Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
THAT’S NOT ON
Zebo: I hope that my ears deceived me with some of the comments directed my way from crowd
RACING 92’s Simon Zebo says he heard comments from the crowd in Saturday’s European Champions Cup game against Ulster that were “not on”.
The Ireland wing tweeted: “I hope my ears deceived me with some comments directed my way from the crowd. #Not on – Django wins in the end.”
Django Unchained, a Quentin Tarantino film about an African-american slave, was released in 2012.
Asked for a response, Ulster Rugby said they condemned all forms of abuse and “will work with the relevant parties to robustly investigate any complaints received”.
On the field, the province took a huge step towards a European Champions Cup quarter-final berth by holding off a fightback from Racing 92 to secure victory in Belfast.
Tries from Robert Baloucoune and two from Jacob Stockdale gave the hosts a 13-point lead in the second half.
Virimi Vakatawa and Zebo crossed in the first half while Brice Dulin and Olivier Klemenczak reduced the deficit in the second for Racing.
Dan Mcfarland’s side end their pool campaign next week against Leicester.
The French side remain favourites to top the group and still hold a three point lead over Ulster, having secured two losing bonus-points in Belfast.
For Ulster, the victory leaves them well placed to take one of the three quarter-final spots available to the best runners-up, with the province currently on 18 points.
Mcfarland’s side will try to secure their last-eight place against a Leicester side who are now out of qualification contention.
Of Saturday’s win, Mcfarland said: “In the context of who we were playing against and the excitement of the rugby and some of the execution of the plays, it’s certainly up there.
“When you add into that the atmosphere in the stadium then wow, it was awesome.
“We’ve put things back in our control. That’s how we’re looking at it. Forgetting the table, what a great place [Leicester] to try to go and win in a tight situation in European rugby.”