ON AN achievement scale Ulster’s quantum leap pales in comparison to the Natal Sharks conquering the mighty Blue Bulls in the 2008 Currie Cup final.
Ruan Pienaar was the hero that day, Stefan Terblanche the reliable veteran at fullback and Johann Muller the undisputed leader, despite the presence of John Smit, who lifted the World Cup a year previous.
But it all came back to Pienaar that day and again on Saturday; such a calming, suave figure producing a perfect six-from-six kicking return.
He even orchestrated Pedrie Wannenburg’s (a Blue Bull by birth)16th-minute try: “The scrum went forward for us and I just heard Ruan at the back say, ‘Pick up, pick up’ so I pick up and go and it opened up for me.”
Should Ulster go on and win the Heineken Cup on May 19th David Humphreys will receive another blast of criticism for demoting head coach Brian McLaughlin to the Academy come next season.
But who do you think enticed the aforementioned Springboks to Belfast?
It started three years ago when Shane Logan arrived as chief executive and gave Humphreys the reigns with a unique role in the Irish game – the director of rugby with a duty to recruit the best available in pivotal positions.
Driven demented by the barely visible sight of Munster and Leinster in the distance, the solicitor and former Irish outhalf brought McLaughlin on board before going to South Africa to piece together a precise, five-year plan.
“I think Nigel Brady and me have been here the longest,” said a beaming Paddy Wallace late Saturday night. “We’ve been through some hard times. If you told me three years ago that we’d be in a Heineken Cup final now I’d have laughed at you because of where we were as a team and a club. I think it is great credit to Ulster in terms of setting their sights very high.
“David has done a fantastic job, bringing in world-class players, who have fit in very well to the Ulster mentality that we have. Certainly they have rubbed off hugely on us. They have brought a belief that we can go to this sort of level.”
Granted, both McLaughlin and the players admitted this performance won’t win them any silverware. It could have got very embarrassing if eager Edinburgh showed even a hint of ruthlessness.
Like the skinning of Munster in Thomond Park, Pienaar’s flawlessness guided them to Twickenham.
“He was stunning today in terms of his management of the game,” said Edinburgh coach Michael Bradley, a scrumhalf himself once upon a time.
“Physically he is a very tall, lean man. He is strong, he has fantastic touches around the park. I remember at the start of his tenure in Ulster they were giving him a tough time because things weren’t working out and they weren’t winning every match but you could see the quality was there. The rest took a while to read what he was doing.”
Not only was he magnificent off the tee; one grubber down the tramline, which out-did even a brilliant box kick that bounced into touch simply because he followed it up and heaved Edinburgh’s young fullback Tom Brown into touch.
However, Bradley did utter cautionary note: “The test for Ulster and for Pienaar will be on May 19th when they won’t be going forward against Leinster or Clermont. Then you’ll see the quality come through and that will be a big test.”
But Ulster’s international contingent, like Andrew Trimble, find themselves one victory away from finally, after all these years, being considered a first among equals on the June flight to New Zealand.
“The attitude we showed to climb over each other to make tackles was great,” said Trimble. “It was just dogged, dogged defence. That’s something that can’t be coached and something that is, I don’t know, unique to Ulster, but it’s certainly brought us a long way.
“That attitude comes quite naturally now. We’ve had to develop it a little bit, bring it out and fine-tune it, and now if we can also play better with the ball in hand then we’ll go a long way.”
