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Shane Logan tells the players after the game, “Gentlemen, return to your clubs and prepare for European glory”. Oh er missus . . .
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Thanks.
Mark … I was hoping if we ignored him he would go back to the UAFC site. 🙂
“I admit that he has talent but frequently its still in the changing room for 90% of a match and 60% of the matches”
IDIOT…..
The imports Rush and Muller should help to make Ulster more difficult to beat but I don’t believe they will win us matches and I fear the defence beyond the midfield when Ian plays and neither outhalf has consistently control a game all season.
I know that there is “the Ian Humphreys can do little wrong club” and I admit that he has talent but frequently its still in the changing room for 90% of a match and 60% of the matches
similiar there are other out halfs in the Magners League who may not have his flair but week in and week out they control the games for their teams and those teams are all above Ulster in the league — a magic moment a game won’t win the league
It is hard to play a ref when he is inconsistent and basically referees by player watching rather than offence and or waits until the offence he thinks will occur –occurs but failing to see the offences which occurred before the one expected.
It is not the offences which are given are wrong it is the offences missed.
for example in a recent game a knock-on by the opposition was knocked on by Ulster a player in front of the ulster player fell on the ball — a penalty against Ulster — exactly what advantage did Ulster achieve from the original knock on ?.
I won’t and don’t say the referees were the only reason Ulster lost but some can and do make winning harder !!
any word of Pienaar? ED, with all your inside contacts and great interviews…….
keep up the good work, love the honest match reports……
and who are the URSC ??????????
“Heres to a good night of craic, beer and a home win.”
Amen to that Junty!
Bit depressing that people are blaming Scottish referees for all Ulster’s ills this season. I thought we were just a bit shit / not quite as good as the other teams. But as “hockey boy” what do I know?
For a change you are correct JK. In most games we were out muscled up front with the referee correctly judging Ulster as the offenders.
On Sunday Ulster took it to Edinburgh up front and controlled the breakdown, resulting in fewer penalties.
Hopefully things will improve when our prime South African and New Zealand beef arrives next season. (If they remain fit!)
Quite right Hockey Boy too much winging about Scottish referees. It should be sorted for next year with the players improved body positions being practised daily on the training ground and the purchase of flowers for a certain Welsh referee. 🙂
now now RR – in this day and age of equality we are not supposed to discriminate about ones preference to one particular sex rather than the opposite sex ! although I think it is quite apt and fitting whenever he wears the pink ref top !!!
However on a serious note regardless of the nationality (and I suppose the competence also)of the ref the forwards should be playing to whatever he is calling – they need to play smarter rugby. The same goes for the backs we need someone to look at where the ref is playing the offside line and call the plays to suit. If the offside line is the MIDDLE of the ruck then we need to make the opposing backs think with a few ‘dinks’ over the top and make them turn – smarter rugby.
Yes Junty I did have a chuckle when I saw him in pink the other weekend. And you are absolutely correct the players must be smarter next season. I long for the days when we had a proper captain who could raise our players performance and influence the referee. I would suggest Andy Ward was the last one.
Reminds me of the time I met Keith Wood in Dublin a few days before a match against Wales. Found him friendly and happy to have a chat about the match. I asked him “Who’s refereeing?” “Me” he replied with a knowing smile on his face.
Raging – you are absolutely right – what would we give to have another Andy Ward.
I see at long last Magners league have confirmed that the match against our western brethern is on Fri 7th. at 19.30
With the Scarlets running in 9 tries against them I am hoping for a similar try-fest to round off the season.
Heres to a good night of craic, beer and a home win.
Niall is just a little slow in everything he does, in thought and deed and his kicking is erratic at best. He simply does not have the makings of a European Cup winning 10 which is the team’s target – or should be – every season. You could do it with Humphreys as he has shown he can open up any defence. his tackling has been / is a concern but I think it has improved although his kicking, while better than NOC’s is erratic also. 10’s were rarely or ever really good tacklers as a rule. Wilkinson was the exception rather than the rule. he now seems to have set the bar below which all others fail Barry John couldn’t bring down a wet paper bag but he did o.k.
With the same half backs No’C and Humphreys next year Ulster are going to struggle once again.
No’C lacks the variety in his game and Humphreys lacks consistency and defence.
Ulster cannot afford to go into games with what at times is 13 man defence and on sunday a twelve man defence.
Ulster’s last two trys were down to Edinburgh chasing the game The Edinburgh fullback wasted time thinking about running it and Ferris had a straight run in with nobody to beat.
It nice to win— even nicer to win away from home but one swallow doesn’t make a summer.
The thing which is over looked in the report is the fact that this was the first match since February that Ulster were not refereed by a scottish referee.
Owens did card Whitten but with Ulster in the lead and Edinburgh attacking at every opportunity I think he was expecting ULster to slow the recyle at every opportunity and was looking for the offences.If players are to given leeway in releasing the ball after the tackle then tacklers should be given the opportunity to move way. It should also be recognised that tacklers if they are to do the job properly must ensure that the player doesn’t regain his feet and continue forward which means they must hold the player down.
The fact is of course reduced to 14 men Ulster were at six and sevens defensively .
And the sad fact is that Ulster will of course be more often be refereed by a scottish than a Welsh referee.
I think Ulster played as well against the Ospreys –if not better and the Ospreys are a much better side than Edinburgh– but then most supporters disregard the quality of the opposition and base opinion the performance on the result.
Gary ……… will never forget MR asking us what we were doing there (Sportground in Galway a few years ago) he didn’t realise that supporters actually supported the team away from Raving Hill …….. muppet
Remember it well Ding. I think there was several minutes stunned silence before we just went back to our drink. The poor guy looked genuinely perplexed – as I said, he just never got it.
Good to see ya there Raven ……. shame ya had to get the flight back after the game ….there was some craic in the Presidents Suite at Murrayfield after the game and in the Cafe Royale. As for the URSC you have to wonder if they bother their arse at all.
I think dates are announced tomorrow afternoon.
Rang Ravenhill today and they still didn’t know. The pleasant lady on t’other end of the phone said that they should have been informed by close-of-play yesterday. Raging Raven, how dare you! We’re married!
Has a date been finalised for the Connacht game yet?? I am under mounting domestic pressure…
JK ……… are you sure you don’t mean” mounting domestic pleasure” ? 🙂
for the last home game of the season what are the chances of it not being the Fri night ? Does Setanta have an interest now that its highly unlikely that the boys from the west can qualify for the H cup through the magners league, (albeit they could still qualify by winning the Amlin)
Thank you Editor. I had a lovely time. It was the worst turn out in Edinburgh for Ulster supporters that I can remember. If it hadn’t been for a group of Edinburgh based Ulster students I would have felt alone. Being a member of the URSC myself I have to say I was there but didn’t see many others. It was really easy to organize in fact I had a choice of travel, I could have travelled by car/bus and boat or plane and bus. I chose the latter and travelled on a half empty Easyjet from Belfast and the Airport Express Bus (£6 return) which stops at the Murrayfield Hotel. It is a pity the URSC is more concerned with other matters than actually supporting the team at an away match but then I only had a choice of three ferry routes Larne/Cairnryan, Larne/Troon and Belfast/Stranraer and two budget airlines, Easyjet and Flybe and could have made the return trip easily in a day should I so have wished. So it was obviously much too difficult to organise. They should be ashamed to call themselves a supporters club.
Maybe you should offer your services and help with the URSC travel arrangements next season.
I’m sure it’s a position that would suit someone recently retired!:P
I shall offer my services to Ayatollah Kimble forthwith. 🙂
Gonna help with away trips next season if required. I understand the Obergruppenfuhrer is being rather more sensible than his predecessor regarding fans going to away games. Poor MR never really quite got it – was all too strange for him!
Did you enjoy your trip. Were there any members of the URSC there?
The point you missed Dewi is that had O’Connor not been injured and McLaughlin FORCED into bringing on Humphreys this match would have been lost. It should not be underestimated the difference this little man made. He has a gift of beating men with ease and put others into space something O’Connor has not. If McLaughlin continues with his preference for O’Connor next year I fear for the worst.
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