FINALLY their wait is over. On Saturday, before a small crowd in a remote village in northern Italy, Ulster claimed a place in the Heineken Cup knockout stages for the first time in 12 years with a 43-6 win over Aironi.

LEE BYRNE left no doubt where the buck must stop following Wales’ latest painful failure to capture a coveted Tri- Nations scalp.

THE smiles were back and promises kept as the 2009 British and Irish Lions produced the performance of this South African tour to emphatically avoid a whitewash at Ellis Park, Johannesburg on Saturday with a victory that highlighted just how unlucky they were to lose the three-game Test series.