Heineken Cup 2011: Round 1 part 2 recaps - Rugby News
Heineken Cup 2011 brought Ulster and Clermont Auvergne face to face on the second day, November 12, at Ravenhill and it was a match not to be missed. Ulster dug deep to thrash Clermont in its first competition of the event by 16-11 after a nerve wracking
clash. It was an all important game for Ulster as they were starting off their Heineken Cup campaign before their home crowd and they managed to amuse the spectators.
Ulster side was down in the match by 11-6 at the end of first half as the visitors put a huge effort in the first part and did not give the hosts any chance of taking the lead. Noa Nakaitaci set the tone of the match with a well executed try just in the
6th minute and gave Clermont an early boost. David Skrela further expanded their lead to 11-6 until the interval with couple of splendid penalty goals.
However, the hosts bounced back in the match during second half and looked improved side both in defending and attacking lines. Ian Humphreys was the man to bring back the squad into the almost lost battle. He kicked two penalty goals for Ulster in the 40th
and 50th minute and levelled the equation.
Meanwhile, Ulster denied accepting any further aggression from Clermont in the second half and carried the day by 16-11.
The other match of the day was played between Scarlets and Casters at Llanelli. Scarlets toppled the Casters by 31-23 to open their account in a decent manner. Despite a swift start for Casters, the Scarlets quickly managed to payback quickly and later on
never let the opponents to have a lead again. They ended the first half with a slight margin of 9-6 as SM Jones guided the pill into Casters’ goals three times.
The second half also belonged to Scarlets as Jones and Sean Lamont added quick points after the break. They were leading the score by 14-6 just two minutes after the resumption of play into the second half. Ben Morgan and James continued their good work
and ultimately sealed the comfortable victory of 31-23 for Scarlets.
Munster outclassed Northampton Saints on the same day as well. It was the closest match played so far in the Heineken Cup as Munster overcame the rivals by a narrow difference of 23-21 after an interesting show. Saints were almost celebrating their first
victory in the tournament when the fly-half of Munster Ronan O’Gara shattered their dreams with the last minute drop goal. He remained the top scorer for his team with 13 individual points including the decisive three pointer. Both sides scored two tries each
in the match but luck favoured the steady Munster.
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