Ulster v Connacht, Fri 5th May, URC QF

[hugonaut]

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.

You called it Berliner – well done.

Connacht were by far the better team on the night. They looked hungrier and more motivated, they were more astute, they were more disciplined and they created more chances. They weren't clinical. They should have got the score up to 3-15 [pen], 3-17 [unconverted try] or 3-19 [converted try] by around the 55th minute; they were completely in control for the first 15 mins of the second half, and they had a number of opportunities to stretch the scoreboard lead on Ulster which they f*cked up.

Their mistakes pale into insignificance when compared with Ulster's. That was a flat-out sh*t performance from Ulster in so many regards. It's a struggle to know where to begin with the criticisms ... to put them in the right order, so that you're not picking at something which is just an irritant at the expense of a wider-spread problem.

Firstly, a very lethargic showing. They had their last two games at home in Ravenhill and then a weekend off before this match. There's absolutely no excuse not to be really energetic and motivated for a home knock-out game against a provincial rival when you have had two weeks to prepare for it.

There's no single reason for that – it's bad management from the coaching group and it's bad leadership from the player group.

Secondly, their discipline was really poor. Alan O'Connor actually did a good job talking to the ref throughout – he was calm, and not necessarily the problem. But Ulster conceded a lot of penalties based on poor decision-making, and you could hear on the ref's mic how much complaining was going on. A number of the Ulster lads [Hume, McCloskey, Cooney] have the tendency to spit the bit when things aren't going their way. Their season is over now, but I think it's something that the head coach needs to address one-on-one with them in the off-season.

Thirdly, their backline attack was remarkably blunt. On paper, that looks like a really threatening three-quarter line: Stockdale, McCloskey, Hume, Baloucoune. It should be a really threatening three-quarter line. There's a big gap where precision, diversion and invention are all missing. Maybe that's all down to bad attack coaching, or maybe it's down to a combination of bad attack coaching and mediocre outhalf play.

Fourthly, their big coterie of experienced NIQ forwards gave them very little in a big game. Every single one of them has played better games for Ulster this season; for a number of them this was their worst game of the season. These lads earn a lot of money in comparison to the average Ulster player and to be frank they needed to deliver a lot more then they did in a big match scenario.

None of these lads are particularly over-used in terms of gametime:

• Vermeulen [36] - 797 mins

• Carter [33] - 677 mins

• Toomaga Allen [32] - 599 mins

• Sutherland [30] - 378 mins

I would tend to give Vermeulen an easier go of it, because he's f*cking ancient for a pro rugby player. He turns 37 in two months and is in his 18th pro season. He doesn't have much gas left in the tank. JTA has been a good player and a popular addition for Ulster this season; not sure why he went off at halftime, but an unfortunate way to end his stint. Sutherland looked really good when he arrived but that form didn't last; and Carter has been underwhelming for four seasons in a row.

You expect those lads to gang together on the pitch when there's a sniff of silverware on the line ... they can take all the time off they need between matches, but when they're in competition, you expect their experience to tell. It wasn't even close to being a factor.

[Oldschool]

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.

You called it Berliner – well done.

Connacht were by far the better team on the night. They looked hungrier and more motivated, they were more astute, they were more disciplined and they created more chances. They weren't clinical. They should have got the score up to 3-15 [pen], 3-17 [unconverted try] or 3-19 [converted try] by around the 55th minute; they were completely in control for the first 15 mins of the second half, and they had a number of opportunities to stretch the scoreboard lead on Ulster which they f*cked up.

Their mistakes pale into insignificance when compared with Ulster's. That was a flat-out sh*t performance from Ulster in so many regards. It's a struggle to know where to begin with the criticisms ... to put them in the right order, so that you're not picking at something which is just an irritant at the expense of a wider-spread problem.

Firstly, a very lethargic showing. They had their last two games at home in Ravenhill and then a weekend off before this match. There's absolutely no excuse not to be really energetic and motivated for a home knock-out game against a provincial rival when you have had two weeks to prepare for it.

There's no single reason for that – it's bad management from the coaching group and it's bad leadership from the player group.

Secondly, their discipline was really poor. Alan O'Connor actually did a good job talking to the ref throughout – he was calm, and not necessarily the problem. But Ulster conceded a lot of penalties based on poor decision-making, and you could hear on the ref's mic how much complaining was going on. A number of the Ulster lads [Hume, McCloskey, Cooney] have the tendency to spit the bit when things aren't going their way. Their season is over now, but I think it's something that the head coach needs to address one-on-one with them in the off-season.

Thirdly, their backline attack was remarkably blunt. On paper, that looks like a really threatening three-quarter line: Stockdale, McCloskey, Hume, Baloucoune. It should be a really threatening three-quarter line. There's a big gap where precision, diversion and invention are all missing. Maybe that's all down to bad attack coaching, or maybe it's down to a combination of bad attack coaching and mediocre outhalf play.

Fourthly, their big coterie of experienced NIQ forwards gave them very little in a big game. Every single one of them has played better games for Ulster this season; for a number of them this was their worst game of the season. These lads earn a lot of money in comparison to the average Ulster player and to be frank they needed to deliver a lot more then they did in a big match scenario.

None of these lads are particularly over-used in terms of gametime:

• Vermeulen [36] - 797 mins

• Carter [33] - 677 mins

• Toomaga Allen [32] - 599 mins

• Sutherland [30] - 378 mins

I would tend to give Vermeulen an easier go of it, because he's f*cking ancient for a pro rugby player. He turns 37 in two months and is in his 18th pro season. He doesn't have much gas left in the tank. JTA has been a good player and a popular addition for Ulster this season; not sure why he went off at halftime, but an unfortunate way to end his stint. Sutherland looked really good when he arrived but that form didn't last; and Carter has been underwhelming for four seasons in a row.

You expect those lads to gang together on the pitch when there's a sniff of silverware on the line ... they can take all the time off they need between matches, but when they're in competition, you expect their experience to tell. It wasn't even close to being a factor.

Think you missed a key point.
Burns was carrying an injury. He was anonymous.
Ulster's slump may well have coincided with Burns picking up an injury, rather than their loss to Leinster.
The significance of your OH being 'off' was evidenced by Carty's less than stellar performance which impacted on Connacht's own performance.
Hume is overrated.

[jezzer]

Lamentable, execrable.. throw whatever fancy word at it you like, but that was awful from Ulster. Awful.

They lost practically every collision for an hour. Their offensive ruck execution was abysmal. Their attack play was non-existent. Their discipline was pathetic.

That's as bad a performance from a squad with that budget and "talent" as you can get.

As for Connacht, what a performance from the pack. As rtb said, they were superb to a man. Prendergast looks so much better at 8. Murray and Murphy should be pushing for Ireland consideration. Oliver and especially Hurley-Langton were in fire. The front row did a number on Ulster.

Blade, Aki, Porch, Hansen and TOH were all terrific. Carty and Farrell nearly handed the game to Ulster between them. The review session won't be pretty for them.

You would barely pick one Ulster player in a combined team , based off that game. Balacoune at a push.

I want to like Ulster and wish them well, but they are, I hate to say it, a pretty imbecilic team.

[enby]

Ulster despite finishing 2nd in URC table have had the worst season of the 4 province's. Every single one of their backs has regressed. The likes of Hume, Lowry, Balacoune were on the fringes of the Ireland squad this time last year but I can't see any of those being selected for WC squad. McCloskey was a 50/50 chance but after recent weeks he is more 40/60. Their half backs offer very little to worry any half competent defence.
As for their pack, both hookers and perhaps TOT have had good seasons. The rest have been well below the required standard in the matches that mattered. And there appears to be nobody decent coming through the forward ranks.
Looking at that squad, perhaps Balacoune or TOT might get the odd game at Leinster. That's it.
That extraordinary capitulation against 14 men at the RDS laid the foundations for their lacklustre exits from both HC and URC knockouts.

Connacht were great last night, especially up front. I never really bought into the veneration by some of Prendergast but he was very impressive at 8. Scrum was a weapon for them although there is a lot of work to be done on the line out. Some of the most enjoyable URC matches this season have involved Connacht. It would be great to see them win next week. Fingers crossed for them

[naraic]

In terms of forwards coming through I have a lot of time for Harry Sheridan in Ulster. McCann looks decent but not a world killer too.

That said I feel like their problem is that the Leinster academy intake this year is bigger than the entire Ulster academy. According to Wikipedia there is 7 players in the academy.

The real problem is that there are too many midlevel pros (including those who used to be better like Vermuelen or Carter or Madigan) blocking up the squad. They produce good games in the league but can't stop up. Very similar to Munster under Van Gaan.

11 players leaving including 7 of the 23 in the final. Real clear out happening. Hopefully they can have a next season where they blood new players and finish strong.

[wixfjord]

One of the simplest and a generally effective way to measure a coaching ticket is to ask 'are they getting, more less or equal performances than you'd expect given the players at their disposal?'

I think it's 100% clear that for McFarland, the answer is way less.

Ulster's squad overall is good. They've plenty of resources.

The problem is they look a poorly coached team lacking cohesion and a clear attacking plan to unlock those brilliant backs.

Burns is clearly not good enough, but that's only part of the problem.

There's talk in this thread about Ulster's players not being as good as Leinster's, which is obviously true. But Leinster's coaching makes players better and gives them a system to get the most out of their talent. At the moment Ulster's does the opposite in 99% of cases.

[wixfjord]

Without having a clue what guys are like, I would also wager that there's a bit of an attitude problem amongst some at Ulster.

Cooney & Hume in particular come across as having far bigger egos than their on pitch performances would warrant and I don't see much of the steel in the Ulster side that you find in spades in Leinster, Munster and to a lesser extent in Connacht.

McCloskey, Herring excepted.

[naraic]

Izzy apparently had discipline issues. Showing up late to training and skipping sessions.

We don't see inside the camp.

[riocard911]

With Burns hobbling around the place on one leg for like months, I don't understand Madigan not having gotten more game time. Keeping the whole squad motivated and getting selection right seems to be a problem up above.

[Xanthippe]

In terms of forwards coming through I have a lot of time for Harry Sheridan in Ulster. McCann looks decent but not a world killer too.

That said I feel like their problem is that the Leinster academy intake this year is bigger than the entire Ulster academy. According to Wikipedia there is 7 players in the academy.

The real problem is that there are too many midlevel pros (including those who used to be better like Vermuelen or Carter or Madigan) blocking up the squad. They produce good games in the league but can't stop up. Very similar to Munster under Van Gaan.

11 players leaving including 7 of the 23 in the final. Real clear out happening. Hopefully they can have a next season where they blood new players and finish strong.

Maybe Wikipedia needs to look at the Ulster website where they have 12 players listed in the Academy.

[naraic]

In terms of forwards coming through I have a lot of time for Harry Sheridan in Ulster. McCann looks decent but not a world killer too.

That said I feel like their problem is that the Leinster academy intake this year is bigger than the entire Ulster academy. According to Wikipedia there is 7 players in the academy.

The real problem is that there are too many midlevel pros (including those who used to be better like Vermuelen or Carter or Madigan) blocking up the squad. They produce good games in the league but can't stop up. Very similar to Munster under Van Gaan.

11 players leaving including 7 of the 23 in the final. Real clear out happening. Hopefully they can have a next season where they blood new players and finish strong.

Maybe Wikipedia needs to look at the Ulster website where they have 12 players listed in the Academy.

Just checked.

Ulster have announced promotions to the senior squad but not academy entrants. So the wikipedia numbers have included the promotions as senior squad and the 7 are next seasons year 2 and year 3 players.

Either way 12 is probably too small an academy.

[ronk]

They have to wait until Leinster finalise their academy before they can recruit their academy.

[sunshiner1]

Apparently there was trouble at the Ulster - Connacht game last night. A couple of things were yelled at Aki on the night hence his reaction (which I disagree with). The crowd was fairly nasty as most heard but there was a few incidents in the ground as well and in the car park. No one wants to see this coming in to Rugby.

[ronk]

Only getting to watch it today. Really impressed with the way Baloucoune was playing and offloading.

[HammerTime]

Apparently there was trouble at the Ulster - Connacht game last night. A couple of things were yelled at Aki on the night hence his reaction (which I disagree with). The crowd was fairly nasty as most heard but there was a few incidents in the ground as well and in the car park. No one wants to see this coming in to Rugby.

Happened right in front of me. Did you just make up that post for the craic??

[Oldschoolsocks]

Apparently there was trouble at the Ulster - Connacht game last night. A couple of things were yelled at Aki on the night hence his reaction (which I disagree with). The crowd was fairly nasty as most heard but there was a few incidents in the ground as well and in the car park. No one wants to see this coming in to Rugby.

Happened right in front of me. Did you just make up that post for the craic??

What happened in front of you? And what is being made up for the craic?

[Flash Gordon]

Apparently there was trouble at the Ulster - Connacht game last night. A couple of things were yelled at Aki on the night hence his reaction (which I disagree with). The crowd was fairly nasty as most heard but there was a few incidents in the ground as well and in the car park. No one wants to see this coming in to Rugby.

I don't know what was said to Aki, he obviously took exception to them. The Night, Night celebration was poor form from Bundee. There is always an idiot in a big crowd, players should conduct themselves appropriately.

[desperado]

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.

You called it Berliner – well done.

Connacht were by far the better team on the night. They looked hungrier and more motivated, they were more astute, they were more disciplined and they created more chances. They weren't clinical. They should have got the score up to 3-15 [pen], 3-17 [unconverted try] or 3-19 [converted try] by around the 55th minute; they were completely in control for the first 15 mins of the second half, and they had a number of opportunities to stretch the scoreboard lead on Ulster which they f*cked up.

Their mistakes pale into insignificance when compared with Ulster's. That was a flat-out sh*t performance from Ulster in so many regards. It's a struggle to know where to begin with the criticisms ... to put them in the right order, so that you're not picking at something which is just an irritant at the expense of a wider-spread problem.

Firstly, a very lethargic showing. They had their last two games at home in Ravenhill and then a weekend off before this match. There's absolutely no excuse not to be really energetic and motivated for a home knock-out game against a provincial rival when you have had two weeks to prepare for it.

There's no single reason for that – it's bad management from the coaching group and it's bad leadership from the player group.

Secondly, their discipline was really poor. Alan O'Connor actually did a good job talking to the ref throughout – he was calm, and not necessarily the problem. But Ulster conceded a lot of penalties based on poor decision-making, and you could hear on the ref's mic how much complaining was going on. A number of the Ulster lads [Hume, McCloskey, Cooney] have the tendency to spit the bit when things aren't going their way. Their season is over now, but I think it's something that the head coach needs to address one-on-one with them in the off-season.

Thirdly, their backline attack was remarkably blunt. On paper, that looks like a really threatening three-quarter line: Stockdale, McCloskey, Hume, Baloucoune. It should be a really threatening three-quarter line. There's a big gap where precision, diversion and invention are all missing. Maybe that's all down to bad attack coaching, or maybe it's down to a combination of bad attack coaching and mediocre outhalf play.

Fourthly, their big coterie of experienced NIQ forwards gave them very little in a big game. Every single one of them has played better games for Ulster this season; for a number of them this was their worst game of the season. These lads earn a lot of money in comparison to the average Ulster player and to be frank they needed to deliver a lot more then they did in a big match scenario.

None of these lads are particularly over-used in terms of gametime:

• Vermeulen [36] - 797 mins

• Carter [33] - 677 mins

• Toomaga Allen [32] - 599 mins

• Sutherland [30] - 378 mins

I would tend to give Vermeulen an easier go of it, because he's f*cking ancient for a pro rugby player. He turns 37 in two months and is in his 18th pro season. He doesn't have much gas left in the tank. JTA has been a good player and a popular addition for Ulster this season; not sure why he went off at halftime, but an unfortunate way to end his stint. Sutherland looked really good when he arrived but that form didn't last; and Carter has been underwhelming for four seasons in a row.

You expect those lads to gang together on the pitch when there's a sniff of silverware on the line ... they can take all the time off they need between matches, but when they're in competition, you expect their experience to tell. It wasn't even close to being a factor.

Think you missed a key point.
Burns was carrying an injury. He was anonymous.
Ulster's slump may well have coincided with Burns picking up an injury, rather than their loss to Leinster.
The significance of your OH being 'off' was evidenced by Carty's less than stellar performance which impacted on Connacht's own performance.
Hume is overrated.

Another key point. The forwards are woeful around the park; didn't look at the stats but it feels like Connacht rucked them off the park. Apart from their maul - which papers over a multitude of cracks; that pack is just badly coached. I said it before, I think Roddy Grant as a coach is a forward - and he recently had his contract renewed. Add to that McFarland and his deflections (demographics etc); instead of holding the mirror up. All is not well in the setup up North.

[desperado]

https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/64108681

Roddy Grant interview in Dec prior to the Munster match.

"You want to play their best players," said Grant.

"You want to dominate the best players. You want to bash the best players and bash the good teams. You want to stamp your authority and reputation on them so I hope they [O'Mahony and Beirne] play.

Which Munster duly won..... in the last minute. That's the reputation alright. It's been there all season.

[Dexter]

Demographic Dan gave Ulster an excuse to underperform and not turn up in big games. They're just embracing that excuse.

I've heard too many rants from him about it being somebody else's fault...that's never a good sign.