FAMILIAR FEELING

And yet again an Ulster title charge comes unstuck at the RDS Arena.

It’s become an all-too familiar sight – an Ulster side going down to Dublin in forlorn hope only to be served a lesson in how to play knockout rugby by Leinster. You’d think that after the second or third attempt we would have gained some kind of knowledge or experience in how to at least be competitive in the RDS but last Friday was proof we have not.

The problem, one would surmise, is wholly mental. We saw three weeks ago that this Ulster side are more than capable of outplaying their southern rivals, especially with the superb back line that Ulster possess, and yet whenever it came down to the crucial game of the season they couldn’t perform. Leo Cullen’s men were the faster out of the blocks and, even though Ulster clawed back their initial lead, their start was the catalyst for their overall performance.

If their start to the first half was the catalyst, then their start to the second half was what sealed them the game. Having weathered an early Ulster storm that would have seen the visitors take the lead for the first time in the game, Leinster struck a hammer blow by scoring themselves through Jamie Heaslip – it’s those kind of scores that can turn a game on its head, and in this case it turned out to be a very important score.

For Ulster now, it’s back to the drawing board.

Such is a shame that after a long season the instant we have no more rugby left to play we move onto next season. It’s not a bad thing necessarily – all fans will naturally focus on the possibility of silverware this time next year instead of reflecting upon what went wrong this year. Still, it’s funny how the default reaction is to pretend this season didn’t happen and things will all improve come May 2017.

But as I say, the season is over and we have a couple of months now to regroup before returning for pre-season. Charles Piutau, Rodney Ah You, Kieran Treadwell and Brett Herron will all join up with the squad ready to get involved, while Marcell Coetzee will also arrive in Belfast to start his rehab from injury picked up on duty for the Sharks.

With such an influx on talent confidence will be high that, with no World Cup to distract us at the start of the season and a full pre-season with Les Kiss at the helm, this upcoming season will have a better conclusion than the one that has just passed. While not all of Ulster’s problems within the squad have been addressed by the incoming players, a like-for-like assessment of the current squad and the squad at this stage last year would reflect on how Bryn Cunningham has managed to strengthen this team.

This team, however, will go nowhere under the shadow of Leinster. That was their fifth knockout defeat to Leinster and it’s safe to say that they have our number when it comes down to the games that matter the most. Until Ulster can emerge out of the shadow of their provincial rivals they will continue to be considered the bridesmaids rather than the bride.

The time has come for them to stop taking lessons and pass the exam.

Les Kiss will reflect on this season as perhaps one that got away. He has openly admitted that his expectations were slightly lower given he didn’t take over full time until after the World Cup, but he will be able to sit down and look at games that really cost his side dearly – the games such as Munster and the Scarlets at home as well as Cardiff away, games that Ulster should have won and yet didn’t.

Was it a disappointing season? In some ways yes and in some ways no. At the start of the season you would have taken any kind of a top four finish, especially in a World Cup year. But certainly coming into the Six Nations you thought Ulster had an excellent chance of finishing in the top two of the PRO12 and they ended up in a below-par fourth. In the Champions’ Cup too, taking on Saracens was always going to be a bridge too far so to finish with four wins in that pool was a good outcome, but to not qualify off the back of that was disappointing.

Overall, it’s a season that had its highs (doubling Toulouse) and its lows and Kiss will see it as a good platform upon which to build going forward. Pat Lam did not succeed with Connacht in his first year, so similarly we have to give our man some time too. Next season we should see some more youth players being brought into the line-up as we continue to build our squad depth going forward.

And then we’ll be better prepared than ever before to go to the RDS and win.

THE OLD FOES

A couple of weeks ago Ulster were staying grounded after a very impressive win over Leinster, this week they need to do the same.

Not to belittle their achievements, because a bonus point win in Swansea is never something to be turned down, but the Ospreys were shorn short of 14 players for the final round contest. Perhaps not all of them would have featured for the Welsh side, but a good portion of them would have – Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric among them.

You can only play what’s in front of you though and to that end Ulster were excellent in attack, if not a little bit lethargic in defence. But the game was always going to be an open and fast-paced affair that, coupled with two of the best back lines in the PRO12 that were both desperately searching for a bonus point, would yield tries.

And in that sense the visitors outplayed their hosts with some scintillating play at times. Andrew Trimble’s try, fortunate as it was that Rhys Webb was unable to keep his feet at the crucial moment, was a piece of individual brilliance that turned the tide just before the half and was the catalyst that Ulster needed to go on and be assured of the victory.

If it was Trimble’s try that turned the tide in Ulster’s favour, it was Chris Henry’s quick thinking that got them that place in the playoffs.

It was a case of quick thinking combined with an intricate knowledge of the rules of rugby that provided Henry with the opportunity to score the bonus point try (not needed in the end as it turned out) by diving in at the side of a ruck to place the ball down after it had been rolled back over the line by the aforementioned Webb. The lengthy TMO process was unnecessary and, quite frankly, ridiculous – an excellent and astute try from the openside flanker who is now very much back to his best.

In fact, for the second time in two weeks, it was Ulster’s much maligned forwards who were the better of the two. The back row were instrumental in turning over plenty of ball in dangerous areas when the Ospreys were threatening and, coming into the most important part of the season, it will come as a great relief to Ulster supporters across the island to see Henry recapture the form we know he is capable of alongside Iain Henderson at blindside.

You hope Stephen Ferris was watching the game because Ulster are providing him with ample proof that a team does not need a plethora of big ball carriers in order to be successful. Les Kiss has devised a game plan circulating around Ulster’s lethal back division and, as long as they are getting the quick ball they should from a back row containing two opensides, then the need for several guys to make big yards is effectively negated.

It would be nice to have a few big ball carriers, don’t get me wrong. But when you boast an all-international back line it makes sense to utilise it to the full, right?

It is there that Ulster will fancy their chances against Leinster this week. Don’t let their half century against Treviso fool you into thinking Leo Cullen’s men are back to their best – in actuality they are the team in the worst form of the final four. If Ulster can keep Leinster’s bulldozing forwards quiet then the semi-final is definitely there for the taking regardless of the Ulstermen’s poor record in Dublin.

Ulster should take every confidence heading down to the RDS on Friday – they know they have the necessary components to beat Leinster after their victory at the Kingspan Stadium a few of weeks ago and they should draw from that experience. Leinster will be out for blood after that defeat, but if Les Kiss can mentally prepare his side for another difficult away game then this is a fantastic opportunity for a side to finally pick up an away win in a PRO12 semi-final.

But they must stay grounded. Ulster still haven’t won anything yet and they know that.

That said, this year it looks like they really could go all the way.

STAYING GROUNDED

Post-match at the Kingspan Stadium was an interesting event.

After Leo Cullen had ironically brandished Ruan Pienaar a “cheat” for milking his injury for Ulster’s penalty try (I’d like to see him get up immediately after clashing heads with Rob Kearney), there was a distinct and recurring theme to Ulster’s responses to the media after the game.

One by one Les Kiss, Stuart McCloskey and Chris Henry all stated the same thing – “we haven’t won anything yet”. A particularly astute line to take, especially in the euphoria of such a brilliant win, a reflection upon how grounded this Ulster side is.

It goes without saying that what they say is true. Ulster’s 30-6 win over Leinster, impressive as it was, was just another step along the path leading towards the semi-finals of the Guinness PRO12. The manner of the win pales into insignificance should they find themselves unable to get the result they require this weekend in Swansea.

And that raises another question: what is the result that Ulster require in Swansea?

At the conclusion of the Scarlets’ bonus point win over the Dragons, the calculators immediately snapped into action. Ulster’s destiny is still in their own hands – four tries at the Liberty Stadium will see them into the final four without a doubt, but if the game ends in any other result then they’ll be keeping a close eye upon events in Limerick.

Les Kiss will be hoping that Munster will do his side a favour and that his side will do them a favour in return. Munster, still not qualified for Europe just yet, could really do with the Ospreys losing on Saturday while Ulster will be desperate for the Scarlets to be denied any points at Thomond Park so that they don’t need a result in Swansea. It would be a win-win for both teams involved.

Of course, it’s never that easy. The Welsh sides will be more than up for the two games for their respective reasons which makes this weekend’s games tantalisingly exciting. Eight months of rugby comes down to two games which will decide who is in and who is out and it’ll be the side that blinks first who will be the ones left ruing their missed opportunities.

Off the back of Saturday’s win Ulster will be very confident they’ll be in the play-offs.

Defensively sound and potent in attack, Ulster took that game by the scruff of the neck in the second half and they turned the screw to ruthlessly pull Leinster apart. Jackson’s try towards the end perhaps put a bit of gloss on the result that seemed a trifle unfair upon the visitors, but that takes nothing away from how good the Ulstermen were against their undoubted bogey team.

The pack had been brutally torn apart by Stephen Ferris in the build up to the game and, on paper, it wasn’t unreasonable to think that Leinster would have the upper hand in the close encounters. But the Ulster eight matched their counterparts step by step up front and that paved the way for the hosts’ superior back line to carve their way through the flailing blue defence, marshalled by a certain young star.

Paddy Jackson was masterful against his two Irish rivals and pulled the strings from fly-half, continually asking questions of the Leinster defence and moving play about effortlessly. His ability to draw in three defenders to create the space for Jared Payne to score was, quite simply, world class and his try was just reward for a special performance in front of Ireland coach Joe Schmidt, a performance in which he outshone both Johnny Sexton and Ian Madigan, his rivals for the Ireland jersey.

But Ulster cannot get carried away.

Their game against the Ospreys on Saturday is just as important as last Saturday’s was in terms of the result, although this time they probably won’t be able to rely on their opponents’ ill-discipline as much as they did last weekend. Leinster’s cynical play wasn’t the main reason why Ulster won, far from it, but it did help them considerably and you would imagine the Ospreys won’t be so foolish in their decision making with so much on the line.

Ulster played very well against Leinster and Les Kiss should be very proud of what they achieved, but what he was saying after the game speaks volumes about how level-headed the Aussie coach is. He knows that the job is nowhere near done yet and that if he wants to take his team to where they want to be he needs to get them to conquer one of their biggest foes of the season three more times.

Their away record.