DESPITE A SLOW start at Ravenhill, Ulster eventually reasserted their dominance in the RaboDirect Pro12 with a 47- 17 hammering of the Llanelli Scarlets.
The Scarlets began the night in second place in the league and were better than the 9-3 half time scoreline suggested.
Ulster would score all five of their tries in the second half, but as man of the match, Nick Williams confirmed, it was only after some harsh words from head coach Mark Anscombe.
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“Ah, mate I probably can’t say it live on air,” the Kiwi told BBC Sport. “But Mark’s Mark; you get what you get and he doesn’t muck around.
“He told us we played poorly, which we probably were, and he gave us a bit of a kick up the backside. And it was evident because we came out and played a bit of ball in the second half.
Williams scored one of the northern province’s second-half haul and was a seemingly endless supply of go-forward ball. The reward for his effort was the man of the match gong despite spending just 57 minutes on the pitch (and despite 16 points delivered from Ruan Pienaar).
“It was just individual errors at the breakdown.” He added about the scrappy nature of the first half. “We didn’t win the contact competition in the first half. In the second half we showed what we’re capable of.”
Even with the euphoria that lends itself to a Friday night rout at Ravenhill, Williams and Ulster remained focused on the pertinent matter at hand, Glasgow Warriors in the Heineken Cup and the improvements that must be made in order to seal a home quarter final.
Tough
“When we put it on, we can put it on. But at the same time we’ve still got things to work on. It’s pretty tough to come to Ravenhill and try and get a win over us. I’m sure if we keep working the way we’re working we’ll be hard to beat.”
Williams attempted to play down the devastating effect he can have when carrying the ball at defences. instead lamenting his inability to do it on a more regular basis in recent weeks.
“I’m just happy to get the ball in my hands, it was a trying couple of weeks. I probably wasn’t getting the ball in my hands as much as I like, but full credit to all the boys, they do the work up front so we can have a bit of fun in the back, so happy days.”
'When we put it on, we put it on', says Williams after Ulster blitz nearest rival
DESPITE A SLOW start at Ravenhill, Ulster eventually reasserted their dominance in the RaboDirect Pro12 with a 47- 17 hammering of the Llanelli Scarlets.
The Scarlets began the night in second place in the league and were better than the 9-3 half time scoreline suggested.
Ulster would score all five of their tries in the second half, but as man of the match, Nick Williams confirmed, it was only after some harsh words from head coach Mark Anscombe.
“Ah, mate I probably can’t say it live on air,” the Kiwi told BBC Sport. “But Mark’s Mark; you get what you get and he doesn’t muck around.
Williams scored one of the northern province’s second-half haul and was a seemingly endless supply of go-forward ball. The reward for his effort was the man of the match gong despite spending just 57 minutes on the pitch (and despite 16 points delivered from Ruan Pienaar).
“It was just individual errors at the breakdown.” He added about the scrappy nature of the first half. “We didn’t win the contact competition in the first half. In the second half we showed what we’re capable of.”
Even with the euphoria that lends itself to a Friday night rout at Ravenhill, Williams and Ulster remained focused on the pertinent matter at hand, Glasgow Warriors in the Heineken Cup and the improvements that must be made in order to seal a home quarter final.
Tough
“When we put it on, we can put it on. But at the same time we’ve still got things to work on. It’s pretty tough to come to Ravenhill and try and get a win over us. I’m sure if we keep working the way we’re working we’ll be hard to beat.”
Williams attempted to play down the devastating effect he can have when carrying the ball at defences. instead lamenting his inability to do it on a more regular basis in recent weeks.
“I’m just happy to get the ball in my hands, it was a trying couple of weeks. I probably wasn’t getting the ball in my hands as much as I like, but full credit to all the boys, they do the work up front so we can have a bit of fun in the back, so happy days.”
Happy days, indeed.
As it happened: Ulster v Llanelli, RaboDirect Pro12
Reaction: Leinster in rude health to leather Scarlets
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Happy Days NICK Williams Ravenhill Scarlets Ulster Ulster