URC Season 2024/2025 Official Thread

[Slick]

Refs definitely not using the TMO so much, which is great!

[fishfoodie]

Well done Ulster !

They've have lost this match the last few years, as they were soft as puppy shite, but they showed some grit tonight, despite being 2nd best most of the game.

[Slick]

Well done Ulster !

They've have lost this match the last few years, as they were soft as puppy shite, but they showed some grit tonight, despite being 2nd best most of the game.

Very odd game, but well done Ulster

[fishfoodie]

Well done Ulster !

They've have lost this match the last few years, as they were soft as puppy shite, but they showed some grit tonight, despite being 2nd best most of the game.

Very odd game, but well done Ulster

Aye, it was very disjointed, but what can you expect from the first game back ?

[Slick]

Well done Ulster !

They've have lost this match the last few years, as they were soft as puppy shite, but they showed some grit tonight, despite being 2nd best most of the game.

Very odd game, but well done Ulster

Aye, it was very disjointed, but what can you expect from the first game back ?

Glasgow looked like they had picked up from last season but just did nothing. Ulster hung in there even though it definitely looked like a first game for them, pretty encouraging I’d say particularly with a few decent players to come back. Sounds like the next couple of weeks are going to be a nightmare but tonight should give them some confidence that it can be a decent season

[fishfoodie]

Very odd game, but well done Ulster

Aye, it was very disjointed, but what can you expect from the first game back ?

Glasgow looked like they had picked up from last season but just did nothing. Ulster hung in there even though it definitely looked like a first game for them, pretty encouraging I’d say particularly with a few decent players to come back. Sounds like the next couple of weeks are going to be a nightmare but tonight should give them some confidence that it can be a decent season

The commentators were overplaying the impact of the development tour to SA.

Leinster won for years with them limiting the minutes their 1st choice players played, & that just showed how deep the provinces squads needed to be to survive the 6Ns & the IRFU mandated rest periods for the Internationals.

It's only a problem if you choose to think of it that way !

[OomStruisbaai]

R2 – Friday, September 27

Glasgow Warriors v Benetton | 19:35 IRE & UK / 20:35 ITA & SA | Premier Sports, Sky Italia, SuperSport

Leinster v Dragons RFC | 19:35 IRE & UK / 20:35 ITA & SA | TG4, BBC Wales, Premier Sports, SuperSport

Saturday, September 28

Emirates Lions v Ulster | 12:45 IRE & UK / 13:45 ITA & SA | SuperSport, Premier Sports

Vodacom Bulls v Edinburgh Rugby | 15:00 IRE & UK / 16:00 ITA & SA | SuperSport, Premier Sports

Zebre Parma v Munster | 15:00 IRE & UK / 16:00 ITA & SA | Sky Italia, RTÉ, Premier Sports, SuperSport

Scarlets v Cardiff Rugby | 17:15 IRE & UK / 18:15 ITA & SA | Premier Sports, SuperSport

Connacht v Hollywoodbets Sharks | 19:35 IRE & UK / 20:35 ITA & SA | TG4, Premier Sports, SuperSport

Ospreys v DHL Stormers | 19:35 IRE & UK / 20:35 ITA & SA | S4C, Premier Sports, SuperSport

[OomStruisbaai]

Not sure about the times. Bulls vs Embra 15h00 SA time. Boks vs Pumas at 17h00.

Stormers and Sharks at 20h35

Lions vs Ulster 12h45.

[fishfoodie]

So on the basis of sitting thru a half hour or so of two Premiership matches this weekend, I'm not surprised that the league is looking for a lifeboat

I know I was unlucky that I saw the Exeter & Sale games, but those were the one's the broadcaster picked, & they weren't a patch on the URC games for entertainment value !

The whole, "relegation" argument disappeared years ago, but the games continue to be slogfests.

[OomStruisbaai]

DHL Stormers touring squad: Adre Smith, Andre-Hugo Venter, Angelo Davids, Brok Harris, Damian Willemse, Dan du Plessis, Dave Ewers, Dewaldt Duvenage, Hendre Stassen, JD Schickerling, Jean-Luc du Plessis, JJ Kotze, Joseph Dweba, Jurie Matthee, Keke Morabe, Leolin Zas, Leon Lyons, Louw Nel, Marcel Theunissen, Neethling Fouche, Paul de Wet, Ruben van Heerden, Ruhan Nel, Sazi Sandi, Stefan Ungerer, Sti Sithole, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Wandisile Simelane, Warrick Gelant.

[OomStruisbaai]

https://x.com/URCOfficial/status/1838873658674045010

[fishfoodie]

Hooker John Andrew says that the retirement of his fellow Ulster front rower Marty Moore will be "a big miss" for the Irish province.

It was revealed on Monday that tight-head prop Moore was calling time on his professional rugby career "to prioritise his mental wellbeing".

The 33-year-old played 94 times for Ulster after joining the United Rugby Championship side in 2018.

Prior to moving to Belfast, Moore came through the ranks at Leinster and spent two seasons in England with Wasps.

He won 10 Ireland caps and helped Joe Schmidt's side to Six Nations titles in 2014 and 2015.

"Marty was a great lad. All of us in the squad wish him the best in what he steps into next," said Andrew at Ulster's weekly news conference.

"He's going to leave a big hole in the squad as a person, we all really loved Marty.

"It's not nice seeing someone have to retire but he has made the right decision for himself and I really hope he is all right going forward."

Pie producers in NI are the ones I feel sorry for !

[Sards]

Sharks new kit

Sharks new kit.

[Uncle fester]

Hooker John Andrew says that the retirement of his fellow Ulster front rower Marty Moore will be "a big miss" for the Irish province.

It was revealed on Monday that tight-head prop Moore was calling time on his professional rugby career "to prioritise his mental wellbeing".

The 33-year-old played 94 times for Ulster after joining the United Rugby Championship side in 2018.

Prior to moving to Belfast, Moore came through the ranks at Leinster and spent two seasons in England with Wasps.

He won 10 Ireland caps and helped Joe Schmidt's side to Six Nations titles in 2014 and 2015.

"Marty was a great lad. All of us in the squad wish him the best in what he steps into next," said Andrew at Ulster's weekly news conference.

"He's going to leave a big hole in the squad as a person, we all really loved Marty.

"It's not nice seeing someone have to retire but he has made the right decision for himself and I really hope he is all right going forward."

Pie producers in NI are the ones I feel sorry for !

Feel a bit uneasy mocking him due to the stated reason for retirement.

[fishfoodie]

Hooker John Andrew says that the retirement of his fellow Ulster front rower Marty Moore will be "a big miss" for the Irish province.

It was revealed on Monday that tight-head prop Moore was calling time on his professional rugby career "to prioritise his mental wellbeing".

The 33-year-old played 94 times for Ulster after joining the United Rugby Championship side in 2018.

Prior to moving to Belfast, Moore came through the ranks at Leinster and spent two seasons in England with Wasps.

He won 10 Ireland caps and helped Joe Schmidt's side to Six Nations titles in 2014 and 2015.

"Marty was a great lad. All of us in the squad wish him the best in what he steps into next," said Andrew at Ulster's weekly news conference.

"He's going to leave a big hole in the squad as a person, we all really loved Marty.

"It's not nice seeing someone have to retire but he has made the right decision for himself and I really hope he is all right going forward."

Pie producers in NI are the ones I feel sorry for !

Feel a bit uneasy mocking him due to the stated reason for retirement.

I'd hope he'd know it's just banter, from a short-arse to a forward but I understand where you're coming from.

I'd say for the Pro's the mental health stress is down to injuries, more than conditioning or anything else, it seems to be what crops up repeatedly in the biographies later.

Regardless, I hope he takes some time for himself & his loved ones, & looks forward to a happy future !

[OomStruisbaai]

Two SA vs Irish battles to kick off plus Embra in town. Going to be a big kick off.

[Sards]

Sharks team for the weekend

[OomStruisbaai]

Sharks team for the weekend

Team look solid and in form. Hope they klap Connacht.

[OomStruisbaai]

Bulle vs Embra
Bulls: 15 David Kriel, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Barend Smit, 11 Sebastian de Klerk, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Jannes Kirsten, 6 Nama Xaba, 5 Cobus Wiese, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Armand van der Merwe (captain), 1 Alulutho Tshakweni.
Replacements: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Francois Kloppers, 19 JF van Heerden, 20 Marcel Coetzee, 21 Keegan Johannes, 22 Boeta Chamberlain, 23 Aphiwe Dyantyi.

Date: Saturday, September 28
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 15.00 (14.00 Ireland & UK; 13.00 GMT)
Referee: Ben Breakspear (Wales)
Assistant referees: Griffon Colby (South African), Dylan November (South African)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

[OomStruisbaai]

Akker vs Duhan.

[OomStruisbaai]

Ospreys
15. Jack Walsh 14. Luke Morgan 13. Owen Watkin 12. Keiran Williams 11. Ryan Conbeer 10. Dan Edwards 9. Reuben Morgan-Williams (100th Appearance) 1. Gareth Thomas 2. Dewi Lake 3. Tom Botha 4. James Ratti 5. Adam Beard 6. Jac Morgan © 7. Justin Tipuric 8. Morgan Morris

Replacements:
16. Ethan Lewis 17. Garyn Phillips 18. Ben Warren 19. Huw Sutton 20. Harri Deaves 21. Luke Davies 22. Phil Cokanasiga 23. Max Nagy



Date: Saturday, September 28
Venue: Brewery Field, Bridgend
Kick-off: 19.35 (20.35 SAST; 18.35 GMT)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Rhys Jones (Wales), Ben Connor (Wales)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)

[OomStruisbaai]

Ospreys the big favorate

Head Coach, Toby Booth, said: “The Stormers are a big, physical team that play a slightly different game to the other South African teams. They play positive, have good athletes and will try to stretch you by keeping the game quick.

It’s going to be a defensive challenge for us, which is similar to what we had out there (in the away fixture last season). The good thing is that we’ve experienced it and came away with a win in that type of game, so we’ll be looking to do that again.”

[LoveOfTheGame]

Ospreys
15. Jack Walsh 14. Luke Morgan 13. Owen Watkin 12. Keiran Williams 11. Ryan Conbeer 10. Dan Edwards 9. Reuben Morgan-Williams (100th Appearance) 1. Gareth Thomas 2. Dewi Lake 3. Tom Botha 4. James Ratti 5. Adam Beard 6. Jac Morgan © 7. Justin Tipuric 8. Morgan Morris

Replacements:
16. Ethan Lewis 17. Garyn Phillips 18. Ben Warren 19. Huw Sutton 20. Harri Deaves 21. Luke Davies 22. Phil Cokanasiga 23. Max Nagy



Date: Saturday, September 28
Venue: Brewery Field, Bridgend
Kick-off: 19.35 (20.35 SAST; 18.35 GMT)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Rhys Jones (Wales), Ben Connor (Wales)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)

BJD straight back in action, wonder how many minutes he'll play when he comes on.

[Sandstorm]

Willemse's finger seems to have healed nicely.

[OomStruisbaai]

Willemse's finger seems to have healed nicely.

He show Sards to shut up.

[fishfoodie]

CONNACHT RUGBY MATCHDAY 23 VS HOLLYWOODBETS SHARKS
19:35, Saturday 28th September 2024 @ Dexcom Stadium

Number/Name/Caps (* denotes uncapped)

15. Santiago Cordero (3)
14. Mack Hansen (33)
13. Piers O’Conor (1)
12. Cathal Forde (32)
11. Shane Jennings (14)
10. Josh Ioane (1)
9. Ben Murphy (1)

1. Denis Buckley (249)
2. Dave Heffernan (201)
3. Finlay Bealham (204)
4. Niall Murray (75)
5. David O’Connor *
6. Josh Murphy (19)
7. Conor Oliver (86)
8. Cian Prendergast (69) (C)


16. Dylan Tierney-Martin (37)
17. Peter Dooley (38)
18. Sam Illo (23)
19. Oisín Dowling (60)
20. Shamus Hurley-Langton (41)
21. Caolin Blade (193)
22. David Hawkshaw (31)
23. Paul Boyle (93)

[Slick]

Willemse's finger seems to have healed nicely.

They can’t even be decent sportsmen in promo photos. Shame on SA rugby. Again

[_Os_]

Picked the Leinster v Dragons match because the Sharks play the Dragons in the next round.

Dragons look similar to last season, solid defence that takes some effort to break down. Commentators say they have a Wales test side conditioning coach and they're fitter than last season, still leaked a bucket of points in the final quarter. Still the same big failing with them, they don't throw any punches just very little offered in attack. By the end of the match there's some big score and it doesn't really feel like it fully represents the match you just watched. The style they're playing is just really not suited to this comp, attacking intent in the forwards and backs is an absolute requirement, even basic offloading and support runners would be a step up on what they're doing. Looking up their coaching team, they have a forwards and defence coach, but only a backs coach and no attack coach (and the backs coach was a player/coach last season), they look uncoached on attack because that's what they are. Still, they have a solid defence for 3/4s of the match, may be enough at home in Newport with some cold rain at night.

[fishfoodie]

Picked the Leinster v Dragons match because the Sharks play the Dragons in the next round.

Dragons look similar to last season, solid defence that takes some effort to break down. Commentators say they have a Wales test side conditioning coach and they're fitter than last season, still leaked a bucket of points in the final quarter. Still the same big failing with them, they don't throw any punches just very little offered in attack. By the end of the match there's some big score and it doesn't really feel like it fully represents the match you just watched. The style they're playing is just really not suited to this comp, attacking intent in the forwards and backs is an absolute requirement, even basic offloading and support runners would be a step up on what they're doing. Looking up their coaching team, they have a forwards and defence coach, but only a backs coach and no attack coach (and the backs coach was a player/coach last season), they look uncoached on attack because that's what they are. Still, they have a solid defence for 3/4s of the match, may be enough at home in Newport with some cold rain at night.

Leinster have that knack, like the great NZ sides did; of having a purple patch of 10-15mins, & getting the scores that put them into a position where they can then just control the game.

[Sards]

Very little enthusiasm for the first 2 rounds. Is the tournament starting to lose the interest of the public

[OomStruisbaai]

Willemse's finger seems to have healed nicely.

They can’t even be decent sportsmen in promo photos. Shame on SA rugby. Again

You are a well known troller. Nibble, nibble, got me

You should compare the Stormers attendance to any of your Scottish teams to see what's promo and rugby culture about.

[Slick]

Willemse's finger seems to have healed nicely.

They can’t even be decent sportsmen in promo photos. Shame on SA rugby. Again

You are a well known troller. Nibble, nibble, got me

You should compare the Stormers attendance to any of your Scottish teams to see what's promo and rugby culture about.

How dare you speak about the champions like that.

Shhhhhh

[OomStruisbaai]

Busy rugby Saturday lining up. Sadly the Stormers and Sharks play at the same time.

[Sards]

Busy rugby Saturday lining up. Sadly the Stormers and Sharks play at the same time.

I have a school reunion tonight at 6. Half way through the Springboks match. Only women find High school reunions important

[OomStruisbaai]

Busy rugby Saturday lining up. Sadly the Stormers and Sharks play at the same time.

I have a school reunion tonight at 6. Half way through the Springboks match. Only women find High school reunions important

You need to put your foot down Sards.

[Sards]

Kade is so shite.....4 costly mistakes already.

[Sards]

Busy rugby Saturday lining up. Sadly the Stormers and Sharks play at the same time.

I have a school reunion tonight at 6. Half way through the Springboks match. Only women find High school reunions important

You need to put your foot down Sards.

I am going away for a fishing weekend next weekend. It's a small sacrifice

[Sards]

Werner is wasted at Ulster. Just give him the ball.

Although I want Lions to win

[bok_viking]

Lions backs cannot handle the ball today. Butchered a few opportunities already

[Sards]

Lions backs cannot handle the ball today. Butchered a few opportunities already

Should have been at least 14 points more to the good