ULSTER WERE REDUCED to 14 men after only four minutes of their Heineken Cup quarter final against Saracens at Ravenhill.
Kiwi fullback Jared Payne, who was on a kick chase, took out an airborne Alex Goode. The Englishman landed awkwardly and was badly injured. Following a lengthy video replay, French referee Jerome Garces gave Payne a straight red card.
Judge the incident for yourself:
Saracens report that Goode is ‘okay’ in the away dressing room. Bath rugby player Nick Abendanon was in no doubt that the New Zealander deserved to go.
Ulster have also lost hooker Rory Best to an ankle injury. Chris Ashton rubbed salt in Ulster wounds by diving over with the ‘Ash Splash’ after 22 minutes to edge his team in front. Ulster battled heroically but were edged out 17-15 at the final whistle.