Ulster on to a winner as social media fans are thrilled by signing of Matt Faddes
Ulster confirmed the rumour on Tuesday that Highlanders centre Matt Faddes will be joining them ahead of next season.
The 27-year-old centre is having an excellent season with the Super Rugby outfit, and will be a great addition to an Ulster side that are hoping to close the gap on their Irish rivals Leinster and Munster.
The former New Zealand Sevens player looks to be one of those signings that can make a huge impact at a club. Capable of playing in the centres, on the wing or at full-back, he is an elusive runner with a good turn of pace. He’s solid in both attack and defence and has a great skill set, as all New Zealanders do.
In light of this announcement, Ulster fans have taken to Twitter to welcome Faddes to Ravenhill as they look forward to what he can bring. This is what they said:
With Darren Cave, a long-time stalwart of the Ulster back line, retiring at the end of the season, Faddes may have been highlighted as the man to replace the former Ireland international in the 13 shirt. If that is the case, Ulster have landed the perfect replacement.
With the arrival of Wallaby Sam Carter and British and Irish Lion Jack McGrath next season, Ulster are intent on building their squad to compete with the likes of Leinster. While Faddes may not be an All Black, he has all the hallmarks of being a favourite at Ravenhill for the seasons to come.
The additional loss of Rory Best, who is retiring, will only add to coach Dan McFarland’s tinkering for next season.
But their latest recruitment means that the side are heading in the right direction as the versatile Faddes has the potential to have the same impact as the likes of Charles Piutau with the Northern Irish club.
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I don’t think any coach or selector would ever rely on Blackadder being available for selection. I didn’t think it would be possible but he has easily eclipsed Ennor as they most injured player of all time. IMO a symptom of today’s game where players are required to carry at least 10kg of extra mass from when they first hit the scene in their early 20s. Some players respond well to this, maybe due to genetics allowing them to recover faster, or not having reached their peak natural weight yet, but for others the constant training to maintain their weight eats away at recovery time and they spend most of their careers injured.
Go to commentsThanks for the lesson Nick! I presume that targeting gaps is situational because if a ball carrier straightens the line they can't be allowed a gap to run into? It feels like you need depth if you're going to pass it wide and plenty of variety - straight running, kicks just in behind, cross kicks etc. BTW what an incredible bench Toulouse had this week. People complain about Leinster being stacked but they need to be at the very highest level.
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