I was
sick.
Not the
way you thought I’d start my blog today, eh? But it’s true – by the end of the
80 minutes last night I was feeling very out of sorts, probably because of that
finish.
When
Munster got their final penalty and then began their assault on the Ulster 22,
I think everybody in the stadium believed that an O’Gara drop goal was the only
outcome, me included. I had to sit still for the next five minutes or so to
steady myself.
So let’s
reminisce about a true inter-pro at Ravenhill last night…
100% - but only just
Ignoring
the last three or so minutes, what a game of rugby we witnessed. In fact, no,
include those three minutes, because they were just as exciting as the other
seventy-seven. It was certainly a vast improvement on the match from last
weekend. Although the result was just as close.
What we
got for our money was a very open game with lots of fast running play, which
actually only yielded two tries – one per side. And it was very enjoyable to
watch; it kept us on the edge of our seats for the most part and was a great
spectacle for Irish rugby.
But I’m
going to go immediately to the negatives. Mainly Ulster’s poor showing in
attack – in the second half alone we could have had an extra two or three tries
while Sean Dougall was in the sin bin. Too many sloppy passes and dropped
passes were what allowed Munster to stay in touch.
Ulster’s
competitiveness at the breakdown was close to terrible as well. They were
turned over too many times for me to count and when Munster were on the ball
they didn’t even compete for it, resulting in a very easy night for the
forwards wearing red.
Even in
defence Ulster were lacking to a certain degree. Munster were making very easy
yards through their backs, while the forwards were making the ‘hard yards’ as
well. There is a lot of work for Anscombe to do if the Ulstermen want to come
away from the Stadio XXV Aprille next Friday night with what should be a bonus
point win.
But there
is a lot to be happy about no doubt. Paddy Jackson has matured no ends and his
distribution of the ball along the backline is very good, not to mention his
goal kicking which was near perfect (with the exception of one). Last season we
were bemoaning our lack of a good 10 – we may just have found one that will
last us a long time.
Also along
the backline was Luke Marshall who has really come on well as a young player too.
Before this season he had made limited appearances for the senior side, but is
now a very prominent figure in the squad and will no doubt be pushing Paddy
Wallace very hard for his place in the team during the rest of the season.
Another
mention for Michael Allen too who showed he’s not far away from the players in
the first team either. A very strong winger with good pace as well, and he will
be looking to put his hand up for selection when it comes to big games.
The scrum,
like last week, was completely dominant and again set up the platform for the
win. Penalties received from them were duly slotted over by the aforementioned
Jackson and it is good to see. As the saying goes, ‘Forwards win matches, backs decide by how much.’ If Ulster can keep
a strong scrum throughout the season, all they need is the backs to function
for them to be close to unstoppable.
Ulster’s
territory in the second half was so dominant as well. Nearly the entire second
half was played in the Munster half and Ulster barely gave their opponents a
sniff, limiting them to just 3 points the entire half. Ulster played the
territorial game well.
Johann
Muller’s line-out was imperious again with the majority of them landing in
Ulster hands, while Nick Williams made the yards with ball in hand in another full
match for the Kiwi.
The
defence at the end of the match was heroic and was reminiscent of the brilliant
defence down in Thomond in April. Every time Munster tried to barrel their way
through to get the space for O’Gara to manufacture a drop goal, Ulster slammed
the door shut and drove them back. The Ulster resolve not to concede a penalty
at that stage as well was incredible – teams from the past wouldn’t have been
able to do that. That defensive effort probably won them the match.
But it was
Jared Payne who was the stand out performer in the match. His try was the
difference between the two sides and he was a constant thorn in Munster’s side
all night with his runs through the gaps and his solid defence. A deserved Man
of the Match and it is fantastic to see him back in a white shirt once more
after his injury.
A mention
for Stephen Ferris as well who managed to play the full 80 minutes on his 100th
cap for the province. He did so much work on the ground and made the yards
while running too. Now he will be sent back to the factory and wrapped in
cotton wool until the Castres match I would think!!!
But Ulster
can learn one thing from their opponents’ game. Munster’s clinical finishing
meant they were still in the game right until the very end. In the second half,
they were in our 22 once and they scored from it. We were camped in their 22
for most of the second half and scored 11 points. If Ulster could have had that
clinical finishing in their game, then they would have had the match wrapped up
well before the final whistle. This is something they must work on – a lot.
And just
to show I’m not completely biased,
I’ll admit (from an Irish perspective) that it was good to see Keith Earls put
in a decent shift at wing for Munster. His try was a superb team effort that
was finished off well and he was all over the pitch all night making a nuisance
of himself. Conor Murray and Ronan O’Gara came on too late to make any real
impacts, but at least they are back playing first team rugby.
There’s
still a lot to work on, no doubt. But Ulster are still moving in the right
direction, and while they are up there at the top, they are still one of the
teams to beat…
An Ulster team like no other
I believe
that this Ulster squad is the best we’ve seen in a long time, probably since
the team of ’99. Why? For one simple reason – we win.
In past
seasons, in games like last night, when we went behind we would have put our
heads down and ended up being slaughtered. Now, thanks to the leadership of
Muller and the newfound success of the team, Ulster know what it’s like to win
on a regular basis and they don’t want that to end anytime soon.
With
players coming through such as Allen, Luke Marshall, Birch, Farrell etc. there
is strength in depth all over the field now and there is real competition for
places – not even current internationals are guaranteed starters anymore.
We
probably aren’t far away from what Leinster have to be honest. They have two
top quality sides that they can switch players about every week, give them
rests and still be competitive. Granted, our players maybe aren’t as talented
as Leinster’s, but at least we have competition that means if a player is out
of form, we can change.
Below is a
team with first team players in bold and second team players in normal (in my
opinion anyway). If you look at those two teams, you would be happy having
either of those teams competing – both could win any game you play them in. And
hopefully this is how it will continue.
15. Payne/D’Arcy, 14. Bowe/Gilroy, 13. Cave/Spence,
12. Wallace/L. Marshall, 11. Trimble/Gilroy, 10. Jackson/O’Connor, 9. Pienaar/P. Marshall; 1. Court/Black, 2. Best/Herring, 3. Afoa/Fitzpatrick,
4. Muller/Stevenson, 5. Tuohy, McComb, 6. Ferris/Diack, 7. Henry/Doyle,
8. Wilson/Williams.
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