Ulster 2022-2023

[wixfjord]

They literally switched off after their try.

You'd write a sports psych PHD on them. Mad stuff.

Got to be questions over McFarland now.

Munster kept plugging though and while it wasn't pretty they got over the line. Far more mentally tough than Ulster in that last 20.

[Ruckedtobits]

From observing at the outside, the problem isn't McFarland, it's the captain. On field decisions cr@p, relations with referees cr@p and communication with his own players an annoyance to his own game focus. Re-install O'Connor and watch the improvement immediately.

[suisse]

17 years without a trophy. Change the captain, change the coach. Nothing changes.

[Dexter]

The last 5 games: 3 of them Ulster had the match essentially won, once they managed it properly. They lost 2 and were lucky not to give up a draw in the 3rd. 1 game they completely fail turn up, and are nillled. 1 game they again fail to be in any way effective or competitive for 40 mins, then play like a different team in the 2nd half, discipline issues cost them a chance to scrape a draw.
Something is definitely not right.

[blockhead]

Dan Not the Man!
He's had a good run at it, time to get someone new in.
So many good young Irish lads in that squad.

[Aird]

Yes Dexter things are not goood at present with Ulster and it is frustrating. Against
Einstein they were the better team in the first half but but then lost control and folded in the second half.
Sale result was down to the Ulster admin who booked them on a public flight on the Friday afternoon then there was trouble at Liverpool airport but I stead of trying to find alternative flights were caught up in the usual. Airline delaying tactics. Eventual sent home around midnight. Then no room on flight next morning for a party of probably around 50 on any one flight. So back to the airport for 6:30 am and then split over at least 3 destinations?l all arriving at different times.allegedly 4 players arrived an hour before kickoff. Management should have bitten the bullet and hired a charter flight and tried to fill any empty seats with”delegates” at least that way you could fly somewhere together on Friday and coach it on from there. Maybe arrive late at your hotel but at least get a nights sleep and meals. The team were wrecked before they even took the field.
La Rochelle at home must at least be partly down to Ulster rugby management and ground staff. Even before the sale game the local weather forecasters were forecasting very cold and heavy frosts but there seems to have been virtually no precautions taken either to secure the surface atRavenhill nor to have an alternative venue organised,
Ulsters CEO. and the EPCR have a lot of questions to answer not least why it was behind closed doors with La Rochelle delegates present. The team were left in limbo having prepared for a home game in Belfast only to discover that it was somewhere else two hours travel away. Even then although losing the game they did pickup a losing bonus point and another for scoring 4 tries. Against La Rochelle 3tries. Even with La Rochelle’s banned coach in attendance.
They then greased a win at Galway at a notoriously difficult venue to get a win at.
They outplayed Munster for large portions of the Munster game but were badly exposed off the bench when Marty Moore went off. Any one who regularly watches Moore will know that his body shape camouflages a very skilled and committed player
even then they lost by the narrowest of margins
Disappointing as Ulster’s performances have been it is too soon to right the team off.

[Oldschool]

Watching the Ben v Uls game the Ulster players look leaden footed and are very slow to support the player in possession.

[Keith]

Fantastic crowd in Treviso today and a great atmosphere. They're becoming a real force at home. I hope the Ulster fans that accuse Irish management of bias against their players when selecting for the national side, are realising why certain players aren't picked.

[Ruckedtobits]

Fantastic crowd in Treviso today and a great atmosphere. They're becoming a real force at home. I hope the Ulster fans that accuse Irish management of bias against their players when selecting for the national side, are realising why certain players aren't picked.

Yes, they certainly exposed their weak spots again today. McCloskey however flew the flag and Stockdale showed a welcome improvement in form with some excellent fielding and aggressive, if unsuccessful bursts. Herring had a horror and Henderson looks a long way off a dominant international second-row. Cooney & Timoney started well but joined the general rabble in the second-half.

Sorry for the Coach at this point but they are playing without confidance or hunger at this stage and whilst they did well to get back in the game, in truth they never looked like they would hold out for a win. Beaten 31-29.

[Keith]

Fantastic crowd in Treviso today and a great atmosphere. They're becoming a real force at home. I hope the Ulster fans that accuse Irish management of bias against their players when selecting for the national side, are realising why certain players aren't picked.

Yes, they certainly exposed their weak spots again today. McCloskey however flew the flag and Stockdale showed a welcome improvement in form with some excellent fielding and aggressive, if unsuccessful bursts. Herring had a horror and Henderson looks a long way off a dominant international second-row. Cooney & Timoney started well but joined the general rabble in the second-half.

Sorry for the Coach at this point but they are playing without confidance or hunger at this stage and whilst they did well to get back in the game, in truth they never looked like they would hold out for a win. Beaten 31-29.

It's interesting seeing you praise Stockdale as he's getting a hounding online from Ulster fans, I didn't see the first half so can't really make an informed rating. Hendos form has been a worry for a while now, I remember him almost costing us the game against England in the 6 nations with the amount of penalties he gave away. I don't think sacking McFarland is the answer, there's something else going on.

[Oldschool]

Henderson didn't look fit.
Stockdale not sure tbh.
Ulster didn't deserve to win this game but still contrived to get in front with 5mins to go, won the restart and managed for the "umpteenth" time to concede possession and promptly concede a peno to Ben which was converted to win the game.
Even at that they had one last chance to win the game and again took wrong options.
Headless and lethargic would describe Ulster's overall performance.

[enby]

Losing has become a habit, a bad habit for Ulster. It's a sad sight

[Dexter]

Yes Dexter things are not goood at present with Ulster and it is frustrating. Against
Einstein they were the better team in the first half but but then lost control and folded in the second half.
Sale result was down to the Ulster admin who booked them on a public flight on the Friday afternoon then there was trouble at Liverpool airport but I stead of trying to find alternative flights were caught up in the usual. Airline delaying tactics. Eventual sent home around midnight. Then no room on flight next morning for a party of probably around 50 on any one flight. So back to the airport for 6:30 am and then split over at least 3 destinations?l all arriving at different times.allegedly 4 players arrived an hour before kickoff. Management should have bitten the bullet and hired a charter flight and tried to fill any empty seats with”delegates” at least that way you could fly somewhere together on Friday and coach it on from there. Maybe arrive late at your hotel but at least get a nights sleep and meals. The team were wrecked before they even took the field.
La Rochelle at home must at least be partly down to Ulster rugby management and ground staff. Even before the sale game the local weather forecasters were forecasting very cold and heavy frosts but there seems to have been virtually no precautions taken either to secure the surface atRavenhill nor to have an alternative venue organised,
Ulsters CEO. and the EPCR have a lot of questions to answer not least why it was behind closed doors with La Rochelle delegates present. The team were left in limbo having prepared for a home game in Belfast only to discover that it was somewhere else two hours travel away. Even then although losing the game they did pickup a losing bonus point and another for scoring 4 tries. Against La Rochelle 3tries. Even with La Rochelle’s banned coach in attendance.
They then greased a win at Galway at a notoriously difficult venue to get a win at.
They outplayed Munster for large portions of the Munster game but were badly exposed off the bench when Marty Moore went off. Any one who regularly watches Moore will know that his body shape camouflages a very skilled and committed player
even then they lost by the narrowest of margins
Disappointing as Ulster’s performances have been it is too soon to right the team off.

Woah, I didn't realise the extent of the travel issues to Sale. That's kinda mad!

[John23]

What if they had Boris's landbridge?

[blockhead]

Ulster have confirmed that prop Marty Moore sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the recent United Rugby Championship defeat to Munster.
Moore was stretchered off after sustaining the knock just 30 minutes into the interpro clash in Belfast.
A subsequent MRI scan has revealed the extent of the damage, with Moore set to meet with a knee surgeon this week.
It will rule the 31-year-old out of action for the remainder of the season

Them boys up north can't catch a break at the minute.

[riocard911]

Here's wishing Ian Madigan all the very best amárach, starting at ten for Ulster after a long injury. I'd feckin' love to see him guide the Northern Brethren to a win against Team RO'G on the latter's home turf!!!! I know I'm probably being delusional, but one can always dream.....

[Ruckedtobits]

Unbelievable weather in La Rochelle. Full scale squall on Ulster's back in the first half but LAR full-back, Brice Dulin, playing magnificently as if he was brought up in Galway. Ulster lots of possession......and lots of mistakes. 0-0 coming up to 30 mins

[OTT]

That should have been a PT and yellow .

[OTT]

Jaysus, I’m fuming with the ref there.

He’s after letting La Rochelle away with murder there. Ulster come away with nothing.

[OTT]

The wet weather hasn’t effected Stockdale, still has dreadful handling