Ulster ‘A’ Youngsters Well Beaten By Strong Scarlets Side
A young Ulster ‘A’ team went down 45-15 to their Scarlets counterparts at Shaw’s Bridge tonight, leaving the province with just one point from their opening two home games in the Celtic Cup.
Both of these teams lost in the first round so the pressure was on to deliver a win, and it was Scarlets 'A' who took it thanks to tries from Corey Baldwin, Tomi Lewis, Morgan Williams, Kieran Hardy, Lewis Ellis-Jones and Ryan Conbeer, allied to summer signing Angus O'Brien's 15-point haul from the tee.
Second half touchdowns from new lock Bradley Luney and replacement Aaron Hall rewarded the hosts' determined pack, with Joe Dunleavy, an Ireland Under-20 representative last season like Hall, delivering a man-of-the-match performance from the number 8 position.
Ireland U-19 out-half Bruce Houston
The Ulster men got off to a quick start when out-half Bruce Houston, one of seven young players getting their first taste of action at this level, fired over a 3rd minute penalty.
Houston's opposite number, Angus O'Brien, responded in kind on 10 minutes, as he confidently despatched a 40 metre kick into a slight breeze.
The Welsh side got their first try on 25 minute. With an attacking scrum on the Ulster 5 metre line, play was quickly moved left for centre Corey Baldwin to get over, with O'Brien adding the conversion.
Winger Tomi Lewis scored the try of the game just 3 minutes later. With Ulster attacking in the opposition 22, possession was turned over and whipped out to Lewis who scorched over from inside his own half. O'Brien's conversion split the posts.
6 minutes before the break the Scarlets backs created another try, a neat offload releasing Morgan Williams to dot down at the posts. O'Brien's conversion made it 3-24 at the interval.
The away side flew out of the blocks in the second half, getting their bonus point after 43 minutes try via scrum-half Kieran Hardy who exploited a gap in an Ulster rearguard defending a scrum 10 metres from their line.
4 minutes later the Scarlets crossed again as winger Steffan Evans almost got over before recyclying to flanker Lewis Ellis-Jones who powered over, with the conversion opening a 3-38 lead.
Ulster's troops continued to battle and were rewarded with a 54th minute try from lock Bradley Luney, who broke off a driving maul to drive over, before Houston added the extra 2.
Replacement Ryan Conbeer notched Scarlets' 6th try on 62 minutes, with O'Brien maintaining his 100% success rate off the tee.
The Ulster men rallied once more and replacement Aaron Hall got over for the final score of the game on 65 minutes, eventually breaking through after a series of pick and drives.
Referee: