Match Report: Bath 22 Ulster 26

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The double-header of Pool 4 reached its climax this afternoon as Ulster faced Bath at a snowy Rec. Both teams had everything to play for as last weekendโ€™s results, especially after Italian side Aironi claimed a shock victory over pool leaders Biarritz; and going into the game, Ulster were sitting second in the Pool with 9 points, and Bath were third with 7 points after they gained a losing bonus point at Ravenhill last weekend. ย Bath took an early lead in the game, and Ulster struggled to match up to their opponents; however a change in fortune provided Ulster the chance to take the lead โ€“ and the game โ€“ as they ended Bathโ€™s Heineken Cup dream for another year.

As the heavy snowfall caused chaos in Ulster and forced all three of Northern Irelandโ€™s airports to close, Ulster were in a race against time to make it to Bath for their vital fixture.ย Yesterday it wasย revealedย the squadย had boarded a busย en route toย Dublin where they then flew out to Bristol, arriving late in the afternoon. Despite the inconvenience to their journey, the groundstaff at the Rec worked hard to ensure the pitch was safe . . .

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9 responses to “Match Report: Bath 22 Ulster 26”

  1. junty

    I agree with a lot of the comments above, but think that Butch James was fortunate to only get away with a yellow card offence against big Dan T. The earlier ‘assault’ as previously mentioned against D’Arcy went unpunished as did the blatent late hit on Humphries in the first half where in my opinion he followed through in the attempted chargedown of Humph’s kick and made sure that he hit him with the forearm … again went unpunished so in my opinion he got off very lightly.
    Humph got man of the match for his 100% kicking record…… ok in that he took them well, but there were other outstanding performances who could have easily won it as has been suggested Nevin Spence whose tackling and running were superb, also Johann Muller whose leadership was so evident and was my MOTM.
    As RR has said Paddy W obviously left his tackling technique in either Belfast or Dublin airport and Andy Trimble did not have one of his better games.
    All in all a good win at the Rec against a very good Bath side ( on paper) even though we didn’t play particularly well in parts especially the first 1/4 of the game. We need to be much sharper against Biarritz.
    But before that bring on Leinster & Munster !!!

  2. the mote

    “Place Kicker of the Match” would go to Humphreys
    I think some should watch Pienaar a little more — quick to the breakdown and despite what many may think the only really bad pass he has made was the last pass against Munster unfortunately his defence is not as vigourous as Boss but unlike Boss he seems to allow the game to run by the outhalf — if only

    tbc — I have a few gripes ( only a few says you ) FIRSTLY O Connell gets 4 weeks for a backhander— when being held players week in and week out hit players who are holding/pulling them in the maul without carding the only difference being the point of contact usually a blow to the arm — is that justice ? like most I would be happy to see him not playing against Ulster but I don’t think it justice !!

    Secondly yellow cards for penalty offences ( so called professional fouls ) yellow cards are or should be for offences against the person not the ball if teams persist in refusing to accept a 3 point penalty they must accept that the opposition will persist in fouling frequently the refs in their desire to card a defender card the wrong player like Spence on Saturday similiarly it is a lottery as to whop will be carded and frequently it is not the player who is fouling persistantly

    The Penalty exists for offences a referee with a yellow card can be a coaches nightmare

  3. Raging Raven

    Yes it could be a “Happy New Year” in Turnipstan if they focus everything on Heineken Cup survival. ๐Ÿ™‚

  4. glynncommando

    Nice one Mote – Pienaar for MoM….let’s face it – you were never going to vote for iHumph, were you?
    As for the rest – are you a Bath fan in disguise? Get over yourself. Take the result for what it was – a win for Ulster, in England. Ifs, buts, maybes – don’t change the scoreline at the final whistle. We won….closing the result out with grit and determination and down to 14 men for a while at the death. Have a Merry Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year…and don’t be sucking any more lemons.

    RR – agreed, the eulogising of St Butch of James was hard to take….and he should have received the yellow for the late hit….not for the handbags later in the game. Think maybe the Ref himself was sick to the back teeth with the Sky commentary love-in by that stage. Personally speaking i think Lobbe should be cited for his assault on Mueller, and Grewcock too, for good measure. The latter if only for being a fantastic pantomime villain….Boo! Hiss!
    Not so sure Tyrone was “anti-Ulster” – but he did seem to be more than a little caught up in the whole “Aren’t Bath wonderful and isn’t Butch just gorgeous” performance.

    Anyway – pity we missed the pleasure of being there. Still – roll on Munster!
    GC

  5. the mote

    I too am of the opinion that in the euphoria of winning it is easy to forget a charged down clearance which but for the bounce could easily have been a try for Bath–then there is the fact that Barkley missed 3 kicks .

    Bar Ulster winning- and kicking everything going Humphreys could easliy be nominated for “prat of the match” instead of man of the match and would have had the result been different. ( far too many kicks easily read to many team mates taking ball and man )

    Man of the match for me was Pienaar his decision to go narrowside with the little kick ahead took a lot of the pressure off the Ulster forwards for the last 7 minutes ensuring the win and on such are matches lost and won.

    Butch James got away with “the late tackle/ body check/assault with malicious intent because the game was at the” Rec ” same offence at Ravenhill would have been at least a yellow .
    I will comment further ( tbc)

    1. Man of the match for me was Pienaar his decision to go narrowside with the little kick ahead took a lot of the pressure off the Ulster forwards for the last 7 minutes ensuring the win and on such are matches lost and won.

      Don’t know if it was a Man of the Match performance from Pienaar. My overwhelming emotion at the time was – thank feck he’s finally done something – and lets all hope we start seeing a bit more from the South African.

      My MotM goes to young Spence who was outstanding over both games.

  6. Raging Raven

    PS

    Well done Flat Top for all your hard work ensuring the game went ahead!
    I’m sure the trip was “the best ever!” ๐Ÿ™‚

  7. Raging Raven

    Yes, I would tend to agree with Sammergee, you make your own luck in professional sport. Make no mistake this was a much better Bath team than the one that started in Belfast so hats off to the Ulstermen.
    Being a supporter who travels to most matches I seldom hear the Sky commentaries but was anyone else disappointed in Tyrone’s contribution? I felt he was trying so hard to be impartial he was actually anti Ulster.
    Was anyone else sickened at how Butch James got away with the assault on Darcy, he was clearly taken out without the ball in front of the officals and no action and not a peep from the commentators. Shame on you Mr Howe.
    Paddy W ….. Mr Dependable was surprisingly lax in the tackling department 2 big misses. As a punishment he should stay off twitter for a week! ๐Ÿ™‚
    Brady ……… is he is being protected the same way as McGlock did with Best ? Either that or McGlock favours a three prop front row, he offers little about the park.

    Merry Christmas to all, get your insults back early as I am busy this week. Ho! Ho! Ho!

  8. Sammergee

    I don’t think Ulster were lucky at all . I think that they were magnificent to carve out a crucial hard fought win away from home , especially after the arduous journey to England. Humphries had his best game in some time ; his kicking was extraordinary; and Pienaar got properly involved at last. Once again Spence impressed and was unjustly carded. He reminds me a lot of Gordon D’Arcy . Had this match been lost then Ulster’s whole season was on the slide. Now they face a beatable Biarritz at home , with real momentum behind them.

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