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View From the Prom: Ulster 19 Leeds 16

by

John McMurtry

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Stephen Ferris in Action for Ulster against Leeds.Bit of a rush after work to get to Ravers for this one but I did manage to find time to sample the wares in the food village as I treated myself to a late tea.

All worked very well and the food village is working a treat as it is rapidly becoming the place to be seen before the match and I managed to bump into friends, old and new, in quick succession. Still wonder how it’s going to fare when the rains come down but hopefully plans are in place to cover up as it’d be a shame to see these pre-season efforts go to waste later in the season.

Also managed to find time to sign up at the URSC Stand and pleased to report it was busy again with Simon Danielli and Dan the Man drawing the crowds this time round with a few signing . . .

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12 responses to “View From the Prom: Ulster 19 Leeds 16”

  1. Johnny King

    Yes, yes, yes. I agree with all of the above posts but we are overlooking the main issue here. The Scoop bar pass has gone up by £10; pints up by 50p and I am unable to secure my pourage of choice. Where’s my peace dividend, eh? I shall soon be leaving in droves.

    Reply
  2. Raging Raven

    McIlwaine at 21 is 6’3″ has played senior rugby for 3 years with Queens and has played for Ireland at various age group levels so I wouldn’t call him inexperienced. My view is if you are good enough you are old enough. 🙂

    Reply
  3. Ballpark

    Point is Mote, D’Arcy hasn’t played at any higher level than McIlwaine I would suggest. As regards Smyth, he is man in possession of the jersey and would expect to start if he is fit on Friday night.

    It was certainly a reasonable performance by D’Arcy but he is Waratahs Academy which is no more higher standard than our own Academy.

    Reply
  4. JORDY

    mote you couldn’t have made the point better ‘very reasonable performance after just two weeks with the squad ‘

    good to see Best showing some form, i for one haven’t been his biggest fan over the past 2 years but he had a great 40.

    and Caldwell why ????? or am i missing something……..

    Reply
  5. the mote

    Don’t know much of McIlwaine other than he is Academy thus at best inexperienced with possibly one year Ail behind him. Smith is currently 22 injured and has only 11 caps Bryn is 32 and seriously injury prone.

    Do you consider that depth of squad is sufficient to start a season of rugby — I don’t

    While D’Arcy’s game was not error free I would consider it to have been a very reasonable performance after just two weeks with the squad .

    Reply
  6. Raging Raven

    Ballpark ………….. I agree completely. 🙂

    Reply
  7. Ballpark

    Er, If i could interupt this exchange of views I would suggest what we haven’t had is a full back with real pace until the apt Mr. D’Arcy appeared. I found several aspects of his play to pick holes in though I would confess not to have put him under the microscope in the manner the previous respondents have.

    The pass out to Gilroy in the first half by D’Arcy led to Gilroy being absolutely demolished by 3 tacklers and a more experienced full back would have cut back inside.

    He got away with running from behind the goaline, but in another more high intensity game this is a risk strategy which could backfire and lose us points.

    All in all a mixed bag and even if the mangement take a punt on him i don’t see him starting against the O’s. Even more experienced players have found this a daunting challenge. Think Aussie Sam Morton Knight debutting for the Blues last season.

    Still a 15 with pace is a useful player but I don’t see why he should be thrown in at the deep end any more than one of our academy players, simply because he is an Aussie and an import..

    Reply
  8. JORDY

    did D’Arcy not sign someones program for them? i think 1 friendly that he had many eyes on him is hard to rate a player, give him a chance.

    Reply
  9. Raging Raven

    Mote Call me old fashioned then. I like my fullbacks to be able to catch, kick, tackle and run unfortunately Mr D’Arcy can’t tick all the boxes.

    It would also appear that he is not as young as was stated, he is at least 24.

    If he hadn’t been rejected in Australia he wouldn’t be here now hence the term Aussie Reject. At 24 he has had 6 years as an adult to develop in the gym.

    We have 3 full backs on the books, Smith, Cunningham and McIlwaine. All of whom I rate more than D’Arcy.

    Reply
  10. the mote

    Ragin

    I’m not to sure where to start firstly I think your view as to role of a full back seems a mite dated kicking for touch by a full back is a last resort and the run return is that which is most approved of in the modern game since it is the best way to retain possession . A run return with pass is also a rare beast.

    Having watched most of the tri nations all three sides if the ball is kicked to any one of the back three use the infield ( full back run return ) and a pass by the full back is only made if ( which is seldom ) he breaks the initial line of oppossition defence and a defensive line is in place behind the pass. ie they (the full back0 runs for a tackled support from his own forwards
    only if he breaks through the mid field would it be turned into a counterattack

    Very few full backs are excellent head-on tacklers and when facing the head on tackle seldom are faced with a single player . My opinion of the defensive role of the full would be as a tackle support rather than a front line tackler. The other tackle of a full back is the chase tackle from behind and this is dependant on speed rather than bulk.

    The role of full back in the modern game is not only about positional sense, good hands ,tackle and sure kick in to touch and while these are still required the one attribute which is essential is speed- because the faster the full back the surer you are that a kick return will be further up field a slow full back will get tackled closer to his own try line.

    Anyone can be developed physically in a gym and to some extent he reminds of Paddy Wallace at the same age.

    To refer to him as an Aussie reject at 23 when our problem is we have two full backs who have played a few games in the last two years and the experienced one is injury prone and the other has played more often at centre than full back.

    I think a reality check would be in order we should not enter the season with only 1 1/2 fullbacks which is basically the situation at present.

    Reply
  11. Raging Raven

    I think Ian Porter has showed enough to start at 9 until our South African friend arrives and who knows if he continues to impress may force a rethink at ten. Still not decided on our props, refs can’t be wrong every week, can they? I would like to see another world class prop recruited for next year. With the exception of 10 I think we are looking as strong as ever and Dr David’s focus over the next few months should be in securing a world class coach to replace the school class coach we have and a international class out half and prop. Bring on the Hair bear bunch next week! 🙂

    Reply
  12. Raging Raven

    Ah at last a view I don’t agree with. Young master D’Arcy ….. for a start at 23 he was physically disappointing looking less developed than our under 21’s which was a surprise having seen the Australian under 19’s in Belfast a few years ago. In attack he looked promising , he made one good break and gave one good pass but as he generally went for it every time he had a chance it was a poor return. He had a tendency to hold on to the ball too much and failed to give or take the killer pass. He was obviously trying to make an impression so you couldn’t blame him for being greedy but it shows poor judgement. He was also held up over the line which was probably down more to his size. Now thats the good points out of the way ….. his defence was awful , he was fortunate to get away with letting a few balls bounce in the 22, he fell off EVERY tackle he tried to make and his kicking was poor. A no pressure kick in our 22 made 5 yards to touch and his kick into space was returned with interest. Considering the opposition ,the fact it was a friendly , the weather was perfect and the crowd were willing him to have a good game he couldn’t have had it easier but its a No from me. I believe we have younger, better players in our Academy and our underage teams who are more deserving of a chance at the big time than an Aussie reject.

    Reply

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