URC Round 5

Round five and the last round before the international break, I'm sure all teams will want to get a win this weekend to give them a good feeling considering they don't play again until near the end of November.

Round 5 Fixtures- All times BST and all games also available on Supersport, URC TV and Premier Sports.

FRIDAY, 22ND OCTOBER

Scarlets v Benetton – KO 19.35 S4C, Mediaset
Glasgow Warriors v Leinster – KO 19.35- TG4

SATURDAY, 23ND OCTOBER

Zebre v Edinburgh – KO 13.00- Mediaset
Connacht v Ulster – KO 17.15- TG4
Cardiff v Dragons – KO 17.15
Ospreys v Munster – KO 19.35- S4C, RTÉ 2

The South African sides are not playing this weekend, they will play their round 5 derbies v each other at a later date

Scarlets have a must win match - their season is practically over if they lose again.

Edinburgh should beat Zebre who clearly are the poorest side in the league at the minute.

Big game for Connacht vs Ulster. They have to win this. 4 of the next 6 are at home for them but they really have a tough period coming up. They need to bag a fair few points between now and beginning of Feb as they pretty much have an away fixture list for the second half of the season. Ulster for me though looking fairly solid. Probably make Ulster favorite for this one but should be a good game.

Cardiff I hate to say will probably do a number on us. We can't cover the amount of forwards away with Wales. The backs they are losing, they have some quality to replace with but the forwards will decide this game. Dragons looking light in this area going into the match. Cardiff favorites on this one.

Ospreys v Munster - Be interesting to see if Munster send another youth team over like they did against the Scarlets. If they do Ospreys should beat them comfortably. Munster do have some good youngsters but the Ospreys pack should have to much for Munster on paper. If Munster do send a better side over though it could be the pick of the games for the weekend. I don't think they will though and with a lot of guys away with Ireland, Ospreys really should be winning this type of fixture at home.

Don't get me wrong Munster do have some good youngsters but Scarlets had so many top end internationals on show they should have never had a chance let alone blow them away by 40 odds points. It just highlighted how poor the Scarlets have been this season. Most of that Scarlet squad need to really take a long hard look at themselves because their performances have been dire.

That’s going to be a very tricky game for a ulster but should be a good time to watch.
Not sure if we have any of our injuries back this week but I’d worry about our midfield against Connachts if not. With Addison now out too at full back that would be another creative spark gone.

Hopefully we do get a couple of guys back in time for the game.

Shouldn’t be too bad up front, injuries there too but a bit more cover for them in the pack. The backs however are down to the bare bones at this stage

I'd be surprised if Munster don't beat Ospreys. With Francis among others not playing they'll really struggle. Munster have great depth.

How has Glasgow's form been?

mikey_dragon wrote:I'd be surprised if Munster don't beat Ospreys. With Francis among others not playing they'll really struggle. Munster have great depth.

How has Glasgow's form been?

Patchy you would have to say, but still been picking up the points.

Played well and lost against Ulster, picked up 2 BPs

Played out of their skins for the first 50 mins against the Sharks, but went off the boil once the BP was in the bag.

Ground out wins against Lions and Zebra with no BPs and without playing well, but never looking like losing the game either.


Expect a beefed up side this friday for the Leinster game, with our Lions back and a few others who had a rest last week. You still got to fancy Leinster but you would hope we will be competitive and stay in the game.

Yeah well here's to hoping someone topples Leinster. The team they had out against Scarlets has to be their best right now.

Dragons are gonna BRING THE PAIN to those Cardiff scallywags! You heard! Gonna be some a$$ whooping going on

Or.........

We might put up a plucky effort in a generally turgid derby affair that's all nerves and no skill and maybe get a losing bonus point

Either way, our backs need to do a little more with the improved platform the forwards are now giving them. Some good invention and moves vs Connacht but little against Stomers. Possibly as a Jordan Williams was on fire vs Connacht and then pulled out late vs Stormers. But certainly against Stormers we struggled to do more than a few phases into a brick wall and then resort to the kick and chase as nothing could be created. Hoping the Blues defence isn't as strong as Stormers and a few soft shoulders allow us to get in behind them.

Ospreys will only be missing 5 players granted most of them are in the pack.

But to be fair those 5 players didn't add that much to them in the last 2 rounds. Ospreys will still be able to field a fairly strong pack. And the backline will remain unchanged with only Anscombe being replaced by Myler.

Sure Munster may be the form pick but I would imagine international call ups will hurt them more than the Ospreys. And I wouldn't put any mileage on their second string pasting the Scarlets. They were awful that day. If Munster turn up with youngsters, Ospreys should win this. All depends what Munster bring over.

The Oracle wrote:Dragons are gonna BRING THE PAIN to those Cardiff scallywags! You heard!  Gonna be some a$$ whooping going on

Or.........

We might put up a plucky effort in a generally turgid derby affair that's all nerves and no skill and maybe get a losing bonus point

Either way, our backs need to do a little more with the improved platform the forwards are now giving them.  Some good invention and moves vs Connacht but little against Stomers.  Possibly as a Jordan Williams was on fire vs Connacht and then pulled out late vs Stormers.  But certainly against Stormers  we struggled to do more than a few phases into a brick wall and then resort to the kick and chase as nothing could be created.  Hoping the Blues defence isn't as strong as Stormers and a few soft shoulders allow us to get in behind them.

As a Dragons fan I would be confident if we had our full lineup available. Problem is we really are getting depleted by Wales but that just shows how good our forwards have been this season. In all honesty I would love to see a Dragons win but our backup forwards I don't see matching Cardiff's forward firepower.

Hoping I am wrong though.

Ospreys backs can't do anything tbh. They will miss Francis and Beard too much. I rate their other forwards but I haven't seen anything to suggest they will better Munster.

If the coach has sense he would be giving more game time to Kieran Williams and Joe Hawkins, that should get the backs moving.

I thought Kieran was injured.  Hawkins played a bit last game.  He's going to be real quality once he gets used to the pace of the league.

I didn't think Bradley and Rhys have been to bad in the second row in the matches they played.  In all honesty I didnt think AWJ and Beard played that well the last couple of games.  Rhys was playing some really good stuff before those took his place.  I still rate Fia as well.  He's no Francis but he will keep the scrum even.

And to be fair to them the Back Row have been immense already.  Jac really looks a fine player.  Morgan is playing well too.  Munster won't run over this set of forwards like they did Scarlets.  

Scarlets pack is dire.

I expect Munster to beat Ospreys. I didn't really think about them missing their internationals, as I assumed they wouldn't have an out of window test. But that second team looked decent, albeit Scarlets are currently very poor (as has been highlighted).

Scarlets I am not sure, but they should perform better at home. I assume Treviso might be pretty loaded, so would probably lean more towards them.

Can't see past a Cardiff win again. Our record is pretty wretched anyway, without being hamstrung. I agree their strength in depth is better. That said, Taylor Davies has probably been playing better than Dee overall. Davies and Maksymiw will consider themselves to be pushing the Welsh locks too. Backrow is a slight concern, but then I quite like Keddie and obviously like Griffiths. Ben Fry can be quite alright too, if a little hot headed at times ha.

I would imagine they will have to adhere Covid Bubble rules. Ireland are playing USA on the 30th October (not sure if this got cancelled?) so allowing for the 2 week cooldown they can't be available this weekend.

That's my guess anyway. Looking at what they have left in the squad, Ospreys really should be putting them away. Hopefully they will have seen the Scarlets game and won't repeat the mistake of not mentally showing up.

Leinster have ireland squad players starting. I'd say munster will too. Murray needs some time on the pitch. Same with Beirne.

Leinster @ Glasgow;

Leinster: Hugo Keenan; Adam Byrne, Garry Ringrose, Ciarán Frawley, James Lowe; Ross Byrne, Luke McGrath (capt); Cian Healy, Ronan Kelleher, Tadhg Furlong; Ross Molony, Ryan Baird; Caelan Doris, Dan Leavy, Jack Conan

Replacements: Ed Byrne, Dan Sheehan, Miachael Ala'alatoa, Devin Toner, Rhys Ruddock, Jamison Gibson Park, Jamie Osborne, Josh van der Flier

Glasgow Warriors: Ross Thompson; Kyle Steyn, Sione Tuipulotou, San Johnson, Rufus McLean; Duncan Weir, Ali Price; Jamie Bhatti, Johnny Matthews, Zander Fagerson; Rob Harley, Richie Gray; Ryan Wilson (capt), Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey

Replacements: George Turner, Oli Kebble, Enrique Pieretto, Lewis Bean, Matt Fagerson, George Horne, Nick Grigg, Cole Forbes

Looks like a good battle for the front rows (level), Glasgow with the nudge in the locks, backrow leaning towards glasgow. Halfbacks on a par (maybe glasgow). I like the Leinster centres if the game is fast and open, toss of a coin in the back3. Match in Glasgow, not sure the weather. Probably Glasgow win by 8-10 points, Leinster lucky to pick up a lbp.

Also, curious if there are any odds for Leinster finishing the game without a recognisable outhalf on the pitch (Frawley hia/hip, Byrne hamstring).

Welshmushroom wrote:I would imagine they will have to adhere Covid Bubble rules.  Ireland are playing USA on the 30th October (not sure if this got cancelled?) so allowing for the 2 week cooldown they can't be available this weekend.

That's my guess anyway.  Looking at what they have left in the squad, Ospreys really should be putting them away.  Hopefully they will have seen the Scarlets game and won't repeat the mistake of not mentally showing up.  

Ireland are not travelling to Las Vegas to play the USA on 30th October.

https://www.irishrugby.ie/ireland/fixtures-results/

Changes things for Ospreys and Munster match. If he does pick a full lineup Munster probably have the edge. Should be a interesting game.

thebandwagonsociety wrote:Looks like a good battle for the front rows (level), Glasgow with the nudge in the locks, backrow leaning towards glasgow. Halfbacks on a par (maybe glasgow). I like the Leinster centres if the game is fast and open, toss of a coin in the back3. Match in Glasgow, not sure the weather. Probably Glasgow win by 8-10 points, Leinster lucky to pick up a lbp.

Also, curious if there are any odds for Leinster finishing the game without a recognisable outhalf on the pitch (Frawley hia/hip, Byrne hamstring).

Healy Keleher and Furlong are a level match-up with Beattie, Mathews and Fagerson? Hmm. The bench replacements should be interesting.
Doris, Leavy & Conan vs Wilson, Darge & Dempsey is a lean towards Glasgow? Again the benches should be interesting with Cullen selecting a 6-2 split with VdF in the 23 shirt.

Leinster lucky to get a LBP. That’s a strong statement but I suppose we’ll see how they fare on their travels.

The Oracle wrote:Dragons are gonna BRING THE PAIN to those Cardiff scallywags! You heard!  Gonna be some a$$ whooping going on

Or.........

We might put up a plucky effort in a generally turgid derby affair that's all nerves and no skill and maybe get a losing bonus point

Either way, our backs need to do a little more with the improved platform the forwards are now giving them.  Some good invention and moves vs Connacht but little against Stomers.  Possibly as a Jordan Williams was on fire vs Connacht and then pulled out late vs Stormers.  But certainly against Stormers  we struggled to do more than a few phases into a brick wall and then resort to the kick and chase as nothing could be created.  Hoping the Blues defence isn't as strong as Stormers and a few soft shoulders allow us to get in behind them.

They've seen fit to give Ben Whitehouse the whistle for this one, which isn't good news for anyone except Ben Whitehouse.

We did a lot right against the Stormers, especially (at long last) players running onto the ball, but so much of that work was done by our starting second and back rows, who will all be in Wales camp, and while we'll be able to field a competitive back row, our next-in-line second row is quite a drop in quality.

I still haven't seen much of Cardiff, just the Connacht game and brief highlights of their defeat to the Bulls, so I don't know how to rate our chances, but that's neither here nor there really because we'll lose regardless

Cardiff have looked quite strong so far, but they haven't been keeping that up for the full 80. If they had some better players in the front 5 then they probably would have. Backs look decent, as always. Priestland has been meh, as expected.

It's a big game for us, because one win from four is a bad return however you dress it up, and going one win from five would be pretty indefensible, given that three of the games were at home. A derby win though would be just the ticket.

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:

The Oracle wrote:Dragons are gonna BRING THE PAIN to those Cardiff scallywags! You heard!  Gonna be some a$$ whooping going on

Or.........

We might put up a plucky effort in a generally turgid derby affair that's all nerves and no skill and maybe get a losing bonus point

Either way, our backs need to do a little more with the improved platform the forwards are now giving them.  Some good invention and moves vs Connacht but little against Stomers.  Possibly as a Jordan Williams was on fire vs Connacht and then pulled out late vs Stormers.  But certainly against Stormers  we struggled to do more than a few phases into a brick wall and then resort to the kick and chase as nothing could be created.  Hoping the Blues defence isn't as strong as Stormers and a few soft shoulders allow us to get in behind them.

They've seen fit to give Ben Whitehouse the whistle for this one, which isn't good news for anyone except Ben Whitehouse.

We did a lot right against the Stormers, especially (at long last) players running onto the ball, but so much of that work was done by our starting second and back rows, who will all be in Wales camp, and while we'll be able to field a competitive back row, our next-in-line second row is quite a drop in quality.

I still haven't seen much of Cardiff, just the Connacht game and brief highlights of their defeat to the Bulls, so I don't know how to rate our chances, but that's neither here nor there really because we'll lose regardless

I’d forgotten about the AIs when I posted to be honest! Sort of crept up on me. So there might be some ‘soft shoulders’ in the Blues line up as they’ll be starting more 2nd choices, but so will we! I think our call ups will hurt us more than them as they’ve probably got better squad depth. It’s a double edge sword of course - we’ve craved a time where our players are getting picked and now here we are with 6 of our fit and available starting pack getting selected (and Leon Brown perhaps would have if not injured) and we’re a bit threadbare again and it’s all doom and gloom! Such is the nature of it I suppose. But not expecting much from this game now. Wanting our backs to be better with a poorer platform compared to the last few games….. well, it’s just not going to happen is it!

I think the result comes down to which mentality the Dragons bring.  Are they the care free team who have no pressure on them or the team struggling to deal with the expectation.

I think it will be tight and could go either way but a big loss is bad for the Dragons.

Cardiff have a few key players that make their team tick.  Many of those will be away and not sure the replacements can bring the same dynamic game.  Dragons seem much more a team of players with no real stars but good as a unit.

Hardest game of the weekend for me to call.  Going with home advantage but wouldn't be surprised if Dragons snuck it

Scarlet v Benetton
Scarlets have conceded 132pts (two less than Zebre who have played Ulster, Leinster and Glasgow) and scored 86. Benetton have scored 84 and conceded 102.  I expect this game to be high scoring but Benetton to win because of their set piece and internationals.  It won't be a big margin but Benetton will follow the other teams and just bully them (even the Lions did it)

Glasgow v Leinster.  This game normally ends up being a physical game with Leinster grinding out the win.  Glasgow have been lucky the last two games and did enough to get by. Leinster know they must win to keep pass with Ulster and Munster.  Think Lenster will win with 4 tries while Glasgow get 3 tries.

Zebre v Edinburgh. Zebre have been stubborn but ultimately a speed bump.  Expect Edinburgh to get the 4+ tries and head into the break with just the one defeat.  Zebre to improve a little in attack but not defence.

Connacht v Ulster - This will be fast and aggressive with Ulster taking the BP win with Connacht getting 1-2BPs.  Connacht had their big game last week so this is their poor week.  In the past Connacht have surprised Ulster but the current Ulster are very focused and getting the job done and move up a gear when they need a try.

Cardiff v Dragons.  Can't have every away team win so going for a home win.  Could go either way.  10s will be key for who can mange the game best.  Think Cardiff will just scrape it.

Ospreys v Munster.  Ospreys have done just enough in the games they won.  Munster have had slow starts but strong finishes.  Chris Cloete was a key man in the last two Munster successes I feel he will help Munster get the third.  Munster will keep it tight when needed and bulldoze their way over.  Ospreys need to improve the lineout from last week to have any hope.

So Ulster, Leinster and Munster to open a gap. Dragons, Scarlets and Connacht adrift but maybe less pressure for the rest of the season meaning all is not lost.
Ospreys and Glasgow to be reminded of the gap at the top.
Benetton, Edinburgh and Cardiff to steal a march on the playoff spots.
SA teams glad to have 3 weeks off.

Jack Crowley with his first start for munster. Strong team named..

Munster:
15. Matt Gallagher
14. Andrew Conway
13. Liam Coombes
12. Dan Goggin
11. Shane Daly
10. Jack Crowley
9. Craig Casey

1. Jeremy Loughman
2. Niall Scannell
3. John Ryan
4. Jean Kleyn
5. Fineen Wycherley
6. Tadhg Beirne
7. Peter O’Mahony (captain)
8. Jack O’Donoghue.

Replacements:

16. Kevin O’Byrne
17. Josh Wycherley
18. Keynan Knox
19. Gavin Coombes
20. John Hodnett
21. Conor Murray
22. Ben Healy
23. Damian de Allende

Cardiff: M Morgan; J Harries, R Lee-Lo, M Llewellyn, H Amos; J Evans, L Williams; C Domachowski, K Myhill, D Arhip, M Screech, R Thornton, J Turnbull (captain), W Boyde, J Ratti.

Replacements: K Dacey, B Thyer, W Davies-King, T Williams, S Lewis-Hughes, E Bevan, D Fish, G Smith.

Dragons: J Williams; J Holmes, J Dixon, A Owen, R Dyer; S Davies, R Williams; A Seiuli, T Davies, M Doge, J Davies, J Maksymiw, H Keddie (captain), B Fry, O Griffiths.

Replacements: E Shipp, G Bateman, C Coleman, H Taylor, D Baker, G Bertanou, J Lewis, J Rosser.

Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Two not bad sides, considering the 16 players missing. Cardiff look stronger admittedly. Very happy to have Jordan Williams back and happy to see Dyer available on the left wing. I know he is raw, but believe he offers more than the Leicester winger we have on loan (certainly gustier defensively anyway).

The Oracle wrote:
I’d forgotten about the AIs when I posted to be honest! Sort of crept up on me. So there might be some ‘soft shoulders’ in the Blues line up as they’ll be starting more 2nd choices, but so will we! I think our call ups will hurt us more than them as they’ve probably got better squad depth. It’s a double edge sword of course - we’ve craved a time where our players are getting picked and now here we are with 6 of our fit and available starting pack getting selected (and Leon Brown perhaps would have if not injured) and we’re a bit threadbare again and it’s all doom and gloom! Such is the nature of it I suppose. But not expecting much from this game now. Wanting our backs to be better with a poorer platform compared to the last few games….. well, it’s just not going to happen is it!

Mate, the Blues ain't playing.

PhilBB wrote:

The Oracle wrote:
I’d forgotten about the AIs when I posted to be honest! Sort of crept up on me. So there might be some ‘soft shoulders’ in the Blues line up as they’ll be starting more 2nd choices, but so will we! I think our call ups will hurt us more than them as they’ve probably got better squad depth. It’s a double edge sword of course - we’ve craved a time where our players are getting picked and now here we are with 6 of our fit and available starting pack getting selected (and Leon Brown perhaps would have if not injured) and we’re a bit threadbare again and it’s all doom and gloom! Such is the nature of it I suppose. But not expecting much from this game now. Wanting our backs to be better with a poorer platform compared to the last few games….. well, it’s just not going to happen is it!

Mate, the Blues ain't playing.

It’s my little nickname for them, based on the colour of their kit. I think it’s catchy.

The Oracle wrote:

PhilBB wrote:

The Oracle wrote:
I’d forgotten about the AIs when I posted to be honest! Sort of crept up on me. So there might be some ‘soft shoulders’ in the Blues line up as they’ll be starting more 2nd choices, but so will we! I think our call ups will hurt us more than them as they’ve probably got better squad depth. It’s a double edge sword of course - we’ve craved a time where our players are getting picked and now here we are with 6 of our fit and available starting pack getting selected (and Leon Brown perhaps would have if not injured) and we’re a bit threadbare again and it’s all doom and gloom! Such is the nature of it I suppose. But not expecting much from this game now. Wanting our backs to be better with a poorer platform compared to the last few games….. well, it’s just not going to happen is it!

Mate, the Blues ain't playing.

It’s my little nickname for them, based on the colour of their kit.  I think it’s catchy.  

The kit is blue and black, by the way.....

PhilBB wrote:

The Oracle wrote:

PhilBB wrote:

The Oracle wrote:
I’d forgotten about the AIs when I posted to be honest! Sort of crept up on me. So there might be some ‘soft shoulders’ in the Blues line up as they’ll be starting more 2nd choices, but so will we! I think our call ups will hurt us more than them as they’ve probably got better squad depth. It’s a double edge sword of course - we’ve craved a time where our players are getting picked and now here we are with 6 of our fit and available starting pack getting selected (and Leon Brown perhaps would have if not injured) and we’re a bit threadbare again and it’s all doom and gloom! Such is the nature of it I suppose. But not expecting much from this game now. Wanting our backs to be better with a poorer platform compared to the last few games….. well, it’s just not going to happen is it!

Mate, the Blues ain't playing.

It’s my little nickname for them, based on the colour of their kit.  I think it’s catchy.  

The kit is blue and black, by the way.....

Light Blue tops, matching light blue shorts. Hmmm, I’m gonna call them Blues!

But in all seriousness yes it was a slip of the tongue/keyboard when referring to them. Not the end of the world (apart from for you). I still call the Principality Stadium the Millennium Stadium. Can’t get out of the habit. Whoops.

I don't get that penalty in the air, they are competing for the ball, the leinster man actually nearly gets the ball and gets done for colliding with the guy in the air, doesn't make sense to me

He was late - the glasgow player almost had it then the leinster player jumps into him and knocks it from his hands - lucky to stay on the park given the elbow to the head

GP lucky to not get a red. Punch to the shoulder that pops up to the face. Right in front of the ref.

Leinster again bully Glasgow, it's the one area Glasgow still struggle.

So are Benetton the team to watch with all the action in their games and the constant score changing.

Fair play to Scarlets. I heard Gustard say on S4C that he thought they were going to be nervous. To have three leads closed down, but still win showed good character.

Notice Leinster had another bonus point win. Only one team has prevented a WBP for them. Must’ve been a really good team that did that.

I didn’t start watching until Scarlets went 17-14 up, but it looks like everybody’s favourite TMO Brian MacNeice has had a stinker again, with Benetton’s first try. This guy really is not fit for purpose.

Are the scarlet internationals the problem with the team.  While they are better players the non internationals do better as a team without them.

When the internationals are there they seem less organised

Brendan wrote:Are the scarlet internationals the problem with the team.  While they are better players the non internationals do better as a team without them.

When the internationals are there they seem less organised

I guess the non-international guys at the Scarlets know one way. Whereas the internationals know the scarlets way, the Wales way and more recently the Lions way. All different systems and styles. Might make a difference and cause some ‘confusion’? But then, it would for Leinster and Munster players too right? And all teams with a number of internationals.  But doesn’t seem to affect them in the same way. So maybe not!

Thought Scarlets were still rubbish. Their defence is poor, the backs stood too far back, and the forwards keep taking the ball standing still. I will say, some of those guys did actually play like their jersey was important to them, and it made the difference.

Benetton play good stuff at times, but they’re too error-prone and that made opening them up quite easy. At times they were the better team.

Irish officials should be withdrawn from the URC. Or at the very least only used for Irish interpros.

Pot Hale wrote:Irish officials should be withdrawn from the URC. Or at the very least only used for Irish interpros.

I mean, we could be childish about it yeah. Simple searches about Brian MacNeice would show how he is a pretty useless TMO. There was enough controversy about an Irish inter pro last week, before we go all protective or whatever.

BP win for Edinburgh in Parma, but grim stuff from both sides. A very un-memorable match!

RiscaGame wrote:

Pot Hale wrote:Irish officials should be withdrawn from the URC. Or at the very least only used for Irish interpros.

I mean, we could be childish about it yeah. Simple searches about Brian MacNeice would show how he is a pretty useless TMO. There was enough controversy about an Irish inter pro last week, before we go all protective or whatever.

I googled "Pretty useless TMO" and his name didn't come up.

Clearly, their presence generates a fair amount of criticism from opposing fans and always has done. So take them out of the games involving non-Irish teams.

That looked suspiciously like the connacht player knew he messed up and thought I'll try to take this Ulster player out with my body to stop him getting that ball, never looked at but to me he knew exactly what he was doing

Connacht just want this way more right now, they are so aggressive right now and Ulster cannot handle it

neilthom7 wrote:That looked suspiciously like the connacht player knew he messed up and thought I'll try to take this Ulster player out with my body to stop him getting that ball, never looked at but to me he knew exactly what he was doing

Agreed. The Connacht player was John Porch. Looked a cert for a penalty try. Although not certain if a pen was awarded and Henderson opted for the scrum.

Still Connacht looking very lively and good value for their lead.

neilthom7 wrote:Connacht just want this way more right now, they are so aggressive right now and Ulster cannot handle it

They're pissed after last week's result going against them. Friend has a point to prove.

Ulster 6 O'Connor barges into back of Connacht player. Yellow card.

I think the ref got that one spot on