Ulster Rugby vs Leicester Tigers

Article by Rod Nawn

Freelance Journalist and Sports Enthusiast @RODNAWN1

For Leicester, it is a game they must emphatically win, and hope for results elsewhere to go its way, if the European dream is to continue. For a club with such a great history and, down the years, players of world class abounding, an exit from the Champions Cup at this stage would be more than just disappointing. So, for both teams there is much at stake this evening, and for Ulster last weekend’s loss in Toulon did not come without some consolation. Players like flanker Mike McComish were thrust into the fray against the holders and never took a step back, the defeat was more than convincing but the work ethic and sense of adventure, especially early on, was encouraging. Ian Humphreys was an early replacement in France, and tonight he’d relish the chance to torment his former club as the starting out-half, and Leicester will be wary of the diminutive No. 10 who – in its colours – put on an attacking masterclass to stun Munster in Thomond Park a few years back. Doak will hope he can call upon a few of his internationals after injury and rest, and with Iain Henderson, Wiehann Herbst, Luke Marshall and Tommy Bowe, for instance, returning there is a case to be optimistic about the next few months. There is a lot of work to be done, but the ability of the coaching team and the players in the squad cannot be questioned, and perhaps just a few good rolls of the dice by Lady Fortune can quickly reset the ambitions for the season. Ulster supporters have a part to play, it’s not just a glib cliché to say how important a fervent Kingspan atmosphere is to the team. Commitment in the stands and on the terraces is something players and coaches can’t orchestrate, but it’s been there in abundance for years of history-making seasons, and with a stadium to rank with the best anywhere fans are clearly regarded as ‘the 16th man’. Leicester arrive in Belfast, sportingly belligerent and as formidably gifted in all positions as always, but Ulster has confronted Martin Johnson and his ilk in years gone by and won with style and no little invention. For Ulster the targets are a little in mid-distance, for Leicester they are of this moment, defeat this weekend is unthinkable. In rugby, sometimes that’s an unpleasant prospect which can ‘play’ on players’ minds. Ulster won’t have ignored that this week, so stand by for a thunderous European contest.

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