'All I know is the pitch was playable and we didn’t play on it. As a consequence, it wasn’t an occasion, it was a game.'
ULSTER HEAD COACH Dan McFarland blasted European Professional Club Rugby officials for their decision to switch their Heineken Champions Cup clash against Stade Rochelais to the Aviva Stadium, declaring Kingspan Stadium as “playable” on Saturday morning.
In the end, Ulster were on the end of a 36-29 defeat by Ronan O’Gara’s men, however the scoreline tells only a fraction of the tale as McFarland’s men fell 29-0 down at the interval but managed to fight back in the second half to take two bonus points from the affair. “I was there the night before and the people there predicted that it was going to be playable. The work that the people did, the staff and volunteers, to get that pitch ready was phenomenal under the circumstances. It was ready.“We knew it was going to be ready because the weather was predicted to change overnight. But that decision was taken away from us.
Tries from Iain Henderson, John Cooney, Duane Vermeulen and Tom Stewart earned McFarland’s side two bonus points which keep their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages alive at the halfway point of Pool B alive, which is particularly pleasing given at half-time it looked like they were going to fail to put a point on the board for the second week running.
“There is more to European rugby than a game played between four lines. There’s more than that. It’s an occasion. Whether you’re in Thomond playing Toulouse, whether you’re in playing against Racing, whether you’re in Welford Road watching Dan Cole win his 300th cap, it’s an occasion.Rugby Analysis Get Murray Kinsella's exclusive analysis on the URC interpros and Champions Cup clashes this December“It has spirit, it has feeling.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Worcester’s hopes of elite resurrection in jeopardy due to RFU demandsConsortium claims conditions for approval are ‘unreasonable’, raising prospect of the Premiership Cup holders having to play at the bottom level
Read more »
Elaine Crowley and Katja Mia look showstopping for Christmas on Ireland AMThe Virgin Media presenters were ready for the festive time of year in stunning and glamorous outfits for the final weekend Ireland AM shows before the Christmas holidays
Read more »