Ospreys Have Wings Clipped By Determined Ulster

Ulster battled their way a 25-16 win over the table-topping Ospreys at Kingspan Stadium tonight, with two-try hero Darren Cave leading the charge in a spirited display.

Franco van der Merwe contributed a try of his own to consign the previously unbeaten Welsh outfit to their first defeat in eight league games. Ulster are now in second place, level with the Ospreys on 30 points.

Ulster lined up with all three players released from Ireland camp – Stuart Olding, Darren Cave and Craig Gilroy – straight back into the starting line-up, at full-back, outside centre and left wing respectively.

Louis Ludik continued on the right wing, with Stuart McCloskey partnering Cave in midfield, and the half-back tandem of Paddy Jackson and Paul Marshall remained in place.

The pack was set up with Callum Black and Wiehahn Herbst either side of hooker Rob Herring, backed up by Lewis Stevenson and van der Merwe in the second row.

Recent recruits Clive Ross and Sean Reidy flanked staind-in captain Roger Wilson in the back row, while Nick Williams – a notable figure among the replacements – hoping to make his 50th provincial appearance during the course of the round 8 encounter.

Under pounding rain at kick-off, Ulster bossed their first scrum and pinched possession at the Ospreys’ lineout, retaining the ball well until the breakthrough came on nine minutes.

Cave applied the finishing touch after extracting the ball from a maul less than a metre from the line, but a great burst from Wilson and clever lay-off from Jackson near the corner, followed by alert recycling from Ulster as they neared the line, made the try possible.

Jackson converted and Ulster were quickly in the hunt for more points. They went 10-0 in front in the 19th minute courtesy once again of the young out-half’s boot as the Ospreys were pulled up for coming in at the side.

With the visitors’ lineout misfiring twice more before the half hour mark, Ulster kept the pressure on, with Jackson adding another penalty in the 31st minute before his opposite number Sam Davies opened the Welsh region’s account from distance two minutes later.

A protracted pause for treatment to Ospreys prop Duncan Jones did little to disrupt Ulster’s fluency, as further scrum domination from the restart saw the award of three consecutive penalties in their favour, used well by Jackson to bring play deeper and deeper into the visitors’ 22.

Good mauling from Reidy off the third lineout brought play up to the line, where South African van der Merwe picked up and drove over for his second try in Ulster colours and an 18-3 interval lead. it was unconverted as Jackson’s kick spun just wide in the wind.

The Ospreys showed just why they started the match as league leaders as early as the third minute of the second period. Number 8 Dan Baker touched down from a maul which outmuscled the Ulster pack for the first time in the game, with Davies converting the score.

The visitors went on to enjoy a good 15 minutes’ worth of possession from the restart, but crucially came away with only three further points to show for it – Davies sent over his penalty on the hour mark.

With Williams and Alan O’Connor thrown into the mix at this stage, another Ulster indiscretion allowed Davies to reduce the deficit to 18-16. With the result suddenly hanging in the balance, an arm injury to the influential Jackson saw Ian Humphreys brought on with 15 minutes to go.

The replacement out-half was quickly involved, picking up from a surging run through the centre from McCloskey and supplying Cave, who weaved past two defenders before being brought to ground just short of the line. Ulster toiled to recycle and keep the move alive, but obstruction as Cave picked up once more brought the attack to an end.

With the Ospreys soon surrendering possession through some crossing of their own, Ulster put on a final squeeze with three minutes remaining, as van der Merwe and replacement props Andrew Warwick and Declan Fitzpatrick ground out metre after metre to bring the drive within touching distance of the line.

As the ball was fished out two metres from the line, Cave (pictured celebrating below) was once more on hand to take control and contort himself just over the whitewash for the score.

Humphreys added the cushion of two extra points via the conversion, ensuring the Ospreys left Belfast without the consolation of a losing bonus point.