OPINION: European drama sees curtain fall on a rollercoaster week

Wow! That was a weekend and a half...and a bit more.
Ulster captain Iain Henderson addresses the players following the victory over Bath. Pic by John DicksonUlster captain Iain Henderson addresses the players following the victory over Bath. Pic by John Dickson
Ulster captain Iain Henderson addresses the players following the victory over Bath. Pic by John Dickson

On Saturday the English Sunday Nationals back and front pages were scraped early evening as news of Saracens relegation from the English Premiership was confirmed for breach of the salary cap while Prince Harry and his wife Megan walked away from the Monarchy.

I certainly have no intention of getting into the latter, apart from welcoming the pair to the ‘ordinary club’ and wish them the best for the future.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Saracens, well I will come to that later if the column inches allow, although I cannot help but feel a bit of regret for Ulsterman Mark McCall, who is director of rugby at the club, and what the future will hold for him - although that dramatic win over Racing 92 yesterday keeps them alive in Europe as well as setting up a huge quarter final - a repeat of last year’s final - against Leinster.

Depending on your own personal views, Saturday’s rugby headlines should be about Ulster securing a quarter-final berth for the second successive season and Leinster also booking their place as top seeds in the last eight of Europe’s Heineken Champions Cup.

They will both carry Irish hopes for Euro glory this season, Connacht already having been eliminated ahead of the weekend’s final sixth round pool games and Munster’s slim hopes finally evaporated ahead of yesterday’s final hit out against Ospreys with Glasgow’s win over Sale Sharks.

Ulster will be grateful that as sixth seeds - they were the best of three runners-up who qualified - they at least missed having to face Leinster in the last eight, although a trip now to Toulouse still poses a big challenge.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But Dan McFarland’s side like to wear the underdogs tag, and the head coach is right when he says the squad are better placed to win a quarter-final this season than last is probably right.

Like last season, Ulster went through the group stage with five wins - coming unstuck once again in France in failing to book a top spot, this time Clermont and not Racing 92, pipping them to that top slot.

A 13-week demanding block of fixtures, which had started On October 25 and included six European games and four inter-pros in the Guinness PRO14 looked to have taken its toll on the Irish Province - although last weekend’s exertions in Clermont probably told more - as they huffed, puffed and finally pulled the plug out of Bath’s resistance in Belfast.

The 22-15 win, was deserved, if somewhat unconvincing at times, but it also extended the unbeaten home record to 20 games, now one short of their previous record.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

However,, the goal was achieved in the end, making the last eight - and while it was completed with probably their worst performance of thjs campaign - the hard graft had been done before hand in the previous pool matches, which put them in the position to progress.

Potentially hitting about their weight last season following a huge changing of the guard at Kingspan Stadium, making the last eight once again is a sign of the continued progress being made by the squad.

And, as we have seen this season on more occasions than less, when Ulster are at their best, they are a match for any side.

Their only three defeats in the 13-match marathon they have endured where to Clermont, Leinster and Munster, and all away from home.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

And while the final push to the end of that block of fixtures was not a sprint to the end, Ulster slogged it out with a Bath side who came with intent, but it was to stop UIster playing by any means and that took the tempo out of Ulster’s game.

The English Premiership side had nothing to play for but pride however they did their homework and with key ball carriers Marcell Coetzee and Stuart McCloskey marked out of the game, Ulster just did not get the same go forward ball they have enjoyed recently.

That said, there were moments of brilliance which made the difference between the sides, crucially leading to the two tries just after half-time which turned the game in Ulster’s favour after the teams went in deadlocked at 7-7 for the break.

Robert Baloucoune, rewarded for his impressive displays with a call to the Ireland Six Nations squad as one of the four development players, delivered a delightful out the back offload for fullback Will Addison to carry and eventually from that Coetzee scored the opening try.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In the second half Billy Burns’ ability to get the ball away in the tackle put Addison through and he gave an exquisite reverse pass as he was tackle to send Baloucoune - nick-named The Cat in Ulster - to go in for a try.

Addison, himself, finished a good day at the office with the third try - centre McCloskey crucial in the build-up to that.

And that brings me nicely on to the next hot topic of the week, Andy Farrell’s first Ireland squad selection ahead of the Six Nations opener against Scotland on February 1 in Dublin.

The head coach was in the spotlight as he made the announcement midweek, with Addison, and seven other Ulster players included, as well as Baloucoune in the development group - basically coming along for the ride, but what an opportunity for the Enniskillen man to develop and improve his talents further.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

However, no word of McCloskey. It appears - from the outside - the centre’s face does not fit with the new regime, having been ignored by Joe Schmidt for the most in the past few years.

McCloskey - the Bangor Bulldozer as he is known in Ulster circles - has been on form this season and when he got the call to Farrell’s ‘stock take’ over Christmas, hopes were raised that he was finally getting recognition.

Farrell was always going to sweep with a new broom, but it would appear it was not wide enough to include McCloskey, Ireland going with Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Chris Farrell and Bundee Aki, as they had at the disappointing World Cup.

However, Farrell has rewarded players on form by including them in his 35-man squad, among those Ulster’s John Cooney and Billy Burns, as well as Tommy O’Toole and a small contingent from each of the other Provinces.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The omission of McCloskey - who is potentially playing better than Aki or (Chris) Farrell - can only be sending out one message, the Ulsterman is not in the current Irish management plans.

It may well have been a tough and close call, it always in some instances, but given others have been picked on current form, it is a mistake from Farrell not to have included McCloskey - but the Six Nations is a tough tournament and if an opening was to appear, it would be interesting to see who would be called in - my money is on McCloskey still having a bearing on Ireland’s Six Nations championship fate.

Finally, as for the Saracens saga - that will keep for another time.

Related topics: