Rabo Pro 12 (Round 6) - Ulster vs Connacht: 19:05 Fri, 5th October @ Ravenhill

First topic message reminder :

So - the two powerhouse provinces go to war. I expect a niggly, ferocious scrap before Saturday’s somewhat less exciting digestif, when Munster and Leinster will determine who’s the third best province in Ireland.

Really looking forward to it, although Dan Park rising from the Western mist has caused a bit of consternation. Connacht looked quite a different unit last weekend.

Assuming an ongoing injury list of Birch, Diack, Fitzpatrick, Wilson, Allen (and obviously McAllister and Farrell), and with the HEC on the horizon, I’d go for:

1) Court
2) Brady
3) Afoa
4) Muller
5) Tuohy
6) Ferris
7) Henry
8) Williams
9) Marshall
10) Jackson
11) Trimble
12) Wallace
13) Cave
14) Bowe
15) Payne

And a bench of:

16) Black
17) Best
18) Macklin
19) Stevenson
20) McComish
21) Heaney
22) Marshall
23) Gilroy

Harsh on McComb and Henderson, given their performances, but there’s only 23 spaces.

McComish’s knowledge and experience of the Connacht players pushes him onto the bench ahead of Henderson. On the other hand, if 1F is still out, I’d actually start Henderson, I think.

At the start of this season I was frustrated we’d lost Barker and kept McComb – completely wrong on that one. He’s shown dog, good defensive skills and some great passing and off-loading. I’d be happy to see him play – but Stevenson has been seriously impressive so far, and Tuohy came right back with a massive bang last week (I especially enjoyed Ryan Constable referring to him “emptying” people).

Best to come off the bench and get at least half an hour. Not 100% sure which of Gilroy or Trimble would start – I do think Trimble’s defence is better, and Connacht have some impressive young backs. Gilroy dancing past tired defenders was a highlight last week – can we just replicate that?

Anscombe will probably start some weird team that still works well, however.

Team announced

(15-9): J Payne; T Bowe, D Cave, P Wallace, A Trimble; P Jackson, P Marshall;
(1-8): T Court, R Best, D Fitzpatrick, J Muller (c), D Tuohy, S Ferris, C Henry, N Williams;
Replacements (16-23): R Herring, C Black, J Afoa, L Stevenson, M McComish, M Heaney, L Marshall, C Gilroy.

Pretty much strongest possible XV bar Afoa. Good to see Declan get more gametime and Afoa deserves a rest.

Will Connacht be pumped after thrashing Leinster? Or down after the news of Elwood?

Either way, discipline always needs to be good when playing against Dan Parks.

Also, great to see Rory back!

I suspect Ulster will win VERY comfortably.

I think that away in Ravenhill, trying to put in back to back performances, Ulster coasting along with a near full strenght team.

30 point margin.

Staggy if only.
Those Westies aren't to be taken lightly but I hope we have a bit too much for them to handle. I can't imagine a 30 point margin but with that Ulster lineup who knows.

Connacht have been sticky at Ravenhill the past few years. They'll boot the ball to the corners, the pack will bring plenty of vigour and intensity to proceedings, they'll make us play from deep and exploit mistakes. They'll go out there with a gameplan to make life as hard for us as possible. To stymie our momentum, make us try and build from deep in our own half, slow our ball down, turn the rucks into a lottery.

It's been fifty years since Connacht won at Ravenhill. Can you imagine? Fifty years. And under Michael Bradley, it looked it. They didn't look like they believed they could win. Since Elwood came in, when they come to Ravenhill, they look like they want to be the Connacht team that lays that record to rest. Every time. And we've still beaten them, we've still been good enough to prevail. But once we start taking that for granted... they may not have been good enough to beat us in the last two or three years. But they've certainly played well enough to deserve respect.

Oh it's going to be a good game. A good game indeed! I see us winning to be honest, laying down a marker for the Heineken Cup. I don't think hard rucking and high balls will faze us in the way they need to and of they choose to play an expansive game we've shown we can do that as well. It's the tactical and goal kicking of Dan Parks that is key. We close him down, get to him- we'll take it. Can't wait.

It's ideal to have Rory Best in for this one. His breakdown work and physicality in the rucks, mauls and scrums is a level above our other hookers. Not expecting too much of him in his first game since the Summer Tour but he does add a hard edge to an already pretty handy front row.

This is going to be a full-blooded interpro and the week before the Heineken Cup really hoping to see himself and Ferris show why they are being talked of as potential Test Lions come next summer!

Don't think it will be that big a win red stag, Connacht will be playing thier first choice team getting ready for H-cup, and I expect them to be dangerous.

Any win against Connacht at present is a good win

Kingshu wrote:Any win against Connacht at present is a good win

Do you think? Personally I feel they have regressed a little this year and have been pretty underwhelming apart from the Leinster match.

Yeah, I feel that way too Stag, but the Leinster match is a warning. They have been inconsistent but when they will pull the occasional big performance out of the hat. And I've seen how pumped they are when they come to Ravenhill, how much they desperately want to beat us there. No lack of motivation.

It's like how Ireland sometimes only perform against England in the 6N. They save their best for their biggest rivals. Now Connacht are the same in all the interpros- Stags question of whether they can do it two weeks running is a very relevant one.

Rava wrote:

rodders wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmvntwTYEMo&list=UU4EvohuiwgkUV1v03DDD4eQ&index=1&feature=plcp

Gutted can't make it down for this one.

SUFTUM.

What!! no pints this week? I'm gutted as well

I'll be down the following week for the Castres match if that makes you feel any better....

For tomorrow I'm stuck with Neilly, Constable and co

Thats a grand old team Anscombe has selected if I say so myself

Notch wrote:I think Foley should go for it. Build up a profile of his own, he's served a good apprenticeship already. He should back himself to take Connacht on. And then when the Munster job comes up again- he goes for it.

I'd agree with this,especially as he'll have served a year under Penney at that stage.While he won't have learned everything Penney can teach him he'll have got a lot of it and I think you have to make your own mistakes as a head coach too,like any jobs there are parts of it that you only find out about when you're actually in the role.

Yeah, I'd say I was largely under-impressed and a little disappointed in Connacht up until the Leinster game.

But then, I felt the same way with Leinster even after the Connacht game (obviously). Meaning that if I'm still hoping Leinster now can liven up and kick on (with more potential firepower than Connacht, to be sure) then Connacht too could be at the beginning of a bit of a splurge.

Do I believe it - against Ulster? Hmmmm............. it's a big ask given the way Ulster are concentrating at the moment. Connacht might have a few more games in them this season that shock people but I have a feeling next weekend won't be one of them.

I like Rabo Pro12's tweet:

RaboDirect PRO12 ‏@RaboDirectPRO12

#RaboPRO12 Teams: @Ulsterrugby at near full-strength is quite frankly, scary. #rugby http://tinyurl.com/d7xwy6a

It is a pretty scary side to go up against. I mean I can't remember ever being so impressed with an Ulster line up. We have class in every position and for a pleasant change we seem to know how to make the best of that class. Cannot wait for the next few games, we are heading for world domination I tells ya

*Yawn* AP is still best, my friend. Even the SHers admit that.

What is exciting looking at the Connacht team is from jerseys 12-15 is young Irish talent and three of those are Connacht men.

I have enormous respect for Connacht and what Elwood has achieved since taking over from Bradley. That said they do lack the quality and consistency to be a top six side. Can they produce another performance like last weekend? On the road, I'm not sure they can.

Under Anscombe so far this season there has been a different mindset to the Ulster team. I believe their concentration levels have risen dramatically. There are fewer silly mistakes and penalties being given away. We are better placed now to take advantage of other teams mistakes. More clinical.

I don't think we will win by 30 points but I do think there will be daylight between the teams.

Are there any thoughts on the Marshall/Wallace and Trimble/Gilroy selections? Is Anscombe going to rotate the players each game or is he going to stick with experience? This is the third game in a row that Gilroy hasn't started. He will suffer if he is no longer a HEC starter.

Connacht team
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

Faloon captain? thats a surprise, in about his 3rd game for them. not making team at start of season.

Well done Faloon

Elwood, you and your mind games.

Seriously though, hats off to Faloon.

Oho, it just got interesting!

Faloon as Connacht captain? Very interesting sub-plot. I think we might just be in for a very tasty, full-blooded inter-pro tomorrow night guys. Hold onto something!

Just what both sides need before the Heineken Cup.

Great man management form Elwood to give Faloon the captains armband for this one. Should be a cracking battle between him an Henry.

If thats our HEC backrow I'll be a happy camper .

Deccie F injured, Afoa in. Starting to think we need a new TH on top of everything else. Hope Macklin gets a spell, if possible.

Faloon as captain is nicely pointed, but I'm not convinced he'll actually do a great job of captaining.

Don Alfonso wrote:Starting to think we need a new TH on top of everything else.

From what I've heard Ulster definitely need a new TH and possibly two.

Good to see you back Aukster

This is Macklins opportunity to show what he can do.

Kingshu wrote:Connacht team
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

Faloon captain? thats a surprise, in about his 3rd game for them. not making team at start of season.

Well done Faloon

Nathan White was captain for the last game, Duffy is injured atm and Muldoon still isn't back, I would expect him to take over when he is.


Ulster should win this game comfortably enough, Connacht seem to have some type of mental block against us, and perform well below their best. When you add in the amount of injuries they have, we should be looking to beat the spread. Saying that I doubt a fully fit Connacht side would be able to beat us.

I hope this lad Jack Caulfield who's signed makes a good tighthead. But he's only 19.

Poor Deccie Fitz. In New Zealand, he showed just what a good tighthead he can be- but he just goes from injury to injury. What's holding him back from being a top tighthead has always been his fitness. But he can't work on his fitness if he's always in and out of rehab. And Ulster can never depend on him as a first choice if he's always in and out of rehab.

Hence the necessity in the past few years for John Afoa and BJ Botha. Sad but true. After an ok performance against the Ospreys I hoped he'd kick on. But he's been injured since then only to recover sufficiently for this week... and picks up another injury

Notch wrote:I hope this lad Jack Caulfield who's signed makes a good tighthead. But he's only 19.

Poor Deccie Fitz. In New Zealand, he showed just what a good tighthead he can be- but he just goes from injury to injury. What's holding him back from being a top tighthead has always been his fitness. But he can't work on his fitness if he's always in and out of rehab. And Ulster can never depend on him as a first choice if he's always in and out of rehab.

Hence the necessity in the past few years for John Afoa and BJ Botha. Sad but true. After an ok performance against the Ospreys I hoped he'd kick on. But he's been injured since then only to recover sufficiently for this week... and picks up another injury

Loosehead I think.

I had heard he played loosehead for Ulster U20s but was a tighthead. Maybe I'm wrong. Either way- I hope he does well!

I cannot wait for this one. There are plenty of interesting things to look out for in this game. Faloon as captain and his battle with Henry is a big one. I am also curious to see if Williams can pull another great performance out of the bag. Is this his first chance to play with both Henry and Ferris?

Big match tonight. First home game since what happened. Finally after all of this stuff should die down. Record crowd. One final big effort. Plans for a round of applause at the 13th minute.

Connacht guilty of meerkatting at the back of the scrum. Ulster demolish them for the penalty.

3-0 to the home team.

Yikes,Ulster scrum mangling Connacht 3 times already.

Clancy is making a pig's ear of reffing the scrums. Ulster went early that time on his call and he resets after penalising Connacht three times for it.

Griffin really is a very classy player.


Edit; and then he does that.

You can't help but think that if Connacht got 3 or four top players in from around the provinces, they'd be able to compete very well in the league and Amlin.

Pot Hale wrote:You can't help but think that if Connacht got 3 or four top players in from around the provinces, they'd be able to compete very well in the league and Amlin.

They're suffering a bit from injuries atm, and there pack isn't as strong as it could be, but there are definitely players on the bench for the other provinces that would star for Connacht.

I'd still expect us to win with a BP, don't rate Marshall at all though, grand for the last few minutes, but not want you want all game.

God it's scrappy. Big difference for both sides from last week.

Connacht need a good 2nd choice TH. White is going to be vital for connacht in the HC

Trimble doesn't seem to know how to run straight when it's needed. He does this crabbing sideways move which makes it easier to tackle and stop him.

Himself and Payne are not clicking at the moment. That's two key passes gone astray.

Tony Ward is clueless, how he is still employed is scandalous. RTE's rugby commentary is terrible.

Woohoo, try coming, one way or another unless we screw it up.


We screwed it up

And Trimble delivers this time. Better running almost to the line , finds a gap and passes to Marshall. Forwards drive him over the line.

But held up. 5 metre scrum. Ulster pressure on. Connacht service the first. Reset.

Scrum wheels, Williams tries to take. He's held. Connacht defending like dogs. Ulster win the ruck and Marshall fires it out to Wallace. He passes, tackle and Connacht win a penalty at the breakdown. Well resisted bythe men in green.

Connacht mess the penalty. Ulster retrieve and attack. Payne down the left touchline and passes to Trimble who is hit straight on. Ball into touch. Ulster throw on the thirty minute mark.

Touhy takes, Ulster drive, and over the line. But Clancy calls back for infringement and yellow cards Dave Gannon. Clancy claims he had blown the whistle. Don't understand that one. Ulster penalty scrum. Connacht down to seven men. Connacht collapse and another penalty. Penalty try coming up?

That should have been a penalty try, no need for the continued resets, we all know what is about to happen.

Very impressed with robbie hensaw. Very good prospect.

Only at matter of time before Ulster get a try by the looks of things.

Connacht defending doggedly but they'll struggle unless they can get some possession and get a break from defending.

LeinsterFan4life wrote:Very impressed with robbie hensaw. Very good prospect.

Yep, probably going to be Irish 13 for the u20s, if Farrell is back fully fit, the two of them in the centre will be tasty.