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Ulster Rugby may only have a three-point lead in their Pool but there is little doubt they are now in the driving seat and are the favourites to make the quarter-finals stage for the third season on the trot. - 09/01/2013 15:25
Ulster Rugby may only have a three-point lead in their Pool but there is little doubt they are now in the driving seat and are the favourites to make the quarter-finals stage for the third season on the trot.
The Belfast side suffered a first defeat of the season when Northampton Saints staged an impressive snatch and grab raid to record a 10-9 victory in the last round of Pool games at Ravenhill.
But the Irish province, who reached last season’s Heineken Cup final and have Ruan Pienaar in prime form, will be looking to keep their lead at the top of the Pool when they host a Glasgow Warriors side still looking for their first win in Europe this season.
Ulster will know the Warriors, who are second behind Ulster in the Pro12, will be no pushovers and will be more than aware of the threat they pose if they can transform their league form into Europe.
Glasgow would have been disappointed with their 19-8 home defeat to Ulster at Scotstoun Stadium in the second round of games and will be looking for revenge in the return game.
Match Facts
* Glasgow have two victories to Ulster’s one in the history of this Heineken Cup fixture after the Irish province triumphed 19-8 at Scotstoun earlier this season.
* Ulster hooker Rory Best has won 10 turnovers this season, the highest total for any player in the competition.
Props John Afoa and Tom Court have conceded the joint-most penalties in the competition this season (8).
* Defeat to Northampton ended a run of 13 consecutive Heineken Cup victories at home for the Ravenhill side.
* Glasgow have just four wins and a draw to their name from 42 away matches in the Heineken Cup. One of those wins came at Ulster (1997), their only win away in Ireland.
Ulster qualified for the quarter-finals of European Rugby's premier club competition with a hard-fought win over Glasgow Warriors in Round 5. - 11/01/2013 22:11
Ulster qualified for the quarter-finals of European Rugby’s premier club competition with a hard-fought win over Glasgow Warriors in Round 5.
The RaboDirect PRO12 leaders sealed a spot in the last eight of the Heineken Cup with a 23-6 success in testing conditions at Ravenhill.
Tries from Nick Williams, Jared Payne and Darren Cave, together with eight points from the boot of Ruan Pienaar, saw last season’s beaten finalists reach the knockout stages for the third season running.
Ulster were the dominant force in the early stages but it took 20 minutes to claim their first try when Williams powered over from close-range. The former Munster and Aironi No8 claimed his seventh score of the season by bludgeoning his way through Moray Low and Rob Harley from five metres out.
Pienaar defied the wet weather to add a well-taken conversion to his sixth-minute penalty as Ulster moved 10 points clear of their Scottish rivals with a quarter of the game gone.
Glasgow worked their way back into the encounter despite a dominant Ulster scrum and Duncan Weir missed a brace of penalty chances in the closing stages of the half after Pienaar had failed with one attempt himself after 27 minutes.
Weir got the Warriors on the board eight minutes after the break but, despite a 52nd-minute yellow card for Ulster flanker Iain Henderson and a better showing in terms of territory and possession, Glasgow could only add a further three points from the fly-half to their tally in the remainder of the match.
Instead it was the hosts who pushed on, with Payne stepping inside DTH van der Merwe with a clever dummy from just a few metres out after 73 minutes.
Pienaar was off target with the extras but had added an earlier penalty and Ulster were 18-6 to the good and effectively home and dry.
Cave then supplied some gloss to the end result with a fine finish from 40 metres out with less than two minutes remaining but Ulster couldn’t find the bonus-point try that would have enhanced their hopes of a home tie in April.
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