Good evening and welcome along to our live coverage of this Round 4 Heineken Champions Cup clash between Harlequins and Ulster.
The Irish province, who are currently at the top of Pool 3, are looking to back up last weekend’s dramatic 25-24 victory over Quins when they collide at the Twickenham Stoop this evening.
We’ll have team line-ups for you in the next few moments as well as any last minute changes before the 7.45pm kick-off so do stay with us.
Here’s how Ulster are named to start:
15. Jacob Stockdale
14. Matt Faddes
13. Luke Marshall
12. Stuart McCloskey
11. Louis Ludik
10. Billy Burns
9. John Cooney
1. Eric O’Sullivan
2. Rob Herring
3. Marty Moore
4. Kieran Treadwell
5. Iain Henderson (captain)
6. Sean Reidy
7. Jordi Murphy
8. Marcell Coetzee
Replacements:
16. Adam McBurney
17. Andrew Warwick
18. Tom O’Toole
19. Alan O’Connor
20. Matthew Rea
21. David Shanahan
22. Bill Johnston
23. Craig Gilroy
And here is the Harlequins starting team:
15. Ross Chisholm
14. Vereniki Goneva
13. James Lang
12. Francis Saili
11. Cadan Murley
10. Brett Herron
9. Martin Landajo
1. Santiago Garcia Botta
2. Elia Elia
3. Kyle Sinckler (captain)
4. Stephan Lewies
5. Tevita Cavubati
6. Will Evans
7. Semi Kunatani
8. Alex Dombrandt
Replacements:
16. Jack Musk
17. Nick Auterac
18. Simon Kerrod
19. Dino Lamb
20. James Chisholm
21. Niall Saunders
22. Paul Lasike
23. Travis Ismaiel
Here’s how Pool 3 looks ahead of kick-off:
Ulster have arrived at The Stoop. #SUFTUMLive #HARvULS pic.twitter.com/d7svuRiN5T
— Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) December 13, 2019
The Warm-Up
Kick-off is just a few minutes away.
Kick-Off! Harlequins 0-0 Ulster
Harlequins 0-0 Ulster
Worrying early signs for Ulster as Billy Burns is on the deck after a heavy hit to his shoulder. They might have to make an early change here.
Harlequins 0-0 Ulster
Burns shakes off the challenge and will play on.
Ulster continue by claiming the first line-out of the game but Harlequins reclaim possession from the box kick.
Harlequins 0-0 Ulster
John Cooney gathers the ball and feeds it out to Jacob Stockdale to clear. But possession comes right back on top of the visitors and they go for some very lateral play which puts them under pressure before Cooney sends up a box kick for Alex Dombrandt to claim.
Harlequins 0-0 Ulster
Quins come close to making a break as Dombrandt tries to link up with full-back Ross Chisholm on the wing. But the pass is dropped as the attack comes to a halt.
Harlequins 0-3 Ulster
Cooney puts Ulster in front with a penalty from about 35 metres out to give his side the early advantage.
Harlequins 0-3 Ulster
Ulster go on the attack again with a rolling maul. But possession comes back to the hosts moments later to they put in for a scrum.
Harlequins 0-3 Ulster
Chisholm fumbles the ball forward to see Ulster awarded with a scrum in Quins’ half of the field which results in a penalty for Ulster.
Burns opts to kick for the corner and set his side up for a drive at the try-line.
Harlequins 0-3 Ulster
Another handling error. This time it’s Ulster’s Kieran Treadwell. Harlequins secure a line-out which is cleanly won by Stephan Lewies.
Ulster’s Louis Ludik leaps highest to gather the ball from the resultant box kick.
Dombrandt then knocks the ball on and we’ll have another Ulster scrum.
It’s been a very scrappy opening to the game.
Harlequins 0-3 Ulster
Lovely play from Ulster, putting in a string of passes along the line and spreading the ball out wide to stretch Quins.
Luke Marshall sends Marcell Coetzee through but the attack comes to nothing. But that was a far more promising phase of play than what we’ve seen so far.
Harlequins 0-3 Ulster
Ulster go for the corner and set up the rolling maul on the 5m line. But a knock-on in the ruck sees them relinquish possession at the crucial time.
A bit of handbags follow but it’s nothing serious.
Harlequins 0-3 Ulster
Some Harlequins changes: Will Evans and Brett Herron off for HIA. Travis Ismaiel and James Chisholm both come in.
Meanwhile, Coetzee makes a great carry to crash through a tackle which sees Santiago Garcia Botta needing some treatment after.
Harlequins 0-3 Ulster
Another Burns box-kick is won by Ulster. The play is switched over to the other channel as a high pass comes into Ludik’s hands but he’s held up and pushed out over the sideline.
Will Evans has failed the HIA so he will not be returning to the game.
Harlequins 0-3 Ulster
Ulster continue to push forward and try to break through the Quins cover. They get sucked in however and the hosts win the ball back,
They try to go on the counter but Ulster reset quickly. The move ends with Jacob Stockdale trying to pop the ball to Matt Faddes who ships a heavy tackle and falls out over the sideline.
Harlequins 0-3 Ulster
CLOSE!
Harlequins squeeze through the Ulster line through Lewies but he doesn’t have enough speed to get away and the ball spills away.
But they’re not done yet as Ismaiel also tries to power his through on the opposite wing. Ulster manage to hold firm and prevent the score.
Harlequins 0-3 Ulster
Both sides have had their chances to engineer the first try of the game as Harlequins prepare to take a penalty.
The pace of the game has definitely increased as has the quality.
Harlequins 3-3 Ulster
James Lang kicks at the posts and taps the ball over with ease to level the game after 35 minutes.
Harlequins 3-3 Ulster
Another half-chance of a Harlequins try. Cadan Murley thought he had spotted a gap but the ball is snatched out of his hands before he can race away.
Meanwhile, Ulster have made some first-half changes: Marty Moore is replaced by Tom O’Toole.
TRY! Harlequins 3-8 Ulster (Cooney ’38)
Half-Time: Harlequins 3-10 Ulster
Harlequins 3-10 Ulster
Super end to the first half for Ulster.
Burns, Stockdale and Faddes all feature as Dan McFarland’s drive up the field at pace and send Cooney through to finish the move off with a well deserved try.
He follows that up with a stunning conversion to give his side a seven-point lead at the break.
Some first-half highlights
Kick-Off: Harlequins 3-10 Ulster
The second half is underway as the rain starts to fall in the Twickenham Stoop.
Harlequins 3-10 Ulster
Huge tackle!
Cooney manages to get back and put in a try-saving tackle on Chisholm. Ismaiel got Harlequins rolling with a brilliant step in their own territory.
The ball eventually comes to Chisholm who tries to sprint for the tryline but Cooney stops him in his tracks.
TRY! Harlequins 3-15 Ulster (Marshall ’46)
Harlequins 3-17 Ulster
Luke Marshall gets in for Ulster’s second try of the night and it’s a really lovely move.
Stuart McCloskey sets him as he sends in an overhead pass for Marshall to chase and absorb the challenge as he gets over to touch the ball down.
Cooney kicks the conversion to stretch Ulster’s advantage even more.
Harlequins 3-17 Ulster
Harlequins changes: Garcia Botta is replaced by Nick Auterac. And Kyle Sinckler makes way for Simon Kerrod.
TRY! Harlequins 3-22 Ulster (’59 Cooney)
Harlequins 3-24 Ulster
Outstanding stuff from Cooney with a brilliant individual try. The Ulster scrum-half is quickest to react to a spilled ball from a ruck. He secures possession and produces a super step to slip by a tackle and run through for the try.
He duly splits the posts from the conversion for a finish.
TRY! Harlequins 8-24 Ulster (’62 Lewies)
Harlequins 10-24 Ulster
What a response from Harlequins to get their first try moments after Ulster pick up their third.
We had to go to the TMO, but the score stands from Stephen Lewies who charges his way over the line before Lang adds the extras to reduce the gap to 14 points.
Harlequins 10-24 Ulster
Ulster change: Rob Herring is replaced by Adam McBurney.
Here’s that first try from John Cooney:
A superb length of the field try from @UlsterRugby...
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) December 13, 2019
AND a try in every round so far for @JCooney09! 🙌#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/f1FP74ntZW
Harlequins 10-24 Ulster
Ulster change: Craig Gilroy comes in for Ludik.
TRY! Harlequins 10-29 Ulster (’75 Faddes)
Harlequins 10-24 Ulster
BONUS POINT SECURED!
Another fine move from Ulster sees Matt Faddes use his strength to plow over the line and clinch the bonus point. The score came from an overthrown Quins lineout which leads to an Ulster counter-attack.
Stockdale does well to feed the ball to Faddes and he races over.
Cooney misses the conversion.
TRY! Harlequins 10-34 Ulster (’78 O’Toole)
Full-Time: Harlequins 10-34 Ulster
Harlequins 10-24 Ulster
Super effort from Ulster to extend their winning run in Pool 3 and maintain their place at the top of the table.
Five tries in all sees them go home with the bonus point. John Cooney suitably awarded the man-of-the-match gong after scoring two tries while also producing a try-saving tackle for the victorious Ulster side.
That result sets them up nicely ahead of their clash with Clermont in January, but for now, Dan McFarland will certainly be happy with that clinical performance.
Well that’s all from us folks.
Before you go, have a read of Murray Kinsella’s match report from the Twickenham Stoop here.
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