Ulster Rugby vs Zebre

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ROD NAWN
ARTICLE BY ROD NAWN
FREELANCE JOURNALIST
AND SPORTS ENTHUSIAST
@RODNAWN1
journeys in Europe, yes, and in the Championship
so much promise and well-justified expectation.
Fortune hasn’t always been a friend, but there
have been failings and disappointments which –
to be fair – neither management nor players have
sought to deny as recent seasons’ hopes have
been dashed.
Supporters remain both loyal and ambitious too,
and a win this evening against Gianluca Guidi’s
Zebre, diminished in strength by the demands of
new Italy coach Conor O’Shea’s plans, will steady
nerves. Then comes the trip to the Dragons, next
month’s visit from Cardiff Blues, then huge away
games with Munster and Ospreys which will – if
the script is well-written in training and in action
– lead to the intriguing final match of the ‘regular’
season, and potentially a decisive one in terms of
a PRO12 play-off.
Yes, it’s the traditionally, inevitably fierce contest
with Leinster which will have the perfect stage of
Kingspan Stadium in May to pull down the curtain
on Ulster’s PRO12 Championship campaign
at home. It never is sensible to ‘get ahead’ of
ourselves but it’s in the minds of fans already
just what lies in store should the difficult path
to that evening on the first Saturday of May be
successfully negotiated.
Of course, there will be bumps along that route,
but at least now Les Kiss, Head Coach Neil
Doak and the squad can realistically be seen
prolonging the season into those play-offs. The
players will take each fixture as it comes, but
there is a real sense that this group believes it
owes a debt to itself and to the supporters, and
with a full complement the next two months could
be genuinely rewarding.
But this evening’s re-arranged clash with Zebre
– a club which has its own target of qualifying for
the Champions’ Cup next season – will be a real
test, just as Treviso provided last weekend. Up
front, the pack must be solid, forward-moving
and mobile, while the half-backs must have the
quality of possession to release a try-loaded
backline which will want to swagger, not stutter.
In late November the Kingspan pitch foiled any
such plans, and hopefully the sodden days and
nights of recent weeks will not have taken too
much of a toll on the surface and allows the
innovative, the ambitious and the more ‘hungry’
team to prevail.
Ulster can just about see the glint of silverware in
the distance, and that incentive – after so many
months of sweepingly different emotions – will
surely inspire.
The supporters want success, to have restored
the days when trophy-chasing was an addiction.
Getting into that habit is possible this season, it
really is.