The Front Row Union
Having omitted John Cooney from his international squad for the final 2020 Six Nations matches, many thought the scrum half had done enough to force his way back into Andy Farrell’s plans for the Autumn Nations Cup with his PRO14 performances recently Cooney is the notable absentee from the squad announced on Thursday while Iain […]
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 […]
It’s been over a year since Ulster began their 2019-2020 season and a 36-8 defeat to Toulouse in the Heineken Champions Cup quarter final ended the campaign, leaving Dan McFarland just two weeks to get the boys prepared for season 2020-21. A PRO14 final and a quarter final appearance in Europe marked a headline improvement […]
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 […]
Ulster slip to a disappointing defeat against Conference A’s bottom side Ospreys in a return to Guinness PRO14 action. The Cheetahs’ heavy defeat against Leinster keeps them at arms length however a bonus point win for Glasgow over Zebre on Friday night sees them move to eight points behind Ulster. Luke Price added the opening […]
On a night that had the potential to be a banana skin with a fully loaded* Munster side travelling up to Kingspan Stadium, Ulster dispatched Johann Van Graan’s men with ease to maintain a healthy distance from Glasgow Warriors and Toyota Cheetahs in Conference A of the PRO14. I was slightly worried about this match […]
A John Cooney penalty snatched victory from the jaws of defeat for Ulster Rugby as they remain top of the group at the half way mark. It was by no means a vintage performance from Ulster but the start they made was certainly impressive albeit the opening try alluded them until after the half way […]
Joe Schmidt has named a 44-man training squad ahead of preparations for Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan. The squad contains six Ulstermen, Rory Best, Iain Henderson, Rob Herring, Jordi Murphy, John Cooney and Jacob Stockdale. Future Ulster player, Jack McGrath is also included along with Fivemiletown native Chris Farrell. Despite the extended panel, there […]
A five-try win over the Southern Kings sees Ulster move back into second spot in Conference B of the Guinness PRO14 with three tough matches remaining. Stuart McCloskey, Rob Lyttle and Marcell Coetzee added first half tries while Robert Baloucoune and John Andrew rounded off the score line in the second half. Ulster came firing […]
A Stuart McCloskey try on his 100th appearance guided Ulster to a fifth away victory of the season.and move them up to third position albeit for 24 hours. The away side started promising putting together a number of phases inside the Ospreys half. The forwards carried hard and looked to soften up the Ospreys defence […]
Joe Schmidt has announced an Irish side featuring six Ulstermen to face USA on Satrurday (KO 18:30). Rory Best and Jacob Stockdale are left out having featured in two and three Autumn International matches already. Will Addison, Stuart McCloskey, John Cooney, Iain Henderson and Jordi Murphy are the Ulster contingent in the starting line up […]
A patchy performance was enough for Ulster to seal the bonus point win and move into third spot in Conference B ahead of Edinburgh who lost to Zebre tonight. Stuart McCloskey grabbed a brace of tries while Henry Speight opened the scoring. Dave Shanahan and Michael Lowry added the other scores. Ulster made a confident […]
Eight Ulster players have been called up to the Ireland squad ahead of the four-match Autumn International series that kicks off next Saturday against Italy in Chicago. Will Addison is the only uncapped Ulsterman to be selected and his performances this season have certainly warranted the selection. John Cooney, Rob Herring and Stuart McCloskey join […]
Ulster blew a ten point lead to draw 24-24 with Munster handing Edinburgh the vital third place finish in Conference B of the Guinness PRO14. Normally a draw in Thomond Park would be celebrated as an achievement but the mood among Ulster supporters is somewhat glum after missing out on finals rugby for the second […]
A second half capitulation from Ulster saw Scarlets run out 34-10 winners in the Guinness PRO14 match at the Parc-y-Scarlets. It was one-way traffic after Ulster’s score with Ioan Nicholas, Ryan Conbeer, Paul Asquith and Tadhg Beirne all crossing. It was three minutes when Ulster scored their only try of the night. Dan Jones attempted […]
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 […]
Ulster’s defensive frailties have been well documented over the festive period and they are only ten league tries shy of equalling last season’s tries conceded total. The defensive system has come under intense scrutiny and Les Kiss is bearing the brunt of the vocal criticism but does the problem have a much more straightforward solution? […]
Ulster back up their win at the Stoop with an emphatic six-try victory against Harlequins in the fourth round of the European Champions Cup in Belfast. John Cooney scored 27 points, including a try, in the 52-24 victory. Stuart McCloskey, Craig Gilroy, Charles Piutau, Alan O’Connor and Andrew Trimble were Ulster’s other try scorers. Ulster […]
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 […]
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 […]
Monstrous performances from Jean Deysel and Marcell Coetzee inspired Ulster to a six-try victory over Toyota Cheetahs on the opening day of the Guinness PRO14 season. Tommy Bowe, Stuart McCloskey, Alan O’Connor, Charles PIutau, Louis Ludik and Pete Nelson were the try scorers for Ulster while Clayton Blommetjies, Makazole Mapimpi and Sergeal Petersen were the […]
Christian Lealiifano, John Cooney and Jean Deysel are set to be handed their debuts in Ulster’s clash with Toyota Cheetahs tomorrow evening. Cooney and Lealiifano occupy the half back positions while Deysel lines up alongside Chris Henry at flanker. Henry captains the side. A big welcome back to Marcell Coetzee who is named at No.8 […]
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 […]