The Ulster Ravens were defeated in the British & Irish Cup by London Welsh Match Report courtesy of www.london-welsh.co.uk Ulster opened the scoring after Tommy Seymour slipped three tackles to take play into the Welsh 22. The Dragons’ defence recovered but with advantage being played Paddy Jackson nudged the visitors ahead. Ulster were moving well and Mark McCrea collected his own chip, but Jackson’s cross field kick was just overcooked for Craig Gilroy. Aled Thomas missed the chance to level things up with his penalty attempt drifting narrowly wide, but Welsh soon had points on the board. From a scrum inside the Ulster 22 Paul Mackey crashed the ball up the middle, only to be met by a good tackle from Luke Marshall. But when Welsh spread the ball wide Dominic Shabbo had the strength to cut inside and force his way over. Ulster immediately threatened when McCrea and Luke Marshall combined nicely down Welsh’s left, but good work on the deck saw the home side win a penalty and clear the danger. With the game beginning to open up, Beach, on his return from injury for Welsh, slipped out of a tackle and good hands by Mackey, Shabbo, Thomas and Liam Gibson ended with Ulster caught offside. Thomas’ kick, however, struck the right hand post, but Ulster knocked on and compounded that with an accidental offside to allow Welsh to set up a good attacking position. Welsh opted for the scrum and it brought instant reward as David McGuigan was yellow carded and Shabbo squeezed over for his second from Luveniyali’s pass after Matt Corker was hauled down just short. Welsh changed their kicker with Wes Luveniyali taking over from Thomas but it failed to change the home side’s luck with the boot. The home side were now playing with pace and they made their extra man count again as Luveniyali released Beach to charge up field, and Rob Lewis slipped inside the tackle of Conor Carey to touch down. At the fourth time of asking, Luveniyali eventually ended Welsh’s shyness in front of the posts to stretch the home side’s lead to 17-6. Jackson riposted with his second penalty but the Dragons were soon back on the attack and wrapped up the bonus point when Rob Lewis crossed for his second try. Shawn Pittman rumbled his way into the Ulster 22 before Josh Drauniniu weaved through a couple of tackles and Lewis was in support to finish from close range. Luveniyali this time being denied by the same post as Thomas. McGuigan returned to the field as Ulster pressed late on, but in his absence Welsh had outscored the visitors 17-3, and ultimately already done enough to secure victory. Jackson kicked for the corner from in front of the Welsh posts, but on this occasion fortune did not favour the brave as Niall Annettt’s throw was adjudged not straight to leave the visitors trailing by 16 points at the break. Welsh would struggle to recapture their fluency of the second quarter and Ulster were given further impetus when Dragons prop Will Johnson saw yellow. Just like Welsh in the first half the Ravens took immediate advantage as McCrea sent Seymour over to touch down by the posts. Unlike Welsh, though, Ulster could take no further advantage of their extra man and indeed it was the home side that threatened a fifth try when Corker suddenly broke free to gallop into the Ulster 22, only for the lock to lack support. With Welsh back up to full strength, James Lewis was penalised for holding on in the tackle, but O’Connor’s kick for goal with 11 minutes remaining was wide. Welsh sent their supporters home happy when Dan Williams’s half break was taken on by Pittman and Beach touched down in the corner. Thomas adding an the conversion. Ulster almost had the last word but Seymour was denied a second try, after Gilroy had shown a blistering turn of pace, when referee Neil Hennesy adjudged Gilroy’s scoring pass as forward. London Welsh scorers: Tries: Shabbo (2), Rob Lewis (2), Beach; Cons: Lueniyali, Thomas. Ulster scorers: Tries: Seymour; Pens: Jackson (2). London Welsh: Aled Thomas, Liam Gibson, Dominic Shabbo, Paul Mackey, Josh Drauniniu, Waisea Luveniyali, Rob Lewis, Shawn Pittman, Dan George, Will Johnson, Dan Williams, Matt Corker, Ben Russell, Michael Hills ©, Lee Beach. Replacements: Epi Taione for Russell (35min), Saul Nelson for George (46min), Nick Runciman for Rob Lewis (58min), Gordon Ross for Luveniyali (58min), James Lewis for Drauniniu (58min), Lorne Ward for Johnson (60min). Replacement not used: Rob Herring. Yellow card: Johnson (50min). Ulster: Tommy Seymour, Mark McCrea, Michael Allen, Luke Marshall, Craig Gilroy, Patrick Jackson, Michael Heaney, Conor Carey, Niall Annett, Alan Whitten, Ryan Caldwell, Ian Henderson, Scott Lavella, David McGuigan, Neil McComb. Replacements: Niall O’Connor for Jackson (44min), Johnny Shiels for Marshall (44min), Blane McIlroy for Heaney (44min), Paul Pritchard for Caldwell (44min), Kyle McCall for Carey (56min), John Burns for Niall Annett (61min), Ross Hackney for McGuigan (61min). Yellow card: McGuigan (25min).

B&I Cup: London Welsh 29 - 11 Ravens

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