ULSTER CAN ALREADY look back to some important milestones this season.
They have turned on the style at home and gone away expecting to win. In their biggest game of the season so far they did not put a foot wrong and came away from Northampton with a bonus point.
They have already won Europe’s top prize, and have secured a berth in the last eight with a game to spare. Yet one big millstone hangs around their neck. In 14 attempts, they have never managed a Heineken Cup win in France.
They have come close, never more so than October 200o, when they pushed Toulouse all the way to a 35-35 draw – neither qualified for the knock-out stage that season.
Castres’ team selection has left the door open for Mark Anscombe to banish this hoodoo, but it will be 15 on 15 come kick-off. So here is what Ulster need to do to keep Castres Olympique quiet.
Get on Nigel Owens’ good side
©INPHO/Billy Stickland
Chris Henry hasn’t been able to fly under the radar much in recent weeks and he has suffered the unwanted attention and ire of referees for his work at the breakdown.
The openside will have a little help in that regard with the addition of Roger Wilson to the back row and they will need no reminders on how productive Pedrie Wannenburg can be in opposition.
Should they complete stage one, then they will be a long way towards…
Keep Rory Kockott quiet
The South African scrum-half has become the undoubted star of Castres and inevitably the giants of the Top 14 (including Toulouse) have come sniffing his expiring contract.
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His unusual kicking style doesn’t stop him from being accurate and that is what Olympique have been reliant on. Shut him down fast and Castres could look toothless.
Score tries
This hasn’t seemed difficult for Ulster this season, but so many scores have come via either the defence-disintegrating Nick Williams, or the uber-slick Jared Payne. Neither Kiwi is available today.
©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
To that end, Anscombe has asked Ruan Pienaar to drop back into a more influential role with Paul Marshall also capable of making big plays round the fringes.
Last week’s defeat to Northampton was a try-less affair with Kockott landing all 12 of Castres points from the boot. A solid seven-pointer could bring Ulster home and hosed. Craig Gilroy’s rare outing at fullback will be more than interesting to watch unfold.
Vive la difference!
Dismissing an away game as no different to Ravenhill, or saying ‘the pitch is the same size’ won’t wash. Playing in France is a completely different experience to doing battle in Ireland or Britain. The incessant drumming, the occasional brass band and supporters who (when the mood takes them) can offer up a fearful experience.
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Stade Pierre Antoine may not be the most intimidating of Top 14 venues, certainly not when presented with a (for them) dead rubber game with a second-string XV. Never the less, Ulster must confront the unquantifiable factors rather than ignore them if they want to make history.
