An Evening With Boys on Tour as Ulster ‘Storm’ Galway

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ballpark Arriving at the Rosie too early in hindsight wasn’t a bad idea after all, as the recently renaissanced pub fairly filled up just prior to kick off. So it was I found myself in the salubrious company of the Boys on Tour. One week they’re within touching distance, the next beamed in by satellite from Wales and tonight they’re right next to me, my next seat companion bearing a remarkable resemblance to one Pervy Fan of FRU fame! 

Chairman Kim of the people’s Republic of Ballyholme made a brief if slightly anonymous appearance without his minders and was there one presumed on behalf of the URSC, the proletariat of Ulster supporters. 

Ballot tickets were duly dispatched from behind the bar with clinical efficiency by the Rosie bar staff and the man from sports trolley.com beamed himself into a corner of the lounge. He was armed with a very large shopping bag of sports gear and a wee price list which he dispensed like a croupier at a casino to the various tables, managing to slip the list in between pints of alcohol.

Chairman Kim made a further bleak appearance to hand out a leaflet on behalf of the Ulster supporter’s proletariat. By now leaflets were almost outnumbering pints on the tables, a serious sign of the commercial opportunities the Ulster rugby supporters induce in the business sector!

Meanwhile there was a game starting in Galway. Much will and already has been written on the net about the match so not much point in me repeating the key moments, except to give my impressions of the game from an Ulster perspective. Connacht were up for this game and their pack in particular took it to Ulster. Sadly their backs were not up to much with a lack of control at half back and when Ulster went ahead at the start of the second their heads dropped. Ulster patiently went through phases for their first try and missed another golden opportunity shortly thereafter when Jim failed to see the bulky form of Tuohy standing beside him. Chances like this need to be taken in my honest opinion as other teams may not be so kind defensively and in a close game they all count as happened against Embra the week before.   Alarmingly it was Jim again, appearing to overrun Whitten and a golden chance to put Embra out of their misery was gone. Jim though has been our most improved player this season as he has an eye and the twinkling feet for the gap and an ability to dance between defenders. His off load game which deserted him momentarily on Friday night is generally pretty good and creates chances for others to run unto.

With the game close at the start of the half, one half of the twins, Peter, was valiantly predicting Ulster to kick on and score a couple of tries. This was flying in the face of accepted reason with the general attitude being one of nervous tension. However within two minutes another player who has raised his game recently, BJ Botha, dived below bodies to register the first of Peter’s two predicted tries. From there Ulster kept the pressure on and went on to score a further two tries, one more than predicted to gain the BP. By the end our party assembled below the TV screen was cheering along, more in relief maybe but nevertheless smiling faces all around and pint glasses clinking together in salute of the Ulstermen both on and off the pitch at Galway.

If there is optimism amongst the support then so be it. As Tyrone Howe said the glass is half full rather than half empty and I agree. A couple of things to bear in mind I suppose is that we still go through too few phases in the pack before its shipped out the backs and against Connacht we got away with it but may need to be more patient against better teams. On the plus side some players have really stepped up this season and impressed. Guys such as Henry and Diack and over the last few games, Botha is really showing his true worth. Perhaps subbing him on the hour allows him greater freedom to charge about the pitch. Cave has brought much needed defensive stability to the midfield. Perhaps a better test will be Scarlets next week who will have Jones back at ten for them. Ulster have no reason to fear them but must keep the performance levels up week in week out.

Reaction on the Munsterfans and Leinster sites has been based around how poor Connacht were and how even poorer Bradley is as a coach. I think this shows a lack of respect for Ulster, though one can understand it, given the inconsistency of our performances, why there is a tendency to denigrate us. We are looking like a good mid table Magners team at the moment and with added consistency of performance we could challenge for a top 4 spot in the league.

It was left to the redoubtable UAFC poster Jackie Brown to put it all into perspective for the Munsterfans. ‘Gavin Duffy ha ha! ha!’ he posted to the Munsterfans faithful, one of whom queried what he could possibly mean.  Now I’m all for brevity and precision in the use of English but this is a complete nothing statement and conveys an innate inability to say anything remotely useful. So Jackie if you want to be precise and meaningful take a leaf out of the late much lamented poster Alec Adoo’s book. His post re the Bull, is a master class in the precise. The Bull was a persistent wind up merchant of Ulster rugby fans and Alec Adoo posted a message entitled, ‘In Praise of The Bull.’

Upon opening the message it read precisely:       “ .”

The ballot for ticks took place following the match, with the TV sound at mute as Neil Francis was apparently calling us ‘plastic paddy’s’. It’s a term I’m not too familiar with but presumably is an inherent reference to Ulster’s British links, so one has to wonder how this man is allowed to go forth and spout on public television. I wish to place on record that I am neither plastic or paddy and that I along with some fella from Holywood called Mike, did not win the ballot on either draw at the Rosie. I can also confirm that everything was above board, or should that be bar as the barman and maid conducted the ballot in ordinary fashion with Chairman Kim nowhere to be seen.

The evening finished in a mood of general congeniality with much reminiscing over Paris, Biarritz, Toulouse and many other locations of Ulster supporter interest.  A Boys on Tour spokesperson did confirm they have a particular affection for Paris, finding it unusually difficult to see a match there.  Indeed I recall the last time I went to Paris the Boys on Tour didn’t actually make it for the match being rather famously stranded in Ostend!! Mind it could have been worse as one of them could have stumped up 400 euros to a donor kebab vendor as happened to one unfortunate virgin tourist over to see Ulster that weekend.

My grateful thanks to the boys for a good evening and I’ll just wish them luck as I understand they may be going to Paris for this season’s Heineken reprise against Stade Francais.

As BJ Botha might say, hope you boys make it to Paris to see me play!



4 responses to “An Evening With Boys on Tour as Ulster ‘Storm’ Galway”

  1. Ballpark

    Surely you mean Mrs WKD!

  2. YoungMan

    Chairman Kimbo was there and presented a pair of tickets to Mrs WK…………………horray all above board

  3. Raging Raven

    Yes ……………………..don’t tell the boys the match is in Brussels!

    1. Ballpark

      Should be easy for them to make Brussels if they get diverted to Ostend again.
      To digress slightly
      I recall going to Belgium on a motorcycle tour many, many years ago and reading beforehand that Belguique had at that time the EU’s worst road accident record. We got off the ferry in Ostend at 5 a.m. in the morning and headed to Brussels and encountered 2 accidents on the dual carriageway in the first half hour’s driving. Talk about being scared sh*tless. Never saw another accident the whole time we were there!

      Remember it was very wet though!!!

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