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'The bookies are basically saying we have no chance'
The bookies may be suggesting this Saturday’s Guinness PRO14 final is already a foregone conclusion, but Ulster coach Dan McFarland is giving his team a puncher’s chance of causing an upset and winning the league for the first time since 2006.
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Defending champions Leinster, who are chasing a hat-trick of titles, head into the PRO14 showpiece on the back of a 24-match unbeaten run that stretches all the way back to May 2019 when they were beaten in the Champions Cup final by Saracens.
They bounced back from that loss in Newcastle to win their two PRO14 play-off games last season to lift the title in Glasgow and have since gone through the 2019/20 league and cup with a 100 per cent record in their 22 outings.
Leinster are now heavily fancied to seal the league deal at Aviva Stadium before they welcome Saracens to the same ground the following weekend for a Champions Cup quarter-final.
However, Ulster also have a last-eight European game on the horizon in Toulouse and they hope to be going to France having bridged their 14-year trophy gap. “They look unbeatable, they are unbeatable,” said McFarland about Leinster.
A message to you, our supporters ?? pic.twitter.com/LJW7CquEHd
— Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) September 8, 2020
“Can they be beaten? What else am I going to say? I want to use the phrase we have a puncher’s chance, but what have the bookies got us at? Minus 10 at the moment? That is a two-score deficit in a final. They’re basically saying we have no chance.
“But yeah, they obviously can be beaten. Saracens beat them last year in a final. We have to go out and have a physical intensity that can at least match them. We have to have a game plan that firstly has a way of getting into them, but also that we can execute.
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“We are going to need big plays. We’re going to need some of our big players to make big plays, and we are going to need to be precise. If we can get those things right we have a chance and if they don’t get those things right it will obviously help us. I’m not planning for them to make any mistakes,” said McFarland, who is nearing the end of his second season in charge at Ulster.
Amid speculation that Leinster skipper Johnny Sexton might be held in reserve with a view to having his fitness shipshape to face Saracens in Europe, McFarland isn’t hung up about Ulster’s near decade and a half trophy drought, a statistic which exists due to Leinster defeating them in respective 2012 and 2013 European and league finals.
“To say we haven’t won this for this long and we haven’t done this for that long, you can say that about a lot of teams. In our competition, it is most teams because Leinster keep keeping it for themselves. Ulster have been a very good team for a long period. They have been regulars in play-off games. There is only one team that can win the trophy, but we are down to the last two so we have a chance.”
"He is what a lot of psychologists would describe as 'social blue'" ??
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 8, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to comments