ULSTER..........12 GLASGOW..........18
A great day, and after a weekend of dissapointment for Scottish teams how good it was to see a victory from Glasgow's heroes, who scored two tries without reply.
How did Glasgow win this game? Simple, it was a never-say- die attitude in the face of greater weight, the clever promptings of Tommy Hayes at stand off, and a speed of arrival at breakdown in defence that tested the laws to the letter, but guaranteed that Ulster did not score a try.
''I was very pleased that they did not cross our line, and we took our chances, but we need more control.'' said Glasgow team manager Hamish Fyfe. ''There was a lot of pressure on us to perform after the weekend, and this was a great result for the whole country.''
Midway through the second half the comedian announcer asked that car drivers waited for pedestrians before leaving the ground. ''Not now.'' he said. ''But after the game.'' It was that kind of evening.
Glasgow got off to the worst start with two penalties struck sweetly through the posts by Ulster's Stuart Laing after Mike Beckham had been caught offside, and David McLeish had held onto the ball in a suicidal scrum pick up.
Tommy Hayes replied with one for Glasgow in ten minutes as Ulster's powerful forwards took control, especially at the scrum, and Glasgow were drawn into a set piece game and felt the impact of New Zealander Andy Ward's thumping tackles.
It never quite changed, but Glasgow might ponder on the fact that such running fitness was used to run and defend rather than draw Ulster into a quicker tempo.
The first try of the game came after intense Ulster pressure. James Craig sped in from 60 metres when Fraser Stott robbed an Ulster heel on Glasgow's line, and Hayes raced upfield to release the young West man whose sprint beat the cover.
Minutes later an Ian Sinclair drive produced a ball for Tommy Hayes, and an astonished crowd looked on as Murray Wallace raced in from 30 paces to give Glasgow a half time lead of 6-15.
Three minutes into the second half Lang dropped a goal for Ulster to narrow the deficit to six points. It was a tense, nail-biting affair, despite David McLeish's industry alongside Ian Sinclair's tackling and some neat distribution from Tommy Hayes.
Glasgow found it difficult to master the lineout with the ball plucked from the air before it reached the intended recipient. It was evident from play that Glasgow had the eternal edge in pace, but found it hard to move the ball through Chris Simmers and Matt McGrandles with alacrity and accuracy from the odd scrap of tidy possession.
The centre pairing were, however, valuable cogs in the defensive machine which saw Derek Stark putting in some thumping tackles. Ulster's principal weapon was a pack well-drilled in quick rucks with the man standing off, and a cute line in driving mauls, which they trundled from lineouts that more often than not included James Topping or Maurice Field.
Plus marks for Glasgow was in a resolute defence ,which as a line held together more often than not, when it seemed Ulster would score.
Glasgow were better schooled at the fast-rucking with Gordon Bulloch on the ball, as well as McLeish and Wallace, and a drive which gave Hayes the opportunity to make amends for four missed kicks with a glorious one to extend Glasgow's lead to a precious nine points.
Desperate defence followed as Ulster found new heart and broke tackles for Laing to slot a penalty, and Ulster relit their fires. But the line stayed intact, and now Wasps come to Glasgow next weekend. Teams:
Ulster: R Morrow, J Cunningham, J Topping, M Field, S Coulter, S Laing, S Bell, R Mackey, S Ritchie, G Leslie, T McWhirter, G Longwell, S McKinty, A Ward, K Gallic (R Wilson 63 mns)
Scorers: S Laing 3p 1dg
Glagow: C Sangster, D Stark, I Jardine, C Simmers, M McGrandles, J Craig, T Hayes, F Stott, G McIlwham, G Bulloch, M Beckham (Rep Alan Kittle 62 mins), C Afuakwah, G Perrett, M Wallace, I Sinclair, D McLeish.
Scorers: T Hayes 2p 1c Craig 1t M Wallace 1t
Referee, M Whitehouse (Wales).
q Dean Richards believes Italy are close to earning an invite to compete in the Five Nations championship.
The former England stalwart was impressed by the Milan outfit that forced his Leicester team to battle harder than expected for their 26-10 win in the opening round of Heineken Cup matches.
In the two previous meetings between the sides in 1992 and 1993 the Tigers won comfortably by 40-24 and 53-7, but the Italians' vast improvement since those games nearly brought a shock win for Milan at Welford Road.
And Richards was quick to back the Italian claims for a place in the northern hemisphere's premier competition. He said: ''The way they are playing at the moment they could soon be in the Five Nations.''
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