Anscombe rues Northampton defeat
Pleased as he is to be into the knockout stages of the Heineken Cup Ulster head coach Mark Anscombe knows that had his charges not slipped up against Northampton Saints in Round 4 they would have the added luxury of a home quarter-final.
Instead, having finished the pools stages seeded fifth, Ulster must travel to Vicarage Road take on Mark McCall’s Saracens in the quarter-final.
Should they overcome the Premiership outfit they will enjoy home country advantage against either Toulon or Leicester Tigers in the semi-final.
Having laid down a marker with a 13-game winning streak, Ulster finally endured their first defeat of the season when the Saints shocked the northern province with a 10-9 win at Ravenhill.
After beating the Saints and securing a bonus point at Franklin’s Gardens the week previously Anscombe knows they should have done the double over Jim Mallinder’s men and is frustrated that the result has cost them a home draw.
“The eight teams in the quarter-finals are all high quality sides, so there was never going to be such thing as a favourable draw,” the New Zealander said.
“It’s disappointing not to be at home – we dropped our guard by not beating Northampton at Ravenhill and that has cost us.”
Having made it through the final pool encounter against Castres without the likes of Johann Muller, Stephen Ferris, Tommy Bowe and Jared Payne who are injured Anscombe is hoping for a cleaner bill of health when the quarter-final rolls around.
“Hopefully we will get our injured players back for the quarter-final.
“It is two and a half months away, so a lot is going to happen between now and then.
“With the way the semi-final draw has worked out there is a massive incentive there. “
