It was job done for Ulster as tries from Rory Best and Craig Gilroy consigned league leaders Connacht to an eight-point defeat which deprived them of the consolation of a losing bonus point, and set up for an intriguing GUINNESS PRO12 run-in.
Ulster moved up to fourth place on 55 points courtesy of the win, still eight adrift of tonight’s opponents, but within touching distance of Leinster on 59 and the Scarlets on 57 ahead of those sides’ weekend fixtures.
Once Paddy Jackson had drawn first blood for Ulster with a fifth minute penalty, the league leaders soon got into gear, but when Craig Gilroy pounced on a loose ball deep in his own half only a despairing shirt tug from opposite number Matt Healy stopped the winger from breaking free for a possible try.
A second Jackson penalty soon followed, but more expansive rugby from the westerners again brought with it a tangible sense of menace, and as they kicked successive penalties to touch it took an eventual forward pass wide on the left to halt their progress.
Jackson eschewed a pop at the posts of his own on 27 minutes, the Ulster pack vindicating their out-half’s decision with a sublime 15-metre drive to the line, with returning captain Rory Best carrying for two-thirds of the trip and touching down after Franco van der Merwe’s take.
The Jackson conversion came back off the post, but with Ulster now closing down their opponents much more quickly – and crucially first to every 50-50 ball – the visitors adopted a more realistic approach as half-time loomed.
Shane O’Leary could only watch in disbelief as his 30-metre penalty thumped off an upright and directly into Ulster hands, while a John Muldoon-inspired counter attack ended with a vital tackle from man-of-the-match Jared Payne which forced the advancing John Cooney into touch.
However, one last place-kicking effort from out-half O’Leary with the clock well into the red got Connacht off the mark to cut the Ulster lead to eight points (11-3) at the break.
Ulster’s start to the second period was nothing short of blistering, with the second try on the scoreboard within four minutes courtesy of some inspired ball-carrying from lock Peter Browne, and a spectacular diving offload in the tackle from Payne to allow Gilroy in for the score.
Jackson converted but, with his side soon down to 14 men with Trimble sent to the bin for a deliberate knock-on as Bundee Aki looked to use numbers on the left, defence became the order of the day for the Ulstermen.
Nonetheless, there was little Jackson and Gilroy could do to stop Connacht replacement scrum half Caolin Blade as he nipped through a gap on 55 minutes to finish off a fine move down the left wing. O’Leary converted to cut the gap to 18-10.
With Trimble back in the ranks for the final quarter, the Ulster complexion immediately regained its healthy glow, and another five-metre lineout almost paid dividends as Best this time peeled off the back of the maul and barged his way through four challenges to drop onto the line.
After some deliberation, however, TMO Brian MacNeice advised that the hooker had been held up in his attempt to ground, and the chance went a-begging. Credit to Healy for the initial tackle and great follow-up work on the deck from Denis Buckley and Blade.
Connacht scrummaged impressively to relieve the pressure, showing their resilience despite this week’s short turnaround and some notable absentees, but MacNeice was soon called into action once more to advise on a potential high tackle by O’Leary on Gilroy.
With the penalties stacking up, referee Dudley Phillips brandished his yellow card and that put paid to any realistic hopes of a late Connacht comeback – particularly when Sean O’Brien joined him in the bin moments later for intentional obstruction.
Ulster probed and pressed for the remainder of the encounter, with tempers fraying three minutes from time in traditional interprovincial fashion as Finlay Bealham and Iain Henderson squared up at the issue of a tightly-contested maul – but it all ended with a handshake and the Ulstermen ran out deserved eight-point winners.
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