The 4 game verdict

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Columbo
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The 4 game verdict

Post by Columbo »

Does anyone have a clue if we're any good or not? I'll be honest, I'm none the wiser...

Pros: - 4 games unbeaten
- we have never given up and shown bottle to win games at the death
- we have played some nice football, notwithstanding the fact that there has been significant turnover in our squad, a lot of players are still settling in and we have a lot of injuries
- a couple of young gems impressing - TOT, EOS, AK

Cons: - a relatively easy run of fixtures
- we have started every game appallingly slowly
- some of our defence (particularly against Cheetahs) has been laughable
- some of our ball protection and breakdown has been terrible
- our injury jinx seems to have rolled over into the new season

Thoughts?
..one more thing
rumncoke
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The 4 game verdict

Post by rumncoke »

Ulster have a good attitude to the game playing to the final whistle the fact that they have too speaks volumes .

I doubt we'll be able to assess the quality of the squad until the back row settles into a comfort zone with players having a clear understanding of their roles in attack and defence .

I have a feeling the back row had the task of protecting shantheman which affect the performance in attack and defence leading to missed tackles by players you would not expect to miss .




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Last edited by rumncoke on Thu Sep 27, 2018 8:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Cap'n Grumpy
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Re: The 4 game verdict

Post by Cap'n Grumpy »

Columbo wrote:Cons: -
- some of our defence (particularly against Cheetahs) has been laughable
What is this "defence" of which you speak?

We have good individuals who at times have done a remarkable job at key moments, but to suggest that we have a defence is perhaps in itself laughable.
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Dave
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Re: The 4 game verdict

Post by Dave »

My verdict: no we are not good but we are not all bad. We won't be near good until next season. The current foreigners will depart and we should sign a few healthy players after the RWC.

Some good results though.

The injury situation is just absurd. Year on year we go through the same thing.
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therealspratt
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Re: The 4 game verdict

Post by therealspratt »

Pros: Addison seems like he may have something
Burns is looking more assured
Coetzee hasn't destroyed himself
Kernohan looks fairly comfortable at this level, probably a much better option than Busby and Owens
The young tightheads have been decent
O'Sullivan
McBurney has gotten some gametime
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Tender
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Re: The 4 game verdict

Post by Tender »

The injuries are ridiculous. We are better than shyte, but it’s too early to tell by how much.
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jackthelad
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Re: The 4 game verdict

Post by jackthelad »

My view is that we have had an easy start and are about to be taken roughly up the Khyber by better teams with fewer injuries. Why has McPhillips not been given any time on the field?
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Dave
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Re: The 4 game verdict

Post by Dave »

If get within 20 points of Munster that will do. We will need a few back to overcome a strong Connacht side. I would imagine Best and Stockdale will have returned for the SDC. I'm not worried about results but I do think it would be nice for the morale of the team, going forward, to take a few scalps along the way. We need to at least shift that soft underbelly tag that we picked up under LK. Fight for every inch and all that.

SUFTUM
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BaggyTrousers
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Re: The 4 game verdict

Post by BaggyTrousers »

I'm often at a loss to understand why people come out with such utter feeble-minded tripe here.

Exhibit A:

"a relatively easy run of fixtures".

Sweet Holy whore bagging mother of the dear dilapidated mother of the baby Jesus.

Game one - finalists in the last 2 years, winners two years back
Game two - one of the two teams to win at Ravenhill last season
Game three - a given
Game four - a horror, almost 5000 feet of altitude, a five-day turnaround.

If that is an easy run of fixtures I'm cu'nting Bad Santa Claus, for I wouldn't give that to anyone as a present.

Would yis FFFS get a grip on yer wits.

We are better than I feared, only a halfwit like Columbo would attempt to ask this sort of bullshite after 4 matches. :duh: :duh: :duh:


Right now would yis all fu'ck off and give my two heads peace. :banghead:
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UlsterNo9
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Re: The 4 game verdict

Post by UlsterNo9 »

Game three - a given...... in hindsight the Kings were not.

Took an unbeaten Glasgow team to the cleaners at the weekend, sporting 19 internationals in their matchday 23.
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Bart S
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Re: The 4 game verdict

Post by Bart S »

Look at how ulster did in the first 4 games last season and how things panned put.

Verdict : Too early to make any meaningful conclusions on the team.

The next 4 games will give us a better idea of where we sit. Wins against Connacht and Tigers plus competitive performances against one of Munster or Racing away would be a very good sign.

It was our away form and constant capitulations against anyone remotely decent which from a results perspective was the downfall of Kiss, allied to an inability to remedy this. We should find a way to win almost all home games, but fronting up away from home is where the real test is.
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Re: The 4 game verdict

Post by rumncoke »

Basic truth there are no easy matches in Professional Rugby when a team play to their potential .

Good sides play well consistently and even good sides will have an off day — or a game where the ref penalises them when playing on the boundaries of legality .

Taking out players on the fringe of the ruck - holding the opposition that fraction longer than the laws intended — making a blocking dummy run etc .( Those little plays and ploys which give teams an edge )

Ulster are limited in attack, at present, for a variety of reasons ;and have still to develop a defence which is 100% reliable ;but have an attitude which makes the side difficult to beat.

Ulster have to labour hard to win and equally hard not to lose .

They also lack a player of real class to put bums on seats .

Clooney and Burns are workers but not stars the same can be said of Mc closkey and Cave — Gilroy is a known quantity ,and while Stockdale has true quality being a winger he is to reliant on the players inside him to enable him to be effective . He will also be subject to Ireland limits to his time on the pitch — which limits his ability to act as a crowd magnet.The alternatives equally lack the ability to be defined as crowd magnets

And forwards are a unit where stars are lost because their game relies on the joint effort of all the pack, even the best forwards seldom if ever would individually add spectators to the gate .




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therealspratt
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Re: The 4 game verdict

Post by therealspratt »

jackthelad wrote:My view is that we have had an easy start and are about to be taken roughly up the Khyber by better teams with fewer injuries. Why has McPhillips not been given any time on the field?
Because Burns needs as much time as possible to bed in and McPhillips is neither much better than Curtis, nor does he cover centre.
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Re: The 4 game verdict

Post by Rooster »

Considering how the teams we have played have done in other fixtures we are looking better than last year, big difference is we are in "never give up " mode and have snatched points when we previously would have folded
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Columbo
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Re: The 4 game verdict

Post by Columbo »

UlsterNo9 wrote:Game three - a given...... in hindsight the Kings were not.
Took an unbeaten Glasgow team to the cleaners at the weekend, sporting 19 internationals in their matchday 23.
Very true, I was thinking the same myself - the SA teams seem to be tightening up a bit, and Kings are actually looking stronger than Cheetahs this season. That being said the Cheetahs result was poor for us - criminal defence...
Bart S wrote:Verdict : Too early to make any meaningful conclusions on the team.
The next 4 games will give us a better idea of where we sit. Wins against Connacht and Tigers plus competitive performances against one of Munster or Racing away would be a very good sign.
this is true
..one more thing
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