Ulster’s tilt at a second European trophy is alive and well after a topsy-turvy contest at Franklin’s Gardens. There was a chill in the east midlands air, but the action was rarely anything other than red hot as the pendulum repeatedly swung before finally settling in favour of the visitors.
Jacob Stockdale’s 73rd-minute try, after their fly half Billy Burns drew the cover and slipped in his wing with ice cool precision, put the seal on a success that was far from certain even as Northampton lost three players to the sin bin during the first half. The Saints led at half-time and on the hour, but they struggled to contain the power and persistence of Ulster’s impressive pack. For the third season in succession under Chris Boyd, they exit a continental competition at the quarter-final stage.
Ulster therefore head into today’s semi-final draw, where they will be paired with one of Bath, Leicester Tigers, or Montpellier.
Both of these teams are built for loftier assignments than a Saturday night Challenge Cup graveyard shift. Indeed, for Ulster, this season’s drop from the Champions Cup is the first time they have ever experienced the second-tier competition.
Yet silver is still silver, and neither Boyd nor Dan McFarland would be averse to lifting a European trophy of whatever shape and size. Both men have made a considerable impact on their clubs, but tangible proof always goes down well.
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Marcell Coetzee’s absence with a hamstring injury prevented an enticing head-to-head with fellow No 8 Teimana Harrison, but the Saints forward impressed with a reckless early run that laid the groundwork for scrum half Alex Mitchell to touch down.
A good start would soon turn decidedly sour for the hosts, however, who lost pack Nick Isiekwe and Sam Matavesi to the sin bin within three minutes of each other. The flanker was given yellow for a no-arms tackle on Billy Burns, before Matavesi came in at the side of a maul, collapsed it, and had referee Alexandre Ruiz scurrying beneath the posts to award the penalty try. Ulster’s biggest weapon is hardly a secret, but it is one thing knowing what’s coming, quite another being able to stop it.
McFarland’s team were absolutely relentless inside the home 22. So, too, was Ruiz, who continued to dislike what he saw from Northampton’s maul defence. David Ribbans was the next to be sent for 10 minutes’ individual reflection, and he crossed paths with Matavesi on his way off as the hosts stayed with 14 men. Ruiz is not popular in these parts, having also dished out three yellow cards to Saints players in the last 16 win over Dragons eight days ago.
Almost immediately, Ulster followed that with their hooker Rob scoring his customary try from the back of another remorseless rumble. Tommy Freeman, Saints’ full-back, had just pulled off an excellent last-ditch tackle on Rob Baloucoune when the Ulster wing looked certain to finish off a rare expansive sequence.
He then transformed the first half with a brilliant quick-fire double. First he took a crisp pass from outside centre Rory Hutchinson before finishing neatly on the left, and barely a minute later he was cantering in from halfway after Harrison and Mitchell launched an incisive eight-nine combination.
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Having been under pressure, and down on both their luck and bodies, Northampton turned round 22-14 up. John Cooney missed a penalty chance to trim the deficit with the last kick of the opening period.
The visitors were quick to react upon the resumption. Another big push was held up over the line as Dan Biggar and Piers Francis added their weight to that resistance, but Ulster were not to be denied for long. Carrying hard, straight and often, theymaintained consistent pressure and tight-head prop Marty Moore signed off from his favoured distance. With Cooney’s conversion it returned to a one-point game — and as a contest it regardless avoided any sort of discernible pattern.
What it lacked in definition, it made up for in drama and tension. There was a brief lull in scoring as play began to gravitate towards the middle third, where there was an injury to the effervescent Freeman. It looked like his knee, but he managed to walk from the field unassisted, and Fraser Dingwall came on at wing. Ahsee Tuala, an early injury replacement for Taqele Naiyaravoro, dropped to full back.
Tuala was at the heart of the next try, producing a sublime offload to put Ollie Sleightholme in towards the right corner after a carry from Lewis Ludlam.
Almost inevitably, Ulster’s response was immediate, Cooney burrowing over and converting to put them ahead. They had fully 18 minutes to protect their advantage, but always looked more likely to extend it, which they did via Stockdale’s try. A brilliant jackal penalty won by a replacement, Tom O’Toole, ended Northampton’s hopes.
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Star man: Jordi Murphy (Ulster)
Scorers: Northampton Saints: Tries: Mitchell (5min), Freeman (33min, 34min), Sleightholme (59min) Con: Francis (2) Pen: Francis
Ulster: Tries: Penalty try (13min), Herring (25min), Moore (48min), Cooney (62min), Stockdale (73min) Con: Cooney (4)
Northampton Saints: T Freeman (F Dingwall 56min); O Sleightholme, R Hutchinson, P Francis, T Naiyaravoro (A Tuala 7min); D Biggar, A Mitchell (T James 76min); A Waller (Co-capt) (N Auterac 67min), S Matavesi (M Haywood 67min), P Hill (E Painter 67min), D Ribbans, A Coles (A Moon 69min), N Isiekwe (T Wood 73min), L Ludlam (co-capt), T Harrison. Yellow cards: Isiekwe (10min), Matavesi (13min), Ribbans (23min)
Ulster: M Lowry; R Baloucoune, J Hume, S McCloskey, J Stockdale; B Burns (I Madigan 78min), J Cooney; E O’Sullivan (A Warwick 67min), R Herring, M Moore (T O’Toole 58min), A O’Connor, K Treadwell, S Reidy (M Rea 52min), J Murphy (Capt), N Timoney
Ref: A Ruiz (FFR)