CONNACHT 26 ULSTER 20

Ulster returned to Guinness Pro14 action this afternoon at the Aviva Stadium, narrowly losing out to a fired-up Connacht side in a pulsating encounter which saw Alby Mathewson and Ian Madigan make their debuts for the province. While in theory there was little to play for, with Ulster’s qualification for the play-offs already secured and Connacht’s ruled out, both teams gave their all, and while the Westerners deserved their win, Dan McFarland’s side kept in touch throughout, with tries from Jacob Stockdale and Nick TImoney just falling short of four scores from Connacht. Out-half Billy Burns led the side out for their first competitive outing in six months, partnering scrum-half John Cooney in front of a strong back line comprising centres Stuart McCloskey and James Hume, wings Craig Gilroy and Louis Ludik, and full-back Stockdale. An all-Irish front five brought props Jack McGrath and Marty Moore into the front row either side of hooker Adam McBurney, with Alan O’Connor partnering Kieran Treadwell in the second row. At the base of the scrum flankers Timoney and Jordi Murphy lined up alongside Number Eight Marcell Coetzee. After a feisty first five minutes Cooney opened the scoring with a well-placed penalty, but Connacht looked sharp back in open play and a patient build-up with good work from Ultan Dillane and Jack Carty got full-back John Porch over on 12 minutes for an impressive collective try. Carty’s conversion extended the lead, and several losses at the breakdown kept Ulster under pressure until the start of the second quarter when Dillane was penalised for not rolling away and Cooney gratefully dispatched his second penalty, taking his personal haul for the season to the 100-point mark. The Connacht response was instant, Porch again instrumental with a break down the left wing and a smart dink infield for Kieran Marmion to pick up five metres from the line and run in the try, Carty converting again. A Connacht infraction at the restart went unpunished as Cooney’s kick veered just wide of the posts, and Ulster’s most enterprising move to date only came to naught just before the half-hour because of an unfortunate knock-on ten metres from home. An injury to O’Connor brought the lock’s game to a premature end on 30 minutes, sending Sam Carter into action for the first time since November, and as Ulster continued to enjoy the lion’s share of possession, a further penalty five minutes later, sent to the corner by Burns, got the pack over the line only for McBurney to be held up as he attempted to ground. Connacht infringed again at the resulting scrum, but an overthrow at the subsequent lineout got the Westerners off the hook, and despite more Ulster pressure up to the half-time whistle, the breakthrough would not come and the interval came with no further change to the scoreboard. Half-Time Score Connacht 14 Ulster 6 With new recruit Mathewson and props Tom O’Toole and Eric O’Sullivan on for Cooney, Moore and McGrath respectively, a heavy knock to the head of Gavin Thornbury brought Niall Murray into the mix after a lengthy pause for treatment to the starting lock, and when play restarted a trademark bludgeoning break from McCloskey won another five-metre penalty. Once again Ulster were held up from the resulting rolling maul, but – with Matthew Rea now on for Coetzee – this time the side recycled expertly from the scrum and Stockdale touched down from Burns’ looped pass with another penalty coming. The Burns conversion brought Ulster to within a point of their opponents, and the skipper then made way for Madigan to make his debut in white, just in time for Connacht to have a Tom Farrell try ruled out for a loss of control from the centre as he dropped to ground. An offside from Hume in the same action kept the impetus with Connacht, however, and their most recent centurion Bundee Aki – winning his 100^th cap today – forced his way over from the scrum, dragging tacklers Madigan, Mathewson and Hume with him. The Carty conversion put the men in green eight points ahead, but the Ulster effort was far from exhausted and, with Murray sin-binned on the hour after multiple team infringements, an expertly-executed scrum saw Timoney pick up off the floor and ground the try. Madigan’s first points in an Ulster jersey made it a one-point game with 15 minutes to play, but his side failed to capitalise further on their numerical advantage and, with Murray back on the field, Connacht came close on 72 minutes with an Ulster choke tackle just preventing the score deep in their ‘22’. A head injury for Hume brought Michael Lowry on for the closing minutes, but a high tackle from McCloskey on Tom Daly kept play in Ulster territory, and replacement prop Jack Aungier put the result beyond doubt with two minutes remaining off a slow and steady maul. Ulster’s Pro14 season proper comes to an end next Saturday with an interprovincial clash with Leinster, but with at least a league play-off and a Heineken Cup quarter-final yet to come, there is still plenty to play for in the 2019/20 campaign. Full-Time Score Connacht 26 Ulster 20 Connacht (15 – 9) John Porch; Peter Sullivan, Tom Farrell, Bundee Aki, Alex Wootton; Jack Carty, Kieran Marmion (1 – 8) Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Finlay Bealham, Ultan Dillane, Gavin Thornbury, Eoghan Masterson, Jarrad Butler, Paul Boyle Replacements (16 – 23) Jonny Murphy, Jordan Duggan, Jack Aungier, Niall Murray, Conor Oliver, Stephen Kerins, Conor Dean, Tom Daly Ulster (15 – 9) Jacob Stockdale; Craig Gilroy, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey, Louis Ludik; Billy Burns (c), John Cooney (1 – 8) Jack McGrath, Adam McBurney, Marty Moore, Alan O’Connor, Kieran Treadwell, Nick Timoney, Jordi Murphy, Marcell Coetzee Replacements (16 – 23) John Andrew, Eric O’Sullivan, Tom O’Toole, Sam Carter, Matthew Rea, Alby Mathewson, Ian Madigan, Michael Lowry