Ulster’s miraculous progression makes mockery of Champions Cup format

"His line-out work in the past number of weeks has become really big."

The province suffered defeats of 61-21, 40-19, and 38-10, to Toulouse, Bordeaux, and Leicester.

They rallied to 52-24 win over Exeter on Friday, and it turned out to be enough to make it through to the last-16, with a little help from Bordeaux.

The French side needed to beat the Shark by 28 points or more and deny the South Africans a bonus point of any sort. And, despite going 12-0 down early, they did it in style, cruising to a 66-12 victory, with Damian Penaud scoring six tries.

Most fans are unimpressed with the current format of the Champions Cup, and Ulster's progression, despite an awful group stage showing, will only serve to strengthen the negative feelings towards the competition.

Ulster will meet to Bordeaux in the last-16, and while they will be severe underdogs, they do have a select few in-form, game changer, one of which is Ireland's Cormac Izuchukwu.

Head coach Richie Murphy said: "Izzy's been brilliant.

"Everyone talks about him roaming around the outside channels and carrying ball but there's much more to him than that.

"His line-out work in the past number of weeks has become really big. Teams don't want to throw anywhere near him and he's spooking line-outs, which is fantastic.

"He's working really hard, learning all the time and playing with a smile on his face which is great."