Ulster - 25 Glasgow - 23: Given the weekend in question it's probably apt to suggest David Humphreys had a "stormer" at Ravenhill and however oblique the reference, it's about as close as the South African Super 14 franchise are going to get securing his services.
The Ulster Branch rubbished the story that their thirtysomething talisman was about to relocate to the land of the veldt. The outhalf's iconic status amongst the Ulster supporters doesn't need embellishment as his achievements in the past guarantee that adulation. On a dank, overcast, cold Belfast Saturday afternoon he penned another chapter for the memoirs.
A Celtic League match against the Glasgow Warriors doesn't conjure images of a classic rugby encounter but when a team, as in Ulster's case, that has lost its last three matches, wins; any victory is given added resonance.
It would be wrong to suggest Humphreys beat Glasgow on his own because there were some decent performances up front in general and from Neil Best in particular, while behind the scrum, Kevin Maggs thundered through some less robust tackling for the occasional line break. Tommy Bowe looked sharp while Bryn Cunningham, looked what he is: a fine footballer.
Humphreys contributed all 25 points, accumulating 20 with the boot through six penalties and a conversion. He also crossed for his side's only try when in charging down Dan Parks' attempted chip he regathered and ran the 65 metres quicker than the chasing posse.
Glossing over his kicking stats fails to acknowledge the composure he displayed when posting a 40-metre penalty with the final kick of the match, having missed his previous two opportunities. That statistic too should be qualified in that he landed seven from nine attempts.
Ulster coach Mark McCall encapsulated Humphreys late cameo succinctly: "If you want someone to have a kick at goal in the last second of a game to win the match you couldn't ask for a better person."
Humphreys didn't make the post-match inquest, probably nipping down town to return the superman costume. There were aspects of his performance with which he won't be happy, unusually sloppy distribution at times and some lateral running that caused problems for those outside him. These though were relatively minor when weighed against his contribution.
McCall will realise his team have yet to discover the form that appears to have been burgled over the Christmas period. The win was important but there are still areas to address in terms of the team's patterns. There was too much touchline to touchline running without committing defenders. At times the play was rudderless and lacking penetration but for a team short on confidence they didn't give up.
Ulster conceded two very soft tries and some silly penalties, one of which Glasgow outhalf Dan Parks kicked to nudge his side 23-22 ahead in injury time at the end of the match. McCall conceded: "One play left to get a penalty - I thought we were in trouble, but we shouldn't have been. We gave away a real poor penalty that gave them the lead to be honest. But it was something that we had done all day. We were very happy with our first 20 minutes, 9-0 up and pretty much in control of the game.
"Our last 20 minutes before half-time was loose, we started falling off tackles and let them in for two really soft scores. For a team that had lost three games prior to this, it really affected us. So we're glad to have come out in the second half and won the game. On a positive (note) our forwards provided us with some very good first phase ball. We've got to use it better. We know we were playing much better a few weeks ago. We have to get back into that kind of form, rediscover the confidence. Hopefully with that victory we can do that."
The Ulster coach also knows in next Friday night's European Cup match against Biarritz at Ravenhill the team will have to take very chance. "There were times in the first half when we butchered a couple of chances through poor execution. We also made some poor decisions from time to time. It happens. We have to get our self-belief back and it's much easier to work on that when you have won."
After a bright opening they conceded those two tries to Graeme Morrison and Craig Hamilton and Parks boot did the rest to leave them trailing 17-12 at the interval. Ulster were a little more direct after the re-start, exploiting gaps on the fringes but could not shake off a gritty Glasgow challenge until Humphreys' eloquent finale.
Scoring sequence. 3 mins: Humphreys penalty, 3-0; 8: Humphreys penalty, 6-0; 18: Humphreys penalty, 9-0; 20: Morrison try, Parks conversion, 9-7; 29: Hamilton try, Parks conversion, 9-14; 35: Parks penalty, 9-17; 40(+4): Humphreys penalty, 12-17. Half-time: 12-17. 46: Humphreys try, Humphreys conversion, 19-17; 52: Parks penalty, 19-20; 63: Humphreys penalty, 22-20; 84: Parks penalty, 22-23; 86: Humphreys penalty, 25-23.
ULSTER: B Cunningham; T Bowe, K Maggs, A Trimble, J Topping; D Humphreys, K Campbell; B Young, R Best, S Best (capt); J Harrison, R Frost; N Best, N McMillan, R Wilson. Replacements: I Boss for Campbell 53 mins; S Ferris for McMillan 53 mins; J Fitzpatrick for Young 70 mins; R Caldwell for Frost 82 mins.
GLASGOW WARRIORS: G Staniforth; H O'Hare, G Morrison, A Henderson, R Lamont; D Parks, G Beveridge; K Tkachuk, S Lawson, E Murray; T Barker, C Hamilton; S Swindall, J Petrie (capt), J Beattie. Replacements: S Pinder for Beveridge 55 mins; L Harrison for Tkachuk 60 mins; M Roberts for O'Hara 63 mins; D Turner for Hamilton 64 mins; F Thompson for Lawson 74 mins; J Barclay for Petrie 75 mins; K Tkachuk for Murray 78 mins.
Referee: Phil Fear (Wales).
