Ulster Rugby, Heineken Champions Cup Match Day Programme - v Northampton Saints

Seeking Seasonal Cheer in Europe
If a victory was ever timelier, and best
designed to lift fans’ spirits, then Ulster’s
win in France last weekend ranks high.
The famous 23-29 win at Stade Marcel-
Michelin over the Gallic giant that is ASM
Clermont Auvergne offered a wondrous
Yuletide platform for tonight’s second
Heineken Champions Cup clash with one of
England’s finest.
Northampton arrive in Belfast after a
comprehensive defeat at Franklin’s Gardens
by a spellbinding Racing 92, inspired by
Scottish will ‘o the wisp Finn Russell.
Ulster supporters will be in holiday mood,
in celebratory mode, deservedly so as their
team again promises a European journey to
remember. And in a week when the news
has been less than uplifting, this matchup
under the Kingspan Stadium lights
offers welcome respite and distraction, the
opportunity to bathe in a party pool off the
pitch and on!
Guest article:
Rod Nawn
Ulster Head Coach Dan McFarland allowed
himself a broad smile after his team showed
just what he knew it could do to any team
in club rugby. He had been confident that
the disappointing defeat at the Ospreys the
previous weekend did not represent what
his players could offer. And as critical as
he was at the performances in the United
Rugby Championship in Swansea and
against Connacht, he was properly proud
of an eighty minutes effort in France which
will take its place in the club’s list of best
results.
Duane Vermeulen, finally, making his debut
in the back row slotted seamlessly into the
role the coaches had patiently planned for
the World Cup winner, and team-mates
attested to the influence the Springbok had
in just one full training session and in the
match itself.
This evening, home fans will want to
properly hail their latest South African
signing, and if he reproduces the irresistible
form he has shown for his country over the
busy last eighteen months, Vermeulen will
etch his name alongside Pienaar, Muller,
Kempson and others who have attained
enduring status in Ulster’s history.
He would be the first to say that the triumph
at Clermont was genuinely a team effort.
John Cooney, fit and relishing confirming
his priceless value to Ulster, produced an allround
display at scrum-half which will live
in the memory. His flawless kicking yielded
points at critical times in the game, but
he and Billy Burns formed a commanding
and courageous half-back combination,
while Stuart McCloskey and James Hume
flourished as a creative and marvellously
combative midfield pairing.
Michael Lowry, Ethan McIlroy and Robert
Baloucoune - until his unfortunate early
departure through injury - completed a
backline which knew how to impose itself on
opponents which had been lauded by some
observers as more physical, more athletic
and more skilful. How spectacularly was
that view dismissed, especially as Clermont
roared back into second half contention
only for Ulster’s calm, astute management
of the ball shifted the balance back.
Rob Herring is much admired in the game
but the hooker set an example in the set
piece and in the loose which makes him a
key part of this Ulster outfit. They say sport
is about opinions, if so there is a surely a
growing certainty Herring is the most
complete No.2 in Ireland.
His props, Tom O’Toole and the
undervalued Andrew Warwick, completed
a focussed and relentless front row, and
all the replacements played parts of real
substance.
Stewart Moore, Nathan Doak, Jack McGrath,
Ross Kane, Sam Carter, Greg Jones and
Sean Reidy are players of proven quality,
and with a host of others in the senior squad
determined to stake permanent claims, it
does excite when Ulster produces games of
such commitment and talent.
Alan O’Connor and Kieran Treadwell always
must prove they should be regular choices
in the second row, and even the revered Iain
Henderson would have respected the pairing’s
intelligence in most phases of the action.
Of Nick Timoney and the increasingly
impressive Marcus Rea, much could be said,
their contributions alongside the Springbok
newcomer in the tight and at the breakdown
exemplary.
So, can they, and the players vying for
selection in every position, cast aside the
inconsistencies which subverted the team’s
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