Iain Morrison: Breakdown puts end to European journey

Well, that was quick if not, like a trip to the dentist, quite as painless as we had been promised. Following Glasgow’s defeat by Ulster on Friday night, and barring an upset of David/Goliath proportions this afternoon at Thomond Park, the Scottish pro-teams are effectively making up the numbers in Europe once again.

The timing could not have been worse. With French and English clubs demanding a meritocracy in Europe, the form of Scottish and Italian clubs makes it increasingly hard to argue the case.

Glasgow have a lengthy injury list but that is pretty much par for the course, since most clubs bank on having between one quarter and one third of their players unavailable at any one time.

Glasgow had their chances on Friday against opponents who are unbeaten all season but they failed to take them in a first half they dominated but somehow lost 6-3. Peter Horne has kicked pretty well to date but his technique or his temperament fell to pieces. His record of one from four in the opening half was a poor return for all the hard work up front because several of those penalties came from the scrum.

After going toe to toe with Northampton’s giant trio last week, the Glasgow front row gave a good account of themselves once again in the scrum, where Ryan Grant was awesome. He made former All Black John Afoa look a little ordinary and this is not supposed to be a weakness in the Ulster armoury.

There were positives elsewhere. Henry Prygos got the ball away from the breakdown quickly even in difficult conditions and under sustained pressure. If Glasgow lost this game anywhere it was at the breakdown, where the Warriors were turned over countless times.

There was a time when the Scottish forwards made life impossible for the opposition in the contact area with an all-guns-blazing approach but that honour now falls on Irishmen. Ireland’s defence coach, Les Kiss, came up with the choke tackle, where the players lift the opposition off the ground and ensure a potential ruck remains a maul, and he must still own the patent because it is only the Irish who use the tactic regularly and it worked a treat for Ulster.

Perhaps Glasgow’s forwards paid the price of a bruising match against Saints combined with a five-day turnaround while Ulster enjoyed seven.

Of course, the one other consideration that lurks in the shadows is the death of Ulster’s young centre Nevin Spence last month in a farming accident. That tragedy has undoubtedly drawn an already tightly-knit squad even closer together. Ulster are playing what is in effect a memorial season for their former friend and colleague, and they look destined to win something come the end of the season. No one would begrudge them if it turned out to be this Heineken Cup.