INTENSITY!

,

If I hear this word used again to describe Ulster’s second half, I’m going to make the world’s most emotional man sound frigid.

Ulster’s latest second half implosion, came when they give their first half all for approximately zilch and then lost to opponents who crucially come out to play with increased intensity.

To make this mistake once as they did last Sunday is just about forgiveable, but to get caught in the intensity stakes a second time makes you wonder what on earth is the coach doing at half time.

McGlocks was venting fury in his own understated way naturally enough and mentioned among other dire deeds perpetrated by the players as making one pass more than they needed to, given the conditions.

This revelation seems to belie the notion that McGlocks is a control freak, as I had been talking to someone who had played for him at club level who said he coached players to play by numbers or patterns.

The pattern I see emerging is of Ulster giving team’s confidence to come out and take the game to them in the second half because we failed to punish them with sufficiently in the first half.  

The good news is that we may yet find that killer instinct.  It can’t come soon enough because we are in danger of losing our way this early in the season and with some critical games coming up, like Munster on Friday evening.

Pienaar Panic In The Ranks

As defeat follows defeat … Well alright there has only been two, though with the way we were winning it felt like every game was a loss if you happened to be reading the UAFC messageboard.

Pienaar seems to come in for criticism from some elements which is hard to fathom at this juncture. Going on Friday’s night performance, Pienaar is on a different wavelength from some of his teammates.  I mean a higher level from what they’re used to and it is going to take some time for some of them to read his game. 

If you come from playing AIL one week to playing with Pienaar the next, it’s understandable you might be a couple of moves short of a chess game. 

We shouldn’t have been surprised by Friday’s poor efforts from the backs, given they were playing out of position and with yet another fly half. Well as PW played, the fact is the backline was re-arranged like deckchairs on the titanic to accommodate him.

Planet of his Own

Another guy on a different level altogether and for all the wrong reasons is George Hook. 

Yesterday on RTE Isaac Boss, whom I thought was Man of the Match, came in to Hooks scattergun range. The bellicose fellow went on to say that the Irish Provinces were all playing old fashioned rugby and that he saw nothing on the pitch that reminded him of Irish international rugby players, or words to that effect.

Truth is Connaught and Leinster slugged it out to a background of knock ons and all embracing defence. It is difficult to rise above this sort humdrum tussle but neither is it a reason to trot out preconceived rhetoric that clearly doesn’t address issues to hand.

I said Hook was on a planet of his own. I lie, he is on the same tired old rugby planet as Stephen Jones of the Sunday Times. They have lost the will to say anything of importance.

A Few holes in the Glass.

Was in the UR ticket office last Thursday buying multiple tickets for the Munster game as the French wing of the Ulster Rugby supporters club are in town for the game. 

The polite young woman behind the glass screen at the counter was charging me a large amount of roubles and I enquired about the price hike.

I had some difficulty in hearing what she was saying and had to ask her to repeat several times.   For anyone with poor hearing the glass screen represents a huge barrier.  

There is a simple solution though and that is to cut a few holes in the screen at face level which would facilitate anyone with a hearing disability and would not jeopardise security at the counter.

Inter Pro Short Change

A poster on the UAFC messageboard posted that he felt he was being short changed by the Inter Pro games saying he didn’t want to see an Irish trials match with Declan Kidney calling the shots on who plays and so on.

Unfortunately the pedants on the forum picked up on his title which mentioned ‘club rugby in Ireland’ and from there the post died a death.

I agree with his sentiments though and regretfully when we are being charged a 20% price hike for the privilege of watching an inter pro it would seem that value for money for the punters is the last thing on the minds of rugby’s powers that be.  

In theory Munster should be turning up with their premium team to play Ulster’s full first team.  In practice what we have been regularly getting is half a team short of a top level game. 

We are being short changed in the inter pros and its time rugby’s power brokers tipped a hat in the direction of the paying fan and let the Provincial teams get stuck into each other in a level playing field contest. 

It looks like it won’t happen again this Friday night.

Ulster Twits Tweet Harmlessly

BJ excelled himself on the tweeter yesterday and today, with the weather being a target for his opprobrium, in that usual mild mannered tweeting way of his.

Yesterday a ‘brrrr!’ at the end of his earlyish morning tweet was a clue that the weather was causing him some chill pains.   He was soon pictured at the braai in Robbie Diack’s backyard wrapped in a coat and scarf thingy whilst the more adaptable Robbie sported a jumper and jeans.

This morning he tweeted a picture of his car’s onboard computer which showed him at 10 o’clock driving into an icicle inducing one degrees.   Mind it could have been worse for BJ, as my onboard computer showed a chilly minus 4 degrees at 7.30a.m.

Flourishes

I buy the News Letter on Saturday especially so I can read the Farming Life section of the paper.  I absolutely refute the rumour that I get it to read match reports on Ulster’s Friday games.

Step aside Forkins Rocksolid the new ram on the block is Ballymarlow Ohio Son fetching peak prices for Texel!!!

See ya all this Friday, c’mon ULSTERRRRRRRRR!!!!!!


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