WHAT'S UP WITH ULSTER

Mid-Season changes to leadership, poor form on the pitch and a lot of confused looks from fans Tom English digs into troubled times at the Irish province

- Tom English

IN EARLY April, Ulster went to Montpellier and pulled off a surprise win in the Round of 16 in the European Challenge Cup, a surprise created in no small part by a red card for Paul Willemse and yellow cards dished out to three of his team-mates. Ulster went on to batter the French side, six tries to two and by 40-17.

The appearance off the bench of 21-year-old Ulster tighthead Scott Wilson was one of the standouts. He only played for 20 minutes but scored after just five minutes. Already a strong scrummager and a notable ball-carrier, everyone at Ulster positively cooed about him in the aftermath.

“To be scrummaging at the level he’s scrummaging at, and at his age, is phenomenal,” said Iain Henderson, the captain. “He’s one of the most exciting prospects we’ve had in a long time. He has some incredible natural talents.”

Wilson looks like one for the present, but there was probably another reason why Ulster – who were crushed 53-14 by Clermont the following week – hailed him from the rooftops. Having toiled for so long in bad news, they were, and are, a team in desperate need of good news. They made hay with Wilson. No wonder. It was a respite from everything else that was going on.

That game against Montpellier took place against a backdrop of Ulster having an interim coach, an interim scrum coach and an interim CEO. But the state of chassis went beyond that.