NO GOOD FRIDAY

Friday’s defeat to Glasgow has left Ulster’s play-off hopes looking rather bleak.

Admittedly not many fans would have expected Les Kiss’ men to go to Scotstoun and pick up all four points, especially since Gregor Townsend was able to call upon the services of 18 of his Scottish internationals for the game, but even so, this result has marked a new low in Ulster’s already turbulent season.

Before the game even began the questions began to fly as to why their international trio of Rory Best, Jared Payne and Andrew Trimble didn’t make the trip despite being available for selection. Undoubtedly this was going to be one of their biggest games of the season and whenever Munster and Leinster announced their teams stacked full of their Ireland contingent you wondered why Ulster hadn’t done the same.

Post-match the decision looked even more bizarre. Perhaps Ulster still wouldn’t have held on to their lead if Best, Payne and Trimble were in the wings to be brought on, but you can guarantee it would have been a closer game if they had. You’d certainly expect the leadership qualities of those three men coming on off the bench would have been a huge lift, especially if they had come on just after Hogg’s try.

That said, maybe it is better to focus on what we know as opposed to the endless ifs that we can muster.

What we do know is that the Ulstermen faded fast towards the end of the game. In the first half they were holding strong in defence and the endless penalty concessions weren’t a major concern. Down by four points and chasing the game with ten minutes to play, that was a time for cool heads. Instead both Robbie Diack and Rob Herring gave away ridiculous penalties in the 22 that just compounded Ulster’s errors into points for the opposition.

Hogg’s penalty sealed something of the inevitable – even when Russell missed a straightforward effort a few minutes earlier you got the sense that Ulster would find a way to leave Scotland with nothing and they did. How ironic that after 79 minutes of completely even scrums, the very last one of the game capitulated and cost Ulster a point they probably just about deserved.

It means Les Kiss has to go back to the drawing board and try and work out how on earth his side fell apart towards the latter stages of the game and ended up getting nothing. It could very well be a simple case of tiredness on the part of the visitors who gave everything in defence and at the breakdown for 55 minutes before the tide turned and the hosts’ international quality off the bench took over.

Combined with the Scarlets’ unlikely win away to the Ospreys (where Ulster still need to go on the last day of the season), it makes Friday’s game against league leaders Connacht massively important. If Ulster still harbour any top four ambitions (and they are by no means out of the running yet) then all four of their remaining games become must wins. Any slip-ups from here to the end of the season and they can kiss that play-off place goodbye.

And yet, of course, they know that.

In fact it is unbelievable to state the fact that Ulster’s Champions’ Cup spot is not guaranteed for next season either. With Edinburgh and Cardiff making steady headway in the background, should Ulster fail to pick up at least two, if not three, wins over the course of the remainder of the season then they are in serious jeopardy of missing out on the top table of European rugby next season.

Fighting on two fronts will not be easy, and it’s probably going to come down to the old cliché of “taking each game as it comes”. After Connacht we go to Zebre away which tripped us up last season, then the old rivals Leinster roll into Belfast before we finally head to Swansea to take on the Ospreys. Truth is there are no easy games left and it will take a huge squad effort to get us over the line – be that for top four qualification or even just European qualification.

Best, Payne and Trimble will be back this week. Some will still question where they were last week. However that no longer matters – the Glasgow game needs parked immediately and Connacht needs to be the main focus. Four points is the only outcome there that will do because if we lose another home game then the mountain becomes even bigger.

Not that it was that small to begin with.