Ulster’s Stuttering Performance Not Enough Against Resilient Ospreys

Three-try Ulster left the Liberty Stadium with a losing bonus point despite leading the Ospreys with just five minutes remaining.

Dan McFarland’s side had rallied from 23-10 down to lead by a point, but a Luke Price penalty decided this exciting GUINNESS PRO14 encounter. Although the rain-soaked conditions were challenging, both sides tried to play open rugby.

Four minutes in, Ulster scrum half Dave Shanahan had his attempted clearance charged down. Gareth Evans picked up and went for the line instead of using the numbers wide, yet the hosts earned a penalty for offside and out-half Price slotted it over for 3-0.

Ulster hit back five minutes later with the game’s opening try. Robert Baloucoune kept the ball alive cutting in from the touchline. Shanahan fed Stuart McCloskey who broke through three Ospreys tacklers before offloading to Baloucoune to dot down. Out-half Billy Burns added the difficult conversion.

Ulster were punished on the quarter-hour mark for trying to play too much rugby in their own half. The Ospreys turned the ball over, Olly Cracknell and Kieran Williams making probing carries before centre Owen Watkin used the wet pitch to slide in under the posts for a try converted by Price.

Armed with a 10-7 lead, the Welsh region got over for their second try in the 24th minute. Following a penalty dispatched to touch, Ulster stopped the initial drive but the Ospreys got momentum from a second surge to propel hooker Scott Otten over for a seven-pointer.

Price extended the lead to 18-7 with a central penalty, only for Burns, one of Ulster’s Ireland call-ups, to claw back those three points after the hosts had infringed in front of their own posts.

They could not hold onto the momentum for the restart, and it took just seven minutes of the second period for the Ospreys to cross. Ulster were guilty of collapsing a maul close to their own line, and a second bite at the cherry saw Otten complete his brace.

It looked a long way back for Ulster at 13 points down in tough conditions, but full-back Matt Faddes gave them a lifeline with a 59th minute try. Off a lineout platform, they worked the ball through 16 phases to create an overlap and send the Kiwi over.

Replacement Bill Johnston added the extras and also converted McCloskey’s 67th-minute effort. David O’Connor forced a turnover from an Ospreys defensive lineout, with Ulster going through the phases from the resulting scrum, and Johnston’s perfectly-weighted cross-field kick set up the big centre to go over unopposed from close range.

The Tipperary-born youngster landed the conversion from a tight angle to squeeze the Ulstermen ahead at 24-23. Game management was going to be crucial down the final stretch, and Shanahan coughed up a penalty when playing the ball off his feet.

Price fired home the long-range penalty with 75 minutes on the clock. Time was not on Ulster side’s and, with the clock on the red, Johnston had a 35-metre drop goal attempt charged down by Aled Davies.

Giving his post-match reaction, Ulster head coach McFarland said: “I’m really disappointed, but I’d like to say well done to the Ospreys. It was a battling performance from them and I thought they deserved the victory even though with five minutes to go it was our game.

“They played well in the first half and put some tries on the board. The game was ours in the second half. We did a really good job of getting back into the lead after they scored just after half-time, but the first half was the most disappointing.

“We were naive in messing about in our own 22 which gave them opportunities to score tries. We’ve lost to a side that, until this game, had only won once this season. We have to keep winning games.

“If you look at the Cheetahs’ run-in, they have the easiest fixtures list in the league and we’re also competing with Glasgow who are on really good form. This was a game which was really important. It’s not the end of the world, but it makes our game with the Cheetahs (next week) all the more important.”