The introduction of Paddy Jackson and Ruan Pienaar was undoubtedly a help but if anyone needed a reminder of why Rory Best is being tipped to take the Ireland captaincy then yesterday's showing against Oyonnax may be the place to start.
23-0 down at half-time and effectively going the way of Leinster and Munster, Ulster needed something very special indeed and according to Paddy Jackson that's exactly what they got from Rory Best.
The Ireland hooker is being widely tipped to take the captaincy for the upcoming Six Nations campaign and while Joe Schmidt will no doubt already know who he's going to select, Best gave any doubters a hint at why he's so highly regarded in the dressing room.
Jackson was speaking after the remarkable 24-23 victory and when asked about the catalyst for such an unlikely turnaround, the Ireland out-half was in no doubt about just how much of an effect Best had at halftime.
The way he got the boys rallied in the changing room at half-time was something special. I’ve never been in a situation like that before where we’ve been so far behind and to see Rory get the boys going was something pretty special to watch.
Some might say Jackie Tyrell-esque and Jackson went further into the details of Best's speech.
There were a few heads down, looking at the floor, and I can’t repeat some of the words he actually used, but you could see the fire in his eyes and how much this club means to him, and how big this game was. He’s been talking about history all week and I think it’s the first time we’ve won in France twice in one season.
Best will once again be a great influence in the Ireland dressing room during the Six Nations campaign, regardless of whether he's the captain or not, but if Schmidt does select the 33 year old to take over from Paul O'Connell then it looks like Ireland won't be losing any of that fire that the Munster man brought to the role.
