I’m so proud and glad that Belfast has become my home: Browne
the Top 14. It took some time for Ulster to punish Leicester’s own indiscipline last week, but Peel believes the relatively late burst of tries was ultimately aided by the early pressure.
“I thought that it was a slow start (only) in terms of converting points,” he added. “I felt we did put them under a lot of pressure in the first half and we did not probably convert those chances. That is down to ourselves
“I think Gilly (Craig Gilroy) went close early on, we slipped up on a couple of lineouts and lost the ball in the 22, which is a bit disappointing from us, but I felt like the pressure we put them under paid dividends for us in the second half.
“What I was happy with in the second half, from an attack perspective, we converted pressure like we did not do in the first half. We got into their 22 three times and came away with three tries.
“The last play of the game I think we did not convert there, but we converted pressure into points in the second half and that told. But I think the work in the first half was good and we kept them under a bit of pressure, and defensively we were pretty good and put them under a bit of heat.” Having fielded arguably their strongest side of the season in the pool opener, scrum-half John Cooney has emerged as an injury doubt for this weekend having damaged his shoulder.
The Leinsterman — who won this competition in 2012 with his native province — finished the game at ten against Leicester but took a blow to his AC joint in the process.
“We are hopeful that he will be okay,” said Peel. “He is working away with it, he’s not with the team at the minute but hopefully he will be fine.”
Should Cooney miss out then his replacement will be Dave Shanahan. The Dubliner already has experience of playing in Europe’s top competition — four of his 26 Ulster appearances have been in the Champions Cup — and Peel believes he can fill the void if called upon.
The Academy product has played over 160 minutes of rugby in the last month, and scored twice when given the start against Cheetahs out in South Africa.
“I think he has been good, to be fair,” said Peel, a former scrum-half himself. “What’s good for Shanners is he has had a good bit of rugby as well. Probably last year every game (Cooney) played, John played 80 minutes. Dave has had a lot of rugby over the last few weeks and he has been sharp in that area.
“Last week he came on and I think he added a bit of a spark as well. He’s been good.”
Angus Curtis is another doubt for the weekend after suffering concussion on Saturday.
While Wallaby winger Henry Speight will not be in the mix against Racing, he is expected to resume full training next week after the knee injury he suffered last month.
Racing have injury worries of their own after making a winning start against Scarlets.
French internationals Maxime Machenaud, Brice Dulin and Teddy Thomas have all been out, so too Springbok Pat Lambie. Les Bleus prop Eddy Ben Arous was also injured after coming off the bench on Saturday. CONTINUED FROM BACK PAGE
Browne has not featured for Ulster since January, and was more recently seen representing Ballynahinch in the All-Ireland League, but he was a regular for Les Kiss the season prior.
Irish-qualified through his father, Browne (below) also represented Newcastle and Harlequins over the course of his career.
“I look back with thankfulness on a career spanning 12 years,” he said. “From a brighteyed beardless schoolkid in the Gloucester Academy to a student making his debut for Newcastle Falcons.
“At Harlequins I was fortunate to be part of the squad that won the Amlin Cup, Premiership and LV Cup. Then, after two very contrasting seasons at London Welsh as we won the Championship, and then were relegated, I was recruited by Ulster, and for that I will be forever thankful.
“Playing for Ulster has been an incredible privilege. Getting to follow in the footsteps of my father (who played for Ulster and Ireland Schools) by being part of this club fills me with pride and gratitude. I thank the fans for their unwavering support, the coaches for all of their hard work and my team-mates for their support and friendship throughout my time here.
“I only wish I could have played more and won something with a squad with so much quality in it. I could not imagine playing for any other team as Ulster has truly become my home.
“I would like to thank my family, and in particular my wife, for their unconditional love and support throughout my career.”