There are times when fate and fortune don’t favour the brave. For 40 minutes at Thomond Park, a young Ulster side took the game to Munster and for large tranches didn’t suffer in comparison.
They played with purpose and precision, took a 7-0 lead though debutant wing Aitzol Arenzana-King and could have had a couple more tries of James McKillop and Ben Carson had managed to ground the ball over the Munster line. Shane Daly and Tadhg Beirne worked the oracle defensively to deny the visitors.
The home side were a little more streetwise at the breakdown, one that was largely lawless, as referee Sam Grove-White adopted a lenient, laid-back approach, to all manner of skulduggery. Ulster head coach Richie Murphy was understandably proud of his team’s efforts. His decision to make 15 changes vindicated by elements of the performance.
It was also a practical appraisal of what is required to husband his resources when competing on two fronts, in tournament terms. It is not as if he took a punt. He coached four of these young players to an Under-20 Grand Slam in 2022, so he knows their virtues better than anyone.
RM Block
He said: “Well, there’s two things, one is that guys earned an opportunity over the last number of weeks in training, and I think you can see the potential that’s in that group.
“James McKillop, Tom Brigg, Lorcan McLaughlin hadn’t started a game this year and then Aitzol King [on debut provided] a really good finish [for his try] in that first half. Yes, there’s parts of our game that we were a little bit green in and in fairness to Munster in the second half, when they smelled blood, I thought they looked after the ball a hell of a lot better.
“I thought they turned over the ball quite easily in the first half. They were a bit more clinical in the second half and then the pace of play made it very difficult for us to get our foothold back into the game.”
As he faces into next Saturday’s Challenge Cup semi-final against Exeter in Belfast, there was some good news on the injury front. “I think it was six injuries from the [Leinster] game last week, and we’ve got probably four of those guys winning their battle to be fit. Two very much on the edge.
“It’ll go down to the wire, it’ll be tight but we’re definitely looking a little bit healthier than we were after last week’s game.” So too after the way in which his young team stood up in Thomond Park.
