Ulster booked their place in a Guinness Pro12 semi-final showdown with Leinster in some style this afternoon at the Liberty Stadium courtesy of an electric six-try defeat of the Ospreys, with Paddy Jackson once again outstanding both from the hand and the boot.
The out-half contributed a total of 21 points to the Ulster tally – a try, five conversions and two penalties – and was joined on the scoresheet by Rory Best, Andrew Trimble, Chris Henry, Stuart Olding and Franco van der Merwe.
Ospreys, no slouches either with three tries of their own as they chased the faint hope of a European Champions Cup slot next season, put up some staunch resistance but such was the superiority of the Ulster firepower that, ultimately, the fortunes of fifth-placed Scarlets at Thomond Park – the only side who could have caught Les Kiss’s men – proved immaterial.
A solitary change in the Ulster 23 saw Craig Gilroy, recovered from the virus which kept him out of the home victory over Leinster, return on the left wing at the expense of Rory Scholes. Otherwise, with the likes of Tommy Bowe and Nick Williams still unavailable, Ulster lined up with Jared Payne at full-back, Trimble on the right flank, Luke Marshall and Stuart McCloskey in the centre, and the partnership of Jackson and Ruan Pienaar – both of whom put in strong claims for man-of-the-match last week – in the half-back slots.
The unchanged pack comprised a front three of Callum Black, Best and Ricky Lutton, second row of Pete Browne and van der Merwe, and back row of Iain Henderson, Chris Henry and Sean Reidy.
Ulster rode their luck early on as Sam Underhill broke through on five minutes but picked the wrong pass, supplying the heavily-marked Biggar rather than the unaccompanied Rhys Webb 10 metres from home.
When Webb found Biggar off the back of a five-metre maul on 12 minutes, however, Ulster’s luck ran out – the out-half free to saunter between the posts for the simplest of tries, which he converted.
Jackson soon matched his opposite number’s feat, picking up off Payne’s diagonal run for a 16th-minute score and conversion after some phenomenally strong ball carrying from Henderson, able to make a good 10 metres with three Ospreys hanging off his considerable frame.
Next to shine was Best, collecting from Pienaar after muscular work from Trimble and weaving a route between three Welsh defenders to crash down just over the line as Josh Matavesi and James King teamed up in a vain attempt to bring the Ireland skipper to ground.
Jackson converted again, but as Ospreys closed out the half in the ascendancy, Matavesi noticed and exploited a gap between Best and Black 10 metres out for a smart solo try, enabling Biggar to restore parity with the extras.
There was still drama to come before half-time, however, as Webb was left to rue the unpredictability of the bounce of the ball from Trimble’s up-and-under, the scrum-half wrong-footed as the ball spiralled away from him – and into Trimble’s grateful clutches for a 40-metre run-in to the line. More good fortune for Ulster saw Jackson’s conversion strike the right-hand post and fall just behind the crossbar with the final kick of the half.
Half-Time Score Ospreys 14 Ulster 21
The Ulster out-half kept the momentum going early in the second half with a sweetly-struck penalty from distance, but a handful of missed tackles almost got the visitors in hot water on 53 minutes, as the Ospreys progressed to three metres from home before a hard-earned turnover from Pete Browne got them out of jail.
The bonus point came two minutes later – and from a somewhat unexpected source as, after forcing their way to the opposite end of the park, Ulster contrived to lose possession in a ruck centimetres from the Ospreys try-line. However, as the ball rolled back to Webb, who steadied it with his studs, the quick-thinking Henry reached round the side to apply downward pressure just behind the line for a try confirmed by TMO Derek Bevan – despite a crescendo of jeers around the Liberty Stadium from partisan Welsh fans, suspicious of a knock-on.
Unfazed, Jackson added the conversion and soon thereafter a penalty, and while recent entrant Tom Grabham dove over in the corner on 65 minutes for the Ospreys, fellow replacement Olding put the result beyond any doubt three minutes later as his fleet footwork eluded four prospective tacklers for another try underneath the posts, converted to maintain Jackson’s 100% record.
Another unpredictable bounce – the first of the match, perhaps, to go in the Welshmen’s favour – gifted Grabham his second try as this time Jackson was outfoxed in the corner and, although Biggar converted, Ulster closed the game on a high as lock van der Merwe waded his way through half-a-dozen Ospreys for the score with four minutes remaining.
The semi-final play-offs take place in two weeks’ time, with Leinster – Ulster at the RDS on Friday 20 May, followed by Connacht – Glasgow at the Galway Sportsground on Saturday 21.
Full-Time Score Ospreys 26 Ulster 46
Ospreys (15 – 9) Dan Evans; Ben John, Owen Watkin, Josh Matavesi, Eli Walker; Dan Biggar, Rhys Webb
(1 – 8) Nicky Smith, Scott Baldwin, Dimitri Arhip, Rynier Bernardo, Rory Thornton, Dan Lydiate, Sam Underhill, James King
Replacements (16 – 23) Scott Otten, Gareth Thomas, Aaron Jarvis, Joe Bearman, Olly Cracknell, Brendon Leonard, Sam Davies, Tom Grabham
Ulster (15 – 9) Jared Payne; Andrew Trimble, Luke Marshall, Stuart McCloskey, Craig Gilroy; Paddy Jackson, Ruan Pienaar
(1 – 8) Callum Black, Rory Best (c), Ricky Lutton, Pete Browne, Franco van der Merwe, Iain Henderson, Chris Henry, Sean Reidy
Replacements (16 – 23) Rob Herring, Kyle McCall, Andrew Warwick, Robbie Diack, Roger Wilson, Paul Marshall, Stuart Olding, Darren Cave
The out-half contributed a total of 21 points to the Ulster tally – a try, five conversions and two penalties – and was joined on the scoresheet by Rory Best, Andrew Trimble, Chris Henry, Stuart Olding and Franco van der Merwe.
Ospreys, no slouches either with three tries of their own as they chased the faint hope of a European Champions Cup slot next season, put up some staunch resistance but such was the superiority of the Ulster firepower that, ultimately, the fortunes of fifth-placed Scarlets at Thomond Park – the only side who could have caught Les Kiss’s men – proved immaterial.
A solitary change in the Ulster 23 saw Craig Gilroy, recovered from the virus which kept him out of the home victory over Leinster, return on the left wing at the expense of Rory Scholes. Otherwise, with the likes of Tommy Bowe and Nick Williams still unavailable, Ulster lined up with Jared Payne at full-back, Trimble on the right flank, Luke Marshall and Stuart McCloskey in the centre, and the partnership of Jackson and Ruan Pienaar – both of whom put in strong claims for man-of-the-match last week – in the half-back slots.
The unchanged pack comprised a front three of Callum Black, Best and Ricky Lutton, second row of Pete Browne and van der Merwe, and back row of Iain Henderson, Chris Henry and Sean Reidy.
Ulster rode their luck early on as Sam Underhill broke through on five minutes but picked the wrong pass, supplying the heavily-marked Biggar rather than the unaccompanied Rhys Webb 10 metres from home.
When Webb found Biggar off the back of a five-metre maul on 12 minutes, however, Ulster’s luck ran out – the out-half free to saunter between the posts for the simplest of tries, which he converted.
Jackson soon matched his opposite number’s feat, picking up off Payne’s diagonal run for a 16th-minute score and conversion after some phenomenally strong ball carrying from Henderson, able to make a good 10 metres with three Ospreys hanging off his considerable frame.
Next to shine was Best, collecting from Pienaar after muscular work from Trimble and weaving a route between three Welsh defenders to crash down just over the line as Josh Matavesi and James King teamed up in a vain attempt to bring the Ireland skipper to ground.
Jackson converted again, but as Ospreys closed out the half in the ascendancy, Matavesi noticed and exploited a gap between Best and Black 10 metres out for a smart solo try, enabling Biggar to restore parity with the extras.
There was still drama to come before half-time, however, as Webb was left to rue the unpredictability of the bounce of the ball from Trimble’s up-and-under, the scrum-half wrong-footed as the ball spiralled away from him – and into Trimble’s grateful clutches for a 40-metre run-in to the line. More good fortune for Ulster saw Jackson’s conversion strike the right-hand post and fall just behind the crossbar with the final kick of the half.
Half-Time Score Ospreys 14 Ulster 21
The Ulster out-half kept the momentum going early in the second half with a sweetly-struck penalty from distance, but a handful of missed tackles almost got the visitors in hot water on 53 minutes, as the Ospreys progressed to three metres from home before a hard-earned turnover from Pete Browne got them out of jail.
The bonus point came two minutes later – and from a somewhat unexpected source as, after forcing their way to the opposite end of the park, Ulster contrived to lose possession in a ruck centimetres from the Ospreys try-line. However, as the ball rolled back to Webb, who steadied it with his studs, the quick-thinking Henry reached round the side to apply downward pressure just behind the line for a try confirmed by TMO Derek Bevan – despite a crescendo of jeers around the Liberty Stadium from partisan Welsh fans, suspicious of a knock-on.
Unfazed, Jackson added the conversion and soon thereafter a penalty, and while recent entrant Tom Grabham dove over in the corner on 65 minutes for the Ospreys, fellow replacement Olding put the result beyond any doubt three minutes later as his fleet footwork eluded four prospective tacklers for another try underneath the posts, converted to maintain Jackson’s 100% record.
Another unpredictable bounce – the first of the match, perhaps, to go in the Welshmen’s favour – gifted Grabham his second try as this time Jackson was outfoxed in the corner and, although Biggar converted, Ulster closed the game on a high as lock van der Merwe waded his way through half-a-dozen Ospreys for the score with four minutes remaining.
The semi-final play-offs take place in two weeks’ time, with Leinster – Ulster at the RDS on Friday 20 May, followed by Connacht – Glasgow at the Galway Sportsground on Saturday 21.
Full-Time Score Ospreys 26 Ulster 46
Ospreys (15 – 9) Dan Evans; Ben John, Owen Watkin, Josh Matavesi, Eli Walker; Dan Biggar, Rhys Webb
(1 – 8) Nicky Smith, Scott Baldwin, Dimitri Arhip, Rynier Bernardo, Rory Thornton, Dan Lydiate, Sam Underhill, James King
Replacements (16 – 23) Scott Otten, Gareth Thomas, Aaron Jarvis, Joe Bearman, Olly Cracknell, Brendon Leonard, Sam Davies, Tom Grabham
Ulster (15 – 9) Jared Payne; Andrew Trimble, Luke Marshall, Stuart McCloskey, Craig Gilroy; Paddy Jackson, Ruan Pienaar
(1 – 8) Callum Black, Rory Best (c), Ricky Lutton, Pete Browne, Franco van der Merwe, Iain Henderson, Chris Henry, Sean Reidy
Replacements (16 – 23) Rob Herring, Kyle McCall, Andrew Warwick, Robbie Diack, Roger Wilson, Paul Marshall, Stuart Olding, Darren Cave