OSPREY HUNTING

Another week, another win for the Ulstermen. Five tries on the board was very impressive against a vastly improved Treviso side, and with the rotation policy going on at Ulster, it’s good to see that even without John Afoa and the influential leadership of Johann Muller on the pitch, a convincing win isn’t out of our grasp.

Mark Anscombe will be very happy with what he saw on Friday. It may not have been perfect but it was definitely a big step in the right direction. Considering in the Dragons match his side played absolutely terribly, to finally be playing well will be a welcome relief for the Kiwi coach. Now he has to start getting his side to get over the line in the big matches, unlike what they did against Glasgow.

What he will be very happy about though is the quality in his back line. Michael Allen has really put his hand up for selection this week with yet another great performance on the wing, and with Craig Gilroy impressing at full-back, Darren Cave may be looking at a spell on the bench if he keeps up those kinds of performances. Luke Marshall and Jared Payne had a superb partnership in the midfield as well – it just shows the selection headaches that Mark will have this week.

It was also refreshing to see Tommy Bowe and Rory Best back in the white shirt again, and getting a try apiece on their return to Ravenhill (even if Bowe’s was slightly fortuitous). Good to see that neither are showing any sort of rustiness either. After a few months of not playing any rugby it would have been natural to assume it would take a game for them to get up to speed, but both played very well and are ready to take on the Tigers in the Heineken Cup!

Well, actually, first up are the Ospreys in Swansea. And the more you think about, the more you realise this is going to be an incredibly difficult match. The Ospreys are unbeaten this season, including a 29-29 draw in the RDS against Leinster – no mean feat considering we hadn’t won there for thirteen years until last season.

They’ve done very well so far – people thought they would struggle having lost Kahn Fotuali’i to the Northampton Saints over the summer, but they have signed Tito Tebaldi from Zebre who has proved to be a very good replacement, and also Canadian international Jeff Hassler who has been in red-hot form so far.

However the player that is always the dangerman for the Neath team has been fly-half Dan Biggar. How he doesn’t start consistently for Wales I’m not sure, because Biggar is one of the best fly-halves in Europe. Well, in my opinion anyway. He deservedly passed the 1,000 point mark on Saturday against Connacht, proving he is one of the league’s best, and if Ulster cannot nullify his impact on the game then we stand no chance this week.

In fact, if we’re not at 100% on Friday then we stand no chance this week. After a disappointing 2012/13 season, the Ospreys are determined to win the Pro12 again, and they’ve certainly started the right way. In order for Ulster to come away with even the losing bonus point from the Liberty Stadium then they will have to step up their game another level from the Treviso win – we’re now playing the big boys, and it will be the two best sides on the field as well.

But Ulster are coming back now. Starting with two losses has almost shocked the team into life and with a controlled win over Connacht backed up by a very convincing performance against Treviso, it’s fair to say that the Ulster bandwagon is gathering momentum. Good job, with the Heineken Cup beginning next week.

But let’s remind ourselves of what happened last year – a late try last season from Paul Marshall gave Ulster a deserved 16-12 win early in the season, part of the thirteen-match winning streak. This season Ulster fans will be hoping that the win will be a little bit more secure near the end of the game. However, as I said, the Ospreys have been playing very well – any win will be acceptable to Ulster fans.

Second plays fifth this weekend. It’s not very often you get such a match-up so early in the season, and with two full strength sides out ahead of the Heineken Cup next week, this will be an incredible match. A battle between two of the league’s heavyweights never goes amiss, and what great preparation this will be for the Leicester match.

Dewch ar Ulster!