Neil Best

Evening fellas.

More of a reader than a poster on here as I've only been getting into Rugby the last few years and am a GAA man. 1st with Ireland but as an Armagh man have taken more and more interest with Ulster. Anyway, I've seen Neil Best mentioned a right few times and rarely is anything complimentary said. What's the craic with him? As in what is it that makes him such a **** and is he anythng to Rory?

Cheers

The overwhelming majority of Ulster fans will tell you that the guy is a bad article. When his form plateau'd he was a good international played some good games for Ireland but ultimately his temper and lack of control saw him removed from the squad after a training pitch bust up with Jerry Flannery (not the most savoury of characters either).

He has nothing to do with Ulster rugby anymore and hasn't for a long long time. Went to Northampton Saints then on to Worcester. I very much doubt he will ever have any affiliation to Ulster rugby again.

He certainly isn't any relation to Rory Best or his brother Simon(obviously).

Cheers Artful. No, from what I know of Rory there wouldn't have appeared to be any link between the 2. But Neil was just 1 of them names that I'd seen mentioned a few times and didn't know anything about him. How long ago did he leave Ulster?

He joined Northampton Saint at the start of the 2008/2009 season and put in some good performances for them, played along side Roger Wilson who has now returned to Ulster. He is still playing for Worcester at the minute, recently played for them in the Amlin a couple of weeks back.

Cheers mate. Appreciate that! Better off away from Ulster then!

Does Neil even play for Wuss anymore?

His anger issues seemed to have been ironed out a little at Saints and I remember his Woldhounds game against Saxons when he was a man possesed, seems to have vanished since that though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTaswtDfym8

couldve been a good player

He's still playing for Worcester, captained them against Bizkaia Gernika in the Amlin a couple of weeks back.

LeinsterFan4life wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTaswtDfym8

couldve been a good player

Thats the international against Australia which he won man of the match for. Shame the guy was a bit....mad.

Cheers Leinster. Aye he looks like a strong big bollix from that clip!

Artful_Dodger wrote:

LeinsterFan4life wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTaswtDfym8

couldve been a good player

Thats the international against Australia which he won man of the match for. Shame the guy was a bit....mad.

Some of them hits are the biggest hits in rugby i've ever seen! the guy was a beast.

Phenomenal player, as good a back rower as Ireland have produced in the professional era and that includes Wallace, Ferris, SOB, Quinlan....he could have been as good as all of them.

He was incredible down in NZ in 2006 and then carried that through to the Autumn Internationals. Fell out with EOS who preferred the far inferior Easterbuy.

Left Ulster for Saints and then Worcester, making more friends and influencing people along the way....

Kidney brought him back in from the International wilderness and was part of the Churchill cup winning team. Apparantly ruffled a few feathers out there and the final nail in his Ireland Coffin was when he left a drunken rant on Kidneys phone.

There's some other details I could add in but you can get the jist.... brilliant player but not really a people person.....

Haha I see where you're going with that rodders. If he could have been that good then that's a serious waste of talent.

I take it that the success he was having went to his head a bit did it? Or was he always that way inclined?

That's Rocky Elsom he flattens around 30 sec..... what a performance that was. He was the best player on the pitch by mile. EOS took him off after 60 min... refused to give Best in praise in the post match interview

Because of their personal issues I take it? Or because he didn't need the praise?

rodders wrote:Phenomenal player, as good a back rower as Ireland have produced in the professional era and that includes Wallace, Ferris, SOB, Quinlan....he could have been as good as all of them.

He was incredible down in NZ in 2006 and then carried that through to the Autumn Internationals. Fell out with EOS who preferred the far inferior Easterbuy.

Left Ulster for Saints and then Worcester, making more friends and influencing people along the way....

Kidney brought him back in from the International wilderness and was part of the Churchill cup winning team. Apparantly ruffled a few feathers out there and the final nail in his Ireland Coffin was when he left a drunken rant on Kidneys phone.

There's some other details I could add in but you can get the jist.... brilliant player but not really a people person.....

He was also banned from driving for 17 months for being over twice the legal limit in 2010 - according to wiki.

The Boss wrote:Haha I see where you're going with that rodders. If he could have been that good then that's a serious waste of talent.

I take it that the success he was having went to his head a bit did it? Or was he always that way inclined?

Yes incredible waste of talent imo. Look there's a common theme there really, a bit like Roy Keane I suppose, and there's no smoke without fire. That said I've heard plenty of praise about him from the likes of O'Callaghan, Ferris etc. Signed for Worcester and stuck to his contract after they got relegated so there are some redeeming factors I suppose.

Heard also that he fell out with Ulster over a big deal he had lined up with Stade Francais and they wouldn't let him leave, just after the 2006 Celtic League win. His stock had fallen come 2007 when he finally left after a poor season for him and Ulster and the deal was no longer on the table. Not sure how true that is....

No worries rodders cheers for the info. As I said its before I started following Rugby, bar watching the 6Ns with my da every year but just had seen the name come up unfavourably a few times.

The Boss wrote:Because of their personal issues I take it? Or because he didn't need the praise?

Well Eddie was a strange cat too...probably an ego clash.... Eddie was asked about Neils MOTM performance and why he took him of so early...waffled something about Best doing flashy stuff and Easterbuy doing unseen work.... Eddie wasn't long replacing Best with Easterbuy prompting Best to say something along the lines of "Surely he can see I'm better than Simon Easterbuy" in an interview...... he wasn't the modest sort Best....

Haha I know the sort. Ya get them everywhere! 2 sides to every story but.

No bother boss....I'm sure Rava. Notch or Hookie will come along soon to tell me I'm talking bollix......

This ones good too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXbPq1zkiQo&feature=related .....

I don't want to waste my fingers on this fella. A poison in the locker room and a factor as to why some players left, including Bowe. Not the main reason, but a reason nonetheless. The last season at Ulster he did nothing and put little effort in at all. I don't think he even got his shirt dirty for the last 12 months at Ravenhill.

That said, his performance away in New Zealand is still the best individual performance from any Irish player I have seen in the professional age, including BOD's hattrick in Paris. Absolutely phenomenal that day. And he should have been in the team in front of Easterby. Eddie had his favourites, a pattern of how he wanted to play and Best didn't fit.

So, in summary, you're not his biggest fan Hookisms? Haha. When a player like that's in the dressing room I wouldn't care myself how good he is, he needs to be gotten rid of. And that seems like what Ulster did.

Ulster and Ireland missed a trick with this fella...they should have gave him his own dressing room....

Maybe you could have shared it rodders?

No way that Best bloke's a nutter....

Neil Best is one of my favourite players to ever get involved in any sport. I remember when I first came across him, I looked at his game and examined what he done off the ball. Raised my game 10 fold. Anger and intensity he brought to a field was incredible. Great player in my opinion.

His off the field behaviour is a bit of legend now. But lets put his actions into context, not defending him but lets not pretend that EOS was anything but useless and the treatment that Ulster players have had over the years. Small example Zebo starting over Trimble in NZ. Played for any other province...

I also heard that old Mr Best also got in a fight with a team mate over a girl he wanted to pull. Beat him up in a taxi outside the Odyssey, little rascal. Typical Malone lad really.

Let him change with the Refs!

Jay, as I've said I know sweet FA about him so that's a different take on him. He does seem to have been very talented now!

Jeebus not only does he need his own dressing room...he needs his own taxi too!

Totally agree with Jays first paragraph there.

JayMaster3000 wrote:Neil Best is one of my favourite players to ever get involved in any sport. I remember when I first came across him, I looked at his game and examined what he done off the ball. Raised my game 10 fold. Anger and intensity he brought to a field was incredible. Great player in my opinion.

His off the field behaviour is a bit of legend now. But lets put his actions into context, not defending him but lets not pretend that EOS was anything but useless and the treatment that Ulster players have had over the years. Small example Zebo starting over Trimble in NZ. Played for any other province...

I also heard that old Mr Best also got in a fight with a team mate over a girl he wanted to pull. Beat him up in a taxi outside the Odyssey, little rascal. Typical Malone lad really.

Awk now that's a bit of an exaggeration. Humphreys maybe should have started more often but it's not like he didn't get any chances. The cupboards were bare with Ulster players who were actually good enough. He gave Gary Longwell a right good chance when he didn't deserve one. Really Ulster fans were a bit like Munster fans now- outside O'Connell they don't have anyone really good enough for the Irish team so they pick on borderline cases and push them to the moon. How else can players like O'Mahony and Earls be explained?

The story about the Odyssey? Gospel truth. He was a grade A arse.

Although I always take stories about what happens after a night out with a pinch of salt. Drink does weird things to the best of men!

JayMaster3000 wrote:Neil Best is one of my favourite players to ever get involved in any sport. I remember when I first came across him, I looked at his game and examined what he done off the ball. Raised my game 10 fold. Anger and intensity he brought to a field was incredible. Great player in my opinion.

His off the field behaviour is a bit of legend now. But lets put his actions into context, not defending him but lets not pretend that EOS was anything but useless and the treatment that Ulster players have had over the years. Small example Zebo starting over Trimble in NZ. Played for any other province...

I also heard that old Mr Best also got in a fight with a team mate over a girl he wanted to pull. Beat him up in a taxi outside the Odyssey, little rascal. Typical Malone lad really.

EOS didn't like picking Ulstermen right enough but you are stretching it a bit to blame him for this surely. It happened 4 years after he left Ireland!

MrsP wrote:

JayMaster3000 wrote:Neil Best is one of my favourite players to ever get involved in any sport. I remember when I first came across him, I looked at his game and examined what he done off the ball. Raised my game 10 fold. Anger and intensity he brought to a field was incredible. Great player in my opinion.

His off the field behaviour is a bit of legend now. But lets put his actions into context, not defending him but lets not pretend that EOS was anything but useless and the treatment that Ulster players have had over the years. Small example Zebo starting over Trimble in NZ. Played for any other province...

I also heard that old Mr Best also got in a fight with a team mate over a girl he wanted to pull. Beat him up in a taxi outside the Odyssey, little rascal. Typical Malone lad really.

EOS didn't like picking Ulstermen right enough but you are stretching it a bit to blame him for this surely. It happened 4 years after he left Ireland!

Perhaps my statement was a little out of context. I would suggest that the whole of the IRFU have had issue with the Ulster branch rather than just EOS himself, though he was particularly guilty. Now this could do with the former management that Ulster use to have in place but non the less it seems if a player doesn't play for Munster or Leinster then they won't be in with a shout. Rodger Wilson more or less said that in the interview which was broadcast during the Ulster game. Again look at Paul Marshall for example from this years series. Just a observation, which could be subjective.