Doak Racks Up 18 Points As Ulster Go Three From Three

Ulster claimed their third bonus point win from three games, defeating Benetton Rugby 28-8 at Kingspan Stadium where Rob Herring took to the field for his 200th appearance.

It was a business-like first half performance from the province, as hooker Herring marked his achievement with a trademark maul try. Craig Gilroy and Nathan Doak also touched down.

Teenage starlet Doak impressed again as he deputised for the injured John Cooney at scrum half. He won his second successive player-of-the-match medal after scoring two tries in an 18-point contribution.

Benetton took advantage of a James Hume yellow card to send Ratuva Tayuvara over for a try, but Doak found enough space to snipe over in the 78th minute and seal the five-point return.

Paying tribute to Herring after the game, Ulster head coach Dan McFarland said: “Rob played a really good game. It’s a great night for him, he had his family here, it is a tremendous milestone.

“There’s a big toll on your body when you play professional rugby. Rob is an ever-present and a great member of our organisation.

“He is very passionate about Ulster, passionate about the people here, you see that every day when he comes to work. He is a driver for us and a very important part of our squad. I’m really pleased for him.”

Most of the opening few minutes were played in the middle of the pitch with neither side having any clear-cut scoring opportunities.

Benetton, however, were first on the scoreboard with a Leonardo Marin penalty in the seventh minute. The Rainbow Cup champions had won their first two league matches.

Some ill-discipline from Benetton inside their own half allowed Ulster and Billy Burns to pin them back for the attacking lineout.

Double centurion Herring looked to have scored from a maul but after a TMO review, South African referee AJ Jacobs deemed it to be no try due to David McCann being offside.

Benetton went down to 14 men with Ivan Nemer being sent to the sin bin for not rolling away, and Ulster duly capitalised on their numerical advantage in the 22nd minute.

Number 10 Burns sent out a beautifully weighted cross-field kick, winger Gilroy nipping in ahead of a defender to collect the ball and score his 67th try for the province.

Ulster struck again just four minutes later, after a nice loop movement between Doak, Herring and McCann, releasing the number 8 through the gap and he was able to put Doak over for Ulster’s second try of the night.

The talented scrum half drilled the ball over to add the conversion, leaving Benetton 14-3 behind, before Herring got a second bite at the cherry five minutes before half-time.

The 31-year-old Ireland international stretched out his arm from the advancing Ulster maul to get the ball down, and Doak again made no mistake with the conversion.

Trailing 21-3, Benetton looked to put early pressure on Ulster in the second half, but once more their discipline let them down and McFarland’s men were able to eat back into the visitors’ territory.

Benetton eventually got out of trouble through a penalty, and in the third quarter they were able to build some sustained attacking pressure.

The Italians looked like they might score before Ulster turned the ball over, but it was deemed to be illegally so and Ireland-capped centre Hume was sent to the bin for playing the ball on the ground.

Benetton then pounced through winger Tavuyara who stepped inside Gilroy to go over in the corner. Marin was unable to land the conversion.

Looking to cancel out that score, the hosts got themselves into a good position with a scrum, but Benetton forced the penalty against the head and were able to exit from their half.

The Ulstermen remained patient, and momentum in the scrum shifted back their way, allowing them to build through the phases at close range.

Reflecting the team’s renewed sense of urgency, Doak spotted his chance to go himself from a few metres out and secure the bonus point in the dying minutes. The conversion topped off his 18 points.

Asked about Doak’s impressive progression into the senior team, McFarland acknowledged: “Nathan is a very confident rugby player. He’s a very confident young man, and so he should be.

“He’s talented but he’s fully aware that it’s day by day. He plugs away at his basics and he’s lots to improve on, things that he knows he can work on if he’s going to be the best player he can possibly be.

“He’s had two starts and he’s done a really good job. He’ll come in on Monday and we’ll keep working on the key points and take it day by day.”