Jacob Stockdale’s scintillating try illuminated an old school hard-fought interprovincial derby at Kingspan Stadium where Ulster did just enough to take the spoils and deny workmanlike Connacht the consolation of a losing bonus point.
After a forgettable first half which yielded only eight points, including Tom McCartney’s 35th-minute try off a brilliant team move, man-of-the-match Jacob Stockdale and Charles Piutau combined majestically to score Ulster’s only try of the night, topped up by 11 points from the boot of John Cooney.
The goal-kicking scrum half’s performance against his former province was another highlight of this GUINNESS PRO14 encounter, underlining once again just how crucial a figure he will be during his first year in Belfast.
Connacht, who led 5-3 at the break and then 8-6 thanks to Jack Carty’s second half penalty, had plenty of possession and territory in the final quarter, pressing from penalties which drew the ire of the home crowd. However, despite chipping away at the white-clad defensive wall, costly errors prevented them from forcing a try and setting up a one-score shootout.
Both sides came into the game with a point to prove; Connacht, with a single win from five games under their belts, desperately needed a result in Belfast to kick-start their season, while Ulster were looking to show that last weekend’s defeat at Zebre was a mere blip in an otherwise strong start to the campaign.
After a sluggish start distinctly lacking in any traditional interprovincial fireworks from either side, a fantastic turn of pace from Stockdale down the left flank got hearts racing and, although the final pass to Cooney was misplaced, it was a sign that Ulster were clicking into gear.
The hosts enjoyed the lion’s share of possession and territory during the opening quarter but were running up against a well-organised Connacht defence. Kieran Keane’s men were dealt an early blow when Tiernan O’Halloran went off injured but Steve Crosbie was a more than adequate deputy at full-back.
Connacht had chances of their own with the set piece game looking very strong, and when the pack won a scrum penalty, out-half Carty kicked for the right corner. Yet, Ulster managed to spoil the lineout and Connacht’s most presentable early opening had gone.
Patience and persistence were required before the scoreboard was troubled, Dubliner Cooney eventually slotting over a 45-metre penalty just before the half hour mark. Any further Ulster progress was stymied by two successive lineout surrenders.
With Kieran Marmion typically fizzing around the pitch on the occasion of his 100th Championship appearance, Connacht proved much less wasteful when they took a 5-3 lead, five minutes before the break. A Bundee Aki offload on the left flank was the catalyst for a hard-earned unconverted try.
The eager Tom Farrell and captain John Muldoon made further inroads into the Ulster half, the ball was then swung right as Eoin McKeon timed his pass perfectly to Cian Kelleher and the winger popped the ball inside for Jarrad Butler, who was stopped short before the heavily-involved McCartney picked and expertly drove over from a metre out.
Les Kiss’ half-time team-talk, which in all likelihood took the form of a dressing down, looked to have had its desired effect as a much higher-tempo Ulster forced a simple penalty for Cooney on 44 minutes – 6-5.
But another lost lineout handed the momentum back to the westerners, and when referee Andrew Brace, who drew the ire of the home crowd on a number of occasions, refused to review replays of an apparent late challenge on Piutau, Carty kicked Conacht back into the lead. Credit to Kelleher, Eoin McKeon and Matt Healy for their efforts in the build-up.
Ulster, perhaps spurred on by the lack of decisions going their way, pounded their way back upfield where their scrum half soon added a third penalty to nudge them back in front.
Their all-important try, when it came on 56 minutes, was all about the brilliance of Piutau and Stockdale, both individual and collective. The Kiwi, under pressure with a high ball deep in his own half, collected well to turn defence into attack with a swift change of direction. Stockdale picked up and scythed through the heart of the Connacht defence, finishing off under the posts after a slick one-two with Piutau once more.
Ulster scrummaged and mauled their way out of trouble as Connacht pressed time and again, until a 76th minute penalty brought the visitors a 10-metre lineout and a yellow card for Jean Deysel. Stout defending kept them out, however, and Cooney wasted no time kicking to touch as soon as the clock hit 80 minutes.
Pleased with how his side saw out the result, Ulster director of rugby Kiss said afterwards: “The key message at half-time – patience. If we play with the speed and be a little bit more clinical, we knew we could stretch them a little bit.
“It’s never going to be easy to score straight away against Connacht. You have to get possession-on-possession and ruck after ruck…I think we didn’t get beyond four phases at times in the first half. We thought that if we just trusted (our ability) we’d get through the phases, we’d get a bit more out of the game.
“We expected a bit of mess in the game, a bit of stop-start. i think the way the scrum went and the way it was managed threw the players a bit. It was going to have to be a good strong arm wrestle and thankfully we came out on top.”
Commenting on Stockdale’s performance and his try, he added: “There are some things in Jacob’s game that we are trying to get on top of with him. But the one thing he does is he backs himself. He’s got the uncanny ability to beat a tackler and accelerate through gaps.
“Tonight (to help set up the try) you saw he used the deft pass and stayed alive again and read the play off Charles. It was a brilliant piece of rugby. Charles was so smart in how he played with the space – it was a pretty special try.”
Connacht head coach Keane admitted: “I thought it was a terrific game…really hard-fought. Both sides were in it for most of the game but we just couldn’t get over the line near the end and that was a shame for us. It was a massive effort. The boys got up for this game.
“We came here to win. We thought we had a really good chance. We didn’t really chance our arm an awful lot in that first half but we were ahead and pretty satisfied with how we were doing most things.
“There was a sense of urgency in that second half but, on that counter attack (for Stockdale’s try), I thought we could have scored at the other end and of course they came back, and it was almost like a 14-point try. I think the boys got a bit of a kick in the guts from that and didn’t really recover.”
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