As we predicted earlier in the week Ulster’s youngsters put in a gritty and determined performance to claim the spoils against an aging Ospreys side.
With a crowd of 40+ roaring them on in the Rosie Ulster returned to their pre-season form and got stuck in at the breakdown, played this game on the front foot and dominated the contact areas, all in sharp contrast to last weeks dismal performance against the Dragons.
With the young back row overshadowing their much vaunted opponents, Ulster’s talented halfbacks, Boss and Humphreys, were given that crucial half second advantage to control the game and Humphreys, in particular, flourished with that extra half yard of space to produce a delightful mix of running play and positional kicking.
Given space and time Ulster’s talented backs are always going to cause problems, but where this game differed from last week’s performance was in the pack. Last time out they were overwhelmed by the Dragons but this week they took it to the Ospreys big style, competing ferociously for every ball and covering every inch of the pitch.
The front five were abrasive in attack and defence with Tuohy and O’Donoghue forming a power packed partnership in the second row and with Botha upping his game at scrum time the front row sapped the energy out of their opponents at every opportunity. This allowed the back row to pressurise and disrupt extremely effectively.
At the end of the day it was Ulster’s defence that won it. With, the usually competent, Alan Lewis giving an extraordinary amount of decisions to the Ospreys, Ulster found themselves under an unwarranted amount of pressure. However, with Faloon, Diack, Henry, Cave and Boss all deserving Man of the Match nominations for their defensive displays Ulster held on reasonably comfortably to secure this much needed win.
On the downside, Ulster drastically need to improve their place kicking as too many points went wide and new boy Tamaiti Horua is going to need a few more games under his belt to get up to speed.
We at The FRU are never ones to get over excited when Ulster win but unlike the, so called, rugby pundits in the local press we were the only ones to predict an this result. In order to celebrate Ulster’s return to form on their path to world domination we have produced a commemorative tee shirt showing our greatest prediction to date which can be purchased now for the knock down price of £79.99. The FRU will donate £0.99 for every tee shirt purchased to the “Kimble for CEO” fighting fund. Order now for delivery in 2012 © Kukri.
VOTE FOR THE ULSTER MAN OF THE MATCH HERE
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8 Responses to “Ospreys 16 Ulster 20”
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Dear Steamed Editor
Please get out of yer scratcher and do your work. Some folk from far away need to know what happened
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thank you Dewi….sorry i wasn’t at Swansea or the Rosie last night! Always had faith in our boys.
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Come Dewi waken up with the embedded video, some better stuff online from last night.
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The only difference in the pack this week was the absence of Caldwell.
No need to say anything else.
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I have to say Nagusa played well I don’t always rate him but fair play to him against the O’s. Just hope we can get that ball out to Danielli more often as he is a lot more powerful in his run than Timmy – nice little hand off to Collins just before his try !!
13th time LUCKY for me in my travels to Wales
COMMMMMEEEEE ON ULSSSTERRRRRRRRRRR
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Not a big fan of Timmy last year either Surrey, but credit where credit is due he has worked hard on his less strong areas and we are seeing a definite improvement. It’s all you can ask really.
PS Your comments are pre-approved but I see you put too much ham in hershampride so that’s why this one was delayed in getting up.
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Dewi – I must admit, when I read the above article shamelessly lauding your own foresight and that you previously predicted an Ulster win, I thought you were indulging in a bit of David Irvingesque rewriting of history (what Holocaust?) or the medication needed an increase. However, on checking your previous pre match spiel, I have to ”wash my mouth out” for having such ungracious thoughts and questioning your wisdom !!
Bigger question tho’- were you confident enough to back you judgement with a punt at the Bookies?
THP
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Now Tighty (pleased to see you’ve reverted to your full name!)
I’ve always thought I should put a pound on a yankee each week for the most popular predictions but as I’m usually away at a game on the Friday and have imbibed too much I never remember to. I did however put my usual £10 on a Manchester United and Ulster European Cup winning double and a further £10 on a Manchester United and Ulster league double.
There will be some party in The FRU offices if those two ever come in!
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