1
'If you could see me as he goes down the blindside without support...I'm shouting... NO! Followed by... YES!'
By Online Editors
Ulster head coach Dan McFarland admitted John Cooney’s match-winning try in the 18-13 success against Clermont Auvergne left him with his heart in his mouth.
Cooney’s 62nd-minute score, when he kicked through near the Clermont line and then controlled the ball to touch down, ensured that Ulster have two wins from two to lead Pool Three of the Heineken Champions Cup.
“John has got lots of tricks in his bag and he is an incredibly skilful player and it was a great bit of play from him,” said McFarland.
The Season: Hamilton Boys High School - Episode 2
“John told me that he has been practising that move for years, when he breaks blind and chips, but that he has never actually done it in a game. So he pulls it out of the bag in a Champions Cup game!
“When I was watching him from the box there was a big shout of ‘No’ followed by a big shout of ‘Yes!’.”
Cooney’s try put Ulster 18-6 in front in what was a tight game, with Clermont’s late penalty try bringing the French side a losing bonus point to leave them two points behind the Irish province.
“Any time in the Champions Cup when you play a French giant and you manage to win the game you have to be happy with that,” stated the Ulster coach.
“There was a lot to be pleased about in that performance, particularly with the way we limited their opportunities whenever they had the ball in hand.
“That was going to be the real threat and I said before the game that as a pack we had to bring collective pressure and we had to do that consistently. I felt that we did that.
“I thought we showed some real attacking glimpses of what we can do in attack. If we had been a little more clinical right at the end we would have had two more tries and they wouldn’t have got a bonus point. But it was pleasing.”
Jordi Murphy scored Ulster’s other try, converted by Cooney who also kicked two penalties – as did Clermont scrum-half Greig Laidlaw.
Though disappointed at losing the game, Laidlaw was still pleased to come away with a bonus point from the clash.
“In a tournament like the Champions Cup it is important to pick up as many points as you can,” said the Scot.
“We knew it would be tough coming here and obviously we wanted to win, but to come away with a bonus point keeps us well in the group.”
- Press Association
In other news:
Trending on RugbyPass
2
All Blacks XV player ratings vs Munster
3
Suaalii strikes awe as Wallabies lose midfielder
4
Scott Robertson responds about handling errors
5
Latest Comments
Nah, that just needs some more variation. Chip kicks, grubber stabs, all those. Will Jordan showed a pretty good reason why the rush was bad for his link up with BB.
If you have an overlap on a rush defense, they naturally cover out and out and leave a huge gap near the ruck.
It also helps if both teams play the same rules. ARs set the offside line 1m past where the last mans feet were😅
Go to commentsYeah nar, should work for sure. I was just asking why would you do it that way?
It could be achieved by outsourcing all your IP and players to New Zealand, Japan, and America, with a big Super competition between those countries raking it in with all of Australia's best talent to help them at a club level. When there is enough of a following and players coming through internally, and from other international countries (starting out like Australia/without a pro scene), for these high profile clubs to compete without a heavy australian base, then RA could use all the money they'd saved over the decades to turn things around at home and fund 4 super sides of their own that would be good enough to compete.
That sounds like a great model to reset the game in Aus. Take a couple of decades to invest in youth and community networks before trying to become professional again. I just suggest most aussies would be a bit more optimistic they can make it work without the two decades without any pro club rugby bit.
Go to comments