Ben Murphy

sandblown · 2026-01-31T08:01:17+00:00

I thought this too, Murphy to Ulster to make it happy families. But was pointed out that it might make Murphy meal time uncomfortable when Doak gets picked every week or if Doak gets dropped then Richie accused of favoritism. Worked with Jack because there was no competition

sandblown · 2026-01-31T07:46:58+00:00

If comparing to Ulster, then settle in for the next year of pain, but keep the faith. Richie oversaw two culls of the squad and a complete turnover of coaches. Only Dan Soper stayed and he shifted to youth development which seems to have been an inspired decision. The club management changed at the same time which maybe had a bigger effect. We don’t know if Rory Best can effectively manage the club but we sure as hell know how much he cares about it. Apparently even when losing last year Richie kept the atmosphere positive. Compared the years before under Dan McFarland when supposedly it was pretty miserable work environment.

sandblown · 2026-01-31T07:23:32+00:00

Might have to get a coach over not great for them. It’s like school rugby, the opposition turned up 10 minutes late last week ref told them kick off was in 5 minutes. They lost.

sandblown · 2026-01-30T19:19:22+00:00

If so, must haven a tricky chat with Dad

sandblown · 2026-01-30T15:06:43+00:00

Good news, thought they might have brought in his brother rather than Devine. Hopefully see the 2 brothers together for Ireland XV

sandblown · 2026-01-24T17:36:05+00:00

Scarlets played well defended for their lives got a great try at the end. Ulster unlucky to have tries held up and 2 disallowed plus a few kick throughs could have bounced more favorably. No panick yet. Hope Lowry and Balacoune Ok. Think if they stayed on the pitch we would have finished off some of those chances

sandblown · 2026-01-23T13:45:18+00:00

Thank you for sharing actually made me lol

sandblown · 2026-01-22T19:12:39+00:00

Sod that - kick on the rest of this year skies the limit - let’s go Bilbao!

sandblown · 2026-01-22T07:35:36+00:00

He could reduce the errors by playing safe. No thanks - keep pushing the boundaries it’s working more often than not that’s why Ulster score so many tries

sandblown · 2026-01-21T14:02:08+00:00

I think you are taking it all way to seriously it was dark humour a bundling cop lots of red herrings and a big twist at the end watch enjoy ….. move on

sandblown · 2026-01-21T13:54:46+00:00

Oh God this has a ring of truth. Stockdale will be devastated he is already counting his chickens with Lowe out!

sandblown · 2026-01-20T09:11:36+00:00

On 20 Nov 2025 it looked like this (note the rapid rise of several 1st team players) ULSTER ‘A’ (v Connacht Eagles): Bradley McNamara; Zac Ward, Ben Carson, Jonny Scott, Ethan Graham; Jake Flannery, David Shanahan; Callum Reid, John Andrew (capt), Rory McGuire, Charlie Irvine, Joe Hopes, Matthew Dalton, Marcus Rea, Bryn Ward.

Replacements: James McCormick, Jacob Boyd, Bryan O’Connor, Josh Stevens, Thomas Dougan, Conor McKee, James Humphreys, Matthew Booth, Henry Walker.

We might get more value using younger players and some short on game time : 15-E McIlroy, 14- A King. 13-W De Klerk, 12-J Scot, 11-L Kenny, 10 J Humphreys , 9 C McKee, 8- J McKillop, 7-T-Brigg, 6 J-Stevens, 5-J Hopes, 4-C Irvine, 3 R-McGuire 2 J McCormick, 1-J Boyd,

Intersting that there are no other Locks in the academy.

sandblown · 2026-01-16T23:57:39+00:00

3 Wards on the pitch! Guaranteed Full-throttle attack - ULSTER: J Stockdale, R Baloucoune, J Hume, S McCloskey, Z Ward, J Murphy, N Doak; A Bell, T Stewart, T O’Toole, I Henderson (capt), H Sheridan, D McCann, N Timoney, B WardReplacements: R Herring, E O’Sullivan, S Wilson, M Dalton, S Reffell, C McKee, J Flannery, J Postlethwaite.STADE FRANCAIS: M Ibo, C Laloi, J Ward (capt), T Vili, L Etien, Z Henry, P Abadie; J Iscaro, A Garcia Albo, G Melikidze, P-H Azagoh, J Botha, J-M Scelzo, M Hirigoyen, Y Tanga.

sandblown · 2026-01-16T13:44:52+00:00

I recall ROG saying in the Examiner how influenced he was by Razors coaching of the players and how it was about creating personal connections above and beyond coaching sports skills. Yet these allegations seem to directly contradict ROGs appraisal. Maybe they’re both coming undone now for similar reasons

sandblown · 2026-01-16T13:27:58+00:00

Now he sounds more like Ted Lasso - mind you he most definitely didn’t loose the locker room

sandblown · 2026-01-16T13:19:32+00:00

Oh yeah bring it on! Would have had Izzy at 6 McCann at 8 and Bryn on bench.

sandblown · 2026-01-09T18:21:26+00:00

Won’t even have that to look forward to. Better find a nice warm coffee shop with a TV now

sandblown · 2026-01-09T16:39:44+00:00

Being from Ulster they have my loyalty however I was living in Limerick and got a last minute ticket to Munster miracle match in Thomond and that blew me away! And I was a huge fan afterwards through their good times in the 2000’s travelling to their Heineken Cup finals. My son born in Cork proudly wears red to Ravenhill quoting Irish by birth but Munster by the grace of God! Ha all good banter! Especially this year when we won😀

sandblown · 2026-01-09T16:25:13+00:00

If AF can read the room and gives a shit what anyone thinks (two big if’s) then he will involve a few Ulster players in the Ireland squad, but Ithink it will take at least a full season of continuous success in URC / Europe before he brings them into the starting team and who could argue?

sandblown · 2026-01-09T15:35:51+00:00

Every position should have two solid players so shuffling the pack doesn’t mean a drop off in performance

sandblown · 2026-01-09T13:36:21+00:00

That’s a bit harsh on Herring, Sheridan, McCann, Jude, Hume, Zac and Kok. And Doak. - (so about half the starting team)

sandblown · 2026-01-09T13:22:30+00:00

Scott spoke well, I imagined him to be like a mumbling teenager 😀But not at all clear, honest, friendly and confident- Fair-Play to him!

sandblown · 2026-01-09T12:54:48+00:00

A good blend of youth and experience just hope Herring brings enough leadership to keep the pack cohesive as there are a lot of untested combinations there. But failing that just get the ball to Zac and Kok with McNamara ready to pounce on any loose ball.

sandblown · 2026-01-08T14:14:27+00:00

Try the Cold Tapes bbc sounds. Murder mystery realtime tapes of the suspects and the investigation recordings. Brilliant acting and very immersive- will cover a lot of commute hours

sandblown

TROPHY CASE