Ulster Rugby 2022/2023

First topic message reminder :

Thought it was time for an update on the thread so this is the new all things Ulster thread.

Perhaps Ulster couldn't be sure on Moxham without seeing him play seniors? Perhaps he got selection just so they could judge him at a decent level and ultimately decided a one year was worth giving. Posthelwaite perhaps hasn't had game time because they don't feel they need to check his ability because they are already sure of it?

I know we like to assume that pro rugby picks the best available players all the time. But perhaps not. What if, for his overall development, they have Postlewaite working on something else (size/bulk/fitness) and don't want to distract him from that just yet?

Who knows! Maybe seems daft, but to me, no more daft than a 4 year contract to somebody without seeing them play at full Ulster level.

Moxham has been picked because no one else available, not because of any real conviction he can play at 13

geoff999rugby wrote:Baloucoune starting for Ulster
Hansen starting for Ireland

Also heard this from another source - strange and disappointing. Is Hansen left footed? Only reason I can think of

Read elsewhere Hansen on the beach.

Info changing on EOS

Being stated he has a contract till 2023 elsewhere, I ve not heard anything to that effect

2023 appears to be correct.

So only 2 locks and Curtis to go.

O'Sullivan staying makes for interesting reading, I really cant see us signing a top class LH.

Kitskoff, McGrath, O'Sullivan, Warwick, Reid, for example, would be overload

(15-9) Mike Lowry, Robert Baloucoune, Angus Curtis, Stuart McCloskey, Ethan McIlroy, Billy Burns, Nathan Doak;

(1-8) Andrew Warwick, John Andrew, Gareth Milasinovich, Alan O’Connor (Capt.), Sam Carter, Greg Jones, Marcus Rea, Duane Vermeulen.

Replacements: Declan Moore, Callum Reid, Ross Kane, Mick Kearney, Nick Timoney, David Shanahan, Ben Moxham, Rob Lyttle.

McCloskey thank heavens for that

Lowry and Baloucoune released from Ireland duty then, Nick Timoney too for the bench. Great to see big Stu back

So not released are Herring, Henderson, Treadwell, O'Toole, Hume

I should imagine herring, hendo and Hume will be in squad, I can't see it for O'Toole and Treadwell

Only James Hume makes the Ireland 23. So the other 4 are playing for neither Ulster or Ireland this weekend, that seems sensible.

My guess is traveling reserves

True but why do they need two Locks - we could have had one of them instead of Carter

Also if Hume was playing instead of Curtis Ulster would be putting out a better 11 to 15 than Ireland - that cant be right

Surprised Henderson wasn't released to prove some level of match fitness. He does seem to have a remarkable ability to return from injury at a very high level, but surely a half for Ulster would do him some good.

I'd really like to see Hume and Henshaw against that Welsh midfield ....

geoff999rugby wrote:2023 appears to be correct.

So only 2 locks and Curtis to go.

O'Sullivan staying makes for interesting reading, I really cant see us signing a top class LH.

Kitskoff, McGrath, O'Sullivan, Warwick, Reid, for example, would be overload

Been thinking about this a bit more.

My take is when the Kitskoff deal fell through Ulster gave O'Sullivan one more year.
He seems to have got his mojo back since then.
Allied to this McGrath is slowly getting back to match fitness.

We may be down to only 2 NIQ and no projects next year and one of those is not good enough for the first XV

Call it informed speculation

Frank Bradshaw Irish lock at Nevers (D2) coming in, at least according to Bernard Jackman

Tall fella!

I assume he was academy at one of the provinces but never got a senior contract? Any background on him?

D2 France though - you would assume 3/4th choice squad player yea?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYuCd1UoWDw

Apparently he calls the lineout for Nevers and for a young guy to head off to France on his own and do well and develop suggests he's probably a good character.

clivemcl wrote:Tall fella!

I assume he was academy at one of the provinces but never got a senior contract? Any background on him?

D2 France though - you would assume 3/4th choice squad player yea?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYuCd1UoWDw

5th or 6th choice

Ahead of him are a British and Irish Lion (Henderson), one of the two club captain who plays more minutes than anyone (O'Connor)
Irish squad player (Treadwell) Best young lock prospect in the whole of Ireland (Izuchukwu)
Contending for 5th spot with our very disappointing NIQ Australian International (Carter)

I guess he either believes he can break through as a regular squad player, or he just misses Ireland. Otherwise, why pass up regular game time in D2. Or perhaps Carter will end contract early on mutual agreement? Does it seem like too many? Or just an extra set of hands brought in, in light of Treadwell being looked at internationally?

You would certainly be wanting Izzy to take up any opportunities the absence of Henderson/Treadwell would bring though. Yea, I know there can be injuries... but still seems too many locks, no?

I suspect it confirms that neither Kearney or Dave O'Connor will get a contract for next year.

That leaves us with 6 next year.

The only contract outstanding is Curtis as far as I can see

Gilroy gets a 4 week ban. I was surprised on the night it was a yellow to be honest. Yes the fella was falling but he went shoulder first with his arm down.

At the same time Farrell doesn't get a Red Card and does not get cited.
Zebo is told it wasn't even a foul.
Not saying Gilroy was innocent but the player dropped a long way and far further than the players they hit

The whole citing system is a complete and utter farce.
They might as well flip a coin - guilty or not guilty

I agree it's an absolute lottery what happens. Look at the hit on Lowery tonight.
Also is Greg Jones getting better with every game

I hope Hansen plays as well tomorrow as well as Baloucoune is playing tonight, and he still isn't looking as good as Lowery.

Can we be honest here? McIlroy not good enough. Young of course. But he’s got way more game time than most his age would be lucky to have and well… for me… he’s not convincing me. I’d have Lyttle ahead f him.

clivemcl wrote:Can we be honest here? McIlroy not good enough. Young of course. But he’s got way more game time than most his age would be lucky to have and well… for me… he’s not convincing me. I’d have Lyttle ahead f him.

Slightly agree and disagree. I think his best position will be full back as I think he lacks top end speed but Ulster are well covered there. Handy squad player. I think Lyttle is a better winger but he does get injured a lot.
As for Sam Carter I'll pay for his plane ticket myself. Gash is how I'd describe him.

clivemcl wrote:Can we be honest here? McIlroy not good enough. Young of course. But he’s got way more game time than most his age would be lucky to have and well… for me… he’s not convincing me. I’d have Lyttle ahead f him.

He's not had a good game finishing, but I think you're being a bit harsh.  True I would have Lyttle ahead of him at present, but I wouldn't say not good enough yet. Full back could be his future.

Also feel like Declan Moore has just watched Herring, Roberts and to some degree Andrews score loads off the back of the maul, and assumed it was easy. He definitely went too early a few times and didn't make it, and another time got separated from the breakaway. A few poor throw ins too. Kinda surprised when Trimble said he had a good game.

Marcus Rea continues to look great. McCloskey, Lowry, Balacoune and Timoney all looked great.
Like seeing our NIQs show some passion, but it's been a while since we've seen an Ulster player lose their cool. Vermulen would need to hope the citing committee don't want to look at his punch (Though I'm not sure it actually made contact).

Really happy to see the team push on and fight for the bonus point. Well deserved.

geoff999rugby wrote:At the same time Farrell doesn't get a Red Card and does not get cited.
Zebo is told it wasn't even a foul.
Not saying Gilroy was innocent but the player dropped a long way and far further than the players they hit

The whole citing system is a complete and utter farce.
They might as well flip a coin - guilty or not guilty

Yeah the citing commission isn't consistent. They deemed the tackle to be reckless and not intentional which means mitigation applies. If its deemed highly reckless or intentional then theres no mitigation.

There is no argueing there is mitigation in his tackle so therefore with the way the citing commission ruled it, it should have been concluded as yellow same as ref saw it.

It the commission ruled it highly reckless then 4 week ban is fine, but they didn't. So it begs the question why did they not consider the mitigation when they should have?

Agree Moore wasn't great, the lineout was unreliable and I think that affected the maul setup as well. But he did come into the squad late.

Biggest concern was the amount of turnovers conceded in the Connacht 22. How many possessions without scoring in the second half? That'll be costly against the bigger teams.

clivemcl wrote:Tall fella!

I assume he was academy at one of the provinces but never got a senior contract? Any background on him?

D2 France though - you would assume 3/4th choice squad player yea?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYuCd1UoWDw

Frank Bradshaw Ryan is out of Limerick and Munster sub-academy. Didn’t make it and went to France.

Give Moore a break he was thrown in at the last minute.

Also go easy easy on McIlroy he has played a lot of rugby, at a guess second only to O’Connor,
My assessment is he is knackered and needs a break.

If Ireland picked on form Hume, Baloucoune and Lowry would be starters

Just remembered McIlroy got a bad ankle injury early in the game.

He definitely is good enough

McIlroy is the only bcak involved in every game, and has started most of them. He needs a break. With Lyttle back that makes it easier, although he might have to keep playing given Gilroy's suspension. He's been flogged.

I agree McIlroy has plenty of talent, he maybe lacks a bit of top end speed but plenty to make up for it.

Also there definitely looked to be a major trip on him when he was chasing a kick in the second half, the ref didn't even seem to check it on TMO though, anyone watching on tv know what happened because I was right in that area and it sure looked like a blatant trip to me

We have a new person joining our social group at the match.
He is a close personal friend of Chris Farrell and some interesting points

He confirmed what I had been told that Farrell lack self confidence at Ulster and wasn't convinced he was good enough for the first XV
The time he spent in France did him a power of good
One of the reasons for leaving was the non existent support from the Head Coach (The pisshead that was Mark Anscombe)

However the biggy for me was that Farrell would comeback to Ulster in a heartbeat if the opportunity arose.
Ulster is still very much home for him
For all the talent we have at centre none of Hume, Moore, Curtis or Marshall offer what McCloskey does, Farrell would

Interesting information Geoff, and glad to hear that Farrell wasn't totally alienated by the Ulster setup. I don't see a return in the short term, I assume it depends on the futures of Marshall and McCloskey. Can Luke return from yet another major injury and perform as before? Can he then stay injury free? How long before Big Stu gives up on international honours and takes the biggest contract he can get to do the best for his financial future? Neither appear to be immediate decisions. At least with Hume, Curtis and Moore we have some very capable youngsters coming through.

Thanks for the info Geoff. What age is Farrell? Younger than Marshall and McCloskley? You think he might come back at some point as an ‘auld hand’ to see out his career maybe after McCloskey or Marshall might hang up the boots? I obviously really like Hume, but think Moore is class too and Curtis is a good quality backup. If Marshall doesn’t return to form I’d love to see Farrell. But my preference would be to see Luke come back to greatness (a big ask).

What about Curtis elsewhere? He played a bit at 10? Could he do well at full back?

Perhaps I was too harsh on McIlroy. He probably suffers from having to perform alongside the electric Lowry and Balacoune.

Injuries are a major part of the modern game I guess. On another day, we maybe would barely have seen McIlroy if Lyttle, Stockdale and Addison had been available. So I do appreciate that he’s stepped up and been solid (if not dazzling).

I can see McIlroy at 15, if and when Lowry goes to 10.

Not much difference in age.
Marshall 30
McCloskey 29
Farrell 28

Addison teasing return on Instagram, O'Connor Jr away to Ealing on loan (can't see him returning).

Addison return would be great! Hopefully he can keep his cool this time though!

If we are without Hume, but Lowry and Ballacoune returned to us again, you would play Will in centre yea?

If either Ballacoune or Lowry stay with Ireland, I would put Addison in back 3.

I'd just get him on the pitch, get him up to speed.

I'd always thought of Lowry as Will's excellent back-up - I don't know if that's fair now. Will's two best positions have been covered by two young lads (team-mates from school!) who both have Ireland call-ups for doing an exemplary job. Does he walk straight back into a first choice Ulster 15? I suppose he does if we want Lowry to get time at 10. But still... Nice problem to have.

You are right Don, a great problem to have. Now we just need to develop a similar situation at 10 ....

Move Lowry to 10, Addison to 15. Burns to the bench. Simple. Got to give Lowry a chance to develop at 10.

Robert Baloucoune, James Hume, Michael Lowry, Tom O'Toole, Nick Timoney and Kieran Treadwell all released back to Ulster for this weekends URC game

Addison on the wing then? Or Give Lowry a game at 10 and Burns an extended rest?

Addison has been out for a while, bench would be more likely if he is fit

Ethan McIlroy sustained an ankle injury in the recent URC win against Connacht. He joins Rob Herring (calf), John Cooney (calf), Luke Marshall (knee), Will Addison (lower leg), and Jacob Stockdale (ankle) on the list of injured players currently unavailable for selection.

Cormac Izuchukwu (knee), Jordi Murphy (knee), Tom Stewart (toe), Matty Rea (hamstring), and Stewart Moore (knee) have all resumed full team training following their respective injuries, and are available for team selection.

With the returnees from the Irish squad it looks like there coaching staff may have some decisions to make for this weekend's game. Good problem to have. It would be good to see all those coming back off injury on the bench at least, but I'm sure it won't be that simple.

So my guess would be Murphy and Cormac would be eased back in given how long they have been out, wouldn't expect to see either involved this weekend and if they are probs from the bench.

With our Ireland releases we should have a strong backline and I assume Little would come in for McIlroy on the wing.