Ulster 9-10 Northampton
A week is a long time to plot revenge in rugby. Northampton, shredded in front of their own supporters by Ulster eight days ago, not only reversed the result but became the first team to defeat the RaboDirect Pro12 leaders this season, turning the group into a three-way tussle with Castres in one of the best victories by an English club in Europe for several years.
Northampton, who succeeded at the most inhospitable of venues despite not scoring a point in the final hour, needed to win to avoid going out at the group stage for the second successive season. Saints had lost six of their previous 10 matches in all competitions and if it were unfair to make comparisons with the bulldozers at both ends of Ulster's ground, which is being redeveloped to increase its capacity to 18,000 by August 2014, there is a need for some rebuilding at Franklin's Gardens, never mind Saturday night's result.
They started brightly, 10-0 up after 17 minutes, and while they did not score again, Saints created several opportunities in the third quarter. Ulster played as if the opening game in Northampton had not stopped but their opponents were markedly different in attitude and the contest for possession was fierce. It was Saints, playing with more width, who forced turnovers in rucks and mauls, who applied the pressure up front and who snaffled lineouts.
There was almost an air of complacency about Ulster and Northampton had been nettled by statements made by certain home players during the week. The crowd, which started in full voice with their side looking for victory No14 this season, became sullenly quiet after Stephen Myler, who had been tackled late, kicked a penalty from in front of the posts six minutes in.
Northampton were not their usual cautious selves. Phil Dowson and Ken Pisi both indulged in back-of-the-hand passes in an early move and, while nothing came from it, Saints had menace, and swift hands led to the opening try of the game: Ulster failed to deal with a high kick and Gerrit-Jan van Velze profited from slick handling and passing by Soane Tonga'uiha and Ken Pisi to score in the corner.
It took a while for the cold water effect to rouse Ulster. They remained disoriented by not being able to play the way they had the week before and even when the flanker Nick Williams made two clean breaks, the first through an interception and the second from an unguarded ruck, the hosts failed to exploit an overstretched defence.
First Andrew Trimble lost the ball in contact and then Jared Payne dropped the ball with Trimble clear outside him. They were the sort of mistakes Ulster had not made in the first meeting between the sides and they almost had to start again to get back into the game. Two penalties from Paddy Jackson in the final 10 minutes of the half made it 10-6 to Northampton at the interval, and when the fly-half landed his third two minutes after the restart the momentum was with Ulster. But only for the few seconds it took Samu Manoa to catch the restart and stride into the home 22.
He got a pass away to Jamie Elliott, but the wing knocked on, one of three mistakes at the moment of reckoning by Northampton in seven minutes. Manoa was penalised for a double movement after another turnover and Tom May failed to gather Myler's chip to the line a couple of metres out.
The profligacy continued when Myler, moving left, kicked to the line with his right foot and instead of finding Elliott the ball went directly into touch. Ulster's response was to carry on making handling errors and losing the ball at the breakdown; when they did create space, Jackson put the ball out on the full, each error deflating the crowd.
Ulster were forced to try for the unlikely, Ruan Pienaar taking aim with a penalty near his own 10-metre line. He was not far short, but there was an element of desperation about Ulster's play that contrasted with their over-confidence at the start. When Pienaar intercepted in his own half with nine minutes to go and the replacement wing Craig Gilroy took the move on, Ulster had options left and right. But as ball carriers dithered, the defence regrouped. The move died when Ulster were penalised for holding on, a lack of composure costing them again.
Saints looked like seeing out the game but, with four minutes to go, Paul Marshall started a counterattack and perfectly timed his pass to Tommy Bowe outside him. The wing seemed to have a clear run to the line but Elliott, at full stretch, clipped his ankles and the ball fell loose. Tom Wood picked up but was penalised for holding on, leaving Pienaar with a 45-metre kick to win the game.
He had to wait five minutes before taking the kick as Bowe was treated for suspected knee ligament damage, for which he will undergo a scan on Sunday. The ball drifted to the left and there was not to be another chance.
Both Ulster and Northampton got what they deserved for the second week running.
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Guardian