I suppose we have a game this week...

[Wee Woman]

Blah

Someday you may appreciate the fact there are Two teams on the pitch and you can only play as well as the opposition allow you .

And Treviso did what they had to do minimise the ability of Ulster to play rugby

If you can accept that fact then apply to appear on the Jeremy Kyle show with the rest of those who are two pence short of a shilling .

Wee Woman the decision to go for the set scrum at the end was correct with Treviso willing to spoil any line out by fair means or foul and ref who would as quickly penalise Ulster as Treviso .

A set scrum at least provides the backs one on one opportunity rather than a packed mid field .

And provided the opportunity for the try to steal a win because it caught Treviso unaware - they knew how to defend a 5 metre line out but the scrum was not what they expected .




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Not disputing that the scrum was the right way to go, it was the time it took to get to that point. Clear indecision and no leadership at a time when the game was the in the balance.

[Spiffsson]

Ulster played quite well when they had the ball i n the proper end of the pitch .

Problem Ulster seldom had the ball and seldom where they could actual use it .

As I have stated earlier in the season O ‘Shea has made changes it the way he wants the Italians to play - it’s ugly but effective - if you get the ball keep it - nothing fancy it’s pure % rugby — frustrate the opposition - referees pénalise defending teams soon and more often than attacking teams — failure to release — off side going over the ball - failure to roll away after the tackle - high tackles - coming in the side .
Provided you stay in the opposition half long enough the ref will sooner or later pénalise the defending team and if the defending team try to contest the ball it will be sooner rather than later .
The only mistake the attacking team must not make is too allow their ball carrier to become isolated

It makes for ugly rugby but it is effective

The statistics for the second half might be interesting
I would say Treviso had about 65% if possession and 70% territory .

You can’t play without the ball and it’s harder to play in your own half .

Treviso 5 penalties and a try from an Ulster mistake doesn’t make them a highly skilled team but they have learnt how to make life difficult for the opposition


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No Rum - Ulster did not play quite well. They were a totally clueless team who deserved to be humped by the Benetton reserves, and should have been. You have to pay more attention to what is happening on the pitch.
And yes - you are right - you can't play without the ball. But a good team makes a point of getting their share of the ball. If they cannot get it, then they are not playing well.

[CIMANFOREVER]

Ironically when CRoss went off I felt we were in real trouble. That backrow was callow and massively outgunned. Only Timoney looked physically up to par.
Im not denying our academy has some talent, but they are physically 2-3 years behind other players of the same age in other academies- said this when we lost to Zebre, who played a couple of 21 year old forwards who were miles ahead physically. And for clarity, two thirds of them were Mexican rejects.
All 3 were game, but physically outmuscled. Now 2 were 19, so fair enough, but even Rea looks light on upper body strength.

As an aside, I thought Treadwell stepped up, given 2 weeks of proper coaching.
Kane I like. Very solid at 22. Andrew was our best backrower...... We missed a trick by not taking scrum penalties instead of touch until the end... We are also dumb as F#ck.
Defence shockingly passive again, and positioning all over the show. Treviso just peeled and popped around the ruck all day and constantly gained ground. Very simple, effective rugby, playing to their limited strengths.We're not even capable of that.. in fact, what actually are our strengths?

[Cockatrice]

Whatever you can't blame the young lads thrown in for their first game its what they learn and how they develop is the main thing... at the same time that was shyte against a side missing 16 players on international duty..

I heard how Ulster treated another of their young upcoming players recently and if true then the door does need open and the exit of so called management needs to happen sooner rather than later..

[Deraless]

We were totally in control of that from the 79th minute right through to the final whistle...except for knocking on the restart and then the first scrum collapsing. I was expecting a 40m pen kick right in front of the posts for them to win it. But apart from that totally in control.

[justinr73]

That was a hard watch, to say the least.

The only upside was that I was at home with the heating on full, supping on a couple of large GTs and a decent Bordeaux. The sausage, potato and leek casserole was good too. I used a fair glug of white balsamic which added a nice sticky sweetness to the dish.

I don't even remember much emotion on the couch when Trimble crashed through. I think we were largely numbed and stunned by the horror of that second half. The cat didn't even wake up.

More or less the only positive is that, like in SA, they had the will to force a win at the death so the character and togetherness in the camp appears to be mostly intact. At the moment.

[CIMANFOREVER]

VDM olooks underwhelming. Body position and binding awful. Ill excuse his first game, but hope hes not RAY or Big Joe calibre....

[Cockatrice]

VDM olooks underwhelming. Body position and binding awful. Ill excuse his first game, but hope hes not RAY or Big Joe calibre....

when the ref spoke to him after that last collapsed scrum I was thinking if they were smart they might take this down and make it look like VDW.. a last second penalty in front of the posts for the win... thankfully they didnt try it.

Apart from that I think one clear penalty and one lovely offload.

[Russ]

I make it 93 starts btw.

Better ratio than Sean Cronin

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[Cap'n Grumpy]

I make it 93 starts btw.

Does that include re-starts?

We're not terribly good at those.

[BaggyTrousers]

I make it 93 starts btw.

Initially surprised, I'd expected about 1:3 but then there was plenty of time when the great man was absent with Saffer duty.

[BaggyTrousers]

He did the band cope with Fit's playlist? Looked pretty challenging.

All too late I realised that I should have submitted a demand that Steely Dan, the greatest band in world history up til yet, be included. Their ditty demanding inclusion, "Black Friday" from Katy Lied, although somewhat simplistic lyrically for SD, is still a 1975 toe tapper................ I'd have fu'cking danced.

As for the band, not The Band, things were so quiet after 32 minutes that I thought, great, no band, but looked up to see them there after all, perhaps their wee fingers were too cold.

[rumncoke]

Spiff read my previous post refs find it easier to penalise defending teams especially if they try to contest possession ,which is normally only possible if a player gets isolated from his support and then it is an art form which takes ages years practice to perfect .

One leg over the tackled player the back leg braced and arms over to hinder the release - result a penalty -- Stander has the technique to perfection Best is possibly the best in Ulster get it wrong or the timing wrong and it is a penalty against you .

Gartland didn't allow the Lions to contest the breakdown because referees will penalise the tackler more often than the tackled player (
unless your name is Lacey and one of the teams is Ulster ) then it's count quickly to 3 and penalise Ulster for non release.


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[big mervyn]

I make it 93 starts btw.

Initially surprised, I'd expected about 1:3 but then there was plenty of time when the great man was absent with Saffer duty.

By comparison, Cave started 165 of his 199 games to date.

[Dave]

Dalton looked the biggest of the academy players but had the least amount of minutes. Aaron Hall made 25 tackles. A good stat if it wasn't against Treviso.