ULSTER can lay justifiable claim to supplying the Lions with a trio of all-time greats: Mike Gibson, Syd Millar and Willie-John McBride. Their native province is now in such a state that supplying Ireland with three players tends to be three too many.
Never before have Ulster been confronted by a deteriorating state of invisibility on the Test stage. They started their defence of the Grand Slam in France without a single player from their northern province worthy of a place on the bench, let alone the starting XV.
Throughout the tournament, only one Ulster player started: Stuart McCl...