Ulster 19 – 7 Newcastle Falcons

 Ulster
Aug 222009
 

ulster120 Ulster ran out deserved winners in this pre-match friendly against a decidedly average Newcastle Falcons side.

Initially, it looked as though it was going to be a difficult night for Ulster as the Falcons were the first team to find their rhythm and they looked a lot sharper with the ball in hand.

It was no surprise then when the Falcons went into a 0 – 7 lead with a try by No. 7 Brent Wilson converted by Gopperth. Ulster were struggling to time their moves with players overrunning Humphreys or simply not being where they should. This resulted in the ball not going to hand or in some cases being popped into space with no one there. It didn’t look good for Humphreys!

However, as promised by the management team, Ulster concentrated on the basics and the pack kept Ulster in the match with good play in the set piece and through their continual harrying of Newcastle whenever they had the ball.

Eventually a few plays started to go to hand and Ulster started to turn the tide. There were still plenty of miss timed moves but they did manage to drag themselves up field a couple of times for Schifcoske to keep the scoreboard ticking over with a surprisingly accurate boot!

With Ulster’s pack starting to get the upper hand Ulster went into the half time break full of confidence but still trailing 6 – 7.

Ulster started the second half well and quickly went into the lead with another Schifcofske penalty and when the impressive and hard working Tuohy broke form midfield to score on his debut it was beginning to look as though a trouncing was on the cards for the Falcons.

However, the Falcons regrouped and with a couple of breaks they put the pressure on the Ulster line. Ulster defended well and, with the young back row hassling and harrying Newcastle at every opportunity, they forced their opponents backwards at a rate of knots.

Humphreys began to dominate the midfield and after some delightful play he sent Cave through for a well deserved try for the hard working midfielder. Match over.

Newcastle kept plugging away but Ulster’s superior fitness and commitment enabled them to hold on for a comfortable win 19 – 7.

On a final note. Humphreys was Ulster’s top tackler. How times change!

The Headmasters Report.

15. Bryn Cunningham Rock solid under high ball. Showed some decent breaks.
B
14. Clinton Schifcofske Recovered kicking form. Solid but quiet.
C
13. Darren Cave Excellent in attack and defence though out of position a few times. He found it for his try. B
12. Ian Whitten Struggled in the first half but recovered with some good runs. C-
11. Simon Danielli Good with ball in hand but a few fumbles after good breaks. B
10. Ian Humphreys Mixed bag, struggled with timing but put in some great tackles. C
9. Isaac Boss Good all round display. Huge in defence.  A captain’s performance. Moved to the wing towards the end. A-
1. Bryan Young Recovering his form from a few years ago. Covered lot of ground. B+
2. Andy Kyriacou Promising start. Looked solid and hardworking.
C+
3. BJ Botha Looked to be taking on more responsibility round the pitch. Certainly more aggressive. B+
4. Dan Tuohy Promising. Hard working and aggressive. Took his try well.  B
5. Ryan Caldwell Concentrated on his own game and put in one of his better performances. Needs to sort out his hands. B
6. Chris Henry Worked well in a nicely balanced back row. Huge workload with his incessant running. B+
7. Willie Faloon Again huge workload but needs to look for more turnovers. Ulster C+
8. Robbie Diack Took on a lot of responsibility in a young back row. One of his better performances. B+
16. Nigel Brady Could be his breakthrough year. A very solid performance when he came of in the second half. B+
17. Declan Fitzpatrick Good to see him standing up and bitch slapping with Botha and Brady towards the end. C
18. Neil McComb Didn’t come on.
-
19. TJ Anderson Played well when he came on. His replacement of Henry was seamless. B+
10. Paul Marshall Quick and always looking for breaks. Put in some big hits but needs to calm down a bit. B-
11. Niall O’Connor Didn’t come on.
12. Nevin Spence Looked ok on his limited appearance.
C
13. Timoci Nagusa. Looked keen when he came on for injured Cave. Didn’t have much time to feature. C

Overall Grade.

C+  Some good individual displays but need to work on the timing of their moves.

As it happened.

  • All over. Good performance against an average side. 
  • Cave off injured. Jim on.
  • Fitness is certainly telling. Ulster are running them down all over the pitch.
  • 5 mins to go. Ulster well on top.
  • Ulster working hard.
  • Another try. Cave crosses. 19 – 7 should be game.
  • Ulster defend well and drive thirty yards up field. Subs now coming on.
  • Newcastle fighting back.
  • Try by Tuohy. Clint misses. 14 – 7
  • Ulster playing well. Another pen. Clint kicks. 9 – 7
  • No subs as yet.
  • And their back out. Ulster kick off.
  • Half time. Ulster finished strongly.
  • Another pen to Ulster. Clint kicks. 6 – 7.
  • 5 mins to half time.
  • Good play. Pen to Ulster. Clint kicks. 3 – 7.
  • Ulster ok in set pieces but scrappy with the ball.
  • Try for Falcons no. 7. Conversion good. 0 – 7.
  • Great break by Humph but ball knocked on.
  • Ulster on back foot but defending well.
  • Cave turns ball over. Ulster clear.
  • Falcons line out in Ulster 22. Now 5 yard scrum.
  • Ulster attacking. Pitch looks great. Vocal Falcons fans led by Mars bar!
  • Teams are out, stand up!

Match Highlights

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