Ulster suffers close, but brutal, loss at the hands of Munster.

Well, Ulster have come off the back of a few forced weeks off due to Covid, a slew of players missing and have lost their first game of 2022. Now, I'm not making excuses, I said in my last article they still were able to put out a strong squad and I stand by that. Of course, their time off and missing some big names had an impact, but in this game, it really shouldn't have mattered.

Ulster got off to a blazing start, blasting over the line with a rolling maul from a lineout (surprise, surprise) and got an early try just before the 8-minute mark. They showed their mauling skills, setting up with an initial drive and keeping their patience as Munster slowed them down, only for Ulster to get their second wind to allow Herring over the whitewash. Then, about 13 minutes into the game, Simon Zebo tackles Lowry brutally high (after clearly going after him for the first little bit) and gets sent off. Ulster are playing against 14 men and somehow Lowry wasn't injured at all in the encounter; in fact, Zebo came off worse. It looked then, with Ulster in the lead and with a man advantage, that they would just continue to turn the screw and rack up some points for the win. However, much to the dismay of supporters and definitely coaches, Ulster did what they so often do when they're in the ascendancy: they seem to get scared of losing the lead and play defending it rather than adding to it. Cooney went off early as well, which is a huge hit as he is the main playmaker rather than Burns, and whilst Doak is an excellent scrum-half, he's incredibly young and can't be expected to shoulder the weight of guiding the team. Especially when an experienced player like Burns is right there outside him. The game management went to pieces. Doak took a kick that wasn't within his range, and kicking from hand seemed to be out of desperation rather than tactics. Whilst I acknowledge that Ulster were missing Henderson and Cooney, two massive leaders within the squad, Alan O'Connor (who I massively rate as a captain and leader) was there. Safe to say I find it all just a bit weird, honestly.

I saw people on Twitter immediately after the match calling Ulster's defence a slough of names and letting out the original "What, we have a defence?". I understand being frustrated, but for me shouting about the defence is just badly placed anger at a loss. Tom O'Toole made 27 of the 201 tackles Ulster made in that game, without missing 1. Ulster's defence was not the downfall of the night. Ulster's defence, for the most part, was strong; they repelled drive after drive and didn't, for one moment, let up.

Whilst I'd love to say Ulster are getting a few leaders back and things are looking up, unfortunately, it seems things are going to get worse before they get better. Cooney and Hume look to be the latest additions to the injury list, making it another two critical players unavailable for a big European night against the Northampton Saints. The only sliver of good news is that Robert Baloucoune and Bradley Roberts are back in training and have the potential to be available for Sunday's game. Hopefully, they are fit and Baloucoune can add a bit more danger to what has the potential to be a cutting backline. The backs, apart from Lowry, seemed a bit muted.

So Ulster go into this week's game possibly without their usual centres, without their first choice scrum half, without their Captain, and their injury list piling up once again. As I write this, though, Ulster have put out their squad update, and hopefully, things aren't as grim as they seem. Cooney, unfortunately, will not be available, but Baloucoune and Bradley Roberts are back in training and no mention of Hume. Hopefully, that means Hume's niggle from the Munster match was nothing more and he's fit to play this weekend.