Ulster headed to Thomond Park off the back of a difficult fortnight for the squad, having their game last weekend versus the Sharks in Durban postponed due to sickness in the squad. They knew that there would be no better test of their fitness than a wet and windy game against provincial rivals, Munster.
With the conditions in their favour, Ulster knew they would have to perform from the start, and they did. With less than five minutes on the clock, Jordi Murphy, a late replacement for Sean Reffell, crossed for the opening try. Ulster showing their strength up front with a driving maul, Murphy dotting down off the back.
However, Munster didn’t take long to respond. With tempers starting to rise on the pitch, Duane Vermeulen was penalised for his part in a scrap with Munster hooker, Diarmaid Barron. Fly-half Jack Crawley made no mistake kicking the three points.
Munster indiscipline allowed Ulster another chance to stick the ball in the corner. Having been caught offside, and then guilty of taking Alan O’Connor out in the air, Ulster’s second score came the same way as the first. Tom Stewart this time the beneficiary at the back of the maul.
Going forward in the half, Munster began to dominate both possession and territory. After Luke Marshall was penalised for playing ball on the ground, Munster looked to the Ulster blueprint, opting to kick to the corner. But this was to be the first of a number of missed opportunities for the home side. An overthrow at the line out allowed the impressive Tom Stewart to relieve pressure with a strong carry before the equally impressive Doak cleared to beyond halfway from a tight angle. Ulster gifted another opportunity, taking the lifters at the line out, but this time Munster knocked on.
Munster did start to look more dangerous moving the ball well, edge to edge, but centre Malakai Fekitoa gave away a penalty for going off his feet. The indiscipline of the former All Black was to prove to be a feature of the remaining time in the second half.
Having received another Munster overthrow, Ulster moved the ball well across the field to Ben Moxham who made a strong carry. Quick ball to David McCann caught the Munster centre offside, allowing Ulster to kick into the corner once again.
Having stopped the drive the pack looked to try and carry their way over, with McCann reaching the line for what looked like Ulster’s third try. Unfortunately, the TMO spotted the slightest of knock-ons at the base from Doak ruling out the score.
Munster struggled to exit their half, with both teams giving away penalties. Jordi Murphy winning a fantastic penalty, getting into the breakdown at lightning speed, before surviving the clear out, followed shortly after by Munster second row Edwin Edogbo winning an equally impressive penalty.
With half time quickly approaching, the TMO was brought back into action, Fekitoa being shown a yellow card for a high tackle of McCann. This gave Ulster the chance they needed before the break. With the maul well stopped this time, O’Connor showed his versatility at scrum half, zipping the ball to Burns who moved it onto the returning James Hume who powered through a gap in defence with a strong fend. Doak was unable to navigate the tricky conditions with the conversions, but Ulster went into the break with a 12-point lead.
HALF TIME: Munster 3 Ulster 15
Play resumed in the second half with new signing, Rory Sutherland coming on for his debut. He didn’t take long to make an impact winning a penalty at the breakdown less than two minutes into the half. John Andrew was also introduced midway through the half for a milestone of his own, his 100th Ulster cap.
With the wind at their tails, it was Munster who started making dents on the scoreboard. Sam Carter found himself trapped on the wrong side of the ruck, twice, allowing Frawley to triple the Munster points with two straight forward attempts at goal. Munster 9, Ulster 15, and Munster were back to a full compliment with Fekitoa returning to play.
If much of the first half was defined by the indiscipline and missed opportunities of Munster, the same could be said for Ulster for much of the second.
Having built to a strong position, Ulster were looking for their fourth try, but a scrag on John Cooney forced a poor pass to Stewart causing a knock on. Moments later, Niall Scanell wasn’t so lucky, attempting to grab Cooney at the base of the ruck, clearly in an offside position. Having stopped another Ulster attack, the task to retain the lead was becoming more difficult as replacement Cormac Izuchukwu was sent to the sin bin for stopping an attempted quick tap.
With 65 minutes played, if it wasn’t for a missed conversion, Munster would have taken the lead. Simon Zebo showing his pace having been introduced off the bench. The Irish international threatening on the outside of McIlroy, drawing in Moore and floating a pass over his head to Shane Daly who slid into the corner. Suddenly it was a one-point game.
Ulster were still set on creating chances. Full back Stewart Moore ran a beautiful line bringing play back into the 22 before Munster once again disrupted play at the base. From here there was a moment of opportunistic skill as a loose ball was hacked and dribbled back by Ethan McIlroy who followed up with a super tackle, forcing a mistake and catching Mike Haley offside just 5 metres from the line. But frustratingly, the men in red swarmed the maul and prevented score.
Munster began to look threatening once again, but with less than five minutes left, Ulster began to control the game, working patiently through the phases back into Munster territory. It looked to be a straight forward opportunity for 3 points, but they opted to go for the corner one last time and look for the bonus point try. But not for the first time, the Munster pack held strong.
Still holding the slenderest of leads, Ulster had to stay resolute in defence before Duane Vermeulen closed out the win with a muscular turnover with the clock in the red.
Tighthead Marty Moore was awarded Player of the Match having played a full 80 minutes making a mountain of tackles for the visitors.
FULL TIME: Munster 14 Ulster 15
Scorers
Ulster
Tries: Murphy, Stewart, Hume
Yellow Card: Izuchukwu
Munster
Tries: Daley
Cons: Crawley (2)
Yellow Card: Fekitoa
Line-ups
Ulster
(15-9): Stewart Moore, Ben Moxham, James Hume, Luke Marshall, Ethan McIlroy, Billy Burns, Nathan Doak;
(1-8): Andy Warwick, Tom Stewart, Marty Moore, Alan O’Connor (Captain), Sam Carter, David McCann, Jordi Murphy, Duane Vermeulen.
Replacements: John Andrew, Rory Sutherland, Gareth Milasinovich, Cormac Izuchukwu, Matty Rea, John Cooney, Angus Curtis, Craig Gilroy.
Munster
(15-9): Mike Haley; Shane Daly, Malakai Fekitoa, Rory Scannell, Patrick Campbell; Jack Crowley, Paddy Patterson;
(1-8): Dave Kilcoyne, Diarmuid Barron, John Ryan; Edwin Edogbo, Eoin O’Connor; Jack O’Donoghue (C), John Hodnett, Alex Kendellen.
Replacements: Niall Scannell, Josh Wycherley, Roman Salanoa, Evan O’Connell, Cian Hurley, Neil Cronin, Ben Healy, Simon Zebo.
Player of the Match
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Marty 🏅<br><br>What a shift 🙌 <a href="<https://t.co/6a9mHBcgWz">pic.twitter.com/6a9mHBcgWz</a></p>&mdash>; Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) <a href="<https://twitter.com/UlsterRugby/status/1586435388675354624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October> 29, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="<https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js>" charset="utf-8"></script>
Worth Another Look
.@UlsterRugby secure try number 3️⃣ through James Hume! 👏 #BTKURC #URC | #MUNvULS pic.twitter.com/5Jqy92VgZ4
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) October 29, 2022