Concern is growing for Ulster after another meek defeat in the AAA-Bank12. A feeble 17-9 defeat left them empty handed from their trip to Glasgow, and leaves them 8th in the table, just 2 points ahead of Connacht and nine points behind the team in fourth place, which happens to be Glasgow.
It’s a worrying state of affairs for a team that finished third in what looked to be a breakthrough season last time around. Last year’s Ulster were characterised by the number of tight victories they squeezed out, many of them won late in the day by Ruan Pienaar; this year’s model look to have lost that ability. They are, admittedly, missing the ice-veined Suthifrikan, who is currently injured. Another being badly missed is Jared Payne, the outstanding Kiwi signed to play full-back, who is out for the season. Their troubles began in losing three in a row during the World Cup, amid a general sense that their much vaunted youngsters hadn’t quite grasped their opportunity, and they just haven’t got going at all yet.
The Glasgow match was the second week in a row that Ulster were in the game for the most part (the previous one being Leicester), before losing a try late in the day. This time it was due to poor alignment and organisation, with Trimble allowing a gap for David Lemi to breeze into. It’s also Ulster’s second week in a row without a try, and their attack is becoming an issue. For a team with a relatively heralded backline, their attaking play has been littered with errors; poor passes, dropped ball, and little or no cutting edge in the opposition’s 22.
Marshall is a good scrum half, albeit not in the Pienaar class, and with a tendency to box kick too often (well, he is an Irish scrum half, so what’s new?). iHumph will never be everyone’s cup of tea, but he is at least an inventive touch player. In the absence of Paddy Wallace (recovering from a broken finger), the centre combination of Spence and Cave is full of hard running, but it’s all a bit boshtastic – they miss the subtlety that Paddy brings to their game. Andy Trimble has plenty of gas and power outside them, but he’s spending his time trying to step through heavy traffic – someone needs to try and put him into some space.
A backline often lives and dies by the backrow in front of it – after all, you could have Ma’a Nonu and BOD in midfield, but if you can’t get them any quick ball, they would look ordinary. Casting a glance over Ulster’s loose trio, it does look as if this is where their problems lie. Ferris is outstanding, but all of Diack, Wannenberg, Henry or Falloon are in the ‘decent but not great’ category. More often than not, the Ulster backrow looks imbalanced, with three contact-magnets trying to bosh their way through midfield. They look better when Faloon, a good link man, plays well, but he needs to start performing with a bit more consistency.
The Heineken knock-outs look a step beyond Ulster this year (it probably requires them to beat Leicester 4-0 at home and get something from the trip to Clermont), and the Magners League playoffs look a long way off at the moment. Ospreys are showing no sign of letting up, Leinster and Munster will surely stay in the top four, Glasgow are going well and Scarlets look to be up and running with all their internationals back. It has all the hallmarks of being a(nother) disappointing season up north.
