On a beautiful afternoon in Llanelli, Ulster started strongly, looking electric in their new alternate kit. After just three minutes and good continuity from the Ulstermen, Marcus Rea was held up over the line. With Stuart McCloskey prominent in attack, it didn’t take long for the visitors to cross the line again. Captain Alan O’Connor barging over for the opening try four minutes later. Cooney opened his account with a successful conversion.
Ulster continued to dominate possession and territory in the opening quarter, doing well to keep the ball in hand. An offside penalty allowed Billy Burns to kick to the corner. The forwards were unable to keep the ball under control in the maul but they did maintain possession, allowing them to build pressure through a number of phases, before Marty Moore muscled his way over for the second try on 17 minutes. Cooney was once again successful with the conversion.
Almost immediately, the Scarlets responded with two quick tries of their own. Quick hands allowed Welsh international, and Scarlets captain, Jonathan Davis to identify a mismatch in defence and get the home team on the scoreboard. Shortly after, the Scarlets went coast to coast, with some fantastic offloads, leading to Ryan Conbeer crossing on the left wing. Sam Costelow was successful with his second conversion attempt and followed it shortly after with a penalty to take the lead on 25 minutes.
Scarlets had their tails up, but Ulster picked up their efforts in defence. After an impressive 50-22 kick from Nicolas and a penalty kicked to the corner, the home team had gained good territory. After a several tackles on the line, Marcus Rea popped up with a signature turnover. From the resultant clearance kick, Aaron Sexton took a heavy tumble competing for possession. Fly half, Sam Costelow was found to have taken Sexton out dangerously by the officials and was shown a yellow card. Unfortunately, Sexton was forced from the field, replaced by the experienced Craig Gilroy.
Ulster put the man advantage to good use. Some super running lines, with Timoney running a decoy, allowed Lowry to spot a gap and sprint clear. Cooney ran a perfect support line and crossed for Ulster’s third try and his third successful conversion. The Scarlets could have clawed back the deficit after kicking into the corner, but a poor line out and a turnover from Timoney gave Ulster territory and possession once again.
With clock heading into the red, Ulster opted to play off a midfield scrum. It proved the right call as once again the backline ran some beautiful lines, giving Lowry space to run clear again. He was stopped just short of the line, but Marcus Rea was alert to a gap at the edge of the breakdown, slipping over for the bonus point try. Cooney converted to bring the half to a close.
HALF TIME: Scarlets 15 Ulster 28
Straight out of the blocks in the second half, Dwayne Peel’s Scarlets team were alert, as Vaea Fifita picked off Burns’ routine pass, sprinting in for an early second half try. Costelow, back on the pitch, was successful with the conversion to make it a one score game.
Fifita was involved again straight away, but this time as he caught Mike Lowry with a high tackle. John Cooney slotted the penalty reducing the damage of the early try. Not satisfied, Ulster were on the charge again. After a good maul, Stockdale looked impressive with a couple of carries, and despite some loose ball, Ulster maintained possession, eventually allowing Billy Burns to score try number five. Cooney with conversion number five to give Ulster a 38-22 lead after fifty minutes.
On 54 minutes, the Scarlets made sure they were going to still be part of the contest, claiming a bonus point try of their own as Dafydd Hughes bundled over off the back of a rolling maul. Costelow converted.
The back-and-forth nature of the game was to continue as Burns kicked an Ulster penalty right into the corner allowing the pack to set up a maul. With Rob Herring coming up just inches short, Cooney was able to sneak over for the sixth try, confirmed by the TMO. And of course, he added the extras once again to bring the score to 45-29 with a quarter of the match still remaining.
The Scarlets once again turned to their maul to keep the game alive, as they huffed and puffed their way over for their fifth try, Hughes dotting down again. Rhys Patchell converted before kicking a penalty to bring the game back to a one score game.
With ten minutes remaining, Ulster managed the next few moments well, kicking for territory and competing well. This led to a penalty, but for the first time in seven attempts, Cooney pulled the effort left of the uprights.
Scarlets’ try scorer Fifita was shown the sides second yellow card of the day after deliberately knocking on a positive attacking chance for Ulster. Cooney made no mistake with this penalty attempt, giving Ulster the required breathing space on the scoreboard with five remaining.
Not fully satisfied, Tom O’Toole showed his strength to finish a good run from Gilroy, for the seventh try! BKT Player of the Match John Cooney kicked his seventh conversion just before the end of what was an incredible contest featuring twelve tries and 94 points!
FULL TIME: Scarlets 39 Ulster 55.
Worth Another Look
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"Unbelievable spectacle!" 🗣️<br><br>If you weren't tuned into the first half between Scarlets and Ulster, you'll want to change that for the second half 👀<a href="<https://twitter.com/hashtag/SCAvULS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SCAvULS</a>> <a href="<https://t.co/16GITFYNkB">pic.twitter.com/16GITFYNkB</a></p>&mdash>; Premier Sports (@PremierSportsTV) <a href="<https://twitter.com/PremierSportsTV/status/1573660857241718784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September> 24, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="<https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js>" charset="utf-8"></script>
Player of the Match
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">2 tries. <br>3 try assists. <br>30 points in total.<br><br>Solid shift from POTM @JCooney0 🏅 <a href="<https://t.co/mjazGj0usb">pic.twitter.com/mjazGj0usb</a></p>&mdash>; Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) <a href="<https://twitter.com/UlsterRugby/status/1573676983464169472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September> 24, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="<https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js>" charset="utf-8"></script>
Scorers
Ulster
Tries: O'Connor, M Moore, Cooney (2), Mar Rea, Burns, O'Toole
Cons: Cooney (7)
Pens: Cooney (2)
Scarlets
Tries: Davis, Conbeer, Fifita, Hughes (2)
Cons: Costelow (3), Patchell
Pens: Costelow, Patchell
Yellow: Costelow
Line-ups
Ulster
(15-9): Michael Lowry, Aaron Sexton, Luke Marshall, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale, Billy Burns, John Cooney;
(1-8): Andy Warwick, Rob Herring, Marty Moore, Alan O’Connor (Captain), Kieran Treadwell, Matty Rea, Marcus Rea, Nick Timoney.
Replacements: Declan Moore, Eric O’Sullivan, Tom O’Toole, Sam Carter, Sean Reffell, Dave Shanahan, Angus Curtis, Craig Gilroy.
Scarlets
(15-9): Ioan Nicholas, Corey Baldwin, Jonathan Davies (Captain), Johnny Williams, Ryan Conbeer, Sam Costelow, Gareth Davies;
(1-8): Steff Thomas, Ryan Elias, Javan Sebastian, Vaea Fifita, Sam Lousi, Blade Thomson, Josh Macleod, Sione Kalamafoni.<br>
<br>
Replacements: Daf Hughes, Sam O’Connor, Harri O’Connor, Tom Price, Luca Giannini, Kieran Hardy, Dan Jones, Rhys Patchell.