LIBERTY STADIUM MATCH/Ospreys 16 Ulster 20:THE ULSTER back-row production line shows no signs of easing up in a credit crunch after upstaging their illustrious hosts at the Liberty Stadium.
Ravenhill has proved a breeding ground for robust and skilled loose forwards but, with the likes of Neil Best and Roger Wilson long departed and Stephen Ferris rested, even the most optimistic Ulsterman would have feared for the current crop in Swansea.
Chris Henry, Willie Faloon and Robbie Diack looked like academy novices compared to the star-studded Ospreys trio who boasted two All Blacks and a Grand Slam -winning captain in Jerry Collins, Marty Holah and Ryan Jones.
Yet the Irish trio more than rose to the challenge, harrying and tackling anything that moved, causing mayhem in the contact area and generally causing no end of frustration within the Ospreys ranks who struggled to engage Lions half-backs Mike Phillips and James Hook.
True, Ulster were helped by an off-day for Hook with the boot, missing four kicks in a row including a conversion that would have wiped out Ulster’s first-half lead. But while few expected this result, no one inside the Liberty Stadium could argue against the merit of it.
“We were pleased with the result but not shocked. We expected to perform this week after the criticism of the performance at the Dragons. But we feel that was a blip, especially considering our form in pre-season,” said coach Brian McLoughlin.
“Our defence was strong, we were far better at the breakdown and we carried the ball into contact much better.”
McLoughlin was drafted in this summer to repair the damage of last season’s desperate showing and with only his second attempt, has ended a depressing run of 15 defeats for Ulster in Wales.
“This is our first win in Wales for a long time, but right now winning anywhere is good,” said McLoughlin. “We are building this season by taking small steps, but this was a great step.
“This will give us a lot of confidence to go places like the Ospreys and play, but we have to keep our feet firmly on the ground. We’ve got a tough game against Edinburgh right around the corner.”
Opening try-scorer Dan Tuohy is a doubt for that game on Friday night after feeling the full force of a head-on collision with Collins, who goes by the nickname ‘The Terminator’.
The secondrow, a summer signing from Exeter Chiefs, finished a move created by man-of-the-match Ian Humphreys and wing Timoci Nagusa with aplomb, only to stagger from the field after just 26 minutes, unsure who he was, let alone where.
By then Simon Danielli had scored the first of his brace after Humphreys’ interception in midfield for a shock 12-3 lead before Nikki Walker hit back for the Ospreys.
Clinton Schifcofske opened the door for a second on the stroke of half time when he was shown the yellow card for slapping the ball out of Phillips’ hands, and Ospreys replacement Duncan Jones scored from the resulting penalty.
Hook nudged the hosts 16-15 ahead with a penalty early in the second half against the 14 men, but Ulster’s fullback returned from the sin bin to play a key part in the winning score.
Again Nagusa threatened before Schifcofske provided the link to Danielli who showed genuine class to step past Collins for the 23rd league try of his career.
Backed up by a half-hour rearguard action, that proved enough to get Ulster’s season up and running.
OSPREYS: B Davies; J Vaughton, S Parker, A Bishop, N Walker (T Bowe, 52); J Hook, M Phillips (J Nutbrown, 72); P James, R Hibbard (H Bennett, 48), C Griffiths (D Jones, 39-40, 56), I Gough, A Lloyd (J Thomas, 48), J Collins (T Smith, 68), R Jones (capt), M Holah.
ULSTER: C Schifcofske; T Nagusa (C Willis, 56), D Cave, I Whitten, S Danielli; I Humphreys, I Boss, B Young, A Kyriacou (N Brady, 70), B Botha (D Fitzpatrick, 56), E O’Donoghue, D Tuohy (T Anderson, 25), C Henry (capt), R Diack (T Horua, 53), W Faloon.
Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland).
