Ulster couldn't quite complete a hat-trick of famous Irish wins over a triumvirate of former Heineken European Cup champions over the weekend, but they managed the next best thing in Toulouse yesterday. Trailing 35-21 in the 80th minute, injury-time tries by Jonathan Bell and James Topping, both converted by David Humphreys, earned a stunning 35-all draw.
Collectively therefore, it was the best weekend the Irish provinces have known in the six years of the competition. Munster and Leinster top their pools while Ulster have moved to within a point of Saracens and Cardiff, effectively ruling Toulouse, the inaugural winners of the competition, out of contention.
After yesterday's game Harry Williams paid tribute to his out-half and captain for a vintage display. "David Humphreys has gone up several notches in my admiration. I've always admired his play but he showed he can attack when he wants to and he attacked Toulouse in the midfield. Our players were inspired in the last few minutes. We talked about the mental toughness against Saracens but this time it got us through again."
Alas, Connacht went down to former Shield winners Montferrand 58-21 yesterday, though they were only 29-21 adrift at the break.
In any event, the three Irish contenders in the main event all took significant strides psychologically this weekend, none more so than Leinster whose nail-biting 14-8 win at Northampton on Saturday effectively puts the champions out of contention.
Coach Matt Williams spoke of a watershed in Leinster rugby while captain and man-of-the-match Liam Toland claimed "we achieved something special today". Likewise, it's hard to escape the conclusion that Munster overcame a significant hurdle the previous Saturday in Castres which they built on with a win over English club Bath. Where last season's heartbreaking one-point defeat in the European final left an understandable hangover which they had to fight through, now they've created a new Munster momentum in which that setback can henceforth act as a spur rather than a handicap.
"It's something we (still) have to live with it. There's gremlins going on in the head. This was a very difficult game. I'd like to think the players took another step forward. It was something I'm sure they were conscious of, and I was conscious of, but we went in today against an English team billed as favourites at home. That may not have happened before and they had to take that on board and try and deal with it," coach Declan Kidney said.
One also senses that the Irish provinces are closer together than representatives from other nationalities. On hearing of Leinster's success against Northampton, Kidney responded: "I'm delighted. I'm certainly not surprised. It's a good time to be in provincial rugby."
