FOR A LONG spell it looked as though this wasn’t going to be Ulster’s night in Galway, but despite a desperately slow start by the northern province against Connacht it was Richie Murphy’s men who travelled home from Dexcom Stadium with a bonus-point win.
Ulster took 34 minutes to get their first points on the board, but then stormed into such a commanding position that they had their bonus-point secured with less than an hour played.
Murphy will take huge satisfaction in how his team recovered from such a sluggish start, while Connacht head coach Stuart Lancaster will ponder how his team managed to produce so little from all their early dominance, and if they could have made more of their late burst of energy as they clawed back Ulster’s lead.
On a chilly night in Galway the game was slow to heat up, the early exchanges bringing plenty of scappy play as both sides made some poor errors.
Connacht, looking to shake off a deeply disappointing loss at the Dragons, looked the most likely to get the scoreboard moving as Ulster struggled to get any real foothold in the game.
Connacht's Cian Prendergast breaks away from James Hume of Ulster. Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
The first 15 minutes went by with no score, Connacht’s Sam Gilbert having the best chance as he snapped a very kickable penalty wide on the near side, before Ulster 10 Jack Murphy was yellow carded for a deliberate knock-on.
Twenty minutes in, the home side had enjoyed 70% of the possession and 71% of the territory, but had yet to make it count.
They continued to threaten, Jack Carty knocking-on after a promising move which saw a flurry of slick passes and good running lines.
Then went again, and this time, the Connacht attack punched the hole. Ulster’s Conor McKee appeared to knock-on in collecting a high kick, and while play carried on, he followed up by kicking out on the full. From a lineout on the edge of the 22 Connacht moved the ball cleanly and quickly, Bundee Aki carrying right to the line before Carty and Gilbert combined to find Finn Treacy out wide, the winger slicing inside to finish a fine team move. Gilbert stepped up to add the conversion.
Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
After the half-hour mark Ulster, who had barely stepped foot inside the Connacht 22 to that point, started to build some momentum, with the ball-carrying of Cormac Izuchukwu and Stuart McCloskey starting to have an influence.
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In the 34th minute they found a way through. After a prolonged period of patient play, building pressure in the 22, Ulster’s attack pieced together a string of neat passes, with McCloskey, Murphy, Werner Kok and Jacob Stockdale all involved before Zac Ward used his pace to score in the corner. A potential knock-on by Juarno Augustus was checked on TMO review, but the score stood, Jack Murphy adding the conversion.
At the end of the half Ulster were over again and had turned the game on its head. Kok – who had made some important defensive plays earlier in the game – made a purposeful carry before the visitors again worked the ball from right to left as they stretched the Connacht defence, Stockdale showing excellent hands as Ward ran in his second.
Murphy’s conversion struck a post, but after being second best for most of the opening 40, Ulster led by two points at the break.
Tempers flare between Ulster's Stuart McCloskey and Bundee Aki of Connacht. Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
Connacht’s frustration boiled over into the opening minutes of the second half. After a messy ruck, Aki grabbed his Ireland teammate McCloskey, sparking a coming together. After all the pushing and shoving, both players were yellow carded, McCloskey for starting the incident, Aki for his reaction.
Ulster looked increasingly confident and were soon building on their lead, David McCann making a break on the wing before giving Kok a run-in try. Murphy tapped over the extra two and Connacht trailed by nine.
Murphy’s men pushed on, adding the bonus-point try on 54 minutes, Tom Stewart driving at the back of a maul before referee Eoghan Cross awarded a penalty try, with Joe Joyce sent to the bin.
Connacht now trailed by 16 with over 20 minutes still to play.
It all became a little stop-start as the benches were emptied and Ulster lost Augustus to injury, but Connacht then kicked back into life – Josh Ioane making a sharp break and Treacy going close before Sean Jansen went over, with Gilbert converting.
The try was Connacht’s first score for 36 minutes, and they had just over 10 left to chase the game.
They kept knocking on the door, and with less than five to play Connacht struck again – Ioane and Matthew Devine making sharp plays before Devine scored, converted by Gilbert. A two-point game.
With the clock winding down a late penalty allowed Jack Murphy to extend Ulster’s lead, and finally, they were over the line.
Connacht scorers:
Try – Treacy, Jansen, Devine
Penalty – Gilbert [1/2]
Conversions – Gilbert [3/3]
Ulster scorers:
Tries – Ward [2], Kok, Penalty try
Penalty – Murphy
Conversion – Murphy [2/3]
CONNACHT: Sam Gilbert; Daniel Ryan (David Hawkshaw, 68), Cathal Forde, Bundee Ali, Finn Treacy; Jack Carty (Josh Ioane, 48), Ben Murphy (Matthew Devine, 54); Denis Buckley (Jordan Duggan, 54), Dave Heffernan (Dylan Tierney-Martin, 58), Finlay Bealham (Fiachna Barrett, 54); Joe Joyce (Sean O’Brien, 66), David O’Connor (Darragh Murray, 54); Josh Murphy, Cian Prendergast (capt), Sean Jansen.
Yellow cards: Aki 44, Joyce 54
ULSTER: Jacob Stockdale (Jake Flannery, 77); Werner Kok, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey (Jude Postlethwaite, 54), Zac Ward; Jack Murphy, Conor McKee (Nathan Doak, 50); Sam Crean (Angus Bell, HT), Tom Stewart, Scott Wilson (Tom O’Toole, HT); Harry Sheridan, Cormac Izuchukwu (Joe Hopes 77); David McCann, Nick Timoney (capt), Juarno Augustus (Bryn Ward, 64).
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Ulster recover from slow start to secure bonus-point win at Connacht
Connacht 24
Ulster 29
FOR A LONG spell it looked as though this wasn’t going to be Ulster’s night in Galway, but despite a desperately slow start by the northern province against Connacht it was Richie Murphy’s men who travelled home from Dexcom Stadium with a bonus-point win.
Ulster took 34 minutes to get their first points on the board, but then stormed into such a commanding position that they had their bonus-point secured with less than an hour played.
Murphy will take huge satisfaction in how his team recovered from such a sluggish start, while Connacht head coach Stuart Lancaster will ponder how his team managed to produce so little from all their early dominance, and if they could have made more of their late burst of energy as they clawed back Ulster’s lead.
On a chilly night in Galway the game was slow to heat up, the early exchanges bringing plenty of scappy play as both sides made some poor errors.
Connacht, looking to shake off a deeply disappointing loss at the Dragons, looked the most likely to get the scoreboard moving as Ulster struggled to get any real foothold in the game.
The first 15 minutes went by with no score, Connacht’s Sam Gilbert having the best chance as he snapped a very kickable penalty wide on the near side, before Ulster 10 Jack Murphy was yellow carded for a deliberate knock-on.
Twenty minutes in, the home side had enjoyed 70% of the possession and 71% of the territory, but had yet to make it count.
They continued to threaten, Jack Carty knocking-on after a promising move which saw a flurry of slick passes and good running lines.
Then went again, and this time, the Connacht attack punched the hole. Ulster’s Conor McKee appeared to knock-on in collecting a high kick, and while play carried on, he followed up by kicking out on the full. From a lineout on the edge of the 22 Connacht moved the ball cleanly and quickly, Bundee Aki carrying right to the line before Carty and Gilbert combined to find Finn Treacy out wide, the winger slicing inside to finish a fine team move. Gilbert stepped up to add the conversion.
After the half-hour mark Ulster, who had barely stepped foot inside the Connacht 22 to that point, started to build some momentum, with the ball-carrying of Cormac Izuchukwu and Stuart McCloskey starting to have an influence.
In the 34th minute they found a way through. After a prolonged period of patient play, building pressure in the 22, Ulster’s attack pieced together a string of neat passes, with McCloskey, Murphy, Werner Kok and Jacob Stockdale all involved before Zac Ward used his pace to score in the corner. A potential knock-on by Juarno Augustus was checked on TMO review, but the score stood, Jack Murphy adding the conversion.
At the end of the half Ulster were over again and had turned the game on its head. Kok – who had made some important defensive plays earlier in the game – made a purposeful carry before the visitors again worked the ball from right to left as they stretched the Connacht defence, Stockdale showing excellent hands as Ward ran in his second.
Murphy’s conversion struck a post, but after being second best for most of the opening 40, Ulster led by two points at the break.
Connacht’s frustration boiled over into the opening minutes of the second half. After a messy ruck, Aki grabbed his Ireland teammate McCloskey, sparking a coming together. After all the pushing and shoving, both players were yellow carded, McCloskey for starting the incident, Aki for his reaction.
Ulster looked increasingly confident and were soon building on their lead, David McCann making a break on the wing before giving Kok a run-in try. Murphy tapped over the extra two and Connacht trailed by nine.
Murphy’s men pushed on, adding the bonus-point try on 54 minutes, Tom Stewart driving at the back of a maul before referee Eoghan Cross awarded a penalty try, with Joe Joyce sent to the bin.
Connacht now trailed by 16 with over 20 minutes still to play.
It all became a little stop-start as the benches were emptied and Ulster lost Augustus to injury, but Connacht then kicked back into life – Josh Ioane making a sharp break and Treacy going close before Sean Jansen went over, with Gilbert converting.
The try was Connacht’s first score for 36 minutes, and they had just over 10 left to chase the game.
They kept knocking on the door, and with less than five to play Connacht struck again – Ioane and Matthew Devine making sharp plays before Devine scored, converted by Gilbert. A two-point game.
With the clock winding down a late penalty allowed Jack Murphy to extend Ulster’s lead, and finally, they were over the line.
Connacht scorers:
Try – Treacy, Jansen, Devine
Penalty – Gilbert [1/2]
Conversions – Gilbert [3/3]
Ulster scorers:
Tries – Ward [2], Kok, Penalty try
Penalty – Murphy
Conversion – Murphy [2/3]
CONNACHT: Sam Gilbert; Daniel Ryan (David Hawkshaw, 68), Cathal Forde, Bundee Ali, Finn Treacy; Jack Carty (Josh Ioane, 48), Ben Murphy (Matthew Devine, 54); Denis Buckley (Jordan Duggan, 54), Dave Heffernan (Dylan Tierney-Martin, 58), Finlay Bealham (Fiachna Barrett, 54); Joe Joyce (Sean O’Brien, 66), David O’Connor (Darragh Murray, 54); Josh Murphy, Cian Prendergast (capt), Sean Jansen.
Yellow cards: Aki 44, Joyce 54
ULSTER: Jacob Stockdale (Jake Flannery, 77); Werner Kok, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey (Jude Postlethwaite, 54), Zac Ward; Jack Murphy, Conor McKee (Nathan Doak, 50); Sam Crean (Angus Bell, HT), Tom Stewart, Scott Wilson (Tom O’Toole, HT); Harry Sheridan, Cormac Izuchukwu (Joe Hopes 77); David McCann, Nick Timoney (capt), Juarno Augustus (Bryn Ward, 64).
Yellow cards: Murphy 16, McCloskey 43
Referee: Eoghan Cross (IRFU).
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