Ulster U19 Men 50-14 Connacht U19 Men
Ulster's U19 enjoyed a dominant bonus point win at Newforge, as Head Coach Jonathon Graham saw his side run in 8 tries in an impressive performance against Connacht.
The tone was set in the opening minutes as a clever inside pass from Bryn Ward sent Josh Stevens into the gap, and the openside showed a good turn of pace to run in the opening try from just outside the 22, touching down under the posts to leave Ben McFarlane with a routine conversion.
A powerful break by Flynn Longstaff sent them on their way to a quick second try, as right winger Lukas Kenny finished well in the corner after some neat hands from the backs.
Captain Zac Soloman then scored twice in quick succession to wrap up the bonus point, both tries almost identical as the hooker touched down at the base of successive lineout mauls in the same corner, with McFarlane adding one conversion.
Fullback McFarlane was then shown a yellow card for not rolling away, after the referee had warned Ulster about racking up too many penalties.
With numbers now on their side, the Connacht backs worked the ball into the hands of the impressive inside centre Hugh Gavin, who crashed through several tackles en route to the Ulster line as he scored the visitor's first try, which was converted by Ryan Roche.
On the verge of half time, Ulster were able to extend their lead as Bryn Ward broke off the back of a maul and powered over from close range to give the home province a lead of 29-7.
Early in the second half, Ulster inside centre Rory Ellerby made a clean line break before showing great awareness to get a quick pass to Ben McFarlane, the fullback using his blinding pace to run clear of the defence and touch down under the sticks, setting himself up for an easy kick to add the extras.
Replacement prop Jacob OIiver continued the scoring as he drove over after another strong lineout maul by Ulster, with MacFarlane nailing a difficult conversion from out wide to keep the scoreboard moving.
Connacht then grabbed their second try of the afternoon when substitute Blayze Molloy charged down a kick inside the Ulster 22 and showed good composure to gather the ball cleanly and cross the line, setting up Roche for another 2 points.
As the game drew to a close, Ulster sub Matthew Booth did well to draw his defender before releasing Ben McFarlane down the left wing, and the fullback smartly stepped inside his man to race clear under the posts, knocking over the conversion to round off a superb performance.
Ulster U19 Men v Connacht
(1-15) Jacob Boyd, Zac Soloman (C), Flynn Longstaff, Joe Hopes, Mark Lee, James McKillop, Josh Stevens, Bryn Ward, Clark Logan, Charlie Beattie, Ethan Graham, Rory Ellerby, James Girvan, Lukas Kenny, Ben McFarlane.
Replacements: Jamie Matthews, Reece Braden, Jacob Oliver, Adam Montgomery, Cameron Faith, Matthew Booth, Tristan Ferguson, Ben Gibson.
Tries: Josh Stevens, Lukas Kenny, Zac Soloman (2), Bryn Ward, Ben McFarlane (2), Jacob Oliver
Cons: Ben McFarlane (5)
Ulster Carpets Ulster Boys' Clubs U18 17-17 Connacht U18
The first game of the day at Newforge was a closely contested meeting between two evenly matched sides, with both camps having to settle for a share of the points.
Ulster's Head Coach Daryl Maxwell saw his squad take an early lead, as waves of pressure from the forwards saw the Connacht defence struggle, and eventually the ref awarded a penalty try.
The visitors were immediately back on the attack though, and the dynamic winger Gérard Murtagh was denied what would have been a sensational try as he was held up after a searing run from the halfway line.
Connacht then kept the next few phases with the pack, and it was Patrick Egan who crashed over for their first try which was converted by Conall Gill.
Just before the interval, Ulster got themselves back in front after a wonderful piece of opportunistic finishing by Zach McCartney. As the Connacht defence waited for the ball to emerge from a ruck and be played out to the backs, the lock managed to reach over a pile of bodies to touch down.
Into the second half, Connacht were reduced to 14 when Cian Brady was shown a card for an infringement at the breakdown, but they still managed to build the pressure through the forwards until hooker Sean Rohan scored for his province to bring them level at 12-each.
Ulster were then themselves down a man when Peter Bird was shown a yellow card for not rolling away, but Connacht were unable to take advantage with the resulting penalty attempt drifting wide of the posts.
A chip and chase from Connacht sub Sean Walsh bounced kindly which allowed him to regather possession and release Gérard Murtagh into space down the left, with the winger racing clear to score and put the visitors in the lead.
With the clock ticking down, Ulster used a penalty to kick for the corner. The resulting lineout maul saw the forwards work hard before replacement hooker James McCammon broke down the blind side to score the vital try to pull the hosts level.
Ulster Carpets Ulster U18 Boys' Club v Connacht U18
(1-15) Callum Bradley, Connor Magee, Joshua Dobbin, Peter Bird, Zac McCartney, Billy Allen, Matthew Heasley, Ryan Connolly, Oliver Smyth (C), Frank Davis, Charlie Orr, Robert Rankin, Harry McKeown, Ben Nelly, Jacob Lennox
Replacements: James McCammon, George McAuley, Murray Napier, Rossa Bell, Reuben Gibson, Sam McIlroy, JF Burns, Joel Barron
Tries: Penalty Try, Zach McCartney, James McCammon
Following the games, recently appointed IRFU President John Robinson spoke to the teams, as well as their management, and also made presentations to the referees, and also the Connacht Officials. Also in attendance were IRFU members David Millar and John McKibbin, with the Ulster Branch represented by Barney McGonigle.