PROBLEMS TO SOLVE

I don’t think I’ve had a more painful day of rugby viewing than Sunday.

We had more than enough in our team to beat Treviso and considering they had been decimated the week before at the Liberty Stadium it just highlights what a pathetic performance it was from us. In a game where a bonus point was very much on offer, we put in one of our worst performances of the season and ended up limping over the finish line with a two point margin seeing us home.

While I don’t think the loss means we have any severe problems, it does highlight some very interesting ones. Mainly our loosehead situation which seems to be somewhat up in the air. I’ve been questioning this for a while now: why did we start Callum Black in our biggest game of the season against Leicester, and yet start Tom Court in the next two Pro12 games? And on Sunday, Court was badly shown up by Fernandez-Rouyet yet whenever Black came on the scrum was solid.

It makes me wonder who our best loosehead is. Black has been one of our most improved performers this season and I would start him this week against the Dragons due to Court’s perceived failings on Sunday. It’s not up to me though, and I just wonder what Mark Anscombe sees in Court to keep starting him. He appears to be struggling with the new scrummaging laws and doesn’t have the same impact he used to. It will be interesting to see how long Anscombe sticks with him.

This week I’d also give a start to Rory Scholes on the wing. On Sunday he came on in the fiftieth minute and was our best back within about five minutes with a strong burst near the line and then a jinking run up the touchline from a kick-off too. With Michael Allen still seemingly struggling to find the try line on a regular basis and Craig Gilroy becoming a rather predictable winger for opposition defences to stop, it’s maybe time to give Scholes his shot after a decent cameo in Italy.

Sunday’s game also proved that we have no decent back-up to Paddy Jackson. James McKinney wasn’t trusted to fill the Ginger Prince’s shoes and instead we had to watch as the Marshall-Pienaar combo struggled as per usual. I’m not a big fan of Pienaar playing 10 (as you can guess) and I still feel it should be a ‘break glass in case of emergency’ selection. For next season we desperately need someone who can partner Pienaar competently during international periods – and probably someone who can fill in for Pienaar in case of injury too.

But the main problem I want to address is Ulster’s mindset for these games. In the big matches like the Heineken Cup and interprovincials, we can match anybody as proven by this season’s Heineken Cup pool campaign. But in the bread-and-butter Pro12 games such as Sunday, we are suddenly found severely lacking. On Sunday we were very close to losing a game that looked like an away banker on paper, and against Zebre back in December we weren’t exactly convincing against them either.

Johann Muller is an exceptional captain, don’t get me wrong, but these matches should be games we put away with relative ease, and that means the captain should motivate his team accordingly. I’ll admit part of the problem on Sunday was referee George Clancy who was rather poor, but he’s still no excuse for our terrible play. It seemed like the players were wandering around as if they had the five points in the bag and we were nearly punished for it.

Although we weren’t punished this week, we now languish twelve points off leaders Munster (albeit with a game in hand) due to early season losses to the Dragons and Glasgow which we shouldn’t have lost. It’s games like those that we really need to be winning every time, but time and time again we don’t get motivated enough to win. That must change – I don’t know how, but it has to somehow otherwise we’ll never win a trophy. In order to win the Pro12 this season we’ll probably have to win two away knockout matches – more than likely both in Ireland – and that’s never easy.

I back us to do it though. If we get there and with a full team out I think we could defeat both Munster and Leinster away as well. However, we’re not there yet, and Sunday proved that we are not the complete package just yet. Nevertheless, we now sit in third place and we have plenty of games to make up ground on the top two.

Anyway, rant over.

EURO RELIEF

After months of being in the proverbial wilderness, it finally seems that things are beginning to sort themselves out, and that’s good for all parties concerned.

If you didn’t see what is being proposed as the new European competition, it is that there will be a new 20-team tournament with seven teams from the Pro12 (the highest placed finisher from each of the leagues, plus the next three top finishers), six each from the Top14 and Aviva Premiership and the final place will be awarded to the winner of a play-off between the seventh placed finishers in France and England.

There are more pressing issues such as finances and TV rights, but certainly things seem to be looking up – they will be sorted at another time. But for now, it looks like European rugby will be safe for another few years, and with the Italian teams pledging their support to the Pro12 for another four seasons, domestically our future looks secure too.

And as proven by yesterday’s announcement of the signing of Ruaidhri Murphy from the Brumbies on a two year deal, the transfers will hopefully begin to roll in now, and I have every confidence that David Humphreys is doing a lot of work in the background to ensure that Murphy isn’t the only player to move to Belfast ahead of next season.

Players weren’t going to agree to sign for us with such uncertainty over Europe, so now a few deals can hopefully be closed.

It also gives fans the peace of mind to begin booking season tickets for next season. A lot of people have been on edge recently (or people I know anyway) and don’t want to commit to signing up for potentially a ten-team Celtic league and no European competition, but now that there seem to be guarantees on both continuing more or less as they were, potentially there will be a surge in season ticket buyers for next season, especially with priority being given to those who do for this April’s Heineken Cup quarter-final against Saracens.

It also gives all parties what they initially bargained for: the PRL get to run the competition and have a meritocracy-based qualification system for the Pro12, while the unions still get to keep a check on the leagues through the higher council if they step out of line. In my opinion it is a fair compromise, and probably the best that we’re going to get. Secretly all parties are yearning for a solution, and this is one that suits everyone well – it should be (and probably will be) signed in the near future.

So, happy days then? Watch this space…

Swing low, sweet chariot

And so to the game that could define Ireland’s Six Nations hopes this season. Wales have been defeated so that’s one of our rivals down, now if we can beat England and then France the week afterwards then a Grand Slam is on the cards.

Ireland are in a great position though. Joe Schmidt seems to have brought in a new direction for the international team and so far it has worked wonders. Apart from that humiliation against Australia back in November, so far Schmidt has been a very successful coach for Ireland, and he has a policy of getting the win no matter what.

England have shown over the last two games that they’re beatable. France defeated them even though England were the better team, and despite the fact that this Scotland team is possibly the worst side to ever grace the Six Nations, the English could only put twenty points on them, and they squandered numerous opportunities. For all the positives being thrown at England, the stats don’t seem to back them up.

So in my opinion Ireland won’t get a better chance to win at Twickenham than this weekend, and if they go there and play for the full eighty minutes and come away with the win, then a few players can be given a well-deserved rest against Italy (who aren’t up to much more than Scotland) ahead of what should be a huge game against France in Paris that will decide whether the Grand Slam comes back to Dublin or not.

Then again, I shouldn’t get too ahead of myself, England can easily win this Saturday too. I backed them to win the Grand Slam at the start of the tournament, and although that won’t happen anymore, I still believe they’re one of the better teams in this competition, and although I now think that Ireland will win, England will push them all the way.

It will be an incredible match. I think Ireland will sneak it buoyed by the possibility of that final day Grand Slam shoot-out against France, however no team likes to lose at home (obviously) and the Twickenham crowd will demand that their side make up for that opening day loss at the Stade de France.

Time for Ireland to de-rail the chariot!

REFEREEING MASTERCLASS

For the more nostalgic of my readers, you will recall our match against the Scarlets in the Heineken Cup a few years ago where the rain hammered down and the wind whipped around Ravenhill. That night we were thoroughly beaten and I got thoroughly soaked on the long trek back to the car. It was not a good night.

Friday night reminded me a little of that game. Granted the weather was not as poor, and granted we won the match, but I was having horrendous flashbacks of that evening.

Having shaken off those demons, I was pleasantly surprised by the standard of rugby served up by the two sides considering the horrible conditions they had to cope with. Aside from a bit of kick tennis halfway through the second half where neither side seemed to want to play rugby at all, there was some good attacking intent from both teams – unfortunately more from the visitors than Ulster.

Credit must go to the man of the match. No, not the official man of the match Joe Bearman, but the best performer on the pitch in my opinion, referee Nigel Owens. On a night that threatened to become a sluggish forwards battle (and at points it looked like it was), Owens in his usual laissez-faire fashion allowed the game to flow and only intervened when necessary.

It’s a key aspect of Owens’ style, and one that should be mirrored in every referee, especially young ones rising up through the ranks – fans don’t want to see games dominated by a referee pinging every little offence at rucks. As one ref told me, “You could penalise something at every ruck – the key aspect of reffing is choosing what to punish.”

It is true, if you scrutinise a rugby match, there are blatantly obvious infringements that could be penalised at nearly every breakdown. However, Owens’ policy of restraint allows small infringements that don’t impact on the game to go amiss, and allow the game to continue, making it not only a better game for the players, but a greater spectacle for the fans too.

And of course, it’s always nice to see the players and referee having a bit of banter on the pitch, and the “You can’t do that Nick!” jibe in the second half proved that even in the big games, there’s always time for a smile and a joke – after all it’s just a game, and definitely not soccer!

Owens’ performance on Friday night reaffirmed my belief that he is the best referee in world rugby. Easy for the players to get on with, fair on both teams, doesn’t miss much on the pitch, and a great laugh on his Twitter account off it too (@Nigelrefowens for anybody who isn’t following him)!

If only there were a few more referees in the game like him.

Tries, tiffs and Tuohy

I could have also called this the good the bad and the ugly but I liked the alliteration of the ‘t’s, and I think Dan Tuohy may have also been rather offended by being described as ugly!

Of course, I’m not really calling him ugly (don’t worry Dan!), I’m calling his arm injury ugly. Tuohy is in the form of his career, and his loss will be felt by Ireland. He has been superb for Ulster this season, and if he doesn’t make it back in time for April’s Heineken Cup quarter-final then it will be a huge loss for the Ulstermen. His partnership with Johann Muller has been stellar, and his work at the breakdown nothing less than exceptional – he has been one of Ulster’s best and most consistent performers all season. All the best for his recovery, and hopefully he’ll be back sooner than expected.

The tries obviously refer to the fact that Ireland’s two tries were scored by Ulstermen as Chris Henry and Paddy Jackson both crossed for their first tries in green shirts. In fact, it was a good game for Ulster players in Ireland shirts in general. Rory Best was accurate at the line-out and was everywhere on the pitch, Henry forged a good back row partnership with O’Mahony and Heaslip, while Andrew Trimble was on fire on the wing, completely outplaying George North on the opposite wing. If anyone was doubting Ulster’s representation in the Ireland team, every single one of them justified their inclusion in the 23-man squad, and for any of them to be dropped for the trip to Twickenham in two weeks would be a travesty.

And finally the tiffs. We don’t like to see them in rugby, but Mike Phillips really is a dodgy character, and it’s no surprise Bayonne wanted rid of him. He was constantly probing at Ireland players, he got frustrated, and fair play to Wayne Barnes who quite rightly sin-binned him for being unable to keep his cool near the end of the game. If you haven’t seen the continued Twitter argument between One Direction’s Niall Horan, Phillips and Rob Kearney then I advise you to check it out: it will give you a bit of a laugh. But hopefully this will end soon – again, this isn’t soccer!

It’s been a good weekend for Irish sides. Three out of four provincial wins and the international side is still unbeaten in the Six Nations. I’ll admit, I went into the tournament with low expectations and I’m slowly being proved wrong. Hopefully the good run can continue – of course with no more injuries for Ulster players…

BALANCING ACT

Would I be right in saying that seven players is the biggest Ulster contingent on the Ireland team for a very long time? Genuine question by the way, I don’t know for sure, but that’s the most Ulster players I can remember being in an Ireland squad from the province up north.

The good thing is, they all performed well. I’ve already heard plenty of excuses for the performance this week: “It’s only Scotland.” True, the away side ran around the Aviva pitch without much of a purpose for about three-quarters of that match, but even so, you can only play what’s in front of you, and deservedly Ireland took the two points this week.

It was a game that was always a potential banana skin for Ireland. With Scotland having won the last three meetings between the two sides, there was always that niggling doubt in the back of Ireland fans’ minds even with the home advantage. However the doubt was misplaced – Scotland threatened I think once in the entire eighty minutes, and but for the accurate kicking of Greig Laidlaw, they would have gone home with no points to show for their half-hearted efforts.

Nevertheless, Ireland did have a few stand-out performers (and please excuse me if my slight Ulster bias shows!). In the back row both Peter O’Mahony and Chris Henry were imperious at the breakdown. From the first minute to the last they were effecting turnovers and providing quick ball for Conor Murray, who is my third stand-out performer. For a while he was criticised for being too slow with his passing, but alongside Sexton (who was also good) he controlled the game from half-back. It was very good to see Trimble score as well having made his first start for Ireland in a long time (well overdue too).

But the two best performers of the game were Cian Healy and Dan Tuohy. Healy was his rampaging best, making yards with ball in hand and being destructive in the scrum too. He’s widely touted as the best loosehead prop in the world. With a performance like that, you would be a fool to argue. On the other hand, Tuohy was thrust into the game on Sunday morning after Paul O’Connell went down with an infection, and he didn’t disappoint. Imperious at the line-out, fervent at the breakdown, and also making his fair share of yards with ball in hand too, Tuohy proved that he belonged in that Ireland 23.

Wales are next up for Ireland, and despite the win, improvements will have to be made. Wales are a much more serious prospect than the Scots, and with England losing to France at the weekend, it’s a great chance for Ireland to knock another Grand Slam rival down out of the running. Wales are there for the taking though, Italy came pretty close to it and but for one horrible defensive error, there could have been a huge shock at the Millennium Stadium.

However, a good start to Schmidt’s Six Nations campaign, and if the performance is raised by 10% then another win should be on the cards come Saturday.

Domestic demons

Ulster vs. Ospreys is usually a very good fixture. Usually very closely contested too, especially the games at Ravenhill. So you will excuse me for feeling semi-optimistic for this Friday’s game.

Now don’t get me wrong, I still think Ulster will win. Hopefully by more than seven points too, denying the Ospreys a losing bonus point would be brilliant. But the Ospreys are a dogged team – they can drag teams down a level while still maintaining their own and if they are allowed to come to Ravenhill and play rugby then they will be a real handful. Their back line has been left rather intact by Wales, and they are lethal – Eli Walker and Richard Fussell being two of the best attacking players in the Pro12.

This is probably the most Ulster have ever been decimated by call-ups, and our strength in depth will be severely tested over the next few weeks. However, we can still call upon the influential duo of Pienaar and Muller, and we will need all of that experience and talent to see off one of our title rivals.

It will be a great match, as every Ulster-Ospreys game tends to be. I still wish they would schedule it so that this match doesn’t take place during international breaks – imagine the crowds this game would pull if it was two full strength teams battling it out near the end of the season.

Ah well, a man can dream – instead we can look forward to two slightly under-strength teams fighting it out for third place in the league as the race for the play-offs begins to heat up. Expect some big hits, big plays, and hopefully some big scoring too, as Pro12 rugby returns to Ravenhill!