Ulster will return to Scotstoun Stadium next Friday night for an intriguing GUINNESS PRO12 play-off after they lost their last regular season game against Glasgow while Munster and the Ospreys both won.
The Warriors scored four second half tries against an understrength Ulster side that saw 12 changes due to injury and squad management. The teams will meet again in next Friday’s semi-final at Scotstoun (kick-off 7.45pm).
Glasgow made a strong start to today’s round 22 tie, playing into the stiff breeze. After a sustained period of pressure, Finn Russell opened the scoring with a fifth minute penalty after Ulster were caught offside.
The visitors, however, fought their way back into the game and were unlucky not to get the opening try on 13 minutes. Following a strong scrum, Paul Marshall chipped over the defence but Warriors winger Tommy Seymour won the race to touch the ball down over the try-line.
Ulster were dealt a blow when their South African lock Franco van Der Merwe, a member of this season’s PRO12 Dream Team, had to come off injured, however Neil Doak’s charges started to dominate.
From a penalty kicked to touch, Louis Stevenson was stopped just short but Ulster were awarded another penalty and put together a slick passage of play. Stevenson again made hard yards, Iain Henderson had a drive, Ian Humphreys then took it on, Louis Ludik and Stuart McCloskey took it closer, and then Clive Ross was held up near the line before prop Andrew Warwick tried to wriggle over but lost the ball over the whitewash.
Ulster were awarded a penalty and scrum half Marshall caught the home defence off guard when he took a quick tap. Henderson and McCloskey drove close to the line and when it was illegally stopped, Glasgow lock Jonny Gray was sin-binned.
Ulster kicked the resulting penalty to touch and from the following lineout, a perfectly executed driving maul propelled stand-in captain Chris Henry over for the game’s first try with Humphreys converting.
Russell added his second penalty on 36 minutes after Ulster were caught offside in front of their posts, before Humphreys replied in the last minute of the first half to give Doak’s side a 10-6 interval lead.
However, Glasgow went in front for the first time with a 54th minute try from full-back Stuart Hogg. Russell threw a long speculative pass to the wing, Hogg did well to catch and he chipped through and had enough pace to win the race for the touchdown ahead of Michael Allen.
Russell, who missed the conversion, got the ball in midfield on the hour mark. With seemingly nothing on, he was able to take advantage of missed tackles in the Ulster defence to touch down and convert his own try.
Ulster’s cause was not helped when Warwick came in from the wrong side to pull down a ruck and he received a yellow card, leaving the province shorthanded and with an 18-10 deficit to overcome.
Glasgow nearly made Ulster pay immediately as a slick back-line move created an opening for Gray but the Scotland international was held up over the try-line.
With Ulster down to seven men in the scrum, Glasgow were able to force a series of penalties. They decided then to take a quick tap and with an overlap, out-half Russell was able to go over unopposed for his second try in the 69th minute with the simple conversion also nailed.
The Warriors duly sealed top spot in the league and home advantage in the play-offs with their bonus point score in the 72nd minute. Ryan Wilson made a break before releasing centre Richie Vernon to dart over and Russell’s conversion completed his own 22-point haul.
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