Ulster Hold Out Cell C Sharks Despite Late Comeback.

After a bit of dodgy form, a couple of weeks off and a big win against Edinburgh, Ulster seem to have righted some wrongs and got their season back on track.

It was always going to be a tough game against a team that has several South African World Cup winners, including Springbok Captain, Siya Kolisi. However, Ulster played this game with a vigour, an aggression, a desire that I have not seen from them in a while.

Now, that’s not to say Ulster haven’t been hungry for victory as of late, but after a couple of weeks off you really start to see how the fatigue was getting to them before that break. Through the player’s Instagram pages I saw plenty of holidays, rounds of golf and the players generally being able to switch off and recharge. It seemed to me that it paid dividends. Not to mention the time off giving McCloskey and Henderson the chance to recover from their respective injuries.

Aggression:

Well, let’s get into the game and a few key takeaways. Following on from my previous point of a renewed passion and aggression: We saw a few moments where that really came into play. One moment that could be easily paved over, but I think made a big difference, was Hume’s bit of pushing and shoving with Werner Kok. From kick off Kok was undoubtedly the most amped up player on the pitch, from what I know about him this is just his style. He ran over Lowry a few times and was definitely prepped before the game to play the role of the bully. As a break in play was called, Kok barrelled into Hume, in what I would consider to be an unnecessary move, and Hume let him know about it. Whilst it was a small thing while play had stopped, Hume showed they weren’t going to take his intense aggression lying down. Lowry also didn’t back away from him after that initial huge clattering. This is no surprise, let’s be honest, but again it gets into the mind of the Sharks and into the mind of Kok that they’re not intimidating anyone into giving an inch. Vermeulen also played his part in upping the aggression, from the off he was carrying hard and fast, doing his capable best to run over defenders and make those extra meters. Where he excelled, however, was his tackling. There were several instances throughout his time on the pitch when he got low, employed great tackle technique, and put players on their backs.

Confidence:

On the point of Hume, another key takeaway was the confidence to take a calculated risk and watch it pay dividends. A great example of this was their try in the corner at 26 minutes. The sequence starts with a ruck just to the right of the posts. Hume can be seen sticking his hand out and calling for the ball from Cooney who trusts him to make the play. Hume just about leans into contact before pulling back the ball into Burns hands who runs across him. Spotting McIlroy out wide, Burns throws the pass over one defender to get McIlroy into plenty of space. Kok does brilliantly to make his way out to the touchline, stopping McIlroy from dotting down. McIlroy, however, manages to step back inside and pop a pass out the back door to Lowry, cutting out three defenders and allowing Lowry to throw himself over the line. Hume’s confidence to call for the pass, not only making it obvious to Cooney but to the defenders shows the trust in the move and his ability to pull it off. Fantastic work and something that has been planned in training then executed near enough to perfection.

Henderson:

Another huge positive to take from the match was Henderson’s longevity and impact, especially with Ireland’s summer tour to New Zealand on the horizon. Henderson fronted up in moments of huge importance getting several steals when it matters. He’s not one for a jackal turnover like Timoney, Rea or Vermeulen, but time and time again we see him hold up a player and rip the ball off them to great effect. Henderson also led his side in getting away with whatever they could. The Sharks will have something to say about the refereeing at the breakdown, however this was out of Ulster’s hand and in the hands of the man with the whistle, why would they not use this to their advantage? The breakdown was refereed very leniently, and this was noticed and accepted by the Ulster men, the most notable instance being Matty Rea’s turnover late in the game with both elbows on the ground. This type of refereeing is not something to be celebrated, admittedly, but Ulster’s ability to spot this (through Iain Henderson) and execute on it (through the Rea’s, Vermeulen and Timoney) certainly is. Either side could have pushed it at the breakdown and got away with it, Ulster just took full advantage. Henderson can certainly also be credited for a huge part played in an impressive try masterfully finished off by McCloskey. Whilst McCloskey rightfully receives the plaudits for his huge handoff and finishing ability, Henderson draws in three defenders and gets the offload away whilst falling to the ground. Not bad for a 6”6 18 stone lock.

Defence:

Another game, another impressive defensive set. Sharks managed to dominate both possession and territory, spending plenty of time in Ulster’s 22 attacking the line through the forwards. However, much like we saw against Edinburgh, Ulster’s try line defending has been phenomenal and come on leaps and bounds since the start of the season. Of the three tries the Sharks scored, only one of which came from their forwards barrelling over, despite the time spent in that area. Even at that, it came from a tap and go. Ulster came away with an impressive 84% tackle success rate, making it a total of 189 tackles, a mammoth 21 of which coming from Nick Timoney who tops the URC tackle chart.

McCloskey:

I’ve already touched on his try, but his performance all round more than deserves a mention. With 3 offloads, 62 meters run (second only to winger, Ethan McIlroy) and 9 defenders beaten (the most in the game) you can’t ignore his impact. You could be forgiven for being concerned about him pre-match as he was injured in the Edinburgh game and not a cert to play, but it looked like he had never been injured in his life. We all know about his penchant for offload, having sparked endless promising attacking moments by getting his hands free in contact, but it looked to me he has added to that by improving his decision making on when to get the ball away. He’s not one to throw offloads wildly, but every one he pulled off seemed so cold and calculated like he was able to assess the situation in slow motion, making sure to take the correct decision of offloading or recycling the ball.

A really promising display, certainly adding to the team confidence that when they play their own game and assert themselves on opposition they can do what is needed to win. I know it’s just banging the same drum we’ve heard all season, but tighten up the last 20 minutes, stop conceding those late tries and Ulster on form are a force to be reckoned with.

Find a partner that hugs you the way Henderson hugs Hume.