Brendan Gallagher delves into some of rugby’s most enduring images, their story and why they are still so impactful
Iconic Rugby Pictures: PART 90
Ulster win the European Cup in Dublin by beating Colombiers 21-6
January 30, 1999
What’s happening here?
It’s January 30, 1999 and Ulster skipper David Humphreys is being chaired off at Lansdowne Road after his side became the first Irish team to win the European Cup. They have just beaten Colomiers 21-6 in front of a capacity 49,000 crowd of whom at least 40,000 were Ulster fans down from the “the North” for the day.
What’s the story behind the picture?
The most unexpected of Cup triumphs. It started with little hope or expectation. Ulster had won just one pool game the previous season, while they opened their domestic season with their first defeat to Connacht in 15 years. Just to rub salt into the wound, skipper Mark McCall had to finally accept that his chronic neck injury was not getting any better and that he should heed medical advice and retire.
Against this background they began their European Cup campaign with a 38-38 draw against Edinburgh and then got absolutely battered 39-3 away to Toulouse. Coach Harry Williams was not impressed, harsh words were spoken and Ulster seemed on the point of meltdown. The prospect of a European title that year was precisely zero.
But then the magic of sport kicked in. Ulster had some very decent players, but confidence was short. They also possessed two potential match winners given the right circumstances. David Humphreys, running the show at ten, was a class act while Liverpudlian Simon Mason, an unheralded signing, was an absolutely world class goal kicker in his pomp. Both just needed a platform. Build the pressure, gain territory, win penalties and that duo could cause serious damage.
The return game against a complacent Toulouse was the perfect opportunity to relaunch their campaign with no expectations. That’s what they did with an exhilarating 29-23 win and would you believe it when the pool finally sorted itself out Ulster – Toulouse lost again when they sent a second XV to Ebbw Vale – were in the quarter-finals with a home draw. Against Toulouse!
This was a nail biter with two dropped goals from Humphreys and three penalties form Mason seeing Ulster home 15-13 which heralded a semi-final against champions-elect Stade Francais who had been destroying teams for fun all season.
That was the day Ulster put it all together in unseasonable sunshine with an all-court performance. Yes, there was a 20-point haul from the metronomic Mason but Humphreys also scored the try of the tournament to add to his dropped goal and Stuart McGinty also crossed the line. Ulster were very good value for their 33-27 win.
What happened next?
All of which set the scene for the final when the occasion very much overshadowed the game with Colomiers seemingly half beaten before kick-off. Despite the likes of Jean-Luc Sadourny, Fabian Galthie and Marc dal Maso they simply weren’t in the same class as Toulouse and Stade. They were also visibly intimidated by the intensity of the Ulster support.
“The game was a coronation not a contest. Ulster simply had to concentrate”
Ulster milked it to the maximum, at one stage lapping all four corners of the field, as they revved up the crowd. When they got down to the Colomiers end Del Maso was preparing to throw-in as part of a lineout drill. There was very little space, nobody wanted to back down or move so, sensing an imminent collision, reserve hooker Stuart Duncan put his shoulder down as they made contact. It was hostile.
The game itself was a coronation not a contest. Ulster simply had to concentrate and finish the job which they did with six penalties from the ever reliable Mason and a dropped goal from Humphreys.
Why is the picture iconic?
It’s a particularly joyous celebration picture following a famous win but there is other stuff going on in this picture. On the day 40,000 Ulstermen, predominantly Protestant but by no means exclusively so, made their way to Lansdowne Road in Dublin for a wonderful rugby occasion that was also enjoyed by rugby fans in the Republic.
Rugby on the island of Ireland had always been a unifying force – an oasis of goodwill and sanity – and just a few months before Ulster started their Cup campaign the Good Friday agreement finally, almost from nowhere, seemed to offer the possibility of a way forward.
Cautious – very cautious – optimism was the mood in the months that followed and although other greater forces were predominant there is no question that this moralelifting Ulster triumph, the joy of which was shared by both communities, upped the feel-good factor in the province and put a large smile on people’s faces. For many this picture almost screams the word HOPE.
Footnote: The European Cup was sexy again and the Premiership clubs who had sniffily boycotted it wanting to flex their muscles and get a bigger cut of the financial action, were soon banging the door down trying to get back in. Heineken came on board again.
And was this the early catalyst for modern day Irish rugby? Following this win Munster – four finals, two wins – and Leinster – four finals, four titles – started to blaze a trail in Europe while just over a year later Ireland marched to victory over Les Bleus in Paris. Something was afoot and some reckon it started here, with Ulster.
