A late John Andrew try edged Ulster over the line at the expense of the Scarlets at an emotional Kingspan Stadium, as the province maintained their winning start to the new GUINNESS PRO14 season.
Tonight’s match fell five years to the day of the tragic passing of Nevin Spence, and in a fitting tribute to the sorely-missed Ballynahinch man, the current Ulster squad put in a performance of courage, drive, determination and true grit – qualities which Nevin himself embodied in his all-too-short career in white and red.
Scrum half John Cooney continued his impressive start in Ulster colours with 12 points from the tee, topped up by second half tries from Jacob Stockdale and John Andrew, and an equally important penalty and conversion from Christian Lealiifano.
Ulster director of rugby Les Kiss said afterwards: “I think the way that the boys kept fighting was indicative of what Nev would have wanted, and it’s a credit to the boys that they carried that through for those moments. They stood up with Nev out there and delivered. It was emotional.
“We’re absolutely thrilled we put in a performance like that, particularly towards the back-end of the game. I think both teams were a little dicey in the first half, but it was one of those tense affairs, and when people got tired (the Scarlets) backed themselves.
“They hurt us a couple of times, but it impressed me that the boys had the bravery to stand up and keep fighting, and that’s an important characteristic that we’ll continue to build on.
“We’re not in full flow with our combinations, there are a lot of guys who are still finding their first or second game together in certain positions – Cooney and Christian, and those sorts of things. To get the win in that fashion is very pleasing. We keep saying it’s about a squad, not a team, and I thought the bench that came on delivered too.”
The round 3 fixture was, on paper as on the pitch, Ulster’s sternest test of the season so far, with the Scarlets arriving in Belfast with a 100% win record of their own – and three British and Irish Lions in their ranks in the shape of hooker Ken Owens, full-back Halfpenny and centre Jonathan Davies, with the latter starting on the bench.
While Ulster’s own 2017 Lions, Rory Best, Iain Henderson and Jared Payne, were not included in the matchday squad, Luke Marshall returned at centre for his first start of the campaign. Fellow Ireland international Chris Henry came back in to captain the side from flanker, with Kyle McCall and Alan O’Connor slotting in at prop and lock respectively, and Matthew Rea was a late replacement for Jean Deysel, who suffered minor eye trauma in training on Thursday.
After an impeccably-observed minute’s silence in honour of Nevin, his father Noel and brother Graham, who also lost their lives that day in September 2012, the action got underway and Halfpenny soon opened the scoring with a third minute penalty.
Despite their early points, though, the defending champions failed to properly find their groove, and with Lealiifano knocking accurate percentage kicks to touch deep in their 22, the Ulster pressure paid off on 18 minutes with a pinpoint Cooney penalty from 40 metres restoring parity.
A fantastic aerial take from Stockdale on halfway then cemented Ulster’s foothold in the match, and while the Scarlets mauled hard to withstand the first sustained drive towards their line, an infringement at the second push gave Cooney a 22-metre penalty to make it 6-3.
With the Scarlets now beginning to feel the stretch and their penalty count rising, Cooney added a third from distance on 33 minutes, and as they closed out the half on the front foot, Kiss’ men may have felt somewhat aggrieved to run off only six points to the good (9-3) at the break.
Strong running from man-of-the-match Stuart McCloskey, whose ball carrying and offloading impressed many observers, got Ulster moving in the second half. A late tackle on Lealiifano won them yet more possession in Scarlets territory, from where Cooney added his fourth penalty of the game on 51 minutes.
An injury sustained by Louis Ludik just prior to Cooney’s kick brought Tommy Bowe into the fray with Stockdale dropping to full-back, but Ulster continued to go about their business in the same efficient manner until the 60-minute mark. Frustratingly for the hosts, a second Halfpenny penalty and a breakaway Johnny McNicholl try, duly converted by the full-back, suddenly swung the pendulum in the visitors’ favour – 13-12.
The Ulster response was swift and masterful. the increasingly influential McCloskey and Sean Reidy combined down the left, both men brushing tackles aside and the number 8 picking the killer pass to send the onrushing Stockdale over for first try of the campaign.
The jubilation within Kingspan Stadium was short-lived, however, as the Scarlets seized on a sloppy Ulster clearance following Andrew Trimble’s quickly-taken lineout to run in their second try, grounded by that man Davies who had only recently arrived on the pitch.
Ulster heads refused to drop at 20-17 down, however, and with Cooney making way for Paul Marshall with 10 minutes to go, Lealiifano stepped up to level matters via a well-struck penalty which gave his side a crucial platform in the closing stages.
The final five minutes were electric. When the match-winning chance came, the in-form McCloskey was again instrumental as he forced his way up the left flank, offloading in timely fashion for Bowe to gain valuable yards. He linked with the nippy Paul Marshall whose run was halted in the Scarlets 22, but Luke Marshall was quickly in at the ruck to get the best out of the quick ball, looping a pass out to the right for Andrew to gleefully finish off an overlap.
The reserve hooker’s 75th-minute score was converted by Lealiifano to extend the lead to seven points and there was no way back for Wayne Pivac’s charges. Against the toughest of opponents the home win was well-earned, and Ulster have the chance to build on the victory against another Welsh region, the Dragons, at Kingspan Stadium next Friday.
This website uses cookies.
Read More