Connacht v Ulster

First topic message reminder :

(15-9): J Payne, A Trimble, D Cave, S Olding, T Bowe, P Jackson, R Pienaar; (1-8): T Court, R Best (c), R Lutton, L Stevenson, D Tuohy, R Diack, C Henry, N Williams;
Replacements (16-23): R Herring, C Black, J Afoa, J Muller, I Henderson, P Marshall, M Allen, P Nelson.
 

http://www.ulsterrugby.com/news/11389.php
Connacht XV

Robbie Henshaw, Poolman, Eoin Griffin, Brian Murphy, Gavin Duffy (captain), Dan Parks, Kieran Marmion, Brett Wilkinson, Adrian Flavin, Ronan Loughney , Michael Swift, Mike McCarthy, Mick Kearney, John Muldoon,George Naoupu

Replacements:   Ethienne Reynecke, Rodney Ah You, JP Cooney, Andrew Browne, Mata Fifita, Paul O’Donohoe, Miah Nikora, Fetu’u Vainikolo

Apologies to Dodger as i know he posted this in the Dragons thread but thought a new topic would do it justice. Strong squad with only Luke Marshall still missing really.

wolfball wrote:ah well, great game lads and ladies, back to belief for the next game. Would love to see Ulster win the Rabo, Leinster the Amlin and Munster pull a miracle against Clermont!

Also, on Henderson again, Ireland clearly has players capable of playing a off-loading forwards and backs type game. Lets hope the next coach gives them a chance to do for Ireland what they do for their province.

Top man Wolfie. Top man.

Believe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G1EjNqq4x0

What?! There's a punch up and the commentator calls it "..a bt of how's your father?!" Remind me not to try and pull an Ulsterman

There was no need for that at the end he lucky one of them Ulster forwards didn't floor him for that on Diack

Fantastic game, Great win.

Well played Connacht.

SUFTUM!

Great game Connacht. Bloody madmen tonight. Relieved to get out of there in one piece! Five points will do it for us.

And a round of applause for Eric Elwood and Adrian Flavin- Connacht legends, best of luck to them in the future

Looks quite a small lad Notch, but appears stronger than he should be.

Cari wrote:What?! There's a punch up and the commentator calls it "..a bt of how's your father?!" Remind me not to try and pull an Ulsterman

Haha thats how it is done over here Cari Tommy Bowe will tell you that lol clearly some of those guys thought it was the WWE at the end some of them must have been in the Odyssey last night, great win for Ulster great game produced by Connacht too and our young guys are looking great too big futures ahead

Ozzy3213 wrote:Looks quite a small lad Notch, but appears stronger than he should be.

Because like Gilroy, hes so light on his feet he sort of glides into contact and readjusts his body position quickly to take it on his terms. Steps off both feet and his hips and shoulders always fluid. Just like Gilroy. Slippery like feicer!

Good win, Ulster

wolfball wrote:ah well, great game lads and ladies, back to belief for the next game. Would love to see Ulster win the Rabo, Leinster the Amlin and Munster pull a miracle against Clermont!

Also, on Henderson again, Ireland clearly has players capable of playing a off-loading forwards and backs type game. Lets hope the next coach gives them a chance to do for Ireland what they do for their province.

Yep. The orchestra is there. All it needs is a proper score and a good conductor.

On what the Provinces win...I'd especially like to see Munster do the 'impossible' - no better team to try it.

Well played Connacht. Was shredding my nails for a while there.

Really entertaining game.

Here's the table:

Ulster 76
Glasgow 72
Leinster 68
Ospreys 62

Leinster to get the BP tomorrow, Scarlets to win with no BP;

Om Monday it'll be

Ulster 76
Leinster 73
Glasgow 72
Scarlets 68

Connacht are looking very promising next season with Pat Lam coming in. Their defence is fantastic and that backline can score try's. I thought Griffin at 13 was particularly good, especially in defence. Positionally he was good and put in some massive hits - two on Stevenson the second resulting in Stevenson leaving the field.

For Ulster, Olding looks like an international in the making for me. Payne is such a class act so many great things about him tonight. Pienaar was a mixed bag, his one two and offload for Trimble's try was majestic but he had some poor passes and got caught out for Connacht's first try when he was turned over trying to run it in our 22. Unfortunate with two long rangers that just missed as well.

Ozzy3213 wrote:Looks quite a small lad Notch, but appears stronger than he should be.

Bit like you really bud. You pushed 100's of people out of yer way to get pints in a Twickinghampshire Pub. A massive queue disappeared in front of my very eyes. It was Biblical man.

So glad I was on yer orse at the time. Was gaggin for a

Now that was a rugby moment.

Well done Ulster.

See ye at Home.

Ozzy3213 wrote:Looks quite a small lad Notch, but appears stronger than he should be.

Aw sure we're all like that over here...sure yer man Hendo is only 5'6...

rodders wrote:

Ozzy3213 wrote:Looks quite a small lad Notch, but appears stronger than he should be.

Aw sure we're all like that over here...sure yer man Hendo is only 5'6...

and a bit depends on how recently you have visited specsavers I suppose

Iain Henderson- the unholy lovechild of a giraffe and a bulldozer, all topped off with the face of a baby. What a player in the making.

Notch wrote:Iain Henderson- the unholy lovechild of a giraffe and a bulldozer, all topped off with the face of a baby.

Are you Mark Robson in disguise?

Gibson wrote:

Ozzy3213 wrote:Looks quite a small lad Notch, but appears stronger than he should be.

Bit like you really bud. You pushed 100's of people out of yer way to get pints in a Twickinghampshire Pub. A massive queue disappeared in front of my very eyes. It was Biblical man.

So glad I was on yer orse at the time. Was gaggin for a

Now that was a rugby moment.

Well done Ulster.

See ye at Home.

I should have mentioned Henderson above, his rampage through the Connacht defence and then offload to Bowe was sublime.

Artful_Dodger wrote:

Notch wrote:Iain Henderson- the unholy lovechild of a giraffe and a bulldozer, all topped off with the face of a baby.

Are you Mark Robson oin disguise?

Don't ever diss de Robmeister in my virtual presence. Ever.

Love im.

"BOD! He bristles with BODliness".

No one else could ever have said that.

Robbo is special. In a nice way.

I love Robson as well Gibbo, I think his lines are sheer class. A favourite being when he talked about the "scaredy custard part of their brain" in reference to rugby players.

Got it so wrong. Sorry Robbo.

O'Driscoll buzzes with GODliness. Even worser. Man.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW7HgpvlLFs

Tommy Bowe... A 2nd div Shaggy if I'm totally honest.

Cute tho...

I think Parks and Nikora cost Connacht that game. They both had poor days in terms of controlling the game. A good display from a 10 who could use that Galway wind could have made that very sticky for us. Almost was anyway.

The moment when Connacht lost the game was Nikoras bizarre attempted clearance that was gathered by Pienaar who unleashed the baby giraffe... had he drilled it into the corner instead, and Connacht put on the pressure, who knows?

Notch wrote:I think Parks and Nikora cost Connacht that game. They both had poor days in terms of controlling the game. A good display from a 10 who could use that Galway wind could have made that very sticky for us. Almost was anyway.

The moment when Connacht lost the game was Nikoras bizarre attempted clearance that was gathered by Pienaar who unleashed the baby giraffe... had he drilled it into the corner instead, and Connacht put on the pressure, who knows?

Parks had two restarts go out on the full as well and a missed penalty to touch, bit of a shocker from him as well as Nikora's howler into the hands of Pienaar.

Gibson wrote:

Tommy Bowe... A 2nd div Shaggy if I'm totally honest.

Cute tho...

We've had this discussion before...

Notch wrote:I think Parks and Nikora cost Connacht that game. They both had poor days in terms of controlling the game. A good display from a 10 who could use that Galway wind could have made that very sticky for us. Almost was anyway.

The moment when Connacht lost the game was Nikoras bizarre attempted clearance that was gathered by Pienaar who unleashed the baby giraffe... had he drilled it into the corner instead, and Connacht put on the pressure, who knows?

Good synopsis. Yes, they did. They both made bad decisions at key times. But hey, that happens.

It was a great game to watch.

Had Connacht got 3 or 4 of their missing pleyers, that game could have been so different.

Ulsters bench was the differ in the end. It took 70 mins for them to achieve it mind.

Notch wrote:Iain Henderson- the unholy lovechild of a giraffe and a bulldozer, all topped off with the face of a baby. What a player in the making.

I remember we talked a while back about the potential Luke Marshall had in terms of international rugby. I reckon Henderson could surpass him. Completely differing positions and timing to take into account but all the same, Hendo has utterly exploded onto the scene this season. Are you watching Mr Gatland?

For me connacht got a tad lucky. They got a ref that abdicated all authority at scrum time where ulster absolutely hammered Connacht. Tackling appeared optional for both team throughout but great to get 5 points which I didn't expect.

For me

Diack
Henderson
Payne
Olding
Cave (1st half)
Marmion (did well enough)
Griffin (2nd half)
Vainikolo

emerged in credit.

Slightly harsh on Trimble And Bowe not to be included because they aremboth finishers.

Tuohy was a big loser tonight IMO and I have no doubt any 1st string ulster team shouldn't feature him. Stevenson was ok. Can't recall who missed tackles for Connacht so will hold fire

Standulstermen wrote:For me connacht got a tad lucky. They got a ref that abdicated all authority at scrum time where ulster absolutely hammered Connacht. Tackling appeared optional for both team throughout but great to get 5 points which I didn't expect.

Agree with that.

Diack - had another good game and is rightfully starting at 6
Henderson - is the new Ferris. He will be the talisman that the crowd look to when Ulster need something.
Payne - sooo needs the groin operation, his pace is down and seeing him wince every time he kicks the ball can't be making it easier
Olding - people compare him to Wallace at that age - I'd put a 13 on his back and compare him to someone else.
Cave (1st half) - agree he faded in the second. He has a good knack of filling in where gaps appear in both attack and defence, took his try well but also butchered one by not feeding Trimble on an overlap
Marmion (did well enough) - don't think he merited a special mention
Griffin (2nd half) - see Marmion
Vainikolo - Connacht's best player by a distance (BTW it was his shoulder that laid out Stevenson)

Trimble - did a lot more than just finish - safe high balls, distribution, defence - he shot out of the line for the Naoupu try, but Connacht had the overlap anyway so it was a calculated risk.
Bowe - agree isn't fully up to speed
Tuohy - disagree that he had a poor game, he was far more prominent that Stevenson. Lewis gets pushed back almost every time in contact - must be his high centre of gravity?


Nikora made a bad mistake to concede a try, but then so did Pienaar, so that wasn't the reason Connacht lost the game. Aside from Ulster being better(?), Connacht didn't help themselves by having their kicking FH playing into the wind and their running FH playing with it. I'm not sure whether the toss happens before or after the selection or whether Connacht won or lost it, but facing Parks with the wind at his back would have been a different proposition.

For anybody who missed it last night or just wants to see it again like me...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuJnOi7_bWU

That links not the match by the way, just Pienaar's lovely little reverse offload to put Trimble in, well worth a look.

Aukster

I thought both our 2nd rows were massively poor. I can't recall Tuohy making yards at all and he butchered a try also in the first half by not drawing the man and passing. He got knocked back in that contact too. Massively disappointed

Standulstermen wrote:Aukster

I thought both our 2nd rows were massively poor. I can't recall Tuohy making yards at all and he butchered a try also in the first half by not drawing the man and passing. He got knocked back in that contact too. Massively disappointed

I agree they were both disappointing. Don't think we want both Tuohy and Stevenson on the pitch when it can be avoided. To be honest I think our best pack at the minute would be Muller and Henderson in the second row with Diack at 6. Tuohy ahead of Stevenson at the minute for the bench.

Spoiler:

The Great Aukster wrote:Olding - people compare him to Wallace at that age - I'd put a 13 on his back and compare him to someone else.

Agree on Touhy, thought he had a good game, much better than Stevenson. Connacht are tough team to look good against, like Saracens, because of the ferocity of their tackling (being offside helps too ) and it was a hard night for the ball carriers in the pack but Touhy was solid enough and put in some big hits. Did well in the lineout too.

Forshaw has done an incredible job with Connacht's defence and wouldn't be a bad addition to the Irish coaching panel.

Doesn't say much for Bowe actually. In all his time he's still never managed to score a try against the lowest side in Pro12 - Zebre.

A blot on his career, I think

Congrats to Tommy, great achievement and he's still got plenty left in the tank.

Artful_Dodger wrote:That links not the match by the way, just Pienaar's lovely little reverse offload to put Trimble in, well worth a look.

Nearly as good as this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW7HgpvlLFs

Serious pressure on Leinster now Pete. BP win becomes essential now to get a home semi

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:

Artful_Dodger wrote:That links not the match by the way, just Pienaar's lovely little reverse offload to put Trimble in, well worth a look.

Nearly as good as this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW7HgpvlLFs

Pete that was the first thing that popped in to my mind....dare I say it Trimble's was even better....

Magical stuff.

SecretFly wrote:Doesn't say much for Bowe actually. In all his time he's still never managed to score a try against the lowest side in Pro12 - Zebre.

A blot on his career, I think

When he plays against them, he probably will

Having rewatched bits of the match I think everyone was a bit harsh on Pienaar. The Connacht 9 is right on him and he had no chance to kick. Our forwards didn't seem to notice the danger and were very slow to react which lead to the turn over.
Marmion deserves full credit for that try. He was a real handful all night.

What do we make of this folks?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/22188050

Artful_Dodger wrote:What do we make of this folks?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/22188050

I'd make it that regardless of what Logan says, if Afoa wants to return to NZ then there's no point forcing him to stay....

MrsP wrote:Having rewatched bits of the match I think everyone was a bit harsh on Pienaar. The Connacht 9 is right on him and he had no chance to kick. Our forwards didn't seem to notice the danger and were very slow to react which lead to the turn over.
Marmion deserves full credit for that try. He was a real handful all night.

If you run backwards Mrs P then you isolate yourself from your support players. Pienaar ran himself into trouble so it was entirely his fault he got turned over.

Agree with Rodders and with Mrs P on the forwards too but Marmion I thought was really excellant.

SecretFly wrote:Doesn't say much for Bowe actually. In all his time he's still never managed to score a try against the lowest side in Pro12 - Zebre.

A blot on his career, I think

Zebre haven't been around long enough yet Fly...give it time...

neilthom7 wrote:Agree with Rodders and with Mrs P on the forwards too but Marmion I thought was really excellant.

Neil ye auld fence sitting bollox ye!