INTERIM HEAD COACH Richie Murphy has named his team for his first home game in charge of Ulster, when they take on Cardiff tomorrow night [KO: 7.35pm, Live TG4 and Premier Sports 1].
Ulster enter the Round 14 URC clash at the Kingspan Stadium as they seek to bounce back from last week’s Challenge Cup exit when they lost 53-14 to Clermont.
Jacob Stockdale returns to the starting side on the left wing, while 22-year-old Jude Postlethwaite comes into the centre to partner James Hume. Mike Lowry moves to the right wing after last week’s tie in Frane, with Will Addison in at full-back.
Nathan Doak is back at nine after playing the last three games at out-half, he will team up with Jake Flannery in the half-back partnership.
In the pack, there is a changed front row with Eric O’Sullivan, Tom Stewart and Scott Wilson all getting the nod to start. Al O’Connor retains his starting spot in the second row, and will captain the team, where he will be joined by Academy graduate Harry Sheridan.
David McCann switches to number eight, while Dave Ewers and Marcus Rea will both start here, having come off the bench during last week’s game.
Ulster
- 15. Will Addison
- 14. Mike Lowry
- 13. James Hume
- 12. Jude Postlethwaite
- 11. Jacob Stockdale
- 10. Jake Flannery
- 9. Nathan Doak
- 1. Eric O’Sullivan
- 2. Tom Stewart
- 3. Scott Wilson
- 4. Harry Sheridan
- 5. Alan O’Connor
- 6. Dave Ewers
- 7. Marcus Rea
- 8. Dave McCann
Replacements:
- 16. John Andrew
- 17. Andrew Warwick
- 18. Tom O’Toole
- 19. Cormac Izuchukwu
- 20. Greg Jones
- 21. John Cooney
- 22. Billy Burns
- 23. Ethan McIlroy.
Excellent article Murray. It’s the passing that’s concerning. A basic skill, you would assume at this level it certainly ought to be dealt with in training as regards timing. It can’t be perfect in training & poor in matches. So where are the standards vs Joe time when was non negotiable. Jamie O is young but a poor passer when moving and evident since his Leinster debut. We rarely pass in front of each other, almost always static in receiving, and when there is a 1st phase move, it gets stuck in midfield on contact. Bar Hugo try v Italy, very little innovation, attempts to do so. Extremely low risk rugby SA aside, since RWC. And while we love Hugo, nothing in attack from returned kicks. Little evidence Andrew Goodman was the right choice. You can swap the above comments for Leinster too.
@Mark Kearney: agree and add the waning of our ‘power game’ – that’s another point of difference for France and England and why they both ‘destroyed’ Wales and we didn’t.
@Mark Kearney: good point. Lancaster was really hot on passing accuracy and that meant the majority of players coming into Ireland camp under him were on top of their skills. Connacht also playing attacking style since Lam. New Munster/Ulster coaches also emphasize ball handling. I think the change in style at Leinster is really having a big impact on IRL attack. Leinster players concentrate on chasing kicks and being aggressive in défense. Leinster’s attack has been really poor these last 2 seasons but their brilliant defense means they still win. Cc LRO game was case in point. Irelands last 2 6n’s were also built on solid defense btw. People like to praise the IRL attack but it’s our defence was the foundation of our attack. We conceded more tries this 6n’s than in the last 2 combined.
The key statistic is professional playing numbers. In Ireland, we have 180, France, and England have very many more. It’s probably 8 to 10 times more, especially in France. Long-term strategy is surely to have a fifth team probably off the island.
@D Farrell: agree, but we have what we have. We have to revert to having a point of difference, back to most of Joe’s time in Lein & Ireland, was passing. That you can do with existing structure, if you first accept there is an issue. I don’t think we do, and poor standards are accepted across the provinces. That’s on the coaches, and players wanting to improve.
@D Farrell: Wishful thinking, I fear. The revenue to support a 5th team does not exist. Frankly I doubt whether we have the revenue to support four. Especially if the growth of Women’s pro rugby is already acting like an additional province in terms of its financial impact
I haven’t gone back to check but I imagine what has been said (by both fans and media) about this Ireland team/players/coaches is nothing compared to what the French will have had to put up with when we did them last season. They didn’t go through a massive clean out, and I don’t think we need to either. The other provinces other than Leinster do need to pull their socks up though.
It’s no coincidence our attack faltered when Andy Farrell was away. I think it’s forgotten that he is heavily involved in Irelands innovative attack plays and his absence definitely affected this. Also it’s worth mentioning Catt started very poorly with Ireland and became instrumental in our brilliant attack over the last few years. Maybe Goodman needs time to bed in also
Being third in what many considered a two horse race can’t be considered a success .
However it reflects the approach of the Irish management based on defence . Both Irish wings selection and reputations based on their performance on a catch and kick game .
But teams have stopped kicking deep as blocking in front of the catcher is penalized and the objective is to ensure the ball is behind the defending pack . Thus the reason to pick paceless wings no longer exists .
As previously noted 9 of the 23 are over 30 whose best games are behind them .
I considered that this was last 6 nations for more than PoM Murray and Healy and the preference for Leinster Blue was undeserved by several players .
@SAMUEL T McGLADERY: Who do you think should have been picked on the wings instead of Hansen and Lowe?