Tuesday 25 March 2014

OVERCOMING EDINBURGH

Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that Ulster’s game against Edinburgh was not broadcast live on TV on Friday night.

By all accounts the game was a dross affair with the rain-swept Scottish capital looking more like the trenches of Normandy than it did the usual grandeur of Murrayfield. A rather unfitting tribute to the iconic Murrayfield turf which is being removed and replaced in the next few days, and the planned invasion of the pitch was probably quite subdued considering the result.

The game itself mirrored the atrocious weather it was played in, a forwards-dominated, try-less encounter which turned out to be a battle of the boots with Paddy Jackson emerging the victor over his opposing number Carl Bezuidenhout. That was definitely one positive taken from the evening anyway: should Ruan Pienaar not make the Saracens game in two weeks (touch wood he does) at least Jackson seems to have his kicking boots polished and ready to go.

It was a game that was about getting the win and not getting anybody injured in the process – yes, I’m talking about a certain Stephen Ferris – and Ulster achieved that. Edinburgh can be a bit of a banana skin team, especially at Murrayfield, and on the other side it is rather relieving that the game is out of the way. Our record hasn’t exactly been stellar in Scotland either, so those are four welcome points in our bid to finish in the top four.

We’re not exactly setting the world alight with our rugby at the moment, but arguably we don’t need to. We’ve slowly climbed the table now, sitting in third place just three points behind Munster who were runaway leaders at one point, and we’ve got the winning momentum going ahead of Saracens next week. Certainly a home semi-final in the Pro12 isn’t beyond us, and with both Leinster and Munster to face us in our final two games of the season, I’m sure the management team haven’t given up on the possibility of top spot for the second season running.

In fact, Friday night may be a bigger win than many people realise. On a terrible night for rugby the game could easily have swung either way yet we managed to stand firm when up against it and leave with the four points we needed. That’s the hallmark of great teams: even when you’re playing badly you can grind out the results required. This season we’ve done that, and if we can get a few good performances together then who knows what’s achievable for this team?

Onwards and upwards I say!

Quarter-final quivers
I don’t exactly rate BT Sport’s coverage of rugby that highly (especially the top quality “analysis” from Austin Healey) but I was forced to watch Saracens against Harlequins on BT Sport, and unfortunately the home team (playing at Wembley) were very good. Very good indeed. Five tries they scored and five points they earned – they will be formidable opponents in the quarter-final.

Harlequins didn’t exactly put up much of a resistance, throwing two ridiculous passes for intercept tries and only really threatening from their driving maul when they had a man advantage, but even so, Saracens showed why they are leaders of the Premiership and even now you can tell that next week’s game will be a cracker.

I still think you’d be a brave man to bet against the home team though. Although Saracens will be a step above Leicester (who had an equally impressive win on Sunday), winning runs do a lot for confidence, and we still haven’t been defeated in 2014. Admittedly, we should definitely not be complacent as Saracens will pose us the most questions anybody has thus far this season, but by the same token, we should still win the game at the renovated Ravenhill with 18,000 Ulstermen behind the boys.

Confidence does a lot for a team – our confidence last season carried us through two matches away in Italy where we didn’t play well at all but we still escaped with the wins, and you could argue we’ve done the same thing recently against the Ospreys and Treviso too. Nevertheless, all the pressure is on us as the home team – we are expected to win, and if we don’t there will be questions asked.

Still, I’ll leave the in-depth build up for that game for next week’s blog, there’s a heck of a lot more I could talk about without even scratching the surface of what will be the biggest game of Ulster’s season so far, and will be the first of a huge run of games which will determine where and who we play in the latter stages of the season.

And of course, hopefully that includes a Heineken Cup semi in Dublin – sorry Sarries!

Tuesday 18 March 2014

INCREDIBLE IRELAND

Let’s be honest, whenever France pushed over that scrum in the eightieth minute we all thought it was heading for a French drop goal that would break Irish hearts.

Luckily that did not happen and Ireland were able to hold on for a famous win in Paris which won the Six Nations for them and cemented their place in Irish rugby history, and to be honest they probably did deserve it overall considering the performances they put in over the last eight weeks. With a new coach in as well it’s a very impressive achievement too.

In fact, the majority of the credit has to go to Mr. Schmidt who has transformed Ireland from the misfiring outfit that we were so accustomed to under Declan Kidney to a formidable outfit that has delivered the first trophy they’ve played for, as well as turning them from a team to a squad with several top quality players competing for every shirt available – the promotions of the likes of Jack McGrath, Martin Moore and Iain Henderson to the bench is testament to that.

And when the final whistle went, not only did it win the Championship for Ireland, but it also denied the English, and after all the build up put on by the English media, I’m not gonna lie, it was good to see them finish second for a second year running. Now don’t get me wrong, I admire Stuart Lancaster for the work he is doing with the English team, and if you remember correctly I did predict England would get the Grand Slam at the start of the tournament. But from a fan’s point of view, this competition could not have gone better.

Actually I lie – the Grand Slam was one step too far for us this year. And unfortunately that’s probably the correct result because we were a bit too sloppy in Twickenham and we paid the price for it. In fact, there are many things to point at in that game as to why we didn’t get the Grand Slam, but that’s all in the past and considering the competitive nature of this year’s competition as well as the difficult fixture list, the Championship win is a great achievement alone.

That makes the win at the Stade de France all the more impressive. Ireland came up against probably the best French performance of the tournament and combined with their record in Paris, to come away with the win is a monumental achievement. You can single out individual players to praise from that game, Andrew Trimble and Paul O’Connell to name but two, but in actuality it was definitely a 23 man effort. Every player put their body on the line (in Jonny Sexton’s case literally) and they were rewarded for it with a winners’ medal.

And of course, it had to be an Irish win for BOD’s last game in an Ireland jersey. Had Damien Chouly’s last minute try stood then it would have been a case of the France not sticking to the script – in the legend’s final Six Nations it could only have been Ireland who could have won the tournament, couldn’t it? Of course, there’s no point in talking in “ifs” or “buts” anymore, BOD will go into Test retirement with another medal to put in his cabinet. Not a bad career.

One thing I will contend is many people saying this surpasses 2009. For the sheer drama that the final game that year produced, as well as the fact it was a Grand Slam winning year, this season’s isn’t just as good. From an Ulster perspective it possibly is considering how much of an influence we had on the squad as a whole with Rory Best, Chris Henry and Andrew Trimble starting all five games, but from an Irish perspective overall it probably ranks second.

Still, you can’t deny it will be a great St. Patrick’s Day for all Irish people. Even though attention will now switch back to the provincial side of Irish rugby and the hotly anticipated Heineken Cup quarter-finals to come in just three weeks’ time, this week will probably be dedicated to celebrating our first Championship win in five years, and let’s be honest, the rest of this season could be remembered for this moment alone.

So next season Ireland will be the defending Six Nations champions. Nice to say, isn’t it? Obviously England will be out for revenge – they probably still have the best squad on paper and having come second the last two years they will be desperate to finally turn their consistency into trophies. In a World Cup year next season’s Six Nations will be of paramount importance to all six nations as preparations step up considerably.

One thing’s guaranteed: Ireland won’t give it up without a fight.

Tuesday 11 March 2014

THE BAD SIDE OF BOD

Brian O’Driscoll bid farewell to the Aviva Stadium in style on Saturday and it was an emotional day for all involved. Sadly I was not there, and nor did I even watch the game live, but by all accounts it sounded like a fantastic day for the Irish legend, and based on how he played, it sounds like we will miss him badly.

And that’s the point I want to make this week. It’s all well and good celebrating BOD’s final game at Irish rugby headquarters, but whenever it comes down to it, you have to realise that Ireland don’t have a succession plan – although there are several contenders to play 13, none of them have sufficient experience at international level due to O’Driscoll’s dominance and it leaves Joe Schmidt caught between a rock and a hard place.

Unless the New Zealander can do the impossible and convince BOD to go for one more year again then he faces a lot of work to do, starting over the summer. With just a year to go until the Rugby World Cup, a successor (and a decent one) needs to be found as soon as possible, and to be honest, with few games to go until said World Cup, there isn’t much time to be mixing and matching and doing a bit of experimentation.

So while BOD may be God as far as Irish rugby is concerned, his absence will be badly felt by both Ireland and Leinster, and if Ireland are to be competitive at the World Cup next year then a new 13 has to be found – and fast.

Two of the options are Ireland stalwarts already – Leinster’s Fergus McFadden and Ulster’s Darren Cave. Although the former has more caps to his name than the latter, Cave is an out-and-out 13 while McFadden’s versatility means he can play across the back three or at outside centre, which makes him more of a bench option than a starter.

As many Ulster fans will tell you, Cave has been overlooked too many times by Eddie O’Sullivan and then his successor Declan Kidney, and he may have run out of time to get onto the Ireland team. However, if he keeps playing the way he is for Ulster then Schmidt will have no choice but to see what Cave can do in the green shirt of Ireland.

On the other hand, McFadden is already established in an Ireland shirt, and having already found favour with Schmidt (having him as coach at Leinster probably helped!) it wouldn’t be overly surprising to see him make the step up from the bench to the starting line-up. However, McFadden himself has said he thinks of himself as a winger, and that in itself may prevent him from starting at outside centre.

Therefore, the bookies’ favourite is Connacht youngster Robbie Henshaw, who is undoubtedly extremely talented and has a bright future ahead of him. A considerable upside to Henshaw is that he will get plenty of time at outside centre at Connacht, especially with Eoin Griffin departing for London Irish over the summer. At such a young age, he could be the next Irish 13 for a long time to come too, especially whenever he is showcasing all the skills required to do so.

But his immediate issue is his considerable lack of experience as he only has three caps to his name. With such a big tournament coming up, is Ireland’s best option to go for an inexperienced player who hasn’t really been tested at international level yet? There’s no doubt with experience, Henshaw will play for Ireland, but right now do we want him starting our biggest games with him at 13?

Arguably that’s the same argument for our own Jared Payne. Although he has proven himself as a very classy operator on the field, he obviously has never played international rugby, and again, while he is older than Henshaw, there’s still a step up from provincial level to international. Payne is also a better full-back than an outside centre, and even though Rob Kearney has the 15 jersey nailed down, it’s probably true in saying that Payne would be wasted at outside centre when he could be so much more effective at 15.

That said, he’s the best option of the four. Since his arrival on the island Payne has been a revelation for Ulster – and don’t forget he was missing for a season! All Ulster fans will know that he deserves to be playing for Ireland, and probably most rugby fans will realise that as well, so he would be the obvious choice for the shirt, but it all depends how Joe Schmidt sees it.

Forget trying to win a trophy, finding a replacement for O’Driscoll may be Schmidt’s toughest test as Ireland head coach.

Tuesday 4 March 2014

ADDING A STRING TO THEIR BOWE

If Friday night wasn’t proof enough that Tommy Bowe is still as hungry as ever for rugby then I don’t know what is.

Even though he dropped that initial pass early on from Darren Cave when he was clean through, you just knew the night would end on a high note for the returning winger and whenever he took that pass from Pienaar and scored the first try you could sense not just the happiness around Ravenhill, but also the relief. Bowe was back.

It was rather fitting that Bowe would score twice on his return, even though he only played the pre-determined forty minutes, and even more fitting that the two tries would be polar opposites of each other, yet equally as remarkable, as Bowe showed a combination of power, evasiveness and strength to get his two scores.

In fact, rather fittingly it was in front of the nearly completed grandstand too. The last time Bowe played at Ravenhill there was only a third of the steelwork up and hosting a Heineken Cup quarter-final there was but a dream. Now there are only five weeks left until the game against Saracens and Bowe is back at just the right time. With the grandstand looking good and ready to hold another 4,000 Ulstermen on April 5th, things are looking up for Ulster.

As for Bowe, he’s played his way back into Ireland contention, albeit this Six Nations campaign may be one too early for him. Nevertheless, whatever he says in the media, Bowe will undoubtedly be delighted at how his first-half cameo went and he will be champing at the bit to get back on the pitch and show Joe Schmidt what he’s been missing on the wing. Trimble and Dave Kearney are good, but in just forty minutes Bowe proved that he’s a step above both of them.

He still has to work his way back into the Ulster team though. Friday’s start was courtesy of the drop in form of both Michael Allen and Craig Gilroy, and if Andrew Trimble was still at Mark Anscombe’s disposal then Bowe might have had to settle for a spot on the bench behind Trimble and the increasingly impressive Rory Scholes who was superb until his substitution due to injury, proof of yet another winger with potential at Ravenhill.

So while Bowe was proving to be a proven, talented player returning from injury, Scholes was an unproven, young player with a lot to prove on his first start for the province, and boy did he take his chance. He showed a range of skills from strength to searing pace and did not look out of place. He was actually extremely unlucky not to score a try of his own, although that will no doubt come sooner rather than later.

Speaking of young players making a successful impact, it was refreshing to see Stuart McCloskey given a chance completely out of the blue. Having not even been in a matchday squad before for Ulster, he played a leading role in the win, and like Scholes he didn’t look out of place and was one of Ulster’s more impressive players on Friday night. For a while now I have been advocating for Mark Anscombe to start blooding a few more youngsters, and his idea to do so has been vindicated. McCloskey and Scholes deserve to start against the Scarlets.

On the other hand, Michael Allen and Craig Gilroy must have watched the game with gritted teeth as their replacements excelled in everything they did. For Gilroy, his “fall” (if it can be called that) has been incredible. From starting winger for Ireland in last season’s Six Nations he has now been dropped for his province and is looking like having an uphill battle to get back into the team again.

But anyway, there’s not too much to criticise from an Ulster perspective this week. Five tries, five points and with a game in hand over Leinster and Munster above us, maybe the top two isn’t actually as elusive as it looks, especially with all the top teams still having to play each other in the last few weeks of the season.

It will be an intriguing run in. Ulster now have a week’s break before we play a game a week until the end of the season (knockout games permitting). We’re now at the stage of the season where the games come thick and fast, and if we don’t win every game from here on in then it could be another trophyless season for us, and with Mark Anscombe only on a one-year deal that could be detrimental to his hopes of a second contract extension.

And after that depressing paragraph, I’m done!