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Ulster issue update on battle to host O'Gara's La Rochelle

Ulster Rugby v ASM Clermont Auvergne – Heineken Champions Cup – Pool A – Kingspan Stadium

Ulster CEO Jonny Petrie has updated fans on the “ongoing work at Kingspan Stadium” as the Irish province continues its efforts to enable Saturday’s Heineken Champions Cup fixture go ahead at the iced over pitch.

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La Rochelle visit the Kingspan Stadium this Saturday, but with temperatures in Belfast barely moving above freezing this week, the match could be in jeopardy due to an unplayable pitch.

Ulster Rugby CEO Jonny Petrie states.

“I wanted to update you on the continuing works here at Kingspan Stadium, as I’m conscious that many of you will have a keen eye on the weather forecast and will be looking for clarity around Saturday’s game.

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“As we communicated yesterday, we are making every effort that we can to get our game against Stade Rochelais played here at Kingspan Stadium.

“In-keeping with normal protocol for all our matches, we have various contingency plans in place, but our focus remains on getting the game played here at home, in front of our supporters.

“I would like to thank our ground staff for their round-the-clock work, which includes everything from frost covers to on-pitch heaters, with these efforts continuing throughout tonight in our ongoing effort to get the game played here.

“We continue to be in regular contact with the team at EPCR to update them on the latest situation and are working together to make the decision on whether the pitch is a safe playing surface or if we need to action a contingency, with a call likely being made tomorrow afternoon.

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“Thank-you also for your continued patience and support. We want to have you with us at one of our most important fixtures of the season – and the latest updates will be shared on our channels as the situation progresses.

“Here’s hoping we can come together at Kingspan Stadium on Saturday.”

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f
fl 2 hours ago
‘Props are awesome…so why don’t they win prizes?’

“The reason most props don’t last the whole game is that they expend proportionally more effort than players outside the front row. Should they be penalised for that?”

No, they don’t last the whole game because they are less fit than players outside the front row. I’d be interested to know if you’d apply this logic to other positions; do PSDT and Itoje regularly last longer than other players in their positions because they put in less effort?

None of this is about “penalising” props, its about being realistic about their impact on a game.


“While scrums are a small part of the game in terms of time spent in them, they have disproportionate impact. Dominant scrums win games; feeble ones lose them.”

Strength at the breakdown wins games. Good kicking wins games. Good handling wins games. Strong defence wins games. Good lineouts win games. Ultimately, I think that of all these things, the scrum is probably the least important, because it demonstrably doesn’t correlate very well with winning games. I don’t think Rugbypass will allow me to link articles, but if you google “HG Rugby Crowning the Best Scrum in Club Rugby” you’ll get a pretty convincing analysis that ranks Toulouse and Bordeaux outside of the 10 best club sides in the scrum - and ranks Leinster outside of the top 30.


“Or there’s Joe Marler’s epic performance in the Bristol v Quins 2021 Premiership Semi-Final, in which he finally left the pitch 15 minutes into extra time having signed off with a try saving tackle.”

Yeah - that’s a good example actually, but it kind of disproves your point. Marler played 95 minutes, which is unheard of for a prop.


“Maybe we need a dedicated Hall of Fame with entry only for props, and voted for only by props.”

Well we have the World Rugby XV of the year. Its only been going for a few years, but in time it’ll be a pretty good record of who are perceived as best props - although the lack of interest most people have in scrums means that perception of who the best props are doesn’t always match reality (e.g. Tadgh Furlong was great in 2018 - but was he really the best tighthead in the world in 2021, 2022, & 2023?).

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