Ulster v Connacht Saturday 5.35pm at Ravenhill.

Brian McLaughlin has announced a 31-man squad ahead of this Saturday's RaboDirect PRO12 match against Connacht at Ravenhill.
The extended squad boasts a full complement of international players this week with Irish internationals Rory Best and Stephen Ferris, who were rested last week as part of the IRFU's Player Management Programme, named along with All-Black John Afoa who will jet into Belfast on Wednesday and who is set to feature during Saturday's match at some stage.

The Ulster starting XV and replacements will be named on Friday.

FORWARDS

Tom Court, John Afoa, Paddy McAllister, Adam Macklin, Callum Black, Andi Kyriacou, Nigel Brady, Rory Best, Johann Muller, Tim Barker, Lewis Stevenson, Dan Tuohy, Neil McComb, Chris Henry, Robbie Diack, Mike McComish, Pedrie Wannenburg, Willie Faloon, Stephen Ferris

BACKS

Ruan Pienaar, Paul Marshall, Ian Porter, Ian Humphreys, Paddy Jackson, Paddy Wallace, Ian Whitten, Nevin Spence, Darren Cave, Andrew Trimble, Craig Gilroy, Simon Danielli, Adam D’Arcy

Massive game. We simply have to win this one. I was very impressed with Connacht at the weekend, they should have beaten the Blues. Apart from a lapse of concentration just after halftime their defence was very solid and they looked good with the ball in hand. Their pack was very impressive and we will have to front up this week.

Delighted to see Stephen Ferris back in the frame! SUFTUM!

Faloon better be picked this game.

Can't see it Rory. Especially if Ferris starts. Faloon seems to be well down the pecking order.

I'd imagine it will be Ferris at 6, Wannenburg at 8 and Henry at 7 maybe, with Diack on the bench.

Your back row Rodders but Faloon might just get the nod as replacement as the others can play 6 or 8.

Agree Connacht were impressive at the weekend but with that squad and everyone firing we should be at least two scores better.

Here's my lineup.

1. Court
2. Best
3. Afoa
4. Muller
5. Tuohy
6.Ferris
7. Henry
8. Wannenberg
9. Pienaar
10. Humphreys
11. Gilroy
12. Wallace
13. Cave
14. Trimble
15. Danielli

16. McAllister
17. Macklin
18. Kyriacou
19. Barker
20. Faloon
21. Porter
22. Spence
23. D'Arcy

I honestly think that this could be a Connacht win.

Ulster need to win, but comparing the way we've played compared to how Connacht have played and you have to say Connacht are the team going into this game in form.

Home advantage evens it up for us though, anyones game.

Hope Ulster win cause if we can't with a pretty much full squad seriuos question will need to be asked.

Rava wrote:Here's my lineup.

1. Court
2. Best
3. Afoa
4. Muller
5. Tuohy
6.Ferris
7. Henry
8. Wannenberg
9. Pienaar
10. Humphreys
11. Gilroy
12. Wallace
13. Cave
14. Trimble
15. Danielli

16. McAllister
17. Macklin
18. Kyriacou
19. Barker
20. Faloon
21. Porter
22. Spence
23. D'Arcy

Danielli cannot start at 15. D'Arcy has to play 15. Spence for Cave for me, though it does not matter so much as they are both one of the good players for Ulster right now. Faloon for Henry also.

Battle of the Irish Minnows. Should be a good 'un!! Can't wait to listen to it on the radio.

red_stag wrote:Battle of the Irish Minnows. Should be a good 'un!! Can't wait to listen to it on the radio.

You feic off Stag or I'll report you to the Admins.

Ah, give him a break, Rava.

He's super-excited because Munster might make it out of their HEC group this season. Or failing that, get somewhere in the Amlin.

Also, I agree with your team, bar possibly Stevenson in for Barker. I'd have liked Faloon, but now he doesn't have enough recent gametime to start, I feel.
With Pienaar and Paddy there, it's nice to be able to have two back five players on the bench.

Will Afoa start, though?

Don Alfonso wrote:Also, I agree with your team, bar possibly Stevenson in for Barker. I'd have liked Faloon, but now he doesn't have enough recent gametime to start, I feel.
With Pienaar and Paddy there, it's nice to be able to have two back five players on the bench.

Will Afoa start, though?

There is only one way to remedy Faloon's lack of gametime though.. especially coming up to the HEC, where he will be needed no matter what the coaches think.

Sorry goys

Don, Afoa may not start I suppose. He will play at some stage but might be held back so he can get an idea of the faster pace and superior skill set of the Northern Hemisphere club game.

If he comes on the pitch with a can of Red Bull still in his hand, I don't care as long as he starts trampling all round him.

Just noticed your Danielli at 15 gambit, as well.

Er... no.

Henry doesn't have the size to be a 6, nor the explosive power to be an 8, so it is understandable that Ulster would try to settle him at 7. France do it all the time and it has worked for others such as Warburton to move across to the openside. However with Ferris absent, Ulster are lacking pace in their backrow, and neither Henry nor Faloon have enough to provide that balance. With 1F back I can understand McL choosing Henry over Faloon at 7 as he is a more powerful tackler and a bit smarter in general play.

Openside has been a problem for years at Ulster yet the management saw a greater need to swap Anderson for McComish rather than find a replacement for Pollock. There are maybe a couple of prospects at underage level but they are realistically years away.

I think Faloon is the smarter player over Henry actually. Henry isn't ever going to cut it really at 6, 7, or 8. It is unfortunate as he is a very passionate player, however Faloon is who we need at 7 for the future, and as a potential international prospect. I think Faloon would have added a lot more to the ulster pack during Ferris' absence, but he is thankfully back now.

I don't think Henry has the hands or pace to play 7 either. He's more of a 6 or 8 but just a bit too small.

Faloon offers much more at 7 IMO but the bottom line is Henry has been playing very well and deserves to start. Both Faloon and Diack have way more natural ability than Henry IMO but neither are anywhere near their best right now whereas Henry has been one of our best players this season.

Can't see how people can think Connacht are dangerous.

They have let two half time leads slip in the last two games. Against Cardiff and Leinster they managed a whopping 3 points in the second half of both matches, while managing to destroy all their hard work in the first half.

They had a lot of possession against the Blues, but wasted it and looked entirely clueless. Rodney Ah You made some awful howlers, one which lead directly to the first Blues try.

roddersm wrote:I don't think Henry has the hands or pace to play 7 either. He's more of a 6 or 8 but just a bit too small.

Faloon offers much more at 7 IMO but the bottom line is Henry has been playing very well and deserves to start. Both Faloon and Diack have way more natural ability than Henry IMO but neither are anywhere near their best right now whereas Henry has been one of our best players this season.

I can't agree about Henry playing all that well this season. The backrow have been pretty shocking. We need Ferris back ASAP and Faloon as our 7, and I would probably play Diack at 8 again as well. Wannenburg on the bench as an impact sub. It is a bit harsh on Henry but I just don't think he is good enough.

Rory the backrow and pack in general has been very poor but along with Touhy, Henry has been one of our better players and the best out of our backrowers in the games I have seen.

roddersm wrote:Rory the backrow and pack in general has been very poor but along with Touhy, Henry has been one of our better players and the best out of our backrowers in the games I have seen.

I would certainly agree with that. I am looking forward to seeing what a full strength pack can do this weekend. The week after is ASM and they were impressive against Perpignan a couple of weeks ago.

I wouldnt argue that Henry has been the best of our backrow but that is damning with feint praise if you ask me. He isnt great on the deck (he is not bad) and doesnt have the pace to be a link man. Faloon certainly is better in the latter category and can be very effective. I cant see him jumping back in after missing out on two squads though.

Afoa in the mix is great and its time we gave D'arcy a bit of backing at 15. Cave will start if fit imo with Spence benching. I just hope Johann can get them firing for this weekend. Really looking forward to it. If we lose though then by God we are done for.

When was the last time Connacht won in Ravenhill?

Couldnt tell you Grey but it better not happen this saturday! I dont think it will but in truth we need a performance as well as a result. Ulster need to send a message out that they are still a force. They need to dispel any notion the Connacht players have that they can finish above them. We need to hammer this team to get something of a feelgood factor back going into the HEC

I hope O'Connor can keep Nikora out of the Connacht team. He gets a lot of stick but I think there is a good player in him.

For Ulster why woudn't you just play Darcy at 15. He did fine there last year

Do we know who our strongest 15 is though? It has been changed around quite a bit recently. Some strange omissions and some strange positional changes I think are a big part in some of our bad performances. We need to find out who our best XV is now, or we will be going into the HEC like headless chickens.

I think O'Connor played very well against the blues stag. I'd take him over IHumph on current form.

roddersm wrote:I think O'Connor played very well against the blues stag. I'd take him over IHumph on current form.

Funny how things work out like that huh?

Rory_Gallagher wrote:

roddersm wrote:I think O'Connor played very well against the blues stag. I'd take him over IHumph on current form.

Funny how things work out like that huh?

Not for us it isn't!

Ha, true Rodders.. but honestly had someone suggested that O'Connor play over Humph this time last season, they would have been ridiculed.

I think we have to stick with iHumph for the HEC. We will have our first team players such as Pienaar, Ferris, Best, Muller etc to help bring us back up to scratch. When you look at our 1st XV things don't look so bad, we just need to actually play them.

Let's not get carried away by O'Connor's brilliance! He still made a few mistakes including a kick out on the full, and still had his one customary penalty to touch fielded inside the line. Still it was good to see him regain some confidence, as he does have ability that was never going to surface at Ulster under the weight of expectation and being over exposed too soon.

Against the NOC gold standard, Humph's best is about 100% better, whereas his worst is only about 90% worse... Humph has peaks and troughs, so considering the depth of the current dip he is due to soar high enough to conquer Everest (co-incides with Clermont away)!

John Afoa arrived in Belfast today.

https://www.facebook.com/ulsterrugby

D'Arcy has to be given a shout at 15, Danielli isn't a full back any day... Spence/Cave much of a muchness atm, but with Paddy and Ruan hopefully iHumph will be back to form. I reckon Afoa will be on the bench and come on to score a chip and chase try... Seriously look at his skills on RugbyDump. Also while Henry has been solid in all truth a back row of Ferris, Faloon, Diack is waaay more potent and we need the win... SUFTUM!

Also what do you think of Terblanche??? Another one for the DH win pile!

I said on another thread I tought Terblanche was a good bit of buiness by D Humph.

Some people don't think so saying over the hill, but I don't think we could have got a better player(/coach for Darcy and Gaston) on a short term deal that has no chance of being made long term.

greybeard wrote:When was the last time Connacht won in Ravenhill?

The Westies' last win at Ravenhill was on 16 November 1960 when the score was 3-6, so over a half century ago!

Afoa is an almighty boost. We really need the win and a few tries would be nice as well. Currently ninth in the league and given the players we have at our disposal that is nowhere near good enough. The Treviso thing was a blip. And we had a difficult time in our travels in Wales. Bottom line for me is that a win is the minimum here. If we draw or lose then I will start to panic.

Not expecting great things from the Clermont match either. They have nearly double the points difference of their nearest challenger.

WillyGilly wrote:Afoa is an almighty boost. We really need the win and a few tries would be nice as well. Currently ninth in the league and given the players we have at our disposal that is nowhere near good enough. The Treviso thing was a blip. And we had a difficult time in our travels in Wales. Bottom line for me is that a win is the minimum here. If we draw or lose then I will start to panic.

Not expecting great things from the Clermont match either. They have nearly double the points difference of their nearest challenger.

Jeez Willy who needs opposition supporters when you're around

Our record against French teams at Ravenhill is as good as anyone. I expect a decent (at least two scores) win against Connacht and that will spur us on to a victory next weekend. The crunch game will then be at Welford Road the following weekend with at least a LBP required although I think we can go there and win.

Am I getting ahead of myself?

Rava wrote:
Am I getting ahead of myself?

I'm expecting us to smash Clermont into the Ravenhill turf and send them back to France with their tales between their legs. I couldn't give a monkeys what form they are in, we are Ulster for flip sake and we lie down for no one, especially on our home turf (well apart from Leinster maybe ).

SUFTUM! .

The Great Aukster wrote:

greybeard wrote:When was the last time Connacht won in Ravenhill?

The Westies' last win at Ravenhill was on 16 November 1960 when the score was 3-6, so over a half century ago!

Is this made up????

You could say the are overdue a win!!!

Pienaar out. Paul 'I have been known to throw the occasional hail Mary' Marshall surely starts.

Apologies if I am being overly negative.

<Throws back head and screams at the cold, uncaring universe>

To quote Jaws, "We're going to need a bigger squad."

Ah come on guys this is the same Paul Marshall that most of you wanted picked ahead of Pienaar this time last year.

We have to accept these setbacks and get on with it. Just hope Pienaar recovers quickly.

SUFTUM

Let's be crystal clear - I have never wanted Small Paul ahead of Pienaar.

However, I think Marshall was MOM last season down in Connacht. If he plays like he did at the start of last season, then that would be a serious relief.

SUFTUM!

Rava wrote:Ah come on guys this is the same Paul Marshall that most of you wanted picked ahead of Pienaar this time last year.

We have to accept these setbacks and get on with it. Just hope Pienaar recovers quickly.

SUFTUM

Please stop quoting this about people wanting Marshall to start ahead of Pienaar! Empty vessels make the most noise. He's not a good player. I hope Ian Porter starts, I really do. He needs gametime to develop as the long-term successor to Pienaar.

There were plenty who did this time last year. I dont recall any of the guys on here stating it though. I think i posted on the old board i had to be 'dissuaded' from confronting a guy who kept shouting 'go home' at Pienaar after the Munster match.

Sad but true. Im with Notch on this one. Marshall is what 25/26? I think he has had more than enough chances. Time for Porter to have a go.

Yeah I'm done with Marshall too. I was sticking up for him even a month ago but the same mistakes just keep creeping into his game.

He has some great attributes. He is lightening quick off the Mark, deceptively strong, tenacious in defence. However the top two inches are simply not there and he makes far too many fundimental errors. He's a bit like TOL in that respect in that he can do the spectacular but not the basics.

At 26 I see no point persisting with him and think even at this stage Porter offers much more.

Thing is, he's more than capable of going out tomorrow and scoring the winner. the frustrating think about Small Parcel is he doesnt make it easy for us to cut him loose. He just cant make up his mind. He should choose either brilliance or mediocracy and stick with it!

Bought tickets, this is my first attendance of the season (i must not be as rich as the rest of yous!) So I'm hoping we can turn it around. My wife makes me buy her ticket too. The prospect of paying £40 to watch us getting beaten my connacht is worrying me!

Ulster Match Day Squad to face Connacht, Saturday 5th November, Ravenhill, kick-off 5.35pm
(15-9): S Danielli; A Trimble, D Cave, P Wallace, C Gilroy; I Humphreys, P Marshall;
(1-8): T Court, R Best, J Afoa, J Muller (capt), D Tuohy, S Ferris, C Henry, P Wannenburg;
Replacements (16-23): A Kyriacou, P McAllister, A Macklin, L Stevenson, R Diack, I Porter, N Spence, A D'Arcy

Bad stuff first
Why oh why do we have Danielli at 15 AGAIN!!!!
Marshall at 9 was predictable but disappointing
Still no Faloon

Welcome John!!!
Welcome back Rory!!
Welcome back Stephen!!!!