Ulster suffered their first defeat of the season with a 13 – 6 loss to Zebre in a sunkissed Stadio XXV Aprile yesterday afternoon, Ulster’s first ever defeat by the Italian outfit.
Zebre completed the “full house” of a try, conversion, penalty and drop goal with Ulster’s only points coming from two second half Ian Humphreys penalties, with a late try from Darren Cave disallowed following obstruction by Tommy Bowe.
I’d like to say that the result came as something of a surprise but it’s been on the cards since the start of the season, however, I don’t think that this upset will do Ulster any harm in the long run.
The blame for this defeat is likely to weigh heavily on the broad shoulders of Declan Fitzpatrick, following his tenth minute red card, but, to me, Fitzy’s right hook was an all too rare act of defiance in a rather subdued forward display in a match where Ulster lacked leadership and aggression.
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