Glasgow Warriors v Ulster, Scotstoun, Friday 22 February 2013, 1935 hrs

First topic message reminder :

Huge game for The Warriors and a real test for the so called 'dirt trackers' against the top of the table. Who starts at FH with Wee Dunky presumably back with Scotland for the Sunday 6Ns? Does The Messiah start or Peter Horne (if available)? Who goes at hooker with Pat MacA back with Scotland and Dougie Hall and Fin Gillies injured ? Where do we play Mata - SH please Toonster ? The previous games this season at Ravenhill and Scotstoun have been too easy for Ulster so we need to big up, front up and play the game we are capable of starting with the forward battle.

Looks like it will be a sell out boys and girls so get your tickets soon. My one and two teams in the Rabo going head to head at two and one in the league - cannot wait to see who will be !

George Carlin wrote:Annoying that the gap is 3 points between us and not 2.

That and 2 dropped passes in the 2 Edinburgh games is the difference between us chasing and us being level on points right now.

You both have to visit the RDS in March.

We will be taking a kill them all and let god sort them out aproach.

Actually that will probably favour Ulster.

Leinster have both Ulster and Glasgow in Dublin still to come. Those two matches are really going to determine the position of the final 4. I think Ulster and Glasgow will win all of their remaining games with the exception of the games against Leinster in Dublin, Ulster in particular have some good games to come including Newport Gwent Dragons and Treviso at Ravenhill as well as Connacht in Galway who we haven't lost to in a long long time. Still a chance that one of Ulster and Glasgow won't be in the top 2 as Leinster could still take a home semi final.

Actually, Glasgow still have Ospreys and Munster both to play so could slip up in those as well.

Just watched the match and full credit to the Ulstermen for keeping at it till the very end. Unlike the Dragons you made us fight for every blade of grass.
What a squad Glasgow have! I thought Swinson was magnificent, the front row didn't let us down and the willingness to keep the ball alive in the backs was admirable.
a home play off is really achievable now. Go for it boys.

Great game, great intensity, i thought Glasgow were losing it then came that brilliant 4th try...
Also think Nigel didn't have a great game with some strange penalties given and for me Ulster try should have been awarded.

Artful_Dodger wrote:Actually, Glasgow still have Ospreys and Munster both to play so could slip up in those as well.

They will have to go to the Scarlets too which is anything but a given, i would be confident of a home playoff but for the tough run in.

Jimbo - this game really was a Rabo classic. 2 teams going hammer and tongs at it etc etc. The whole pack were excellent - special mentions to Swinson, Wilson and Strauss all superb. Great to see Ed 'Rocket Scientist' Kalman back on form.
What more can you say about Nico the Nutter ? Wee Sean Kennedy - what an offload for Mata's try. We need to keep him - he wants to stay too. Badly need a kicker obviously - if we had kicked even 80% of our pens this season we would be well ahead. Horne did look very useful with ball in hand mind. Ground atmosphere amazing - tremendous support for Ulster who kept it up even after the final whistle.

BTW any news on DTH's injury anyone - UiG ?

Schitz, DTH himself tweeted that he had been given the all-clear - medical staff were 'just taking precautions'.

DTH is fine. Just precautions so ended up at the Western for a couple of hours.

Ofa and Pat were blowing out their arses at the end. According to Pat they've been pushed really hard at Scotland training this week, and well Ofa not much of an 80 minute guy...

Don Alfonso wrote:Well done the Weegies. Good for the win.

Marshall changed the tempo of the game considerably. Pienaar played the RWC, all last season, the Rugby Championship and came straight back in for us.he's running on fumes - he's banjaxed.

Liked the way Ulster lifted their heads after the third try, and could have won it. The Weegies completely fell off - a very Ulster thing to do! - after the third try.

Think Pienaar should be given a few games off now. He needs a break. He simply can't perform to the level he should with that much rugby. He's making uncharacteristic mistakes and looks frustrated. Paul Marshall, on the other hand, is fresh. Olding looks classy at 12. Keep him there. Wallace was rusty again at 10. Frustrating to see him in that position.

For Treviso;

9. Marshall
10. ?
12. Olding
13. Cave

We'll have to give Wallace or Pienaar gametime at 10. Thats been our problem. With players missing we've had to ask guys to play through injuries and fatigue which makes that worse. Vicious cycle. Having had to ask Jackson, Payne etc. to play through injuries has exacerbated the problem.

I can't wait for the Six Nations to be over from an Ulster PoV. We now have the game against Treviso and then (thank God!) no more rugby until the 22nd March. Dig deep for a win against Treviso that will keep us top and then we get a break to regather our resources for a final push on two fronts.

Our early season form was credited to training at match intensity. Now we look jaded and have over a dozen long term injuries. Makes me wonder if we didn't almost go for too much intensity earlier in the season. Loads of guys carrying niggling injuries and then being asked to play through the pain barrier.

Pienaar should have been given a couple of weeks when Payne and Afoa were also off.

Artful_Dodger wrote:Pienaar should have been given a couple of weeks when Payne and Afoa were also off.

I thought that was going to be the plan, but then we had so many injuries he had to stay.

And Payne wasn't given time off. In the end, he was injured so stayed. He was injured then asked to play through that now he's in Team Rehab- the best team Ulster can put out at this stage of the season!

UlstermaninGlasgow wrote:DTH is fine. Just precautions so ended up at the Western for a couple of hours.

Ofa and Pat were blowing out their arses at the end. According to Pat they've been pushed really hard at Scotland training this week, and well Ofa not much of an 80 minute guy...

Thanks mate. Gave you a few shouts from the North Stand last night but you either could not hear me or chose not to amid the din. Was that some good matured banter from the Ulster fans there too ? Great to see The Jedi in the club afterwards with Big Shade.

I think we should start Olding at 10 next week Wallace didn't look up to the pce of ten so move Olding back in there for me. He was classy at centre but thats no good if the guys inside him play worse like Wallace because he is out of positiona dn Ruan needs to go off on a holiday for a bit he looks jaded.

Notch wrote:

Don Alfonso wrote:Well done the Weegies. Good for the win.

Marshall changed the tempo of the game considerably. Pienaar played the RWC, all last season, the Rugby Championship and came straight back in for us.he's running on fumes - he's banjaxed.

Liked the way Ulster lifted their heads after the third try, and could have won it. The Weegies completely fell off - a very Ulster thing to do! - after the third try.

Think Pienaar should be given a few games off now. He needs a break. He simply can't perform to the level he should with that much rugby. He's making uncharacteristic mistakes and looks frustrated. Paul Marshall, on the other hand, is fresh. Olding looks classy at 12. Keep him there. Wallace was rusty again at 10. Frustrating to see him in that position.

For Treviso;

9. Marshall
10. ?
12. Olding
13. Cave

We'll have to give Wallace or Pienaar gametime at 10. Thats been our problem. With players missing we've had to ask guys to play through injuries and fatigue which makes that worse. Vicious cycle. Having had to ask Jackson, Payne etc. to play through injuries has exacerbated the problem.

I can't wait for the Six Nations to be over from an Ulster PoV. We now have the game against Treviso and then (thank God!) no more rugby until the 22nd March. Dig deep for a win against Treviso that will keep us top and then we get a break to regather our resources for a final push on two fronts.

Anyone know how McKinney is getting on at Rotheram?

Yep, congrats glasgow. Good value for their win. I wasnt feeling as charitable last night and Nigel was being called all kinds of names which was why i didnt come on and post. Cold light of day changes things.

Kalman was a star for Glasgow i thought and held Black comfortably which i was disappointed with. The other boy was lucky not to be binned.

-Pienaar looks a shadow of the player he should be. he is taking too much on. We have good replacements so lets use them.
-Does Paddy Wallace have a contract next season. He hasnt looked the same since Marshall got that wee run of game at christmas and he almost looks like he isnt expecting to play much longer.
-backrow is a seriously weak area for us at present. looks a mistake to let Faloon go for Birch at this stage. McComish doesnt inspire confidence. joyce is very young and Diack, for all his skills, doesnt have the raw aggression required.
-Olding was a positive as was Cave. Walsh and Allen look like solid pros. Herring is clear 2nd choice for me.

Still feeling positive given that Leinster is the only top 6 match remaining to us whereas others have tougher run ins. Matawalu reminds me of Nagusa. Maybe i wouldnt want him starting away to Toulon in an HEC SF but you have to love watching him play, especially if he is in your team.

I actually thought Birch played pretty well, as for Falloon I think he was more let go for the fact he had stagnated as he wasn't getting gametime etc and he has done alright at Connacht but not that great that it makes me wonder why he was let go. I think the problem was not the individual backrow but really the lack of power across it without our 4 or 5 big runners.

Birch was completely anonymous. Faloon has had his injuries but ask Connacht fans and they are delighted with him.

I was all for giving Birch game time but that's two games now (Ospreys and Glasgow) and he has made 1 break between both and nothing else of note that I can see. Really disappointed with him.

We were savaged at the breakdown last night

There shouldn't be any problem resting Pienaar. Ulster have a nice run in and you shouldn't need him. I mentioned this on the threads yesterday that a LBP would be a good result for Ulster given injuries and so it proved.

Ulster are sitting well for a home semi - they have the lower order to play now - Glasgow have Leinster and Munster waiting. What killed Glasgow last season was the lack of bonus points - we've got better at that this season.

Very entertaining match. I like the Glasgow number 9.

Stand Very few forwards did make a break he was working hard at breakdown and was the guy who stoped Glasgow scoring on the half time whistle last night mate, he did well at time to get some hard thought yards, tackled well and was in at rucks at times on his own see the Andrew Trimble moment when he was trying to take on 3 at a ruck on his own with the rest of the backrow nowhere to be seen. Diack certainly was a guy who you should be more dissapointed with last night in the back row and others elsewhere.

You can talk about the team all you want, and talk about how many players we were missing until the cows come home.

Simple fact is, the 'nobodies' in our team did a heck of a lot better than most would have expected, and that game was completely THROWN AWAY by the idiotic errors of two people...

Mr paddy wallace and Mr Ruan pienaar.

No arguement there Clive

I'll argue from 4 to 8 we were no where near good enough.

If Glasgow had anything other than clown for a kicker they would have been out of sight.

For the first time I have to say Anscombe made some really bad choices
Olding and Wallace should have been the other way round - Surely to God we know Wallace is not a 10 by now

Trimble isn't a 13 either. Cave should have started. I don't care that he was not at training - it is not as if Trimble outside and Wallace inside him are strangers

Pienaer will get a rest after Treviso - he wil have 3 weeks off after that.
With out lack of players he has to play

Backs for Treviso - Pienaer, Olding, Cochrane,Wallace, Cave, Trimble, Andrew

Subs: Marshall (covers wing), Heaney (covers 15), Allen

Most importantly pray Henderson is release, he should be, otherwise we could struggle even against Treviso reserves.

This whole period has been very instructive in showing who has the ability to step up and who hasn't

McComb, McCormish and Birch have been found wanting

geoff998rugby wrote:For the first time I have to say Anscombe made some really bad choices

Do you really think it was Anscombe who decided to play Trimble at 13 and Walsh on the wing when he had Cave on the bench? It was exactly the same directive as last week with Luke.

Trimble had a decent game at 13, but looked more comfortable at wing when he was forced to switch. Cave on the other hand didn't look great when he came on. Olding also looked far more effective at 12 than 10, and Wallace ran the game fine up until his knock. Anscombe should have subbed Wallace when he got hit or at least at half time, and that is the only criticism I'd level against him.

In the pack Tuohy wasn't any better then McComb, and Brady was awful. The problem with Birch and McComish is that they lack out and out class. That can be accommodated bringing one in to an already strong back row, but is exposed when they have to play with an inexperienced Joyce and the inconsistent Diack.

AFAIK Heaney never played full back in the 1st XV at school - McIlroy was a year younger and often played there when MH was at 9. Has Heaney played 15 for the Ravens?

Geoff, you have pretty much done the opposite of what i have just stated.

Sorry, but this time, none of what you said is really pivotal.

In a game where we lost by 20-14, 10 points were coughed up by Paddy Wallace taking an eternity to kick a ball, and Piennaar pretending the ball wasn't out of the back of the scrum when it clearly was.

You can't talk about our failings in terms of positions and attacking ability when ten points were offered up so idiotically.

We were never meant to win that game to be fair, but how annoying is it to find out it would be as a result of our experienced players and not because of players like Neil Walsh (who made a vital two tackles in a row at one point), or Joyce, or Allen or Olding or Andrew.

We almost one a game we had no right to but for the silliness of two people who have nearly 100 caps between them.

McCrea has been released from Connacht.

First time I think I've ever seen Pienaar outplayed by his opposite number. Matawalu was superb in attack.

Well done Glasgow - should make the play-offs now.

Aye, Pienaar was total mince, ken.

Seen that Rodders he's off to Jersey pity it didn't work out for him in Galway, best of luck to him in Jersey

Don Alfonso wrote:Aye, Pienaar was total mince, ken.

Don, pretty sure that's not what fES was saying - merely highlighting that on the day another good (and extremely unpredictable) international scrum half had the better of Pienaar (who is undoubtedly top notch on his day) - as other Ulster fans have suggested, with reasons, it could simply be the lack of break

By his own standards, he WAS mince though. He did still do some great stuff but there was some very poor stuff mixed in there too.

Matawalu nicking that ball from him after we'd done all the hard work in the scrum was the microcosm of their little duel. He was just sharper and hungrier looking.

Notch wrote:By his own standards, he WAS mince though. He did still do some great stuff but there was some very poor stuff mixed in there too.

Matawalu nicking that ball from him after we'd done all the hard work in the scrum was the microcosm of their little duel. He was just sharper and hungrier looking.

The thing is, None of the backrow had control of the ball and it was clearly out. Pienaar for whatever reason seemed to think it wasn't fair game. Matawalu couldnt believe his luck. He was like 'well here, if you don't want it, I'll happily take it'.

There was another instance where Pienaar was at the breakdown and we didn't have any forwards securing the ball. He just stood there! FFS! a Glasgow player stepped over said 'is it alright if I have this mate?', Pienaar basically said 'I guess so because my job is to pass, its the job of others to stop you...'

I was extremely annoyed with him on Friday night. Can these things be attributed to tiredness? Really?

Well whatever it is, it needs sorted soon. That was a joke.

The poor guy looks shattered tbh

AsLongAsBut100ofUs wrote:

Don Alfonso wrote:Aye, Pienaar was total mince, ken.

Don, pretty sure that's not what fES was saying - merely highlighting that on the day another good (and extremely unpredictable) international scrum half had the better of Pienaar (who is undoubtedly top notch on his day) - as other Ulster fans have suggested, with reasons, it could simply be the lack of break

I wasn't being precious. Alright, he wasn't mince - I just wanted to use another Glasgowism I haven't used in a long time. But he was poor. The Weegie scrumhalf was excellent - lively, assured - exactly what Pienaar has been for us in the past. The contrast was marked. Against Zebre at home, I saw Pienaar crabbing, which I don't think I have before. Part of that is having an entirely third-choice backrow. But I think part of it is Ruan needing a rest.

I wasn't being sulky. Just a bit hyperbolic!

Poor Paddy.

http://www.ulsterrugby.com/news/11226.php

Played on for quite a bit after he hurt his knee.

I really hope that wasn't his last game. Earlier in the season he was playing some of the best rugby of his career but he will be 34 this summer.

Jesus. I mean, seriously. Are we going to have anyone left?

Our injury list is a nightmare. A living, breathing nightmare.

Any of you Ulster boys & girls know when Rory Best's (Presumably central) contract is up?

I have a handle on the rest, Just can't find info on his. Does it end this May?

MrsP wrote:Poor Paddy.

http://www.ulsterrugby.com/news/11226.php

Played on for quite a bit after he hurt his knee.

I really hope that wasn't his last game. Earlier in the season he was playing some of the best rugby of his career but he will be 34 this summer.

CRISIS for sure