The Front Row Union
Ulster make it a seven-game winning start with a bonus point win over Scarlets on Sunday night. Rob Lyttle, Stewart Moore, Sean Reidy and Kieran Treadwell crossed the white wash but the game was not without controversy as Treadwell received a yellow card on 16 minutes but replays indicate it should have ben a red…
John Cooney returns to the starting team as Ulster seek a seventh straight win in the league when they face Scarlets at Kingspan tomorrow night. The scrum half is one of of six changes with Kieran Treadwell, Sean Reidy and Matthew Rea coming in for Sam Carter, Jordi Murphy and Greg Jones in the pack…
Dan McFarland has rotated his side for the trip to Parma to take on Conference A basement side, Zebre. John Cooney, Matthew Rea, Kieran Treadwell and Matt Faddes are all left out of the match day 23 while Sean Reidy and Ian Madigan are named on the bench. After two solid cameo appearances against Cardiff…
Ulster eased to a six-try victory over Conference A rivals Glasgow Warriors on Monday night. John Andrew, Marcell Coetzee, Sam Carter and John Cooney added first half scores while Sean Reidy and Matt Faddes completed the route in the second half. It was the visitors who were first on the board however with Niko Matawalu…
Dan McFarland has named a strong side for the welcome of Conference A rivals Glasgow Warriors to Kingspan Stadium tomorrow night as they chase a five-win start to the Guinness PRO14 for the first time since 2016-17. Billy Burns and Stuart McCloskey are on international duty but Ulster welcome back Matt Faddes and Marcell Coetzee…
Ulster continue their unbeaten start to the season with an 11-7 win over Cardiff Blues at Rodney Parade last night. It was by no means a classic with the scrum count outscoring the scoreboard 19-18. Michael Lowry scored Ulster’s only try of the game on the half time whistle, answering a great score from Rey…
It’s been a while since I’ve had to do an Ulster match preview as I’ve been concentrating on our Club and Schools output in recent seasons. However, our regular contributor for the PRO14 is unavailable this week so here goes. This season has a feel of “marking time” to me as the pandemic continues to…
Ulster win their first away game of the season as they triumph three tries to nil over the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium. Jacob Stockdale, Marcell Coetzee and John Cooney were on the scoresheet while Cooney contributed a further nine points from the boot. Iain Henderson set the tone of the game by declining a…
Ulster’s first game back was not a good one as they fell to a five point defeat at the hands of a well drilled Connacht side, leaving Dan McFarland questioning the mindset of his players. McFarland’s side looked so rusty I’m surprised they didn’t turn to powder when tackled by the Connacht players. I expected…
Dan McFarland’s first team sheet after lockdown sees Ulster go fully loaded against Andy Friend’s Connacht. Billy Burns captains the side from out half while the only absentees from the pack are Iain Henderson and Sean Reidy. The front row is full strength. Jack McGrath and Marty Moore start at loosehead and tighthead prop respectively…
A Kieran Treadwell try and 11 points from the boot of John Cooney edged out Cardiff in a narrow encounter at the Kingspan Stadium this afternoon. The result, combined with Edinburgh’s hammering last night consolidates Ulster’s third place in Conference B of the Guinness PRO14 while they tie level on points with Scarlets who were…
Jono Gibbes marked his first match as Ulster boss with a resounding 59-10 victory over Southern Kings to leave them eight points behind Leinster in the Guinness PRO14. Craig Gilroy stole the show with a hat-trick of scores, while Rob Lyttle added a brace. Stuart McCloskey, Kieran Treadwell and Darren Cave rounded off a routine…
Ireland survived a second half comeback to record their fourth victory over Fiji in their second test in the Guinness Series. Ireland made a bright start and were first on the scoreboard through Darren Sweetnam. The Munsterman followed up a Joey Carbery break to score the first try. Ben Volavola converted a penalty for Fiji…
Stuart McCloskey is included in the Ireland team for the first time since the Six Nations in 2016 as he is named in the Irish side that will take on Fiji in Dublin on Saturday. Rob Herring is also included in the starting line up and will make his first start for Ireland while former…
Contracts and player negotiations have been hot topics in recent times with Simon Zebo opting to head to France at the end of his contract this summer. Recently, matters have arrived at the doorstep of Ulster Rugby with the revelation that Iain Henderson has several offers from overseas clubs. However the Ulster and Ireland lock…
Joe Schmidt has called up six Ulstermen for the Autumn tests against South Africa, Fiji and Argentina that take place in November. Schmidt keeps his faith in captain Rory Best despite only making his first appearance of the season against La Rochelle while Rob Herring, Iain Henderson, Kieran Treadwell, Stuart McCloskey and Jacob Stockdale are…
We are back in pre-season, after a couple of weeks off following our trip to Georgia with the Ireland U20’s, and we’ve quite a bit to catch up on. First up we have a look at the stats behind Ireland’s summer tour to the USA and Japan. Not the most difficult of tours and one…
The squad for Ireland’s summer series against the USA and Japan was announced yesterday. For what is largely a development team it’s an extremely disappointing representation for Ulster with a measly four players being selected (plus our latest recruit from Connacht). The Front Row Union Young Player of the Year contenders Jacob Stockdale and Kieran Treadwell…
We have a look at the key stats behind Ulster Rugby’s 2016 – 2017 season to see if it was as bad a season as we all think. Worst season ever? We have stats for the last seven seasons at Ulster Rugby. This is the only season (in that range) where we didn’t qualify for…
Ulster Rugby (10) 17 TRY: Roger Wilson, Andrew Trimble. CON: Paddy Jackson (2). PEN: Paddy Jackson. Leinster Rugby (6) 13 TRY: Penalty try. CON: Joey Carbery. PEN: Joey Carbery (2). Ulster Rugby came out on top 17 – 13 against Leinster in an emotionally charged PRO12 match at Ravenhill on Saturday afternoon. As I was…
Ospreys Rugby (17) 24 TRY:Â Tom Habberfield, Tyler Ardron, Brendon Leonard. CON: Dan Biggar (3). PEN: Dan Biggar Ulster Rugby (3) 10 TRY: Jacob Stockdale. CON: Paddy Jackson. PEN: Paddy Jackson. Ulster Rugby’s playoff hopes took a fatal hit on Saturday afternoon with a 24 – 10 defeat by Ospreys Rugby at the Liberty Stadium, Swansea.…
The teams have been announced for the PRO12 match between Ospreys and Ulster Rugby which takes place on Saturday afternoon at the Liberty Stadium, Swansea. Kick off 3:00 pm live on BBCNI. We have opted for three changes with Craig Gilroy, Stuart McCloskey and Robbie Diack joining the starting line up at fullback, inside centre and No. 8…
Munster Rugby (10) 22 TRY: Angus Lloyd, Keith Earls, Dave O’Callaghan. CON: Ian Keatley, Tyler Bleyendaal. PEN: Ian Keatley Ulster Rugby (10) 20 TRY: Rory Best, Luke Marshall. CON: Paddy Jackson (2) PEN: Paddy Jackson (2) Ulster Rugby’s run of losses against Munster stretched to three seasons after Munster’s 22 – 20 win on Saturday…