GUINNESS PRO14 PLAYOFF: ULSTER 21 CONNACHT 13

Ulster gave Rory Best and Darren Cave just the Kingspan Stadium send-off they deserved this evening in their Guinness Pro14 play-off against Connacht, securing a semi-final clash with Glasgow Warriors courtesy of a 21 – 13 win. After edging a tight first half thanks to a Nick Timoney try and two John Cooney penalties, Ulster fought tooth and nail in a brutal second period, a late Marcell Coetzee score sealing the victory after a Bundee Aki try and five points from Jack Carty had brought the visitors to within a point. Best and Cave – with 219 and 227 caps to their respective names – both featured on the occasion of the province’s final home game before their retirements, Best captaining the side from the start, and Cave enjoying a cameo role as a temporary replacement for Luke Marshall. With full-back Michael Lowry and prop Ross Kane the only members of the starting XV retained from last Saturday’s 14 – 13 victory over Leinster, Ulster fielded a virtually full-strength side for the sudden-death clash. Wings Robert Baloucoune and Robert Lyttle ran out in a backline comprising centres Marshall and Stuart McCloskey, out-half Billy Burns and scrum-half Cooney. In a pack bolstered by the return of Best at hooker, Eric O’Sullivan completed the front row, with Iain Henderson and Kieran Treadwell at lock, and a back row of Timoney, Jordi Murphy and Coetzee. Ulster took control straight from the kick-off, edging their way to the Connacht ‘22’, where the penalty came on four minutes and was eagerly dispatched by Cooney. Nervy play from the visitors ensured Ulster were soon back in possession, and a little bit of magic from Treadwell and Timoney on 15 minutes saw the flanker show his pace from the lock’s offload, outstripping Colby Fainga’a to the corner for the try. Moments later Baloucoune came off his wing to cause havoc in midfield, the move almost culminating in an opportunity for Murphy, who just missed out on picking up an awkward bounce from a Burns punt forward. But a short put-in at the Connacht lineout put the hosts under severe pressure at the start of the second quarter, alleviated after five minutes of ferocious defending by a shuddering tackle on Tiernan O’Halloran from Baloucoune, which caused the full-back to knock on. Cooney temporarily left the field for treatment at this stage, replaced by David Shanahan, and as Connacht continued to strengthen their foothold in the game, a simple penalty in front of the posts for Carty got them on the scoresheet on the half-hour. Two lost lineouts in quick succession gave Ulster some cause for concern as half-time approached, but a no-arms challenge from Aki on Burns – which had the Kingspan crowd baying for a yellow card at least from referee Andy Brace, but was adjudged to warrant only a penalty after TMO review – allowed Cooney to send his side in at the break eight points to the good. Half-Time Score Ulster 11 Connacht 3 Ulster got straight down to business from the restart, Lyttle and Baloucoune both busy on their wings, but for all the home possession Connacht were next to carve out a chance of points, only for it to be squandered by a badly-angled penalty from Carty. The Westerners kicked their next penalty to touch, and with Cave coming on to a rapturous ovation to allow treatment for Marshall on 50 minutes, sterling defence work soon snuffed out any threat from the lineout. The pace suddenly picking up a notch, errors crept in on both sides – but critically at the Ulster end, where a loose pass got swallowed up by Fainga’a, who supplied Aki for an elementary run to the line after wrong-footing Baloucoune. Carty converted, but Ulster responded well to the wake-up call, pummelling the Connacht rearguard until the penalty came in front of the posts, again put away neatly by Cooney. Carty made it a single-point match once more on 67 minutes with a penalty of his own, before Best ran off the Kingpsan turf for the very last time, replaced by Rob Herring. With Shanahan also now permanently in the ranks in place of Cooney, Ulster dug in deep in the Connacht half, eventually sealing a lineout 10 metres out with five minutes remaining. The hosts held onto the ball from their set-piece – just – and after a seemingly interminable number of phases from their forwards, Coetzee latched onto a pass from Timoney and bludgeoned his way through four green shirts to book Ulster’s place in the semi-final. After emotional tributes to Best and Cave at full-time, including laps of honour from both players, thoughts now turn straight to the showdown in Glasgow in two weeks’ time – and the prospect of an interpro final against Leinster or Munster in the same city a week later should Dan McFarland’s men get past the Warriors. Full-Time Score Ulster 21 Connacht 13 Ulster (15 – 9) Michael Lowry; Robert Baloucoune, Luke Marshall, Stuart McCloskey, Robert Lyttle; Billy Burns, John Cooney (1 – 8) Eric O’Sullivan, Rory Best (c), Ross Kane, Iain Henderson, Kieran Treadwell, Nick Timoney, Jordi Murphy, Marcell Coetzee Replacements (16 – 23) Rob Herring, Andrew Warwick, Tom O’Toole, Alan O’Connor, Sean Reidy, David Shanahan, Darren Cave, Angus Kernohan Connacht (15 – 9) Tiernan O’Halloran; Stephen Fitzgerald, Thomas Farrell, Bundee Aki, Matt Healey; Jack Carty, Kieran Marmion (1 – 8) Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Finlay Bealham, Ultan Dillane, Gavin Thornbury, Eoin McKeon, Colby Fainga’a, Jarrad Butler (c) Replacements (16 – 23) Shane Delahunt, Peter McCabe, Conor Carey, Eoghan Masterson, Paul Boyle, Caolin Blade, Tom Daly, Darragh Leader