Good afternoon one and all and welcome to the second of three Champions Cup liveblogs on The42 today. Murray Kinsella is down in Limerick for Munster’s clash with Stade, Rory Keane is in London for this game and later, Sean Farrell is at the RDS for Leinster’s meeting with Bath.
We’ve got all bases covered for a busy day of European action and we’ll bring you all the action as it happens. Ryan Bailey here to guide you through proceedings at Allianz Park as Ulster look to boost their quarter-final chances.
Kick-off is at 3.15pm.
Here are the teams for today’s Pool 1 clash. The big news is that Jared Payne will make his first appearance of the season and first since the World Cup in September.
Ulster:
15. J Payne
14. A Trimble
13. L Marshall
12. S McCloskey
11. C Gilroy
10. P Jackson
9. R Pienaar
1. K McCall
2. R Best (capt)
3. W Herbst
4. A O’Connor
5. F van der Merwe
6. R Diack
7. S Reidy
8. R Wilson
Replacements:
16. R Herring
17. C Black
18. R Lutton
19. C Ross
20. S Reidy
21. P Marshall
22. I Humphreys
23. R Scholes
Saracens:
15. Ben Ransom
14. Chris Ashton
13. Marcelo Bosch
12. Brad Barritt (capt)
11. Chris Wyles
10. Owen Farrell
9. Richard Wigglesworth
1. Mako Vunipola
2. Jamie George
3. Petrus Du Plessis
4. Maro Itoje
5. George Kruis
6. Michael Rhodes
7. Will Fraser
8. Billy Vunipola
Replacements
16. Schalk Brits
17. Richard Barrington
18. Juan Figallo
19. Jim Hamilton
20. Jackson Wray
21. Neil De Kock
22. Charlie Hodgson
23. Duncan Taylor
The Ulster team arriving a little earlier.
Full-time at Thomond Park where Munster have beaten Stade Francais 26-13, and it was a good result for Ulster.
Not long until kick-off now. As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts on the game. E-mail ryan@the42.ie, tweet @the42_ie, post a message to our Facebook wall, or leave a comment below.
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First blood to Ulster – Rory Best wins the coin toss.
Here’s the state of play ahead of today’s game.
Saracens, the Premiership leaders, have all but qualified for the quarter-finals – with a perfect record of four wins from four matches so far.
With the three best runners-up in the five pools also progressing and a home match against bottom side Oyonnax on next week, Ulster could make the last eight even if they suffer defeat today.
It’s a crisp afternoon in Barnet, North West London.
Good atmosphere building at Allianz Park as the two teams emerge side-by-side, led by Jamie George and Rory Best.
Jerome Garces is our referee and Owen Farrell gets us underway.
Bright starts from the hosts as they keep hold of possession through the phases. Garces then brings us back for a penalty after Ulster didn’t roll away in the tackle. Farrell with an early chance to open the scoring.
Penalty! Saracens 3-0 Ulster (Farrell)
Sweetly struck from the England international and he dissects the posts from the right hand side. Good start from Saracens.
Huge hit from Will Fraser on Andrew Trimble and the crowd felt that one. Ulster get their hands on the ball for the first time and McCloskey breaks the tackle and is away down the right.
Great position here for the visitors.
Try! Saracens 3-7 Ulster (Marshall)
Absolutely superb from Ulster! From that McCloskey break, the province recycle the ball and it eventually goes wide where Payne executes a perfect kick through for Luke Marshall to dot down in the corner.
And Jackson nails the conversion and Ulster lead!
Brilliant response from Ulster and that’s just taken Allianz Park by surprise. Brian O’Driscoll, who is on BT Sport, says the visitors need to rattle Saracens early – and they’re doing just that.
Mako Vunipola knocks it on in contact and Ulster force the turnover.
First scrum of the game and Garces asks for a reset. Nothing much between the pack weights but Saracens win the penalty as Herbst is pinged for collapsing the scrum.
And Farrell drags it ever so slightly and his long-range effort goes inches wide. He isn’t pleased with himself and Ulster are let off.
A closer look at Marshall’s try. Perfectly-weighted kick from Payne.
Brief pause in play as both Luke Marshall and Richard Wigglesworth require attention after separate incidents. Garces now wants the TMO to have a look at how Marshall was dragged into touch.
It appears Chris Ashton grabbed the Ulster centre around his neck and it’s an Ulster penalty.
Penalty! Saracens 6-7 Ulster (Farrell)
Farrell reduces the deficit from the tee after Rory Best was penalised.
Saracens are up so quickly and they’re putting Ulster under huge pressure. The visitors aren’t going anywhere and Roger Wilson is eventually forced into the mistake.
Farrell has another chance from the tee to restore Saracen’s advantage but his penalty canons back off the post and that’s two misses now for the England out-half.
McCloskey penalised for not releasing there but Ulster still lead as Farrell uncharacteristically spurns the chance from the tee.
Jackson sends an up and under into Saracens territory. Ransom seems to have the situation under control but knocks it on and Ulster pounce. They have numbers and spread it quickly.
Garces awards Ulster the penalty on this near side and Jackson opts to go for the corner.
‘Stand up for the Ulster men’ rings around Allianz Park but the northern province lose their own line-out and Wigglesworth clears his lines. It’s been a tight, cagey affair.
Rory Best can’t find his target again and Saracens steal back possession. Another scrappy passage of play follows and a kick in behind the home defence causes problems for Wigglesworth.
The bounce of the ball is unkind and the scrum-half is forced to hold on metres from his line. Jackson lines up the kick but he pushes it wide.
Big miss that Ulster. They turned down three points in the previous phase and then Jackson doesn’t take up the opportunity when he opts to kick at goal.
Another penalty from the scrum for Saracens. Ulster are letting themselves down at the set-piece. Herbst looks to be in real trouble and he’s limping off injured. Lutton is his replacement.
Ulster collapse the maul and Sarries have the penalty. The momentum is beginning to shift and the crowd are getting on the referee’s back. Three minutes until the break.
TRY! Saracens 13-7 Ulster (Billy Vunipola)
And the pressure tells as Billy Vunipola forces his way over after a driving maul from the line-out. Farrell absolutely nails the conversion from the left touchline.
Half-time! And that’s that for the first half.
In the other Pool 1 fixture, Oyonnax lead the all-French clash.
Back underway at Allianz Park. Can Ulster overturn a half-time deficit for the second week running?
Positive start from Ulster as they keep the ball in the hands before McCloskey kicks in behind and forces Saracens back inside their own 22.
And it pays off as Ulster win the penalty and kick for touch. Best finds his man and Sarries are pinged for collapsing the maul. Jackson calls for the tee.
Penalty! Saracens 13-10 Ulster (Jackson)
Ideal start to the half for Ulster as they reduce the deficit.
But Sarries go straight down the other end and win a penalty of their own as Lutton is penalised. This should be straight forward for Farrell.
Penalty! Saracens 16-10 Ulster (Farrell)
This time Farrell uses the post to his advantage as his penalty goes between the sticks via the upright. From the kick-off, Ulster concede another penalty. Indiscipline costing the visitors.
Saracens are knocking on the door. Working their way closer to the Ulster line and it’s wave after wave. The white shirts are standing firm but becoming increasingly stretched.
TRY! Saracens 21-10 Ulster (Taylor)
Moment of magic from Farrell as he injects a bit of pace into that wave of attack. The out-half spots a gap and turns on the after burners. There is an overlap to his left and he sucks in the last line of defence before giving Taylor the simple task of running over.
Everything going against Ulster now as Trimble concedes the penalty. That’s nine now for the Irish side so far. Farrell sends it deep into opposition territory.
Ulster look to run from deep after forcing the turnover but Trimble’s pass is awful and it sails into touch.
TRY! Saracens 26-10 Ulster (Itoje)
Clinical from Saracens. From the line-out, the driving maul brings the hosts to within a couple of yards. Wyles is stopped just short but 21-year-old Itoje forces his way over for Saracens’ third try of the day.
Bad to worse for Ulster. Gilroy is sent to the bin by Garces for not rolling away. Turning into a difficult afternoon for Les Kiss’ men.
TRY! Saracens 33-10 Ulster (Brits)
And Sarries have the bonus point as Brits starts and completes the move. Another driving maul and the hooker breaks through and rolls over to dot the ball down. Farrell adds the extras.
Changes being made by both sides. Damage limitation now for Ulster.
It’s going to be a long 10 minutes for Ulster. Saracens still searching for tries.
TRY! Saracens 33-17 Ulster (Humphreys)
But it’s Ulster who get a consolation score. Sarries lose the ball from the ruck and Humphreys intercepts to run the length of the field to touch down. He adds the extras. Still plenty of work to do to secure at least a losing bonus point as Gilroy comes back on.
Ulster still battling as we enter the final few minutes. Just going through the formalities now. Thoroughly comprehensive win for Saracens.
Full-time! Garces blows the final whistle as Saracens run out comfortable winners to assure themselves of a quarter-final berth.
Thanks for joining us this afternoon. Full report and reaction to follow from Allianz Park plus our live coverage of Leinster’s clash with Bath has started here.
