Advertisement
©INPHO/Presseye/Ian MacNicol/
AS IT HAPPENED

As it happened: Glasgow Warriors v Ulster, Heineken Cup

It wasn’t pretty, but we had minute-by-minute updates from Scotstoun where Ulster sought to continue their fine run of European form.

IT’S FRIDAY NIGHT, it’s Ulster, but it’s not Ravenhill.

The northern province are in Glasgow to try and sustain the momentum gained from the late bonus-point win over Castres.

As always, we’d love to hear from you, so send us your thoughts and comments on all the action.

E-mail us at sean@thescore.ie, tweet us @thescore_ie, post to our Facebook wall or leave a comment below.

Glasgow 8 – 19 Ulster

A very good evening.

Ulster are in Scotstoun, Glasgow to face the Warriors as the second fround of Heineken Cup fixtures get underway.

The bagpipes are already tuned to ‘ear-bleed’ so kick off is not far away.

Here are your team-sheets, unlike last week, we hvane’t had any dramatic last-minute changes:

Glasgow Warriors: S Hogg; B McGuigan, P Murchie, P Horne, A Dunbar; R Jackson, H Pyrgos; R Grant, D Hall, M Cusack; T Ryder, A Kellock (capt); J Strauss, C Fusaro, R Wilson.

Replacements: F Gillies, O Fainga’anuku, G Reid, T Swinson, R Harley, J Barclay, S Wight, N Matawalu.

Ulster: J Payne; T Bowe, D Cave, P Wallace, A Trimble; P Jackson, R Pienaar; T Court, R Best, J Afoa, J Muller (c), D Tuohy, I Henderson, C Henry, N Williams.

Replacements: R Herring, C Black, A Macklin, L Stevenson, M McComish, P Marshall, L Marshall, C Gilroy.

Told you so.

Mark Anscombe has been chatting with Sky pre-match and says he wants Ulster to look after the ball, so maybe the free-flowing style of recent weeks will be beyond them tonight.

KICK OFF: The rain is sheeting down in north-east Glasgow so we’re in store for plenty of dramatic camera shots… like this.

Both sides lead off with a bid of kick tennis, testing out the grip of each other’s fullbacks. Paddy Wallace is the first to find a decent touch and the tennis is back.

Jared Payne plucks another ball from the air and is held in the tackle on halfway. Penalty!

Strange that Ruan Pienaar wasn’t given the kicking tee, given the distance. Jackson’s kick drifted wide of the left-hand post.

Sky commentator Mark Robson chuckles upon noticing that both sides have a fly-half called Jackson.

Tommy Bowe and Payne toss around the bar of soap on their own line, but it works out for them as Bowe clears to halfway. That’s the end of the fancy stuff as the teams trade knock-ons in centre-field.

Despite a number of front row absentees, the Warriors scrum has the upper hand. All their hard work, however, is quickly undone as Ruairidh Jackson’s kick lands in the middle of the running track.

Paddy Wallace finds touch from his 22 again, but he’s hit hard and late by Josh Strauss.  The centre is winded, but he’s soon back to his feet.

From the resulting line-out, Glasgow are penalised and Ruan Pienaar… incredibly has pointed to the posts from the right-hand touchline 62 metres from goal.

It takes an age for the kick to sail through the storm, but it drops about a foot underneath the post. Glasgow, you’ve been warned.

In terms of missed penalties, Glasgow have pulled one back, Peter Horne slicing slightly left of the target from his first attempt.

A minute later though, the blue scrum gets the upper hand on their opponents again. From 30 metres, Horne makes no mistake.

PENALTY: Glasgow 3 – 0 Ulster (Horne ’21)

PENALTY: Glasgow 3 – 3 Ulster (Jackson ’23)

Ruan Pienaar has the read of the game now, on the 10 metre line he chips in behind the Warrior defence with the outside of his boot. Byron McGuigan collected and ran the ball to his 22 metre line, but was tackled into an uncomfortable position and he failed to release the ball.

The other game in pool 4 is also through the first quarter, and the good news is that Castres lead Northampton 10-6.

Meanwhile, back in gloomy Glasgow, Ali Kellock is pinger for going in from the side and Jackson has another chance from inside the 22. Done.

PENALTY:  Glasgow 3 – 6 Ulster (Jackson 27)

33 mins: The game is just beginning to open p a little as rain-sodden players grow weary of making tackles. After Ulster look like turning the screw, Bowe is caught holding on an Ruaridh Jackson inspires Glasgow to a little spell of possession.

Byron McGuigan is leaving the field clutching the top of his rib-cage – we’ve seen that injury a lot this season – he is replaced by Fijian wing. Niko Matawalu

37 mins: Oh, deary, deary me.

Peter Horne has a chance to give his side parity on the cusp of half time, but he has blasted a simple enough penalty chance from the right miles wide of the left-hand post.

Two apiece now, in terms of penalties missed. But Ulster’s have been from their own half.

A box kick from Pienaar bounces kindly over the defensive wing and into Andrew Trimble’s hands.

He his caught by the five-metre line and Ulster set a decent base, but the over-complicate matters, switching the play early and after a phase the ball is flicked to John Afoa who palms it to the floor.

HALF TIME: Glasgow 3 – 6 Ulster

Glasgow’s scrum creaked slightly on their own feed, but they survive and clear the ball straight out to bring a soggy 40 minutes to an end.

Fresh kit and cocoa all round!

It’s also half-time in Toulouse where Castres have moved this Heineken Cup fixture (don’t ask us why), but the enigmatic French side look interested so far tonight.

HALF TIME: Castres 13- 6 Northampton

Everybody all dried off? OK, time for the second half.

Ulster receive the kick-off and get big Nick Williams straight into the action. He carries and takes three tacklers before he hits the turf.

After a knock-on on halfway, though, Ulster still look vulnerable at the scrum and John Afoa incurs a penalty.

Horne misses another penalty, this one his longest attempt of the night.

Horne is playing it fast and loose with the ball in hand too: a pass on halfway is intercepted by Paddy Jackson. Fortunately for the hosts, a covering tackler is not far away.

That’s Horne’s last contribution of the night. The centre has left the field injured, replaced by Scott Wight.

The Ulster pack have slowed the process down and Afoa and Muller carry them to a platform in the 22, they spin wide but Bowe is soon wrapped up by Chirs Fusaro and the Scots turn it over.

The Warriors are the first to send their replacements out: Rob Harley and John Barclay are in the game.

The route to the line is obvious, again Pienaar lofts a kick in behind the blue defence. Stuart Hogg collects but can’t escape Tommy bowe who bundles him into touch on the five-metre line.

Glasgow are more than a bit tenacious though, and Nick Williams is lifted into touch by his opposite number Ryan Wilson.

Just as Glasgow look like building a head of steam with Hogg claiming his own Garryowen, Roy Best’s breakdown prowess forces them to come in from the side.

Just the 56 metres out for Ruan, then….. but he has dropped it a full five metres short of the bar. That’s not like him.

TMO:

Ulster have mauled over the line, but is the ball down?

TRY: Glasgow 3 – 13 Ulster (Chris Henry ’61)

The openside grabs a crucial score, rolling away from the maul and planting the ball for the score.

A 10 point lead for the visitors, breathing space.

Cracking game in the south of France.

The Saints narrowed the gap with a try from George Pisi, but Castres respond instantly with a drop-goal.

LATEST: Castres 21 – 13 Northampton

Oh, yes, Ulster have their McIlroy swagger on now as they force another indiscretion at the breakdown and from 40 metres…

PENALTY: Glasgow 3 – 16 Ulster (Jackson ’64)

69 mins: Penalty to Glasgow 10 metres from the left wing of the try-line. Jackson shapes to kick for touch but quick-tap. They get through a phase before Chris Henry steals the loose ball on the floor.

That may just have settled this game.

Luke Marshall has replaced Darren Cave in  Ulster’s midfield and a penalty on halfway has allowed Jackson to kick play into the 22.

Time to lock it down, boys.

More replacements from Anscombe as he eyes the final whistle, Craig Gilroy is on for Andrew Trimbel and Mike McComish replaces Iain Henderson, another solid shift from Stephen Ferris’ heir.

As Sky award Rory Best the man of the match award, the Ulster maul bears fruit again in the Warriors’ 22. Game over.

PENALTY: Glasgow 3 – 19 Ulster (Jackson ’75)

That is the fly-half’s last contribution as he shakes hands with Paul Marshall after landing the kick.

Try-saving tackle from Craig Gilroy as Ryan Wilson powered toward the line, but the northern province can’t keep the line clear for long..

TRY:   Glasgow 8 – 19 Ulster (Matawalu ’77)

The Fijian out-jumps Gilroy (arriving at speed after his intervention on the other wing) for a cross field kick and plants the ball in the corner.

Wight can’t convert.

Ulster turn the ball over with the clock red in Scotstoun, yhey consider running it briefly, but Paul Marshall denies Warriors a chance at a losing bonus point, kicking the ball straight into touch.

FULL TIME: Glasgow 8 – 19 Ulster

Two games, two wins. It’s very much a case of job done for Mark Anscombe and Ulster. The white jerseys have stayed out in the rain to applaud the travelling support.

In France, the Saints took a late penalty chance to smuggle a losing bonus point away from France.

FULL TIME: Castres 21 – 16 Northampton

It leaves Ulster three points clear of the English side at the top of pool 4. The runners-up from 2011 and 2012 will play each other in back-to-back fixtures in December.

That’s all from me for tonight, folks.

Thanks for joining in the fun, whether you’re from Honduras or Horse and Jockey, we’ll be back with more live Heineken Cup updates tomorrow, for all you poor souls who can’t be near a Sky enabled TV screen.

Heineken Cup cheat sheet: Your guide to this weekend’s rugby action

Your Voice
Readers Comments
4
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.