IAIN HENDERSON MONSTERED Scarlets ball-carriers throughout, captain Rory Best was at his abrasive best in the tight exchanges, and 10-times capped Ireland prop Marty Moore showed his quality.
Springbok back row Marcell Coetzee was all effectiveness, Ireland flanker Jordi Murphy worked tirelessly, while international try-scoring star Jacob Stockdale provided a superb first-half finish.
Jacob Stockdale, Louis Ludik, Marcell Coetzee and Henry Speight after Ulster's win. Tommy Dickson / INPHO
Tommy Dickson / INPHO / INPHO
The list goes on but, in short, Ulster’s big names delivered big performance as the Irish province stunned Scarlets with a bonus-point Heineken Champions Cup win in Llanelli last night.
“Big players stood up, that’s the bottom line,” said assistant coach Dwayne Peel post-match at Parc y Scarlets. “We’ve got some good players in the squad and they all stood up tonight and I thought they were excellent.
“We came with an edge tonight. We prepped well and we knew it was a massive game for us. Scarlets have a fantastic home record and they’re a cracking side, so we always knew it would be a massive challenge for us.
“The application of the boys during the week was class, we couldn’t have asked for more.”
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Ulster’s five match points draw them level on nine points overall with Pool 4 leaders Racing 92 ahead of the French club’s clash with Leicester Tigers in Paris tomorrow.
As importantly, this victory is rousing for Ulster mentally – their last win away to Scarlets having come six years ago.
“It’s massive,” said Peel, whose playing career started in Llanelli. “In terms of our group, I think we’re growing steadily each week and we’ve got a lot of young players within the group that have been great for us all season.
“Today, we had a lot of experience coming back and we’ve been buoyed by guys having international call-ups this year. We had seven playing against USA, which is fantastic for us, and those guys are on top of the world.
“To get them back in full flow was great for us.”
Ulster celebrate winning the final penalty of the game. Tommy Dickson / INPHO
Tommy Dickson / INPHO / INPHO
With Ulster’s pack showing grit and power at set-piece time, Ulster were thrilled to score four tries against Scarlets.
Stockdale crossed for the first off the back of a superb Will Addison break, Henry Speight grabbed the second, Addison dotted down the third and Coetzee finished the fourth in the right corner.
“The first try was nerve-wracking,” said Peel. “I saw the ball in the air and thought, ‘Oh, no,’ but Will managed to skip out of the tackle, which was class, and Jacob is getting better and better. He’s a big man and he takes some stopping, so great finish from him.
“The other three tries were a combination of forwards and backs play and I thought we were quite clinical in their 22, which was great.”
Ulster must now repeat the feat at home against Scarlets next weekend in Belfast, where a win would leave them in a fine position to push on and secure for a European quarter-final.
“The boys are happy in the changing room but we spoke about this period in Europe, the double-header is half-done,” said Peel.
“We’re delighted with the win but we know there’s going to be a backlash next week in our place. They’ll come with all-out attack against us.”
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'Big players stood up, that's the bottom line... We came with an edge'
IAIN HENDERSON MONSTERED Scarlets ball-carriers throughout, captain Rory Best was at his abrasive best in the tight exchanges, and 10-times capped Ireland prop Marty Moore showed his quality.
Springbok back row Marcell Coetzee was all effectiveness, Ireland flanker Jordi Murphy worked tirelessly, while international try-scoring star Jacob Stockdale provided a superb first-half finish.
The list goes on but, in short, Ulster’s big names delivered big performance as the Irish province stunned Scarlets with a bonus-point Heineken Champions Cup win in Llanelli last night.
“Big players stood up, that’s the bottom line,” said assistant coach Dwayne Peel post-match at Parc y Scarlets. “We’ve got some good players in the squad and they all stood up tonight and I thought they were excellent.
“We came with an edge tonight. We prepped well and we knew it was a massive game for us. Scarlets have a fantastic home record and they’re a cracking side, so we always knew it would be a massive challenge for us.
“The application of the boys during the week was class, we couldn’t have asked for more.”
Ulster’s five match points draw them level on nine points overall with Pool 4 leaders Racing 92 ahead of the French club’s clash with Leicester Tigers in Paris tomorrow.
As importantly, this victory is rousing for Ulster mentally – their last win away to Scarlets having come six years ago.
“It’s massive,” said Peel, whose playing career started in Llanelli. “In terms of our group, I think we’re growing steadily each week and we’ve got a lot of young players within the group that have been great for us all season.
“Today, we had a lot of experience coming back and we’ve been buoyed by guys having international call-ups this year. We had seven playing against USA, which is fantastic for us, and those guys are on top of the world.
“To get them back in full flow was great for us.”
With Ulster’s pack showing grit and power at set-piece time, Ulster were thrilled to score four tries against Scarlets.
Stockdale crossed for the first off the back of a superb Will Addison break, Henry Speight grabbed the second, Addison dotted down the third and Coetzee finished the fourth in the right corner.
“The first try was nerve-wracking,” said Peel. “I saw the ball in the air and thought, ‘Oh, no,’ but Will managed to skip out of the tackle, which was class, and Jacob is getting better and better. He’s a big man and he takes some stopping, so great finish from him.
“The other three tries were a combination of forwards and backs play and I thought we were quite clinical in their 22, which was great.”
Ulster must now repeat the feat at home against Scarlets next weekend in Belfast, where a win would leave them in a fine position to push on and secure for a European quarter-final.
“The boys are happy in the changing room but we spoke about this period in Europe, the double-header is half-done,” said Peel.
“We’re delighted with the win but we know there’s going to be a backlash next week in our place. They’ll come with all-out attack against us.”
Subscribe to our new podcast, Heineken Rugby Weekly on The42, here:
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Dwayne Peel Heineken Champions Cup suftum Scarlets Ulster