THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Halfway through Friday night, I found myself remarking to those around me, “It would be nice if somebody punched somebody else so at least we’d have something to write about!”

Of course I was jesting (violence is never an acceptable option, children), I was purely making the point that the first half of Friday night’s match dragged on so long I thought I’d be stuck at the Kingspan Stadium for the next two days. There were errors aplenty from both sides on the night, the discipline wasn’t exactly exemplary either, and genuine carved out try scoring opportunities were few and far between.

In the end, a clinical edge for Ulster was what won them the game – Paul Marshall sniping over just before the break for that all-important second try and Stuart McCloskey choosing the right option in diving over instead of going wide for the fourth. That cutting edge may have deserted them a few times during the game (Williams, Arnold and Ludik all guilty) but in the end the hosts had bottled enough of it to grab the five pointer.

It wasn’t a vintage performance by any stretch of the imagination, Neil Doak himself even admitted it in Friday night’s post-match interview. But the key thing that remains is that Ulster are getting it done at home, even when they’re not quite firing on all cylinders. That’s now 15 points from a possible 15 at home, and with the away form currently falling apart it is vital that Ulster continue in this vein.

In fact, it was rather disappointing that the away form was discussed after the game.

We’re all painfully aware of Ulster’s away record in the PRO12 (just one win since February), but it is worth remembering that Friday’s night’s victory – hard to watch as it was – equalled Ulster’s longest unbeaten home record in the league. It’ll be almost two months before Ulster get the chance to set a new record when Edinburgh visit the Kingspan Stadium in early December, but for now it is a small victory.

So where were the celebrations? Where were the happy faces afterwards? Understandably, not there.

Because while we do need to take a minute and appreciate the achievement we have just equalled, there is a stark realisation that out away form will be put sorely to the test over the next month and a half – and it is that away form that will determine whether we finish mid-table or in the hunt for a top four place come May.

After a record-equalling home win was probably the wrong moment to bring up our away form, but it is apt to address it too. Munster, Dragons and Leinster constitute our next three domestic trips away and not one of them would you say you feel confidence in us winning based on how we are currently performing on the road. You’d give us more than a fighting chance in Newport in a couple of weeks, but then again you would have said the same in Llanelli and Edinburgh.

What is the main contributing factor to our away demise?

Poor preparation? I doubt it – Neil Doak has been praised for his attention to detail and his stringent planning for games so I am extremely hesitant to believe that is the case. Besides, if any player came into an away match any less prepared than a home match then they deserve to lose the game anyway, and I cannot possibly imagine the Ulster coaching staff would allow that to happen.

A destroyed mentality? Possibly. One away loss can dent confidence. Two will dent it further. Three will cause serious doubts. Four indicates a problem. When you’re going uphill it’s very easy for someone to grab you and halt your progress – when you’re going downhill then it can be very hard to get you to stop. Are the Ulster players simply in a poor state of mind? Not for me to say but it’s a possibility.

Do we play a different style of rugby we just aren’t used to compared to when we’re at home? Again, a possibility. We always seem to kick the ball a little more away from home than what we do when we’re in Belfast, and our players just don’t seem suited to that game – all you have to do is watch Friday night’s game back to see how effective Gilroy, Ludik and Trimble are with ball in hand. I’m not a master tactician, but I wouldn’t have them kicking that much.

Or option four: perhaps we just aren’t the team we think we are.

But knowing Ulster, that most definitely isn’t the case.