HERE COME THE cavalry.
The timing of Ulster’s Heineken Cup quarter-final rematch against Saracens this evening (6.30) has been like a beacon that personnel at every level within the northern province have been working towards.
The building work on the redeveloped stadium was fast-tracked to be completed just in time for a first home quarter-final since 1999, the Six Nations stars are back, the injuries have cleared: Luke Marshall, Dan Tuohy, Ruan Pienaar, Tommy Bowe and even Stephen Ferris proving fit enough to join in this evening’s big Ravenhill carnival.
But like any good cavalry, the momentum has not just been conjured out of thin air. There has been an unquantifiable number of steps behind the scenes. Narrow it down to the post Pool stage period and you find a variation on the usual one-game-at-a-time approach from teams at this level. With Ulster, it’s been more like one building block at a time building towards this single fixture.
“This was a great carrot to have,” said Tommy Bowe this week.
Today will be Bowe’s fifth game into his comeback from the groin injury which flared up in the November defeat to the All Blacks. But while the loss was exorcised for most of his international teammates in Paris the two-time Lions wing has been forced to stew a little longer.
“Once I realised that the Six Nations was probably not going to be a goer I knew there were still a huge amount to play for this season and this game was coming up quite quickly.
“I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.”
Ulster’s physio department is no place to go to feel sorry for yourself. Any player who has gone through the recovery process in the past 16 months will have encountered one or all of Stephen Ferris, Paddy Wallace and Stuart Olding to put some perspective on their sentence on the sidelines. Bowe admits that it’s impossible not to ‘feed off’ the relentless enthusiasm displayed by Ferris in particular, who Mark Anscombe has named on the bench today, locked and loaded for the mother of all impact roles.
Competitive rugby at this level doesn’t so much feel like pressure, as a great release after months staring at a wall working for marginal muscle-strength improvements. Both Bowe and Ferris have delivered in incredible cameo displays on their respective first days back from injury. The latter used his inimitable explosive presence to help Ulster secure a bonus-point win over Scarlets after the former scored the third of his three tries in 2014.
“When you’re coming back from an injury, certainly a groin injury it’s about small goals and trying to push and push without re-injuring yourself. I’ve now got two 80 minute games under my belt I feel better for it and I think I couldn’t be in a better position going into this game.”
The trouble is, neither could Saracens. Mark McCall heads to his home province as the Premiership leader, in charge of a formidable team with no shortage of confidence that they can once again choking Ulster out of Europe with their impressive mix of clinical set-piece work and explosive ball-carriers. Throw in the more subtle touches of fullback Alex Goode and the increasingly impressive Owen Farrell; and Ulster’s momentous task becomes clear.
Rory Best this week complained that his side hadn’t “fired a shot” in Twickenham 12 months ago. Now, along with Johann Muller, the core leaders of this team have been vocal in an effort to take the focus and fear away from Saracens. Instead, the northern province wish to use home advantage as a platform to show their own wares: the talent and workrate that combined to make Ulster Europe’s top seed after six games unbeaten so far in this campaign.
Even last weekend’s loss to Cardiff is being spun as a positive before Ravenhill’s grand opening. Bowe suggests the build-up to this game is much less “fractured” than the same point last season when a win over Leinster in the RDS apparently caused some feet to ease off the pedal while Bowe himself was a late entrant in London as he returned from injury.
“I came on at a disappointing stage. The game was already gone from us at that stage, but I think this time the build-up has been a lot better.”
“In the lead-up to that Leinster game we hadn’t been playing very well and that win was massive for us. I think we maybe got a little bit complacent the following week. Whereas this weekend, we’ve had a great run up in the last few weeks and that blip at the weekend has really pulled us together; showed that we can’t just turn up and come away with the victory, but we’re just going to have to work for it.
Bowe added: “Saracens are very difficult team to play against. They did a job on us this time last year. it’s going to be tough, but I think with the crowd behind us it’s up to us to perform and be at the top of our game and I think we can do that.”
An evening kick-off, with more voices bellowing ‘Stand up for the Ulstermen’ than ever before, this game is set up to be a spine-tingling and truly special night in the history of the province.
“It’s gonna be something else,” says Bowe with an exhale and a shake of his head.
“The excitement among the squad is enormous, the boys are in good form; we’re relaxed, we’re looking forward to it, but obviously on the pitch is a different kettle of fish.”
Ulster: Jared Payne; Andrew Trimble, Darren Cave, Luke Marshall, Tommy Bowe; Paddy Jackson, Ruan Pienaar: Tom Court, Rory Best, John Afoa; Johann Muller (c), Dan Tuohy; Roger Wilson, Chris Henry, Nick Williams.
Replacements: Rob Herring, Andrew Warwick, Ricky Lutton, Iain Henderson, Stephen Ferris, Robbie Diack, Paul Marshall, Craig Gilroy.
Saracens: Alex Goode; Chris Ashton, Duncan Taylor, Brad Barritt, David Strettle; Owen Farrell, Richard Wigglesworth; Mako Vunipola, Schalk Brits, James Johnston; Steve Borthwick (c), Mouritz Botha; Billy Vunipola, Jacques Burger, Ernst Joubert.Replacements: Jamie George, Richard Barrington, Matt Stevens, Eoin Sheriff, Kelly Brown, Neil de Kock, Charlie Hodgson, Chris Wyles.
