European Cup, Pool Two/Ulster 25 Bourgoin 24:Matt Williams's tenure as Ulster coach may not officially start until next month, but the feel-good factor generated by his whistle-stop tour of Belfast last week rubbed off on the beleaguered province last night as a last-minute try by Andrew Trimble secured their first win at Ravenhill since September.
Despite trailing 17-6 and by 11 points approaching the midway point in the second half, Ulster showed spirit by racing over for three tries after the break - from Tommy Bowe, Paul Marshall and, decisively at the death, Trimble.
Indiscipline did not help the Bourgoin cause; they assembled a healthy lead thanks to tries by Jean-Francois Coux, Florian Denos, Remy Vigneaux and Augusto Petrilli but had Wessel Jooste, Brice Monzeglio and Julien Frier binned as Ulster's pressure intensified.
Bourgoin still managed to remain above Ulster in Pool Two thanks to the two bonus points they picked up in defeat. But the victory prevented Ulster suffering a European Cup whitewash and was their first win in Belfast since the Ospreys were defeated in the opening round of the Magners League.
Ulster supporters could not have imagined a worse start. Centre Nicolas Carmona breezed through a midfield gap and his long pass put Mathieu Nicolas into space before Coux cut inside to touch down in the second minute.
The home side swiftly reduced the deficit when a thunderous tackle by Trimble forced Denos to concede a five-metre scrum and an ensuing penalty, which was converted by David Humphreys.
Bourgoin continued to show their early strike was no fluke, with flanker Julien Pierre and Carmona making incisive breaks. Still, with Ulster contributing to an entertaining spell with line breaks from Justin Fitzpatrick and Ryan Caldwell and the odd moment of inspiration from Humphreys and Paddy Wallace, they were able to snatch the lead with a second Humphreys penalty in the 14th minute.
Yet Bourgoin, despite coming second in the possession stakes, continued to look more dangerous on the break and deservedly regained their lead when some neat footwork by Denos enabled him to chip the ball around Simon Danielli and gather for his side's second try, in the 24th minute.
Having struggled to establish a foothold in the remainder of the half, Ulster suffered a more significant blow on the stroke of half-time when Frier scooped up a loose pass by Paul Marshall, and though he was held up just short of the line, hooker Remy Vigneaux was on his shoulder to touch down under the posts, Morgan Parra converting.
A break-out inspired by Humphreys put Bowe over soon after the restart to breathe fire into Ulster but their resistance took a further blow when Petrilli touched down from a driving maul.
The home side dug deep and Marshall made amends for his earlier mistake by sniping over in the corner after his forwards had battered the Bourgoin defence.
Ulster continued to create chances but squandered gilt-edged opportunities, and the moment looked to have passed until Trimble raced over from Bowe's inside pass to clinch victory.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 2 mins: J-F Coux try, 0-5; 5: D Humphreys pen, 3-5; 14: Humphreys pen, 6-5, 24: F Denos try, 6-10; 40: R Vigneaux try, M Parra con, 6-17 (half-time 6-17); 44: T Bowe try, Humphreys con, 13-17; 48: A Petrilli try, Parra con, 13-24; 56: P Marshall try, Humphreys con, 20-24; 79: A Trimble try, 25-24.
ULSTER: B Cunningham; T Bowe, A Trimble, P Wallace, S Danielli; D Humphreys, P Marshall; J Fitzpatrick, N Brady, D Fitzpatrick; C Del Fava (capt), R Caldwell; M McCullough, N Best, G Webb (D Pollock 62). Replacements: B Young for Fitzpatrick (58 mins), D Pollock for Webb (62 mins).
BOURGOIN: F Denos; M Nicolas, Y David, N Carmona, JF Coux; M Parra, M Forest; A Tchoungong, R Vigneaux, O Sourgens; J Pierre, C Wyatt; J Frier, A Petrilli, W Jooste. Replacements: B Monzeglio for Petrilli (64 mins), J-P Genevois for Vigneaux (65 mins).
Referee: J Jones (WRU).
Pool Two
P W D L T F A TB LB Pts Gloucester 4 4 0 0 17 140 66 3 0 19
Ospreys 4 3 0 1 11 104 66 1 0 13
Bourgoin 5 1 0 4 10 97 146 1 2 7
Ulster 5 1 0 4 10 81 144 0 1 5
Results To-date
Ulster 14, Gloucester 32; Ospreys 22, Bourgoin 15; Gloucester 26, Ospreys 18; Bourgoin 24, Ulster 17; Bourgoin 7, Gloucester 31; Ospreys 48, Ulster 17; Ulster 8, Ospreys 16; Gloucester 51, Bourgoin 27; Ulster 25, Bourgoin 24.
Remaining Fixtures
Tonight: Ospreys v Gloucester, 5.30, Allan Lewis (Ireland), Sky Sports.
Sunday: January 20th: Gloucester v Ulster, 1.0; Bourgoin v Ospreys, 2.0 (local time).
