In 30-degree heat, Ulster and the Emirates Lions donned their uniforms to battle it out in the famous Ellis Park stadium, now known as the Emirates Airline Park. A chance for the visitors to get rid of the ghosts of the past on South African soil.
We were expecting a physical confrontation, and the home team showed their intention with a strong maul from the first lineout.
It was the Ulster men, wearing their away kit, that got the first try inside two minutes. It was good to have the Emerging Ireland contingency return in a game with a high expectancy for tries, given the South African teams gameplay and we weren’t disappointed. A Vermeulen turnover led winger Robert Baloucoune to go the wing with a nice dummy to set himself free for a touch down under the sticks. Cooney added the extras.
Strong running from Lions 7 Ruan Venter put them in contention for their first penalty kick which Gianni Lombard slotted over.
Ulster wanted to play expansive rugby, which showed from a turnover following the kick off, and began throwing the ball about looking for space. Illegal entry at the side caused a penalty opportunity for Ulster which Cooney kicked in off the right upright to get the 3 points to make it 10-3 in the first ten minutes.
Duane Vermeulen looked like a man possessed at the breakdown being in his home country making it count, and winning another penalty early in the game through a turnover.
Collectively it was the Lions scrum that took the spoils with a penalty in the 15th minute to push Ulster into their own territory, but a poor lineout let them down and allowed Ulster to kick down field. After this play opened up for both teams, first it was Ulster breaking through with Lowry, but after a ball won on the floor, it opened up for the Lions and nice hands from a couple of forwards allowed number 8 Francke Horn to run 60 metres to score 7 points when it looked like Ulster were about to get 7 down the other end. 10-10 just before the 20th minute
Opportunistic was a word for this game with any slight chance for a break being taken. The Lions capitalising on a poor lineout from Ulster and good hands from a Lions prop putting Edwin Van der Merwe down the wing and putting more pressure on the Ulster boys just before a well-deserved water break in the heat.
After better possession and territory in the first quarter of the game, it was the Lions that began to show their power at the scrum and you could see confidence growing for the home team. Lombard adding to his kicking tally for the afternoon and putting the Lions in front for the first time in the game on the 26th minute.
A good kick return and offload from winger Rob Lyttle swinging momentum back to the men in blue but they couldn’t take advantage with the ball being spilled and any sniff of the ball going loose on the floor it felt like a try wasn’t far away for the home side.
The scrum allowed the Lions to get a further grip on this game as their power showed once again, winning a penalty, to give another chance to turn the screw on the visitors. Poor discipline gave the Lions a couple of bites at the cherry with flanker Emmanuel Tshituka flexing his muscles and bouncing Cooney to go over. The conversation being missed meant it wasn’t as bad as it could have been with only 5 points added making it 18-10 in the 33rd minute.
Ulster then got the chance to show their muscle through a driving maul and a back move that finished with Michael Lowry putting the Ulster men 10 metres away from the Lions line. Hooker Jaco Visagie feeling the pressure producing a throw that wasn’t straight and giving the Ulster men a chance at a scrum. McCloskey finding himself at number 9 with an obvious move on the cards but a penalty resulted meaning we’ll have to wait to see if that will be one used in the future.
5 metres out and a 100% record at lineout time, Herring threw the ball in to get the visitors moving but strong defence meant they couldn’t get through, one reason being a deliberate knock from Henco Van Wyk meaning he would receive a yellow card just before the half time whistle and a final opportunity for some points.
Ulster exploited the man down with a try from Billy Burns who found himself on the wing after Ulster managed to hold some shape and discipline and the conversion was unfortunately missed by John Cooney who assisted the try for his half back partner.
HT: Lions 18- Ulster 15
Almost a carbon copy of the first half with an Ulster winger going over within the first couple of minutes. Rob Lyttle got his first try of the season putting the visitors back in front, maximising on the man advantage, to put the away team back in front. With Cooney’s disappointment with missing the kick before the half, he had a chance of redemption with a kick from the touchline to sway momentum and confidence back to the team from Belfast. 22-18 to Ulster.
A magnificent 50-22 kick from fullback Lowry with the ball coming off the corner flag put more tension on the Lions defence. Stuart McCloskey was part of the scrum in the first half, he was now going to be part of the lineout and although messy, it did lead to him going over for the bonus point try and conversion to add making it 29-18 inside the 10 minutes of the second half getting real fruit from that yellow card that had carried over from the first half.
More variations with the Ulster line out as Rob Lyttle found himself, not only on the scoreboard but in a lineout. And it was a further lineout with great patience and good shape leading Rob Herring to cross the whitewash. With Doak replacing Cooney, he took over kicking duties, slotting over his first kick from a difficult angle. 3 tries for Ulster in the first 13 minutes of the second half completely changing the look and feel of this game… or so it seemed!
It wasn’t just Ulster’s attack that was now a lot better and sharper after the half time team talk, but also their defence after they were put under a siege of pressure but they managed to keep the home team at bay until another water break beckoned.
The home attack didn’t let up after the break, but then again, neither did the formidable defence by the Ulster men. It was relentless, it was energy zapping and the Lions were rewarded for their persistence with Andries Coetzee going over for 5 points through simple phase play. Lombard missed the conversion leaving a 2-score difference going into this final quarter of the game. Ulster 36-Lions 23
Great connection and clinical play meant it was ‘game on’ when left winger Quan Horn went over for a try and this time it was substitute Jordan Hendrikse making the conversion leaving it a 6-point difference between these two sides.
It was an open, electric and frantic final section of this game with composure needed from visitors to maintain control of the scoreboard. Solid game management meant Nathan Doak added to the maturity this Ulster team showed by getting a 3-point penalty and a 9 point lead on the 74th minute.
With high altitude, although the players may not have been able to catch a breath, neither could the fans. When some fantastic offloads and support by the Lions led to big number 8 Francke Horn going over for a second time in this game. Hendrikse slotting the extras to make it 39-37- a 2 point game with 2 minutes to play.
The game finished with a scrum that allowed the visitors to get the ball out of play and to walk away with victory on South African soil, bringing confidence as we head towards another South African opponent in the form of the Sharks next Saturday.
FT: Lions 37- Ulster 39
Worth Another Look
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Rob Lyttle channels his inner Superman 🚀<br> <a href="<https://twitter.com/hashtag/BKTURC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BKTURC</a>> <a href="<https://twitter.com/hashtag/URC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#URC</a>> | <a href="<https://twitter.com/hashtag/LIOvULS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LIOvULS</a>> <a href="<https://twitter.com/UlsterRugby?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UlsterRugby</a>> <a href="<https://t.co/PpyUR163Yz">pic.twitter.com/PpyUR163Yz</a></p>&mdash>; BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) <a href="<https://twitter.com/URCOfficial/status/1581272609819197440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October> 15, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="<https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js>" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">What a game this guy had! <br><br>Your <a href="<https://twitter.com/URCOfficial?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@URCOfficial</a>> Player of the Match 🏅<a href="<https://twitter.com/hashtag/LIOvULS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LIOvULS</a>> <a href="<https://t.co/cXjJUjbeC3">pic.twitter.com/cXjJUjbeC3</a></p>&mdash>; Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) <a href="<https://twitter.com/UlsterRugby/status/1581284162434396161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October> 15, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="<https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js>" charset="utf-8"></script>
Scorers
Ulster
Tries: Robert Baloucoune, Billy Burns, Rob Lyttle, Stuart McCloskey, Rob Herring,
Cons: John Cooney (3) Nathan Doak (1)
Pens: John Cooney (1) Nathan Doak (1)
Emirates Lions
Tries: Francke Horn, Emmanuel Tshituka, Andries Coetzee, Quan Horn, Francke Horn
Cons: Gianni Lombard (1) Jordan Hendrikse (2)
Pens: Gianni Lombard (2)
Line-ups
Ulster
(15-9): Michael Lowry, Rob Baloucoune, Luke Marshall, Stuart McCloskey, Rob Lyttle, Billy Burns, John Cooney;
(1-8): Eric O’Sullivan, Rob Herring, Gareth Milasinovich, Alan O’Connor (Captain), Sam Carter, Dave McCann, Marcus Rea, Duane Vermeulen.
Replacements:
John Andrew, Callum Reid, Tom O’Toole, Cormac Izuchukwu, Nick Timoney, Nathan Doak, Stewart Moore, Ethan McIlroy.
Emirates Lions
(15-9): Andries Coetzee, Edwill Van Der Merwe, Henco van Wyk, Marius Louw, Quan Horn, Gianni Lombard, Sanele Nohamba
(1-8): JP Smith, Jaco Visagie, Ruan Dreyer, Willem Alberts, Reinhard Nothnagel, Emmanuel Tshituka, Ruan Venter, Francke Horn
Replacements<br>
PJ Botha, Sti Sithole, Ruan Smith, Pieter Jansen van Vuren, Sibusiso Sangweni, Morne Van den Berg, Jordan Hendrikse, Alex-Zander Du Plessis