RUGBY / Heineken Cup / Ulster 19 - 10 Saracens: A dog-eared script, but no less engrossing for all of that. Bullied a tad up front, imprecise at setpiece time, and trailing from the 14th minute to the 73rd, somehow you sensed there was a growing inevitability that Ulster would pull through and extend their four-year unbeaten record at Ravenhill.
In truth, they've played better but their bottomless well of sheer desire, epitomised by Roger Wilson and Neil Best, and their collective composure got them there. Saracens, for all their bullish swagger, lapsed into defensive mode too soon, content to hold onto their slender leads, and as the pressure grew and the crowd got more into it, they completely cracked under the strain, conceding two late yellow cards.
Constructive play through the hands with a proverbial bar of soap was often a lottery, and boot to ball was often the most effective means of attack.
Indeed, it was Ulster's kicking game, with Isaac Boss a telling impact replacement and David Humphreys pulling the strings as ever, and the chasing of Neil Best, Tommy Bowe and co which applied the pressure and yielded the decisive breakthroughs.
Typical Ravenhill conditions for Friday nights under the lights seemed to suit Saracens. Full of bristling, physical intent from the off, opting for a put-in from an indirect penalty on the ten-metre line, and employing their maul, they persistently tested the Ulster fringe defence, where Neil Best and Wilson and co were also their ever-willing selves.
True to their type, Glen Jackson kicked the ball into the air rather than through the hands the first four times he received, testing the ever-dependable Bryn Cunningham in the air or going to the corners. When he then passed the ball to an isolated Kevin Sorrell, he looked more astonished than anybody, dallying and then kicking aimlessly.
Nevertheless, Jackson's fairly one-dimensional approach yielded a reward 15 minutes after he kicked to the corner once more. Rory Best overthrew to the tail, where Simon Raiwalui was held up on the line, but from the recycle Jackson, for variety, opted to run and slipped through Andrew Trimble's tackle to score under the posts and convert.
Although Shane Byrne was thrice penalised for delayed throws on Saracens' laboured lineout, he was, as usual, accuracy personified. By contrast, the current leading pretender to his throne would have two more overthrows in attacking situations in the first half which contributed significantly to Ulster's unusual lack of momentum.
Only once did they generate an attacking passage after Humphreys kicked a penalty up the line and the pack picked and went off a stalled lineout maul, before Bryan Young took a good line off Humphreys' inside pass and then Paul Steinmetz was held up close to the line.
Compensation came by way of a Humphreys penalty but in truth Saracens' lead at the break would have been bigger but for two horribly struck penalties by Jackson, one shanked, the other sliced. Ulster had been in tight squeezes before, and resumed without Neil McMillan but with renewed enthusiasm, and Tommy Bowe would have scored off an obliquely angled chip to the blindside corner by Humphreys but for Paul Bailey's sharp covering.
Bailey also beat the galloping Trimble to a grubber by Steinmetz after a ferocious rumble by Wilson. The crowd were soon in full voice again when Humphreys pinged a magnificent 50-metre penalty to make it a one-point game and then when Tevitga Vaikona spilled Humphreys' crosskick. Although Jackson rewarded an isolated second-half maul by his gargantuan pack with a three-pointer, Ulster upped the pressure some more.
After another mighty rumble by Wilson, Dan Scarborough was nabbed by the chasing Neil Best from a kick ahead by Paul Steinmetz and debutant replacement Stephen Ferris, the former winning a turnover which looked certain to yield a try but for Thomas Castaignede knocking Rory Best's pass to Bryan Young to the ground. He was waved off, Humphreys kicked the penalty, and when the outhalf had his drop goal sightings cut off, Trimble bailed him and Ulster out with a stunning run through four tackles. From the recycle, sub hooker Matt Cairns was yards offside but couldn't resist temptation. He too went to the bin and again Humphreys tapped over the penalty.
Ulster maximised their numerical advantage when Bowe chased a clever blindside grubber by Boss and brilliantly ripped the ball out for Rory Best to plunder the blindside try. Humphreys' superb touchline conversion denied Saracens even a bonus point, though their disgruntled departure suggests there will be plenty of edge next Saturday.
Scoring sequence: 14 mins Jackson try and con 0-7; 26 mins Humphreys pen 3-7; Half-time 3-7; 56 mins Humphreys pen 6-7; 63 mins Jackson pen 6-10; 73 mins Humphreys pen 9-10; 77 mins Humphreys pen 12-10; 79 mins R Best try, Humphreys con 19-10.
ULSTER: B Cunningham; T Bowe, K Maggs, A Trimble, P Steinemetz; D Humphreys, K Campbell; B Young, R Best, S Best (capt), J Harrison, M McCullough, N Best, N McMillan, R Wilson. Replacements: R Caldwell for McCullough (33 mins), S Ferris for McMillan (half-time), I Boss for Campbell (73 mins). Not used: N Brady, R Moore, A Larkin, J Topping.
SARACENS: D Scarbrough; P Bailey, T Castaignede, K Sorrell, T Vaikona; G Jackson, K Bracken; K Yates, S Byrne, C Visagie S Raiwalui, K Chesney, H Vyvyan (capt), B T Russell, B Skirving. Replacements: M Cairns for Byrne, B Broster for Yates (both 65 mins), M Bartholomeusz for Sorrell (70 mins), B J Russell for Vaikona (73 mins), Byrne for Seymour (83 mins). Not used: A Kyriacou, A Dickens. Sinbinned: Castaignede (73-83 mins), Cairns (77 mins).
Referee: Eric Darriere (France)
