Ulster's fringe men come good

Ulster 14 Leicester Tigers 14:IN THE scheme of things, pre-season friendlies are hardly meaningful indicators of what is likely to follow yet Ulster have still managed to attract attention with their decent-looking start.

New coach Mark Anscombe had already presided over a win at Bayonne before Saturday’s efforts which saw a selection heavily leaning towards youth and inexperience give as good as they got against a close to full strength Leicester Tigers outfit.

As skipper Johann Muller pointed out afterwards, he was the only Ulster player on show who had started when the sides last met back in January in Ulster’s pulsating Heineken Cup triumph at Ravenhill.

On Saturday, thanks to a combination of injuries and the IRFU management programme, Anscombe’s starting selection included young players such as Michael Allen, Michael Heaney, Luke Marshall, Chris Cochrane, Ali Birch and the excellent Chris Farrell as well as other fringe players from last season Callum Black, Robbie Diack and a 13-man bench which included Peter Nelson and Stuart Olding.

All – including a certain substitute John Afoa – made their presence felt and Anscombe, though urging caution at reading too much into the result, rightly praised their efforts.

“I can’t question the attitude and the character of the players, it’s been outstanding,” he said while also mentioning newly arrived signing and former Munster player Nick Williams for his impact on his first appearance.

The Kiwi coach added: “Some of these young guys haven’t had many games for Ulster but showed they want to.”

Ulster – with Declan Fitzpatrick giving Martin Castrogiovanni a hard time at the scrums during Fitzpatrick’s 25 minutes on the field – were the stronger at the set-pieces.

Indeed, Ulster scored first when – in the first scrum after Afoa’s introduction – referee George Clancy awarded a penalty try. It was converted by the newly returned Niall O’Connor and Ulster led 7-0 at the break.

The Tigers hit back with converted tries from Verniki Goneva and Thomas Waldron but Ulster had the final word when, late on, Cochrane scored under the posts with Paddy Jackson adding the extras to tie the scores.

ULSTER:J Payne; C Gilroy, C Farrell, L Marshall, M Allen; N O'Connor, M Heaney; C Black, N Brady, D Fitzpatrick; J Muller (c), L Stevenson; R Diack, A Birch, N Williams. Replacements: R Lutton, R Herring, N Annett, J Afoa, A Macklin, N McComb, M McComish, S Doyle, B McIlroy, P Jackson, C Cochrane, S Olding, R Andrews, P Nelson.

LEICESTER TIGERS: G Murphy; S Hamilton, M Tuilagi, A Allen, V Goneva; T Flood, M Young; M Castrogiovanni, T Youngs, D Cole; S Mafi, G Parling; B Deacon, J Salvi, T Waldron. Replacements: R Hawkins, G Chuter, F Balmain, K Brookes, R Bower, J Caia, R Thorpe, H Wells, J Crane, P Phibbs, S Harrison, G Ford, N Morris, M Smith, A Symons, A Lewington.

Referee:G Clancy (IRFU).