What the Papers Say 2012/2013

[BaggyTrousers]

Don't know why I read Jeremy Guscotts Q&A each week - but I do anyway..

Heres what he had to say about Ulster

Hi Jeremy, after Ulster's superb performance on Friday, a fitting tribute to the late Nevin Spence, do you think they are now ready to seriously challenge for the Pro12 title? Rob

Hi Rob, Ulster are a good side, as they proved last season by reaching the Heineken Cup final. They only finished sixth in the Pro12 league but I guess the Heineken Cup took over as their priority.
It's hard for a team to compete on all fronts, but they will have their priorities and not having to worry too much about qualifying for the Heineken Cup via the Pro12 means the league probably takes second place behind doing well in Europe. They've given themselves a great chance of winning the Pro 12 with the fine start they've made and I would expect them to challenge for honours.

I was watching the Cardiff match along with my mates Bajazz and John Inverdale they were of the same opinion ... only John was at pains to remind us the Pro 12 Logo was designed by an Englishman and Bajazz said that he expects Allen to take over that design house by the end of the season.

I think this was the full unedited reply.

Feck Sadie I roared. Priceless Fleg, poor ould Jazzbeg. Paying a fair price but sticking rigidly to his line, commendable if misguided.

[Mac]

Tuesday 3rd Oct 2012

Indo

Anscombe hails grieving Ulster players' strength

MARK ANSCOMBE knew he faced a difficult job when he took over at Ulster, but he could never have anticipated that the role would be so drastically altered by tragedy after just a few weeks.

Replacing the popular Brian McLaughlin after he had guided Ulster to their first Heineken Cup final since 1999 was already a tough task, particularly given the shoddy way in which the changeover was handled.
The pressure was on the New Zealander before he even arrived, but victory over Munster at Ravenhill on September 14 showed that the new man was getting to grips with it all.
A day later, the unimaginable happened on the Spence farm in Down. The life of the prodigious Nevin Spence was claimed along with his father and brother; and Anscombe was faced with managing a grief-stricken squad of players he had only met a matter of weeks before.

"I had looked at our game the day before and was talking to the coaches about what we were looking to do for the following week and some of the selections we were interested in," he recalled. "I decided that day, because he had been injured the previous week, that Nevin was going to start the following Friday against Zebre.

Given the circumstances of his appointment, he knows he needed a good start. "Any new job you start, you are moving in as someone moves out," he said. "That was not a concern. People keep saying about being in the Heineken Cup final last year meaning we have to go on and win it -- but I put expectation on anything I do.
"We want silverware. We have our own goals but you just have to get on and do the work and not think about how it came about that I got the job. I got the opportunity. So I took it. I'm enjoying it."

http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/a ... 48687.html

Examiner

Ulster getting back to normality

Understandably, Ulster’s fine early season form has been somewhat overshadowed of late but they lie atop the PRO12 table with four wins from four and face into their first interpro of the season with Roger Wilson and young centre Mike Allen their only injury absentees.

Beyond that lies a Heineken Cup opener against Castres in Belfast before a trip to Scotland and a date with Glasgow Warriors. Northampton complete the foursome but Anscombe bristled at the notion that Ulster will be expected to emerge with ambitions intact next January.

"They will expect too," he said of the pool four opponents. "Last year has gone. This is this year. We have a new coach, a couple of new players and are a bit different as a team and I am sure if you go and look at those teams then they have all done the same thing. Not every team is going to be the same as last year. And in every competition, you have to ensure you respect those. Each team each year grows and you cannot fall into thinking it will be the same as last year."

Anscombe has parked up at a club which has been doing all the right things on and off the park in recent years, one which strengthened its playing pool in the off-season but with a decision to make at nine and ten. Ulster remain in the unusual position of possessing a nine (Ruan Pienaar) who can play ten, not to mention a 12 (Paddy Wallace) who can do the same, but all eyes remain on young Paddy Jackson and his ability to progress this season.

The 20-year was surprisingly elevated to the starting role by former coach Brian McLaughlin in place of Ian Humphreys last season and struggled in the European semi-final and decider, but Anscombe was fulsome in his praise yesterday. "I see an outstanding young man who has a lot of potential and a lot of talent. The fact is that, at 20, a Heineken Cup final came a bit sooner than he expected but he is only going to be strong.

"He is still growing. Paddy is three or four years from producing what he is going to be. That is what you expect. You don’t gain that as a 10 when you need him to control the game, direct the game, boss people around. That doesn’t happen in five minutes."

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/rugb ... 09711.html

Rabo Pro12 Preview

The Ulstermen's only defeat at Ravenhill since last October was to Leinster on 20 April.
Connacht achieved their biggest ever victory over Leinster on Friday night and are now seeking a third successive victory over their fellow Irish provinces for the first time since 1956. Connacht's only win in this competition over a rival province in their own backyard came against Leinster at Donnybrook on 13 September 2002.
Connacht are going for back to back victories over Ulster for the first time since 1997-98, but have not won at Ravenhill since 16 November 1960.

http://www.rabodirectpro12.com/matchcentre/14806.php
All Rabo stats.......
http://www.intouchrugby.com/magazine/wp ... ound_6.pdf

[Bring Humph On!!]

First interpro of the season????

[Cornerfleg]

First interpro of the season????

Yeah noticed that too ... There's probably a reason why you don't hear the name Brendan O’Brien mentioned along with Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein!

[Cap'n Grumpy]

First interpro of the season????

Yeah noticed that too ... There's probably a reason why you don't hear the name Brendan O’Brien mentioned along with Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein!

The shaking you feel through the ground is from cables spinning in his urn

[Mac]

Wednesday 3rd Oct Contd

Times

Rory Best is in line to make his first appearance of the season after being named in Mark Anscombe’s preliminary squad for Friday’s home derby with Connacht (Ravenhill, 7.05pm).

The Ireland hooker has not played since the Test match against New Zealand on June 23rd. Captain Johann Muller is included after overcoming the niggling injuries which ruled him out of the excellent win over Cardiff last Friday. Ireland internationals Stephen Ferris and Declan Fitzpatrick also return to the extended 25 man squad.

Meanwhile Ulster announced that scumhalf Michael Heaney has signed a new contract that will keep him at the province until the end of the season. A graduate of the Phoenix Ulster Academy, the 21 year old rejoined Ulster from Doncaster Knights in the summer on an initial four month contract.
Heaney has represented Ulster at all levels and made his senior debut for the province in a pre-season friendly away to Harlequins in August 2010. He was a member of the Ireland U-20 squad that won the 2010 Six Nations Championship and also competed in the IRB Junior World Championships later that year.
Heaney said: “I am delighted to be extending my contract with Ulster. It was a great opportunity to have been given the initial four month contract and I am pleased that I will be able to stay and to continue to represent my province.”

http://www.irishtimes.com/sports/rugby/ ... 10635.html

MH.png (200.74 KiB) Viewed 629 times

BBC

It will be Tommy Bowe's first game at Ravenhill in an Ulster shirt since May 2008, when he scored a try against Cardiff before moving to the Ospreys.

The Ireland wing is looking forward to making his return in front of the Ulster faithful.

"I've very excited about it - it's something I've really missed," said Bowe.

"It's hard to replicate the noise and excitement of running out as part of the home team at Ravenhill.

"Last week in Cardiff was a tough one following the tragedy but the boys pulled out a great performance and hopefull we can do something similar on Friday."

Bowe scored two tries against the Blues in a 48-19 win which leaves Ulster top of the Pro12 table after four victories from four games.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/19817151

[davejohnston]

Ulster nearly at full strength for Connacht http://www.rabodirectpro12.com/news/14827.php

Ferris will play alongside Chris Henry and Nick Williams in an impressive looking back row.

This will be a sight to behold. Ferris, Henry and Williams. Who are defenders going to swarm around - Ferris or Williams ? If both offload well they will open up some big holes in the Connacht defence.

[Mac]

Thursday 4th Oct 2012

Late in the day I know but.......

Tele

In-demand Ulster aim to go one better in Heineken bid

Ulster captain Johann Muller recalled that when he attended the Heineken Cup launch in Dublin two years ago, the media focus had been on Leinster and Munster, with Ulster present purely in the role of poor relations. Nobody took their challenge seriously.

But yesterday Muller and coach Mark Anscombe were in demand from every television channel and radio station present. Journalists from all the magazines, daily newspapers and Sundays wanted interviews. Changed times.

Anscombe, however, made it clear that, in his opinion, Ulster’s run to last year’s final is neither here nor there in terms of this season’s challenge. The Kiwi stressed that teams change coaches, introduce new players and shift others on. So, like Ulster, most other outfits are different now. He said: “Although you respect the past, you’ve got to be careful that in any competition you don’t get caught up with what teams used to do.

“We have to look and see what they’re like this year. Some of these teams weren’t even playing in this competition a few years ago, but they have grown, improved and got to qualify for it.

“That shows you teams get better, so you cannot be fooled into thinking that they’re the same as last year.”

And showing typical focus, Anscombe pointed to the next task on his jobs-to-be-done list, namely Friday night’s PRO12 date with Connacht.

“We’re not thinking of Castres yet,” he insisted.

“Our focus is on this week at home against Connacht; that’s a job we need to do before we worry about anything else. We want to keep our momentum going in the Rabo and if we start getting distracted and don’t keep our focus on Connacht, they will beat us.”

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport ... 19347.html

Times

DF

Declan Fitzpatrick, who was due to start, picked up a medial ligament injury in training this morning, and is replaced by John Afoa.

It promises to be an emotional occasion as it will mark Ulster’s first home game since the tragic passing of Nevin Spence. The fixture will also see fellow international Tommy Bowe line out for for Ulster at home for the first time in four years, following his spell with Ospreys.

Ireland hooker Rory Best has returned to fitness and will play for his province for the first time since the Heineken Cup final in May. Johann Muller (captain), Stephen Ferris and Paddy Wallace are all called into the starting team.

Eric Elwood has made four changes to his starting team following victory over Leinster last week. Up front, Denis Buckley makes way for Brett Wilkinson as loosehead prop while Ronan Loughney, who last week was called up to the Irish training squad, returns to the tighthead prop position.

Elsewhere in the pack, Dave Gannon replaces Eoin McKeon as blindside flanker. Gannon is joined in the backrow by former Ulster flanker Willie Faloon, who tomorrow will captain Connacht.

Ulster: J Payne; T Bowe, D Cave, P Wallace, A Trimble; P Jackson, P Marshall; T Court, R Best, D Fitzpatrick; J Muller (capt), D Tuohy; S Ferris, C Henry, N Williams. Replacements: R Herring, C Black, J Afoa, L Stevenson, M McComish, M Heaney, L Marshall, C Gilroy.

Connacht: R Henshaw; T O’Halloran, E Griffin, D McSharry, F Vainikolo; D Parks, K Marmion; B Wilkinson, A Flavin, R Loughney; M Swift, M McCarthy; D Gannon, W Faloon (capt), G Naoupu. Relacements: J Harris-Wright, D Buckley, N White, J Muldoon, J O’Connor, D Moore, M Nikora, M Fifita.

http://www.irishtimes.com/sports/rugby/ ... 61112.html

Examiner

Rory Best will make his seasonal debut for Ulster when they face Connacht in a RaboDirect Pro 12 derby at Ravenhill on Friday night.

Best will be thrown straight into the mix from the start in a side that will be bulging with internationals with Paddy Wallace, Andrew Trimble, Tom Court, Dan Tuohy, Chris Henry and Stephen Ferris also expected to feature in the starting line-up

"On paper you just have to look at the squad we have assembled and if everyone is fit for selection it means we have a fairly decent bit of strength in depth," said assistant coach Neil Doak. "The good thing now is that even though the IRFU’s Player welfare programme might have hindered us, we have still been able to give opportunities to younger guys and they have done really, really well.

"The young guys that have come in have given Mark a wider option. Of course, with the internationals coming in it has given Mark a bit of a problem regarding selection, but a nice one at that."

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/rugb ... 09832.html

RTE

The calls for professionalism.....

Ulster boss Mark Anscombe has called for professionalism ahead of Ulster’s first home game following the tragic death of their young star Nevin Spence.

Speaking in the build-up to Ulster's RaboDirect PRO12 clash with Connacht at Ravenhill on Friday night, Anscombe said: “It is our first game back home since the passing of Neve.

“And there’s a lot happened in that time, and there’s been some difficult times for the players. We’ve also got to be professional in what we’re about to do, and his memory will never die and always be in the team.

“That fact is that if you just use emotion, you’re not going to get the results. So we’ve got to control the emotion and prepare and be professional in how we get ready for each game. Then we’ll do a good service to his memory.”

Anscombe was pleased with how his players responded to Spence’s death with victory in Cardiff last week.

“To go to Cardiff and score seven tries in a victory like that, you’ve got to be pleased,” said Anscombe.

“But there’s still areas that we’ve got to be better and our challenge is to keep lifting the bar. Is to keep challenging ourselves and to be as good as we possibly can be.

Tele

Tyrone has his say........

One can only imagine the atmosphere in the Ulster dressing room last Friday night before the game in Cardiff.

Last week I wrote that the players needed to provide some rays of light for the Ulster rugby family and that we needed them back and on form. My goodness, they did deliver in one of the finest displays of attacking and counterattacking rugby that I have witnessed from any group of Ulster players.

There was class in almost every department, albeit against a weak Cardiff side who posed few real threats.

Nevertheless, full credit to Ulster for putting the Welsh side under so much pressure — for all the handling and offloading excellence, strong performances are founded on doing the basics well. Ulster’s effort was underpinned by a dominant scrum and a ferociously organised defence.

Three moments, in particular, stood out...........

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport ... 19350.html

Also.....
http://www.planet-rugby.co.za/story/0,2 ... 67,00.html

http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/rabo-dire ... acht-team/

Cha, Cha, Chc, Changes.........
.......or Back to the Future?

TB.png (251.14 KiB) Viewed 534 times

TB2.png (199.21 KiB) Viewed 534 times

TB3.png (223.74 KiB) Viewed 534 times

[Mac]

Thursday 4th Oct Contd

Newsletter

The only player who has not had game time this season is summer signing, Roger Wilson. The No 8 suffered a serious hamstring injury in his last game with Northampton Saints shortly after agreeing a return move to his former club.

While Ulster Rugby have said Wilson is making progress, it may be too late for him to be available for the first round of games in Europe.

Ulster have already embroidered the initials ‘NS’ underneath the Ulster Rugby crest on their jerseys and it is understood another special tribute will be paid tomorrow night to the 22-year-old before the game and at half-time.

http://www.newsletter.co.uk/sport/rugby ... -1-4329909

[Mac]

Thursday 4th Oct Contd...........last orders.

RUAN

In his earlier career, Pienaar was predominantly seen as a utility-back but a move to Irish club Ulster saw him receiving regular starts at half-back, his favourite position. Of his 59 Test matches he has played 33 at scrumhalf, 13 at flyhalf, 10 at fullback and three on the wing.

Pienaar has been one of the form South African players plying their trade in the Northern Hemisphere which earned him a call-up by new Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.

The 28-year-old has had three consecutive starts at scrumhalf in the new-look Bok team and is looking increasingly comfortable in the position.

"I've competed against some good nine's in South Africa in the past and it is great for me to get an opportunity now," Pienaar said on Wednesday.

"I've really enjoyed the three Tests that I started now and hopefully I can continue in that vein and try to play as well as possible and be in contention for that jersey for the next couple of years if possible."

http://mg.co.za/article/2012-10-04-ruan ... ine-jersey

A reinvigorated Ruan Pienaar is ready to step out of Fourie du Preez‘s shadow and make the Springbok number nine jersey his own.

28-year-old Pienaar broke onto the international scene on 2006 but his Springbok career struggled to take off as Du Preez had established himself as South Africa’s first-choice scrumhalf and held the position until his exit from Test rugby after the 2011 World Cup.

Pienaar’s versatility also proved a hindrance rather than a help and after a trial at flyhalf, he was demoted to the bench where he provided cover as utility back.

A move to Irish club Ulster saw him receiving regular starts at scrumhalf and catching the eye of new Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.

After biding his time as back-up for Bulls scrumhalf Francois Hougaard for the home series against England in June, Pienaar was promoted to the starting line-up during the ongoing Rugby Championship and has been making the most of the opportunity.

http://sport.iafrica.com/news/819783.html

[Mac]

So the Bokke are finally seeing what we all know.

Hope they shag off a leave him to play with his province for the rest of the season.

Aye.........could be a double edged sword.

[Mac]

Friday 5th Oct 2012...........Match Day.

STUNNING........the change in tone & rhetoric
coming from certain sections of the press this year!!

Times

It's all about keeping up momentum for Anscombe

Nobody likes this phony war stage of the season. Only when the tanks roll into Polish territory on Friday week – Castres come to Ravenhill – will we know more.

“Yeah, that’s huge but we want to keep our momentum going in the Rabo. If we do not keep our focus going for Connacht they will beat us. It’s as simple as that.”

Anscombe’s caution is understandable, but some salient observations are unavoidable. Ulster should make another leap in progress this season. The All Black signing Jared Payne is fit again and Tommy Bowe has returned. The pack is largely the same, with either Nick Williams or Roger Wilson to nail down the number eight slot.

One potentially huge problem is Ruan Pienaar. Arguably the best play-maker and pressure kicker in the world right now (according to team-mate Johann Muller), Pienaar recently won back the Springbok number nine jersey. He starts against New Zealand tomorrow in Johannesburg.

This places huge expectations on Paul Marshall and Paddy Jackson to accelerate their already impressive development as a halfback partnership.

Jackson shot to prominence last season, displacing Ian Humphreys as the starting outhalf, only to struggle in the Heineken Cup final.

Comparisons to Anscombe’s son Gareth are easily made. Anscombe junior made a similar meteoric rise from 2011 Under-20 World Cup winning number 10 to a disastrous Auckland Blues Super Rugby campaign. The 21-year-old Kiwi has been de-listed by new Blues coach John Kirwan, who said he needs more time to mature. He has the option of declaring for Wales if a contract doesn’t come along in New Zealand.

“I see an outstanding young man who has got a lot of potential and a lot of talent,” said Anscombe of Jackson. “The fact is 20 years of age in a Heineken Cup final must have come a little sooner than expected. But he is only going to be stronger and better for that.

“We’ve already seen in a couple of games this season how he has benefited from that.

“He is still growing. Paddy’s three or four years away from producing what his potential is going to be.”

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/spo ... 07135.html

Ulster will hit ground running.....

RARELY WILL these sides meet coming off the back of such glorious peaks. Ulster’s destruction of Cardiff (19-48) in Wales and Connacht’s thrashing of the European Champions Leinster (34-6), marks a new high in confidence levels for both teams.

The emotions of Ulster playing their first game in Belfast since the tragedy of Nevin Spence and his family; Tommy Bowe’s first start in Ravenhill for four years; Eric Elwood announcing his departure at the end of the season; Rory Best back in the frontrow for the first time since he hurt his hip on Ireland’s doomed tour to New Zealand and Connacht making Ulsterman Willie Faloon captain makes for a lot of background noise to this meeting.

Not letting that 34-6 win get in the way of freshening up his team, Elwood has made four changes to his side for Belfast. Denis Buckley makes way for Brett Wilkinson at loosehead, while Ronan Loughney, who last week had a spell with the Ireland training squad, returns at tighthead. Dave Gannon replaces Eoin McKeon as blindside flanker and is joined in the backrow by Faloon and George Haoupu.

Connacht will again look to the experience of the former Scottish international Dan Parks at outhalf. Parks makes his second appearance for the province and faces Paddy Jackson. With more than a decade’s difference in ages it should make for an interesting head to head for the Ulsterman.

Tiernan O’Halloran and Fetu’u Vainikolo, who both scored tries against Leinster last week, start again on the wing while Elwood also holds on to the centre pairing of Eoin Griffin and Dave McSharry.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/spo ... 07156.html

Newsletter

Henderson's "Do"...

“The tries came our way in Cardiff and I thought there was some individual brilliance, Jared’s try was one that stuck out for me and I don’t know how he got through it was a massive bit of skill, Tommy’s (Bowe) back and finding the try line and theta’s what he does, to have someone like Tommy back for his first home guy and I’m looking forward to see him running out and getting plenty of ball in space.”

Ulster tried a new back row combination in Cardiff with Henry packing down beside Iain Henderson and Nick Williams.

“Nick has been playing so incredible rugby and you can tell he is enjoying himself, he is playing out of his skin and I don’t think I have ever seen offloads like it, I think sometimes everybody forgets how young Iain is because of the size of him as he develops more I can see him being a huge part of this Ulster team as it moves forward.”

Henry give some insight into Henderson’s new hairstyle which he sported for the first time in Cardiff.

“I think the Cowboy (Mark Anscombe) made a joke about it a few weeks ago and he just got sacred and though I better do what the boss says,” laughed Henry.

http://www.newsletter.co.uk/sport/rugby ... -1-4336055

Also............

Emotional return to The Hill.......Johann interview.
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/sport/rugby ... -1-4336055

They're Smokin.......

Ulster and Connacht: It truly was a remarkable performance from the Ravenhill outfit down in Cardiff on Friday as they returned to PRO12 action for the first time since the unfortunate death of team-mate Nevin Spence. With the initials NS on the shirts, Ulster put in their best showing for some time as tries from Michael Allen, Nick Williams (2), Tommy Bowe (2), Jared Payne and Andrew Trimble saw them prevail 48-19. That same night, Connacht recorded a 34-6 bonus-point win over Heineken Cup champions Leinster in Galway. It was a five-try, five-star effort.

http://www.planet-rugby.co.za/story/0,2 ... 00,00.html

The Secret of My Success

http://news.ulster.ac.uk/releases/2012/6577.html

The Flip Side

Examiner

The West is awake.............

Eric Elwood has a lot of unfinished business before relinquishing the Connacht coaching job at the end of this season and one item on the wishlist is to help his side to victory at Ravenhill tonight, for the first time in 52 years.

Following a sensational 34-6 RaboDirect Pro12 win over Leinster at the Sportsground last week, Elwood feels it’s time to put their bleak past to bed in Belfast. Certainly, Connacht will no longer be intimidated, either by reputation or the boisterous Belfast crowd because Elwood’s team finally appears to have cracked the puzzle of how to play in front of decent crowds.

At home, Connacht regularly attract crowds of 5,000 which swells to near 10,000 for Heineken Cup matches.

"It’s a massive boost because there’s nothing worse playing in a near empty stadium," said Elwood.

"It’s huge for us. You just feel there is that obligation to perform because you have loyal support. We aspire to keep the brand going and we’ve started something but it will take time. I admire Munster and Leinster, particularly Munster have created a monster in Thomond Park and Leinster can now fill the Aviva Stadium, which is terrific. We all know well about Ravenhill.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/rugb ... 09971.html

Big Performance Needed Tonight........By You!!

Ravers.jpg (173.27 KiB) Viewed 431 times

SUFTUM

[Mac]

Friday Night / Saturday Morning 6th Oct 2012

Win, is a win, is a win......will need our "A" game for next Friday though.

Tele

Pace-setters Ulster romp to win

Ulster stayed top of the RaboDirect PRO12 table after seeing off Connacht 25-0 to comfortably make it five wins from five games.
Ulster's win was forged off a dominant scrum and a penalty try along with another Nick Williams score came off the set-piece in the first half, before substitute Luke Marshall got over in the closing minutes.

Fly-half Paddy Jackson kicked 10 points and converted all four of his kicks at goal while Connacht, though they tried to replicate last week's stunning win over Leinster, just could not live with Ulster's power up front.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport ... 20572.html

BBC

Ulster made it five wins out of five at the start of the Pro12 by beating their Irish interprovincial rivals Connacht.

The home side led 17-0 at half-time thanks to a penalty try, a Nick Williams touchdown and a penalty and two conversions by Paddy Jackson.

Jackson added a further penalty after the break and Luke Marshall scored his side's third try two minutes from time after a fine attacking move.

Ulster remain top of the league, with a match in hand over their rivals.

The Ulster pack dominated the early stages and when Connacht were penalised for collapsing the scrum, Jackson knocked over an 11th-minute penalty.

The home side produced some enterprising attacking play but a combination of handling errors and a stubborn Connacht defence combined to prevent them from crossing the line.

An uninpsiring second half was marked by a raft of substitutions, including the departure of Ulster number eight Nick Williams with a rib injury.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/19817151

UTV

Pictures from tonights game...

NW.png (229.87 KiB) Viewed 920 times

http://www.u.tv/Galleries/Ulster-v-Conn ... 433#208676

[Mac]

Saturday 6th Oct

Indo

Connacht brought back down to earth

THIS was not a meeting of equals -- Ulster never gave Connacht a sniff.

Before he announced his decision to step aside as head coach out west this week, Eric Elwood spoke of backing up last week's heroic display against Leinster. His injured captain Gavin Duffy pointed out that the province had produced one-off wins before and needed to show that they could be consistent.

But once again, that proved beyond them on a difficult night in Belfast. They can take some consolation from the fact that they won't be the only team to struggle here this season.

It was up front where their imposing pack did all the damage. Having taken the decision to rest prop Nathan White and hand Ronan Loughney the tighthead spot, Elwood watched in horror as his team's scrum was marched backwards time after time.

For Connacht flanker Willie Faloon, a friend and former clubmate of Spence handed the captaincy on his return to Ravenhill, there was disappointment at not backing up last week's display.
"You are back to earth after that. Last week was great but it doesn't mean a thing after that," he said. "We put ourselves under pressure, it wasn't good enough. We had different problems at scrum time, we couldn't get the cadence right."

"Definitely we had done the work in the first half to get the bonus point, but we couldn't get into it after half-time," Anscombe said. "We weren't clever enough and that was the disappointing aspect."

There is room for improvement, and that is what will worry Castres.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/c ... 51216.html

Times

Ulster do enough to stay top

SO, ANOTHER win for Ulster and though maybe not quite as exhilarating as the performance they put in at Cardiff Blues last week, this was enough to keep them top of the pile, with a game in hand, as matters turn towards Europe next week with the visit of Castres.

All told, it was an efficient win which kept a hard-working but error-strewn Connacht pointless but the sight of try scorer and man-of-the-match Nick Williams being led from the field will be a worry for Mark Anscombe with the Heineken Cup coming next.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/spo ... 55976.html

Examiner

Williams a powerhouse in Ulster win

Nick Williams again showed that he will be a big asset this season with another man-of-the-match performance. However, there will be worries after he trudged off near the end with a rib injury.

It came as no surprise when Ulster added to their tally on the stroke of half-time and it was equally not a shock that it was human wrecking ball Williams who scored again with Jackson doing the needful.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/rugb ... 10082.html

Newsletter

Nick Williams injury concern for Ulster

Ulster face a sweat over the fitness of prolific No 8, Nick Williams, as they look ahead to the start of their European campaign next weekend.

Williams was forced off five minutes from the end of another RaboDirect Man of the Match performance in last night’s PRO12 25-0 victory over Connacht.

Having impressed in every match since joining Ulster over the summer from former Italian franchise Aironi, Williams scooped his third man of the match accolade this season as well as scoring one of the three tries in the Irish derby clash.

Although it was still too early for a full assessment, Ulster head coach, Mark Anscombe said the backrow forward was very sore after the match.

“We will assess him over the weekend. We are not sure, but it could be a little popped rib and it is a case of how he comes through really at this stage.

However, the Ulster coach was not smiling too much with his team’s performance as they failed to really turn the screw on opposition they dominated throughout.

http://www.newsletter.co.uk/sport/rugby ... -1-4341527

Coach Anscombe will be under no illusions, however, about the scale of the challenge ahead. The mighty Castres' scrum will assuredly provide a sterner test

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,2588 ... 50,00.html

http://www.rabodirectpro12.com/matchcentre/14847.php

[Mac]

Saturday 6th Oct contd

All the pictures from last night.
http://www.sportsfile.com/more-images/1210025/5000/