‘It wasn’t planned’ – Broken boots to wonder try

If a prop scoring a wonder try is enough to draw questions from the front row union, then doing so in a pair of coloured boots is surely cause for disbarment.

Ulster’s Angus Bell, however, was keen to stress that neither his double sidestep nor fashion statement were pre-planned.

With his province seven points to the good against Cardiff on Saturday night, the Wallaby loose-head collected the ball on the edge of the 22 and beat two players with a burst of pace and strength.

Cam Winnett stood in his way, but the prop sat the Cardiff full-back down with a sidestep that any world-class wing would be proud of, and another followed to skip past wing Ioan Lloyd as he raced over to score.

It was an astonishing try from any player, never mind a front row forward, albeit an Australian international who has a history of bringing a bit of ‘x-factor’.

There was more drama to come as Ulster held the Welsh side off in the 21-14 win, but Bell’s try was the undoubted highlight.

It was so good, in fact, Ulster back row Marcus Rea stood with his hands on his head after witnessing the run, while Bell was mobbed by his team-mates.

“I was just lucky. When your boots break in the warm-up you have to make do,” a modest Bell said on Premier Sports.

“I’ve got different colours on at the moment so I have to fix that. It wasn’t planned.

Ulster’s team wasn’t quite as makeshift as Bell’s boots, but the province’s strength in depth was handed a proper test against a side which started the night above them in the table.

Missing eight Ireland internationals for the Six Nations – a sign itself of the progress the province has made this season when compared to three players last year – Ulster had a blend of experience and youth in Belfast.

It was no coincidence that when Bell and captain Iain Henderson were withdrawn just shy of the hour-mark, Cardiff, who were also missing key players, came back into the game.

But Richie Murphy’s side, who had throw away leads of 19 and 14 points in their past two games against Cardiff, were determined for a different outcome.

Bell will get the headlines after his try, but fellow prop Scott Wilson – in a time where Ireland are struggling in the front row – also touched down and stopped a near-certain score at the other end.

In the United Rugby Championship last season, Ulster won seven out of their 18 matches.

Saturday’s win ensured they have matched that tally in just 10 URC matches of the current campaign, and the feel-good factor has returned to Belfast with the side just eight points behind leaders Glasgow Warriors with a game in hand.

But Murphy isn’t getting carried away. Ulster have vastly improved but are not the finished article, which was highlighted by an unsuccessful last-gasp attempt to secure the bonus-point try.

“I think we’re getting there. Seven out of 10 wins is a bit like our scorecard as well, which I’d give as a seven out of 10,” he told Premier Sports.

After the disaster of last season, when Ulster missed out on the play-offs and Champions Cup rugby, a lot has been made of the fresh approach in the new campaign with the appointments of Mark Sexton and Willie Faloon to the coaching team, alongside Murphy, Jimmy Duffy and Dan Soper.

That could be seen in the universal positivity when Murphy and his coaching team were tied down for another two years.

While coaching has played a big role, with more attacking freedom blended with a newfound defensive resolve, Murphy says the culture within the group has also helped with the turnaround.

“The lads are committed to try and drive certain standards within our team, and they are doing that on a daily basis,” he said in his post-match media conference.

“Culture is really important in relation to getting your work done during the week and making sure that the guys are in an environment where one, they’re challenged, and two, they’re learning.

“Ultimately, we have a high-performance model of trying to get better every day, and that is what we try and drive.

After a run of 10 games in 10 weeks, Ulster have to wait until the end of February for their next outing as the Six Nations shifts into focus.

If Ulster can go deep in Europe and maintain their play-off charge in the URC, there could be as many as 14 games in the final stretch of the campaign.

“Every day that we’re training, we’re going out there with the belief that we’re going to be a top four team,” said player of the match Matthew Dalton.

“Parts of this season we’ve proven that we can be, and we are now.

“But I think there’s a lot to work on as well. There’s so much more that we can do and so much more that we can offer to be even better.