EVERYTHING HAD changed by the time Tommy Bowe and Johann Muller reluctantly made their way into the new press room at Ravenhill.
That was the first change, their surroundings.
It had begun as a night for ribbon cutting and champagne popping, the sun was shining and the home dressing room were in no doubt that they could exact revenge for last season’s quarter-final; a day when minor decisions went against them and they never recovered.
Having instantly focused their efforts while the game was still ongoing, Bowe and Muller sat in their suits drained of all energy. All of their will had been pumped out on the field and as sheets of sad drip came down outside, the mood was mirrored inside with the expressions on the senior players.
“Massively proud,” said a rueful captain, “but at the end of the day; it’s going to haunt us for the rest of our lives because that’s a massive one that got away from us.”
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Muller is not one for melodrama. When he speaks, he is worth listening to. It may not have made a difference to him, but a gut-wrenching night was made all the more terrible by the sight of him walking out of European rugby unnoticed, unheralded and unrewarded after 69 minutes.
“It’s my last Heineken Cup game; obviously it’s going to be emotional. The way that it happened, that’s not the way that I dreamt about. If we lost fair and square I could have taken it, but to lose in the way that we did hurts, it really does.”
Character
The way Ulster lost was absolutely heroically. Reduced to 14 men after just four minutes with the award of a red card for Jared Payne’s careless run into Alex Goode, the hosts were turned from the bookies’ marginal favourites, to an extreme long shot.
“The character of the support out there today as well was just incredible,” said Bowe who is always eager to deflect praise onto someone else’s shoulders.
“When we came out onto the pitch it was probably one of the best atmospheres I’ve ever played in front of. We owe a huge amount to these supporters, we put everything on the line for them.”
Morgan Treacy / INPHO
Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO
Even up against one of the most powerful and effective packs on the continent, Ulster held their own with a one-man disadvantage. More than that, with Bowe and Andrew Trimble ferociously attacking every sniff of a loose ball, they figured out a way to win the game.
They led 3 – 0, 6 – 5 and 9 – 5, but the knock-on effect of stretching themselves thin would result in injury to Rory Best (ankle) and Ruan Pienaar exacerbated the shoulder injury he took into this tie while trying to fend off Billy Vunipola before a tackle on the same wrecking ball sent Trimble straight to the dressing room for a concussion exam.
It defied belief. Even when they conceded a third try and Owen Farrell’s sudden return to kicking form presented an eight-point mountain to climb, they refused to give up the ghost.
“I came in at half-time,” says the captain, “I said to the boys: ‘If we pull this off, this will be the greatest rugby achievement of my career’, and I’ve won a World Cup and achieved a little bit.”
“‘You’re gonna have to be dragged off the pitch’,” was the half-time snippet that appeared to strike Bowe.
Muller added: “I couldn’t be more proud of this team and the character they’ve shown. I don’t think there are a lot of teams who could have played for 75 minutes and still had the opportunity to win it with two minutes to go. The easiest thing to have done would have been just to lie down and go ‘we can’t beat them with 14 guys for 75 minutes, it’s impossible’, but it just showed the hunger and character within the squad and how badly we really wanted it.”
Ultimately, the hunger will remain and swell for Ulster now; but with Muller, Tom Court and John Afoa all clearing out their lockers this summer, the province is looking into a period of change. And that’s not always a good thing.
Saracens defeat 'will haunt Ulster players for the rest of our lives'
EVERYTHING HAD changed by the time Tommy Bowe and Johann Muller reluctantly made their way into the new press room at Ravenhill.
That was the first change, their surroundings.
It had begun as a night for ribbon cutting and champagne popping, the sun was shining and the home dressing room were in no doubt that they could exact revenge for last season’s quarter-final; a day when minor decisions went against them and they never recovered.
Having instantly focused their efforts while the game was still ongoing, Bowe and Muller sat in their suits drained of all energy. All of their will had been pumped out on the field and as sheets of sad drip came down outside, the mood was mirrored inside with the expressions on the senior players.
“Massively proud,” said a rueful captain, “but at the end of the day; it’s going to haunt us for the rest of our lives because that’s a massive one that got away from us.”
Muller is not one for melodrama. When he speaks, he is worth listening to. It may not have made a difference to him, but a gut-wrenching night was made all the more terrible by the sight of him walking out of European rugby unnoticed, unheralded and unrewarded after 69 minutes.
“It’s my last Heineken Cup game; obviously it’s going to be emotional. The way that it happened, that’s not the way that I dreamt about. If we lost fair and square I could have taken it, but to lose in the way that we did hurts, it really does.”
Character
The way Ulster lost was absolutely heroically. Reduced to 14 men after just four minutes with the award of a red card for Jared Payne’s careless run into Alex Goode, the hosts were turned from the bookies’ marginal favourites, to an extreme long shot.
“The character of the support out there today as well was just incredible,” said Bowe who is always eager to deflect praise onto someone else’s shoulders.
“When we came out onto the pitch it was probably one of the best atmospheres I’ve ever played in front of. We owe a huge amount to these supporters, we put everything on the line for them.”
Even up against one of the most powerful and effective packs on the continent, Ulster held their own with a one-man disadvantage. More than that, with Bowe and Andrew Trimble ferociously attacking every sniff of a loose ball, they figured out a way to win the game.
They led 3 – 0, 6 – 5 and 9 – 5, but the knock-on effect of stretching themselves thin would result in injury to Rory Best (ankle) and Ruan Pienaar exacerbated the shoulder injury he took into this tie while trying to fend off Billy Vunipola before a tackle on the same wrecking ball sent Trimble straight to the dressing room for a concussion exam.
It defied belief. Even when they conceded a third try and Owen Farrell’s sudden return to kicking form presented an eight-point mountain to climb, they refused to give up the ghost.
“‘You’re gonna have to be dragged off the pitch’,” was the half-time snippet that appeared to strike Bowe.
Muller added: “I couldn’t be more proud of this team and the character they’ve shown. I don’t think there are a lot of teams who could have played for 75 minutes and still had the opportunity to win it with two minutes to go. The easiest thing to have done would have been just to lie down and go ‘we can’t beat them with 14 guys for 75 minutes, it’s impossible’, but it just showed the hunger and character within the squad and how badly we really wanted it.”
Ultimately, the hunger will remain and swell for Ulster now; but with Muller, Tom Court and John Afoa all clearing out their lockers this summer, the province is looking into a period of change. And that’s not always a good thing.
Payne challenge a yellow but red card ‘very harsh’, says Muller
Clermont await the winner of Ulster and Saracens after taming Tigers
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