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Ulster qualify for Champions Cup as Biggar makes history
By Peter Thompson
Dan Biggar made history in his last game for Ospreys but Craig Gilroy claimed a double as Ulster won 35-17 to seal a European Champions Cup spot on Sunday.
The Irish province will be back in Europe's premier cup competition next season after coming out on top in the first ever Pro14 Champions Cup play-off showdown at the Kingspan Stadium.
Gilroy crossed late in the first half and early in the second to put Ulster in front after Ospreys captain Alun Wyn Jones ploughed his way over from close range following a rolling maul 15 minutes in.
Ulster raised their game after the break in the absence of the injured Rory Best, Iain Henderson, Charles Piutau and Ross Kane, with Kieran Treadwell and Jacob Stockdale also touching down and John Cooney scoring 15 points from the tee.
Jeff Hassler scored a five-pointer on the hour mark and Biggar signed off with a try in his last Ospreys match before joining Northampton Saints, becoming the leading points scorer in the history of the competition with 1,585.
It was Ulster, though, who deservedly qualified for the Champions Cup after finishing fourth in Conference B.
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Has there ever been a Red and Black you don't rate GP over the years? However to be fair most of your favs have had the goods.
Go to commentsI'm not very hopeful of a better change to the sport. Putting an Aussie in charge after they failed for two decades is just disgusting. What else will be brought in to weaken the game? What new rule changes will be made? How will the game be grown?
Nothing of value in this letter. There is no definitive drive towards something better. Just more of the same as usual. The most successful WC team is getting snubbed again and again for WC's hosting rights. What will make other competitions any different?
My beloved rugby is already a global sport. Why is there no SH team chosen between the Boks, AB's, Wallabies and Fiji? Like a B&I Lions team to tour Europe and America? A team that could face not only countries but also the B&I Lions? Wouldn't that make for a great spectacle that will also bring lots of eyeballs to the sport?
Instead with an Aussie in charge, rugby will become more like rugby league. Rugby will most likely become less global if we look at what have become of rugby in Australia. He can't save rugby in Australia, how will he improve the global footprint of rugby world wide?
I hope to be proven wrong and that he will raise up the sport to new heights, but I am very much in doubt. It's like hiring a gardener to a CEO position in a global company expecting great results. It just won't happen. Call me negative or call me whatever you'd like, Robinson is the wrong man for the job.
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