The devil is in the detail

The record is gone and the fortress is in disarray as Biarritz deservedly beat Ulster in this highly entertaining and watchable encounter at Ravenhill. There will be a scratching of brows and a stroking of goatee beards by the knowledgeable as to why it happened in such a convincing manner after Ulster had the start from heaven and ended with the finish from Hades. Certainly Biarritz were as professional a team that has graced Ravenhill in many years perhaps even ever. Give them a sniff of the line or the hint of an opportunity and they will hurt you and grind you into a position where it was near impossible not to be ground into submission and rack up the points. Yet with 20 minutes to go it was even-stevens with 8 points apiece, everything to play for and Ulster on the attack from the lineout. Not for the first time during the evening Rory Best missed his man gifting the ball to the opposition for them to race up the pitch 75 meters and score a seven pointer that effectively saw the end of Ulster’s European Cup campaign and with it the hopes and dreams of the capacity crowd.

No, it was not the first time Rory Best missed his man. In fact it would take more than the fingers of one hand to count the lost lineouts and a few more to count the turnovers that Ulster presented Biarritz with. You can forget about the refereeing decisions that missed at least 2 high tackles on Ulster players, the deliberate fouling that should have given a yellow card instead of a penalty close to the Biarritz line. You can forget about the late tackle on David Humphries that lead to his untimely departure and the arrival of a pedantic Larkin whose predictability and telegraphing gave the staff at the RVH time to line up the ambulances. You could even be forgiven for overlooking the cheating of Yachvilli kicking the ball away from Andrew Trimble when awarded a penalty and gaining another 10 yards when he claimed the Ulsterman had kicked it away. This is not what lost Ulster the game. But it was the giving away of possession to Biarritz too easily and the silly knockons that let Biarritz off the hook when they were beginning to wilt under the pressure. Accuracy and patience is what Ulster lacked, coupled with a ruthless sense of endeavour that means screwing the opposition before they do it onto you. The first rule of rugby is to get your retaliation in first.

Yet had Ulster played their last few Celtic League games in the same manner as they played this evening they would not be in a poor fourth, but would be challenging the top with Munster. It is turning out to be a season of opportunity lost with moral and fibre sapping at every encounter due to unnecessary tinkering with a robust and effective style of play, which was exemplified in the first tremendous minutes of the game.

It was Ulster who took the game to the Frenchmen, putting in some great tackles and in particular Neil Best was staking a claim for an Irish shirt in a display that was marvellous. On one occasion he tackled an intruder early on ripped the ball off him and dashed a full 50 meters up the field to gain a foothold in the Biarritz half. The pressure began to tell and before long Ulster were being awarded penalties which David Humphries elected to kick to touch and go for the try in a laudable, and given the circumstances, correct decision. And it paid off. Ulster were strong in the lineout with Harrison shining dominating as he can. The pack driving on in a surge of aggression with Humphries pulling those strings putting the ball behind the opposition defence and Maggs breaking the gain line before the rapier knife-like Steinmetz would inflict more damage in a passage of play that was as good as Ulster produced all season in terms of quality. From the lineout, Ulster rumbled and Rory Best was driven over with barely 10 minutes on the clock and it looked bright for Ulster.

However from the restart Ulster failed to take advantage and deal with the kick allowing Biarritz back into the game after a series of errors from Boss who otherwise had an outstanding game. His passes gave Humphries more time, which he seemed to relish. Soon Biarritz were piling on the pressure with Ulster failing to steady or clear the line with the normally safe Cunningham a bit unsteady underfoot. The pressure told with the wind Bobo going over for the try after Yachvilli had struck with a penalty to leave the score at halftime Ulster 5 Biarritz 8. But not before Ulster surged up the pitch for an assault on the Biarritz line that saw some fine individual play by Stephen Ferris who started shakily but ended with a powerful run that sent a note of intention.

The only reason Ulster were behind and indeed the reason they lost the match was because they failed to keep possession and they gave it away in unnecessary manner and if you do that against one of the best teams in Europe you pay the price.

The second half was very much the same as the first with Ulster making headway showing that they can mix it with the best but faltering at the penultimate hurdle and you could just feel the life blood draining away from the team. Trimble on the wing was proving to be more than a handful with his surging paces entering the line at pace and with devastation while Tommy Bowe was back to his old self. However the cracks were there and in particular from the maul, which was poorly defended and brilliantly exploited. Time and time again Biarritz broke through the maul erupting out on the Ulster side with not a defender in sight and gaining 50 meters on each occasion, breaking the heart and sole of the side. The first time tackles were firm and forceful but without Humphries the home side were losing their way somewhat despite the heart and endeavour shown. Tommy Bowe saved the line with a tremendous bit of defence turning his man inside exactly where he wanted him, just short of the line and saved the day in a temporary reprieve before Banal put the game out of reach and Yachvilli, a villain, kicked the conversion a penalty and a drop goal to consign Ulster to defeat and another year before the Cup dreams can be rekindled.

If you are going to lose it may as well be to the best and not some two penny bit side. Ulster will learn a lot from this and it was clear to be seen that they do have the potential to go all the way but alas not this year. The emergence of Stephen Ferris will set pulses racing in Dublin. Still eligible to play for Ireland at U21 level he did not look out of place with some of the big names in European rugby such as Harinordoquy and Couzinet. Indeed he positively seemed to relish in the company and delight in showing them what he can do with is 50-yard dashes up the field with a few tacklers on his back unable to ground him. Mark McCall described him as the fastest backrow forward in Irish Rugby and tonight he arrived. However Ulster must be more ruthless in their attitude to forward play and take a leaf or tow out of the Justin Harrison school of hard knocks. Neil Best had yet another truly defining game in attack and defence but you just wonder if Allen Clarke puts them through any line out drills under any sort of pressure. Yet there were times when it was exceptional rugby that Ulster played. Patience was shown as was the grit and determination required but it was all thrown away by unnecessary errors.

Ulster now need to look at the positives from this game, and there were many, take heart from them and work very very hard on the errors taking Rory Best and his lineout into a darkened room for some advice. Whether it is the coach or the player is subject to debate but this is season 2 of this and Rory is the second quality hooker to succumb to this. This area needs to be improved with urgency otherwise it could be a hard and difficult run for Ulster. With so much potential and not a little realisation, in order to progress further along the road, Ulster need to eliminate the unforced errors from their game if they are to seriously challenge and challenge they can.

Ulster: Cunningham; Bowe, Maggs, Steinmetz, Trimble; Humphreys, Boss; Young, R Best, S Best; Harrison, McCullough; N Best, Ferris, Wilson.Replacements: Brady, J Fitzpatrick, Frost, McMillan, Campbell, Larkin, Topping.

Biarritz: Brusque; Gobelet, Bidabe, Arramburu, Bobo; Peyrelongue, Yachvili; Balan, August, Lecouls; Thion, Couzinet; Dusautoir, Harinordoquy, Lievremont (capt).
Replacements: Noirot, Lealamanua, Booyse, Betsen, Dupuy, Lison, Dambielle.

Referee: Dave Pearson (RFU).

Name			Your comments
	Ash		it wasnt rory or neil who got the try it was rog wilson!!
	Paul		Good one Colin. I think you're spot on. If we had plaued our last few CL games with the same determination we'd be right up at the top. This was the best performance since the Biarritz away game - by a long way. I'm so disappointed that we failed to turn pressure into more points especially in the first half. But Biarritz' "professional" approach was as much to blame for that as anything.