‘Last bastion of what rugby used to be’

FORMER Australian second row Justin Harrison, now with Ulster, yesterday described Lansdowne Road as part of rugby folklore.

Minutes after failing to spur Ulster to victory against Leinster in the final game at the old stadium, Harrison said he was proud to have had the opportunity to play in the weather-beaten stadium, the oldest international rugby venue in the world.

Harrison said: “Lansdowne Road is the last bastion of what rugby used to be. It was a great old stadium but time moves on and progress has to be made, I suppose.”

Disappointed at the defeat, Harrison also recognised that you can’t win them all: “You go out to win every game; unfortunately it would be boring for a lot of people if one team won every game.”

Still, he said he would cherish the memory of this last game at Lansdowne.

“The atmosphere was fantastic, it was a special occasion and we really can’t complain with the result.

“We went out to try to win it; unfortunately you don’t often win away from home when you try to protect a half-time lead. It’s important that you go out to build on any advantage you might enjoy at the break. I just think we were a little less adventurous than we should have been and we paid the price in the end.”

It wasn’t, he insisted, about losing a key player like David Humphreys so early in the game. The Irish international is likely to be out for at least a month with an upper arm injury sustained after just four minutes.

Harrison said: “I don’t believe we lost because of that. Paddy Wallace played quite well, particularly in the first half. We just ran out of possession and it’s always hard to play the game on the back foot, particularly against a quality side like Leinster. They won the game by getting better line-out possession and by understanding that games are only won by playing consistently for 80 minutes; we played to our best for not much more than 60 minutes.”

The win was more crucial to Leinster, who are chasing the leaders and who closed the gap to three points. Captain Brian O’Driscoll recognised that Llanelli, with games in hand, still posed a huge threat, but said it was vital that Ulster were reeled in.

“Had we lost today, it would have been a huge blow,” he said.

O’Driscoll has gone through the Lansdowne Road departure show twice, having led Ireland through the last international against the Pacific Islanders last month. “It’s a strange rather than an overwhelmingly emotional feeling. There were no tears but there was a bit of emotion I suppose. It’s something we will look back on in years to come,” he said.