It was a tale of two halves in a memorable New Year’s Day tussle at a sold-out Kingspan Stadium as Munster, who blew a 17-0 half-time lead and had Sam Arnold red carded, conceded 24 unanswered points to eventual winners Ulster.
Munster looked in full control when two well-executed maul tries from Niall Scannell, coupled with a scrum-inspired penalty try, had them leading 17-0 by the 33rd minute. The visitors might have had a bonus point by half-time but their lineout suffered a rare malfunction.
However, out-half JJ Hanrahan had a poor night with the boot, missing seven points from the tee and ruing some individual and tactical errors, while Munster’s discipline really let them down as Ulster turned up the heat in the second half.
Replacement lock Fineen Wycherley saw yellow in the 54th minute as the penalties racked up, and then Sam Arnold, the former Ulster centre, was sent off just on the hour mark for a high tackle on the hosts’ number 10 Christian Lealiifano.
It proved to be a massive turning point in this interprovincial derby as. having gotten off the mark with Darren Cave’s neatly-taken try just after Arnold’s indiscretion, Ulster ground out a remarkable comeback victory as Craig Gilroy weighed in with two tries and fellow winger Robert Lyttle’s last-minute score in the left corner secured the bonus point.
Les Kiss’ resilient side remain third in Conference B of the GUINNESS PRO14, moving a point closer to next weekend’s opponents Leinster, while the shell-shocked Munstermen, who have suffered two disappointing derby defeats during the festive period, stay second in Conference A but are now 15 points behind Glasgow Warriors.
The first half in Belfast proved dismal viewing for the home supporters, with the Munster pack very much on top and Lealiifano and John Cooney, the eventual man-of-the-match, wielding little influence. The visitors’ excellent set piece gradually established a match-winning position for Johann van Graan’s men.
Number 8 Jean Deysel, who was one of Ulster’s returning forwards along with props Rodney Ah You and Kyle McCall, coughed up an early ruck penalty but Hanrahan screwed the resulting kick wide. Lyttle popped up in attack twice to raise the decibel level, before two successive infringements from Ah You gave Munster their first attacking lineout opportunity.
As the Conference A outfit recycled at pace, Ulster needed a try-saving tackle from Stuart McCloskey on Calvin Nash to thwart the Munster winger in the right corner. However, another penalty in the build-up – this time side-entry from Ulster captain Rob Herring – gave the red pack a second bite at the cherry, and this time hooker Scannell rumbled over from the rolling maul, 13 minutes in.
With Hanrahan’s boot proving rusty again with the conversion, Gilroy, Herring and Cooney combined well down the Ulster left – only for the move to break down as the scrum half’s blind pass, under Simon Zebo’s tackle, fell into Munster hands.
Munster’s superiority at scrum time soon won another penalty to touch, and in a carbon copy of their first try, Ireland international Scannell was impressively mauled over the line to establish a 10-point lead with 24 minutes on the clock.
Ulster’s frustration grew as possession was surrendered at three consecutive lineouts, while clinical Munster continued to pick off points at every opportunity despite losing stand-in captain Billy Holland (HIA) for the final hour of the game.
Duncan Williams’ well-weighted kick saw Charles Piutau hounded into conceding another close range set piece, and with Ah You and McCall creaking under pressure from James Cronin and John Ryan at successive five-metre scrums, referee Sean Gallagher awarded a penalty try.
It looked ominous four minutes later as the men in red set up yet another close range lineout, but a rare overthrow from the otherwise accurate Scannell spared Ulster the ignominy of leaking a bonus point try before half-time as the scoreline remained 17-0.
Although the hosts put together their best attack closing in on the interval, thanks to flanker Nick Timoney’s and Cooney’s follow-up, they remained scoreless as a late lineout maul saw Jack O’Donoghue come through the middle and tackle Herring into touch.
The newly-introduced Callum Black and Wiehahan Herbst had the desired impact off the bench, improving Ulster’s scrum as they made a bright start to the second period. Herring carried well off his own lineout and following two strong scrums and a clever snipe from Cooney, the scrum half flew in under the posts for a try which needed checking.
Unfortunately for the home support, TMO Kevin Beggs noted Greg Jones’ holding of Munster tighthead Ryan at a ruck, which had helped to open up the gap for Cooney to fly through and score. The try was chalked off, leaving Ulster scoreless for 12 encouraging minutes of play.
Nonetheless, they redoubled their efforts just as Munster struggled to cope with the loss of Wycherley, who was pinged for not rolling away following a series of team penalties, and both Scannell and Tommy O’Donnell picked up knocks either side of the hour.
Following Wycherley’s departure, the ensuing lineout and maul – and an inspired line break from the rejuvenated Cave – got the first home points on the board. Referee Gallagher went to the TMO before Cooney could convert, not this time to check the legitimacy of the try but to review a midfield tackle by Arnold on Lealiifano in the build-up. The challenge was deemed high, at force and dangerous, and deserving of a red card.
With the gap down to 10 points after Cooney’s straightforward conversion, Ulster wasted little time taking full advantage of the 15-on-13 advantage. Gilroy backed himself to beat Stephen Fitzgerald to Cave’s sweet kick toward the right, and with an inviting bounce, the Ireland international snapped up the ball at pace and grounded it.
Five points adrift and with 15 minutes to play, Ulster soaked up a brief spell of Munster pressure, which included a couple of forceful carries from debutant prop Jeremy Loughman, before showing the greater game management from half-back and building momentum with ball in hand.
The Ulstermen put together a dozen patient phases until a high tackle on experienced centre Cave won a five-metre lineout. Fine mauling kept the pressure on until Lealiifano’s vision and skill in the form of a long lofted pass picked out Gilroy for his second of the night and his sixth in five games.
Man-of-the-match Cooney’s crucial conversion from wide on the right edged his side ahead with little over five minutes to go, and rather than play conservatively to protect their lead, Ulster gamely pressed on in search of the bonus point, snatching it through livewire winger Lyttle via a superb last-minute scrum and Herring’s killer pass.
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