European Champions Cup: Ulster v Toulouse, Ravenhill, Friday 7:45pm (BT Sport)
Jeux de mains, jeux de Toulousains is emblazoned on official merchandise at Toulouse, a philosophy, to which the French club wholeheartedly subscribes. Rugby is played with the hands.
It’s five years since they won the last of their four European titles and the highpoint since then was a semi-final defeat to Leinster. Twice they didn’t get out of a pool. The Guy Noves era is over and that of new head coach Ugo Mola, a former French international wing and fullback, commenced this season.
He’s restored the traditional brio, the attacking verve upon which the club’s reputation was built but they remain a work in progress. Third in the French Top 14, where they’ve won seven of 10 matches, they’ve yet to sparkle in this season’s Champions Cup losing 32-7 away to Saracens and muddling through 24-18 against Oyonnax at the Stade Earnest Wallon.
Measurement tool
They were rather more convincing in performance terms against the same opposition in a league match last weekend. Mola views these back-to-back matches against Ulster as, amongst other things, a measurement tool, admitting: “The ties will give us a hint about our true status.
“In a pool of four teams, one misstep (result wise) and you pay. It is clear that this meeting has the flavour of a quasi-playoff game.”
Ulster, ravaged by injury, must unearth a performance that banishes the acute disappointment of their heavy backyard defeat to Saracens in their only pool match to date in this season’s campaign. The final quarter made for particularly gruesome viewing.
Joe Barakat arrived in Belfast last summer at the behest of his good mate, fellow Australian and Ulster’s new head coach, Les Kiss. As defence coach, Barakat appreciates the magnitude of the task. “They (Toulouse) play a brand of football that we are not used to in the Pro12.
“The previous week’s game against Leinster, I’m not saying that Leinster are as chaotic as Toulouse, but Leinster will play rugby in their own half. Not a lot of teams in the Pro12 competition play rugby out of their half. Toulouse will play rugby off their own line.
“Their first option is to play rugby, their first option is to create a hell of a lot of chaos with offloads to keep the ball alive. It is just the Toulouse way, it’s how they have been brought up and they’re not going to change.
“Our focus is to play our football, to be structured, to keep a good, strong defensive line and not have people shoot out of that line, that’s what our opponents are looking for: our opponents want chaos, we have to deliver structure.”
Quirky coincidence
Kiss has had to husband his depleted resources. Alan O’Connor, the 23-year-old Dubliner, will make his 15th appearance for Ulster in the secondrow. In what might be described as a quirky coincidence he was parachuted into Champions Cup matches against Leicester Tigers and Toulon in similar circumstances, as a result of injuries to Iain Henderson and Dan Tuohy. A state of affairs that pertains once again.
Robbie Diack has negotiated the return-to-play protocol, Rory Best resumes as hooker and captain, Stuart McCloskey and Luke Marshall are the latest midfield pairing while Louis Ludik is restored to the fullback role. McCloskey has been excellent this season and it is in matches of this ilk that he possesses the chance to fast track his way to an Ireland cap.
While Ulster will look for a strong set piece and pursue territory in a reasonably direct manner with the boot, it won’t suffice alone. They’ll have to play rugby and a potential game-breaker is their twinkle-toed, Craig Gilroy, who has put the disappointment of missing out on the World Cup to maintain his outstanding form from last season.
He admitted: “Joe (Schmidt) is pretty open about what he wants and what I took away was to just keep doing what I’m doing, that I’m nearly there. He said, ‘keep working and don’t let it get you down’, whether that’s being a bit effective at the breakdown or to continue to work on my aerial skills and high balls.”
His ratio of “chances to tries” is impressive on meagre rations. “You’re no use to anyone just standing on the wing doing nothing so I want to get the ball in my hands, get moving, try and beat defenders, try and bring a little something to the game.”
His teammates will need plenty of that in large dollops.
Toulouse understand that the key to this match, like most, will be trying to dominate possession and position. Mola has opted for six forwards on the bench. To complement the aesthetically pleasing running lines of the three quarters they have plenty of grunt up front and in number eight Louis Picamoles one of the best number eights in world rugby.
To win Ulster will have to slow their opponent’s ball down at breakdown, demonstrate an aggressive line speed, be pitch perfect at the set piece, apply sufficient pressure to force penalties, carry hard and find a nuance to their back play that has been fitful. It’s a long list and a tall order.
ULSTER: L Ludik; A Trimble, L Marshall, S McCloskey, C Gilroy; P Jackson, R Pienaar; K McCall, R Best (captain), W Herbst; A O'Connor, F van der Merwe, R Diack, C Henry, N Williams. Replacements: R Herring, A Warwick, R Lutton, C Ross, R Wilson, P Marshall, I Humphreys, R Scholes.
TOULOUSE: C Poitrenaud; V Clerc, G Fickou, T Flood, M Médard; L McAlister, S Bézy; V Kakovin, C Flynn, C Johnston; Y Maestri, J Tekori; Y Camara, T Dusautoir (capt), L Picamoles. Replacements: J Marchand, C Baille, D Aldegheri, E Maka, G Lamboley, G Galan, J-M Doussain, A Palisson.
Formguide: Ulster – lost 27-9 to Saracens (h). Toulouse – lost 32-7 to Saracens (a); beat Oyonnax 24-18 (h).
Leading try scorers: Ulster – none. Toulouse – C Tolofua, M Medard, G Fickou, T Matanavou 1 each.
Leading points' scorers: Ulster – P Jackson 9. Toulouse – L McAlister 9.
Referee: W Barnes (England).
Verdict: Toulouse to win.
