Tigers hopes crushed at Ravenhill
Ulster ended Leicester's European challenge for another year with a bonus-point 41-7 victory on Friday night.
Last Updated: 13/01/12 10:32pm
Ulster ended Leicester's European challenge for another year - barring a miracle - with a bonus-point 41-7 victory on Friday night.
Winger Andrew Trimble scored two tries in the first half while Craig Gilroy and Paul Marshall crossed after the interval. The outstanding Ruan Pienaar kicked 21 points to drive home the Irish side's superiority.
The result, a devastating one for Tigers who must now claim a bonus-point win over Aironi to hold any hope of qualifying, puts Ulster clear in Pool 4 of the Heineken Cup ahead of the do-or-die trip to Clermont next week.
Tigers competed well for 40 minutes but still went in 11 points behind despite Geordan Murphy's try.
A breathtaking start saw Ulster put Leicester under heavy pressure that eventually had Trimble crossing in the sixth minute.
Terblanche atoned for an earlier drop by taking Billy Twelvetrees' attempt to find touch, sidestepping two tacklers to set the wheels in motion.
Ulster ran the ball from one side of the pitch to the other, Stephen Ferris bulldozing his way to the five metre line, the ball coming out to number eight Pedrie Wannenburg who put Trimble in at the corner with the tv referee confirming the score.
Ominous
Pienaar added the extras from wide out, but Leicester looked sure to hit back when Tuilagi scooped up a loose ball to kick ahead for Murphy, but the ball did not bounce kindly and the threat was averted.
Ominously, Pienaar made it 10-0 from in front of the posts - albeit from a mile out - after Youngs came in from the side, but Tigers were right back in it on 14 minutes when Murphy stormed over thanks to a daring mis-pass from Youngs that paid rich dividends.
Twelvetrees hasn't missed of late and again made no mistake with the conversion - however it proved to be Tigers' final contribution to the score.
The pace was unrelenting as both sides looked to take control, and Tigers had their best phase of possession although little came of it after Youngs' up-and-under was easily gathered by Terblanche.
And the home side moved six points ahead eight minutes before half time when Dominic Waldrom was adjudged to go in off his feet - Peinaar making no mistake once again from just inside the Leicester half.
A Terblanche kick through left Horacio Agulla exposed near his own line, and with no assistance from his team-mates was harried into the try zone giving Ulster a golden opportunity to put daylight between the two sides.
And with a penalty already in the bag, Pienaar spread it wide for Trimble to squeeze over in the same right-hand corner despite the attentions of Alesana Tuilagi.
Pienaar missed for the first time on the night but at 18-7 Ulster had the game at their mercy.
Turning point
Leicester started the second half on the front foot and were quickly given a penalty when Ulster were pinged for killing the ball, but after an injury break Twelvetrees inexplicably missed a sitter when the ball came back off the left upright.
And it proved the turning point - Pienaar made it 21-7 from 42m out and worse was to follow for the visitors when he extended the lead further from a similar position after the Tigers failed to release in the tackle.
Terblanche then crossed in the left corner after a great burst from Trimble, but the whistle had already blown for blocking off the ball, however Leicester were still unable to gain any momentum from the quickly taken penalty when they were penalised for holding on, much to the annoyance of Youngs.
Tigers just couldn't make any headway against the disciplined Irish pack, Pieneer splitting the posts for the fifth time to pile the pressure on - replacement Dan Cole making things even worse for the visitors by getting himself sin-binned for dissent.
Try number three was not long in coming - Ulster running it wide through Pienaar, Terblanche and Wannenburg for Craig Gilroy to finish it off on the right, the outstanding Pienaar adding the extras.
At 34-7 Leicester's European dreams were well and truly over, all that was left was for Ulster to chase a bonus point that might prove crucial in the final analysis.
And replacement Paul Marshall was quick to provide it, the scrum-half reacting quickly with a tap-penalty to dash through a bewildered Tigers defence and under the posts, giving Pienaar the simplest of conversions.
