“Ulsters steadying victory over Connacht last week provided the springboard for a much more rugged and stylish performance against a star studded high specification Clermont team. Indeed the quality of play enriched by our internationals playing well backed by solid forward and backline aggression and competitiveness left me convinced of the potential of this ulster side.
CLICK HERE FOR THE OFFICIAL ULSTER RUGBY HEINEKEN CUP PAGE ON European Cup rugby Website with news, stats, history and more – one story begins ….. Heineken heroes at Ravenhill Ulster head coach Brian McLaughlin hailed his side as heroes after their hard-fought Heineken Cup win over ASM Clermont Auvergne.
Scrums and lineouts were sound. Tackling was ferocious throughout the team save one lapse to give away the try. A few kicking errors and poor strategic kicking kept Ulster in the wrong part of the pitch for most of the first half. The game turned in the second half after renewed Ulster passion and a brilliant high kick by Humphries to just outside the 22 which Lee Byrne dropped.
CLICK HERE FOR ESPN SCRUM REVIEW “Ian Humphreys scored all of Ulster’s points in their stirring 16-11……..”
Adam Darcy provided the dash of brilliance for Humphries to score when he came off the bench at an inspired time with two new props to put Ulster in front for the first time. The roar of the crowd fueling steely tackling kept Clermont from replying. Man of the match to Stephen Ferris was justified due to his phenomenal work rate in charging runs and hard tackling. Rory Best and Chris Henry also worth a mention. Both sides will rue missed penalty kicks but especially for Ulster it lost us the opportunity of denying Clermont a bonus point. Clearly facing Leicester away is a much bigger task. We need to play the whole game as we did in most of the second half. Then take our chances.” Rob Irwin
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UTV – CLICK HERE for Win gives Ulster perfect Cup start
BBC Sport Have 2 Stories CLICK HERE For Video Interview with Chris Henry…”Henry delighted with Ulster display” & HERE for audio interview with Ian Humphreys
