No Surrender! - Ulster Preview

By BrianC
December 7 2006

When the draw for the Heineken Cup was made last summer many of us hoped we'd draw an Irish province, something we missed out on in the 2002/3 season the only previous season we had qualified.

So it was to be; over the next two weeks we have back-to-back fixtures against Ulster. A little bit of club history is being written. These are our first ever competitive games against Irish opposition. We are of course familiar with our opponents from pre-season friendlies. Our most recent encounter was in August 2005 where we won 9 - 17 at Ravenhill.

As the IRB world rankings testify Irish rugby is going through something of a purple patch at present. Ulster have played no small part in this. They currently top both the Magners League and, unlike us, have everything to play for in this Heineken Cup 'pool of death'. Their 30 - 3 demolition of Toulouse in October must be put down as one of the most significant victories the club have ever had in this competition.

The traveling Ulster support has come along down the years in ways we could only dream about. In the early years of this competition there was little or none. A few years ago it was apparent that things were changing. I witnessed this in Paris when they played Stade and covered it in the Plastic Paddys in Paris piece. At that game there were about 500 traveling supporters. This Saturday we may well see numbers into the thousands. Many, I know, are taking the opportunity to spend a weekend in London. The bright lights of Reading do perhaps not hold the same attraction to visitors as the capital.

The anthem of the Ulster supporters is "Stand up for the Ulstermen". This is sung to the tune of Village People's 'Go West' and is usually accompanied by the supporters standing and clapping as they sing. This impressed me when I first saw it and has continued to do so since. Somehow I doubt that even the most jobs worth Madejski steward will be able to do anything to stop this if and when they go into full flight.

Our return fixture at Ravenhill next week has been a sell out for some time. For those going I can only hope that the weather is kinder to them than it was for me when I was there last Friday to watch them play Leinster. The ground is in an exposed area of Belfast. When the wind gets up and the rain starts falling, not uncommon in Belfast at this time of year, the conditions can be truly hostile for players and supporters alike.

How much we will put into these games is open to question. With only one bonus point from our two games thus far we are effectively already out of the tournament. Given our exit from the EDF cup last week our only realistic chance of HC qualification next season is via our league position. Whatever the rhetoric emanating from Sunbury around these games we must surely now concentrate on that. Having said that, there is so much at stake both in terms of pride and team spirit that I do not expect us to name anything other than pretty well full strength teams for these games.

There are a number of LI old boys in the Ulster squad. Perhaps of all of them one name particularly sticks in the mind for this fixture. Our long time stalwart, Kieron (Awesome) Dawson, will take to the field against us on Saturday. Despite the fact he will be wearing opposition colours it will be great to see him take to the Madejski pitch again. No doubt he will be given a very warm welcome.

In the run up to these games there has been some lively banter both here and on the Ulster supporters site. Those who are not in tune with the Ulster sense of humour can find it offensive. Personally I love it, although as a Belfast man myself I'll admit to being biased. One description of this game that particularly caught my eye was that it is 'Brits who want to be Micks against Micks who want to be Brits'.

Despite the results relative lack of meaning for us in this tournament these are still huge games. Here's hoping that, whatever the results, the Ulster supporters and we enjoy them.