Eye of the Tiger
Leicester Tigers have an excellent Heineken Cup record, but Geordan Murphy’s team face this season’s moment of truth when they clash with 1999 champions Ulster at Ravenhill on Friday.
The Tigers are the only club to win back-to-back titles, claiming European club rugby’s most coveted silverware in 2001 and 2002, but trail Ulster by two points in Pool 4 ahead of the potential decider for automatic quarterfinal qualification.
“Ravenhill is a fortress for them – they’ve beaten pretty much every top side at home,” said Murphy.
“Ulster are very successful at Ravenhill, especially on a Friday night. Traditionally, it’s wet and windy and the wind howls through the ground making it difficult for opposition goal-kickers who don’t know the ground. It’s a very tough place to go and get a win.
“It is similar to what Welford Road is for us. Ulster get a kick out of playing there and it’s a great experience if you’re in the crowd. They get behind their team, sing songs and it’s probably like the Welford Road of old.
“We will have to raise our performances levels when we go there as I know Ulster will raise their levels playing at home in front of a home crowd. They beat Clermont there in the first game of the group and showed what a good side they are and then they came to us and did a pretty good job as well so I’m expecting it to be a very difficult match.
“It will be no different to any final or any game as big as that – we’re going to have to put in a very good performance up front, be defensively sound to stop them scoring tries and kick our goals. It will be an arm wrestle and hopefully we get a bit of luck.”
Clermont Auvergne are just a point adrift of the Tigers and can have a big say in the group finishing positions with games at Aironi and then at home to Ulster in Round 6.
“It’s turned out to be a very tight and difficult group,” Murphy added. “I knew when I saw the draw that it was going to be very difficult to get out of the Pool. Ulster are a very, very strong side at home and Clermont are also very difficult to beat. Clermont’s bonus point here could be costly – and so could our lack of a bonus in Aironi.
“We have to go to Ulster and get a win. To have the group in our control, we have to go and get two wins in the final two games.
“However, while World Cup years have traditionally been very difficult for Leicester if we can get a win away in Ulster and then at home against Aironi and get out of the group, that’s a start for us.
“There’s a long way to go though and I just want to get a win in Belfast, get out of the group and take it one step at a time from there.”
Leicester have contested five Heineken Cup finals – losing in the showpiece matches in 1997, 2007 and 2009 – and are set to be without internationals Manu Tuilagi, Louis Deacon and Toby Flood for the trip to Belfast.
“Things have gone reasonably well for us recently but the schedule has also taken its toll on us physically,” said Murphy. “A few guys will be out for the Ulster game and while that is a bit of a nightmare but there’s nothing you can do.
“They will be missed but that’s the way the cookie crumbles, we just have to get on with things and do as good a job as possible. The strength in depth seems to be there and we have some pretty good players who’ve come in and done a good job so we have just got to keep grinding out wins.”
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