Taking the Irish Provinces as a whole, if you consider Leinster and Munster both lost one of their opening two games in their pools, then a similar return from Ulster is not that bad.
However, to lose to Edinburgh in the fashion they did in Scotland was bitterly disappointing for Ulster. Having won well against English side, Bath, Ulster rightly went to Edinburgh with confidence of making it two from two.
And why not. They had the beating of Edinburgh at Ravenhill in the Magners League, but threw away the advantage and lost. The time was right for a point to be made. And it looked as though Ulster were on track as they had a 13-6 lead at one point. But Edinburgh saw a chink in the Irish armour again, seized it, and Ulster had failed to learn their lesson. A rare away win in Europe had been allowed to slip through their fingers.
The losing bonus point was at least something. But Ulster should have been sharing top spot in Pool Four with Stade Francais, who easily disposed of the Scots and then produced a tremendous fight back to win against Bath on English soil. However, while Bath’s chances are really slim, Ulster know the back-to-back fixtures with Stade in December, hold the key to unlocking Europe.
At the very least they must win the home game which is up first. There is a tremendous history against the Parisians, but they have now finally won in Belfast and perhaps a wet and windy afternoon at Ravenhill, may be needed to assist the Ulster cause. Europe is the place where the players what to prove their worth and this is Ulster’s big opportunity. A win at home over Stade is certainly possible.
Perhaps away it will be tougher. But then the game is not in Paris, but Brussels and that could give Ulster a helping hand, even though there will still be a large number of Stade supporters baying for Ulster blood.
There is no point looking any further ahead to the Edinburgh (home) and Bath (away) matches. This is the defining period for Ulster in Europe with the two games against Stade. Lose both and the French side are likely to take top spot. Ulster must then battle for second position and while that will probably not be enough to make the knockout stages, they can at least extend their season and qualify for the European Challenge Cup under the new competition make up.
Meanwhile, defending champions Leinster lost their home opener against London Irish, but stormed back with a bonus point display in an expected win over Brive.
Two times winners, Munster, came unstuck in the first round of matches when they lost to a Northampton Saints side, containing former Ulster players, Neil Best and Roger Wilson. Back in the familiar surrounds of Thomond Park, although struggling a little, Munster finally put Italian side, Treviso to the sword and collected the bonus point as well.
Crucially in this Pool One, Treviso caused the biggest upset for some time in round one when they defeated French League champions, Perpignan. The French went on to win against Saints, and the results have fallen nicely in place for Munster after their opening defeat.
However, they now face their big test with back to back games against the French. Leinster will face Scarlets in their double header, and one has to fancy the current Magners League leaders and reigning champions to pick up a few points, if not all of them.
