sea_point wrote: Swifty, how did Young Heff get on at Hooker on Friday...

lineout, line out went well, maybe lost 1, but was very happy with it. like the seniors, i was hoping that they wouldnt cop on that we used the same guy with them all. that was ultan dillane and he went well, maybe dropped one but cant blame dave for that. lineout 8 1/2 out of 10

open play, he did well here with tackling and carrying, could of been our top carrier, he surely stood out to me. he was really out there to prove a point, very good at getting around.
open play 9 out of 10.

scrum, where to start. as stated in the other post, we were worse then useless in the scrum. got pushed back on the ulster ball, and lost 2 or 3 on our own ball. few we manage to hold we got the ball out as fast as possible. the ref did say we turned the scrum around once but the ulster team werent happy as they pushed us back 5 metres. i cant judge dave in the scrum as maybe he wasnt with the best of props and out pack were very young with a fairly good ulster pack with birch and mccomb.

had no clock at the game but around the 60th min i think kindregan was the one who went of and dave moved to lock. he still got around.

from what i saw, he did well over all as his first game as hooker. worth another go for sure.

Swifty, how did Young Heff get on at Hooker on Friday...

Asked about Neil Faloon. Him and Willie are first cousins.

I have liked marcus walshe on the couple of occasions ive seen him too. Really positive energetic player who appears to have the full skill set. Expect to see more of him next season.

6. Neil Faloon - Played with Sean O'Connell in the RS Armagh team so these guys know each other.
any relation to our Willie Faloon

I honestly don't know. One would imagine so but I couldn't say for certain. Maybe we should start making overtures to him though.

where to start.
cant remember all the trys, most of been 9 or 10.
ulster did damage when they spread the ball out the wings, thats where all there trys came from. it was a worry early on but we kept them playing middle of the pitch and had good defence there and a few steals.
we had a good game plan of running rugby which has been done all year with the eagles and under 20's. long may it last and lam might bring it to the seniors.
we did manage to break there defence very often and make space.
2 of our trys came from winger kicking the ball down the line and winning the foot race.

marcus walsh looked great at scrum half, in a fast game like today, id say he'd give KM a run for his money, wasnt afraid to run either if space was made. he'd be my man of the match.
mata did ok at 7 but was disappointed by how little himself and rodney carried.
dave heffernan did ok in the lineouts won most but lost2 or 3. kevin o byrne came on and dave moved to lock.
surprised to see leader benched at the start of the second half!!??
our scrum was 50/50 on our OWN BALL, not good, we most of lost 3 or 4 of our own scrum, ulster distroyed us on there ball.

i was happy with the win and the game.
14-5 half time. then 14-10, 21-10, then we fell apart and few people left :evil:
we did great to pull it back, most of been 4 trys scored in the last 10 mins.
balls of steal by jack carty to win it against the wind with the last kick of the game.

on a side note, felt bad for NOC, you would count on one hand today the things that actually worked for him and that included passing.
as far as i remember, the only kick he got was a converstion from under the posts. most of missed 5. his passing was awful going right, and knocked on twice.
we gave away ALOT of penaltys in or own 22 but niall never went for the posts, always down the line even early on when the scores were tight, nothing ever came from it.
the ref gave the penalty at the end, niall lost the head, ref moved ball 5metres closer and sin binned niall.

there were 3 sin bins in the game, 2 ulster 1 connacht, finn offside and touching the ball on a ulster attack.

Eagles win at the death, nice one. Sounds like they took the foot off the pedal a bit in the second half (where have we seen that before) but at least they won. Anyone attending care to give a write up?

Connacht Exile. The sub for Ulster Niall Scanlon is not the munster player. Niall Scannell is still munster academy

salmson wrote:

Borders no.2 wrote: Why do they play these matches at 3pm and give just 24 hours notice of the game.

The 3pm starts have been discussed on other threads: the doggie people have a share in the Sportsground too; it's one thing to discommode them (or, increasingly, to cancel racing entirely) for 5000 people at a senior game, but for a couple of hundred at an A match it's not on.

24 hours notice however is indefensible and harks back to the bad old (disorganised) days.

Most likely to do with player availability, there are a lot of non-contracted players in the Connacht squad, they don't want to broadcast the event unless it's ironclad to go ahead...

Borders no.2 wrote: Why do they play these matches at 3pm and give just 24 hours notice of the game.

The 3pm starts have been discussed on other threads: the doggie people have a share in the Sportsground too; it's one thing to discommode them (or, increasingly, to cancel racing entirely) for 5000 people at a senior game, but for a couple of hundred at an A match it's not on.

24 hours notice however is indefensible and harks back to the bad old (disorganised) days.

6. Neil Faloon - Played with Sean O'Connell in the RS Armagh team so these guys know each other.
any relation to our Willie Faloon

Why do they play these matches at 3pm and give just 24 hours notice of the game. I know it keeps costs down a bit but I'm sure lots of people would have liked to get a look at this.

Good Ulster side, a lot of them have played Rabo this season. Fa'fita at 7? Maybe they are hoping he'll be the new Trevor Ofisa in converting successfully from a back to a back rower. I'd have my doubts but see how it goes. David Heffernan at 2? Again they must see something in him in this position. He's looked a good player any time I've seen him.

Hard to see Connacht doing much in this one, looks a fairly limited side but it'll be a run out for some fringe / potential players at least.

That's a pretty strong Raven's team.


15. Peter Nelson - A Massive talent. Apparently Darcy is leaving Ulster at the end of this season so expect him to get more senior gametime next year.
14. Michael Allen - Huge amount of caps a big lad but had soft hands.
13. Ricky Andrew - had played 5 times for Ulster senior team.
12. Stuart McCloskey - don't know much about him except he play's for Dungannon and is well thought of.
11. Chris Cochrane - a former Connacht target until Carr signed.
10. Niall O’Connor - he used to play for us.
9. Michael Heaney - 3rd choice SH at Ulster.
1. Kyle McCall - ?
2. Niall Annett © - a massive talent. Former U20 Ireland Captain.
3. Richard Lutton - Has being evolving nicely into a good TH.
4. Alan O’Connor - hasn't played much for the seniors but has impressed when he did.
5. Neil McComb - A first-team member
6. Neil Faloon - Played with Sean O'Connell in the RS Armagh team so these guys know each other.
7. Ali Birch - Finally beginning to break into the senior team. A big unit.
8. Sean O’Connell - See Faloon.

Replacements:
16. Niall Scanlon - the ex-Munster Hooker?
17. Andy Warwick
18. Conor Carey
19. Luke Connelly
20. Ben Alexander
21. Blane McIlroy
22. Mark Best
23. Ross Adair

Ulster Ravens team to play Connacht Eagles on Friday 8th March at the Sportsground, Galway. Kick off 3pm.

15. Peter Nelson
14. Michael Allen
13. Ricky Andrew
12. Stuart McCloskey
11. Chris Cochrane
10. Niall O’Connor
9. Michael Heaney
1. Kyle McCall
2. Niall Annett ©
3. Richard Lutton
4. Alan O’Connor
5. Neil McComb
6. Neil Faloon
7. Ali Birch
8. Sean O’Connell

Replacements:
16. Niall Scanlon
17. Andy Warwick
18. Conor Carey
19. Luke Connelly
20. Ben Alexander
21. Blane McIlroy
22. Mark Best
23. Ross Adair

salmson wrote:

phatguerilla wrote: fifita would be the ultimate utility sub if he could cover back row and centre Maybe next game try him at tighthead :whistle:

Fifita was a No. 8 originally, if he ends up covering centre and backrow we're going to be accused of turning into a league side

That backrow-to-hooker conversion didn't work for Murphy, any reason to think it'll work for Heffernan?

Where's the risk in trying? The obviously don't see him being ahead of our current back-row options. If he's got the right attitude he'll make it, some lads just struggle to handle the requirements of the professional game [Merrigan and Murphy were talented but maybe lacked the extra 5% need to make it). Trying to make it in your own back yard in particular is doubly difficult as there can be too many distractions.

phatguerilla wrote: fifita would be the ultimate utility sub if he could cover back row and centre Maybe next game try him at tighthead :whistle:

Fifita was a No. 8 originally, if he ends up covering centre and backrow we're going to be accused of turning into a league side

That backrow-to-hooker conversion didn't work for Murphy, any reason to think it'll work for Heffernan?