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High flying Ulster Rugby will be looking to really secure their spot as Pool 4 leaders when they face Northampton Saints in a mouth-watering clash at Franklin's Gardens on Friday night. - 06/12/2012 07:00
High flying Ulster Rugby will be looking to really secure their spot as Pool 4 leaders when they face Northampton Saints in a mouth-watering clash at Franklin’s Gardens on Friday night.
Ulster, who are the current Pro12 leaders, have rattled off impressive victories over Castres Olympique at Ravenhill and Glasgow Warriors in Scotland and are one of only seven clubs who can boast two from two so far in this season's tournament.
For their part the Saints will be looking to bounce back from their 21-16 away defeat to Castres Olympique in their last Pool game after their hard fought victory over the Scots at home in their tournament opener.
The English side are third in the Premiership but will be wary of the threat posed by a confident Ulster side after the Saints lost twice to Munster in the Pool stages last season. Those defeats saw the English side fail to qualify for last season’s quarter-finals.
The Belfast-based side know a victory over the Saints will put a marker down for the rest of Europe and be a major boost for their bid to reach their third quarter-final in three years.
They will be hoping Ireland wing Craig Gilroy, who made such an on his impressive try-scoring debut for Ireland in the 46-24 victory against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium, gives the visitors a real boost.
The 21-year-old also scored three tries against Fiji in an uncapped international the previous weekend.
Ulster are unbeaten and in the driving seat in the Pool and will be looking to record their 50th victory in the Heineken Cup. They have won 49 of their 105 games in the tournament so far.
Both sides are former winners of the tournament, with the Belfast side winning in 1999 and Saints in 2000, and have reached the last two finals only to be beaten by reigning champions, Leinster.
But Saints will be looking to rid themselves of their Irish bogey and poor record against sides from across the Irish sea, having lost eight of their 12 matches against Irish provinces.
Match Facts
• Northampton fare worse against teams from Ireland than any other nation in this tournament. They have lost 8 of 12 matches against Irish outfits.
• Northampton have conceded turnovers on 38 occasions this season, more than any other team in the Heineken Cup.
• Saints’ Ken Pisi is the leading metre maker in the tournament so far, carrying the ball for 272 metres in his two appearances.
• Ulster are chasing their 50th win overall in the Heineken Cup. They have won 49 of 105 contests to date.
Ulster Rugby took a huge step towards the quarter finals of the Heineken Cup by beating Northampton Saints and bagging a bonus point at Franklin's Gardens. - 07/12/2012 21:56
Ulster Rugby took a huge step towards the quarter finals of the Heineken Cup by beating Northampton Saints and bagging a bonus point at Franklin’s Gardens.
The Belfast-based side kept control of Pool 4 as they made it three wins from three in Europe and 13 from 13 in all competitions this season with a 25-6 success in the East Midlands.
An early Andrew Trimble try set last season’s losing finalists on the way against the team that suffered the same fate 12 months earlier, with further scores from Tommy Bowe, Jared Payne and Dan Tuohy sealing what could be a crucial away triumph.
Trimble, who was picked ahead of Craig Gilroy after the youngster took his place in the Ireland starting side against Argentina, touched down after only nine minutes to give Ulster just the start they were after.
Paddy Jackson was off target with the extras in what proved to be a miserable half for both goal kickers but it made little difference to in-form Ulster.
The young fly-half would also miss a 17th-minute penalty attempt but his woes were minor compared to opposite number Ryan Lamb who failed with three penalties and a drop goal in the opening 40 minutes.
Lamb did close the gap to 5-3 with a successful strike as the game hit the 20-minute mark but Jackson matched his feat three minutes later to re-establish the five-point lead.
Ulster then took the initiative in an 11-minute spell either side of the break as Bowe and Payne both crossed to leave Northampton facing a substantial deficit.
Bowe’s 23rd try in his 50th Heineken Cup appearance made it 13-3 on 33 minutes and, even though Lamb struck a second penalty in first-half injury time, Ulster were well in control when New Zealander Payne claimed their third try four minutes after the restart.
The former Auckland Blues full back saw injury rob him of the chance to play his part in Ulster’s surge to the Twickenham final in his first season with the province but his maiden Heineken Cup try significantly boosted their hopes of a repeat showing this time around.
Northampton made a whole host of changes in the latter stages after Jackson had missed another penalty but Ulster were good value for the win that pushes them six points clear at the top of the group.
An already impressive showing was given even greater gloss late on as Tuohy powered over for the bonus-point score with just two minutes remaining despite the fact that Ulster were down to 14 men following Iain Henderson’s yellow card.
The Saints now slip to third ahead of the demanding return trip to Ravenhill next week as Castres Olympique picked up a second straight European win with a 9-6 victory in Glasgow.
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