Gloucester's Heineken Cup hopes were left hanging by a thread after they fell
victim to a superb Ulster fightback at rainswept Ravenhill on Friday.
Jake Boer's men looked to have done enough in their quest for a priceless away
victory which would have secured a win-or-bust Pool Six showdown with French
champions Stade Francais on Sunday week.
But 1999 European champions Ulster recovered from a 12-3 interval deficit to
leave Gloucester floundering by scoring 11 unanswered second-half points through
a Bryn Cunningham try and two David Humphreys penalties.
Fly-half Humphreys landed his winning kick seven minutes from time, keeping
alive Ulster's outside chance of a quarter-final place.
Gloucester though, now have to beat Stade at Kingsholm and probably secure a
winning bonus point in the process.
Henry Paul, controversially discarded by England boss Andy Robinson during the
world champions' defeat against Australia five weeks ago, emphatically showed he
possesses a big-match temperament by kicking three penalties in terrible
conditions.
And Simon Amor's 40th-minute drop-goal helped give Gloucester a healthy
advantage before the wheels spectacularly came off their wagon.
While Paul and Amor shared the scoring honours, Gloucester's pack - with Boer,
England prop Phil Vickery and number eight Adam Balding prominent - gave
scrum-half Andy Gomarsall a platform to dictate matters.
But it ultimately proved to no avail as Gloucester once again choked on a big
Heineken Cup occasion, confirmed when Amor sent a late drop-goal attempt wide.
England sevens skipper Amor started at fly-half for Gloucester, meaning Paul
switched to inside-centre, while wing James Bailey and hooker James Parkes also
featured in changes following the Zurich Premiership home defeat against
Leicester last weekend.
Ulster, who still had an outside chance of reaching the knock-out stages,
welcomed back fit-again prop Simon Best as they looked to avenge a 55-13 mauling
at Kingsholm in October.
The 11,500 crowd included about 2,000 Gloucester fans, as Ulster went in
search of their 12th successive Heineken Cup home win.
Both teams predictably tested out their kicking game during the initial
flurries, and Amor pinned Ulster back through a couple of teasing touchfinders.
Humphreys was narrowly wide with a fourth-minute penalty strike from 50 metres
but Paul found his range 10 minutes later, rifling over a kick just inside
Ulster's half which deservedly edged Gloucester ahead.
Flashes of individual brilliance were rare in soaking conditions but Humphreys
showed his quality by producing a slashing midfield break which took Ulster deep
into Gloucester territory for the first time.
And the alarm bells continued to ring when Gloucester failed to clear
possession from a lineout, requiring a timely Gomarsall intervention as he
touched down behind his own line, denying Ulster a try.
It was a narrow escape for the visitors, before Gomarsall again proved
Gloucester's talisman by launching a 70m-kick to touch.
Paul doubled their lead with a 29th-minute penalty and Gloucester proved far
more comfortable than Ulster on the ball, but they also took their chances, a
fact underlined when Paul completed his penalty hat-trick after an Ulster scrum
infringement five minutes before half-time.
Ulster, at least in the first half, could not match the efficiency of
Gloucester's work around the forward fringes, although Humphreys booted a
long-range penalty to open their account before a lively 40 minutes ended in
controversial fashion.
Amor's drop-goal restored a nine-point lead for the visitors, but Ulster wing
Tommy Bowe then had a try disallowed after he collected a kick from Humphreys.
Welsh referee Nigel Whitehouse ruled that Bowe was offside when he gathered
possession - television replays suggested it was a poor decision - and as the
official trooped off to boos, Gloucester left the arena knowing their job was
half done.
But Ulster struck first after the break, courtesy of an onside Bowe catching
another Humphreys kick and sending a supporting Cunningham over.
Gloucester's response, inspired by a clever Paul chip, almost produced a try
for wing Marcel Garvey, yet he could not pick up possession cleanly and the
chance went begging.
And Gloucester endured more frustration on the hour-mark. Garvey sprinted
clear into Ulster's 22 before he was hauled down, but with visiting attackers
queuing up out wide, centre Terry Fanolua dropped the ball.
Humphreys then had the final say, landing two penalties in six minutes. They
were blows that could effectively end Gloucester's European adventure for
another season.
Teams:
Ulster: Cunningham, Bowe, Maggs, Steinmetz, Howe, Humphreys,
Campbell, S. Best, R. Best, Moore, Longwell, McCullough,
Feather, N. Best, Wilson.
Replacements: Wallace for Howe (69), Shields for R. Best (46),
McCormick for Moore (82), Frost for Longwell (66),
Ward for Feather (60).
Not Used: Doak, Larkin.
Tries: Cunningham.
Pens: Humphreys 3.
Gloucester: Goodridge, Garvey, Fanolua, Paul, Bailey, Amor,
Gomarsall, Bezuidenhout, Parkes, Vickery, Eustace, Brown, Boer,
Hazell, Balding.
Replacements: Buxton for Hazell (40),
Forrester for Balding (73).
Not Used: Elloway, Sigley, Page, Mauger, Cornwell.
Pens: Paul 3.
Drop Goals: Amor.
Att: 11,435
Ref: Nigel Whitehouse (wales).
E-mail Article 
Print-Friendly
Subscribe to RSS Feed 
Post to del.icio.us
Facebook