GLASGOW WARRIORS 36 ULSTER 33

This afternoon at Scotstoun Ulster were just edged out by Glasgow Warriors in the second pre-season friendly between the two sides in as many weeks to end with a 69-point scoreline. With expansive rugby on display from both teams, the match proved a worthwhile outing for Dan McFarland’s men before the launch of the Guinness Pro14 campaign in two weeks’ time, with Rob Herring, Rob Lyttle, Stuart McCloskey and James Hume all getting on the scoresheet in addition to a penalty try. With only five of last week’s starters – Hume, Ross Kane, Craig Gilroy, Matt Faddes and Billy Burns – retaining their first XV places, Head Coach McFarland named a strong team including several big names who only just missed out on inclusion in Joe Schmidt’s Ireland World Cup squad. The versatile Faddes moved to full-back this afternoon, with last week’s two-try hero Gilroy and Lyttle making up the back three. Hume was partnered this time by McCloskey in the centre, while John Cooney took over from Jonny Stewart at scrum-half. An almost entirely new-look pack lined up with a front three of Eric O’Sullivan, Herring and Kane ahead of locks Kieran Treadwell and Sam Carter, who marked his debut last Saturday with a try. Matthew Rea, Sean Reidy and Nick Timoney teamed up in the back row, while an extended replacements bench featured the likes of Jordi Murphy and Will Addison, with prop Jack McGrath and out-half Bill Johnston vying to make their maiden appearances for the province. Ulster capitalised well on an early penalty, Herring forcing his way over with relative ease on just two and a half minutes after a good lineout take from Treadwell and a strong rolling maul. Lyttle doubled his side’s lead just before the 20-minute mark, picking up wide from Faddes and showing excellent awareness to opt for a grubber kick, which allowed him to show his chasers a clean pair of heels and pounce for the try. Cooney converted despite the blustery wind, and with Murphy replacing Timoney five minutes later, it took Warriors a further eight minutes to open their account, benefitting from the award of a penalty try with Murphy sent to the sin-bin for collapsing a rolling maul. Much more spectacular was the hosts’ second try three minutes later, Huw Jones creating the space on half-way for Rory Hughes to sprint in unopposed until Burns’ last-ditch challenge on the try-line, which the bulky winger shrugged off to score. Brandon Thomson’s conversion edged Glasgow into the lead for the first time in the encounter, and despite soon losing a man of their own to the bin – Ollie Kebble for a tip tackle on Gilroy – the Scots increased their advantage to five points on the stroke of half-time courtesy of a Thomson penalty. Half-Time Score Glasgow Warriors 17 Ulster 12 With Johnston taking over from Burns at the break, Ulster made as strong a start to the second period as they had the first, McCloskey driving over on 43 minutes after picking up from Hume, and Cooney adding the extras. Warriors were soon back in front, however, hooker Johnny Matthews rumbling over from a well-executed rolling maul and Thomson converting again to re-establish the five-point lead. A pacy break from Treadwell set up the next Ulster attack within moments, and an extended phase of play eventually came to an end with Glasgow penalised for failing to roll away. The visitors could not make the most of their penalty advantage, though, and the chance evaporated with good work from Chris Fusaro and D’arcy Rae to secure the turnover. The next opportunity was not long in coming, however, and this time it was the Warriors who found themselves on the receiving end of a penalty try, as Grant Stewart was yellow-carded for illegally holding up the progress of the Ulster rolling maul as it edged towards the try-line. Undeterred, Glasgow struck straight back through full-back Glenn Bryce after a patient build-up across the breadth of the Ulster five-metre line, and the free-scoring flow of the match continued to restore parity at 31 – 31 on 65 minutes, Faddes and Hume combining well to earn a try for the youngster that his assured performance had richly deserved. Johnston’s conversion inched Ulster ahead, and a succession of handling errors and infringements from Glasgow wasted five minutes of their own time before an offside decision against the visitors set up for a grandstand finish – replacement prop Adam Nicol bundling over from yet another driving maul with three minutes remaining. Three points to the good, the Warriors forwards played keep-ball in their own half as the clock ran down to zero, bringing a highly entertaining contest to an end. Ulster return to Belfast with two final weeks of preparation remaining before the season-opener against Ospreys at the Kingspan Stadium on Friday 27 September. Full-Time Score Glasgow Warriors 36 Ulster 33 Glasgow Warriors (15 – 9) Glenn Bryce; Kyle Steyn, Huw Jones, Stafford McDowall, Rory Hughes; Brandon Thomson, Nick Frisby (1 – 8) Oli Kebble, Johnny Matthews, D’arcy Rae, Andrew Davidson, Tim Swinson, Rob Harley, Chris Fusaro (c), Adam Ashe Replacements: Grant Stewart, Ales Allan, Adam Nicol, Kiran McDonald, Bruce Flockhart, Sean Kenendy, Paddy Kelly, Ruaridh Jackson, Charlie Capps, Callum Gibbins, Matt Fagerson, Jamie Dobie, Nick Grigg, Ratu Tagive, Gavin Lowe Ulster (15 – 9) Matt Faddes; Craig Gilroy, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey, Rob Lyttle; Billy Burns (c), John Cooney (1 – 8) Eric O’Sullivan, Rob Herring, Ross Kane, Kieran Treadwell, Sam Carter, Matthew Rea, Sean Reidy, Nick Timoney Replacements: John Andrew, Kyle McCall, Jack McGrath, Tom O’Toole, Alan O’Connor, Jordi Murphy, Greg Jones, David Shanahan, Bill Johnston, Will Addison, Angus Curtis, Angus Kernohan, Michael Lowry