LEARNING CURVE

Despite the result, I left Thomond Park in high spirits on Saturday night. You may be wondering “Why?” since I had to endure a four hour journey back up to Belfast and we had also lost. And I will admit, yes, I was disappointed with the result. But not too upset.

The performance that Ulster’s young stars put in was highly commendable, especially in the bear pit that is Thomond Park. Despite conceding three tries in the space of fifteen minutes (split over half-time) they held out for the final thirty minutes and scored a try of their own to soften the blow.

Yeah, I’m not too disappointed.

Beaten by the better team

I’m not going to try and make excuses – the better team won by the right scoreline. Munster did enough to secure the victory, but Ulster defended well enough to deny them the fourth try. But I suppose this was to be the inevitable case, considering Ulster fielded only a small number of their first team, while Munster were nearly at full strength.

In the end it was one of Munster’s first team subs who probably cost them the fourth try, and it was probably the most well known of those subs too – Ronan O’Gara. In my opinion, Ian Keatley was doing fine at 10, and when O’Gara came on, he looked to kick possession away far too often and this is what cost them the full five points.

That’s not to take anything away from Ulster though. Taking away the ten minutes after half-time, they put their bodies on the line time and time again, stopping their opponents from crossing the line for the fourth time. It wasn’t up to the standard of the Heineken Cup quarter-final from April, but there were a lot of tackles being made.

The stand out player was, undoubtedly, Luke Marshall. It’s incredible to think that this guy is still only 22 years old, yet the power and skill he brings to the side is similar to a seasoned veteran. This is great news for Ulster who, in Marshall and Paddy Wallace, now have two fantastic 12s competing for the shirt.

It’s also great to see what talent Ulster have in reserve as well. Before the game I made it very clear to those around me that I was worried about the strength of their bench compared to ours. But in actual fact, it was our bench that made the bigger impact. Niall Annett’s line-out throws were fast and accurate, Ali Birch made his presence known around the pitch, while Michael Heaney and Stuart Olding both outshone the players they replaced, with the latter looking extremely impressive.

Unfortunately it was the players that started that made the subs’ jobs that bit harder. After Paul Marshall’s yellow card, Ulster conceded two tries to add to the one they had conceded before half-time to leave them trailing 24-3 after just 50 minutes. But the raft of changes that Anscombe made did the job required and held out.

That’s not to say that the starting fifteen all did poorly. The aforementioned Luke Marshall was excellent as per usual, Adam Macklin was impressive in his first start this season, both around the pitch and in the scrum, while Marshall’s partner at centre, Mike Allen also had a good game both offensively and defensively.

The simple truth is that they made too many errors. In the early moments of the first half, Ulster had quite a few chances to get in the lead, but they blew them. If Niall O’Connor had have got his first penalty and put Ulster in the lead, who knows what might’ve happened?

The game’s in the past, however. What’s done has been done, and Ulster can hold their heads high. Before the game there were cries that Ulster were deliberately throwing the match, but it is obvious that that was not the case. The team proved that they are all full of talent and they can mix it with the big boys in the league. And that is exactly what Ulster need. Two teams that can do the job in the league when needed.

If anything has been proven by this season, it’s that Ulster have plenty of good players, both in their first team and in reserve. They are certainly well on their way to being the top side in Europe.

Ulster return to Ravenhill this Friday to play second-placed Scarlets in the Pro12, hoping to return to winning ways once more. The team should be back to full strength ahead of the two crucial Heineken Cup games and it should be the perfect way to start 2013. Here’s to a great year full of success for the Ulstermen!!!