Ulster 48
Cardiff 12
TWO TRIES FROM Robert Baloucoune and a player-of-the-match performance by Stewart Moore helped Ulster back to the top of the United Rugby Championship standings in a dominant display at Kingspan Stadium, six tries helping them to a 48-12 win over a lacklustre Cardiff.
Ireland winger Baloucoune showed his pace, scoring Ulster’s first and fifth tries, while Ireland No.8 Nick Timoney and centre James Hume also helped themselves to scores, and Andy Farrell will have watched on with interest ahead of next week’s trip to Twickenham as Iain Henderson completed the full game in the second row.
Hume’s centre partner Stuart McCloskey was on top form in the win, helping himself to a try and and setting up a couple more, while it was also a big night for the province as they saw flanker Jordi Murphy make his first appearance since May, while they also got John Cooney back on the pitch for the first time since January in the rout.
There was even time for first senior Ulster tries for winger Aaron Sexton and Tom Stewart, the two youngsters going over for the final two scores as Dan McFarland’s men leapfrog above Leinster into top spot in the standings, albeit temporarily.
Baloucoune was over for his first inside the opening ten minutes, although it was a stroke of good fortune that got him the score as Billy Burns’ crossfield kick got a favourable bounce, pulling back over the head of the covering Hallam Amos and into the winger’s hands.
The Ireland winger still had plenty to do, stepping inside both Amos and the covering Owen Lane, but once a clear path opened up to the try line, he was home and dry.
Willis Halaholo was then sin-binned when he played the ball on the floor inside his own 22, although he perhaps will feel aggrieved that referee Hollie Davidson went for the yellow card so early, and it allowed Nathan Doak, who converted Baloucoune’s try, to stick over an easy three.
But the extra man wasn’t to blame for Hume’s score, that was down to the centre’s excellent defensive read.
It came off a Josh Turnbull break, the second row finding a soft shoulder just inside the Ulster half and rampaging into the 22 where Lloyd Williams was well felled by Baloucoune. Sensing the overlap on the far touchline, Cardiff fly-half Jarrod Evans went for the long pass over the top, but Hume read it well to pick it off and run it from his own 22m line under the sticks for the seven-pointer.
It looked like that would be as good as it would get for Ulster in the first half as they struggled to keep the scoreboard ticking over, and they needed to complete a strong defensive stand on their own line after a nice break by Owen Lane down the wing, but McCloskey provided the perfect half-time boost on the stroke of the interval.
It was the centre himself who set it up, his short pass inside sending Timoney through the gap and just shy of the line after a great carry that mixed supreme power and pace, and McCloskey was on hand to follow it in with the next carry that forced him over the whitewash.
Cardiff struck inside the first five minutes of the second half, hooker Kirby Myhill going over in the corner after Evans had sent Rey Lee-Lo through with a nice off-load, but what perhaps looked like it could be the start of a comeback turned out to be a false dawn.
Instead, Ulster would take charge and they would do so emphatically. Timoney would go over for the bonus point score only a couple of minutes after the Welsh region had gotten themselves back into it, the No.8 thumping his way over the line from close range.
McFarland then brought his heavy hitters off the bench in the form of Cooney and Duane Vermeulen and from there it was a case of no way back for the visitors.
After Stewart Moore timed his pass to perfection to set him into clean air, Baloucoune showed another fantastic turn of pace to beat opposite number Lane down the touchline and over the line for his second and Ulster’s fifth, using the supporting Cooney on his inside as a decoy, before the next wave of talent decided to get in on the scoring.
Sexton was put over, again by full-back Moore, for a walk-over try in the corner after a period of dominance in the 22 before a strong driving maul was piloted over by Stewart to round off Ulster’s scoring for the night.
Replacement flanker James Ratti got a consolation for Cardiff with only a few minutes remaining and Hume thought he had a second length of the field effort with the final play of the game, only for the TMO to rule it out for a forward pass in the build-up.
Scorers for Ulster: Tries: Baloucoune (2), Hume, McCloskey, Timoney, Sexton, Stewart; Cons: Doak (3), Cooney (2); Pen: Doak
Scorers for Cardiff: Tries: Myhill, Ratti; Con: Thomas
ULSTER: Stewart Moore; Robert Baloucoune (Aaron Sexton 57), James Hume, Stuart McCloskey (Ian Madigan 64), Ben Moxham; Billy Burns, Nathan Doak (John Cooney 50); (1-8) Jack McGrath (Callum Reid 40), John Andrew (Tom Stewart 57), Marty Moore (Gareth Milasinovich 58); Alan O’Connor (Sam Carter 58), Iain Henderson; Jordi Murphy (Duane Vermeulen 50), Marcus Rea, Nick Timoney.
CARDIFF: Hallam Amos (Matthew Morgan 51); Owen Lane, Rey Lee-Lo, Willis Halaholo (Ben Thomas 50), Aled Summerhill; Jarrod Evans, Lloyd Williams (Jamie Hill 58); (1-8) Brad Thyer (Rhys Carre 50), Kirby Myhill (Keiron Assiratti 58), Dmitri Arhip (Will Davies-King 42); Josh Turnbull, Matthew Screech (Teddy Williams 58); Ellis Jenkins, Josh Navidi, James Botham (James Ratti 58).
Yellow card: Willis Halaholo (13′)
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
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