Ulster faithful book their date with destiny

They started the competition, and now they can finish it. There's a momentum to the Ulster bandwagon and almost a sense of destiny about their magnificent European Cup run. Though it is tempting providence even to think it, at times at Ravenhill on Saturday you sensed their name is written on this cup.

Never mind the doubters outside the home dressingroom who didn't truly "believe", the players did. And unlike the quarter-final against Toulouse, one sensed this time that their 16th man - the 20,000 home crowd - believed with them.

There was a discernible difference in their post-match demeanour this time as well. Elated of course, even more so than the last time, but both Harry Williams and the immense Mark Blair bemoaned the lack of discipline and concession of penalties which contributed to Stade Francais's most imposing spell in the second quarter. "But for that we might have won more handily," claimed Williams.

"The key", as Williams saw it, "was that we set out to put pressure on them when they had the ball." Jan Cunningham, generally regarded as best suited to the wing, stood shoulder to shoulder with Jonathan Bell and from that midfield bedrock Ulster said No.

Credit to Williams too. Hours spent poring over videos of Stade Francais convinced him that all the traffic would come through off the shoulders of Diego Dominguez and that the French centres, Richard Dourthe and Cliff Mytton, were not particularly good passers of the ball. So the Ulster midfield focussed on them, shut them down quickly and went man on man. The French champions, used to piercing midfields every Saturday, couldn't breach the gain-line and launch their continuity game. They were stymied at source, and more or less admitted afterwards that they were shocked.

Certainly they had completely cracked by the time they faced a seven-points or bust scenario in the closing seven minutes. From scrum-half Christophe Laussoucq through to Dourthe, even the great Diego Dominguez, they spilled it or they kicked it. They were gone. More Sad Francais than Stade Francais.

Not just being wise after the event, but this observer never felt for a second that the French were going to break out of Ulster's clutches and their own half in that extraordinary finale even had it gone on for another 10 minutes. The crowd wouldn't have allowed it and the team were being carried over the finishing line on a tidal wave of emotion. It was spine-tingling stuff.

As Dourthe said after the game: "We played against a very proud team who played with a lot of aggression, but one which was also playing good rugby and that 80metre try was the proof of that."

After getting to the break with that critical one-point lead, that "80-metre try" which the visitors repeatedly referred to was probably the decisive and defining moment of the match. Nor would it be stretching things to say that David Humphreys was the man of the match.

Humprheys took particular pleasure in the fact that Ulster unveiled "three or four moves" and played some good stuff as well, while acknowledging that his try was probably the pick of his career.

"When I got the ball I looked around immediately and saw that someone was only five yards away from me. I didn't think I would score. But then when I was about 10 yards from the line I realised I was going to make it." And the feeling when he did? "I can't put it in words," said Humphreys.

Given he is playing on the crest of a wave with the European Cup finalists, while Eric Elwood is playing with a losing club team at the foot of the AIL (albeit scoring two tries himself on Saturday) Humprheys would be entitled to derive satisfaction from reaping some personal rewards from this day and, potentially, the final.

"I couldn't let that be an issue. I'm enjoying playing for Ulster and I'd love to be playing for Ireland, but it's all about enjoying the game," he said.

Humphreys hardly put a foot wrong. His covering, his option-taking, his tackling, his tactical

kicking, his try were all spot on, and even an untypically scuffed drop goal belly-flopped over.

"It was about pride and heart, all the old cliches apply," was how Allen Clarke saw it in the coalface - and for him and his fellow forwards, particularly so. Under intense pressure in the scrum, and in the line-outs, where they were often mauled backs yards, Clarke never wilted. None of them did.

Andy Ward was immense, Tony McWhirter's work-rate was huge and Blair, perhaps their most improved player of the last three months, was again phenomenal. Both Paddy Johns and Jeremy Davidson must have watched Saturday's game with a mixture of joy and envy. The Castres-based Davidson, who is keen to return home at the end of this season, was delighted for Ulster and ventured: "I think it's good for Ulster that they are playing Colomiers and not Perpignan. I think Perpignan are the better team and I think Ulster can beat them. They're very beatable; quite efficient behind the pack but certainly wouldn't be as proficient as Stade Francais".

Colomiers certainly didn't look on a par with Stade, Toulouse or Perpignan, though it is worth noting that Colomiers's international scrum-half and full-back, Fabien Galthie and Jean-Luc Sadourny, have returned from injury since the quarter-final win.

Now though, Ulster may suddenly be placed in the role of favourites - quite a significant psychological shift from the underdog tag they've taken into their three games against Toulouse and Stade. But you sense Williams and his players can handle it. They're 80 minutes away from sporting immortality now. Hats off to all of 'em, and Williams too. Beats teaching, eh Harry? "Oh, a hundred times over. A hundred times over."

Beats anything?

Scoring sequence: 3 mins: Mason penalty 3-0; 8: Mason drop goal 6-0; 11: Dominguez penalty 6-3; 16: McKinty try 11-3; 30: Juillet try, Dominguez conversion 11-10; 43: Humphreys try, Mason conversion 18-10; 48: Mason penalty 21-10; 52: Humphreys drop goal 24-10; 56: Juillet try, Dominguez conversion 24-17; 58: Dominguez penalty 24-20; 62: Mason penalty 27-20; 66: Mason penalty 30-20; 68: Lievremont try, Dominguez conversion 30-27; 73: mason penalty 33-27.

Ulster: S Mason; S Coulter, J Cunningham, J Bell, A Park; D Humphreys (captain), A Matchett; J Fitzpatrick, A Clarke, R Irwin, M Blair, G Longwell, S McKinty, T McWhirter, A Ward. Replacements: G Leslie for Irwin (54 mins); D Topping for McWhirter (73 mins).

Stade Francais: S Viars; A Gomes, R Dourthe, C Mytton, T Lombard; D Dominguez (captain), C Laussucq; S Marconnet, L Pedrosa, P de Villiers, H Chaffardon, D George, C Moni, R Pool-Jones, C Juillet. Replacements: S Simon for Marconnet; V Moscato for Pedrosa; M Lievremont for Pool-Jones (all 50 mins); F Comba for Lombard (75-77 mins).

Referee: J Fleming (Scotland).