Tuesday 24 September 2013

OFF THE MARK

Third time’s the charm eh?

We fell ever so short last weekend, but this weekend we were controlling and, in my opinion, much more convincing. In the second half (very similarly to the Glasgow game) we dominated and, yes we didn’t take all of our chances, but at least this time we took two of our chances and ended up leaving with the win.

What I want to focus on however, is our low points tally. The Ospreys have scored 97 points in their three matches. Munster are very close behind on 96. We languish at the bottom on 38. That’s an average of 12.67 points per match. Last season we averaged 26.23 points a game. Now I know we’re only three games into the season, but so far that’s not a very good stat to have.

Why am I bringing this up now? Well if you go back and watch both the Glasgow match and then the Connacht match you will see how many chances we had to score that we didn’t take. An overthrown line-out, a dropped pass near the line, a forward pass, they all add up eventually. Against Glasgow we were rightly punished, luckily we weren’t against Connacht.

That’s mainly down to our second half control though which was very impressive. As we should have done, we played the game down in the Connacht half and by the time they managed to threaten our line for only the second time in the match, the game was already done. We prevented the home team from gaining the losing bonus point which was very good as well.

But there’s no point in focusing on the negatives. Before the game I said that I would take a scrappy 3-0 win and I still stand by that. Anything to get off the mark in the league and start building momentum ahead of the massive Heineken Cup clash against Leicester which is now only 17 days away. The longer we went without a win, the lower the morale would have fallen – at least we now read W 1 instead.

This Friday must see another win chalked up. Should other results go our way we could see ourselves back up into the top four in the table – not too bad considering some people were writing off our Pro12 chances after the Glasgow defeat. Amazing how a few results can go your way and suddenly you’re right back in the mix.

Treviso will provide very stiff opposition. I’ll admit, I have a soft spot for them because they are one of the most underrated sides in all of Europe – what Franco Smith has done for them is absolutely remarkable, turning them from part-timers into a team that everybody looks at and thinks, “They can cause us real problems.” Even though they lost playmaker Kristopher Burton to the Dragons, their win over Munster last week proves how strong they remain and they will come to Ravenhill in a buoyant mood.

It’s up to us to stop them in their tracks. While we could sing their praises all night, the harsh reality remains that they probably aren’t a top four side yet. As a side with real aspirations to win the league, let alone finish in the top four, we should be looking to win this game, and with John Afoa, Rory Best, Tommy Bowe and Stuart Olding possibly returning on Friday, this should definitely be a game we will take all four points from.

The lads will have to front up though. We weren’t perfect against Connacht and Treviso are a side that will definitely punish us for our shortcomings. However, Anscombe will be very happy that we’re off the mark and we can now build on that. Friday should be a very good match though. I’m excited already!

Viva Italia
Zebre finally won a match!!!

I’m delighted for them, they’ve come so close in previous years (against us mainly!) and now they’ve got over the line – away to Cardiff nonetheless. Even if there was a bit of controversy when they were down to 14 men – and had 15 on the pitch – they were deserving winners and hopefully this is the start of better things for the Italian side.

Meanwhile, back in Italy there was another shock as Treviso ended Munster’s unbeaten run with an impressive 29-19 win at the Stadio di Monigo, which saw four Munster players yellow carded in the last fifteen minutes.


In the wake of the PRL claims that the Rabo is too weak, Zebre’s first win plus proof that Treviso can hack it with the big guns should be evidence enough that the Rabo is stocked full of talent throughout the league. And who knows, even though I don’t think either are good enough just yet, maybe we’ll see the first Italian play-off team at the end of this season, just to rub it in the English’s faces…

Tuesday 17 September 2013

DON'T HIT THE PANIC BUTTON

I think for the first time in a while, I left Ravenhill after a defeat without a sense of dread. Usually whenever Ulster have lost (especially at home) I am very upset and I start to analyse what exactly went wrong. On Friday night it was very obvious what went wrong – we just couldn’t get over the try line. Then we gave them one chance right at the very end of the match and they took it.

I won’t wax lyrical, fair play to Glasgow, they defended superbly well and then when they got their chance they did what we didn’t – they took it. I won’t admit they deserved it, I don’t think anyone will, but they hung in brilliantly and took advantage of all our shortcomings. It will have been a very enjoyable coach journey back to Glasgow for the Warriors.

So, zero from two now for Ulster, and definitely an argument that it should be two from two. Against the Dragons they never clicked at all and Glasgow should have been disposed of easily. Had Michael Allen or Luke Marshall caught their respective passes on Friday night then we wouldn’t be staring at two defeats in two matches. It’s painful seeing Ulster tenth in the table after two games.

Mark Anscombe has a big big job ahead of him. With the massive Heineken Cup opener against Leicester looming on the horizon, he has to get his players in a winning mentality as soon as possible. I think fans sometimes underestimate what the winning mentality can do for teams – just look at Ulster last season. Thirteen games unbeaten speaks volumes – once you get going, it’s very hard to stop.

Therefore I think it’s about time we see another unbeaten run, don’t you? Connacht away this weekend will be a very tough match considering the circumstances we come into the game under, and Pat Lam has stamped his authority on Connacht already. Had referee Claudio Blessano had even a half decent match last Friday then maybe they would be two from two and sitting pretty.

The Sportsground is a notoriously difficult ground to go to, especially whenever the wind and rain begin to howl. Harlequins will remember the Sportsground with fond memories from two seasons ago – on the cusp of Heineken Cup knockout qualification they came to Galway only to head back to London on the back of a humiliating 9-8 defeat and crashing out of the competition.

Ulster must not underestimate the opposition. On paper, Ulster are the stronger side. On paper, Ulster should easily win this match. But as anyone will tell you, sports matches are never won on paper. Connacht know rightly they have a great chance to cause a scalp here – their opponents are heading into this match on a three match losing streak (including the friendly against Leicester) and they’ll be thinking to themselves, “Why not?”

Anscombe has to drill his players right. Two losses hasn’t killed off our Pro12 chances by a long way, but a third would be incredibly detrimental, and might be one loss in a row too far. Again, it wouldn’t end our Pro12 chances completely, but three straight losses is a heck of a lot to come back from. Good job we’ll welcome back Craig Gilroy this weekend, and maybe another familiar face too…

Let’s just say I’m cautiously optimistic for Saturday. Hey, we’re due a win sometime soon, why not Saturday? Here’s hoping…

European Disunion
With all the mess that’s going on regarding the Heineken Cup, I feel obliged to write a little bit about it this week. I don’t really have an opinion on it to be honest, whatever happens to it, as long as we’re still in it and still have a chance of winning it, I don’t care. Although I am opposed to the way the English are going about it.

The threat to withdraw from the tournament altogether and set up an Anglo-French Cup (with special guests) is no more than a scare tactic, attempting to get the ERC to give in to their demands. It’s a cowardly move with Mark McCafferty seemingly unable to simply negotiate with the European heads instead. The ERC aren’t exactly perfect either though – refusing to budge on the current system is complete foolishness because there is universal agreement it must be reformed.


How it should be reformed I don’t know. There are several different ways being touted but as I said, I have no personal preference. All I know is that it should be handled a lot better by all parties involved, because right now there must be people looking at the sport and thinking to themselves, “What a mess.” And the sad thing is, they’re completely right.

Tuesday 10 September 2013

FORGETTING FRIDAY

Tired. Sloppy. Lackadaisical.

Anybody else want to add in any more words to describe Ulster’s performance on Friday? No, I didn’t think so. In one of the worst performances certainly I have seen from Ulster in all of my years watching them, Ulster were deservedly beaten 15-8 by a Dragons side who weren’t much better than the away side, and definitely didn’t come anywhere near the Ulster line even once.

It’s a very very big blow. Last season Ulster walked away from Rodney Parade with all five points. This season they’re lucky to crawl away with one. Certainly if we have any intent on being one of the top four teams come the end of the season then either the mindset or the quality of the performances must change, and fast. I don’t know which, but Friday’s shambles was nothing short of a disaster.

The back moves were full of little errors, the forwards could not make their advantage in the scrum count and, as painful as it is for me to say it, Paddy Jackson’s goal kicking was awry yet again. It didn’t lose us the match, that would be a snap judgement (one I did make myself in the heat of the moment), but it certainly didn’t help us in the slightest. Had he landed all his kicks we would have won.

Not his fault though. We lost it as a team. On the night, the Dragons wanted it more and quite rightly they came away with the win. Jason Tovey was excellent with the boot (which made it all the more sickening for us) and whenever the Dragons’ forward pack took control in the second half they took full advantage. Maybe they weren’t as much in the ascendancy as referee Claudio Blessano though, but you play to the referee, no excuses there. A night to forget unfortunately.

Nevertheless, no point in dwelling on it, it’ll just make us feel miserable. Certainly right after the match I was feeling very depressed, but a few days on it’s all forgotten (well, almost!). One defeat does not our title ambitions destroy (or something like that), so let’s not hit the panic buttons just yet. Looking at the fixture list there is a small possibility that we could go to Christmas unbeaten again, but as I said, the performances have to increase tenfold.

So it’s probably very bad that it’s Glasgow who come to Ravenhill this Friday.

You have to admire Glasgow in a way. They came out of nowhere to finish third in the league last season and were inches away from reaching the final, only to just be beaten by Leinster. Had they managed to beat the Dubliners then I don’t think anybody would have begrudged them their place in the final – they were without a shadow of a doubt the form team of 2013 in the Pro12.

This will be a big test for Ulster. Had they snuck past the Dragons on Friday then it wouldn’t have been the best preparation for this match. A loss could be worse or better. A loss could just spark a revenge mission for Ulster – having been humiliated on Friday, the players know they will need to turn it round this week or they will be facing a massive uphill battle in just the second week of the season.

It’s a game that has a lot riding on it already. Should Ulster lose this then serious questions will be asked. The strong squad from last season will be under intense scrutiny early on, and the top four of the Pro12 will look like a distant target already – to finish top Ulster lost only four games last season, it would be two from two if they don’t finish on the right side of the scoreline this Friday.

Therefore it is imperative that the Warriors are defeated. Easier said than done. They have strengthened their squad even more than last season, and last weekend’s battling win over Cardiff will have them in the right frame of mind coming into the game. They will think we’re vulnerable and will fancy a scalp – and who can blame them?

Anscombe will have his work cut out for him. Pulling his side out of the mire of defeat will be tough enough, getting them ready for a big clash this weekend will be even tougher. Change will be made, you can guarantee that. He was not happy with what happened on Friday, don’t be surprised to see wholesale changes in the side. Maybe it’s needed.

Can we do it? I hope so, otherwise it may be a long season for us. A loss wouldn’t end our top four hopes but it would seriously dent them – could we recover from two losses at the start of the season? If anyone could it’s Ulster, but let’s hope it doesn’t even come to that. Let’s just say the season starts here, eh?


C’mon Ulster!

Tuesday 3 September 2013

PREDICTING THE PRO12

Alright, I won’t deny it – losing, even in a friendly, is painful, and Saturday was no exception. I’ll admit I didn’t see (or hear) the game live, but from what I have read about the game is that it was much of the same as the Leinster match – too many dropped passes or forward passes, and that the scoreline probably didn’t do us justice.

Anyway, there is no point in dwelling on the past, especially when it’s just a pre-season friendly which count for just a little more than diddly squat in rugby terms. Mark Anscombe will be far more interested in his side’s performance than what the result was. Usually the two tell similar stories, but in friendlies sometimes they can actually be a bit different.

But that is not what I will focus on this week though, because there is something slightly more important at hand:

THE PRO12 RETURNS THIS WEEK!

Can anybody else believe it’s just over three months since we were in the RDS watching Ulster in the Pro12 final? Yet now we are only three days away from it all starting yet again, and first up for Ulster is a tricky away trip to the Newport-Gwent Dragons – a side that has strengthened considerably in the summer and is looking to vastly improve on a disappointing eleventh place finish last season.

It will be a long, difficult season for the Ulstermen, so I have decided to do a Pro12 Preview for the season ahead. Enjoy!

Benetton Rugby Treviso
Probably the most improved side in the Pro12 over the past few years, the news that Franco Smith will be leaving the side at the end of the season will be more than enough motivation for the Italians to push for a top half finish for the first time. However, they haven’t improved enough over the summer and they may find themselves coming up a place short once again.

Key Man: Manoa Vosawai – The big-hitting Italian qualified back rower is the Treviso equivalent of Nick Williams and can be a game changer with his strong runs from the base of the scrum. That said, he goes missing very often when he doesn’t have the ball in his hands.

Prediction: 7th

Cardiff Blues
The Blues may be in for a tough season. Having lost Jamie Roberts to Racing Metro, and Sam Warburton to a lengthy injury, the best that they may look for is damage limitation. A new plastic pitch at the Cardiff Arms Park is worth celebrating, and it may prove dividends for them in a few matches, but ultimately this could be a long year in Cardiff.

Key Man: Leigh Halfpenny – The Lions full-back has a lot to do if he wishes to continue his successful season. Should he fail to help the Blues to a decent showing this season, then a move to France beckons. Where do Leigh’s loyalties really lie?

Prediction: 10th

Connacht Rugby
Eric Elwood out, Pat Lam in, and Connacht are looking like a new team. Strengthening their squad all over the park over summer is exactly what the doctor ordered and if they can gel quickly enough, Connacht will be looking at shooting for a top half spot too. It will all depend on how they adjust to Lam’s style of play in the early stages of the season.

Key Man: Craig Clarke – The former Chiefs lock is a big addition to the Connacht squad and will play probably a similar role to that of Johann Muller for Ulster. A highly experienced player, his leadership should benefit the Galway men a lot.

Prediction: 8th

Edinburgh Rugby
Good to see Alan Solomons back in Celtic rugby again as coach of Edinburgh, and he has his work cut out for himself. If he can get the Scotsmen playing the way they were a couple of seasons ago when they reached the semi-finals of the Heineken Cup then there is no reason why he can’t aim for the play-offs. Big emphasis on “if” though.

Key Man: Greig Laidlaw – The Scotland scrum-half didn’t have the best season in 2012-13, and Edinburgh faltered. If the capital’s captain can find his form once more then there is hope for Edinburgh to get back to playing the rugby that got them to the Heineken Cup semi-final.

Prediction: 9th

Glasgow Warriors
Glasgow are a unique side with strength all over the park. They have retained nearly all of their players for this season and will be looking to go one step further and get a home semi-final this season. What is concerning is their lack of business in the transfer market regarding incoming players, and with a very similar squad, it is likely they will finish in a very similar position.

Key Man: Niko Matawalu – Words cannot begin to describe Niko Matawalu. The lightning quick scrum-half was in great form at the end of last season and should he keep up that form into this season then there will be few teams that can handle him.

Prediction: 3rd

Leinster Rugby
As always, Leinster will probably be the team to beat, although with Sexton and Nacewa, two highly influential players, moving on, you would reluctantly say that the defending champions are not as strong as they were last season. Will fight it out with Ulster for top spot in the regular season, may struggle slightly more with international call-ups.

Key Man: Brian O’Driscoll – In what will be probably his last season as a rugby professional, O’Driscoll will be as important to Leinster as he has been over the last few seasons. Whether he can recreate his great moments from the last few seasons or not remains to be seen.

Prediction: 2nd

Munster Rugby
Rob Penney’s first season in charge of Munster had its ups and downs and eventually ended in a sixth place finish in the Pro12. A year on and there is real belief that they can push on and reach the top 4 of the Pro12 again, especially with the big signing of Gerhard van den Heever. However, it will be tough for a massive improvement down south and the play-offs may just be out of reach.

Key Man: Paul O’Connell – Last season was a difficult season due to injury for Munster’s talismanic captain, but if he can stay injury free for most of this season then he will be crucial to trying to get his province to a play-off place come May.

Prediction: 5th

Newport-Gwent Dragons
The Dragons are one of those sides that will pull off remarkable scalps that you just don’t think are possible, then mess it up the next week somehow. They have brought in plenty of new players for the new season which will strengthen their squad no end, but whether they are much better than what they already had is questionable.

Key Man: Kristopher Burton – Burton is a new signing from Treviso for this season, and his experience at fly-half will be essential to the Dragons if they do wish to improve upon last season. The versatile Italian can play full-back and wing too.

Prediction: 11th

Ospreys
Fifth was not acceptable for the Ospreys last season and they will be keen to make up for it this season. Losing Kahn Fotuali’i to Northampton is a big blow though, and as good as Tito Tebaldi is, he isn’t of the same calibre. The Ospreys haven’t significantly strengthened but may benefit from the lack of dealing of other teams instead to make it into the play-offs.

Key Man: Alun Wyn Jones – Chosen to captain the Lions for a reason, AW Jones is one of those names that jumps off a teamsheet at you. His leadership will be important to helping the two-time champions back into the play-offs after a disappointing 2012-13 season.

Prediction: 4th

Scarlets
Reaching the top 4 last season for the Scarlets was a big moment for the Scarlets and they will have loved every minute of it. Sadly it seems that will be the only enjoyable moment for the next few years because with the departures of George North and Matthew Rees to other clubs their squad is significantly weakened. Top half may be a more realistic aim for the Scarlets.

Key Man: John Barclay – A marquee signing for the Scarlets, Barclay is a player that they need to solidify their back row. Brought down to help keep the Scarlets in the play-offs for a second successive season, his play will be beneficial to the Llanelli side’s plight.

Prediction: 6th

Ulster Rugby
Pushing on from last season must be a priority for the Ulstermen – falling at the final hurdle for the second year running (in two different tournaments admittedly) is another painful lesson. With much of a similar squad, familiarity won’t be a problem, but improving may be difficult. However, top spot should be within reach for the second successive season.

Key Man: Ruan Pienaar – Words cannot describe Pienaar. His cool, calm and collected method of playing the game of rugby simply oozes class and if he can regain the form that he showed when he first joined Ulster then he will be a force to be reckoned to with.

Prediction: 1st

Zebre Rugby
Zebre, the usual whipping boys of the Pro12 are, sadly, going to be the recipients of that moniker for another year. No signings as of yet that will vastly improve their team enough to get them off the bottom of the league, and it will be yet another disappointing year for the Italians. A first domestic win could be on the cards though.

Key Man: Mauro Bergamasco – The influential Italian is one of the most experienced players in the Zebre set-up and he will need to be at his commanding best if he wishes to see his side get their first win. However, he may need to roll back the years to do so.

Prediction: 12th


(Predictions are for regular season)