Glasgow Warriors 30
Ulster 7
Lewis Stuart reports from Scotstoun
ULSTER HAVE LEFT themselves with a mountain to climb after going down to defeat in Glasgow, allowing the home side to claim a bonus point that keeps them three points clear of Munster in the battle for a home Guinness Pro14 semi-final.
The home side bounced back from their European disappointment last weekend but, in contrast, Dan McFarland’s men were outclassed at Scotstoun, setting-up a must-win game against conference rivals Edinburgh next weekend.
Ulster remain in second place in Conference B and in possession of a play-off berth but Benetton and Edinburgh have games in hand, ahead of that crucial clash at Murrayfield in round 20.
This game was disrupted by a strong wind blowing down the field, behind Glasgow in the first half so it was no real surprise that the Scots went into the break with a lead despite Rob Herring, the Ulster hooker going over from a maul for his seventh try of the season just a few minutes after the start.
Glasgow hit back in almost identical fashion through their hooker Fraser Brown but then took a grip on the scoreboard with Adam Hastings finding the strength to force his way over after centre Kyle Steyn had set up the position, before adding a penalty to ease the hosts into an eight-point lead.
At that stage, it looked as though Ulster might have done enough to get through to half0time but they were given a mountain to climb with the final play before the break when Glasgow held the ball through the phases and Tommy Seymour found space in the corner.
The province’s evening soon got worse as Stuart McCloskey’s attempt to kick for position rolled dead, presenting Glasgow with an early attacking opportunity.
They took it with some relish as the ball was moved right before coming back across the field where Ali Price found space to put Zander Fagerson in for the bonus-point try.
A second Hastings penalty eased the Scots even further ahead and though Ulster did start to find their territorial game later in the half, the task facing them in overhauling a 23-point deficit was too much and any lingering hope was demolished when Luke Marshall made it over the line but lost the ball trying as he went to ground it — reminiscent of Jacob Stockdale against Leinster last week.
With the result now out of reach, Ulster started to take off their leading players to save them for their trip to Edinburgh next weekend.
Glasgow scorers:
Tries: Fraser Brown, Adam Hastings, Tommy Seymour, Zander Fagerson.
Conversions: Adam Hastings [2 from 4].
Penalties: Adam Hastings [2 from 2].
Ulster scorers:
Tries: Rob Herring.
Conversion: John Cooney [1 from 1].
GLASGOW WARRIORS: Stuart Hogg; Tommy Seymour (Robbie Nairn, 70), Kyle Steyn, Sam Johnson, Niko Matawalu; Adam Hastings (Peter Horne, 60), Ali Price (George Horne, 62); Oli Kebble (Jamie Bhatti, 32), Fraser Brown (Grant Stewart, 65), Zander Fagerson (Siua Halanukonuka, 65-71), Rob Harley, Jonny Gray, Adam Ashe (Scott Cummings, 60), Chris Fusaro (C) (Tevita Tameilau, 66), Matt Fagerson.
ULSTER: Michael Lowry (Angus Kernohan, 21); Rob Lyttle, Luke Marshall, Stuart McCloskey (Darren Cave, 56), Jacob Stockdale; Billy Burns (David Shanahan, 60), John Cooney; Eric O’Sullivan (Andrew Warwick, 45), Rob Herring (John Andrew, 45), Marty Moore (Tom O’Toole, 62), Alan O’Connor (C), Kieran Treadwell (Ian Nagle, 52), Sean Reidy, Jordi Murphy, Marcell Coetzee (Matt Rea, 66).
Referee: Stuart Berry [South Africa]
Attendance: 7,351.
Gavan Casey and Ryan Bailey are joined by Bernard Jackman to look back on a thrilling weekend of European rugby on the latest episode of The42 Rugby Weekly:
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