Ulster squad additions

First topic message reminder :

All of the following will be contracted to Ulster next year - I don't know the nature of each contract though

Niall Annett
Jerry Cronin
Craig Gilroy
Paddy Jackson
Adam Macklin
Luke Marshall
James McKinney
Ian Porter

Will supply a fully list shortly - still no mention of Bryan Young. Also no mention of Gaston yet

Ah Jimmy...

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

How many Ulster players have tribute videos?

2minutes 53 is class by the way!

That channel is brilliant clive, but most of the videos are for french players, or players who play in the french league. There won't be many (if any) ulster players in that.

is it a channel? didnt even notice, bust check more out later!

He loved a bit o' ruckin did our Jimmy!

Lets get O'Leary in at 9. Pienaar at 10 and bring on Jackson/McKinney for the following season.
Forget Kiano and any other expensive backrower. Resign Pedrie and get Ali Birch up to speed ASAP.

I would have been delighted with Kaino but if he is ,as Geoff suggests, only interested in a short term money spinner then no thank you. We want players to buy into ulster as our saffers have done and like nacewa and howlett have done with their respective provinces.

Not sure who is about then in terms of back row.


*on the assumption we can't just renew Pedrie that is.

clivemcl wrote:is it a channel? didnt even notice, bust check more out later!

He loved a bit o' ruckin did our Jimmy!

Well, a youtube channel I mean that poster puts up a lot of great videos.

Rava wrote:Lets get O'Leary Stringer in at 9. Pienaar at 10 and bring on Jackson/McKinney for the following season. Forget Kiano and any other expensive backrower. Resign Pedrie and get Ali Birch up to speed ASAP.

Fixed it for you Rava

To confirm the Ulster full professional contracts up this summer that have yet to be renewed. I said 6 but it is actually 7 (I was forgetting Danielli who I am assuming is definitely away)

Wannenberg
Danielli
Faloon
Barker
Whitten
L. Marshall
Brady

How confident are you about the Whitten thing Geoff?

Which of these are definatly away and who will definatly be resigned? Surely theres no chance of Marshall Brady and Barker going anywhere is there?

Also, anyone know if Danielli is looking a transfer? Or is it retirement on the cards? What age is he? His girlfriend is from here though which may be a factor.

Barker hasn't featured much this year, has he been carrying an injury?

I thought he did really well last season.

Really want to see Pedre and Faloon stay, but in that latters case his talents might be better appreciated elsewhere.

Quite detailed whispers on UAFC about Matt Sexton being a done deal.

And also Dean Ryans being mooted.

The skulduggery remains afoot...

My guessitmates of a likely departure

Wannenberg 50%
Danielli 99.9%
Faloon 10%
Barker 10%
Whitten 50%
L. Marshall 0.1%
Brady 0.1%

Basically Danielli is away, Marshall and Brady are going nowhere and I would be very surprised if Faloon or Barker
were not Ulster players next year. There was a wisper about Diack going but that seems to have gone quiet

Whitten and Wannenberg are the two big unknowns

Some uncertainty is inevitable though with a new coach on the horizon

Barker has simply lost out to Stevenson in the pecking order.

He is now 4th choice lock not 3rd.
That is the only reason he has played less

Being touted, on the supporters site, and confirmed by the most realiable rumours poster there, 'KingoftheHill', that Matt Sexton is our new coach

I have heard nothing as my contacts are at the player not the management level - won't stop me asking later in the week though

If true he will be bringing his own backs coach - so definitely good bye Doaky

Is matt Sexton as big as we could have hoped for? Whats his record? Doesnt look too good when a google search gives pretty much no info. He's not even on Wikipedia.

Couldn't careless about Wiki

As a player, captain and forwards coach he is/was outstanding.
Played 128 times for Canterbury.
41 years of age.

Head Coach ? - different matter.

One thing is for sure he wil lbe as hard as nail - no cowpat allowed.

To be honest I think Humphreys jr will have to up his commitment defensively otherwise he will be out. Sexto wont stand for it.

Crusaders academy to head coach. That's a big step. Someone on Planetrugby mentioned him bringing AaronMauger as a backs coach. That sort of thinking I could get on board with.

Anymore word on Bowe? I half expected an announcement this week as it would help boost interest and sales for the ospreys game.

I checked Uafc there. I see the Mauger thing has changed to another guy.

this could be interesting, with ulster and Munster both getting new coaches. Both front runners seem to be ex-players for their respective provinces (foley and sexton),and also with both teams challenging for the position of being Ireland's No2 province behind Leinster.

Don Alfonso wrote:And also Dean Ryans being mooted.

Noooooo!!!!!

geoff998rugby wrote:Couldn't careless about Wiki

As a player, captain and forwards coach he is/was outstanding.

Head Coach ? - different matter.

Well I'm a young cub (to an extent), and I don't remember the Matt Sexton era. So I'm not swayed by the ex-player side of things. From my (albeit limited) point of view, how is anybodys acadamy coach meant to be our head coach if we have the ambition we claim to have especially when we have just got shot of a man who was doing pretty well.

I'll happily be corrected though

Bowe as far as I am aware is a done deal.
For reasons best known to others - the official announcement is often later.

geoff998rugby wrote:Bowe as far as I am aware is a done deal.
For reasons best known to others - the official announcement is often later.

maybe after the match this weekend?

clivemcl wrote:

geoff998rugby wrote:Couldn't careless about Wiki

As a player, captain and forwards coach he is/was outstanding.

Head Coach ? - different matter.

Well I'm a young cub (to an extent), and I don't remember the Matt Sexton era. So I'm not swayed by the ex-player side of things. From my (albeit limited) point of view, how is anybodys acadamy coach meant to be our head coach if we have the ambition we claim to have especially when we have just got shot of a man who was doing pretty well.

I'll happily be corrected though

Maybe I should have said 'I'd like to be corrected!'

Reassure me that this man is a magician please!

The silence is, as they say, deafening!

He has... ahem... potential. Given the fact he was in our top 3 candidates to replace Brian it seems all but likely.

OK whats the deal with this Sexton geezer? He used to play hooker for us right? Whats his coaching pedigree?

He has been in charge of the crusaders academy for a while I think. Not the high pedigree that will appease the ulster public but when you consider that the SH and more specifically the kiwis have been pioneers in world rugby I would be hopeful. Crusaders are by far the biggest team in nz.

Mainland, Guildford, the franks, the whitelocks, matt Todd, freuan, crotty etc are a sample of their youngsters. Not sure if any of them were bought in or brought through ute academy though

Stand the facts that he was involved with crusaders and that he is a former Ulster player are major pluses..... however that he hasn't got a lot of experience of being the top man makes it a bit of a gamble (if he gets the job) and makes the descision to axe BM seem a bit strange.

Will Muller stay on as forwards coach?

It seems strafe rodders but the as Logan stated they were never going to let him stay as head coach.

I heard somewhere (it might have been geoff actually) that they wanted sexton as a forwards coach this year but he wanted a couple of years to move and ulster wanted all the coaches contracts to end this year.

If that is true I find it strange that he has gone from a forwards coach candidate to a head coach in a year. I agree totally about muller, and I do hope he has a future here after his playing days finish

clivemcl wrote:

geoff998rugby wrote:Couldn't careless about Wiki

As a player, captain and forwards coach he is/was outstanding.

Head Coach ? - different matter.

Well I'm a young cub (to an extent), and I don't remember the Matt Sexton era. So I'm not swayed by the ex-player side of things. From my (albeit limited) point of view, how is anybodys acadamy coach meant to be our head coach if we have the ambition we claim to have especially when we have just got shot of a man who was doing pretty well.

I'll happily be corrected though

Wow! You must be very young if you don't remember 8 years ago.

Chris Cochrane getting a full contract I've heard.

Jenifer McLadyboy wrote:

clivemcl wrote:

geoff998rugby wrote:Couldn't careless about Wiki

As a player, captain and forwards coach he is/was outstanding.

Head Coach ? - different matter.

Well I'm a young cub (to an extent), and I don't remember the Matt Sexton era. So I'm not swayed by the ex-player side of things. From my (albeit limited) point of view, how is anybodys acadamy coach meant to be our head coach if we have the ambition we claim to have especially when we have just got shot of a man who was doing pretty well.

I'll happily be corrected though

Wow! You must be very young if you don't remember 8 years ago.

I just didnt really properly follow Ulster until 5years ago despite being 27. Not that i knew nothing before then. Which is why I find it strange I don't know his name. Was he good? Was he an all-black?

clivemcl wrote:Chris Cochrane getting a full contract I've heard.

Really?

That would mean Cochrane, Gilroy, Trimble, Bowe. I suppose that makes sense with D'arcy and spence able to cover.

clivemcl wrote:Chris Cochrane getting a full contract I've heard.

Slightly surprised but what it does do is confirm is Danielli is off.
It was a case of signing or leaving - he wasn't gouing to stay on a development contract.

As mentioend above I think we now know who our 4 wingers are for next year.

I don't want to pretend I'm competing with you mysterious guys with you inside info, but basically I heard it via a few woman... They dont know what a full contract or a development contract are. I just heard he was signing and I assumed it wouldnt be another development contract.

Just clearing that up so I'm not red-faced if i'm wrong!

He is 23 isn't he. Too old for a development. In fairness from the little I have seen of the ravens/youngsters he was the pick of the wings. On saying that gaston has a few yers on him. Nelson and Farrell will only be on development contracts I would think.

My understanding is that because he was 23 and therefore 2 years older than anyone else on a development contract (because of unlucky injuries) the decision was going to be made this year to either drop him or give him a full contract.

A 24 year old on a development contract is not considered sensible.

It's a strange one. I was speaking with a Dungannon man at the Ireland/Wales game and when I asked him who their best prospect was he was quite convinced it was Gaston. Praise indeed over Nelson, Gilroy, Cochrane etc.

Have to say I wasn't impressed with him during the Ravens quarter final but he got injured.

Gaston looked really good in the matches he played for the senior team team though. Shame he didn't get more of a chance during the WC.

I see Ulster have now offered QF tickets to those who buy a 2012/13 season ticket. £215 though, and I'd be going myself. I can only get my wife dragged to about 2/3 games a season. I can't decide! I probably won't make the most of it!

clivemcl wrote:Chris Cochrane getting a full contract I've heard.

Cochrane would have left last year except he wanted to finish his studies. I imagine he would have left at the end of this season if a contract wasn't forthcoming.

here's some news from last night to stir the coaching pot.

Mike Cheika was there.
Saw him speaking to Ryan Constable.
What I heard was he flew in yesterday and Constable used the phrase 'sleeping giant'

After they stopped talking Cheika went onto the pitch avoiding the TV camera and walked along the pitch side eyeing up the old stand. He then sat in one of the dug outs for a good 10 mins before the Ospreys coaching staff turned up.

Looked like a man eyeing up a new job if you ask me

Interesting Geoff,

Or maybe he was just remembering that cold wet night a couple of seasons ago when we sent Leinster home with a flea in their ear!

Was that his last trip to Ravenhill?

Was Constable talking about Ulster or Cheika when he said "sleeping giant"

Or maybe he was eyeing up the Os?

MrsP wrote:
Was Constable talking about Ulster or Cheika when he said "sleeping giant"

Or maybe he was eyeing up the Os?

Defintely talking about a club not a person

Didn't think about the O's angle but th fact he seemed to be taking a real interest in Ravenhill as a ground leads me in the other direction

Geoff, you should be a private detective! Not sure how I'd feel about Cheika, the distance Leinster have come since he left is stark although he must take some credit for laying foundations and a HC winning coach can't be sniffed at!

I reckon you're right Geoff.

Just a shame that no-one set the "sleeping giant's" alarm clock last night!