The Ins and Outs for the 10/11 Season

[tinchy17]

to be fair ulster lost a second row who wasnt a regular starter and gained two much more physical second rows
lost a nearly regular international scrum half and replaced him with ruan pienarr
also got a great back rower to cover when ferris isnt there in pedrie warrenburg
lost jimmy nagusa but we have simon danilliei and trimble anyways (even thugh he is injured)
ulster are very much on the up or should be

Hold on, mate! They've also signed Ruan Pienaar

 

[TRF_Cymro]

Hold on, mate! They've also signed Ruan Pienaar

Read the post again ... he mentions him

 

[Feicarsinn]

Hold on, mate! They've also signed Ruan Pienaar

 

[Peat]

Just a shame we couldn't complete the much rumoured signing of Duffy. We're looking a touch wobbly at full-back for my liking, particularly when Trimble, Danielli and Cunningham all look set to be missing the start of the season. Jamie Smith shouldn't be your most experienced back-three player.

In general Ulster were meant to be signing another IQ back, but thats all gone quiet. Maybe Who's taken a look at the Academy options and put his trust in them? Or at least compared to who was available to sign at least!

Either way, we're looking skinny there. The current 2nd choice Ulster back-line would look like this...

9. Marshall 10. NOC 11. Spence 12. Whitten 13. ... Spence, put McCrea at 11, 14. Cochrane/Seymour/Gilroy, take your pick 15. Smith/Cunningham

Lot of raw potential there (and Niall O'Connor) but a couple of knocks and we're going to be looking very raw. And we've already got a few.

 

[Jockstap]

Well considering the new signings I think the strongest 15 of the Irish provinces are

Ulster

15 Smith
14 Danelli
13 Cave
12 Wallace
11 Trimble
10 Humphries
9 Pienaar
8 Henry
7 Wannenburg
6 Ferris
5 Muller
4 Touhy
3 Botha
2 Best
1 Court

Ulster could be the dark horse of the league this season, they've added some real quality to their pack and the new signings could be what they need to take the next step up.

Connacht

15 Duffy
14 O'Halloran
13 Griffin
12 Wynne
11 Carr
10 Nikora
9 Murphy
8 Taylor
7 O'Connor
6 Muldoon
5 Swift
4 McCarthy
3 Hagan
2 Cronin
1 Wilkinson

If Connacht can produce some of the performances of last season on a more consistent basis and with the introduction of the new Italian sides they might not finish last this season, woo hoo.

Munster

15 Jones
14 Howlett
13 Earls
12 Tuitupo
11 Murphy
10 Warwick
9 O'Leary
8 Leamy
7 Wallace
6 Ryan
5 POC
4 DOC
3 Borlase/Buckley
2 Varley
1 DuPreez

Munster finally started to show their age this season and you feel that the next few seasons will be a transitional period, guys like Hayes, Horan, Quinlann, Stringer, Flannery, O'Gara and even Wallace don't have long left and hopefully most of them will play second fiddle from now on. I think with the new laws at the breakdown combined with the introduction of new players will really hurt Munster and I don't expect them to be the threat they once were for a while. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't make it out of their group this year.

Leinster

15 Kearney
14 Conway
13 BOD
12 Fitzgerald
11 Nacewa
10 Sexton
9 Boss
8 Heaslip
7 O'Brien
6 McLaughlin/Ruddock
5 Cullen
4 Toner
3 Wright
2 Fogarty
1 Van der Merwe

Leinster will be going through a transitional period of a different kind with nearly a complete overhaul of their coaching staff and it could take while before the find what works for them, it was Leinster's awesome defence that saw them through most of last season and the absence of Kurt McQuilick could be a big loss. Still, Leinster probably have the most talented squad in Ireland and with a seemingly endless supply of quality young talent the future looks rosy but there is a big question mark for this season.

 

[Feicarsinn]

Conway over D'arcy and Horgan? Not likely this year, he'll do well to compete with Dave Kearney. Also, Van Der Merwe is going to have his work cut out to get in ahead of Cian Healy. Let's not forget just how talented that young man is. Ruddock will be 5th choice backrow at best with Shane Jennings, Jamie Heaslip, Sean O'Brien, Kevin McLaughlin and Stephen Keogh currently ahead of him, as well as other talented backrows like Dominic Ryan in direct competition with him.

EDIT: Devin Toner isn't better than Nathan Hines either and I can't choose between Reddan and Boss. Gosh, our depth is quite good this season.

 

[Jockstap]

Conway over D'arcy and Horgan? Not likely this year, he'll do well to compete with Dave Kearney. Also, Van Der Merwe is going to have his work cut out to get in ahead of Cian Healy. Let's not forget just how talented that young man is. Ruddock will be 5th choice backrow at best with Shane Jennings, Jamie Heaslip, Sean O'Brien, Kevin McLaughlin and Stephen Keogh currently ahead of him, as well as other talented backrows like Dominic Ryan in direct competition with him.

EDIT: Devin Toner isn't better than Nathan Hines either and I can't choose between Reddan and Boss. Gosh, our depth is quite good this season.

Ya I know, I should have said this is what I think are the strongest 15s. I'm pretty sure Leinster will stick with Horgan, Jennings, D'Arcy and Hines, likewise with Munster they'll probably persist with O'Gara, Horan and Quinlann. If everybody would just listen to me everything would be OK.

I think Toner will be a great player once he bulks up a bit.

 

[Peat]

Swap Wanneburg and Henry around and I'm pretty sure you've got McLaughlin's thinking. Myself, I'd want Faloon at 7.

Also, correct me if wrong, but don't the provinces have to start their centrally contracted players a certain percentage of the time (including the Heineken Cup games? Pretty sure I read that somewhere...

I'd also have Matthews ahead of Wynne at 12 for Connacht.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Ulster are suffering somewhat of an injury crisis at tighthead prop. Declan Fitzpatrick is out until December and Adam Macklin broke hyis ankle yesterday so he's out for quite a while too. The FRU which broke news of the Johann Muller and Ruan Pienaar signings say that Ulster have added Jerry Cronin who plays in the AIL for Ballynahinch to cover their tighthead shortage. Neither Macklin nor Fitzpatrick are frontline players but their absence should open up a few bench spots for Cronin in the Magners League while Tom Court is rested due to the player management scheme.

This season Connacht (Rob Sweeney), Ulster (Jerry Cronin) and Leinster (Simon Shawe) have bolstered their prop ranks by delving into the AIL. I wonder if this is an IRFU dictat to increase the number of professional Irish front row forwards. In the case of Shawe, he's been a pleasant surprise for Leinster while Sweeney has had some game time for Connacht too. Maybe Cronin will also show he's capable of stepping up to pro rugby.

 

[Peat]

Fitzpatrick is very much frontline for us; he features in most games and should Botha go missing for some reason, will be the next choice starter. He's a big loss.

Macklin less so, seemed to have about as much idea about scrummaging as my granny in the pre-seasons but still a bit stall on his development. The next young TH in line is also meant to have gone down injured in that game.

Even so, at the moment, should Court be rested for a game (and he will, hello Ireland Player management scheme) we cannot actually put out four props. Which is a mix of lulz and squeaky arsehole time. So here's hoping the Cronin rumour or one like it is true and more importantly, the man can actually play a part.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Fitzpatrick is very much frontline for us; he features in most games and should Botha go missing for some reason, will be the next choice starter. He's a big loss.

Sorry, I wasn't clear. By saying Fitzpatrick isn't a frontline player, I meant he's not a regular starter nor is he an impact player (ie he won't replace Botha after 50 or 60 minutes and improve things for Ulster). Fitzpatrick gets a lot of gametime but I think he's a very average player. He's a useful squad member but nothing more in my opinion.

Macklin less so, seemed to have about as much idea about scrummaging as my granny in the pre-seasons but still a bit stall on his development. The next young TH in line is also meant to have gone down injured in that game.

Is that Alan Whitten?

Macklin played number 8 quite a bit for Methody if I recall correctly so he has a lot of growing as a prop to do. As has been seen with players like Mike Ross, Tony Buckley (who still has some problems in the scrum) and recently Simon Shawe, props develop much later than other positions. Generally they won't reach their peak until their late 20s/early 30s. Macklin is only about 21 and should improve hugely if he gets game time in the AIL for the next few years. If he's 25 and still having his ass handed to him then there's a problem but right now there's no need to panic over his below average scrummaging.

A young Ulster prop I've a lot of time for Paddy McAllister. He's only just turned 21 and has come off the bench at loosehead a couple of times this season. His workrate seems to be quite strong (from what I've seen) and he's a decent scrummager. I really believe he'll push past Bryan Young as primary loosehead backup this season and will play 10-15 games this season in the ML. Tom Court is an excellent scrummaging loosehead and hopefully McAllister will pick up a few pointers from him.

Even so, at the moment, should Court be rested for a game (and he will, hello Ireland Player management scheme) we cannot actually put out four props. Which is a mix of lulz and squeaky arsehole time. So here's hoping the Cronin rumour or one like it is true and more importantly, the man can actually play a part.

Ulster have a seriously good 1st XV but weak backups. I suppose that was the price they paid when they decided to spend a lot bringing Pienaar, Wannenberg and Muller into the setup. Court and Botha are a terrific set of props for the big ML and Heineken Cup games. Young and the injured Fitzpatrick are well below that level but can do an alright job in the ML - I'd fear for Ulster's scrum is either Botha or Court got injured.

The small bits and pieces I've read about Cronin are that he gives people opponents lots of trouble in the scrum. If he can lock out a scrum Ulster will be happy enough with that since Wannenberg, Ferris, Henry, Caldwell, Kyriacou and Diack can give the team more than enough go forward ball. To be honest, if all Cronin does is lock out the scrum, he'll be better than Declan Fitzpatrick already in my opinion.

 

[Peat]

I think you underestimate Fitzpatrick. Last year he was regularly coming on in the last 20-30 for Botha and improving things (albeit against tired, battered opponents). He played a genuine part in the scrum success of last season and earned his Ireland call up as a result.

Yes, that is Alan Whitten. You're right that Macklin came late to propping and has plenty of time to learn but right now, he isn't ready - unlike Paddy McAllister, who I agree with you entirely. I would already have him in front of Bryan Young and think he will be a serious long term challenger to Healy.

As for the depth... very hard to pick 1st choice at lock and back row, good depth at hooker and scrum-half, average to poor depth at prop, centre, wing, fly-half and full-back. In the case of the last two, we're just outright weak there. So I don't think its as bad as you say and think the weakness of our back-ups speaks more about Ulster's youth production and ability to attract other Irish players to the province but it is a problem and has already been exposed twice. If Cronin keeps the scrum up and lifts well, that'll do me.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Apparently Leinster have signed Clint Newland, a 30 year old tighthead prop from the Highlanders and Hawke's Bay

http://www.hawkesbaytoday.co.nz/sport/news/bay-lose-long-time-pillar-newland/3926550/

 

[Peat]

David Pollock has joined Bryn Cunningham on the retired list.

 

[danit]

kiwi James Marshall joins Aironi rugby

flyhalf, born Auckland 7 dec 1988, played latest ITM Cup with Tasman Makos scoring 3 tries