Ulster 41 Leicester Tigers 7:THERE'S SOMETHING about European nights at Ravenhill when the English come calling. Leicester haven't been rucked and mauled like this since, well, the last time they were here eight seasons ago. The two-time winners and five-time finalists had suffered their heaviest Heineken Cup defeat on that occasion when losing 33-0, but actually went a point worse here.
This was even better for the home side, for it came on the back of a stunningly effective all-round performance by Ulster which also earned them a bonus point. That gives them a real shot at making the quarter-finals for the second year running if they can somehow get something out of next Saturday’s trek to Clermont. As in three previous World Cup seasons Leicester are effectively out, and will need an Ulster win next Saturday to have any hope.
The first thing you have to do against Leicester is front up physically in the contact area and while the Tigers were quick to launch themselves into tackles, Johann Muller, the abrasive and mobile Dan Tuohy, Stephen Ferris and Pedrie Wannenburg, who was made to measure for this game, ensured the visitors met fire with a bonfire.
Chris Henry too seemed to be everywhere, John Afoa and Tom Court scrummaged strongly, and behind them Ruan Pienaar was cool accuracy personified, and chipped in with four long-range penalties. Ian Humphreys also outshone Billy Twelvetrees, who missed a routine penalty, two kicks to touch and knocked on, while Darren Cave’s good form continued. He was the most penetrative player by far in the heavily populated midfield and, as for much of the last two years, Andrew Trimble’s physicality, pace, finishing and work-rate were top notch.
Whereas the Tigers were greeted largely with indifference, a thunderous roar greeted the Ulster players as the crowd did indeed stand up for them as one.
Having failed to emulate Murphy’s excellent early take, Stefan Terblanche atoned with a counter-attack up the touchline when little seemed on. On and on Ulster patiently went through 15 length-of-the-field phases, Trimble injecting real momentum with a hard line onto Cave’s offload, until eventually Wannenburg spooned the ball on for Trimble to score in the tightest of corridors by the corner flag.
Pienaar even tagged on a brilliant touchline conversion. Ulster maintained their accuracy, and Ben Youngs’ ill-advised footwork at the base of an Ulster scrum enabled Pienaar to land a 46 metre penalty.
Ulster were in dreamland, but soon they were woken. Leicester engineered a rare steal in contact off the restart and with a mite too much ease went through a couple of phases off a scrum and availed of the numbers when Murphy scored sharply off Youngs’ cut-out pass as Trimble went for the intercept.
Pienaar rewarded Best’s work at the breakdown with another long-range penalty before, on the stroke of half-time, Trimble was checked by Humphreys’s skip pass as Poite played advantage to Ulster off an attacking scrum, but again he checked Tuilagi and scored by the flag.
Both teams went all out for the next score in a critical, end-to-end third quarter. Leicester started to up the ante at scrum time, but went unrewarded when Twelvetrees thudded a 25 metre penalty against the upright.
By contrast, Pienaar inched Ulster further ahead when Tom Croft went off his feet after Trimble had countered from a Rob Hawkins spillage, and then Henry brilliantly won a penalty at the breakdown for Pienaar to score from 45 metres. Leicester trundled backwards in conceding another three-pointer for Pienaar to make it a 20-point game.
Ulster now went hunting for tries. Using the full width against 14 men, after the sin-binning of Dan Cole for dissent, Terblanche hit the line and, with his final and most telling act, Wannenburg stepped a defender and put the hard-working Gilroy, a fine finisher, away.
Within minutes they really were in dreamland as Paul Marshall quick-wittedly tapped a penalty and scampered away from beaten and bedraggled visitors like a kid with stolen goodies in the schoolyard for the cheekiest of bonus point tries.
They love beating the Premiership’s finest hereabouts, and they’re pretty handy at it too. That’s ten Anglo muggings at Ravenhill in 11 years.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 5 mins Trimble try, Pienaar con 7-0; 11 mins Pienaar pen 10-0; 14 mins Murphy try, Twelvetrees con 10-7; 33 mins Pienaar pen 13-7; 40 mins Trimble try 18-7; (half-time 18-7) 53 mins Pienaar pen 21-7; 56 mins Pienaar pen 24-7; 63 mins Pienaar pen 27-7; 69 mins Gilroy try, Pienaar con 34-7; 73 mins Marshall try, Pienaar con 41-7.
ULSTER: S Terblanche; A Trimble, D Cave, P Wallace, C Gilroy; I Humphreys, R Pienaar; T Court, R Best, J Afoa, J Muller [capt], D Tuohy, S Ferris, C Henry, P Wannenburg. Replacements: I Whitten for Cave (58 mins), P Marshall for Humphreys (67 mins), W Faloon for Wannenburg (71 mins), L Stevenson for Ferris (74 mins), N Brady for Best, C Black for Court, A Macklin for Afoa, A D’Arcy for Terblanche (all 77 mins).
LEICESTER TIGERS: G Murphy [capt]; H Agulla, M Smith, A Allen, A Tuilagi; B Twelvetrees, B Youngs; M Ayerza, R Hawkins, M Castrogiovanni, S Mafi, G Parling, T Croft, J Salvi, T Waldrom. Replacements: D Cole for Castrogiovanni (56 mins), E Slater for Mafi (57 mins), J Staunton for Smith (60 mins), Castrogiovanni for Waldrom (67-74 mins), G Chuter for Hawkins (67 mins), B Woods for Salvi (77 mins).
Sin-bin: Cole (64 mins).
Referee: Romain Poite (France).
