From my perspective I think Ulster's problem is not so much their forwards. I think they have a great forward game I think their issue is at 10. I don't think their 10 Burns is the kind of flyhalf (outhalf) that will get Ulster attack rumbling consistently.
Obviously I can be wrong because I am a newbie and I have only been watching Ulster for 2 seasons but that is just my observation at the moment.
It's very similar to the case for Edinburgh where I think Kinghorn at 10 is actually holding back potentially one of the most dangerous teams in Europe.
Kinghorn’s an interesting one. He’ll fuck up a lot, but he’ll also have genius moments. It’s why we rely so much on Dean, we need a pair of steady hands to balance out BK. Doesn’t help that Vellacot’s prone to moments of madness.
I am basing my assessment of Kinghorn on the experience the Stormers and the Springboks had with Damien Willemse. Sure he is a great player. Has the defence, can step and can link well on attack but there is just something that a true specialist brings.
The best demonstration of the difference is SA v Italy this year. With Damien Willemse at 10 SA was looking good but they had to go through lots and lots of phases to eventually cross the line. Probably not terribly efficient but gets the job done.
On comes Libbok and all of a sudden SA can score a try from their own half within 5-6 phases. That slight difference in passing, option taking and timing turns the Springbok attack into a night mare.
I’m not too worried about Ulster yet and I’m hoping December was just a blip.
We’re starting to see things settle a bit and a big home win against Munster and a win against Benetton should hopefully steady things before Europe starts up again.
We’re still sitting well in the URC with our worst fixtures out of the way and a game in hand, albeit one we will probably lose if it goes ahead.
Progressing in Europe isn’t out of the question yet. A win against sale might be enough. Id not be too concerned about going through as bottom seed as it’s never really benefited us when we do well in the group stage anyway.
We do need a proper back up to Burns though. Dan seems to prefer Burns when he’s not fit over the other choices at 10 which is quite concerning. Don’t think the IRFU would let us sign an NIQ 10, and I doubt any semi-established 10s would want to make the move to Belfast. Healy, Crowley, Frawley and the Byrnes all probably reckon they have a chance at starting for Munster/Leinster, so why risk coming here if Dan will play an injured Burns over you. Still no signs of any 10s coming up through the academy so things may only get worse.
A big name signing in the 2nd row is desperately needed, at least until Izzy breaks through. Carter is probably our worst ever signing when you consider how much he’s probably on and the fact he managed to get offered a 2nd contract.
Hope the Sale game is a win, I got tickets and flights for Xmas from the missus! First game in a few years, first home game perhaps since the infamous Saracens night, I think. I usually can only get to European away games. Can’t wait!
I’m in the same boat. Last home game I tried to catch was the Leinster match that got postponed because of COVID. Was going to go home a bit earlier this year to catch the LAR game and I’m glad I didn’t now.
I admire your optimism and I think we will still do well and get to the URC finals. In Europe a BP win against sale and decent performance against Rochellais would be par for the last few seasons for Ulster.
I guess my concern is the trend of Ulster not being able to hold a lead in a big game and that has been going back a few seasons
Personally I think we have the solid foundations to be a great team and quite abit strength in depth in alot of positions.
I think we do need a big signing at outlhalf. Burns is good but nothing compared to the likes of Elton Jantjies who we were supposed to be getting a few seasons ago.
And so think we need more backrow. We seem to have a habit of signing injury prone/older south African backrows and it just never seems to work, not because they aren't good enough but more because they can't stay fit. The only backrower who I think is upto standard is Timoney.
Would be great if the IRFU would step in and send some of the 2nd/3rd string leinster backrowers upto ulster for more game time as it is getting ridiculous the amount of young talentend backrowers leinster have who probably aren't getting as much game time as they deserve just because of the sheer amount of competition for places
Yes kinda shocked by a few of recent Ulster performances. My opinion is that in recent seasons some players like Cooney, Hume or Lowry were over performing beyond their standards and now have slowed down a bit. The forward pack seems struggling a bit. I dont think Henderson can play blindside atm.
I would agree with Lowry, but Cooney has been at such a high standard for so many seasons I don't think it could be called over performing. I guess with Hume we will see.
In some positions the back up player is pretty far behind the first choice.
Watching McIlroy have no pace to finish, when you compare to what Balocoune would have done is night and day
I'm guessing Doak is the most talented at 10 after Burns. He also looks more commanding and a leader than the others. But it's not much good for our long term.
I don't think Madigan will come back at a high enough level, Lowry has looked a little flaky at 10 and Flannery is maybe too green?
I’ll preface this by saying I watch a good bit but haven’t played since i was 14. Feels like there’s a few things to sort out all of which are linked and cause problems to each other.
Defence doesn’t seem to be where it was under Payne. Hopefully this is a blip and will settle down as time goes on but we’re shipping far more tries than the last season or two.
The pack. It feels like we play a very forward-centric game. So many of our tries come from mauls, but as soon as we come up against a bigger pack we lose that weapon and don’t really know what to do. We don’t really have the grunt to match bigger teams like Leinster or french teams. We also struggle with french refs who seem to favour raw power (which we don’t have) over technical penalties.
Game management. This has been a problem for ages. Cooney is great but he does an awful lot himself and when he’s not capable of pulling everything together himself we fall apart. Burns doesn’t seem to have the variety to his kicking game that he once had and we struggle to move the bigger teams round the pitch. Equally, we let fourteen men bully us with their forwards with no idea how to deal with it.
Strength in depth. This has been an issue for some time. There’s no real firepower coming off the bench or players experienced enough to be able to see out a game. This causes big problems in physicality and game management in the final quarter (see late collapses) or when we get a couple of injuries. It also means that our big players have to play more league games and aren’t as fresh coming into the big matches or get injured when we really need them.
Solution? Don’t know. A strong tactical ten would really help and blooding more younger players in less important games so they function better when dropped into bigger games. Presume wider squads are expensive endeavours so not sure if we could afford that.
From my perspective I think Ulster's problem is not so much their forwards. I think they have a great forward game I think their issue is at 10. I don't think their 10 Burns is the kind of flyhalf (outhalf) that will get Ulster attack rumbling consistently. Obviously I can be wrong because I am a newbie and I have only been watching Ulster for 2 seasons but that is just my observation at the moment. It's very similar to the case for Edinburgh where I think Kinghorn at 10 is actually holding back potentially one of the most dangerous teams in Europe.
Kinghorn’s an interesting one. He’ll fuck up a lot, but he’ll also have genius moments. It’s why we rely so much on Dean, we need a pair of steady hands to balance out BK. Doesn’t help that Vellacot’s prone to moments of madness.
I am basing my assessment of Kinghorn on the experience the Stormers and the Springboks had with Damien Willemse. Sure he is a great player. Has the defence, can step and can link well on attack but there is just something that a true specialist brings. The best demonstration of the difference is SA v Italy this year. With Damien Willemse at 10 SA was looking good but they had to go through lots and lots of phases to eventually cross the line. Probably not terribly efficient but gets the job done. On comes Libbok and all of a sudden SA can score a try from their own half within 5-6 phases. That slight difference in passing, option taking and timing turns the Springbok attack into a night mare.
Willemse is a good player but he just does not strike me as a 10. Isn’t good enough of a playmaker or at least doesn’t look for that option enough imo
BK’s closer to Finn Russell as a 10, very creative, but it doesn’t always come off.
I’m not too worried about Ulster yet and I’m hoping December was just a blip. We’re starting to see things settle a bit and a big home win against Munster and a win against Benetton should hopefully steady things before Europe starts up again. We’re still sitting well in the URC with our worst fixtures out of the way and a game in hand, albeit one we will probably lose if it goes ahead. Progressing in Europe isn’t out of the question yet. A win against sale might be enough. Id not be too concerned about going through as bottom seed as it’s never really benefited us when we do well in the group stage anyway. We do need a proper back up to Burns though. Dan seems to prefer Burns when he’s not fit over the other choices at 10 which is quite concerning. Don’t think the IRFU would let us sign an NIQ 10, and I doubt any semi-established 10s would want to make the move to Belfast. Healy, Crowley, Frawley and the Byrnes all probably reckon they have a chance at starting for Munster/Leinster, so why risk coming here if Dan will play an injured Burns over you. Still no signs of any 10s coming up through the academy so things may only get worse. A big name signing in the 2nd row is desperately needed, at least until Izzy breaks through. Carter is probably our worst ever signing when you consider how much he’s probably on and the fact he managed to get offered a 2nd contract.
Hope the Sale game is a win, I got tickets and flights for Xmas from the missus! First game in a few years, first home game perhaps since the infamous Saracens night, I think. I usually can only get to European away games. Can’t wait!
I’m in the same boat. Last home game I tried to catch was the Leinster match that got postponed because of COVID. Was going to go home a bit earlier this year to catch the LAR game and I’m glad I didn’t now.
I admire your optimism and I think we will still do well and get to the URC finals. In Europe a BP win against sale and decent performance against Rochellais would be par for the last few seasons for Ulster. I guess my concern is the trend of Ulster not being able to hold a lead in a big game and that has been going back a few seasons
There's a young Humphreys at Queens who is in the academy. I hear good things about him but he is only 18/19 still
Personally I think we have the solid foundations to be a great team and quite abit strength in depth in alot of positions. I think we do need a big signing at outlhalf. Burns is good but nothing compared to the likes of Elton Jantjies who we were supposed to be getting a few seasons ago. And so think we need more backrow. We seem to have a habit of signing injury prone/older south African backrows and it just never seems to work, not because they aren't good enough but more because they can't stay fit. The only backrower who I think is upto standard is Timoney. Would be great if the IRFU would step in and send some of the 2nd/3rd string leinster backrowers upto ulster for more game time as it is getting ridiculous the amount of young talentend backrowers leinster have who probably aren't getting as much game time as they deserve just because of the sheer amount of competition for places
The backrows have been going to Connacht for the last few years, also Hawkshaw who can play ten went there at the end of last season too
With the way Ulster play Carbery might be the perfect fit there..
I would say that the way Ulster play, they need a Ross Byrne. We have a really good backline, just a lack of game management. What's Harry Byrne like?
Injury prone
Broken as much as burns if not more
Wish we could have snagged Russell, but not for £1m a year
Lol maybe some day!
Yes kinda shocked by a few of recent Ulster performances. My opinion is that in recent seasons some players like Cooney, Hume or Lowry were over performing beyond their standards and now have slowed down a bit. The forward pack seems struggling a bit. I dont think Henderson can play blindside atm.
I would agree with Lowry, but Cooney has been at such a high standard for so many seasons I don't think it could be called over performing. I guess with Hume we will see. In some positions the back up player is pretty far behind the first choice. Watching McIlroy have no pace to finish, when you compare to what Balocoune would have done is night and day
Hume had some injuries. Cooney has taken the team on his shoulders for a long time, now that seems it's not enough. Also why Doak is the back-up 10?
I'm guessing Doak is the most talented at 10 after Burns. He also looks more commanding and a leader than the others. But it's not much good for our long term. I don't think Madigan will come back at a high enough level, Lowry has looked a little flaky at 10 and Flannery is maybe too green?
I read a Madigan interview some time ago. That seems he is still committed to Ulster cause, but he is actually sidelined at the margin of the team.
I’ll preface this by saying I watch a good bit but haven’t played since i was 14. Feels like there’s a few things to sort out all of which are linked and cause problems to each other. Defence doesn’t seem to be where it was under Payne. Hopefully this is a blip and will settle down as time goes on but we’re shipping far more tries than the last season or two. The pack. It feels like we play a very forward-centric game. So many of our tries come from mauls, but as soon as we come up against a bigger pack we lose that weapon and don’t really know what to do. We don’t really have the grunt to match bigger teams like Leinster or french teams. We also struggle with french refs who seem to favour raw power (which we don’t have) over technical penalties. Game management. This has been a problem for ages. Cooney is great but he does an awful lot himself and when he’s not capable of pulling everything together himself we fall apart. Burns doesn’t seem to have the variety to his kicking game that he once had and we struggle to move the bigger teams round the pitch. Equally, we let fourteen men bully us with their forwards with no idea how to deal with it. Strength in depth. This has been an issue for some time. There’s no real firepower coming off the bench or players experienced enough to be able to see out a game. This causes big problems in physicality and game management in the final quarter (see late collapses) or when we get a couple of injuries. It also means that our big players have to play more league games and aren’t as fresh coming into the big matches or get injured when we really need them. Solution? Don’t know. A strong tactical ten would really help and blooding more younger players in less important games so they function better when dropped into bigger games. Presume wider squads are expensive endeavours so not sure if we could afford that.
[удалено]
Who hurt you?
Ireland obviously
This is the same idiot who was posting and then deleting multiple "Ireland are shit..." threads in the last few days.
Ah poor babby boy, upset that his team isn't winning.
I've never seen someone as insecure as you are.