Ulster 32
Vodacom Bulls 23
TOM STEWART’S HAT-TRICK helped Ulster battle from eight points down at half time to secure a home quarter-final in the United Rugby Championship with a 32-23 bonus-point win over the Vodacom Bulls at Kingspan Stadium.
Dan McFarland’s side had trailed at the interval as tries from Kurt-Lee Arendse and Zak Burger, as well as ten points from the boot of Chris Smith, had the Bulls ahead and looking relatively comfortable, too, with Ulster’s responses coming from the returning Robert Baloucoune and Stewart’s first score.
But in the second half, the excellent Stewart went over twice more to wrap up his own hat-trick and secure the bonus point which means Ulster can finish no lower than fourth, aided by a pair of yellow cards to Bulls pair Elrigh Louw and Bismarck du Plessis.
Of course, McFarland’s charges will be aiming higher than just the top-four and have cut the deficit between them and the second-placed DHL Stormers to just two points with two games to go before the play-offs, with the hope that their rivals will slip up between now and then.
Ulster had gotten off to the dream start as a well-executed strike move off the line-out yielded an opening try for Baloucoune inside the opening five minutes, Stewart and Billy Burns linking up to set Mike Lowry away and he fed the winger for the finish in the corner.
But, if anything, that seemed to wake the Bulls up and, after Chris Smith had sent a penalty wide, Ulster were fortunate that a slipped tackle in midfield didn’t cost them any dearer than scrum-half Burger searing into the 22 but finding himself unable to find a supporting player.
However, they failed to heed that warning and after Smith had put the Bulls on the board with his first penalty of the night, they struck for their first try as Canan Moodie was the latest player to break the line and he had Arendse on his shoulder to take it the rest of the way.
In response, however, Ulster turned to what they do best and utilised the driving maul to take them back into the lead. Referee Craig Evans lost patience with the Bulls after two illegally sacked set-pieces but at the third they had no answer to Stewart breaking off the back and diving down the blindside for the score.
Nathan Doak’s conversion pulled the hosts ahead but it was a brief advantage as the Bulls quickly stormed back and took the lead back, the forwards doing all the hard graft at the line before scrum-half Burger dived over from close range for their second try of the night.
Smith put over another penalty on the stroke of half-time to give the South Africans the eight-point advantage, however it was quickly erased as No.8 Louw was sin-binned for sacking another maul and Stewart grabbed his second of the evening just three minutes after the restart, piloting another set-piece over the line from close range.
For all their attacking prowess, however, what won the game for Ulster was perhaps a monumental defensive stand on their own line only a few minutes later, the Bulls powering towards the line repeatedly looking for the hole to open up, but when they tried to go out the backs they were punished as Cornal Hendricks went for the line one too many times for the referee’s liking.
Instead, the hosts went up the other end and took the lead they would never relinquish, Stewart completing his treble as the man to wriggle over from all of a metre out with another penalty advantage coming from the maul for what would prove to be the winning try.
Smith made it a three-point game when he slotted over his third penalty of the evening shortly after the hour, a score that was quickly negated when Doak did likewise to take the game beyond a score, although it seemed that the South Africans still had a comeback in them when they were awarded a penalty just outside the Ulster 22 with five minutes remaining.
But the TMO intervened to ensure they wouldn’t even have the chance to steal away the result, stepping in to look at a dangerous clear-out from Du Plessis on Burns and sending him to the sin bin with five minutes remaining, ending any hopes of the visitors claiming the spoils.
Instead, John Cooney – just off the bench – rounded off the scoring with the final kick of the game as he slotted a late penalty to leave the Bulls with nothing for their efforts and keep Ulster very much in the hunt for second place.
Ulster scorers
Tries: Baloucoune, Stewart (3)
Conversions: Doak (3)
Penalties: Doak, Cooney
Bulls scorers
Tries: Arendse, Burger
Conversions: C Smith (2)
Penalties: C Smith (3)
Ulster
(15-9) Mike Lowry; Rob Baloucoune, James Hume, Stewart Moore (Jude Postlethwaite 51), Jacob Stockdale; Billy Burns, Nathan Doak (John Cooney 78); (1-8) Andrew Warwick (Eric O’Sullivan 51), Tom Stewart (John Andrew 78), Jeff Toomaga-Allen (Gareth Milasinovich 61); Kieran Treadwell (Alan O’Connor 62), Sam Carter (Harry Sheridan 51); David McCann, Nick Timoney (Marcus Rea 62), Duane Vermeulen.
Vodacom Bulls
(15-9) Kurt-Lee Arendse (Stedman Gans 75); Canan Moodie, Cornal Hendricks, Harold Vorster, David Kriel; Chris Smith, Zak Burger (Embrose Papier 55); (1-8) Gerhard Steenekamp (Simphiwe Matanzima 74), Johan Grobbelaar, Mornay Smith (Francois Klopper 55); Ruan Vermaak (Janko Swanepoel 74), Ruan Nortje; Marco van Staden (Bismarck du Plessis 73), Cyle Brink (WJ Steenkamp 62), Elrigh Louw.
Yellow cards: Elrigh Louw (42′), Bismarck du Plessis (76′)
Man of the Match: Tom Stewart (Ulster)
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales).