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Dan McFarland to step down after almost six seasons in charge of Ulster
Ulster coach Dan McFarland is set to step down as Ulster coach after almost six seasons in charge. The news comes after Sunday’s last minute 19-17 defeat to Ospreys.
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Fans criticised the head coach’s post match response, in which he appeared to deflect blame towards the referee.
“Ultimately, the game came down to two instances, both where we were in control, one in their 22 where they got an intercept pass and the second one was at the end of the game where we were in total control and the refereeing decision called a scrum on the back of a maul,” he told Viaplay Sports.
“I have literally no idea what that was about. You see that every week. I’m going to ask and find out because ultimately those two instances decided the game in the Ospreys’ favour.”
🗣️ “I’m going to ask and find out, because ultimately those two instances decided the game in the Ospreys favour.”@UlsterRugby head coach Dan McFarland speaks on the game today and refereeing decisions against his team pic.twitter.com/mFzG5x5Kzn
— Viaplay Sports UK (@ViaplaySportsUK) February 18, 2024
Absolutely shameless 😂😂 To stand there whining about the ref after some of the calls that went their way. Embarrassing.
— The Great Cornholio. (@ClarkyDrums) February 18, 2024
As a Ulster rugby season ticket holder I’m embarrassed by this and by the way our great club is in such decline ATM
— Graham Rowe ?? (@UlsterPirate) February 18, 2024
The ospreys had 2 men sin binned and Ulster didn’t capilise…..deflecting blame off himself as a substandard head coach
— Andy Wilson (@Andywilson2904) February 18, 2024
I don’t like my coach blaming refs. That’s nonsense. At times, Ulster were a shambles.
— Bryan Gault (@gaultstats) February 18, 2024
According to the Irish Independent, McFarland was set to inform the Ulster squad of his departure on Wednesday morning.
His contract is set to run until 2025 but pressure has been on the coach of late after failing to progress to the Champions Cup playoffs and after a third defeat in five games.
Assistant coach Dan Soper is rumoured to step into the role for the time being.
McFarland has been in charge since 2018 and guided Ulster to the PRO 14 final in 2019/20 and the URC semi-finals in 2021/22.
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They are currently in eighth position on the URC table and host the Dragons next Saturday.
United Rugby Championship
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
Leinster
10
8
2
0
39
2
Glasgow
10
7
3
0
36
3
Bulls
10
7
3
0
35
4
Benetton
10
7
2
1
32
5
Edinburgh
10
7
3
0
30
6
Stormers
10
6
4
0
30
7
Ospreys
10
6
4
0
29
8
Ulster
10
6
4
0
29
9
Munster
10
5
4
1
29
10
Connacht
10
6
4
0
28
11
Lions
10
4
6
0
24
12
Cardiff Rugby
10
3
6
1
22
13
Zebre
10
1
8
1
13
14
Scarlets
10
2
8
0
12
15
Gwent Dragons
10
2
8
0
10
16
Sharks
10
1
9
0
10
Comments on RugbyPass
Probably the worst article on a rugby match I have ever read
198 Go to commentsWho hurt this man.. LoL 😭
198 Go to commentsIt unfortunate for the Jaguares that they became formidable just as super rugby as we knew came to an end. However, the idea of bringing them back is nonsensical. While I enjoyed the Jaguares and the South African flavour of the comp, a selling point of this incarnation of super rugby is that all games are on a decent time for an Aussie audience.
2 Go to commentslol that’s your opinion Ben, All Blacks benefited from a forward pass try, SA played 77 min without a recognised hooker, missed a no try conversion and a penalty could have would have but didn’t
198 Go to commentsBrett, from my distant perspective, I hope you get to keep the Rebels. Any ideas of teams from Japan or Argentina are just crazy. Won’t happen. If you look at logistics, it is much easier to get to LA from Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney than to Buenos Aires. All with direct non-stop daily flights. You may even get some “gringos” to watch the games, with some younger players compared to Giteau and Nonu who still “play” in the area. I think it is virtually impossible to get a competitive Argie team for SR. All Pumas are in Europe, almost all second tier players are also in Europe. Fringe players are in South American pro rugby tournament (and many still in the MLR!) but these players who might be most interested in joining a new Jaguares do not have the skills to compete. As I have been saying since the Jaguares joined, they should have had TWO teams to make logistics for visiting teams better and Argie player development improved as well. Jaguares/Pumas was not ideal. But this is where Pichot and his cronies did not think long enough. Further the country with he new president “No hay Plata” Milei is in a very difficult situation. Galperin, the richest man in Argentina owns the Miami franchise of MLR. I don’t think you can get him to invest in Argentina. Actually, he played rugby himself. He was a fly half. He is worth around $6 billion!
2 Go to commentsWell done Baby Boks we will take the Draw. No 9 senseless long passes in those conditions. let’s move on and hope for some good weather
4 Go to commentsHow did it end a draw. South Africa didn’t score any points as far as I can see
4 Go to commentsNo doubt this will be a fantastic occasion and I plan to be there, but I think the bean counters have won out over the rugby brains. In my opinion, it is foolhardy to give the Black Ferns the experience of playing in front of 60,000+ at Twickenham a year before they might be playing there in a World Cup Final. Better to play France at Twickenham and Black Ferns at Kingsholm. The difference in takings would be miniscule.
1 Go to commentsDom kant
198 Go to commentsBen is a little incel desperately trying to stir the pot and stay relevant. We used to get mad at his articles. Now we just feel sorry for him
198 Go to commentsPerhaps we may need to put an asterisk on NZ’s ‘87 WC win since the Boks weren’t there. You know, just as a reminder. Poor Ben Smith. Go cry somewhere else.
198 Go to commentsNz should have won. I didn't watch the game, but the ref was at fault and the bounce of the ball and the Bokke used the Bomb squad and the Bokke slow the game down and the Bokke scrum. They should remove the scrum. The Bokke are to strong. Not fair. Nz should have won
4 Go to commentsThanks for a much more balanced piece Ned and not that BS that Bin Smuth just posted a short while ago. read this article and then Bin Smuth’s and tell me there isn’t a huge difference🙄
4 Go to commentsWere the Baby Boks part of this game or did the Baby Blacks play themselves?🤔 That man Bin Smuth once again does a little write-up on the game and it is like 95% about the Baby Blacks🤣 Glad he ends off with the Baby Blacks were actually in cruise control for most of the game and weren’t actually playing for the win WTF🤣🤣 Maybe he was expecting the Baby Blacks to run rampant….
4 Go to commentsOne does not expect anything more from Ben Smith who epitomises the worst of New Zealand media arrogance and an inability to balance what he has to say about any team that beats the All Blacks. His reference to context is pathetically thin. He does not comment that Frizell deserved a red card given his blatant manipulation of his body to ensure that he could drop his body weight onto Mbonambi’s lower leg. No mention of the ball lost forward before the All Black’s try (lost in-field of the 5 metre line and gathered beyond). The All Black commitment and effort was superb and there was little in it. Given the Springbok passage to the final and the loss of their hooker in the first three minutes, their resolve and capacity to win their fourth final out of eight attempts (not three out of ten) deserves the praise that has been forthcoming from media around the world, worth reading and listening to. Ben should join his “pundit” friends on TV - he would fit in well. This sort of article reduces any credibility Rugby Pass has ever had. Why persist with this sort of nonsense? The man does his country and a rugby blog a disservice.
198 Go to commentsEtzebeth went on to say: “I would never dream of saying that systems stay in place following a change in captain. To say that would be deeply, deeply, disrespectful of Siya. A while back an Irish person told me they would be fine without Sexton, so I’m just responding to that.”
3 Go to commentsClose games are what we want to see…. What a match it was…. I am sure that everyone was drained by the end of it. The reality of it all there has to be a winner and a loser. The fact that we still talking about it is almost 6 months to the day Rugby is the winner.. Asante sana… Here is to 2027 and what it will bring out.
198 Go to commentsIt’s going to be a good game. COYQ
1 Go to comments“Shock”, the guy was casually saying he was just slightly surprised. Nowadays if you say anything it gets taken completely out of context. Calm down everyone.
156 Go to commentsAll I can say after reading this bitter, sour, sad piece is… Thank you very much! This will be read in the change room just before kick off on 31 August…
198 Go to comments