Ulster rolled out the big guns yesterday to ease the pain of their Quarter Final defeat and to assure all supporters that their minds are now firmly set on the remaining 3/4/5 games of the Magners League campaign.
First out was Director of Rugby, David Humphreys OBE aka ” The Legend”. If it is possible, Humphreys has enhanced his reputation since retiring from rugby two short seasons ago with his mastery of the transfer market, pulling in players of undreamed class, not only last year, but this year as well.
Quite frankly when the Humph speaks every supporter listens, and when they listen his words are interspersed with flashbacks of his exploits on the field. Speaking on the Quarter Final defeat and looking ahead to Saturdays game the Humph says:
Despite the disappointment of losing a quarter final match there were definitely positives to be taken from the performance on Sunday. For sixty minutes the game was in the balance but ultimately the power of the Northampton pack, particularly in the set piece, provided the basis for their win. On a number of occasions during the game we caused Northampton problems defensively but we know that to win big games you have got to take the chances that come your way.
It was a great experience for our young players and we have to learn from it. The intensity was close to test-match level and to be part of an occasion like that will stand us in good stead. We hope to build on this and come back next year in a better position to challenge the top teams in Europe.
Now we have to put that game behind us and re-focus on the Magners League. We have a busy few weeks ahead and we are now even more determined to make the play-offs. With six teams still looking for a top four place there is a huge amount at stake and it is important not to lose many games at this stage of the season. Saturday’s match is going to be massively important for both teams.
I believe that Leinster are the most complete team in European rugby at the moment. They showed on Saturday how good their pack is, going toe to toe with Leicester and coming out on top. Out wide they have players who can change a game with a moment of magic so we will have to be wary of that threat.
Travelling to Dublin to play a Leinster side who are also challenging for the play-offs, will be another massive test for our young squad. However, we believe if we get our set piece right and take our opportunities when they come along, we have a great chance of coming away with a win. We have been on a good run of results recently, winning our last 6 in the League, but we haven’t beaten an Irish province so far this season so that is something we will be looking to address as well. We will go into the game full of confidence and a victory on Saturday night would be a huge boost for our semi-final hopes.
No matter what team Leinster put out for Saturday’s game it is going to be a huge challenge to go down to the RDS and come away with a win and to do so Ulster will need to play with an intensity similar to Sundays game, so it looks like we will learn more about our young side again this weekend.
With the hard core fans satisfied by the word of Humphreys, Ulster pulled a master stroke by wheeling out gorgeous pouting Robbie Diack to appeal to the “Women of a Certain Age” amongst the support.
I first witnessed the Diack phenomena at the start of the season when we were over at Harlequins for the pre-season friendly. With the Woman’s World Cup on round the corner we brought some of the Irish girls along to the game and after the match we got some pics with the players, well, we did until 25 year old, 6’4″ Robbie strolled onto the scene. The Irish girls were pushed aside as their mothers formed a disorderly queue to get closer to the Ulster hunk in a flurry of hormonal overload.
“Such a lovely boy”, they clucked and the clucking continued to Bebieresque proportions as Robbie made an appearance after the game on Sunday with his walk to the team bus sparking more hot flushes than the Bebier at a Cougar convention! When Chris Henry walked out behind him I thought it would all be too much!
So by realeasing a press statement by the Humph and the Daick, Ulster have pulled a master stroke as when these two speak the hard core and the housewife listen! If you haven’t fainted yet, here’s what Robbie had to say;
We are very disappointed we lost against Northampton. Many people assumed they would give us a beating but the 23 in our squad knew how good we are and believed we could cause an upset. We put up a good fight on the day but obviously it wasn’t good enough. We know that next year we need to improve but we are well placed to do that and we will keep working hard.
We are still in with a shout of reaching the play-offs and we will keep our motivation and try to maintain the winning momentum that we had built up in the Magners League. We still have a chance to achieve something special this season. Reaching the play-offs is in our own hands and we know what we have to do.
The Leinster game is crucial for us; they are incredibly tough opponents, especially at home. They will be full of confidence after beating Leicester but we have confidence in our own ability. We’ve got to keep on improving and keep getting results.
With this in mind the FRONT ROW UNION appeals to the housewives of Ulster – start a campaign to get Robbie to play at 8!
Corrections, comments or questions?