Ulster 2014/2015, Part 2

First topic message reminder :

Part 1; https://www.606v2.com/t53882p950-ulster-2014-2015

We've been rocked with the seismic revelation David Humphreys is leaving the province- indeed has already left- for Gloucester. Anscombe was slated to be seeing out the last year of his contract before being quietly let go but the Humphreys bombshell left him as the odd man out, and he's been pushed out the door. The decision was partly because he was hired to work under a Director of Rugby and Ulster are looking for someone with more experience in the market to take on Humphreys role in addition to the coaching responsibilities. As usual, the rumour mill is on overdrive and opinions are polarised- but this is Ulster Rugby after all. Les Kiss is our interim Director of Rugby and it seems Allen Clarke is filling the role of forwards coach in the short term. More changes or appointments could be forthcoming.

If all that wasn't enough we've been dealt a real group of death in the new Champions Cup- double-winners Toulon will brave the Ravenhill roar along with old friends Leicester Tigers and old foes the Scarlets. All in all, this team should be capable of securing a Top 4 finish at the very least in the Pro12 and we need to target the top two, our prospects in Europe look more occluded- it might come down to best runners-up and our pool promises to be tight and competitive.

Our pre-season concludes when we take on Exeter Chiefs at Ravenhill on Friday the 22nd August and then travel to Donnybrook to face Leinster on Friday the 29th August. It'll be a big relief to see the action at Ravenhill moving from the headlines to the pitch

Players Out
Johann Muller (retired), Paddy Wallace (retired), Stephen Ferris (retired), Chris Cochrane (retired), Chris Farrell (Grenoble), Niall Annett (Worcester), John Afoa (Gloucester), Tom Court (London Irish), James McKinney (Rotherham), David McIlwaine (Rotherham), Paddy McAllister (Aurillac), Sean Doyle (ACT Brumbies), Adam Macklin (Rotherham), Ian Porter (Connacht)

Players In
Franco van der Merwe (Golden Lions), Louis Ludik (Agen), Wiehahn Herbst (Natal Sharks), Ruaidhrí Murphy (ACT Brumbies), Dave Ryan (Zebre), Ian Humphreys (London Irish), Charlie Butterworth (Lansdowne), Sean Reidy (Counties Manukau)

Hookers
Rory Best, Rob Herring (Jonny Murphy, John Andrew*)
Props
Callum Black, Ruaidhrí Murphy, Andrew Warwick, Declan Fitzpatrick, Wiehahn Herbst, Dave Ryan, Ricky Lutton, Bronson Ross, Kyle McCall(?)
Locks
Iain Henderson, Dan Tuohy, Franco van der Merwe, Lewis Stevenson, Neil McComb
Backrow
Robbie Diack, Conor Joyce, Chris Henry, Mike McComish, Sean Reidy, Charlie Butterworth, Nick Williams, Roger Wilson (Clive Ross**)
Scrum-half
Ruan Pienaar, Paul Marshall, Michael Heaney
Outhalf
Paddy Jackson, Ian Humphreys
Centres
Luke Marshall, Stuart Olding, Darren Cave, Stuart McCloskey
Wings
Michael Allen, Andrew Trimble, Tommy Bowe, Craig Gilroy
Fullback
Louis Ludik, Ricky Andrew, Jared Payne, Peter Nelson

*Academy hookers training with first team squad
**Clive Ross, cousin of Mike, is on trial

Opening fixtures

F; Exeter Chiefs (H)
F; Leinster (A)

Pro12; Scarlets (A)
Pro12; Zebre (H)
Pro12; Cardiff Blues (A)
Pro12; Zebre (A)
Pro12; Edinburgh (H)

ECC; Leicester Tigers (A)
ECC; RC Toulon (H)

Welly wrote:Fingers crossed in the Leicester camp that:

 Ayerza, Mulipola, Manu and Bai will be fit for the game against you guys.

 Would be a decent team if that was the case.

 But who knows

 Tait out for 7 weeks.

Can't see that being enough considering the current state of Leicester, not one element of their game is functioning at the minute

Don't write them off marty.

Not for any good reason. It just makes me nervous.

Notch wrote:Don't write them off marty.

Not for any good reason. It just makes me nervous.

They are a dangerous animal and always will be but those saying its purely down to those they have missing I think aren't seeing the whole picture. They had a full strength back row against Gloucester at the weekend, minus Croft and they were as bad as I've seen a Tigers backrow.

Even with all the practice they are getting with restarts they still can't get them right.

marty2086 wrote:
Can't see that being enough considering the current state of Leicester, not one element of their game is functioning at the minute

 Line out has been near perfect on our own and Kitchener has been stealing balls multiple times (just not doing anything with it ATM)

  Don't underestimate the power Ayerza @ LH and Mulipola @ TH can bring Ayerza was prob the form LH in the 4N and mulipola is 100 X better @ TH than LH were he has been playing ATM. and ayerza has a brilliant work rate around the pitch.
 

 a pack of
 1) Ayerza, 2) Ghilrandi, 3) Mulipola
 4) Thorn, 5) Kitchener
 6) Croft, 7) Salvi, 8) Crane/Pearce/Barbieri


 Is much stronger than the current one.


 Also a backline with Williams at 10 looks more stable and with:
 11) Benjamin
 12) Bai
 13) Manu
 14) Goneva
 15) Scully

 That has loads more fire power in it than the current one.

 But then that's hoping no more injuries happen and those are fit to play.

I would never, ever underestimate the ferociousness of a wounded tiger, no matter about the injury crisis or how terrible they've started the season. We've not started with an explosion of fireworks, we've been decidedly beige so I won't be betting on Ulster getting our desired result. Perhaps this weekend will show us what Ulster are really capable of and if we can beat or come within a hound's gowl of beating the Weegies I'll be more confident.

Breaking news;

Les Kiss and Neil Doak to be confirmed as Director of Rugby and Head Coach of Ulster Rugby. Source, Richard Mulligan on twitter.

http://www.irishrugby.ie/news/32618.php#.VDQSYlbRjwI

IRFU Statement wrote:Ireland Assistant Coach Les Kiss will return to his role as Director of Rugby with Ulster after the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Neil Doak has been confirmed as the Head Coach.
 
After the abrupt departure of David Humphreys, followed by Ulster Rugby's decision to release Mark Anscombe, the IRFU provided Les Kiss in the role of interim Director of Rugby for the province.

Les will leave Ulster next week to take up his full-time coaching duties with the National Team as they prepare for the Guinness Series, Six Nations and RWC 2015. At the conclusion of the Rugby World Cup 2015, Les will return to Ulster in a full-time role as Director of Rugby.

The IRFU believes that the experience and expertise provided by Les Kiss post RWC 2015 will aid the coaching group at Ulster and will also help to develop players.

Les Kiss said "I am very appreciative of the continued faith the IRFU and Ulster Rugby have demonstrated in me and, while I'm delighted to get the security in the long term, I am very much focused first and foremost on the next 12 months.

It's exciting that the Springboks arrive here in just over 3 weeks and that the Guinness Series is almost upon us.

The National coaching team have remained in close contact and Joe has been particularly supportive of my dual roles over the last few months, which has made things a lot easier for me".

Ireland Head Coach, Joe Schmidt, is enthusiastic about his coaching colleague's future post, but is staying short term focused "Les is tremendous value and his integrity, coaching ability and positivity will add definite value to Ulster in the long term.

But, like the rest of the National coaching team, we are both very much focused on the upcoming Guinness Series.

Beyond that there are plenty of challenges leading up to Six Nations and RWC 2015."

Ulster CEO, Shane Logan expressed his appreciation for the support offered by the IRFU and also confirmed the appointment of a Head Coach "We are pleased to have completed negotiations with Neil Doak, as Head Coach, and are close to finalising our other coaching requirements.

We will announce a team manager in due course to bridge the gap prior to Les taking up his role allowing him to be fully committed to his coaching duties with the National Team."

Finally, IRFU Performance Director, David Nucifora, reiterated the IRFU's commitment to supporting the provinces in saying that "Les and Neil are an ideal fit for Ulster.

Les did a great job guiding them through a disruptive period and will head back there post RWC 2015."

So Doaky will have a lot more responsibility in the interim period. Interesting to see.

Whaaaaaaaaaaat? No way! !

Don Alfonso wrote:Whaaaaaaaaaaat?  No way! !

I know, big shock right

Here's the Ulster Rugby bit on Doak;

Ulster Rugby is delighted to announce that Neil Doak has been appointed as the Province’s new Head Coach, with immediate effect, until at least the summer of 2017.

Doak has an almost 20 year association with the Province. He made his debut as a player in 1995 against Northern Transvaal and went on to make 76 appearances for Ulster before retiring in 2005.

A talented all round sportsman, he also won 32 international caps for Ireland at cricket.

He began coaching while still a player, becoming an Ulster Branch development officer in 2000.

Following his retirement he worked with Academy players as a high performance coach.

He led the Ulster U19, U20 and ‘A’ sides and was quickly promoted to the senior set-up where he took up a role as elite player development officer.

He became backs coach in 2009 and is credited with transforming Ulster Rugby into one of the most potent attacking sides in Europe.

His coaching ability was recognised by Ireland in the summer of 2013 when he joined Les Kiss and now Munster Head Coach, Antony Foley, in leading the Ireland international side on their summer tour of North America.

This summer he and Connacht’s Dan McFarland coached Emerging Ireland to victory in the IRB Nations Cup in Romania.

Commenting on his appointment, Neil Doak said: “I am extremely proud to have been appointed as Ulster’s Head Coach and to have been given this opportunity is a fantastic honour for me.

“I played all my rugby at Ulster and I have coached here now for more than 14 years. I am proud to be from this Province and my aim over the next three seasons is to get the best out of our players and to help deliver success.”

Ulster’s Chief Executive, Shane Logan, said:

“In looking for a new Head Coach we sought someone with passion, integrity and the ability to drive Ulster forward. Neil has all those qualities in abundance.

“I am extremely pleased that someone who has invested so much into rugby in the Province has now earned the right to be the Head Coach of the senior team.

“We consulted widely on the best candidate for this role and no matter who we asked, whether it was players, management or staff, the same answer kept being given – the best person to be Head Coach at Ulster Rugby is Neil Doak.

“Over the past four seasons we have improved continuously and Neil has been instrumental in that growth. I have absolutely no doubt that he will be hugely successful in the coming years.”

http://ulsterrugby.com/News/LatestNews/TabId/149/ArtMID/793/ArticleID/1898/Neil-Doak-named-new-Ulster-Head-Coach-.aspx

As expected. I think the team manager will take on most of the responsibilities of DOR until the return of Kiss. Allowing Doak to focus more on the coaching.

Hopefully Doak proves to be an excellent head coach for the remainder of the season, and all goes smoothly at Ulster Rugby.

Could have been Jake White

Munchkin wrote:Could have been Jake White

Do you really think so? Jake White- who has turned down interviews for the Ireland national team job and shown no interest in coming to Ireland in the past- coming not to coach the national team, but to coach just a province?

No, not really. I was poking fun at certain tabloid speculation.

Not that Jake White wouldn't have taken the job though. Apparently he didn't leave Sharks on good terms. Apparently he was pushed out the door. If that's true, then his prospects for a top level job would be fairly grim, I would think.

I would have been concerned if White had taken the Ulster job. Concerned about style of play, and concerned that he might cause upsets within the camp.

Happy enough with Doak

Good luck to him. Time for him to show that his abilities were curtailed under previous regimes. He has the players.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/29532647

So he was removed for concussion tests last weekend. Bit concerned that he was allowed back on but at least they did they right things.

Happy Happy Joy Joy Rugby Cup Squad is up:

Hookers: Best Herring, Andrew
LH Props: Black, Murphy, Warwick
TH Props: Herbst, Fitzpatrick, Ryan, Ross
Locks: Henderson, van der Merwe, Stevenson, McComb, O'Connor, Donnan
Flankers: Diack, Henry, McComish, Ross
Number 8s: Wilson, Williams

Scrum Halves: Pienaar, Marshall, Heaney, Shanahan
Out Halves: Jackson, Humphreys
Centres: Marshall, Olding, McCloskey, Cave
Wingers: Bowe, Trimble, Gilroy, Allen
Full Backs: Payne, Ludik


They must expect Henderson back before Tuohy - that can't be good.

McComish... Ross has obvioualy impressed. Really want to actually see him get a run out and leapforg Warrior Mike. Other than that, as expected.

No Sean Reidy and no Ricky Lutton are the notable absentees for me. As well as that- no Raaymakers, our interim injury signing who immediately got injured.

Just been reading a rumour about a Cave to France announcement next month. Knows he won't feature for Ireland, wants a payday.

Thanks, Joe. Let's see if Payne rewards your faith this week...

If that's true do you think Schmidt should pick a player he doesn't feel is the best in his position just to keep him in the country?

How far would you be willing to take this,should Kidney have kept picking Tomás O'Leary?

No, I think the best players in each position should be picked. Ulster are playing by far their best 15 at 13, where he is doing poorly, whole our best 13 languishes.

asoreleftshoulder wrote:If that's true do you think Schmidt should pick a player he doesn't feel is the best in his position just to keep him in the country?

How far would you be willing to take this,should Kidney have kept picking Tomás O'Leary?

What notch said. Good luck to Cave. Personally I wouldn't select either him or Payne at 13 for ulster but in terms of their production in the position there is only one winner despite Ulsters hand being forced in selection

asoreleftshoulder wrote:If that's true do you think Schmidt should pick a player he doesn't feel is the best in his position just to keep him in the country?

How far would you be willing to take this,should Kidney have kept picking Tomás O'Leary?

What notch said. Good luck to Cave. Personally I wouldn't select either him or Payne at 13 for ulster but in terms of their production in the position there is only one winner despite Ulsters hand being forced in selection

He has had Payne parachuted into his position with no merit for no reason other than someone higher up the food chain thought it would be a good idea. Jared Payne is certainly a player who offers less to Ulster than Darren Cave at outside centre so if this news is true it will be very disappointing.

For the same reason losing any key player is disappointing- we don't have a better player to replace him at outside centre. If we were without Cave my preference would be Ludik at 13 and Payne at 15.

Fair play to Cave for trying to maximise his earnings in a short career. The only person forcing Cave away from Ulster is Darren Cave who obviously feels his worth is higher than what others do.

There are bigger names at Ulster who have jaw-dropping offers from France and I wouldn't be surprised if other's expectations might be tempted to go.

Standulstermen wrote:

asoreleftshoulder wrote:If that's true do you think Schmidt should pick a player he doesn't feel is the best in his position just to keep him in the country?

How far would you be willing to take this,should Kidney have kept picking Tomás O'Leary?

What notch said. Good luck to Cave. Personally I wouldn't select either him or Payne at 13 for ulster but in terms of their production in the position there is only one winner despite Ulsters hand being forced in selection

Stand, who would you go for? Ludik? Give Marshall a run there?

Preference in preseason would have been for Olding/Marshall but now McCloskey has come in and done well you could tweak it. I think any of those young lads has the talents to combine no matter the numbers on their shirts.

I probably would stop short of a Marshall/McCloskey partnership though

I'm from Newtownards and surprisingly a big rugby league fan but in the absence of any here, am thinking about going to see an Ulster game in the near future. What's the view like from the East Terrace? Might even have a kebab at the Pharaoh beforehand

alkmaar67 wrote:I'm from Newtownards and surprisingly a big rugby league fan but in the absence of any here, am thinking about going to see an Ulster game in the near future. What's the view like from the East Terrace? Might even have a kebab at the Pharaoh beforehand

The view is very good I think, slightly better than the west! Listen man, getting a good view on any of the terraces is about getting in early enough to get a good spot. The spots on the halfway line go very quickly and the terraces fill up a lot earlier than the stands. If you roll in five minutes before kick off you might be disappointed but if you get there early enough you'll be golden.

You should come, its a really good night, but my advice is to avoid the overpriced food at the ground. A bad burger actually costs more than a beer. So the kebab is actually not a bad shout!

Notch wrote:

alkmaar67 wrote:I'm from Newtownards and surprisingly a big rugby league fan but in the absence of any here, am thinking about going to see an Ulster game in the near future. What's the view like from the East Terrace? Might even have a kebab at the Pharaoh beforehand

The view is very good I think, slightly better than the west! Listen man, getting a good view on any of the terraces is about getting in early enough to get a good spot. The spots on the halfway line go very quickly and the terraces fill up a lot earlier than the stands. If you roll in five minutes before kick off you might be disappointed but if you get there early enough you'll be golden.

You should come, its a really good night, but my advice is to avoid the overpriced food at the ground. A bad burger actually costs more than a beer. So the kebab is actually not a bad shout!

I miss watching rugby live with a good beer and a bad burger.

Well, if it helps I don't drink alcohol but I've heard the beer isn't that great either!

The beer has been grand anytime I have been there, but then again I'm a prop and we don't tend to be that picky.

I've always enjoyed the beer at Ravers. I am like BDV though and don't tend to be picky about beer, wine on the other hand......
The one thing I always loved in Ravenhill was the footlong hotdogs. Do they still have the footlongs? It's been a while since I was able to make the trip up to the big smoke

I can however promise you Alkmaar67 that you won't ever regret going to Ravenhill, great atmosphere, great people and maybe an added bonus of some good rugby

The Heineken is grand. Have never tried to grub so cant comment. Im a terrace ST holder so the view is grand but it is tight for the big games. Im always up early to get a good spot.

Thanks for the replies guys. It's always funny when the matchday experience comes up because everyone brings up the beer but I too am teetotal. As it happens, the East Terrace was sold out but I bought a ticket for the West Terrace. Hopefully I can sneak into a good spot while everyone else is queueing for a pint!

Is there generally good socialising with the visiting supporters? It would be nice to meet a few from Toulon et bavarder en français

That would be my strategy too! There is generally some good craic with visiting fans if you go looking for it. Most rugby fans who come here are a good lot. My favourite memory from Ravenhill is when we beat Clermont. Their fans were brilliant. I turned around to applaud their fans at full time and I ended up swapping scarves with one of the visiting supporters. I had had that scarf since the 1999 final but as it turned out I ended up wearing the Clermont scarf to the 2012 Final.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/29607431

A bit of good news for Ulster going into the Toulon game, they may be letting Steffon Armitage go to Bath, that'll leave them with a back row made up of 3 from Fernadez Lobbe, Masoe,Juan Smith, Vosloo and Gorgodze

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/rugby/ulster-rugby/ulster-rugby-oconnor-fears-ban-after-foul-play-charge-30661377.html

A Belfast Smelly report on the O'Connor affair.
One thing of a positive note in this report is that Raaymaker arrives tomorrow and is reported to be fit again despite his shoulder injury.

Apart from the charge that is hanging over O'Connor, he has done a good job with his play so far for being dropped in at the deep end. Give it a couple of years and a bit more maturity then we could be looking at good lock who looks quite mobile.

8Studs wrote:Apart from the charge that is hanging over O'Connor, he has done a good job with his play so far for being dropped in at the deep end. Give it a couple of years and a bit more maturity then we could be looking at good lock who looks quite mobile.

He's looking like the kind of player that'll keep the man-child Hendo on his toes. Our academy is definately showing quite a crop of brilliant young talent.

So with O'Connor banned can we use our medical joker Ronny Raaymaker as it seems he's arrived and is fit for duty apparently? Can he be added to the Euro squad?

I'm not certain how that works. I thought you could only update the squad after the first few rounds of the cup but I don't know definitively

Here are the rules for player eligibility. I have understood the bit in bold to mean that any player can be registered in place of another at the start of the pool stage. So if Raaymaker was to start on Saturday, his name would need to be registered in another's place, and it would need to have been completed yesterday. I have heard elsewhere that today would have been ok for his name to be included though. I don't think he would be ready to play on Saturday though. Bit early.

Anyway:

3.5 Each club may register up to two additional players during the pool stage, each to replace a player previously registered. If a club registers two additional players, one such player must be a front row player. Additional players must have a three-month contract with the club and must not have played for another club in the tournament. Additional player registrations must be submitted by 12 noon (GMT) on the Tuesday before the match. De-registered players may be re-registered (in place of the relevant additional players) during the pool stage.

3.6 Each club involved in the knockout stage may register up to three further players. If a club registers three further players, one such player must be a front row player. Such registrations must be submitted by 12 noon (GMT) on date specified in the Participation Agreement. The players in question must not have played for another club in the tournament.

He might be worth registering in terms of the Toulon game but it depends on when Tuohy will become available

Where are you guys with Tuohy? Was it actually a fracture? I never saw that confirmed anywhere.

Think it was confirmed. The fact they registered Henderson and not Tuohy suggests he won't be back until next year

From Ulster Rugby:

"Raaymakers will have to wait to make his debut however. He suffered a dislocated shoulder in New Zealand so it will be a several weeks of rehab yet before he pulls on the white shirt for the first time."

So much for being fit and ready

So then, he should be ready just as Henderson and Tuohy return, and by which time O'Connor will be ripping up trees. Excellent......

Yeah, thats what was expected. We knew it was likely when the injury was announced.

When the injury was announced I thought Ulster might cancel the contract, as the above was most likely. Then when it's announced that he is arriving on schedule, with reports of being fit and ready to go, I think the injury might not have been as bad as first recorded. I was even almost happy

Grrrr

Think the weekends game v Tigers might be getting to me. Need a cup of tea.

Is my memory failing? I thought he was injury cover no? If so, why did we not drop him like a hot potato when he got injured himself?

Or was this a full signing regardless of our second row injury dilemma?

Exactly, Clive. I don't understand the thinking in bringing over an injured player as injury cover. Must be more to it....maybe.