Ulster v Connacht, Fri 5th May, URC QF

[Hippo]

fair play Connacht. So much for Dan Demographics.

[Schumi]

Connacht should have won that by about 20 points. That's as bad as Ulster have looked all season.

[Dave Cahill]

Connacht should have won that by about 20 points. That's as bad as Ulster have looked all season.

Ulster have looked terrible all season when the chips are up

[Keith]

Every time I see Billy Burns play, he's limping. He's clearly not been 100% fit for most of the season. I get wanting to get him on the field for this game, but why Dan refuses to not play an Irish international (Madigan) or Flannery from time to time is absolutely mystifying. His selection policy in general over the season has been awful (imo).

[IanD]

If only Connacht could pass and catch.

Imagine what they could produce.

[5starfan]

That loss will really hurt Ulster.

A poor Season. I don't think they ever recovered from their loss in RDS in December after been 1 man up and 22-3 ahead!

[wixfjord]

Tough for Jordi to end his career like that. What a player.

[The Doc]

Never miss a chance to miss a chance



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[blockhead]

Very poor advert for Irish Rugby for the first 60mins, the amount of errors, jeez. Dramatic finish now doubt.
Ulster, what can you say, a place in the final was a minimum for them, they didn't fire a shot until an hour gone. At home! Connacht dominated most of that game without even coming close to scoring a try.
McFarland has to go, there is a talented bunch of young lads there that need a new voice or we might lose them. He had his shot.
Connacht clearly came prepared for a fight, they already had qualified for next seasons Heino and this was bonus territory.
The way they attacked the infamous Ulster maul showed their intent. They got "1 Stop" from the ref almost every time.
Another shot to nothing down in South Africa awaits.

[cormac]

At home! Connacht dominated most of that game without even coming close to scoring a try.

Not sure what game you were watching but Connacht butchered two simple try chances when all that Farrell and Aki had to do was give a simple pass. And that's not even counting the two times they knocked on less than 5 metres from the line.

[ronk]

Connacht clearly came prepared for a fight, they already had qualified for next seasons Heino and this was bonus territory.

Connacht haven't qualified yet. If the Sharks win the URC, they take the place that would have gone to Connacht.

Connacht can play as well as they like and succeed as much as they can, as long as they don't boot one of the other provinces out of the Heineken Cup (which would lose the IRFU a lot more than Connacht would make).

Now that that's out of the way they have carte blanche to go gung ho. And fair play to them.

[Oldschoolsocks]

Did someone slather the ball in butter?

If Dai Young protégé Marty Moore was playing I’d say more than likely

[Experimental]

Carty did literally everything he could to hand the game to Ulster, and still they couldnt capitalise. The Ulster fans honestly deserve a lot better. Only their two hookers were good, I dont think anyone from Ulster has done themselves any favours with Andy Farrell this evening

[Dave Cahill]

Edit: Ronk beat me to it

[Oldschoolsocks]

That loss will really hurt Ulster.

A poor Season. I don't think they ever recovered from their loss in RDS in December after been 1 man up and 22-3 ahead!

Finished top two in the league though, right? That’s at least an objectively OK season.

[desperado]

Very poor advert for Irish Rugby for the first 60mins, the amount of errors, jeez. Dramatic finish now doubt.
Ulster, what can you say, a place in the final was a minimum for them, they didn't fire a shot until an hour gone. At home! Connacht dominated most of that game without even coming close to scoring a try.
McFarland has to go, there is a talented bunch of young lads there that need a new voice or we might lose them. He had his shot.
Connacht clearly came prepared for a fight, they already had qualified for next seasons Heino and this was bonus territory.
The way they attacked the infamous Ulster maul showed their intent. They got "1 Stop" from the ref almost every time.
Another shot to nothing down in South Africa awaits.

Not sure you could say that. If Farrell had passed to Blade he was under the sticks. If they put it through the hands rather than Bundee? trying an unnecessary skip they had another. I know you can say if my auntie had etc; but you can't say they didn't come close. Not sure how Ralston makes their 23 though.. aren't there better in the squad (Kilgallen?). I agree with you I can't see how McFarland can stay; they are in regression mode. Needs to be stopped. Edit: just noticed Cormac beat me to it!!

[blockhead]

That loss will really hurt Ulster.

A poor Season. I don't think they ever recovered from their loss in RDS in December after been 1 man up and 22-3 ahead!

Finished top two in the league though, right? That’s at least an objectively OK season.

But there is something missing.
Judging by the build up in the media, a lot of Ulster pundits feared this very scenario. They could see Ulster losing when everything seemed to be in their favour.
MacFarland has to be replaced.

[ustix]

2 very evenly matched squads. Home advantage worth about 5 pts id say.

Connacht like quick starts and Ulster can be prone to letting opponents get away from them. So it'll be a fascinating one. Ireland places also a dream for some of the guys.

Might get my hand bitten off here, but am feeling quietly confident Connacht can turn Ulster over.

Leinster's victory with fourteen in December remains branded on my brain - I just don't feel Ulster's mental strength is reliable when faced with the right type of opponent. This is not a prediction I would have made at the start of the season, where I expected to watch Ulster's backs finally activate as a formidable machine, but this has not happened, they've remained reliant on Cooney to boss things and their maul to score tries.

UIster's 10-15 need to get their sh!t together because either they're underachieving or overrated. Maybe tonight they'll show it's the former, but I fancy Connacht.

Got it in one there.
Great result for the West in Belfast.

[sunshiner1]

Delighted for Connacht to have won. Can't see them getting past the SA teams but that said I couldn't see them getting past Ulster either. If you'd offered Connacht fans at the start of the season a Semi-Final place in the URC they would have snatched it with both hands.

[Ruckedtobits]

I've been watching or involved in Interprovincial rugby for almost 50 years and I've very rarely seen a better display of coaching and performance than the Connacht pack last evening.

From LHP to No 8, whoever was in position for the Connacht forwards produced performances right up to their optimum capacity, and some beyond, what I considered they were capable of. I can certainly see what Andy Farrell and probably Nucifora, saw in the coaching ability of Pete Wilkins to warrant taking him to NZ last summer, as a member of the Irish Squad coaching group.

Almost certainly, the Director of Rugby, Andy Friend had a strong voice in both selection and tactics, but the execution and commitment of the pack and scrum-halves must have largely come from Wilkins and it was extraordinary and bodes well for what Irish forwards, properly coached and emotionally prepared, can do to any forward pack anywhere in world rugby.

The man of the match, Hurley-Langton, was another superb example of Andy Friend's eye for an under-rated gem of a player with much more ability that immediately meets the eye. Like Hansen, Porch, Farrell, Butler, Murray(s), and Prendergast and a few more recruits who didn't figure last night, Friend has consistently shown the ability to spot players who can perform at the top of their game when required in big games. That is an exceedingly rare quality and never to be under-estimated.

Yes, there were mistakes a plenty and Connacht created enough chances to have won by a 20 point margin but throughout the game and despite missing the majority of the chances, the Connacht team, but particularly their pack, never let the heads drop. Inevitably having missed so many opportunities to widen the margin and put their Ulster opponents out of the game, their opposition had the opportunity in the final ten minutes of redeeming the result. But every Connacht player was fuelled by a desire not to be beaten and they preserved their narrow margin by heroic defence.

Well done Connacht, players, squad and coaches, you did your Province proud and regardless of the outcome in your forthcoming joust in SA, you deserve to compete at the top table of European competition next season.