Ulster 2022-2023

[enby]

Ulster just announced 2 year deals for both Cooney & Stockdale. Not surprised at one of them. Amazed at the other.

Cooney must have turned down the opportunity to become a Scot

[sunshiner1]

by enby


Cooney must have turned down the opportunity to become a Scot

I wonder did the pension play into it? Moving to Scotland now after having your whole career in Ireland could affect your bank balance.

[hugonaut]

by enby


Cooney must have turned down the opportunity to become a Scot

I wonder did the pension play into it? Moving to Scotland now after having your whole career in Ireland could affect your bank balance.

I would say that it did. Britain is no longer in the EU, the EEA or the EFTA.

Sportperson's Relief details here: https://www.revenue.ie/en/personal-tax- ... elief.aspx

[Schumi]

by enby


Cooney must have turned down the opportunity to become a Scot

I wonder did the pension play into it? Moving to Scotland now after having your whole career in Ireland could affect your bank balance.

I would say that it did. Britain is no longer in the EU, the EEA or the EFTA.

Sportperson's Relief details here: https://www.revenue.ie/en/personal-tax- ... elief.aspx

The legislation was updated to include the UK separately after Brexit. I don't know that the relief applies to Ulster players to begin with, they'd be paying income tax in the UK I assume.

[hugonaut]

I wonder did the pension play into it? Moving to Scotland now after having your whole career in Ireland could affect your bank balance.

I would say that it did. Britain is no longer in the EU, the EEA or the EFTA.

Sportperson's Relief details here: https://www.revenue.ie/en/personal-tax- ... elief.aspx

The legislation was updated to include the UK separately after Brexit. I don't know that the relief applies to Ulster players to begin with, they'd be paying income tax in the UK I assume.

Good point, that somehow escaped me.

[paddyor]

I wonder did the pension play into it? Moving to Scotland now after having your whole career in Ireland could affect your bank balance.

I would say that it did. Britain is no longer in the EU, the EEA or the EFTA.

Sportperson's Relief details here: https://www.revenue.ie/en/personal-tax- ... elief.aspx

The legislation was updated to include the UK separately after Brexit. I don't know that the relief applies to Ulster players to begin with, they'd be paying income tax in the UK I assume.

Bitch said it doesn’t apply to ulster players. In coneys case it’s only about 6 years and they would have been some of his lowest earning.

[Keith]

Rob Lyttle is apparently retiring from rugby after being let go by Ulster. I always thought he looked a player and could never understand why McFarland overlooked him. A lot of Ulster fans are enraged with the situation.

[Grumpy Old Man]

A lot of Ulster fans are enraged.

Fixed that for you.

[hugonaut]

A lot of Ulster fans are enraged.

Fixed that for you.

They are probably trying to find out how many games Lytle played this season. Ulster's website is mystifyingly bad.

[Colmodon]

A lot of Ulster fans are enraged.

Fixed that for you.

They are probably trying to find out how many games Lytle played this season. Ulster's website is mystifyingly bad.

I find All Rugby quite good for stats like that, albeit have never tried to verify how accurate it is.

https://all.rugby/player/rob-lyttle

[sunshiner1]

Rumour has it that James French is signing for Ulster for next season. Apparently he playing down in Oz at the moment. Hope it goes well for him. With a bit of luck he could get serious gametime next year.

[ronk]

Rob Lyttle is apparently retiring from rugby after being let go by Ulster. I always thought he looked a player and could never understand why McFarland overlooked him. A lot of Ulster fans are enraged with the situation.

I think he was just 1 mini- winger too many.

Ulster have 8 backs under 90 kg in their senior squad. Ulster have younger players getting more gametime. It's odd because I would have thought he had a future in the game.

[Ruckedtobits]

Rumour has it that James French is signing for Ulster for next season. Apparently he playing down in Oz at the moment. Hope it goes well for him. With a bit of luck he could get serious gametime next year.

Based on the analysis of his background and career to date (such as previously analysed by @hugonaut recently), French's prospects under McFarland should be good. He understands the mental part of front-row play and is prepared to actually coach the physical part. Warwick and Tom O'Toole are good examples.

[hugonaut]

Rob Lyttle is apparently retiring from rugby after being let go by Ulster. I always thought he looked a player and could never understand why McFarland overlooked him. A lot of Ulster fans are enraged with the situation.

I think he was just 1 mini- winger too many.

Ulster have 8 backs under 90 kg in their senior squad. Ulster have younger players getting more gametime. It's odd because I would have thought he had a future in the game.

They have 49 players listed in their senior squad. They are heavily overloaded.

When you look at the number of lads below 200mins on the season [16!], you are faced with some fairly damning evidence of poor recruitment and management by Petrie and MacFarland. They don't even have the excuse available to Rowntree and Prendergast of having inherited a squad. This is a squad that they put together themselves. Petrie and MacFarland have been in situ since 2018.

1. Will Addison: 0 mins
2. Shea O'Brien: 0 mins
3. Declan Moore: 13 mins
4. Michael McDonald: 18 mins
5. Frank Bradshaw Ryan: 27 mins
6. Dave Shanahan: 40 mins
7. Jude Postlethwaite: 50 mins
8. Ian Madigan: 71 mins
9. Angus Curtis: 111 mins
10. Cormac Izuchukwu: 127 mins
11. Jake Flannery: 128 mins
12. Callum Reid: 134 mins
13. Gareth Milasinovich: 147 mins
14. Sean Refell: 167 mins
15. Greg Jones: 174 mins
16. Craig Gilroy: 187 mins

They have paid three outhalves [Madigan, Flannery and Curtis] for the entire season to play 310 mins, less than four full matches. They have paid two scrum-halves for the entire season to play 68 mins, less than a single match.

Beyond that, Ulster's problem is the same it has been for a decade: can't produce forwards. Centres and wingers to beat the band, no forwards. MacFarland has been head coach for almost five full seasons now, and how many Ulster-born forwards has he brought into the senior squad in that time? Four. Dave McCann, Marcus Rea, Callum Reid and Tom Stewart.

BACKS
Back Three [9]:
Will Addison, Robert Baloucoune, Craig Gilroy, Michael Lowry, Rob Lyttle, Ethan McIlroy, Shea O'Brien, Aaron Sexton, Jacob Stockdale

Centres [6]:
James Hume, Luke Marshall, Stewart McCloskey, Stewart Moore, Ben Moxham, Jude Postlethwaite

Outhalves [4]:
Billy Burns, Jake Flannery, Ian Madigan, Angus Curtis

Scrum-halves [4]:
Nathan Doak, John Cooney, Dave Shanahan, Michael McDonald

FORWARDS
Backrow [8]:
Greg Jones, Dave McCann, Jordi Murphy, Marcus Rea, Matty Rea, Sean Reffell, Nick Timoney, Duane Vermeulen

Locks [6]:
Frank Bradshaw-Ryan, Sam Carter, Iain Henderson, Cormac Izuchukwu, Alan O'Connor, Kieran Treadwell

Tightheads [4]:
Gareth Milasinovich, Marty Moore, Tom O'Toole, Jeff Toomaga-Allen

Hookers [4]:
John Andrew, Rob Herring, Declan Moore, Tom Stewart

Looseheads [4]:
Eric O'Sullivan, Callum Reid, Rory Sutherland, Andy Warwick

[ronk]

Tom O'Toole went to school in Belfast. For some purposes he may not count but it's hardly on MacFarland.

He was in situ and a teenager, so the coaches can get credit for developing him.

16 is an absolutely shocking number. 5 emergency halfbacks (with age profile requirements) make it look worse, there are a few injuries, I had Postlewaite & O'Brien as academy.

There's an issue here of failing to adapt to the changing squad sizes but I have to think there's an element of failure at IRFU level. Ulster aren't the only province who are hoarding depth on the books.

Without knowing the internals, it still looks like something is a bit wrong if coaches are being landed with players they don't really want/use.

49 players is too many. 16 players under 200 minutes is too many.

[sunshiner1]

by Ruckedtobits

Based on the analysis of his background and career to date (such as previously analysed by @hugonaut recently), French's prospects under McFarland should be good. He understands the mental part of front-row play and is prepared to actually coach the physical part. Warwick and Tom O'Toole are good examples.

I really hope he makes it with Ulster. Not just for Irish Rugby but also as a walking reminder to them down in Munster who let him go. We don't make many players like him so having him leave the system was a big deal. I'm hoping with proper coaching and gametime he fufill's his potential.

[sunshiner1]

by hugonaut

When you look at the number of lads below 200mins on the season [16!], you are faced with some fairly damning evidence of poor recruitment and management by Petrie and MacFarland. They don't even have the excuse available to Rowntree and Prendergast of having inherited a squad. This is a squad that they put together themselves. Petrie and MacFarland have been in situ since 2018.

1. Will Addison: 0 mins
2. Shea O'Brien: 0 mins
3. Declan Moore: 13 mins
4. Michael McDonald: 18 mins
5. Frank Bradshaw Ryan: 27 mins
6. Dave Shanahan: 40 mins
7. Jude Postlethwaite: 50 mins
8. Ian Madigan: 71 mins
9. Angus Curtis: 111 mins
10. Cormac Izuchukwu: 127 mins
11. Jake Flannery: 128 mins
12. Callum Reid: 134 mins
13. Gareth Milasinovich: 147 mins
14. Sean Refell: 167 mins
15. Greg Jones: 174 mins
16. Craig Gilroy: 187 mins

Of all of these I'm most disappointed in Frank Bradshaw Ryan not getting more gametime. He never seemed to have gotten a chance and with Ulster's forward problems he could have been to a lesser extent a Ulster-type equivalent to Jenkin's here in Leinster.

[Ruckedtobits]

Obviously the 'will he go? or 'will he stay?' controversy played some part in McFarland "demoting" John Cooney for various important games since Christmas but tonight's display by Ulster proved he is in a different league to Doak. His decision making, selection of targets for passes, execution of passes and tackles and his coverage of the pitch were the difference between the teams. Ulster had other stars, McCloskey and Stewart amongst them but to this observer, Cooney was king.....and that's before we mention his penalty kicking and kicking out of hand.

Excellent display by Cooney but Ulster back-row played off the park, except for McCann.

[naraic]

Doak is a 21 year old scrum half.

He has a massive career ahead of him and he needs gametime to develop but you are correct that Cooney is better than him at the moment.

[sunshiner1]

I agree with you guys regarding Cooney but just want to give a big shout out to Jeff Toomaga-Allen as well. Now that's a proper NIQ signing!