So ... 18-0 h/t and still 0-0 second half, a game where any result wont please. win 80-0 (well so what against the amateurs) ... win by a few (bulls were crap). Apart from the endless buffers and blank reception, the guys from UB have done themselves proud.

as an aside ... does anyone know of a free reliable vpn i could use? paid vpns need a credit card which i dont have here. pm me if you have.

Thought Dan Waite-Pullman put himself about when he came on.

Full credit to Underbank, thought they were superb. Never any danger of losing but our attack just isn't clicking right now. Guess the quagmire pitches don't help. Through to the next round, no injuries. Onto next week.

Well I’m glad that is over. I’ve watched us play all kinds of teams in all kinds of conditions over the years but that was as dull as dishwater.

I get the conditions but we had way too many incomplete sets and running back into the ruck. In that second half I was sure we were just happy to nil them and weren’t actually trying to score points. We seemed happy to work the ball up the field and turn it over.

I want to be kind to underbank and they kept going but in reality they didn’t have a single dangerous attack and seemed happy to just boot the ball away as hard as possible.

Maybe I’m too harsh and grumpy from standing in the cold but I didn’t see much to get excited about today apart from us getting out with no injuries (fingers crossed) and hopefully we have that performance out of the system ahead of Oldham.

didnt know of the conditions there, must be still in winter rugby mode but in the early season 2 teams playing on that surface will pay its toll. roll on dryer months. first away day next week but still in Oldham, another notorius bad weather destination

On another note I set the game to record on the red button and found it actually recorded ladies soccer. Quite a relief.

Well what a load of c××p that was

That pitch is in a right state. It's going to be months before it's in any kind of shape to play some decent rugby on it because with so many teams using it, it's never getting any chance to recover.

Having said that, the pitch was no excuse for our dire completion rate. There's plenty of heart in this side but our halfback options are really poor and it's stifling our play.

I got the impression that someone decided it was treacherous underfoot so best be direct and plough the ball in. To be fair, it was decidedly boggy, but I think we might have been a bit more adventurous, given the circumstances (playing an amateur side) particularly in the second half when it was pretty obvious Underbank were unlikely to trouble the scoreboard.

I thought the amateurs did themselves proud. On this showing, they were plenty good enough to not look at all out of place in league1. They too would have played better if conditions under foot had been better. Will this sodding rain never end?

3G pitch there isn’t it?

3G pitch there isn’t it?

Not this season. Oldham have moved back to Bower Fold (Stalybridge Celtic) which is a grass pitch.

As with others, UB were never likely to score but then there were two teams both appearing to play like amateurs. We have no real attack on soft pitches, surely we must be looking to benefit from dual reg in next few weeks much as I hate it cos can't see the Bulls being top 5 material with current performances.

I'm glad we put in that sort of performance this week and not next as we can get away with it against Underbank. I've lost count the amount of times I've seen the Bulls being spirited losers against better opposition but then the week after we play a team we should beat and we churn out a wretched performance and lose. Next week is must win for me so hopefully everyone can refocus and Kear give a few kicking for the Oldham game.

Top 5? With this squad? I'll be happy if we're still in the championship next season. Forget top 5 because we're nowhere near good enough.