Tigers v Ulster - Friday 13th

[Smurphswillgetya]

It may not be pretty and we have our moments of madness but as long as we keep winning, I dont care about the performance! Cometh the hour, cometh the Tiger. Come on boys, let's show them that Tigers even in third gear are better than most teams at their best.

[bluntiger]

I really hope that the conditions are decent on Friday night. It can be a desolate place to play if the conditions dictate. I remember Quins going there in January 2009 and they came off the field near hypothermic! It was freezing cold, raining and the pitch was a virtual quagmire.

[tigerburnie]

I really hope that the conditions are decent on Friday night. It can be a desolate place to play if the conditions dictate. I remember Quins going there in January 2009 and they came off the field near hypothermic! It was freezing cold, raining and the pitch was a virtual quagmire.

Bit like how I remember Leicester,wet,cold and miserable,so everyone should be used to it.
I expect the Ravenhill mob to make it as hot as hell and get behind their team.I'm guessing not many Tigers fans will be able to make it on a friday night,this will be a test for the team,one I have confidence in them rising to.
Another 29 points please Mr 36.

COME ON YOU TIGERRRRRRRrrrrsssssssss

[PM76]

The packs and goalkickers will decide the game and it will be tense, Tigers are good enough to win, even with our injuries but it will be a tough ask. It will be interesting to see how the scrum goes, Afoa is clearly a quality operator but I think Ayerza could get the better of him and Castro or Cole should have Court in their pocket again. The line-out will be very close as it was at WR but having Parling back will be massive for us. If Billy can take his long range kicking boots then we could scrape it. Ulster have some very dangerous backs who played some lovely rugby against Munster even thought the pitch was more like a swamp, so our defence will be important if we defend like we did before then we have a decent chance.

We have plenty of leaders in the side and hopefully we should be mentally tough enough to really front up, in fairness to Cockers we have not gone into any serious game undercooked mentally. I'm looking at the game with equal amounts of hope and expectation but that is with a Tigers bias but it's about time this team went and won a big game away from home against top class opposition. I hope Tigers will shade it but think Ulster will win by 3-5 points, if we do loose and get a BP there is the consolation that a BP win vs Aironi will probably see us into the Amlin Challenge !!!!!!

[Tigerbeat]

A loss on Friday would probably knock us out of any European competition. Tigers would probably end up finsihing 3rd in the pool.

[PM76]

A loss on Friday would probably knock us out of any European competition. Tigers would probably end up finsihing 3rd in the pool.

I did say if Tigers get a BP, meaning we would be on 13 with Ulster on 18, presuming we get 5 Vs Aironi we would come ahead of Ulster as we earned more head to head points, I can't see Ulster getting anything in Clermont.

[GT1]

That bonus point we didn't get in Milan could be a very costly mistake!!!
Weather forecast for Friday? Thermals required me thinks.
Good luck to Tigers players & travelling fans this coming weekend!!

[Mo Leicester]

The key to this match - and most in Europe - is how we play the ref.

I believe we have Romain Poite this week - so it could be a lot worse!

Over the past two weeks we have seen some week refereeing of the breakdown. Both Sale and Wasps commited a lot of players to the ruck area. There was a lot of driving over the ball and going to ground preventing a contest for the ball. Also players were being allowed to handle on the ground and come from off-side positions. European refs tend to interpret this area differently.

I think having a French ref is very good for us. We tend to struggle when we have a Celtic League ref.

This will be a tight game and may well be decided on kicks. Therefore keeping on the right side of the ref will be key.

Billy to be the hero??

[rdracup]

The weather forecast for Friday is quite remarkable for Belfast in January.

I known 4/5day forecasts cannot be relied on.... but if they have it right then the odd light shower between now and then, and on the night a light southerly breeze... and mild for time of year.

It seems the conditions will NOT be the major factor this time.

[Chesterfield Chris]

I would be delighted to see us win but am afraid that it won't happen. I think we are struggling to break down defences. It took us a long time to get the better of a poor wasps team who got nilled at home by Worcester. Everything crossed though

[Smurphswillgetya]

It took us a long time to get the better of a poor wasps team who got nilled at home by Worcester. Everything crossed though

The fact they got nilled says a lot about Wasps ability in attack. Wasps,in fact, have a very good defensive record this season.

[Will S]

I would be delighted to see us win but am afraid that it won't happen. I think we are struggling to break down defences. It took us a long time to get the better of a poor wasps team who got nilled at home by Worcester. Everything crossed though

I think Wasps defensive record is right up there with Saffas this season in terms of trys conceeded.

Also bear in mind that against Wasps we had some new combinations in the backs and the lack of understanding certainly showed in the first half. With 80 mins under their belts they should be a bit more cohesive this week.

I think we stand a good chance. Ulster are a good team but I think some people are hyping them up a bit more than necessary.

[fleabane]

We have to play the full 80+ minutes. For the first time this season.

[Wayne Richardson Fan Club]

Although a 4 try win is what we need really for the competition, but a victory would be a quality result, Ulster do not loose at home often, we are very lucky that Payne is injured wouldn't of minded him joining us.

[PJLowry]

Hi, Ulster fan here!

I wouldn't say Ulster are over hyped (otherwise they might actually get players picked for Ireland!) Though basing this on the previous meeting between the 2 clubs then I would agree. But Ulster were awful that day! Obviously will greenwood and co said they were great and said 'ferris' every other word, but its easy to see when they havent actually seen them play haha.

Up until the last 2 weeks I would have considered leicester as favourites, but Ulster have played well the last few weeks and the backs have suddenly decided to play at pace (doesnt mean they're fast). But one thing that pleased me about them stuffing edinburgh was that Ian humphreys wasnt playing. As good as he is, the infinitely better combo is Pienaar and Paul Marshall. Marshall was our standout player last year and I think Ulster will win if that happens :)