Ruan Pienaar masterminded a superb Ulster comeback this evening at Welford Road as Mark Anscombe’s men brought the Heineken Cup quarter-finals back to Belfast for the first time since 1999 – the year the Ravenhill side went on to lift the trophy.
A second-half try from the scrum-half, topped up by 17 points from his boot, saw Ulster through in a match they had once trailed in by 10 points, securing top seeding in the quarter-final stage and an early-April clash with eighth-placed Saracens at Ravenhill.
While man-of-the-match Pienaar will rightly receive many of the plaudits, the entire Ulster team played its part in neutralising the flair and strength of the Tigers going forward, to inflict the first home European defeat at Welford Road in seven years.
The first half played out as an entirely even match-up, Leicester taking the game to the visitors in the first quarter before Ulster gained the ascendancy and began to ask serious questions of the Tigers’ defence. Neither side was able to break through the opposing rearguard, however, and kickers Pienaar and Toby Flood called the tune with three penalties apiece.
Leicester enjoyed all the possession in the first 10 minutes, Flood kicking an early three points after the Ulster front row had collapsed a scrum on their own ‘22’, before doubling the lead on 11 minutes with a second penalty from a good 45 metres. The visitors eventually got their hands on the ball at this stage, making good progress up the left wing until Tigers lock Ed Slater was penalised for coming in from the side, allowing Pienaar to slot over from 22 metres.
A speedy surge from Slater’s second row partner Graham Kitchener put Ulster under renewed pressure at the opening of the second quarter, with Jared Payne to thank for a high-impact tackle which drove the lock into touch five metres from the try-line. Ulster impeded soon after the put-in, however, and Flood was once again on hand to split the posts and re-establish the six-point lead.
Powerful mauling from the Ulster forwards – illegally impeded by prop Dan Cole, once again from the side – earned Pienaar a further three points on 28 minutes, and the Springbok impressed again two minutes later as he effortlessly stroked a third penalty from 55 metres to restore parity.
With Ulster growing in confidence minute by minute, Flood miscued for the first time with a 35th-minute penalty, and the next Ulster attack saw Andrew Trimble only just stray into touch as he collected Pienaar’s smart kick towards the corner. The well-orchestrated move was the most promising try-scoring opportunity of the entire half, which ended with an off-target drop goal attempt from Paddy Jackson ensuring the teams ran off on level terms.
Half-Time Score Leicester 9 Ulster 9
Flood dispatched his fourth penalty on 46 minutes, and Leicester capitalised on two missed tackles on Anthony Allen to set up camp in the Ulster half, until Irish-born winger Niall Morris outstripped Jackson to hare down on Flood’s low kick to the right-hand corner and ground the try.
The England out-half’s extras nudged Leicester 10 points ahead on the 50th-minute mark, prompting an immediate Ulster reaction, with five minutes of intense pressure getting their forwards to within two metres of the line before an unfortunate knock-on left them with nothing to show for their endeavours.
Undeterred, Ulster simply built again, with Pienaar taking charge of the comeback by registering 10 personal points in the space of three minutes. First, the scrum-half judiciously opted to chip away at the Leicester lead rather than go for the line with a 57th-minute penalty, before charging down a sluggish Flood clearance 10 metres from his line, and chasing down to ground in the corner.
His own score converted, Pienaar then edged his side ahead for the first time with 10 minutes remaining courtesy of another long-distance penalty from just inside the Ulster half, and, rather than sit back and defend the slight lead, the visitors continued to press high in Leicester territory, Luke Marshall in particular putting the cat amongst the pigeons in the Tigers’ defence with a fleet-footed raid through the centre.
Inevitably, Leicester forced their way upfield for one last attack, but superior Ulster scrumming on 78 minutes put paid to any hopes of a late smash-and-grab, and the visitors saw out the match bedded down deep in Tigers territory, the clock hitting 84 minutes before Nigel Owens sounded the final whistle.
Ulster leave Welford Road with this season’s solitary 100% Heineken Cup record still intact, and the prospect of a high-profile quarter-final at a fully-renovated Ravenhill in the weekend beginning 4th April to look forward to.
Full-Time Score Leicester 19 Ulster 22
view gallery
Leicester (15 – 9) M Tait; N Morris, M Smith, A Allen, V Goneva; T Flood (c), B Youngs (1 – 8) M Ayerza, T Youngs, D Cole, E Slater, G Kitchener, J Gibson, J Salvi, J Crane
Replacements (16 – 23) R Hawkins, B Stankovich, F Balmain, L Deacon, S Mafi, D Mélé, O Williams, S Hamilton
Ulster (15 – 9) J Payne; A Trimble, D Cave, L Marshall, C Gilroy; P Jackson, R Pienaar (1 – 8) C Black, R Best, J Afoa, J Muller (c), D Tuohy, R Wilson, C Henry, N Williams
Replacements (16 – 23) R Herring, T Court, R Lutton, I Henderson, R Diack, P Marshall, D McIlwaine, M Allen