance between Ulster and Toulouse IMO.

Equally I'm sure the Ulster fas will be relieved to be playing Edinburgh rather than Toulouse.

Both sets fo fans in their heart of hearts are probably surprised to be in the semi's. I certainly am surprised Edinburgh are there. Both teams have been the suprise packages in the HC this year and fully deserve to be here.

[Notch]

I'm not really surprised at all, I always thought we could do it, just wasn't sure if we would.

The best team we've come up against this year was Clermont; no disrespect to Edinburgh or Munster, but ASM are a cut above. The fact we played so well over there and still lost shows how good they are.

I've said time and time again, Edinburgh can win this but Ulster should win this. I'm not going to believe our own hype though; there are going to plenty of twists and turns in dramatic and tight game.

[rodders]

Equally I'm sure the Ulster fas will be relieved to be playing Edinburgh rather than Toulouse.

In many ways no actually. I would have fancied us at the Aviva against Toulouse.

I think Edinburgh are much more dangerous. They have nothing to lose and there is a big risk here that Ulster have (subconsiously) one eye on the final. I'm sure they have huge respect for Edinburgh but with due respect Edinburgh don't carry the same fear factor as some of the bigger European clubs that you'd expect to meet at this stage of the competition.

I am seriously worried about this.

I have the same feeling as in the build up to Ireland v Wales in the RWC QF

[Notch]

Latest odds.

http://www.oddschecker.com/rugby-union/club-rugby/heineken-cup/ulster-v-edinburgh/winner

I know what rodders means; it's an entirely different kind of pressure being favourites, and we haven't had to deal with it so far in the tournament. Except against Aironi, who are nowhere near as good as Edinburgh in the HC even if there isn't much a gap in the Pro 12.

[UlsterinKildare]

Really looking forward to a very physical, confrontational game between two teams with nothing to lose.

I think that Ulster's last two defeats in the Pro12 will actually be a positive influence insofar as it means that the players will not be taking anything for granted against Edinburgh.

This is a semi-final. No one is going to roll over and let you just walk into the final. I expect Edinburgh to be very confrontational right from the start. They'll be aware that the key reason why Ulster won in Thomond was due to the way they started the game. Bradley will make sure that Edinburgh will be ready for a similar onslaught from Ulster and their leaders will be looking to win the key collisions early on.

It was interesting to analyse Edinburgh's victory over Toulouse. In coming from behind to win against the overwhelming favourites, they have shown that they possess bucket loads of self-belief. I don't think they'll panic or change from their game plan even if Ulster manage to build up a lead. On the other hand, if Edinburgh get off to a good start and get a decent lead, then it'll ask some serious questions of Ulster.

Let's assume a scenario where Edinburgh get 7 - 10 points in front of Ulster, and Pienaar has a similar mixed day of the tee as he did last Friday night. Let's say that we are getting pinged by Poite in the scrums and things are generally going against us in the first half. Do we have a team that can come from behind to win on the big occasion? I think that's unproven.

On the basis of the above, I'd find a place for iHumph on the bench. My rationale is simply that he's a player who can conjure up the unexpected and despite his many limitations, he has the ability to be a gamechanger.

For me, Jackson starts. He offers greater physicality and I think (even at his young age) he is a better, more consistent, play maker in a deep backline than iHumph. I expect Edinburgh to play an aggressive defensive line, meaning that our centres & fullback will have to play deep - iHumph (like O'Gara) is better playing relatively flat, but that's more successful against a drift defense, in my opinion.

My team:
15. Terblanche
14. Trimble
13. Cave
12. Wallace (if available, if not, then Ian Whitten)
11. Gilroy
10. Jackson
9. Pienaar
1. Court (a powerhouse of loosehead, but a very poor tighthead)
2. Best
3. Fitzpatrick
4. Muller
5. Tuohy
6. Ferris
7. Henry
8. Wannenberg

Bench:
Brady, McAllister, Macklin, Stevenson, Diack (can't have Faloon - simply not physical enough & besides Diack has shown glimpses of his old self recently), Marshall (if available, if not, then Porter), Humphreys, D'Arcy.

[Rory_Gallagher]

I thought Diack was very good against Leinster, it has to be said. He surprised me.

[rodders]

Really looking forward to a very physical, confrontational game between two teams with nothing to lose.

Thats were I disagree, I do think Ulster have a lot to lose here.

We have spent quite a bit on recruiting top class overseas players as well as retaining a few proven world class home grown players in Ferris and the returning Bowe. The expansion plans for Ravenhill means there is a pressure to attract more fans.

We are also under big pressure domestically to compete with Munster and Leinster who've been hugely successful in this competition and we have the burden of History from winning the trophy ourselves.

There is far more pressure on us than Edinburgh imo.

[RDW]

Ulster have definitely got a lot more to lose than Edinburgh, but hopefully that doesn't mean we're happy to just make up the numbers because no one expected us to be there.

As I said above, although both teams would benefit massively by winning, I think this would be a seismic shift for Edinburgh if they won.

[UlsterinKildare]

Rodders - I disagree. In my opinion, getting to a semi-final has meant that no matter what happens, this has been a good season for Ulster. The club/province continues to improve, both on and off the field. At the start of this season, I think the vast majority of fans would have taken a semi-final place and seen that as representing continued improvement over last year, and the year before that.

I don't think that the result on Saturday will affect Logan's or Humphreys' plans for Ulster rugby in any way. The stadium redevelopment is already in the pipeline. The fan base is strong and getting bigger. The club's reputation is improving and we are viewed as one of the 'coming teams' of European rugby. Good days are ahead, regardless of what happens on Saturday.

Is there more pressure on Ulster than Edinburgh? Of course, but only because we are the favourites. And rightly so. But either way, I don't agree with your comment that "Ulster have a lot to lose". It's all relative....

[geoff998rugby]

I think the players would be devasted if they lost this one.

Having got past Leicester, Clermont and Munster it would be a body blow.
Not in any way underestimating Edinburgh but we are favourites and now is the time to step up and deliver.

This is why the Saffer boys came to Ulster to play , and win, games like this.

[rodders]

Rodders - I disagree. In my opinion, getting to a semi-final has meant that no matter what happens, this has been a good season for Ulster. The club/province continues to improve, both on and off the field. At the start of this season, I think the vast majority of fans would have taken a semi-final place and seen that as representing continued improvement over last year, and the year before that.

Don't get me wrong mate, I agree with all that. I'd have bitten your hand off for a HEC QF, never mind beating Munster, in January.

My point is that there is a lot of pressure on us to win this trophy, in part due to the success of our domestic rivals and in part down to the investment we have put into our own club infrastructure in recent seasons.

Through chance we have ended up against one of the,with utmost respect, less established European teams in the SF..... a team with arguably less resources than us, so whilst normally a SF would be deemed a huge success I think there is huge pressure on us here to go at least a stage further in this competition this season.

[RDW]

I read an interesting article in the Scotland on Sunday with interviews from your Saffer contingent - most of them said that they came to Ulster cause God told them to!

http://www.scotsman.com/sport/rugby/top-rugby-stories/the-good-boks-ulster-s-faith-in-south-africans-is-being-rewarded-1-2249452

Maybe God is an Ulster fan!

[George Carlin]

Some thoughts from Paul Ackford in the Torygraph:

Heineken Cup 2012: Edinburgh must continue the momentum to raise more eyebrows in Europe

By Paul Ackford

Ulster against Edinburgh in the semi-final of the Heineken Cup on Saturday. I know. Edinburgh. In the semi-final of the Heineken Cup. It takes some getting used to.

One, because they are the first Scottish side to reach that level, ever.

Two, because many of the players doing so well for Edinburgh this season combined so ineffectively for Scotland in the Six Nations.

And three, because they beat Toulouse, one of the great institutions of European rugby, in front of a Murrayfield crowd approaching 38,000, a number almost as gob-smacking as the victory itself, to get there.

And now the big question. Can Edinburgh back it up against Ulster, a team, according to Edinburgh head coach Michael Bradley, “built to win trophies”, away from home in Dublin?

The precedents aren’t great. When these two sides met in the RaboDirect Pro12 – by some distance the stupidest name for a league in rugby – Ulster ran in four tries to record a bonus point in their 42-20 victory.

Only 3,792 turned up to Murrayfield on that January Friday night by the way, a figure more in keeping with Murrayfield’s mausoleum-like reputation outside of the Six Nations.

But here’s the hope. Ulster were at full strength that evening, bristling with their big-name South Africans – half-back Ruan Pienaar, No 8 Pedrie Wannenburg, lock Johann Muller and full-back Stefan Terblanche – as well as fielding Stephen Ferris, arguably European rugby’s most effective wrecking ball of a flanker, whereas Edinburgh were not.

Missing from Edinburgh’s line-up were the back-row forwards David Denton and Ross Rennie, who both made such an impact for Scotland in the Six Nations later in the year.

The other change of significance was that Greig Laidlaw started at scrum-half rather than the outside-half slot he filled with distinction against Toulouse. Strange that both Pienaar and Laidlaw can play with equal facility in either position, but that’s the modern game for you. Confusing.

So, Edinburgh’s chance of another upset would seem to rest on the contributions of two men and a positional change. They have nothing to fall back on.

No direct knowledge of the intensity of a major European semi-final, but, then, neither really do Ulster whose only appearance at this stage of the tournament occurred back in 1999, the year the English clubs boycotted the competition and Ulster sneaked up on the rails and won the thing.

What Edinburgh do have, though, is the bounce following their Toulouse triumph which must be set against Ulster’s similarly faintly surprising win against Munster, another European giant, at Thomond Park.

And momentum, as every coach will tell you, is crucial. “There is as much talent in this group of players as there is in any side left in the competition,” believes a bullish Bradley.

“The basics of what we have to do were on show in the quarter-final where our defence shut out Toulouse in the second half. There aren’t many sides who can say that. Ulster have been the form side in the competition from about mid November onwards.

"They’ve recruited well in the last couple of years and they’ve put together a side that is built to win trophies. But if we play to our potential we won’t fear anybody.”

“Play to our potential”. That’s a phrase which should send shivers of apprehension down the spines of anyone associated with Scottish rugby because it is a long, long time since a Scottish side kept to that contract.

But for now, with just under a week to go to a match which might kick-start a national revival, it is legitimate, and rather comforting, to hope that they can.

Ackford's Token Scottish Article for the year. Painful.

I expect he had to look up every single name.

[clivemcl]

If Jackson starts, will he kick the points after Ruans poor kicking v Leinster?? (Let Ruan hit the long middle of the park ones though)

[rodders]

Maybe God is an Ulster fan!

Goes without saying mate ! .......

[SecretFly]

Maybe God is an Ulster fan!

Goes without saying mate ! .......

I thought all this talk of God and religion was a little bit too much...until I saw the latest pic of the Ulster team getting their pep-talk before their last game:

http://godzdogz.op.org/uploaded_images/Dhspriory-ContemplationAndStudyInTheOrderOfPreachersDominicans357.flv-703900.jpg

Edinburgh don't have a chance in Hell.............................. unless they engage the services of the old guy that lives in Hell.

[UlsterinKildare]

My point is that there is a lot of pressure on us to win this trophy

Rodders: given that we only play in two competitions - then unless we are the likes of Leinster, Munster, Ospreys (in seasons past), Leicester, Toulouse, Clermont, Toulon or Racing - I can't agree that there is pressure on Ulster to "win" a trophy. There is pressure to continuously improve (i.e. this season that meant getting to a QF or beyond) and there is pressure to live up to expectations (one of which is that we should be able to beat Edinburgh!!), but there isn't pressure to win the competition.

Anything beyond a QF is a bonus.... this season anyway. Pity Mark Anscombe, next season there will be pressure to get to at least a semi-final. That's the way it works!

[geoff998rugby]

Have to agree on that point.

Whilst I think there is a lot of pressure on us to win the SF we will go into the final with all the pressure on our opponents, doubly so if it is Leinster.

If we get to the final we can play with freedom - the Semi is the nervy, bit your nails match for us.

[rodders]

UIK, when I say there's pressure to win this trophy, I don't mean this season per se, I mean generally given the context of our team within Ireland and given the players we've recruited.

It's easy to say ' ahh next season' but the reality is we've beaten Clermont, Leicester and Munster and have a "home" QF against one of the "less established" sides in Europe.

There is no way anything other than reaching the final can be deemed a success in this context.

Don't get me wrong, if Edinburgh play a blinder and win then you hold your hands up but we simply have to deliver on Saturday.

It will be a massive blow if we lose.

[UlsterinKildare]

UIK, when I say there's pressure to win this trophy, I don't mean this season per se, I mean generally given the context of our team within Ireland and given the players we've recruited.

It's easy to say ' ahh next season' but the reality is we've beaten Clermont, Leicester and Munster and have a "home" QF against one of the "less established" sides in Europe.

There is no way anything other than reaching the final can be deemed a success in this context.

Don't get me wrong, if Edinburgh play a blinder and win then you hold your hands up but we simply have to deliver on Saturday.

It will be a massive blow if we lose.

Agreed

[rodders]

Sorry I'm probably not articulating this the best.

The pressure is to back up our earlier performances on Saturday against Edinburgh.

The pressure would fall onto Leinster or Clermont in the final should we make it. We'd be huge underdogs.

In terms of Edinburgh, I don't want to sound disrepectful because they could very well beat us regardless of how we perfrom. However to have a home SF is a great opportunity and one we can't afford to let slip.

[RDW]

Guys - just say it, we won't be offended! "Edinburgh are crap and we really should win this one, but are just being polite so that we don't come across as arrogant, and just in case we find that pigs can fly and Edinburgh actually win the game!"

We know where we stand!

[SecretFly]

IF Edinburgh play out of their skins again and come away with a sizzling win in Dublin, with Ulster having played one of its best games of the season (and I agree with Rodders - a performance of HC standard is required from the Ulster players now, nothing less)...but if Edinburgh do it, will it be evidence that Bradley truly did sacrifice an entire League season to have a shot at HC?

Now if true, and the game next week will kinda prove or disprove the theory, but if true that has to be one of the riskiest career gameplays ever concocted by an incumbant new coach.

I tend to believe a side can't be so bad to be so low in League and yet have the grit and talent to get to a final of the HC unless League is being used for both acting and testing classes.

If, on the other hand, Edinburgh's route in the HC was just an uncanny streak of amazing luck, then I don't think it should/will last into and through a semi. Bradley is either the cutest coach in Europe or his illusion of mirrors is about to be shattered.

[RuggerRadge2611]

Guys - just say it, we won't be offended! "Edinburgh are crap and we really should win this one, but are just being polite so that we don't come across as arrogant, and just in case we find that pigs can fly and Edinburgh actually win the game!"

We know where we stand!

+1

Edinburgh can beat Ulster if we play as well as we did against Toulouse.

If both teams turn up and play thier best I expect there to be 2-3 points in it.

[funnyExiledScot]

I expect Edinburgh to Play the following

1 Allan Jacobsen
2 Ross Ford
3 Geoff Cross
4 Grant Gilchrist
5 Sean Cox
6 David Denton
7 Ross Rennie
8 Netani Talei

9 Mike Blair
10 Greig Laidlaw CAPTAIN
11 Tim Visser
12 Matt Scott
13 Nick DeLuca
14 Lee Jones
15 Tom Brown

Substitutes
16 Andrew Kelly
17 Kyle Traynor
18 Jack Gilding
19 Stuart McInally
20 Roddy Grant
21 Chris Leck
22 Phil Godman
23 Jim Thompson

Agree with the 1st XV, it picks itself. On the bench I'd swap Lozada for Grant (which I think Bradley will do) and Leonard for Godman (which Bradley won't do).

As always, I'll mainly be praying that we suffer no front row injuries.

[Notch]

I read an interesting article in the Scotland on Sunday with interviews from your Saffer contingent - most of them said that they came to Ulster cause God told them to!

http://www.scotsman.com/sport/rugby/top-rugby-stories/the-good-boks-ulster-s-faith-in-south-africans-is-being-rewarded-1-2249452

Maybe God is an Ulster fan!

Ughh I read that. I've never seen such lazy journalism- it's basically a copy and paste job from three different interviews in other newspapers.

[rodders]

Guys - just say it, we won't be offended! "Edinburgh are crap and we really should win this one, but are just being polite so that we don't come across as arrogant, and just in case we find that pigs can fly and Edinburgh actually win the game!"

We know where we stand!

Ahhh no man I don't think that. Really . Edinburgh are no mugs and I am really worried that we'll get smoked on Saturday if we don't find the same intensity, if not more, that we showed against Munster, Clermont and the Tigers.

It's just that the odds are as stacked for us as they will probably ever get at this stage in the comp. I have loads of respect for your side

[tigertattie]

I'm going to stick my head above the parapit now and go for Edinburgh to win by 2 points!

[geoff998rugby]

As Notch said a cut and paste job.

There is not one original word in that article - also as cut and pasted it has pit a number of quotes totally out of context in order to make a bogus point.

Utter garbage

[funnyExiledScot]

Notch - are you seriously accusing the Scotsman of lazy journalism?!

The SNP will hunt you down for much less - it's their paper don't you know! They know where you live!

All differences aside, it should be a cracking game as both these sides like to move the ball. If I'm honest I think Ulster may prove to be just a bit too organised and physical for Edinburgh n defence, something Bradley alludes to in his pre-match comments. French sides can get unstructured when faced with a chaotic attack like Edinburgh. It's no coincidence that Edinburgh's best results have been against French sides. Not sure Ulster will be so easily manipulated, and the contact area will be ferocious. As Bradley says, it's a step up this one.

[RDW]

Yeah the Scotsman has some howlers occasionally.

Slightly off topic but on the theme of lazy journalism, I read an interview in the Metro newspaper with Euan McGregor a few weeks ago and they had basically watched the Johnathon Ross show with him on it and wrote it like they had been asking the questions!

[geoff998rugby]

Guys it only Monday how the hell am I supposed to get through the next 5 days at work.

Productive could take a nose dive as 33,000 Ulster supporters are thinking about rugby, not work, this week.

[rodders]

Guys it only Monday how the hell am I supposed to get through the next 5 days at work.

Productive could take a nose dive as 33,000 Ulster supporters are thinking about rugby, not work, this week.

+ 1

[SecretFly]

It happens. Actors come to press conferences in London to promote movies and yet most Sunday papers make it look like their feature writers had an entire weekend sauntering on beaches and having long evening meals with said actors to extract the beautiful details of their minds... oh and of course, the philosophical quotes. "No, yeah, I really like this movie..."

[Rava]

OK RDW.

"Edinburgh are crap and we really should win this one, but are just being polite so that we don't come across as arrogant, and just in case we find that pigs can fly and Edinburgh actually win the game!"

[RDW]

That's more like it Rava!

[Rava]

On the tickets front.

I've been keeping an eye on the ticketmaster site and suddenly huge blocks of seats disappeared last week or at the weekend leaving pretty much only the south east corner available. Less than 3,000 seats.

Just checked this morning and all those blocks are suddenly available again and about 7,500 seats in total unsold!

I would be ragin if we had wanted to get seats near friends and hadn't be able to book them even though they were actually unsold!

The priority booking thing was over ages ago, no?

Mrs P sounds more like the returned unsold tickets, presumably from Edinburgh. I would think they would have been given at least 10,000 at the outset.

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