Brave Ulster Tames Leicester Tigers

Ulster rugby seized the moment on Friday night as they dug deep to claim victory against Leicester Tigers 22-16 at Ravenhill in the first round of the Heineken Cup. It was a grueling encounter with both sides evenly matched throughout the 80 minutes.  The patiently awaited fixture didn’t disappoint.

 At the start the visitors looked sharp and received their just rewards when playmaker and English International Toby Flood tip toed his way through a miss - match in the Ulster defense only to be stopped in his tracks by a last ditch Ulster tackle. However quick ball was generated and found its way to the man mountain figure of Logovi’I Mulipola - the 120 kg Samoan crashed over in the corner.

The Lead didn’t last long as Ulster replied with a well-worked seven pointer. 

Paddy Jackson was the orchestrator as he placed his cross-field kick on a six pence allowing 6ft 3 Lions international Tommy Bowe to leap over Leicester fullback Niall Morris to touch down.  The second quarter of the first half was nip and tuck.  However the Tigers had dominance at the set -piece. Leicester’s Dan Bowden looked dangerous in midfield, gliding through gaps and creating holes in the defensive line however opposite number Luke Marshall held his own displaying his defensive qualities.  Flood landed a well-struck penalty and Jackson replied with two penalties himself. The later just on the stoke of half time leaving the scoreboard 13-10 at the break.

A change in personnel came just after the interval when Ulster’s superstar Ruan Pienar entered the arena, He had only arrived in the country on Tuesday and much of Belfast have eagerly awaited his return. The second half was a tense affair with both teams waiting for the other to make an unforced error. Ulster’s scrum looked a different proposition after half time. Flood leveled after 44 minutes as he kicked his second penalty goal of the night. This again was cancelled out on the hour mark as Jackson, who had regained his composure after missing a earlier kick, bisected the uprights and landed his relatively easy penalty to make it 16 – 13 with twenty minutes remaining.

 Mark Anscombe’s men dominated the last quarter, however their clinical finishing left a lot to be desired. Opportunities which Ulster may need to take in order to progress into the later stages of the Heineken Cup.

Ulster however can count themselves unlucky as French referee Roman Poite disallowed a try for a forward pass, which would have seen Ulster’s outside Centre Darren Cave cross the white line. 

 Paddy Jackson’s impressive kicking, assured Ulster fans of victory and all 4 points, as he landed 2 further penalties in the last ten minutes leaving Ulster victorious with a final score of 22-16.

 Ulster coach Mark Anscombe expressed his views after Friday nights fixture,

‘They might be happy with a point but our objective was to get four points and we achieved that. Each game we play that is our objective and if we stick to doing that we'll come through.

We're happy with the four points. There are only six games and you had to win your home games and we have won our first one. We'll enjoy that and then we'll start to think about our trip to France to face Montpellier next Saturday."

After a hard earned victory on Friday night, Ulster will make the daunting journey of heading to France to play a very impressive Montpellier side. The top 14 team has a star studied squad with a host of Internationals. However, Ulster having won four matches in a row will travel with confidence and will be looking to upset the odds and return to Belfast with a famous win on French soil. 

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Stuart McAvoy

Stuart McAvoy