u/Paddybrown22

Latest from the Stand Up podcast. The three things they want Ulster to focus on are managing the season, tackling, and the maul.

Definitely agree with the first one. Before taking over at Ulster, Richie had never had to manage a squad across a full season, and he has a tendency to play his best team every week, only giving squad players a chance when forced to by injury. By the end of the season we were dead on our feet. A bit more rotation means, if you have to bring in a player in a big game because of injury, you know you can trust him because he's done it before.

Defence improved last season compared to the previous season, when if the opposition made a break chances are they'd score, but more improvement would be good. We're strongest defensively when we have our first choice centres available.

Mauling is about winning ugly. Last season we played an open, attractive game, but doing the grunt work is important too. They don't mention it, but surely Clark Dermody has to target improvements in the scrum. Last season we had one tactic - if the scrum's going backwards, get it out quickly to Augustus or Bryn at the base and have them run hard. But both of them are recovering from surgery and might not be available at the start of the season. McNabney can also do that job, but he's just back from injury too. We need other ways to get go forward from the scrum. Lots for Dermody to work on in the front row. Hopefully Snyman can provide a bit of heft in the second row, and Charlie Irvine can keep improving.

I've done a bit of nerding out on the squad, and tried to make a starting team out of players who played for the Ireland under-20s under Richie Murphy.

1. Jacob Boyd, 2. James McCormick, 3. Scott Wilson,

4. Harry Sheridan, 5. Charlie Irvine,

5. James McNabney, 7. Tom Brigg, 8. Bryn Ward,

6. Nathan Doak, 10. Jack Murphy,

7. Chay Mullins, 12. Jude Postlethwaite, 13. Ben Carson, 14. Aitzol King,

8. Daniel Hawkshaw

Boyd and Brigg are still in the academy, and I couldn't find a fullback so I've picked Hawkshaw out of position, but I think that's a pretty solid XV.

17 of the current squad served under Richie in the 20s:

1. Ben Carson
2. Matthew Devine
3. Nathan Doak
4. Daniel Hawkshaw
5. Joe Hopes
6. Charlie Irvine
7. Aitzol King
8. James McCormick
9. Conor McKee
10. James McNabney
11. Chay Mullins
12. Jack Murphy
13. Jude Postlethwaite
14. Harry Sheridan
15. Henry Walker
16. Bryn Ward
17. Scott Wilson

As did 3 of the current academy:

1. Jacob Boyd
2. Tom Brigg
3. James McKillop

5 have been part of the senior squad but have since left:

• Reuben Crothers
• James Humphreys
• Ben Moxham
• Rory McGuire
• Lorcan McLoughlin

3 played for the Ulster senior team while in the academy, but have since left:

• Sam Berman
• Wilhelm de Klerk
• Rory Telfer

4 were in the academy but left without making a senior appearance:

1. George Saunderson
2. Conor Rankin
3. Ethan Graham
4. Josh Stevens

And 6 didn't make the academy:

1. Adam McNamee
2. John Glasgow
3. Josh Hanlon
4. Reece Malone
5. Joseph Mawhinney
6. Rory Ellerby

https://preview.redd.it/67ki1tlg38eh1.jpg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d239e1006e82e2cd3254845e6797fdb6e0464899

My great grandfather, Rainey Mills, is second right on the back row. Looks like a works photo, and Rainey worked on the docks in Belfast. I estimate this was taken in the mid-1930s. I can't find a building that looks like this still standing. Anyone know where it was?

I have a Pentablet 22E Pro. I've had it for a while, and the film protecting the screen got a bit scratched up, so I bought a replacment, removed the original, and tried to install the new one. I've tried this three times with three new screen protectors, and I can't get it down without getting bubbles under it, or without trapping dust under it. I don't want to spend money on a fourth one without being confident it'll actually work. Anyone have any recommendations?

And any recommendations for video tutorials on installing it? The only ones I could find are for installing a screen protector on a phone, not a 22" computer screen.

Ulster have announced the departure of Lorcan McLoughlin.

Lorcan McLoughlin to leave Ulster Rugby | Ulster Rugby

That's a shame - thought he looked a dangerous ball carrier against Munster. I assume he wasn't announced as leaving last month because they were still negotiating and hoping to keep him. Hope he's got another team lined up.

The Ulster Rugby Awards ceremony was last night. Affidea have posted on Facebook that Jack Murphy won the Young Player of the Year award. Anyone know who got the other gongs?

[Edit: the full slate is now published:

Heineken Ulster Rugby Awards 2025/26 | Winners | Ulster Rugby

Big Stu was Player of the Year for the third time, and Supporters' Club Player of the Year for the second. Werner Kok was Rugby Writers' Player of the Year, and John Andrew was Personality of the Year.]

https://www.irishrugby.ie/2026/05/20/mccloskey-and-moloney-macdonald-take-top-honours-at-rugby-players-ireland-awards/

Also, Rob Baloucoune won the men's try of the year for his try against Italy, and Brittany Hogan was nominated for women's 15s player of the year. Pretty good haul for Ulster players this year.

I'm putting together a comic, and I'm trying to make a pdf version I can send to people digitally, as well as a prinit version. The original pages are 300 dpi. When I put them together in Illustrator, the file size is 669.5 MB, and when I export it as a pdf that's 31.4 MB. To bring down the file size I reduced the pages to 150 dpi and created a new Illustrator file, which saves at 9.3 MB, but the pdf is 134 MB! What's going on, and how can I make a smaller pdf?

BRA have announced on Facebook that their captain and scrum-half Connor McVicker, last year's Ulster Schools Player of the Year, has been offered an Ulster academy contract straight from school.

https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fbelfastroyalacademy%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02fCyj8NUJd1QZWodJBwNhoagmGPrQPpZABdwphPaU9Wq3ycK4x85VcG4FTYFWS21ql