Nine points: Ruan Pienaar
Ulster recorded their first win on French soil thanks to a close 9-8 win over Castres at the Stade Pierre Antoine on Saturday.
With rain in the air and conditions testing, a tight, low-scoring game was anticipated between these two giants of European rugby.
And despite an early try from the hosts, there was little coming from either side in the early stages to suggest that supporters would be treated to anything else.
But, though points were few and far between, there was excitement and tension aplenty at the Stade Pierre Antoine.
Castres took the lead when Ulster spilt the ball after winning the line-out. The visiting defence initially held firm, before Yannick Forestier produced a fine pass to set up an opportunity for Remi Lamerat to score.
Crucially, the conversion was missed, and less than five minutes later Ulster had cut the deficit to two, as Pienaar stepped up to strike a penalty after Matthieu Babillot was penalised at the breakdown.
But Paddy Wallace's dangerous tackle afforded Rory Kockott the opportunity to restore the five-point cushion, before Pienaar struck his second penalty as half-time loomed to make it 8-6 at the interval.
As the teams returned for the second half, the game remained there for the taking, though it took 24 minutes following the restart for the next points to be scored - and they would prove to be crucial.
After Ulster had created an opportunity down the left, Castres were caught offside, and it again fell to Pienaar to step up and convert the chance and give his side a single-point lead.
Unsurprisingly, Castres poured forward in search of a response, but the Ulstermen held strong to secure a famous victory.
The scorers:
For Castres:
Try: Lamerat
Pen: Kockott
For Ulster:
Pens: Pienaar 3
Castres: 15 Pierre Bernard, 14 Max Evans, 13 Seremaia Bai 12 Rémi Lamerat, 11 Marcel Garvey, 10 Rémi Tales, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Pedrie Wannenburg, 7 Piula Faasalele, 6 Mathieu Babillot, 5 Christophe Samson, 4 Matthias Rolland, 3 Anton Peikrishvili, 2 Marc-Antoine Rallier, 1 Yannick Forestier.
Replacements: 16 Brice Mach, 17 Saimone Taumoepeau, 18 Mihaïta Lazar, 19 Iosefa Tekori, 20 Thierry Lacrampe, 21 Jannie Bornman, 22 Paul Bonnefond, 23 Marc Andreu.
Ulster: 15 Craig Gilroy, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Paddy Wallace, 11 Michael Allen, 10 Ruan Pienaar, 9 Paul Marshall, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Chris Henry (c), 6 Robbie Diack, 5 Neil McComb, 4 Louis Stevenson, 3 John Afoa, 2 Rory Best, 1 Tom Court.
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Calum Black, 18 Declan Fitzpatrick, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Mike McComish, 21 Michael Heaney, 22 Paddy Jackson, 23 Chris Cochrane.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Comments
The_Dange says...
@Melkdave "They failed to dominate or get an edge in any area"
You obviously didn't watch the match. The scrummed Castre all over the park.
Posted 07:17 21st January 2013
melkdave says...
@To All
Compared to other Ulster performances this season ,yes it was a poor showing,and if it wasnt for Catres indisapline,they would have got no where near the victory.They failed to dominate or get an edge in any area .Did the job yes,but keep playing like that ,and they wont progress any further imo.
Posted 15:31 20th January 2013
makemehappy says...
In all fairness to Melkdave, Ulster didn't set the world on fire. They came and did a job on the froggies however, and that is the most significant thing about their performance. Amazed they weren't awarded a penalty try due to their scrummaging dominance.
It was also a poor Ulster team relatively. They have half a team missing. Having said tha, I was very impressed with the performances of the less celebrated players. Nobody let Ulster down.
Posted 10:24 20th January 2013
The_Dange says...
@melkdave A poor Ulster? WHAT? This is the best Ulster have been in years? A rare victory? Are you high? They've only lost twice this season!
Posted 07:18 20th January 2013
griffi60 says...
@ Melkdave I can only hope you were drunk whilst writing this, otherwise your spelling and general intelligence is incredibly poor. Ulster were the better team, should have scored at least once in the first half and a few times in the second. We'll be a test for anyone in the quarters and beyond.
Posted 19:52 19th January 2013
melkdave says...
Have to say im surprised at the result,Ulster comparded to other matches where just poor,and if they continue playing like that ,they wont progress at all.Catres well sheer indisapline allowed Ulster to win here,,and a lck of intensity.Where was Castres intensity they showed in the 1st game against Saints ,totally lacking today,and they let a poor Ulster get a rare victory.Im not to happy ,and im sure Castres coaches arnt either,Ulster where there for the taking.,and outing abig score on.
Posted 15:44 19th January 2013