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AIMING TO SEE THE FRENCH FRIED!
THERE are few opponents who can spark more happy memories of
Ulster in its rugby pomp than tonight’s visitors to Belfast.
ROD NAWN
Toulouse is embedded in the history of the game at
Kingspan Stadium, just as is it is garlanded in the
folklore of the sport in France.
A giant of its own domestic game with ten titles in what
is now the Top 14, four times champions of Europe, it
is a town which has been the hub of rugby in its own
country. It has created and supplied legends for the
club and for France, and at the turn of this century it
unwittingly contributed to the fairytale that was the
European Cup win for Harry Williams’ Ulster side in
1999.
This evening, if only a part of the atmosphere of the
meetings in the autumn of 1998, if the fans’ participation
even partially matches that of 17 years ago, and if
the players’ total and overt commitment can justly
stand comparison with that of Irwin, Mason, Matchett,
Humphreys and the rest of that triumphant trophy-
winning squad, then we are in for an epic occasion.
Stade Toulousain – even the very name of the club
suggests a grandeur and even hauteur – in keeping
with its standing in the sport.
Great names graced the old, draughty, leaky Ravenhill
for the group game with Ulster in October 1998,
and again in a never-to-be-forgotten quarter-final
between the sides in December. Michel Marfang, the
tournament’s top try-scorer, Emile N’tmack, a winger
whose elegance and wizardry captivated France, and
there was Frank Tournaire, Fabien Pelous – these were
world-class players, and they were surrounded by
quality and owned a unique style and bearing.
But from the great matches of 1998 were born Ulster,
Irish and international giants: David Humphreys and
Jonny Bell seemed to navigate a magical route through
to a New Year semi-final, with Andy Park and Sheldon
Coulter and the apparently laser-like accuracy of Simon
Mason helping to produce a backline of immense
ambition.
Up front Allen Clarke, Gary Leslie, Justin Fitzpatrick
and Rab Irwin became folk heroes and went on
to guarantee their places in rugby’s elite, while at
lock Mark Blair and Gary Longwell were consistent
guarantors of possession from the setpiece. And in the
breakaway unit the immovable Steven McKinty and
the tearaway open-side Andy Ward combined with the
remarkable intelligence and formidable physicality of
Tony McWhirter, perhaps the most-under-estimated
No.8 of his generation.
This evening at Kingspan it will be another packed
house – over 17,000 rather than the 11,000 permitted
on the windswept terraces of the old stadium – and it is
an arena well-suited to allow players and supporters to
recreate the very special aura which characterised the
surreal late months of 1998 and the electric, uplifting
January of 1999.
There will be clear resonances with those famous
encounters this evening as Director of Rugby Les Kiss
and Head Coach Neil Doak send out an Ulster side
which distinctly ‘turned a corner’ in last week’s win at
home in the Guinness PRO12 against Edinburgh.
Toulouse’s Sporting Director is the imposing Fabien
Pelous, captain of his club and country for a decade,
and who in the final group game and in the quarter-final
in 1998 graciously acknowledged Ulster’s supremacy
in nailbiting wins of 29-24 and 15-13 respectively. His
lineout battles with Longwell mirrored the compelling
competiveness of the contests, and the Ulsterman’s
masterclass in the lineout in the knockout stage
confirmed his international calibre.
The French club’s Forwards Coach is William Servat,
the former international hooker, a grizzled front row
enthusiast and he’ll have Corey Flynn well-informed
about the the opposition skipper and, by common
consent, Europe’s top No.2, Rory Best.
Ulster’s Operations Director Bryn Cunningham was part
of the European Cup-winning squad, with brother Jan a
regular in the line-up, so for him and for so many of that
group the visit of Toulouse will revive rich and inspiring
memories.
But from the Ulster fans’ point of view, a very important
pointer to this season’s campaign in Europe can be
taken from the rather less-lauded start that squad of 18
years ago made to the competition. In late September,
1998, at the start of the pool, Ulster left Toulouse in
very mournful mood. A 39-3 drubbing hardly augured
well, but the players remember how Harry Williams
asked them was that how they wanted to remember the
season?
Williams, who had a ‘knack’ for ‘pressing the right
buttons’ did not shy away from the weight of the defeat,
but he was convinced that individually and collectively
Ulster could not just salvage pride, but could win the
pool by beating Edinburgh, Ebbw Vale and ‘turning up’
at home against Toulouse in the return.
This year the thumping home reverse to Saracens
(following the tragically aborted scheduled start at
Oyannox the previous weekend) might have indicated
that this season’s foray in Europe was to be inevitably
disappointing.
That is not the case, just as it proved not to be those
many years ago. Last week Ulster showed a character
and rugby nous in the 14-7 win over Edinburgh at