Big games are won by small margins.
I don't know if anyone has coined that phrase before – and I'm sure they
have (it seems like the kind of thing Will Greenwood would say with a smug look
on his face) – but if they haven't, it's mine.
But it seems to ring true – some of the biggest games seem to come down
the smallest isolated incident, whether that be a slip (as per Kurtley Beale in
the 1st Lions Test last year), a dodgy linesman call (see Mike Brown's foot in
touch against Australia) or a David-Campese cock-up special (Lions 3rd Test,
1989). They all seem to involve the
Australians for some reason. But this
(probably made-up) phrase was going through my head as Leicester prepared to
take on Ulster for the right to play a home quarter final.
With Welford Road providing a cauldron of crackling energy on a cold,
clear East Midlands night, there was a feeling that we would be in for a
nerve-shreddingly tight encounter. And
it was clear, from the opening kick-off, that that was exactly what we would
get.It was the hosts who, with the best part of 24,000 roaring them on, who had
the early possession, hitting up the phases well through Tom Youngs and Graham
Kitchener, before a knock on stopped their momentum. The scrum, though, was an area which the
Tigers had targeted before the game, and Marcos Ayerza and Dan Cole managed to
get the nudge on John Afoa and Callum Black to force the penalty. Toby Flood converted, and Leicester had an
early lead.
Fullback Mathew Tait, making a promising comeback from injury, then
made a two telling contributions to extend the Tigers' lead – firstly, taking a
perfectly-placed up-and-under from Ulster fly half Paddy Jackson under pressure
from the rather large Nick Williams, before making a darting break in attack to
put the men in black on the front foot.
Jordan Crane continued the attack and, when the visitors were penalised
for not rolling, Flood stepped up and nudged over another 3 points.
Ulster, though, have built a reputation for being men of steel – never shaken,
and ruthlessly pragmatic. After Ed
Slater had infringed at a ruck, Ruan Pienaar – who had been quiet in the
opening exchanges – smashed a superb touch finder in close to the Tigers
line. Slater infringed again at the
maul, receiving a ticking off from Nigel Owens in the process and allowing
Pienaar to kick a tricky penalty out wide, bringing the score to 6 – 3.
It was claustrophobic and physical, and utterly compelling – with brutal
defence the order of the day, and this was at its most evident at the 20 minute
mark. Ben Youngs atoned for two poor box
kicks early on with a sharp break around the fringes to push the Tigers up to
the Ulster 22, but when Crane took the ball on he was absolutely creamed by a
superb hit from Dan Tuohy from the side.
Crane had to leave the field to be replaced by Steve Mafi, and the
entire balance of Leicester's back row had been thrown into turmoil.
Not that it was immediately obvious, however, as Mafi produced a neat
offload on halfway to Graham Kitchener, who galloped through a gap a
frightening pace, only to be caught by a magnificent covering tackle by Jared
Payne just metres from the line.
Leicester won another scrum penalty a couple of phases later though, and
re-esablished their 6 point lead.
If the Tigers had looked the better side in the first quarter, things
were about to gradually change. Another
excellent touch-finder by Piennar and subsequent lineout had Leicester going
backwards at an alarming rate, forcing Dan Cole to come in from the side to
concede another penalty for the South African general to knock over. Another referee may have been inclined to
send Cole to the naughty boy step in such circumstances.
Moments later, and Ulster were level, thanks to sharp work at the
breakdown by the omnipresent Chris Henry and another booming kick from
Pienaar. Flood then missed his easiest
kick of the night before the visitors had their first real opportunity of the
game, as Ben Youngs was scragged following a quick tap, allowing Pienaar to
trip expertly ahead for Andre Trimble to chase.
The awkward bounce eluded Niki Goneva and fell into the Irish
international's hands, but the Fijian wing did just enough to force a foot into
touch 10 metres from the hosts' line.
The Tigers were now well on the back foot, and were further rocked by
the sight of Tait – who had been assured under the high ball and lively in
attack – being replaced by Scott Hamilton after picking up an injury. Pienaar then sent a drop goal wide of the
posts to bring about half time, and a respite for the home side. The crowd took stock. It felt as if Ulster were on top but – on the
whole – it had been an incredibly even first half, with Leicester ruling the
opening exchanges before the lads from Belfast battered their way back into
things in the second 20. This game was
on a knife-edge, and was looking increasingly difficult to call, but it was a
sense of deja vous when the teams re-emerged for the second half.
After some tentative jabs between the sides, it was the Tigers who once
again had the better of the exchanges, earning territory with smart kicks from
the half backs and strong carries from the pack. Once again, it was the scrum which yielded
the penalty – awarded this time for an early break by Chris Henry – and Flood
added 3 points to put the hosts back in front.
It was a bitter-sweet moment as yet another Tiger – the superb Kitchener
– was forced off with an injury. It
would prove to be a crucial moment as Kitchener was about the only man who was
close to Pienaar's level of performance.
Luckily, for Leicester, the loss was not immediately felt, as they
breached the men in white's stingy defence for the first time. Following a bullocking run from the
impressive Tom Youngs, Flood took the ball on the front foot in centre field on
the visitors' 22. Noticing the Ulster
defence rushing up quickly and Jared Payne covering the side of field, the fly
half dinked a delightful grubber in behind Paddy Jackson for Niall Morris to
gather – despite being tackled early – and touch down in the corner. Flood added a conversion and, all of a
sudden, there was daylight between the sides – 10 points to be precise. Surely it was game over. Nobody ever comes back from 10 points down at
Welford Road.
Except nobody told Ulster that.
They came straight back at the Tigers, battering their way up to within
5 metres of the Leicester line. The
hosts, shorn of their main threat to Ulster's lineout and one of their most
prominent figures in the loose in Kitchener, seemed unable to resist the wave
of white surging towards them, with the likes of Rory Best and the gargantuan
Nick Williams barrelling forward time and again. For one of the first times this season
though, the Tigers defence looked solid, with Tom Youngs, Anthony Allen and
Jamie Gibson all putting their bodies on the line in a ferocious display of
tackling. Eventually Youngs conceded 3
points, but there was to be no respite for the hosts.
Scott Hamilton made a hash of another towering kick from Jackson, and
from there the Tigers were unable to clear their lines. When they did attempt to clear from a ruck,
it all went horribly wrong. Ben Youngs'
pass was a fraction high, Toby Flood took one too many steps, and no 'blocker'
forced Pienaar to take a step around them, but the South African scrum half took
full advantage of these 3 factors and flung himself forward to charge down the
kick and dive on the loose ball to claim the try. He slotted the conversion with ice-cool
composure, and we were back level. Welford
Road was stunned.
That stunned silence was replaced by a road – an Irish roar – from the
visiting fans, as Pienaar once again stepped up to the plate to land a 50 metre
penalty with 10 minutes remaining, giving his side the lead. Leicester threw everything at Ulster in the
last 10 minutes – a monster kick for touch by Flood which led to a lineout
drive was thwarted by powerful Ulster defence (as it had been all night) before
the visiting scrum – on the back foot all game – won an incredible set piece
against the head. It was a special
night, and as Nigel Owens blew his whistle, an iconic night*, as Ulster
inflicted a home defeat on Leicester in Europe for the first time in 8 years. Both sides would be in the last 8, but
Leicester would be travelling to France and facing an away semi-final if they
win, whilst Ulster have a home encounter quarter final to look forward to.
What a pair of games these two sides have played out. With try-scoring opportunities at a premium,
these 2 have matched one another blow-for-blow, resulting in some of the most
compelling and brutal Heineken Cup rugby I've seen for some time. But, in both games, Ulster just had that extra
5% where it mattered – the ability to maintain that intensity for 80 minutes,
to remain calm under pressure. That 5%,
as is so often the case, proved to be the difference. And a certain South African scrum half, too.
*I was going to state 'memorable', but following various accounts from
both sets of supporters of the ensuing night in Leicester, I gather this may
not have been the case. Here's hoping to
a reunion of these 2 sides in the semi-finals.
What else happened in the final weekend of Heineken Cup group games?
Pool 1: Leinster dispatched
of a brave Ospreys side who played with 14 men for 60 minutes after Ian Evans
was shown a red card, whilst Saints ground their way to a low scoring win at
home to Castres.
Pool 2: Exeter claimed an
impressive away win in Cardiff against the Blues and Toulon scrapped to 7 point
win away in Glasgow in atrocious conditions to book themselves a home quarter
final.
Pool 3: Saracens dismantled Connacht at home to
claim a best runners up spot, whilst Toulouse made a real meal of turning over
Zebre in Italy, costing themselves a home quarter final in the process.
Pool 4: Clermont easily dispatched Racing Metro at
home to confirm a home quarter final, and Quins sneaked a dead rubber against
the Scarlets in Wales.
Pool 5: In the other Pool 5 game, Montpellier
overcame a stubborn Treviso side at home.
Pool 6: Munster demolished Edinburgh at home to
claim an unlikely home quarter final, whilst Gloucester finally fulfilled their
potential with an impressive win away in Perpignan.
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