Ulster hold off Biarritz

Two second-half penalties by David Humphreys kept Ulster's Heineken Cup ambitions alive with a 13-9 victory over Biarritz, but the win was really secured by a valiant and stubborn defensive effort led by the forwards.

Ulster's defence subdued Biarritz so much that the French champions were scoreless in the second-half and in fact only had a single kick at goal, Dimitri Yachvili's long-range effort from the half way line falling short. In the first half he had twice given his side the lead, in the 18th minute and again in the 40th. In between Julien Peyrelongue kicked a drop goal to extend the lead to six points before gifting a try back with a long miss pass into the eager hands of Ulster's James Topping.

After missing two early penalties, the pressure was on Humphreys when he was presented with similar opportunities in the 63rd and 78th minutes. But his nerve held and he converted both.

He will need to be more dominant next Saturday in the return fixture in France, a match that Ryan Constable may miss having shakily left the field in the second minute after a strong tackle that typified his side's later efforts.