HONOURS EVEN...

…but still not good enough for Ulster. Not even close to good enough. That’s now four matches Ulster have played during the Six Nations and they’ve only picked up nine of a maximum twenty points, and have now dropped to second in the Pro12. Overall it hasn’t been a very successful February for Ulster.

Two defeats to the Ospreys and Glasgow (two title challengers), a draw to Treviso and a win against Zebre. If you offered that at the start of February, I’m not sure Mark Anscombe would have shaken your hand. There is something not quite right at Ulster at the moment.

Something needs sorted…

At a loss for words

Before the start of February, Ulster only had one loss in the Pro12. Now they have three and one draw, and have lost their top spot in the league. That’s not good at all for Ulster considering the lead was eleven points and they were flying high at the top of the table.

In the absence of their main line back row, Ulster have been very light in the back row and unfortunately, despite all his good work earlier in the season, Anscombe has to take the blame for this as head coach. Even with the return of Iain Henderson from international duty, Ulster were still bullied at the breakdown and that is one of the main reasons why they’ve struggled so much recently.

That’s probably what’s most disappointing about the latest draw. Friday’s team was probably the strongest selected out of the last four games and yet Ulster still could not come away with the win – at home too. It’s always that little bit more disappointing when it’s at home.

Not only will the work at the breakdown upset the Ulster coach, but so will his side’s defence. For the third time this season Ulster shipped four tries in one match and in the end it resulted in their opponents gaining three match points compared to Ulster’s two. While not a terrible thing for Ulster, it certainly won’t feel too good looking back.

The kick-off taking was very poor too. Well, when I say taking, I actually mean retaining. Because every time, Mike Allen caught the ball and ran with it, only to be swamped by green shirts who turned the ball over. It was how Ulster conceded their final try and how they conceded the majority of their points. It has been a problem that has plagued Ulster for years and for some reason they still cannot get it right.

It still didn’t help though that Ulster had nearly twenty players missing due to injury or international duty. While all the absentees were not the reason Ulster failed to win, it certainly didn’t help their plight. Players such as Jared Payne and Nick Williams who wouldn’t have been missing but for injury could have proved vital for Ulster’s Pro12 matches during the Six Nations, and their absence is really felt.

While Ricky Andrew isn’t a poor back-up to Payne, it is obvious that Payne is just a step above him and then some. He adds that cutting edge to Ulster’s back line and finds gaps that don’t seem to be there. Andrew has a lot to learn before he is challenging Jared for his shirt. The same applies for Williams – he is such a big ball carrier nobody comes close to him in carrying yards. When he isn’t playing, Ulster struggle to make big inroads to opposition defences, and that is something they require for their New Zealand-styled game plan to work.

Back to the match however and on the other hand, there were plenty of positives to take – by far it was Ulster’s best performance this international period. The backs certainly did themselves proud, especially centres Stuart Olding and Darren Cave.

Olding has masses of potential, that’s easy to see. He took his try superbly and was constantly threatening the Treviso line all evening. Not just that but his general play was very positive and he was rewarded for it on several occasions. A real talent for the future.

In the pack, the scrum operated well and was in control for the entire match, as did the line-out. It certainly wasn’t a set-piece problem that let Ulster down. Herring didn’t lose a line-out all night, and the front row had their opposite numbers wrapped up all night. Unfortunately they could not make this advantage count.

To be fair to Treviso though, they came and they played some great rugby. Full-back Brendan Williams was superb in attack, openside flanker Dean Budd made the crucial breakthroughs for three of their four tries and kicker Alberto di Bernardo got the big kicks (except for the biggest one at the end!). It is fair to say that neither side deserved to lose.

And neither did, which won’t do either side much favours. As mentioned, Ulster have already thrown away an eleven point lead, and Treviso falter slightly in their chase for a slim chance of a play-off spot.

Where does this leave Ulster? In difficulties. After the next round of games they could return to the top of the Pro12 ladder, but after that it could go pear-shaped with a tricky away match against Leinster at the RDS. Mark Anscombe will have to get a lot of guys back quickly, or get the back-up guys playing well again, otherwise a home semi-final might be out of the window too.

Great game. Wrong result for both sides involved.