Sometimes the outcome of a match will be decreed by a lucky bounce of a ball or an indiscretion committed in the heat of battle. But there are occasions when the resolute and brilliant are the deciding elements.
There is nothing like victory against the improbable to bring out the romantic in us. Through the years it has been my good fortune to have witnessed many famous victories and been present at great sporting occasions and I have no hesitation in placing the events at Ravenhill last Saturday alongside the greatest memories I will carry as long memory holds. Ulster's win over Stade Francais was truly that kind of occasion.
No one among the 20,000 crowd last Saturday will ever forget the exhilarating experience.
It was a superb victory recorded in an unforgettable atmosphere. Certain occasions in the theatre that is sport are remembered for all the right reasons. The match last Saturday was one such occasion. Ulster rugby has contributed handsomely to the game in this land for well over a century. Some of the greatest of Ireland's players have come from Ulster. Men, who by their brilliance, and achievements left indelible marks on the history of the game and marvellous memories for those who saw those players in international competition for Ireland and the Lions.
The moment Ulster ran onto the field, they received a huge and vocal welcome. That support was sustained from first whistle to last. And when referee Jim Fleming blew his whistle for the last time and Ulster had won, the reception the Ulster players got was incredible. No one really wanted to leave the ground, they just wanted the celebrations to go on and on and to savour every second of an historic and wonderful occasion. The bond between spectators and players had been established during the match. The spectators had seen and appreciated that Ulster's hopes of fulfilment had been hostage to what the players' bodies could endure to provide the answers when the pressure came on, as indeed it did.
Here was a side that was not prepared to yield to what was considered a superior rugby force. As each crisis came, they had seen Ulster respond. They knew that the match had not been decided by luck but by a performance great in character and commitment. Interspersed in the 80 minutes was the occasional flash of brilliance such as Simon Mason's dropped goal and the try scored by David Humphreys. The whole mixture was an exquisite blend.
At the end the reception the Ulster players got was touched by reverence for what they had achieved. The spectators knew the result had surpassed their expectations and they knew why. That was what made this occasion so special. All who had been in the ground knew they had a wonderful conversation piece for many a day to come and to proclaim: "I was there".
It is not always easy to make comparisons between the great achievements of today and yesterday and maybe often all the factors and circumstances are not weighed accurately. Personal preference and subjectivity can colour judgment.
But by any objective standard this was unquestionably one of the great occasions in Irish rugby. In the context of Ulster sport in general it has to go down as one of the province's greatest days and for Ulster rugby, it was the greatest occasion of all.
Yes, it eclipsed the win over the Australians when Philip Rainey's great kick from the left hand touchline fashioned a famous Ulster victory. The celebrations after that famous night bore no comparison to the scenes last Saturday. Ravenhill was, too, of course the venue in 1948 when Ireland beat Wales 6-3 to do the Grand Slam for the first and, to date, only time. But the celebrations last Saturday surpassed even that great day.
Sport can have very profound resonances in society and the people of the North have suffered greatly for too long. In the very bad and difficult times the game went on, for that great credit is due to many. Rugby is not the preferred sport or recreation in the North, but what happened last Saturday will I am sure lift the game to a new level there. A record attendance of 20,000 will have included many who had never been in Ravenhill before and I have no doubt even some who had never been at a rugby match previously. What they saw is certainly an enticement to go back again.
Everything about the whole occasion was memorable for all the right reasons, for the Ulster players and for their coach Harry Williams, a man who has contributed so much to the game there. Irish rugby has had few better days. It is a tremendous boost for the game in this country in both psychological and tangible terms. It was also justification for the policy of putting in place the means to bring Irish rugby players back to play in Ireland. Once the money was available to do that which it was from increased television revenue, the policy was implemented. The reward came last Saturday and should come to an even greater extent in the future. It was also a very effective answer to the belief that Irish players would only succeed if they went to England and played in the Allied Dunbar League.
Could I make the point that while the return of such as David Humphreys, Simon Mason, Jonathan Bell, Allan Clarke, Justin Fitzpatrick and Andrew Park from England was very important in building this Ulster team, 11 of the 17 players who helped in this famous win never kicked a ball in the English League. Harry Williams is also a home-based coach.
The English clubs have seen fit to boycott Europe, so be it.
The events at Ravenhill last Saturday may have given some of them food for thought and maybe the realisation will dawn on them just what they are missing. There was scarcely a man woman or child in Ravenhill last Saturday who gave a second thought to the absence of the so called English elite or gave a damn whether or not the English clubs enter. With or without the English clubs together with their co-conspirators Swansea and Cardiff, the European Cup is a great competition. Meanwhile, the attendances are dropping dramatically in the Allied Dunbar League, I hope Lansdowne Road is packed to capacity for the final and that Ulster get the support of the whole country, which I'm sure they will and which they deserve.
Let us therefore now give credit to those who put the European structure in place and kept it in place in the face of opposition and castigation of the most selfish and unethical opposition. Tom Kiernan and Vernon Pugh have been subjected to ongoing outpourings of vitriol. The IRFU has been committed to Europe from the outset and the European Cup, Conference and the AIB League are the way forward for Irish rugby. That was the stated policy in 1995 and remains so. In fact some would do well to read the document presented by the IRFU Game Development Committee as long ago as August 1979. I will elaborate on it next week.
