Having beaten Toulouse for the second time, on the 11th of December, Ulster had to prepare for the challenge posed by the French Champions, Stade Francais – possibly the most professional team in Europe.
Ulster Rugby had grown from the Provincial representative team with players selected from the Ulster club sides. In 1995- 6 Ulster played only six games in the season. In 1996 -7 they played eight, including a match against an Australia XV. Nine matches were played in the season 1997-8. Since the start of the European Cup in 1998-9 Ulster had only played a total of 23 matches in three years. ( One representative match against a tour side, 10 Inter-Provincials* and 12 European matches, with a record fo played 23, won 7, lost 16. )
I can just imagine what the comments on the UAFC forum would be like with kind of record to-day!
Now the wee province was now to face the aristocrats of French rugby.
Even before the game had been arranged Stade were playing with Ulster, they wanted the game played anywhere but Ravenhill claiming the ground wasn’t big enough. The match had to be played in a venue with a capacity of 20,000 – Ulsters biggest gate to date that season had been 11,500.
The “Fat Controller” had to work miracles. When I went to buy my ticket I spoke to him he told me about Stade’s complaint. I asked did he think he could sell 20,000 tickets? He said, “I told them if we win and they play the final at Landsdowne Road they would have a crowd of 50,000”.
The highest attendance at a final before then had been 41,664 in Cardiff Arms Park to see the final between Brive v Leicester. So it was a brave call.
The match against Stade was played on Saturday 9th January and the ground was full of supporters full of hope but fearing the worst. The teams warmed up with U2 and Queen blaring out of the speakers and the music finished with teams recording of Ghost Riders in the Sky.
Truthfully I don’t remember much about the game, the records show that both sides scored three tries, Simon Mason kicked five penalties, one conversion and a drop goal. Humphreys scored a try and a drop.
The only real memory is Humphreys try. A magical kick ahead catch, pass, return pass, run and touch down. A once in a life time try. With 10 mins to go Ulster were leading 33 points to 27 and Stade ran everything at them. The final whistle blew and the crowd went wild and the Stade players froze like blocks of ice in total disbelief that they had lost.
Everybody in the crowd realised they had just witnessed something unique something they might never see again, a team of amateurs beating a team of professional rugby players, and as the sixteenth man they had played their part.
Now “The Final”.
The final was played in Lansdowne Road on Saturday 30th of January a week before the game there wasn’t a ticket to had in Belfast.
49,000 attended the match and there are 49000 stories of the day .
Ulster won the match before the kick off. Colomiers went out to the Lansdowne pitch to warm up and when they went out the ground was only a quarter full, when they returned the rafters were ringing with the crowd shouting “Ulsterrrr Ulsterrrrr Ulsterrrrr!” Colomiers had never experienced anything like it. Immense, totally immense .
Everybody has seen the conclusion of the match and the crowds reaction. It was an unrepeatable experience .
It is difficult to decide which of those two games was the best experience but both together had a significance much greater than their result.
They were a wake up call to IRFU “wake up —smell the coffee” realise what you have, understand what you may loose.
When Munster went on to appear in the final the next year the Irish, Welsh and Scots started to formulate the Celtic League. In my opinion the blockage to the formation of the league were the opinionated Welsh who over estimated the strength of their own league clubs and wanted to be part of what they considered to be a more lucrative idea a combined English and Welsh League, failing to recognise that the structures of the English League made such an idea a non-starter.
Every player in the Pro12 owes a debt to the players in the Ulster team of ’99 and I hope that in the redevelopment of Ravenhill, Ulster and the IRFU include something that recognises their contribution to Irish Rugby the Pro12 and the Heinekin Cup which, before the final of ’99, was well on the way to becoming a French and English two horse show with teams from the other countries seen as cannon fodder.
Age shall not weary them nor the memories fade. Stand Up For Those Ulstermen
*One season the Inter provincials included a game against the Exiles.
| Magic Memories. |
Corrections, comments or questions?