Eight tries in a dominant display against
Connacht was exactly what the doctor ordered, and although the crowd that was
at Ravenhill did not total that of the one that watched them play Saracens,
they were as loud as ever, and the demons of the quarter-final were banished.
It was slightly disappointing that Connacht did not really live up to their
billing as a side chasing the final European spot, but even so the Ulstermen
were tremendously ruthless and disposed of their Irish rivals with the
efficiency required over the next four weeks, and hopefully beyond.
It sets up Ulster beautifully heading into
May. With the five points it means that Mark Anscombe’s side are highly likely
to make it into the end of season play-offs, probably at the expense of the Ospreys,
for the second year running, although that is the least of Ulster’s aims – they
are now into second place in the league, and with games against Glasgow,
Leinster and Munster still to come, there is still an outside chance that they
could top the league after the regular season again.
But the one player that stood out for
everyone was Andrew Trimble.
The rise of Trimble has been monumental. We
all knew how good he was before this season, and how he has been overlooked for
Ireland for so long is beyond me. But even this season he has improved
immensely and Friday night was testament to that – three tries, two assists and
what was pretty much a flawless performance. On a night when Joe Schmidt was in
attendance at Ravenhill, and international rivals Robbie Henshaw, Tommy Bowe
and Craig Gilroy were also on showcase, Trimble was by far the best player on
the pitch and will have done his chances of holding onto the Ireland wing berth
no harm.
It is rather ironic that in the year that
Trimble is recalled to the Ireland team they win the Six Nations. Now obviously
I am not advocating that he was the sole reason, there were plenty of other
factors that were at play, but it’s also true that Trimble played a massive
role in helping Ireland to their first Six Nations triumph for five years. He
displayed a wide range of skills that he was never allowed to show during the
Kidney era and now he can look forward to an extended (and deserved) run in his
international team.
As for Ulster we are now looking at probably our
three toughest games of the year in four weeks, and right at the business end
of the season too. Whoever creates the fixture lists for the Pro12 would have
some questions to answer if I was let at them, but as it is we must plough on
in our quest for the top four. With the injuries we have if we can come out of
our final three games with two or even all three victories then it will be a
credit to our team and it will be a huge motivational boost heading into the
play-offs. One win will get them into the final four, three will probably get
them the top seeding.
This week it’s Glasgow who are fresh off
their incredibly controlled victory at Thomond Park on Saturday night. Possibly
an extra day’s rest will be very beneficial for the Ulstermen, but it’s extremely
hard to get away from the fact that this is going to be a very tough test for
us. We’ve already lost to Glasgow once this season (and no-one needs reminded
of that train wreck) and even though they sit in fourth, their league position
belittles how good they are – Glasgow are one of the most consistent sides in
the Pro12, and but for a few unlucky results they would be above us and more
than likely above Leinster too. In my opinion, they are our second biggest
challengers for the Pro12 title.
It’s unavoidable to think that Friday’s game
is a must win. It is a perfect chance for us to solidify our position in the
play-off places and knock one of our rivals down a peg too. If we lose that
crucial home semi-final could be beyond our grasp and I fancy our chances a lot
more at Scotstoun than at Thomond Park due to its hostile atmosphere. No
pressure on the guys, but if we lose this Friday night, we may be looking at
travelling down south for a play-off game. Again.
Hopefully it’s a Good Friday for us anyway.
No comments:
Post a Comment