Ward Drives Ulster On

Ulster must be getting it too good. After the excesses of the last two Fridays at Ravenhill, the accompanying fireworks on a chilly night seemed misplaced. Indeed, it says something about recent standards at Ravenhill, and as much about declining Welsh standards, that some of the faithful could be heard murmuring their discontent with Ulster's supposedly scratchiest performance of the season.

But if it's true that Toulouse forced Ulster to scale new heights, then in the heel of the hunt it would fair to say that for stretches last night Ebbw Vale brought Ulster down to their level.

There were some enduring standard bearers, such as Andy Ward. The muscular and ubiquitous Irish flanker seemed to have a hand in everything positive Ulster did, primarily because they used him Dallaglio-like as their main target runner and an auxiliary back who rarely hit rucks. He also seemed to have a big hand in each of Ulster's seven tries, primarily because he actually did.

The comparatively unheralded Stephen McKinty did his usual donkey work and put in a fair number of big hits, while the big men, Mark Blair especially, Tony McWhirter and Gary Longwell had big games too as, for once, Ulster were allowed to bully a comparatively lightweight side.

The increasingly influential Clinton van Rensburg-Jonathan Bell midfield axis had a big presence, with van Rensburg repeatedly bulldozing up the middle. However, the main focus of Warren Gatland and Philip Danaher's attention, Stephen Bell, seemed slightly hurried and unsure.

At least there was always a sense of urgency to the home team's play. Indecisive at penalty time, and taking an age to use already ponderous ruck ball, Ebbw Vale were strictly party poopers from the off.

When the breakthrough eventually came the spadework was done by the back-row, the source of much strength this season.

McKinty pulled off a big hit on half-way on the blind side off an Ebbw Vale back-row move, Ward took it up the narrow side and then McWhirter up the middle for Jonathan Bell to set up an attacking midfield ruck. David Humphreys floated a long high pass to Mason, who delayed for Cunningham to loop around him and then take Sheldon Coulter's return tryscoring pass inside. Mason's conversion hit the post.

Having been a bit too expansive too quickly, Ulster went back to basics and drilled the Welsh pack off a line-out, sucking in the numbers before releasing the ball; Ward and Humphreys each took the ball up before Mark Blair gave the telling impetus close-in for McWhirter to plunge over.

With Ebbw vale seemingly weaned offside, Ulster still weren't flowing while Humphreys compounded a couple of awry kicks with two missed penalties to touch. It needed some ghoulish Halloween spirits, and cometh the half-hour, Ebbw Vale provided it.

In some line-out "afters" the visitors' lock Chay Dillen pinned Gary Longwell and unleashed a flurry of punches. He was duly sent off to the loudest cheer of the night, and prop Iestyn Thomas was lucky not to accompany him for bullying poor Sheldon Coulter.

That got the crowd's gander up and, more pertinently, Ulster's too. Within a minute Blair won quick line-out ball, van Rensburg took it up the middle and Humphreys made a sizzling blindside break, with Cunningham and Ward adding support for Rab Irwin to eventually plough over.

They finished the half with a true team try, Mason looping around Coulter after Ward's charge. The second period was merely a question of the margin of victory. Gareth Green's try rewarded a spirited post-interval bout of pressure for the visitors, before another stupendous Ward burst culminated in Stephen Bell scoring from a quick tap amid more fisticuffs.

Ward then bullodozed through two tacklers for a deserving try wide out before taking it on again for Matchett to scurry through three opponents. Two softish late tries to Leyton Olson and Kuli Faletau took some of the gloss off the evening and 10 potentially important points off the winning margin.

Ulster now top the pool by a point from Toulouse and two from Edinburgh. They remain authors of their own destiny, and are playing well enough to write the script to their liking.

Scoring sequence: 3 mins Strange pen 0-3; 15 mins Cunningham try 5-3; 19 mins McWhirter try, Mason con 12-3; 33 mins Irwin try 17-3; 40 mins Mason try and con 24-3; 49 mins Green try 24-8; 55 mins S Bell try, Mason con 31-8; 65 mins Ward try, Mason con 38-8; 73 mins Match ett try 43-8; 77 mins Olson try 43-13; 80 mins Faletau try 43-18.

ULSTER: S Mason; S Coulter, J Bell, C van Rensburg, J Cunningham; D Humphreys (capt), S Bell; J Fitzpatrick, A Clarke, R Irwin, M Blair, G Longwell, S McKinty, T McWhirter, A Ward. Replacements: G Leslie for Irwin (50 mins), A Matchett for S Bell (62 mins), A Park for (74 mins), S Duncan for McWhirter (77 mins).

EBBW VALE: L Olsen; A Harries, G Williams, J Funnell, L Woodard; J Strange, D Llewellyn; I Thomas, L Phillips, A Metcalfe, C Billen, K Faletau, M Spiller, N Budgett, R Collins (capt). Replacements: R Campbell for L Phillips (32 mins), G Green for Spiller (40 mins), S Tauma lolo for Woodard (half-time), J Hawker for Fun nell (46 mins), L Banks for Budgett (68 mins), G Mason for Metcalfe (74 mins).

Referee: F Maciello (France).