GUNNERS FALL AT CUP FINAL HURDLE
20 December 2003 - Ulster: 27 Edinburgh Rugby: 21 (at Murrayfield)
You know that rugby must be a tough game when two days after meeting the England World Cup squad, the Queen is taken to hospital with ligament damage. And this game was an equally uncompromising affair between two sides currently on top form.
When the dust had settled at no-side, Ulster had secured their first piece of silverware of the season with a hard-fought 27-21 victory over Edinburgh in front of an excellent crowd of over 17,000 at Murrayfield. Despite out-scoring their hosts by three tries to two, Edinburgh were left reflecting on what might have been had they turned some of their first-half pressure into points, rather than going in 21-0 down at the break with a mountain to climb.
It took some time for the Ed to emerge from a darkened room after the last meeting between these two teams - a 41-3 humping at Meadowbank during the World Cup in October. The Edinburgh wheels came off so spectacularly that night that, in an unprecedented move, the supporters' man of the match award went to Flinty. Highly gifted though the cuddly stag may be, it's not something that anyone wants to repeat in a hurry. Ulster fans, who mounted a daring pre-final raid on the SRU chatroom, were perhaps understandably confident of a repeat performance today, despite the absence through injury of their Australian tormentor-in-chief, Ryan Constable.
Yet the young Gunners bounced back, keeping Edinburgh in contention in the Celtic League and steering the club to today's final, with a fine win over Connacht in Galway. The likes of Kellock, Lawson, Warnock, Kelly, and Pike to name but five, deserve a great deal of credit for their part in the adventure. And a number of them have indeed had their efforts recognised by Matt Williams, joining the 16-strong Edinburgh contingent who're off to Stirling tomorrow to join the Scotland training squad. Everything was set for an exciting contest this afternoon, despite the constant, torrential rain.
Perhaps understandably, the early exchanges were scrappy, with both sides struggling to hold on to the ball in the difficult conditions. A Humphreys penalty after two minutes put Ulster into a lead that, in the end, they were not to relinquish, but the Gunners roared back with, first, a Laney fly-hack almost leading to a try, before a promising move off a Gunners scrum almost put Joiner away. But, in a pattern that was to be repeated for much of the match, Edinburgh's high octane attacks met a solid Ulster defensive wall.
Another Humphreys penalty on ten minutes was followed by an opportunist try for openside Best on 14 minutes after an excellent Humphreys garryowen eluded the Gunners' defence. The conversion took the Ulster lead to 13-0. Despite some promising Edinburgh moves, the alarm bells were beginning to ring.
But credit to the Gunners, they roared back, and were on top for the next 15 minutes. A Laney dart went close, and the Gunners had a number of lineouts in dangerous positions, but struggled to get the momentum in their mauling. Simon Taylor and Todd Blackadder showed up well in the loose, but Edinburgh runners were too often getting isolated, and several times the ball squirted out of rucks, only to be pounced on by the Ulster back row.
Despite all their possession, Edinburgh could find no way through the Ulster defence, and went further behind to a Humphreys penalty and an unconverted try from a driving maul, to take the half-time score to 21-0 to the men from the Province. Ulster were playing a sensible, tight game in the poor conditions, feeding off their opponents' errors. Not flashy, maybe, but highly effective.
A change of jerseys, no doubt some fairly unparliamentary language in the dressing room, and the appearance of Smith and Hogg in the Gunners team seemed to give them a boost after half-time, and at last Edinburgh began to play the sort of expansive game we know they're capable of. Di Rollo appeared to be away on 50 minutes, only for the referee to fail to play advantage for an Ulster knock-on. The Ed's Mum always told him that if you've got nothing good to say about someone, then don't say anything at all. So enough about Mr Williams and his touch judges!
Shortly afterwards, an excellent Lee run from deep was only finished by a late tackle from Frost. The Gunners' tails were up, though, and another searing break from Lee from the Ulster ten metre line put Simon Webster over in the corner for Edinburgh's first try, Paterson converting. It was just reward for Nitro, who had looked eager when he had the ball, and had defended well.
Provider turned try-scorer five minutes later, with an excellent end-to-end score for Lee. Laney somehow managed to fight his way through a mass of players on the Gunners' 22 and broke away, giving to Hogg on the halfway line; the young back row scorched into the Ulster 22; with the referee sensibly playing advantage for a deliberate Ulster knock-on, the ball was spun wide right for Lee to touch down. Paterson's conversion made the score 21-14, and it was game on with 15 minutes to go, with the locals urging the capital men on. Edinburgh kept the pressure on, and Murray agonisingly knocked on in space just short of the Ulster line as the Ulster defence was put under increasing strain.
Perhaps the turning point in the game came with five minutes left. With the momentum firmly with Edinburgh, Ulster were penalised on their own ten metre line, and Paterson, who had kicked well all game, went for touch in the enemy 22. But the ball squirted agonisingly over the try line instead, to give Ulster the scrum. Shortly afterwards, Humphreys kicked another penalty for Edinburgh offside, and the score was 24-14 going into injury time.
This Edinburgh team don't know when they're beaten, though, and a converted Blair try kept the capital men in the hunt with the clock ticking down. But sadly for the majority of the crowd, Ulster earned their victory by winning a penalty from the succeeding kick-off, which Humphreys calmly stroked over to give Ulster the Celtic Cup. Just reward for their efforts, and the dedication of their big travelling support, but very hard for the Gunners to take.
Although it will be little consolation to the Gunners that they contributed hugely to what was a very exciting game, with a little more luck, the game could have gone their way. To come back from 21 points down against a team of Ulster's class at half-time is a significant achievement. They will want to put this loss behind them and build on the positives from the game as they go back into the Heineken Cup next year, where they are in a strong position in their group
If this was your first Edinburgh game, or maybe even your first time watching one of the pro-teams, we hope you enjoyed it, despite the result. Why not come back for more at Meadowbank, Hughenden, or Netherdale in the New Year?
MAN OF THE MATCH:
DAVID HUMPHREYS, for a fine display of tactical and place kicking. DERRICK LEE won the Supporters' Club award, and the 400 or so supporters in the Wanderers' clubhouse were pleased to see him accept the award after the game.
There are only four more shopping days to go to Christmas. The Ed hopes that Santa will be good to you; that you will enjoy the company of family and friends on Christmas Day; and looks forward to hearing you in good voice at the inter-city against Glasgow, which will take place at Hughenden at 2.00 pm on Saturday 27 December. What better way to escape from the in-laws, recover from the Christmas dinner, and get a bit of fresh air than by taking the short trip over to Glasgow's West End? See www.edinburghgunners.org.uk for details of the travel package.
Read Bill Lothian's verdict in the Evening News: http://www.sport.scotsman.com/rugby_superteams.cfm
Ulster reactions can be found on http://www.ulsterrugby.com
Scorers: Edinburgh: Paterson 3C, Webster 1T, Lee 1T, Blair 1T
Ulster Humphreys 5P 1C, Best 1T, Some forward 1T
Edinburgh team: Lee; Webster, Di Rollo, Laney, Joiner; Paterson, Blair; Jacobsen, Hall, Mathieson, Murray, Hines, Blackadder (Capt), Taylor, Cross. Replacements: Smith, Kelly, Kellock, Hogg, Burns, Dickson, Southwell
Ulster team: Wallace; Topping; Stewart, Steinmetz, Howe; Humphreys, Doak; Kempson, Sexton, Best, Frost, Mustchin, Ward (capt), Best, Wilson. Replacements: Shields, Moore, McCullough, Brosnihan, Campbell, Larkin, Cunningham.
Referee: Nigel Williams (Wales)
A merry Christmas to all our readers!