A stunning hat-trick from the superb Darren Cave saw Ulster romp home over a beleaguered Leicester Tigers side at Ravenhill, winning 26-7 on Saturday.
Despite their recent poor form, the Irish province put in a fantastic performance, full of attacking intent, defensive resilience, and forward aggression.
The English giants had no answer as Irish international Cave scored three well-crafted tries that were complemented by a second half effort from winger Craig Gilroy.
The hosts led throughout the contest, and dominated in virtually every facet of the game. The Tigers did grab a consolation try from young wing Adam Thompstone, but were always second best here; and this won't go down as one of their better European nights.
While Ulster will lament the fact that they saved the best until last, Cave's performance will surely have caught Joe Schmidt's eye.
It was Ulster that made the superior start, and the hosts showed their intention to keep the ball in had in the opening few minutes. Big ball carriers like Franco van der Merwe, and the returning Iain Henderson made powerful runs to get the hosts over the gain line. But the Leicester defence held firm, and the Tigers retained composure to clear their lines and avert danger.
The visitors spent the opening ten minutes establishing field position through the dynamic half-back combination of Ben Youngs and Freddie Burns. Ulster, in turn, attempted to build territory themselves, but were undone by a succession of early errors.
But the persistence of the home side earned its reward on the 19 minute mark. With the hosts encamped on the Tigers' line, the English side was penalised for a high tackle on Ireland wing, Gilroy. With Pascal Gauzére consequently playing advantage to Ulster, Cave was put over for a straightforward five pointer. Humphreys missed the conversion and Ulster were 5-0 in credit, albeit slightly against the run of play.
Ulster were now settling into their patterns, however, and putting their English rivals under severe pressure. But the Tigers proved resilient enough, and re-established territory through the pin-point box kicking of Ben Youngs.
As the game approached the interval, Ulster's superiority was not being reflected on the scoreboard, but just before the half-time whistle, the hosts seized the initiative in emphatic fashion. On the 38 minute mark, the Irish side was awarded a scrum in the Tigers' 22, and from there Pienaar fed Humphreys, who jinked back inside before putting Cave over for his second try under the posts. This time Pienaar made no mistake with the conversion to give his side a 12-0 half-time cushion.
The hosts certainly deserved their lead, as although the Tigers had acquired their fair share of possession, they created very little from an attacking perspective. Ulster, meanwhile, had been the epitome of aggression and purpose, exhibiting a palpable increase in intensity from recent outings. All things considered, then, Ulster's effort in the first half was their best performance for quite a while.
The second half began in the same vein, with Ulster very much in control of the contest. And the half couldn't have started better from an Ulster viewpoint as Cave got over for his hat-trick on 44 minutes. The Irish centre took the ball at pace just shy of the Tigers' line, and evaded Vereniki Goneva's despairing tackle to touch down. Pienaar made no mistake with the extra points to give his side a commanding 19-0 lead.
If the match was fast becoming the Cave show, his fellow backs had been working their socks off, and creating plenty of attacking opportunities. Thus on 50 minutes, Cave allowed one of his team-mates to get in on the act as Gilroy squeezed over for a try in the left hand corner. Pienaar converted to make it 26-0.
The scoreline was getting quite ugly for a proud Tigers side, and they needed to hit back urgently. And hit back they did on 55 minutes as Thompstone got over for a deserved try. The mercurial Burns converted the effort to make it 26-7 to the hosts. Leicester enjoyed a mini renaissance thereafter, as they strung some effective phases together in the Ulster half.
But for all the possession the Tigers accrued, they lacked a discernible and incisive cutting edge. Allied to that, the hosts' defence was quite magnificent, and the line speed of the Ravenhill men continued to be very impressive. As hard as the English kingpins tried to regain a foothold in the game, they were repelled time and again by the superbly drilled Ulster defence.
For their part, the hosts tried desperately to add to their tally, but fatigue had set in by the final quarter of the game. The Irish side's tiredness was hardly surprising, given the effort they had expended throughout this relentlessly physical contest.
By the final few minutes, Ulster were content to run the clock down, and revel in a superb European victory. The Tigers will be sorely disappointed by their inability to compete in this game. Ulster's fans, meanwhile, will wonder why their side couldn't have produced this fine form when it really mattered.
The scorers:
For Ulster:
Tries: Cave 3, Gilroy
Cons: Pienaar 2, Humphreys
Yellow Cards: Black, Herbst
For Leicester:
Try: Thompstone
Con: Burns
Yellow Card: Goneva
The teams:
Ulster: 15 Jared Payne, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Craig Gilroy, 10 Ian Humphreys, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Mike McComish, 6 Iain Henderson, 5 Franco Van Der Merwe, 4 Alan O'Connor, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Rory Best (c), 1 Callum Black
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Andy Warwick, 18 Bronson Ross, 19 Lewis Stevenson, 20 Clive Ross, 21 Neil McComb, 22 Paul Marshall, 23 Michael Allen
Leicester Tigers: 15 Mathew Tait, 14 Adam Thompstone, 13 Vereniki Goneva, 12 Seremaia Bai, 11 Miles Benjamin, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Ben Youngs (c), 8 Jordan Crane, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Tom Croft, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Graham Kitchener, 3 Logovi'i Mulipola, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Marcos Ayerza
Replacements: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Fraser Balmain, 19 Sebastian De Chaves, 20 Robert Barbieri, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Owen Williams, 23 Niall Morris
Referee: Pascal Gauzère (France)
Assistant referees: Cyril Lafon (France), Stéphane Boyer (France)
By Rory McGimpsey
@RoryMcGimpsey
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