Leicester v Ulster

First topic message reminder :

Leicester Tigers (v Ulster, Welford Road, Saturday 6pm)
15 Mathew Tait
14 Niall Morris
13 Matt Smith
12 Anthony Allen
11 Vereniki Goneva
10 Toby Flood (c)
9 Ben Youngs
1 Marcos Ayerza
2 Tom Youngs
3 Dan Cole
4 Ed Slater
5 Graham Kitchener
6 Jamie Gibson
7 Julian Salvi
8 Jordan Crane

Replacements
16 Rob Hawkins
17 Boris Stankovich
18 Fraser Balmain
19 Louis Deacon
20 Steve Mafi
21 David Mélé
22 Owen Williams
23 Scott Hamilton


Ulster

Callum Black
Rory Best
John Afoa
Johann Muller
Dan Tuohy
Roger Wilson
Chris Henry
Nick Williams
Ruan Pienaar
Paddy Jackson
Craig Gilroy
Luke Marshall
Darren Cave
Andrew Trimble
Jared Payne

Rob Herring, Tom Court, Ricky Lutton, Iain Henderson, Robbie Diack, Paul Marshall, David McIlwaine, Michael Allen

Get discussing folks!

beshocked wrote:To be fair to cface he is right. Ulster away is the least toughest away game. It will still be very tough of course but it's less daunting than a trip to Toulon, Clermont or back to Toulouse. Plus we beat Ulster last season in the quarter finals so there's no mental baggage.

Ulster will still start as deserved favourites but there's more belief of an away win now. Plus Mark McCall has that extra motivation.

Good stuff, Ulster need some quotes for the dressing room wall.

The Great Aukster wrote:

beshocked wrote:To be fair to cface he is right. Ulster away is the least toughest away game. It will still be very tough of course but it's less daunting than a trip to Toulon, Clermont or back to Toulouse. Plus we beat Ulster last season in the quarter finals so there's no mental baggage.

Ulster will still start as deserved favourites but there's more belief of an away win now. Plus Mark McCall has that extra motivation.

Good stuff, Ulster need some quotes for the dressing room wall.

Do rugby sides use quotes off 606v2 to get motivated? Right, I'm going to start saying some really outrageous things about Munster to get POC in 'manic aggression' mode

Congratulations Ulster   

Hope you get your revenge against Saracens, good news is you could well have Ferris back which is a weapon of mass destruction.

I wanted- and still do want- Saracens, from the start. From the last blow of the referees whistle in Twickenham last April, actually. If they wanted us too then everyone is happy

On a side note this Image

Image:

And this music;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gmiSPMHrWQ

Go perfectly together.

I dont think toulon are the weakest but they arent great. As a Leinster fan I hope we get them.

Mighty stuff Ulster. Probably will be a Clermont Ulster final if thats possible.

Well played both teams and in particular to Ulster for the win - what a match! Not much in it at all at the end. I watched the second half recorded late last night in a less than lucid state and so will have to watch it again in order to understand some of the previous comments on this thread. Ulster Sarries is going to be another huge match even without the additional motivational spice added by this forum   As an Englishman I'll be hoping for a win by the silly hats but it's very hard not to warm to Ulster and their fans.

Toulouse wont be home Munster will.
With the prospect of a home tie they will get the 4 tries.

With the new stand opening up Ravenhill will be an absolute cauldron of sounds.
It will be a crowd like Saracens have never experienced and I mean NEVER.

Hearing lots of words from the Ulster set up saying they have nothing but praise for the Leicester fans
- it was great playing another team with true roots not a manufactured one

One big factor for me was Ayerza and Cole were visibly tiring and Leicester didn't use their replacement props.

The Ulster forward replacements - Diack, Henderson and Court were decisive in pushing us over the line

Great performance by Ulster. The only unbeaten team. That says a lot

geoff999rugby wrote:Hearing lots of words from the Ulster set up saying they have nothing but praise for the Leicester fans
- it was great playing another team with true roots not a manufactured one

Interesting. Which sides would you say have 'manufactured' roots?

Great game by the way. Well done Ulster. True grit in that performance.

notch wrote: Gave away some daft penalties, but made nine more tackles than the next man. 23 tackles in total and a couple of turnovers to boot!

Given the amount of Tigers possession and Ulster's overriding tactic being the up and under I'd expect Ulster players to be leading the tackle and turnover count. Very disappointed we didn't look for the Morris crossfield kick in the second half. The Ulster defence coach should be looking at a bonus after last night, great tactical display in that department.

Ulster really only threatened our line once, other than Pienaar's charge down they didn't look likely to score.

Geoff that is a problem we have with Mulipola injured and the French prop we signed in the summer rubbish. Balmain is very raw and whilst a beast around the pitch a little naive in the scrum (he's only 21), Stankovitch the other prop is the opposite and at 33 isn't going to change. Subbing Cole and Ayerza would have seen a substantial drop in quality.

formerly known as Sam wrote:" I thought Salvi was on the pitch. He probably lost the individual duel with Henry- he wasn't the influence I feared."

Salvi was quiet but slowed ball down. Henry was more prominent but gave away some daft unnecessary penalties.

" Tom Court has done Dan Cole in the scrum on numerous occasions."

The first game had Court giving away multiple penalties and then standing up at every scrum in the second half. He got away with collapsing and then standing up before Owens penalised Tigers for erm... being driven backwards? Owens only howler of the night for me.

Don't have the stats but I'd wager Cole got penalised at the scrum more than Court.

Artful_Dodger wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:" I thought Salvi was on the pitch. He probably lost the individual duel with Henry- he wasn't the influence I feared."

Salvi was quiet but slowed ball down. Henry was more prominent but gave away some daft unnecessary penalties.

" Tom Court has done Dan Cole in the scrum on numerous occasions."

The first game had Court giving away multiple penalties and then standing up at every scrum in the second half. He got away with collapsing and then standing up before Owens penalised Tigers for erm... being driven backwards? Owens only howler of the night for me.

Don't have the stats but I'd wager Cole got penalised at the scrum more than Court.

Interesting that you would mention stats.  Stats Dodger, as you know, are interesting little things.  They smote the one eyed fans who even through gritted teeth and arrogance cannot praise Ulster for a momentous win last night.  Ten points up at Welford Road and they were turned over.  And Ulster's backline and defence absolutely dominated Leicester's attacking instincts.  Just let them have the ball, they were absolutely no threat.  This is not the Leicester of old- they would never have lost that match last night.  

As for the stats, Henry gave away one penalty last night.  So as for 'daft' and 'unnecessary' I would suggest that refers to the posters comment rather than the reality of the match.

As for Court in the scrums in the first match Court gave away two penalties.  Cole gave away two penalties.  So an interesting interpretation of the word 'multiple'.  I suppose in the strictest sense of the word Court gave away multiple penalties.  

As for howlers, how the one eyed forget the dreadful lineout call from the TMO which should have gone Ulster's way.  But indeed, Owens perhaps should have given a penalty against Ulster for the second scrum.  Of course Ulster turned it around and demolished Leicester in the third so given the TMO's call justice perhaps was done.

Ah now Hooky, play nice with the other children!

Whilst that TMO call was 50/50 (totally inconclusive from TV pictures) and Leicester got a bit of the rub of the green there, that was a call that could have easily gone either way. That kind of thing happens. I thought that Tigers saying we didn't threaten their line was a bit rich when we had two driving mauls with momentum towards their line that we're taken down with professional fouls. I think if we had a third at that point we would have gotten the yellow- or the try.

BUT- and this is the important part- the Leicester fans have been gracious and respectful, and been fair to us even though it's obviously a very tough one to take being so close. In truth I think both sides have come out of that with a large degree of mutual respect for each other. Thats how I feel.

To be fair to the TMO that was a really difficult one - I wouldn't have liked to have to call that.  

If you want to see a real shocker by TMO & ref look at the yellow card for stamping on the face in the Sarries v Connacht match.  Definite red completely bottled as they tried to say it wasn't clear and obvious - don't know what they were looking at as it was perfectly clear to everyone else.

Notch, Leicester fans are some of the best. It's a great club with a great heritage. But I'm afraid I read some garbage here not worthy of the majority of their fans or rugby fans in general. Nor do the assertions stand up to scrutiny. Well worth demolishing such a cycloptic point of view.

Heaf wrote:To be fair to the TMO that was a really difficult one - I wouldn't have liked to have to call that.  

If you want to see a real shocker by TMO & ref look at the yellow card for stamping on the face in the Sarries v Conaught match.  Definite red completely bottled as they tried to say it wasn't clear and obvious - don't know what they were looking at as it was perfectly clear to everyone else.

That was an awful decision.

thomh wrote:

Heaf wrote:To be fair to the TMO that was a really difficult one - I wouldn't have liked to have to call that.  

If you want to see a real shocker by TMO & ref look at the yellow card for stamping on the face in the Sarries v Conaught match.  Definite red completely bottled as they tried to say it wasn't clear and obvious - don't know what they were looking at as it was perfectly clear to everyone else.

That was an awful decision.

Yes it was a nasty stamp and did seem clear. There was one angle where it was super obvious but I don't think that was shown to ref...

Hookisms and Hyperbole wrote:Notch, Leicester fans are some of the best. It's a great club with a great heritage. But I'm afraid I read some garbage here not worthy of the majority of their fans or rugby fans in general. Nor do the assertions stand up to scrutiny. Well worth demolishing such a cycloptic point of view.

To be fair, I've been giving guys the benefit of the doubt because if someone wins at Ravenhill I find it bloody hard to take it on the chin and not be a bit cycloptic myself.

You do, through gritted teeth- its character building. But it's never easy. Best policy is to force yourself to find an away fan and shake their hand- magnaminously!- on the way out. I'm sure there was a lot of that between the fans last night.

Heaf wrote:If you want to see a real shocker by TMO & ref look at the yellow card for stamping on the face in the Sarries v Conaught match.  Definite red completely bottled as they tried to say it wasn't clear and obvious - don't know what they were looking at as it was perfectly clear to everyone else.

That was poor, very poor.

Notch wrote:Ah now Hooky, play nice with the other children!

Whilst that TMO call was 50/50 (totally inconclusive from TV pictures) and Leicester got a bit of the rub of the green there, that was a call that could have easily gone either way. That kind of thing happens. I thought that Tigers saying we didn't threaten their line was a bit rich when we had two driving mauls with momentum towards their line that we're taken down with professional fouls. I think if we had a third at that point we would have gotten the yellow- or the try.

I think that should have been a penalty try and a yellow.

" Whilst that TMO call was 50/50 (totally inconclusive from TV pictures) and Leicester got a bit of the rub of the green there, that was a call that could have easily gone either way"

Agreed. That was a decision where the TMO had no chance of knowing whether any decision he made was right or wrong. Had Hamilton not argued for the decision so early and so vehemently I think the TMO would have gone for the lineout. Maybe he felt bad after the bizarre no high tackle decision on the Ben Youngs high tackle.

As for some of the comments made by others I have no issue with Ulster winning, they played very well in a close tight game that wasn't big on rugby flair but was still an enthralling physical contest. As was the reverse fixture at Ravenhill.

I couldn't see how that was a high tackle tbh. The line of the shoulders is the cut off point and thats where he was taken.

The initial contact was shoulder to shoulder which is all good but the arms wrapped around the neck and the held on as the player was dragged to the floor with the ball gone. Had the Ulster player released once he realised the arms were around the neck I'd have had sympathy but once they were wrapped the tackle continued. An arm round the throat is an arm round the throat. It certainly wasn't cynical or malicious though just a bit high on a smaller player.

formerly known as Sam wrote:The initial contact was shoulder to shoulder which is all good but the arms wrapped around the neck and the held on as the player was dragged to the floor with the ball gone. Had the Ulster player released once he realised the arms were around the neck I'd have had sympathy but once they were wrapped the tackle continued. An arm round the throat is an arm round the throat. It certainly wasn't cynical or malicious though just a bit high on a smaller player.

When you look at a slow motion replay hard enough you'll eventually find something to give. It wasn't a high tackle.

True the slow mo replays do make things look worse, particularly anything with significant impact. No real impact in this one just an arm around the throat due to difference in height following a fairly upright tackle.

Best, literally, moment of the match - what about Rorys' 60 yards clearance kick - brilliant   

Ah everybody knows Bestie has a cultured peg.

Remember that Bestie was sitting in the pocket for the drop goal in Cardiff 2009, but he decided to let ROG have a go at it because he's just a nice guy.

The Great Aukster wrote:

beshocked wrote:To be fair to cface he is right. Ulster away is the least toughest away game. It will still be very tough of course but it's less daunting than a trip to Toulon, Clermont or back to Toulouse. Plus we beat Ulster last season in the quarter finals so there's no mental baggage.

Ulster will still start as deserved favourites but there's more belief of an away win now. Plus Mark McCall has that extra motivation.

Good stuff, Ulster need some quotes for the dressing room wall.

I think its a fair enough comment Aukster - Sarries comfortably out muscled and out thought us last year, we couldn't deal with their aggressive defence at all. Anscombes tactics played right into their hands so we'll need to come up with something different here or an away win is on the cards.

I'd rather have one of the French teams at Ravenhill, if any team is equipped to come to Belfast and win its Saracens, That said I believe we have a great chance to win this competition now, but we can't look past the QF, its a very tough draw.

Didn't we pick Henderson and Williams in the same backrow last season   

Lesson learned hopefully

A bit late (and I'm sure it's already been mentioned) but one of my favourite moments of the weekend was Kitchener haring for the line, ball in one hand, eyes popping, knees pumping.

I knew he was pretty nippy but blimey.

I love watching forwards do stuff like that

Cyril wrote:A bit late (and I'm sure it's already been mentioned) but one of my favourite moments of the weekend was Kitchener haring for the line, ball in one hand, eyes popping, knees pumping.

I knew he was pretty nippy but blimey.

I love watching forwards do stuff like that

When Rory Best gets the call at 10 he's always wanted, Kitchener can come and play for us on the wing   

Notch wrote:

Cyril wrote:A bit late (and I'm sure it's already been mentioned) but one of my favourite moments of the weekend was Kitchener haring for the line, ball in one hand, eyes popping, knees pumping.

I knew he was pretty nippy but blimey.

I love watching forwards do stuff like that

When Rory Best gets the call at 10 he's always wanted, Kitchener can come and play for us on the wing   

Aye, Best has quite the boot on him. I bet Woody enjoyed that one!

He has form Cyril- he was in the pocket for the wining drop goal in Cardiff 2009 but, perhaps wisely, let ROG take it on

https://youtu.be/iovz1fla2L4

5.15 to 5.40