Back-to-back Toulouse wins turn Ulster in right direction
The Ulster captain believed things would turn around after a disjointed start to the season
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Ulster captain Rory Best believes his side’s European Champions Cup double over Toulouse has proved their doubters wrong.
Question marks over the Irish side’s credentials emerged when Saracens romped to a 27-9 triumph at the Kingspan Stadium in round two. However, Ulster have since recovered to record back-to-back triumphs over European rugby’s most successful side.
An opportunistic first-half score from Ruan Pienaar put Ulster on course for their second win in three matches yesterday.
Andrew Trimble looked to have wrapped it up after 45 minutes, before Gaël Fickou led a Toulouse fightback. But Luke Marshall latched on to an inside ball to go over the try-line five minutes from time and secure Ulster’s third win on French soil with a 25-23 victory.
There was still time for Louis Picamoles to set up a tense finish with a drive-over try, but Best’s men held on to get back in the quarter-final race.
The Ulster captain believed things would turn around after a disjointed start to the season. He said: “We had a lot of doubters after the Saracens game but we knew we were doing a lot of good things.
“We were very rusty against Saracens, when boys were coming back from the Rugby World Cup with our new coach coming in.
“Wholesale changes haven’t been made, but we are making little tweaks and they are starting to bear fruit.
“We knew it was going to be a very tough place to come and win – and that proved to be the case.
“But the way the boys fought back against their momentum with our defence and our willingness to get back into the line was great, I can’t ask for more as a captain.
“We’re not the biggest team, we don’t have players who weigh 130 kilos, but what we do have is a lot of heart, a lot of fitness and a very good skill level in the forwards with some exciting backs.
“The best thing for us is to utilise that by playing at a high tempo, and when we get front-foot ball, Ruan Pienaar and Paddy Jackson can really pull the strings.”
In yesterday’s other game, Exeter coach Rob Baxter admitted he was left frustrated and disappointed after his side’s crushing 42-10 defeat at Clermont Auvergne but hopes they can use the chastening experience to their advantage in the future.
A week after claiming a bonus-point win over Clermont, the Chiefs were routed in Sunday’s return fixture in France as the Top 14 side outscored them five tries to one.
Baxter said: “The bigger picture is that this result may not mean too much. We still have two games to go and we would have had to have won at least one of them – now we have to win them both.
“If we use this experience of coming to France to win another game in France later in the pool, then great.”
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