McLaughlin hails Ulster character after Treviso performance
Ulster head coach Brian McLaughlin has praised the spirit and resilience his players showed to come back and win at the death in their RaboDirect PRO12 encounter with Treviso in the Stadio de Monigo on Saturday.
The northern province trailed by 10 points entering the last ten minutes but tries from Paddy Wallace and Ian Whitten, both converted by Ruan Piernaar, were enough to snatch a dramatic 27-23 victory.
The result leaves Ulster in fifth place in the League table, just one point off Glasgow Warriors who currently occupy the last play-off position.
McLaughlin believes the nature of the victory over Treviso proves Ulster’s determination to secure a play-off place.
“Treviso put us under a lot of pressure,” he said. “It was a far from perfect performance but I thought that we showed tremendous character to pull back and get the away win against a side that was full of Italian internationals.
“We put them under a fair bit of pressure in the first five minutes but then we turned over the ball which they hacked down the pitch to score a fairly soft try and put us 7-0 down at the start.
“Treviso threw everything at us and in the first half our scrum was under a little bit of pressure but we sorted that in the second half and we scrummed well.
“Paddy Wallace scored a magnificent try around the 70 minute mark to put us right back into the mix and bring us from 23-13 down right up to 23-20 once Ruan added the conversion and thankfully there was enough time on the clock for Ian Whitten’s score in the 82nd minute which Ruan converted from the touchline.
“It was by no means a top class performance but we showed a lot of self belief to get the win and one we so badly needed to keep us in contention for a play-off spot in the PRO12.
“This win keeps our destiny, as far as a play-off spot is concerned, in our own hands. The competition is so tight.
“The Ospreys result at the RDS against Leinster really keeps them in contention and there’s just a few points, if even separating us from Glasgow, Cardiff, and Scarlets.
“We all have everything still to play for so it’s going to be a very exciting run-in.”
Both Darren Cave and Johann Muller, who were making their first appearances following injury, were substituted in the second and appeared to be carrying knocks but Mclaughlin does not seem overly concerned at this stage.
“Darren took a knock on the nose and Johann got a bang to his throat and a bit of a dead leg. Both will be assessed.”
Ulster’s quest for a play-off position continues next Friday in Ravenhill when they host Aironi (7.05pm).
