Toulouse 23 Ulster 25
Two performances, nine days apart, disparate in substance but no less a delight, as Ulster clambered back into contention for a place in the knockout stages of the Champions Cup.
It’s one thing to play without fear in front of a home crowd as the Irish province had done last Friday week in winning 38-0 but yesterday at the Stade Earnest Wallon they retained that conviction, the courage to use the full expanse of the pitch in pursuit of weak points. They found enough to win.
The visitors varied the point of attack intelligently, scrumhalf and man-of-the-match Ruan Pienaar dinking the ball in behind the Toulouse defenders and watching it tumble into touch. His service and decision-making were impressive.
The South African's halfback partner was the equally impressive Paddy Jackson, laser accurate in his diagonal punting and he stood unflinchingly on the gain-line whether distributing or tackling. It was his remarkable rip in the tackle that pre-empted Ulster's third try, scored my Luke Marshall.
Ulster did not hang on to win, they went after their French hosts with a practised eye and but for a couple of passes ruled forward – correctly on the basis of the television angle – might have endured a less fraught ending to the match. The visitors played most of the rugby.
Long shadow
Stuart McCloskey once again cast a long shadow over a match, the inside centre enjoying another barnstorming game that makes him an almost irresistible candidate for an first Ireland cap in the upcoming Six Nations Championship.
He has always possessed the physical attributes to make an impact but has now added the subtleties in terms of lines of running, footwork, passing and offloading that make him a more complete player
His midfield partner Luke Marshall was also hugely effective again, playing in the outside centre role that he graced with distinction in his underage representative days. The loss of Craig Gilroy after just 11 minutes might have upset the team slightly, but young Rory Scholes offers something more substantial than promise.
Andrew Trimble took his try superbly and was muscular in his carrying while Louis Ludik tackled with authority. However if the backs chipped in with the tries, the pack provided the platform. Kyle McCall continues to astonish, Rory Best was at his combative best and Wiehahn Herbst got through a huge workload before departing.
The visitors had much less possession and territory, had to make 156 tackles to their opponent’s 75, conceded 12 penalties to their opponents’ nine, had a man in the sin bin for 10 minutes of the match, yet still found a way to prevail.
The back five in the pack worked diligently – Robbie Diack was brilliant – and the arrival of the occasionally maligned Nick Williams had a massive impact. Apart from all the other aspects of his play, he pilfered two crucial turnovers that had a pivotal outcome on the result.
Toulouse were lambasted for the performance in Belfast and coach Ugo Mola had spoken about the individual and collective introspection undertaken to guarantee that they would properly represent the jersey. They didn't and in some respects did quite a lot to sully it.
They doled out some cheap shots early in the first half, trying to provoke a scrap, and if the citing commissioner chooses to ignore some of the shoulder-driven clear-outs miles from the ball then he’ll merely have been as periodically unseeing as the match officials.
Jackson correctly received a yellow card for batting down an intended pass eight metres from his own line, holding up his hand in acknowledgement.
But then a full couple of seconds after the whistle went, Toulouse centre Florian Fitz had no right to shoulder-charge the Ulster outhalf in the back, knocking him to the ground, putting a hand into his face that started a fracas.
Largely poor
For all their possession, Toulouse were largely poor, several players choosing to walk around the pitch. They tried to bully Ulster and when that didn’t work, there was precious little nuance to their efforts.
If this is a representation of what Mola and his coaching team stand for, then it’s particularly sad for the supporters of the four-time champions; a club that in the past were an inspiration to others based on their rugby.
Ulster led 10-3 at the interval, Jackson kicking a penalty and converting a try from Pienaar, following excellent work from Herbst and McCloskey. Sebastien Bezy kicked a penalty and the home side had to survive a fright when a Scholes try in first-half injury time was ruled out for an earlier forward pass from Ludik to Pienaar.
Bezy kicked a second penalty soon after the restart but Ulster struck back with a try from Trimble in the corner after McCloskey's gorgeous break. The seesaw momentum of the contest saw Gael Fickou cross for a try converted by Bezy, who later added a penalty to put the home side ahead for the first time 16-15.
However, a Jackson penalty and Marshall’s try on 75 minutes, converted by the outhalf, allowed Ulster to survive a late scare when Louis Picamoles was driven over and Jean-Marc Doussain added the extra points with 90 seconds left. But ultimately Ulster said no to any late Toulouse reprieve, holding out for a superb victory.
Scoring sequence – 2 mins: Jackson pen, 0-3; 31: Pienaar try, Jackson con, 0-10; 36: Bezy pen, 3-10. Halftime: 3-10. 42: Bezy pen, 6-10; 45: Trimble try, 6-15; 50: Fickou try, Bezy con 13-15; 59: Jackson pen, 16-18; 75: Marshall try, Jackson con, 16-25; 78: Picamoles try, Doussain con, 23-25.
TOULOUSE: A Palisson; K Kunabuli, G Fickou, F Fritz, T Matanavou; Jean-Marc Doussain, S Bézy; C Baille, J Marchand, C Johnston, G Lamboley, Y Maestri, Y Camara, T Dusautoir (capt), I Harinordoquy. Replacements: G Muller for Johnston (37 mins), C Tolofua for Marchand (51 mins), L McAlister for Fickou (51 mins), G Steenkamp for Baille (51 mins); J Tekori for Harinordoquy (51 mins); L Picamoles for Dusautoir (60 mins); C Poitrenaud for Matanavou (60 mins), D Mele, for Bezy (76 )
ULSTER: L Ludik, A Trimble, L Marshall, S McCloskey, C Gilroy; P Jackson, R Pienaar; K McCall, R Best (capt), W Herbst, A O'Connor, F van der Merwe, R Diack, S Reidy, R Wilson. Replacements: R Scholes for Gilroy (11 mins), N Williams for Reidy (43 mins), R Lutton for Herbst (43 mins), A Warwick for McCall (52-57 mins), R Herring for Wilson (62 mins), L Stevenson for O'Connor (76 mins), P Marshall for Pienaar (76 mins.) Yellow card: P Jackson (Ulster) 35 mins.
Referee: JP Doyle (England).
