IT WAS QUITE a week for John Cooney, but then again nobody inside Kingspan Stadium on Friday was even surprised by his, and Ulster’s, latest act of escapology as the scrum-half held his nerve from the tee to snatch victory over Edinburgh at the death.
Having conceded a penalty at the other end to allow the visitors regain the lead via the boot of Simon Hickey with just minutes left on the clock, Cooney very nearly ended the night as the villain but came up trumps again, delivering when it mattered most.
Alan O’Connor, who made a big impact off the bench, crucially stole the restart and Ulster remained patient in pressurised circumstances to work their way across the pitch and eventually force Edinburgh to infringe on the ground as they looked to steal possession and with it the match.
It left Cooney with another long-range penalty attempt to decisively settle the outcome of a thrilling contest which had ebbed and flowed, swinging one way and then the other, and despite the rising tension in the stands, the Ireland international was nerveless and struck it as sweet as you like, clinching a 30-29 win for the northern province.
The reaction of his team-mates, and indeed all of the Ulster support staff on the touchline, as they mobbed Cooney spoke volumes, his excellent form showing no sign of tailing off and the 28-year-old’s worth soaring week-on-week.
Having scored all 15 points in the last-gasp win over Scarlets on the opening weekend, Cooney claimed 20 of Ulster’s total against Richard Cockerill’s side, converting all three tries, including his own, and kicking three penalties, the last one when the clock was in the red.
All of this at the end of the week he signed a new long-term contract with Ulster, just reward for his consistently excellent performances since his arrival in Belfast at the start of last season.
Since Ulster last lost at the end of March, Cooney has kicked 27 of his 32 attempts off the tee (84% conversion rate), with his easy and repeatable kicking style making him as reliable as anyone in the Guinness Pro14, but to focus on his strengths off the tee would be a disservice to his all-round game.
Tasked with somehow filling the sizeable void left by Ruan Pienaar’s contentious departure two summers ago, Cooney has been a revelation at Ulster and was clearly determined to seize his opportunity after experiencing frustration at Leinster and then Connacht.
Time and time again, the Dubliner has conjured game-changing, and match-winning, moments in a white shirt, proving more than adept in his own right to seamlessly slip into the great Springbok’s shoes and make the jersey his own.
While his goal-kicking statistics and rake of points — he finished last term with 226 and a hat-trick of Player of the Season awards on his mantelpiece — are often the most tangible element of his influence, Cooney has become an indispensable figure for Ulster.
His control behind the ruck might go unnoticed at times but so often he dictates the tempo and pulls the strings for the northern province, firing passes off both sides and sniping around the fringes.
What’s more, he seems to thrive with that greater responsibility on his shoulders and, as we’ve seen over the last two weekends, in high-stake situations which has seen him claim a head-start in the race to be Conor Murray’s understudy at next year’s World Cup.
He was directly involved in all three of Ulster’s second-half tries, releasing the pass to the near side for Will Addison to eventually unlock the Edinburgh defence, linking up beautifully with the fullback to dot down under the posts and then sending Craig Gilroy into space for the winger to run it home from 60 yards out.
And former Wales scrum-half Dwayne Peel — now Ulster’s attack coach — believes there’s so much more to come from Cooney as he builds up his match sharpness following a delayed return to pre-season.
“His kicking game is excellent, he’s probably won that game for us with his goal-kicking today,” Peel said.
“He needs to play a few more games, he probably needs to get a bit sharper to be perfectly honest. He’ll steal the headlines because he scored a try and kicks the goals, and he’s capable of that, but the more games he plays I think he’ll be quicker around the base and quicker to rucks.
“He’s played two games for us after a fractured pre-season because he came back late to us, but he’ll get better and better as the games goes on, like we saw last year. He’s an invaluable member for us.
“His goal-kicking capability’s top drawer, but I think around the park he’s really growing into a leadership role and a key role in terms of the way we want to play. But for me we need him to get sharper, and he will get sharper with the more games he plays.”
Having come off the bench in the second Test in Melbourne to win his second international cap, Cooney will be hoping to push his claims further over the coming weeks as Ulster head towards the Pro14 inter-pros and start of the Champions Cup pool stages.
The province have registered two wins from two under Dan McFarland to sit joint-top of Conference B alongside Benetton, but most impressively showed huge character to come back from 17 points down on Friday night.
Edinburgh’s aggressive defence frustrated Ulster in the first period, as handling and breakdown issues prevented them from gaining a foothold or any sort of momentum, and Cockerill’s side took advantage at the other end with a couple of slick counter-attack tries.
But as the game wore on and it became loose and fast, the Scottish outfit tired and lost their way in defence, as Ulster latched onto the opportunity and found their attacking rhythm again, thanks in large to quicker ball generated by the forwards.
The excellent Addison started the comeback and when Cooney cantered through on the far side, the momentum had swung Ulster’s way before they hit the front through Gilroy.
“I thought we showed good spirit and we managed to finish off some really good plays in the second half, which was the difference from last week,” Peel continued.
“In the first half we had a few linebreaks, similar to last week, and didn’t convert. But some of the stuff in the second half was good, both sides of the ball. We hustled hard in defence on occasion and we took some nice tries. I’m really pleased to be honest with you, it was a tough game.
“The desire throughout the night was good, I just think first half there were a few occasions where we got behind them and our accuracy or ruck accuracy let us down.
“I’m pleased with the spirit from the guys to get back and win that game. There were a couple of tries we left out there for me but it shows good desire and determination.”
Ulster now head to South Africa for games against the Kings and Cheetahs full of confidence and will hope to build further momentum during their two-week trip in rounds three and four.
“We need to build on what we’ve done,” Peel added. “Yes, we need to iron out problems but have to take the positives from games against two good sides.
“There are going to be parts of our game every week that aren’t right, but we also have to look at the good parts and think, ‘That was good, let’s build on that and let’s become very good at that.’ And that’s where we’re at. I think going away to South Africa is a good time for us.”
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