The future's bright, so give us a Kiss

[Eugene Wrayburn]

Best performance from us in a while. Henry has made a difference. Can't wait to have Coetzee as well. Paddy was brilliant today. I would pick him as Lions 10 at the moment.

[Peat]

Gonna have to watch this one on YT, nice to know its still there with a full pack and an immediate reason to play.

Shame about the games where that's not the case.

[hellovating]

i missed it, heard it was a cracker... but a 5-2 points split isn't brilliant, is it?

[Eugene Wrayburn]

i missed it, heard it was a cracker... but a 5-2 points split isn't brilliant, is it?

It's probably better than expected. I'd have bitten your hand off for a 4 v 1 split before the start. 2 more wins and a couple of bonus points gives us a fighting chance of qualifying in 2nd.

[hellovating]

yeah, i think your analysis is correct euge... it was a possible loss game and when you lose your home games, you're rarely booking trips away in late spring.

home euro games are the pressure ones... cannot lose. away games are the opportunity games... sneak something and you're flying.

[Eugene Wrayburn]

Jesus.

injury update ahead of Friday's Guinness PRO12 fixture away to Scarlets...




Ruan Pienaar sustained a right knee injury in the game versus Leinster and will see a specialist this week to decide on further management. He will be unavailable for selection this week.

Also in the Leinster game, Rob Herring and Rodney Ah You sustained knee ligament injuries and the initial prognosis is that both players will be unavailable for selection for at least six weeks.

Roger Wilson also sustained a knee injury in the Leinster game and he too is unavailable for Friday's game against Scarlets.

Wiehahn Herbst sustained a calf muscle tear in training last week and it is estimated that he will be absent for 4-6 weeks.

Craig Gilroy suffered an ankle injury in training and will not participate in the Scarlets fixture.

Kyle McCall has had surgery to repair a torn right hamstring (sustained in the Clermont away fixture) and the recovery period for this injury is likely to be 4-5 months.

Also unavailable for selection this week are Marcell Coetzee (knee), Peter Nelson (foot), Ricky Lutton (toe), Alan O'Connor (concussion), Stuart Olding (calf), Jared Payne (kidney) and Matthew Rea (shoulder).

Ross Kane, Robbie Diack, John Donnan and Aaron Cairns have all recovered from recent injuries and are available for selection.

[Peat]

Bit peeved reading that list. None of those guys should have been playing against Leinster. Well, maybe Ah You. Should be either an absolutely full strength team goes down there or the Ravens go down there. That in between nonsense was always likely to end in trouble and here we are. Great work.

On the sunny side... Kane and Simpson will get to make further cases for themselves which is good and with any luck Wee P will trip over and not be able to make the game, allowing us to see what the young scrum-halves are made of.

[SerjeantWildgoose]

What a complete sack of bollocks you talk, Peat. Not a single one of those injured playing against Leinster was on the IRFU player management programme. If you follow your argument to its logical conclusion, then we have a league where coaches make a call whether a game can be won or not, and if not put the reserves out.

Interpros are all about blood and bollocks rugby and you devalue the whole thing if you make a conscious decision not to put out the best matchday 23 you can cobble together. This is not the same as being forced to rest the Irish treasures; when you're faced with that call - as we all were over Christmas/New Year - you must still go balls out to win, which thankfully we all did.

Your proposal would make the Pro12 a laughing stock. You took some serious damage, but we've all been there so get the feck over yourself!

Oh, and Happy New Year all you'd bunch of Ulster standie-uppers.

[Peat]

*shrugs* Previous management have taken my stance, I've no doubt future management will do at some point as well. Sending out the Bs to get pasted when the As have no hope is part and parcel of sport, you see it all the time.

Belated happy new year to you too.

[SerjeantWildgoose]

Are ye nervous lads? Are ye?

So, McShinner - right back at ye with the 'are ye worried about fecking up the Irish clean sweep' comments from the 1st weekend.

[Eugene Wrayburn]

Sigh. Well that was all too predictable. We lack depth in key positions. I only heard the game but it was a sample of our post-Ruan future and it sounded as though Shanahan did ok, but ok doesn't really cut it in big European players. Just sounded like we had too many ok players and not enough really good ones. Coetzee's injury really hampered our season.

[Peat]

Losing Barakat has been the real stinker. We appear to have slid back in terms of team cohesion and taking contact since it was announced he was going and really slid now that he's gone. Replacing Clarke and Doak with real coaches can't come quick enough.

[Eugene Wrayburn]

Losing Barakat has been the real stinker. We appear to have slid back in terms of team cohesion and taking contact since it was announced he was going and really slid now that he's gone. Replacing Clarke and Doak with real coaches can't come quick enough.

A million times this. I'm slightly at a loss as to why we agreed to write off this year by losing a coach midseason without having a replacement ready to go. We're capable of brilliance, but also of extraordinary mediocrity. Bad luck with injuries hasn't helped. It also appears that we should be be getting ready to move on a couple of Ulster legends who seem increasingly to be past their best in Trimble and Bowe. Stockdale has been better than either.

[Peat]

I can understand why it happens the way it does, but there is something grating all right about the IRFU imitating a pissed-off bullfrog whenever someone asks for an elderly NIQ to be kept long term while handing out IQ contracts that last until the recipient has been dead for a year. Although I think Bowe's main problem has been injuries rather than ability. Wish we'd kept Rory Scholes. Trimble's contract expires this year, I can see him getting another two years and that really doesn't sound a good idea.

[Eugene Wrayburn]

I can understand why it happens the way it does, but there is something grating all right about the IRFU imitating a pissed-off bullfrog whenever someone asks for an elderly NIQ to be kept long term while handing out IQ contracts that last until the recipient has been dead for a year. Although I think Bowe's main problem has been injuries rather than ability. Wish we'd kept Rory Scholes. Trimble's contract expires this year, I can see him getting another two years and that really doesn't sound a good idea.

With Nelson, Gilroy, Stockdale, Piutau, Payne and Olding as well as Bowe and Trimble who were both fine last year we should have been well stocked

[Spiffy]

I can understand why it happens the way it does, but there is something grating all right about the IRFU imitating a pissed-off bullfrog whenever someone asks for an elderly NIQ to be kept long term while handing out IQ contracts that last until the recipient has been dead for a year. Although I think Bowe's main problem has been injuries rather than ability. Wish we'd kept Rory Scholes. Trimble's contract expires this year, I can see him getting another two years and that really doesn't sound a good idea.

With Nelson, Gilroy, Stockdale, Piutau, Payne and Olding as well as Bowe and Trimble who were both fine last year we should have been well stocked

Plus Rob Lyttle, a young wing who was on fire at the start of the season, scored some great tries and is a good goal kicker too. Haven't heard his name for a while. Wonder if he's long-term injured?

[Eugene Wrayburn]

I can understand why it happens the way it does, but there is something grating all right about the IRFU imitating a pissed-off bullfrog whenever someone asks for an elderly NIQ to be kept long term while handing out IQ contracts that last until the recipient has been dead for a year. Although I think Bowe's main problem has been injuries rather than ability. Wish we'd kept Rory Scholes. Trimble's contract expires this year, I can see him getting another two years and that really doesn't sound a good idea.

With Nelson, Gilroy, Stockdale, Piutau, Payne and Olding as well as Bowe and Trimble who were both fine last year we should have been well stocked

Plus Rob Lyttle, a young wing who was on fire at the start of the season, scored some great tries and is a good goal kicker too. Haven't heard his name for a while. Wonder if he's long-term injured?

I knew that there was someone that I was missing. A friend saw him at Scottish for the A team and thought he was excellent.

[BBD]

Key question from tonight's game in ulster


Is nigel Owens dyeing his hair?

[BBD]

Whose bigger shanahan or small Paul?

[SerjeantWildgoose]

Nige was on Desert Island discs today.

[BBD]

a Shirley bassey medley?

[SerjeantWildgoose]

Must be a long time since a bloke was on DID who didn't dribble over Kirsty's tights!

[hellovating]

new head coach - jono gibbes
new assistant coach- dwayne peel

could do with them both in their playing pomp

[SerjeantWildgoose]

See the Claw's gone bankrupt, so he'll be looking a job. Does anyone need a pull-their-heads-off-and-shit-in-their-necks coach?

[BBD]

Nice to see he has mellowed with age