42 - 15

Attendance: 3000
Friday 26/08/05
Ravenhill
KO 19.30

You know what they say about guys hanging around the male toilets

There was a tumultuous roar that echoed all around the emptying stands of a happy and excited Ravenhill as the Ulster players rightly celebrated a comprehensive victory over an off the mark Rotherham. A 20-minute virtuoso performance by David Humphries cut the Titans to bits as his rapier running and eloquent kicking did most of the damage but like a matador executing the flagging bull there was another story buried deep in the manner of the execution.

Andre Bester may have thought that some of his all conquering Harlequins players ought to be aggrieved at not making the Club Ulster squad but tonight he was shown that the step up to full time professional was beyond these lads despite a very spirited and never say die performance. There were a lot of personal battles waged in the depths of the pack and indeed it was the Titans who scored first followed by a rousing Ulster try and conversation to level by Neil Best. Before the half Titans scored again with the pattern repeated through McMillan only for Ulster to nose in front thanks to an another excellent conversion by Steinmetz.

At the half the picture was not exactly inspiring stuff but it was always the home side that were doing the threatening, however it was always the home side that were dropping the ball or giving away the silly unnecessary penalty to waste the hard work previously done. Rustiness and lack of match practice may be the cause but too often there were too many passes for the sake of passing. The ball was spilled, it was knocked on or Titan interlopers stealing an interception and skipping three quarters the length of the pitch disrupted the movement. The Titan wedge caused Ulster some problems, but once they sorted that threat as the game progressed there was little attacking threat that could not have been handled.

Paddy Wallace looked very dangerous at 10 running with pace from deep with his partner in crime Mr Steinmetz keeping a sharp eye on him. The lineout was working well and the scrums were a little uneasy but achieved the aim. A few missed tackles as Scotty Young was shown a clean pair of heels on 2 occasions saw the Ulster boys spurred on into high motivational gear and answered the call twice in as quick a time as it took to restart, to deal Rotherham a sequence of deadly crippling blows before going for the jugular.

Early into the second Ulster went behind thanks to a well struck penalty and started to turn the screw for the third time of asking. This time the executioner came on to play his role. Dr David Humphries in one of too many to mention changes that saw a musical chair sequence of substitution and resubstitutions. He ran the back line like a conductor his orchestra turning out some of the finest back moves ever seen at Ravenhill and producing more tries than we saw most of last season. The Titan bull was flagging, as the big hits from the likes of the incredibly abrasive Mr Best who was running about like the sheriff in a Wild West town keeping order in his own particular way and the human dynamo known as McMillan. Ulster were running the ball from all over the place smelling the scent of victory as the gaps in the Rotherham defence began to open up and Andre’s fine words were written on the backs of Humps’ boots as he eased himself and teased the rest of the back line into the killing zones of a tired and nearly defeated visiting side. It was not long before the tries were raining down on Ravenhill with McMillan, Humphries, Frost and Trimble crossing.

Rotherham, to their great credit never gave up and were looking to attack at every available opportunity. But the prime raw aggression of the Ulster pack saw them off on each occasion with the defensive patterns of Neil Kelly working well. Justin Harrison played his second game in the white of his adopted province and put his body where his very fat bank cheque was: on the line. Never shirking and never afraid to poke others in the chest if they failed to live up to his standards he proved to be an inspiration as did Paul Marshall of the Ballynahinch club who made his debut at scrum half, and hopefully will be his first of many as this cheeky rascal improved the service Humphries was receiving with fast darting passes and always keen to exploit any gaps behind the scrum. The other Justin, Fitzpatrick partnered his namesake in the front row. Both boys along with Bryn Young did well but Justin Fitzpatrick’s back was like an iron girder on the Forth River Bridge: unflinching.

Although not in the same league, Rotherham were comprehensively put away tonight by a very hungry Ulster side that pressurised the ball carrier like a swarm of wasps. On every loose ball and on every key point there were three Ulster players looking to secure possession and turn defence into attack. All of the players on the bench got a run out and although it was with a romping team it will be invaluable experience, Special mention must go to the absolutely outstanding Paul Marshall and Ryan Caldwell who put in the hard graft and slog at the start. However it's back to bread and butter in 2 weeks time away to Cardiff where we will maybe have a better idea as to our standing.

However it may have been a worried group of senior Ulster players congregated around the gent loos earlier on that may just have been inspiration.