Ulster continued their impressive BKT URC form as they saw off a competitive Dragons side at Kingspan Stadium. Ulster knew the stakes were high heading into the match, knowing a win would see them leapfrog the DHL Stormers who play Munster this weekend. With the prospect of a top two finish ensuring a home semi-final in the play-offs should they progress, Dan McFarland named a strong side to take on the 15th placed Welsh side.
In a cagey opening affair, Ulster received an early injury blow with Grand Slam winning prop Tom O'Toole having to come off injured. It was the home side who made the first breakthrough of the match, with academy product Dave McCann finishing off a slick move on the left wing with Stuart McCloskey to open the scoring. The Belfast man now had a try to celebrate his new 2 year contract with the province.
John Cooney, who also signed fresh terms last week, nailed his conversion to send the Ulstermen into an early 7 point lead.
The Dragons breathed fire into their side very quickly however, replying a couple of minutes later through their number 10 Angus O'Brien after a great run from Taine Basham. The fly half then converted his own try to level the scoring.
The returning Craig Gilroy thought he had put the finish to a wonderful Ulster attacking move on the 20 minute mark however the Kingspan Stadium crowd were left to fume over the TMO check on a Duane Vermeulen tackle in the build up which meant the try was chalked off.
Ulster didn't let that setback get in their way as they scored their second try of the match through the on fire hooker Tom Stewart. The try came through Ulster's dangerous lineout maul, which is proving to be an almost unstoppable force for most sides. John Cooney was unable to convert the tricky kick.
Ulster tasted blood and looked to hit the Welshmen again with lineout pressure. The Dragons were down to 14 men after a yellow card was shown to Elliot Dee for breaking down a maul illegally.
Stewart soon after grabbed his second try of the match from yet another lineout maul...breaking the URC try scoring record in a season as a result. Cooney added the extras to send Ulster into a 12 point lead at the break.
HT: 19-7
Ulster began the second half on the front foot as they looked to extend their lead further. Ulster received a blow when pacy full back Mike Lowry had to come off after a meaty collision.
Moments later Tom Stewart finished off a wonderful attacking move involving Ethan McIlroy and Jacob Stockdale to secure his second hat trick in successive URC matches. An incredible achievement for the hooker who had now scored his 17th try of the season. Cooney slotted it past the posts to send Ulster into a 26-7 lead.
The spirited Dragons then hit back quickly with two tries shortly after another, with hooker Elliott Dee scoring from a Dragons maul and Rhodri Williams showing great pace to burst through Ulster's line for his first try of the match. The score at the hour mark was now 26-19.
Ulster's healthy lead had been cut down to 7 points in the space of 4 minutes. Ulster Head Coach Dan McFarland then rang the changes, with Stewart Moore coming on to make his 50th appearance in an Ulster jersey.
In the 67th minute Ulster regained more of their lead through Nick Timoney who had came on from the bench. The reliable flanker showing good pace to power over for Ulster's fifth try. Cooney converted to make the score 33-19 to the home side.
Ulster fought through a potentially pivotal moment as they thwarted a Dragons attack near their own tryline by winning an important penalty. From there, the home side kicked on to pile on the pressure and were rewarded for their efforts with a penalty try close to the 80 minute mark.
The referee gave the penalty try and showed a yellow card to Dragons winger Ashton Hewitt for illegally blocking a pass to Nathan Doak in the Dragons 22.
That brought an end to proceedings for Ulster, who did what they had to do. A bonus point win that will be remembered for more try scoring brilliance from Tom Stewart but one that also sees them leapfrog DHL Stormers and puts pressure on the South African side to get a result against Munster.
Scorers
Ulster:
TRY: McCann, Stewart x3, Penalty Try
CON: Cooney x4
Dragons:
TRY: O'Brien, Dee, Williams
CON: O'Brien, Reed
Man of the match
Record Breaker
Tom Stewart, again. #BKTURC #URC | #ULSvDRA pic.twitter.com/1JytylM3aT
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) April 14, 2023
Teams
Ulster:
(15-9) M Lowry, C Gilroy, J Hume, S McCloskey, J Stockdale, B Burns, J Cooney;
(1-8) E O'Sullivan, T Stewart, T O'Toole, A O'Connor (capt), S Carter, D McCann, M Rea, D Vermeulen.
Replacements: J Andrew, A Warwick, J Toomaga Allen, K Treadwell, N Timoney, N Doak, S Moore, E McIlroy.
Dragons: J Williams, R Dyer, J Rosser, M Clark, A Hewitt, A O'Brien, R Williams (capt); R Jones, E Dee, L Brown, B Carter, M Screech, G Nott, T Basham, A Wainwright
Replacements: B Coghlan, J Reynolds, L Fairbrother, S Lonsdale, G Young, L Jones, W Reed, A Owen
Match Officials:
Referee: Ben Blain<br>
AR1&2: Eoghan Cross, Padraic Reidy<br>
TMO: Andrew McMenemy