Another
great away trip, another defeat! Cardiff is definitely
one of the great away venues and one which all proponents
of the Maze stadium should undertake to find out exactly
why a "National Stadium" should be sited in a
city and not in fields in the back of beyond. Easy access,
great facilities, good accommodation and a cracking nightlife
being the main points.
The downside of the trip
was the first half performance where Ulster struggled to
find any consistency in attack and defence. The second half
was an improvement and once Ulster started to pressure The
Blues they started to get some rewards but unfortunately
it was too little too late.
No pictures of Big Carlo but surely Dewi is worthy
of a Man of the Match award after getting his picture
with these gorgeous ladies from Cardiff.
The practice of blooding younger players
on away trips was again a mixed bag with both O'Connor and
Marshall struggling with their positional kicking in the
first half and McCrea had a torrid time at full back early
on. There is no denying that this experiment for away games
does have positive benefits in giving the young players
experience but, with Connacht winning away to the Dragons,
the fact that Ulster have picked up nothing at all on the
last three away trips may come back to haunt us. However
one home win out of three should be enough to see us home
to European Cup Rugby next year.
It's difficult to pick
a man of the match on away trips like this with lots of
singing and chanting (and drinking) trying to make yourself
heard above the home support and large parts of the game
pass you by. However this weeks FRU
Man of the Match goes to Carlo
del Fava who has really stepped up a gear since his
return from international duty.
Obviously shocked by the
size of Cardiff's Tito.
After
the game the hospitality in the Cardiff clubhouse was excellent, once
again, with good banter and a few songs. As it was Cardiff's
last home game there was a presentation to some of the players
who mixed freely with the supporters from both teams.
A great time was
had by one and all and after things died down in the clubhouse
it was a short stroll across the road to the centre of Cardiff
and all the bars and restaurants you could wish for.
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The FRU Auctions.
Following
on from the hugely successfulUlster
Rugby Auctions, The FRU have decided to
hold an auction of our own. For the paltry sum of £500 you
can now bid for a Match Day Extravaganza with The FRU.
Should you be stupid lucky enough to bid the £500
you will be able to : -
Pick us up from Larne and drive us
to Belfast.
Take us to a pub and buy us food
and drink.
Accompany us to Ravenhill and stand
in our company for part of the match.
Shuttle back and forth between the
Promenade and the Scoop Bar bringing us more drink.
Take photos of us and your girlfriend.
You'll get a signed photo to keep.
Write the match report and have it
published in the FRU.
Take us to a club in Belfast where
we'll meet up with your girlfriend's mates and have
more pictures taken.
Take us back to Larne.
All in all a great day out that you will
never forget. Hurry now and place your bid. Only three
places left.
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Rugby
on TV
Friday 25th April
19:30 Dragons v Ospreys Magners League S4C (from 19:25)
19:30 TBC Top 14 British Eurosport 2 (19:30-21:15)
20:00 Worcester v Newcastle Challenge Cup Semi-final Sky
Sports 2 (from 20:00)
Saturday 26th April
08:30 Chiefs v Reds Super 14 Sky Sports 2 (08:30-10:30)
10:30 Waratahs v Sharks Super 14 Sky Sports 2 (10:30-12:30)
12:30 Bath v Sale Challenge Cup Semi-final Sky Sports
2 (12:30-14:30) Sky Sports HD2 (12:30-14:30)
14:30 London Irish v Toulouse Heineken Cup Semi-final
Sky Sports 2 (14:30-17:00) Sky Sports HD2 (14:30-17:00)
Sunday 27th April
14:30 Saracens v Munster Heineken Cup Semi-final Sky Sports
2 (14:30-17:00) Sky Sports HD2 (14:30-17:00)
Wednesday 30th April
19:30 Ulster v Munster Magners League Setanta Sports 2
(19:00-21:30) Setanta Ireland (19:00-21:30)
Friday 2nd May
18:00 Cheetahs v Highlanders Super 14 Sky Sports 2 (18:00-20:00)
19:10 Ospreys v Edinburgh Magners League Setanta Sports
2 (18:55-21:15) Setanta Ireland (18:55-21:15)
19:30 TBC Top 14 British Eurosport 2 (19:30-21:15)
Saturday 3rd May
08:30 Hurricanes v Lions Super 14 Sky Sports 2 (08:30-10:30)
10:30 Reds v Blues Super 14 Sky Sports 2 (10:30-12:30)
14:00 Bulls v Waratahs Super 14 Sky Sports Xtra (14:00-16:00)
16:00 Stormers v Brumbies Super 14 Sky Sports Xtra (16:00-18:00)
18:00 Bath v Saracens Guinness Premiership Sky Sports
1 (17:55-20:25) Sky Sports HD1 (17:55-20:25)
18:00 Leinster v Dragons Magners League Setanta Ireland
(17:30-20:15)