Ulster will be playing knockout rugby in April, that much we now know. The only question now is in what competition.
Richie Murphy’s side did their job and then some. Needing a bonus point win to keep their Champions Cup dream alive, the province shook off a questionable start to put an understrength Exeter Chiefs to the sword at Ravenhill with five second half tries in an eight-try mauling.
Ireland lock Cormac Izuchukwu ran in a hat-trick for Ulster, the first of his career, as they produced some swashbuckling rugby to shake off the frustrations of heavy losses to Toulouse, Bordeaux and Leicester and ensure their European interests continue beyond the first month of the year.
Having done their bit, Ulster now need a favour from Bordeaux on Sunday. Should the Begles outfit win by 28 points or more and prevent the Sharks from running in four tries, then they will be headed to the Champions Cup knockouts.
Should one of those things not happen, however, it will be a second straight trip to the Challenge Cup last-16 for Murphy’s side which, understandably, would be a bitter pill to swallow after this result.
And it will be even more bitter if the difference ends up being less than seven points given the Chiefs hit them with a hammer blow with effectively the last play of the game, replacement Zack Wimbush nipping in and picking up a dropped ball from Jake Flannery to run in a late try that could prove costly.
Ulster will have to wait until Sunday to find out if it will be but, for now, they will revel in securing knockout rugby to look forward to and, even simpler than that, simply picking up a win to avoid ending the competition pointless.
It all looked like it would be rather straightforward for them, too, given the Chiefs arrived at Ravenhill boasting 12 changes to their side and without the majority of their international contingent but in the first 15 minutes the visitors set out their intentions to spoil the party as they ran in two quick tries.
Where Ulster’s execution was lacking, a Mike Lowry pass not going to hand, Exeter’s was pinpoint. Centre Will Rigg was the man to make the incision, carving into the 22, and from there the visitors set about their business with precision, aided by Ulster being down a man with Werner Kok hurt.
Although Lowry recovered to deny Ben Hammersley the stroll over from Will Haydon-Wood’s crossfield kick, the winger was able to find Paul Brown-Bampoe in support for the walk-in.
Kok’s withdrawal brought about a return to provincial action for Rob Lyttle, back on a short-term contract and making his first appearance in two years, but the boost of his return did little to improve matters on the pitch.
Indeed, it was the Banbridge club man who, along with Stewart Moore, was left grasping at thin air as Ross Vintcent ran in the visitors’ second score just after the quarter-hour mark with a sensational solo effort.
The Italian number eight wasn’t properly tracked at a ruck just outside his own 22 and he was able to pick and go through the gap and outpace both of Ulster’s back three to go over in the corner.
Down by two scores less than halfway through the opening half and with the Ravenhill crowd stunned into near silence, Ulster needed a spark. In a five-minute burst, they got it.
Exeter provided them with the impetus needed for the first, two penalties allowing Jack Murphy to kick play into the 22 and from there Izuchukwu was able to bury his way over from close range, but the second was down to the sheer tenacity of the home side.
Ben Carson’s chip kick over the top started it off, forcing Brown-Bampoe back to recover only for the Chiefs winger to quickly be snagged by Lyttle and, after former RBAI scrum-half Niall Armstrong was penalised for delaying too long at the back of the ruck, David McCann bulldozed over for the second.
But just when it appeared the momentum was swinging back Ulster’s way, Exeter once again capitalised on Ulster’s mistakes to nab their third try as Moore failed to deal with a kick over the top from Rigg and Rus Tuima was able to burst through from a ruck to score.
It would be level-pegging at the break, however, as Ulster grabbed their own try out of nothing, Lyttle fielding a deep clearance kick and running it back, and from the ensuing ruck Nick Timoney was able to break a couple of tackles and outpace the covering Chiefs defence to the corner.
Ulster nearly had the lead on the stroke of half-time, too, a scrappy play resulting in Lowry charging down Harvey Skinner’s attempted clearance, only for his pass to send Nathan Doak over squirting forward.
But they wouldn’t have to wait long for that first lead of the game to come – eight minutes after the restart, to be exact – and it came from the ever-reliable driving maul after Scott Wilson edged Will Goodrick-Clarke for the scrum penalty, Rob Herring piloting the set-piece over the line with gusto.
Bonus point secured, now the question was how much could Ulster eat into that deficit to the Sharks. In the final 15 minutes, they made a sizeable dent.
Izuchukwu got the scoring blitz under way with another close range dart off a short John Cooney pass after some measured build-up play in the 22 before the try of the night went to Ben Carson.
Centre partner Jude Postlethwaite was the architect on his own 22, a stunning backhanded offload setting Lowry haring away down the touchline and he was able to feed Carson on his outside to take it on, with the midfielder stepping inside Skinner’s questionable covering tackle for the try.
McCann would double his own tally as he had an easy walk-in in the corner off a long, looped Cooney pass for the seventh and Izuchukwu would complete his hat-trick and Ulster’s scoring when a scrappy ball off a line-out popped back into his hands and he was able to scamper over for the score to reduce the gap further.
How costly will Wimbush’s late try prove to be, though? We wait to see. All eyes to Bordeaux now.
Ulster: S Moore (J Flannery 50); W Kok (R Lyttle 4), B Carson, J Postlethwaite, M Lowry; J Murphy, N Doak (J Cooney 58); E O’Sullivan (C Reid 60), R Herring (T Stewart 58), S Wilson (C Barrett 67); I Henderson (K Treadwell 58), C Izuchukwu; J McNabney- (H Sheridan 70), N Timoney, D McCann.
Exeter Chiefs: H Skinner; B Hammersley, J Hawkins, W Rigg (Z Wimbush 63), P Brown-Bampoe; W Haydon-Wood, N Armstrong (T Cairns 56); W Goodrick-Clarke (K Blose 50), J Innard (M Norey 50), J Iosefa-Scott (J Roots 50); R Tuima (J Dunne 53), C Tshiunza (J Bailey 72); M Moloney, R Capstick, R Vintcent (L Pearson 63).
Man of the Match: Scott Wilson (Ulster)
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
It’s enough to guarantee a Challenge Cup place for the men in white. And they could still qualify for the Last 16 of the Champions Cup if Bordeaux beat the Sharks by 28 points in France on Sunday.
It can’t happen, can it?
As things stand, Ulster are 21 points up on Exeter. That means if Bordeaux beat the Sharks by a difference of 35 points or more…it’s Ulster who go into the last 16 of the Champions Cup.
Still a big ask, but another try or two in these final ten minutes make it much more likely