Ulster 16 Clermont 11:THERE ARE many constituents in victory, some of which are not written in a playbook. Ulster won't care one whit about the aesthetic quality of the rugby in the immediate aftermath of another stirring evening at Ravenhill.
Instead they will celebrate a triumph founded on character, perspiration and an unrelenting second-half intensity that exposed Clermont Auvergne just enough to pickpocket a win. During that period the French side adopted a mindset of trying not to lose the game, dialling down ambition and instead seeking security in more basic strategies, until forced into belatedly chasing the game.
It might have sufficed if Ulster had continued in the same vein as the opening 40 minutes in which careless handling and largely pedestrian, lateral back-play undermined the hard work of an excellent Ulster pack.
A primary gambit was to hit outhalf Ian Humphreys on a wraparound but his sweeping arcs allowed an aggressive Clermont defensive line to hunt the ball carrier behind the gain-line. Humphrey’s team-mates needed to straighten and hold the drift, cutting angles that were acute rather than obtuse.
Ulster were dominant in the scrum, forcing three penalties during that period, and in the hugely impressive Stephen Ferris, Dan Tuohy and Chris Henry boasted players capable of winning collisions and setting targets going forward. The home side though couldn’t muster the continuity to lock down field position and build pressure.
Turnovers allowed Clermont to wriggle free and employ a more direct method in kicking for territory. The first half was encapsulated in two potential try scoring moments only one of which was successful. Aurelien Rougerie’s short popped pass saw Lee Byrne step inside the attempted tackle of the otherwise excellent Andrew Trimble and link with wing Noa Nakaitaci, who forced his way over the line. Craig Gilroy made a decent if unsuccessful attempt to intercede.
The second involved a quickly taken tap penalty by lively Ulster scrumhalf Paul Marshall. He evaded several tackles, Darren Cave showed good feet to stretch the visitors out wide and then after one more midfield ruck the ball was swept towards the other touchline. Humphreys spotted a gap but dithered for just a split second and in trying to find one or the two players outside had his pass picked off by Wesley Fofana.
Rougerie hoofed the ball downfield and it took a lung bursting 60 metre sprint from Chris Henry and a silly transgression from Gerhard Vosloo to avert the danger. At that point Ulster trailed 8-3 but it could have been significantly worse. Morgan Parra had missed a penalty and conversion, David Skrela would err with a snap drop goal before the Clermont outhalf kicked a penalty 90 seconds before the interval.
Trimble’s brilliant take at the re-start preempted a sequence of play that culminated in Humphreys kicking a second penalty – as a momentum change it was to prove significant.
The second half began with Ulster having recalibrated their game-plan, embracing a more direct style through Humphrey’s punting and garryowens. He kicked a third penalty on 50 minutes after another Tuohy surge.
Ulster now faced different problems in terms of malfunctioning set-pieces. John Afoa and Tom Court began to tire due to their sterling work in all facets – Paddy McAllister and Declan Fitzpatrick gave the team fresh impetus – while inopportune turnovers at the lineout cost promising field position.
Brock James scuffed a penalty and then the match turned on a single moment. Julien Pierre lost the ball in contact, Adam D’Arcy glided into the line, handed off Regan King, accelerated through a gap and left Humphreys to negotiate the final 15 metres with a beautifully weighted and timed inside pass.
The Ulster outhalf kicked a marvellous touchline conversion at nudge his side ahead, 16-11. James pulled another penalty attempt wide with six minutes remaining as the home side maintained the rigorous commitment to defence.
Clermont will reflect on an evening when place-kicking was an issue, so too a dearth of creativity and at times a fondness for involving themselves in niggles that simply drew the crowd back into the match. The composition of their three-quarter line seems unbalanced and they missed players like Sitiveni Sivivatu, Julien Malzieu and Anthony Floch.
Ulster coach Brian McLaughlin was delighted with the victory without being oblivious to the shortcomings in some areas of his team’s display. “We have a superb record in Europe and we are very proud so to add Clermont to that list; it is phenomenal for us.
“In the first half we made errors similar to the ones we made last week but we are creating opportunities. We turned over a bit of lineout ball in crucial areas of the pitch and that is something we have to keep working on; we have to keep improving. We have to go to Welford Road and turn in the same (performance) once again.”
He acknowledged superb performances from Ferris and Best and was especially pleased with the physical commitment. “The contacts out there were ferocious. You heard me earlier in the season complain about our physicality. You can’t fault their physicality out there. We have shown in a huge game that we can do it. Now it is a matter of making sure we can kick on after that.”
SCORING SEQUENCE – 6 mins: Nakaitaci try, 0-5; 11 mins: Humphreys penalty, 3-5; 17 mins: Skrela penalty, 3-8; 38 mins: Skrela penalty, 3-11. 39 mins: Humphreys penalty, 6-11. Half-time: 6-11. 50 mins: Humphreys penalty, 9-11; 69 mins: Humphreys try, Humphreys conversion, 16-11.
ULSTER: S Danielli; A Trimble, D Cave, P Wallace, C Gilroy; I Humphreys, P Marshall; T Court, R Best, J Afoa; J Muller, D Tuohy; S Ferris, C Henry, P Wannenburg. Replacements: A D’Arcy for Danielli (55 mins), P McAllister for Court, D Fitzpatrick for Afoa (both 67 mins), W Faloon for Ferris 76 mins.
CLERMONT: L Byrne; W Fofana, A Rougerie, R King, N Nakaitaci; D Skrela, M Parra; L Faure, B Kayser, D Zirakashvili; N Hines, J Pierre; J Bonnaire, G Vosloo, E Vermeulen. Replacements: M Kotze for Zirakashvili, B James for Skrela (both 50 mins), C Ric for Faure (60 mins), J Bardy for Vermeulen (64 mins), J White for Pierre, J-M Buttin for King (both 71 mins), King for Byrne (78 mins).
Referee: W Barnes (England).
