The
first half was as amateurish as Ulster Rugby's marketing
of this game. Ulster Rugby's build up screamed of
desperation all week, from the ingratiating "crowd"
quotes in the press, to the scramble to get rid of old stock
by SS Moore's and the abysmal attempt to influence the referee
through the local press - who appear to have fallen head
over heels for the media aware Matt Williams.
In the end the efforts
to whip up the crowd came to nothing. First there was the
insult of the "megaphones". (Following on from
the pathetic "flags" I sometimes wonder if some
promotional goods printer uses Ulster Rugby as an outlet
for its discontinued stock.) Then there was the Public Announcer
and his attempts to "create an atmosphere". He
is so far out of touch it would be funny if we weren't playing
so badly, thankfully he was drowned out by the torrential
downpour which had the additional plus point of turning
the megaphones to mush.
While the above may seem
like petty issues they are perhaps more indicative of our
current position than what was served up on the pitch. Nearly
ten years on since Ulster won the European Cup the supporters
are still treated with contempt by UR. After 5 years of
being in the top 3 of Best Supported Team (winning it 3
out of the 5) we are still expected to stand there and take
it when the heavens open. If Ulster Rugby are so cack handed
off the pitch is it any wonder that we sometimes struggle
on it?
The pre-match public attempt
by Matt Williams to influence the referee also came to nothing
with the experienced and competent Alan Lewis being replaced
at the last minute by the inexperienced and incompetent
Peter Fitzgibbon. With this change and the continued downpour
Connacht must have thought that all their birthdays had
come at once. If ever they had a chance to turn over Ulster
at Ravenhill this was it.
FRU MotM Rory
"Mr Ulster" Best drives
the team on to victory. Picture by www.rugbypicture.co.uk.
So we stood in the rain
and watched as a nervous Ulster ran out to face a Connacht
team confident in the knowledge that they had nothing to
loose. After the first ten minutes things looked grim with
One F in the bin and Ulster being blown off the park by
Fitzgibbon. A few minutes later Connacht are 0 - 3 up thanks
to a Dunne penalty. Connacht prop Morris became the second
player to be sin-binned when he was shown a yellow card
for using the knee in a ruck. O'Connor failed with a penalty
attempt but made amends by leveling the scores at 3 - 3
with a 37th-minute effort.
Dunne pulled a penalty
wide just before half time then missed two comparatively
easy attempts early in the second half and he was visibly
upset when taken off. Despite the drying conditions Connacht
still looked on top but two quick charge downs turned the
tide and seemed to unite a disjointed Ulster. The forwards
started to play together and after a period of sustained
pressure Tom Court drove over for a deserved try, converted
by Wallace. Wallace and Troy swapped penalties but Ulster
looked to be in command thanks to a plentiful supply of
lineout ball.
Ulster's pack were now
well on top and the win was confirmed when McCullough barged
over with 5 minutes to go. At the end of the day this was
one of those matches where the result was more important
than the performance but it still felt like a backwards
step from the previous two home matches.
The FRU
Man of the Match goes to Rory
Best due to his non-stop commitment to the cause.
The
wet weather didn't appear to dampen the enthusiasm
of the galoot's over on the terrace as they found
time to make a political statement on Tibet between their
attempts to garner votes for local lass Niamh Perry in the
BBC programme "I'd do Anything". No doubt we'll
soon be supplied with pictures of their flag and banner
waving so we can all enjoy!!
Tuesday 15th April
19:30 Bath v Leicester Guinness Premiership Sky Sports
2 (from 19:30)
Friday 18th April
19:05 Dragons v Connacht Magners League Setanta Ireland
(19:05-21:10) BBC2 Wales (19:00-21:00) BBC Interactive
(19:00-21:00)
19:30 Edinburgh v Leinster Magners League Setanta Sports
2 (19:30-21:30)
19:30 Bourgoin v Castres Top 14 British Eurosport 2 (19:30-21:15)
Saturday 19th April
08:30 Waratahs v Lions Super 14 Sky Sports 2 (08:30-10:30)
10:30 Brumbies v Sharks Super 14 Sky Sports 2 (10:30-12:30)
14:30 London Irish v Harlequins Guinness Premiership Sky
Sports 2 (14:30-17:00) Sky Sports HD2 (14:30-17:00)
17:30 Cardiff v Ulster Magners League S4C (17:10-19:25)
Setanta Ireland (17:15-19:30)
19:30 Munster v Ospreys Magners League Setanta Ireland
(19:30-21:30)
Friday 25th April
19:30 Dragons v Ospreys Magners League S4C (from 19:25)
19:30 TBC Top 14 British Eurosport 2 (19:30-21:15)
20:00 Worcester v Newcastle Challenge Cup Semi-final Sky
Sports 2 (from 20:00)
Saturday 26th April
08:30 Chiefs v Reds Super 14 Sky Sports 2 (08:30-10:30)
10:30 Waratahs v Sharks Super 14 Sky Sports 2 (10:30-12:30)
12:30 Bath v Sale Challenge Cup Semi-final Sky Sports
2 (12:30-14:30) Sky Sports HD2 (12:30-14:30)
14:30 London Irish v Toulouse Heineken Cup Semi-final
Sky Sports 2 (14:30-17:00) Sky Sports HD2 (14:30-17:00)
Sunday 27th April
14:30 Saracens v Munster Heineken Cup Semi-final Sky Sports
2 (14:30-17:00) Sky Sports HD2 (14:30-17:00)