Pro14: Ulster hold nerve to keep Rory Best's fairytale finale on track

Ulster's season hung by the slenderest of threads as Rory Best jogged off the field for the last time at Kingspan Stadium.

In Best's final home game before the World Cup and his then retirement, Ulster were clinging grimly to a narrow lead and appeared in danger of allowing yet another big game to slip from their grasp.

Connacht had been second-best for most of their Pro14 quarter-final but with just over 10 minutes remaining Jack Carty's penalty shrunk the gap to a single point and sucked the air from the crowd.

Too often Ulster fans had watched their team fall by the wayside and images of the 2014 European quarter-final defeat by Saracens or the 2015 Pro12 semi-final loss in Glasgow seemed to hang in the air as the players took their places for the restart.

It seemed precisely the wrong time to replace your on-field leader and team talisman - but as Best made for the sideline, an extraordinary wall of noise swelled and rolled around the stadium and shattered the tension on the pitch.

Marcell Coetzee's late try sealed Ulster's victory after Connacht had threatened to snatch a comeback win

Suddenly Ulster were a team rejuvenated. Iain Henderson, the man seen as Best's natural heir, was inspired and Marcell Coetzee pinballed over the line to ensure that the Ireland captain will have at least one more game to add to his 15-year club career.

"To get that reception when I was coming off means a lot because this place genuinely does mean the world to me," said Best as he reflected on Ulster's 21-13 victory in a pulsating quarter-final battle.

"I still remember in 2013 coming back here after that Lions announcement [when he was initially omitted] and the reception I got then.

"Those are the bits that you'll never forget and mean the world to you because at a time when you feel isolated, this place gives you a big hug and says 'we think a lot of you' and today was no different."

Best and Darren Cave were both playing their final home games for Ulster

Best and Cave the focus of pre-match build-up

Best and fellow retiree Darren Cave were the focus of attention throughout the build-up to Ulster's first home play-off match in five years and the pair were cheered off the field by their team-mates after an emotional post-match victory lap.

For Best, who had to prove his fitness after an ankle injury, it was an occasion he was determined to be a part of.

"It is about the team and their performance but I think it was really important, for me, to try and get back for this game," added the 36-year-old.

"Not taking any chances or doing anything stupid but I wanted to go out and try to give my all one more time in the Ulster jersey at this stadium.

"We badly wanted to win. Cavey and I chatted about it earlier in the week that it's been something during our careers, a lot of players have signed off without a win.

"We had a chance to do that at home and we'll hopefully have two more chances to keep doing it and that's the fairytale."

The veteran hooker agonised over whether or not he could push himself to continue playing for his province for one more season after Ireland's World Cup campaign and he could be forgiven for reconsidering his retirement as Ulster continue to show signs of progression.

Dan McFarland's arrival has seen Ulster become a high-tempo attacking side

Ulster transformed under McFarland

In head coach Dan McFarland's first season in charge, the province have been transformed into a high-tempo attacking side that pushed Leinster all the way in their Champions Cup quarter-final.

"At the start of the season we were 20-odd points down against Edinburgh and Scarlets and we came back with draws and wins," Best added.

"Even when Connacht got back to within a point, I think Ulster teams in the past would have really gone onto the backfoot and tried to hang on.

"This team, they pushed on and got that score and in fairness to Billy with that [conversion] kick, we had played a lot of rugby and he was tired, but that kick was really important for us to give us a bit of breathing space. I think we have a lot of character in that changing room."

The fairytale has at least another chapter, which will take Ulster to Scotstoun on 17 May for a semi-final against Glasgow Warriors and a chance to avenge that defeat four years ago.

"We know we can be better," Best continued. "We were a little nervy at times [against Connacht].

"But we can be, and we have to be, a bit more razor sharp. In our defensive sets I thought we looked comfortable at times, and not just that we were aggressive at the line and drove them back at a couple of pivotal moments.

"Our entire game will have to be a little bit better and we know how good they are but that's for another time."