Ulster A, sponsored by CD Group, have booked a place in the quarter-finals of the British & Irish Cup for the second year in succession, thanks to a hard fought win over Scarlets Premiership Select at a wet Llandovery RFC on Saturday afternoon.
The Ulster men will now face an away test in the last eight, as Bedford’s bonus point win over Nottingham was enough to secure the fourth home quarter-final spot, edging Ulster down into fifth in the overall rankings.
Ulster A started the game in very positive fashion and almost opened the scoring in the 2nd minute when a Peter Nelson cross-kick was gathered by Aaron Cairns, but the winger was halted just short of the line.
However, a minute later the Ulster men did get off the mark when some patient build up off an attacking scrum set up Man of the Match Clive Ross to dive over from close range. Out-half Peter Nelson added the conversion.
On 9 minutes Nelson extended the lead, making light of the difficult underfoot conditions as he fired over a penalty from 25 metres out.
The Scarlets PS opened their account on 15 minutes. With a penalty signaled, the home side sent a grubber kick in behind the Ulster defence and centre Corey Baldwin raced in to touch down. Out-half Jacob Botica successfully converted.
The Scarlets were temporarily reduced to 14 men on 20 minutes as prop Javan Sebastian was shown a yellow card for a late hit on scrum-half Jonny Stewart. However, it was the Welsh men who got the next score, Botica slotting a penalty to level the sides at 10-10.
Just before the Scarlets were back to a full compliment, Nelson took Ulster up to the 5m line, then a lineout maul drive forced a penalty try to leave Ulster 10-17 ahead at the break.
Scarlets opened the second half scoring as Botica added another successful goal kick after Ulster were penalised off a lineout.
On the hour mark, Ulster A got more joy off a lineout maul as the pack rumbled over once again with John Andrew coming up with the ball. Nelson’s conversion pushed the lead out to 13-24.
There was little in the way of good scoring chances in the final quarter as the majority of play was restricted to the middle third of an increasingly heavy pitch. However, the Ulster men held out for the win to carry the run into the playoffs.
SCORERS
Scarlets PS Scorers:
Tries: Corey Baldwin
Cons: Jacob Botica
Pens: Jacob Botica (2)
Ulster A Scorers:
Tries: Clive Ross, Penalty Try, John Andrew
Cons: Peter Nelson (3)
Pens: Peter Nelson
TEAMS
Scarlets PS team:
(15-9): Tom Rogers, Morgan Griffiths, Corey Baldwin, Rhodri Jones, Ryan Conbeer, Jacob Botica, Jonathan Evans;
(1-8): Dylan Evans, Emyr Phillips, Javan Sebastian, Josh Helps, Chris Long, Lewis Elis-Jones, Stuart Worrall, Jack Condy (Capt).
Replacements: Taylor Davies, Steff Thomas, Simon Gardiner, Dan Davis, Alex Schwarz, Jack Maynard, Scott Lloyd.
Ulster A team:
(15-9): Jack Owens, Angus Kernohan, Luke Marshall, Callum Patterson, Aaron Cairns, Peter Nelson, Jonny Stewart;
(1-8): Tommy O’Hagan, John Andrew (Capt), Tom O’Toole, Peter Browne, Clive Ross, Caleb Montgomery, Matthew Agnew, Marcus Rea;
Replacements: Zack McCall, Eric O’Sullivan, Matthew Dalton, Aaron Hall, Greg Jones, Michael Stronge, Rory Butler.
British & Irish Cup Pool Stage Fixtures:
Round 1: Ulster A 24-18 Scarlets Premiership Select, Saturday 14th October at Banbridge RFC (2.30pm)
Round 2: Cornish Pirates 23-14 Ulster A, Sunday 22nd October at Mennaye Field, Penzance (2.30pm)
Round 3: Hartpury RFC 24-29 Ulster A, Saturday 9th December at Hartpury College (2.30pm)
Round 4: Ulster A 27-19 Hartpury RFC, Saturday 16th December at Ballymena RFC (2.30pm)
Round 5: Ulster A 25-14 Cornish Pirates, Friday 12th January at Shaw’s Bridge (5.00pm)
Round 6: Scarlets Premiership Select 13-24 Ulster A, Saturday 20th January at Llandovery RFC (2.00pm)
The Ulster men will now face an away test in the last eight, as Bedford’s bonus point win over Nottingham was enough to secure the fourth home quarter-final spot, edging Ulster down into fifth in the overall rankings.
Ulster A started the game in very positive fashion and almost opened the scoring in the 2nd minute when a Peter Nelson cross-kick was gathered by Aaron Cairns, but the winger was halted just short of the line.
However, a minute later the Ulster men did get off the mark when some patient build up off an attacking scrum set up Man of the Match Clive Ross to dive over from close range. Out-half Peter Nelson added the conversion.
On 9 minutes Nelson extended the lead, making light of the difficult underfoot conditions as he fired over a penalty from 25 metres out.
The Scarlets PS opened their account on 15 minutes. With a penalty signaled, the home side sent a grubber kick in behind the Ulster defence and centre Corey Baldwin raced in to touch down. Out-half Jacob Botica successfully converted.
The Scarlets were temporarily reduced to 14 men on 20 minutes as prop Javan Sebastian was shown a yellow card for a late hit on scrum-half Jonny Stewart. However, it was the Welsh men who got the next score, Botica slotting a penalty to level the sides at 10-10.
Just before the Scarlets were back to a full compliment, Nelson took Ulster up to the 5m line, then a lineout maul drive forced a penalty try to leave Ulster 10-17 ahead at the break.
Scarlets opened the second half scoring as Botica added another successful goal kick after Ulster were penalised off a lineout.
On the hour mark, Ulster A got more joy off a lineout maul as the pack rumbled over once again with John Andrew coming up with the ball. Nelson’s conversion pushed the lead out to 13-24.
There was little in the way of good scoring chances in the final quarter as the majority of play was restricted to the middle third of an increasingly heavy pitch. However, the Ulster men held out for the win to carry the run into the playoffs.
SCORERS
Scarlets PS Scorers:
Tries: Corey Baldwin
Cons: Jacob Botica
Pens: Jacob Botica (2)
Ulster A Scorers:
Tries: Clive Ross, Penalty Try, John Andrew
Cons: Peter Nelson (3)
Pens: Peter Nelson
TEAMS
Scarlets PS team:
(15-9): Tom Rogers, Morgan Griffiths, Corey Baldwin, Rhodri Jones, Ryan Conbeer, Jacob Botica, Jonathan Evans;
(1-8): Dylan Evans, Emyr Phillips, Javan Sebastian, Josh Helps, Chris Long, Lewis Elis-Jones, Stuart Worrall, Jack Condy (Capt).
Replacements: Taylor Davies, Steff Thomas, Simon Gardiner, Dan Davis, Alex Schwarz, Jack Maynard, Scott Lloyd.
Ulster A team:
(15-9): Jack Owens, Angus Kernohan, Luke Marshall, Callum Patterson, Aaron Cairns, Peter Nelson, Jonny Stewart;
(1-8): Tommy O’Hagan, John Andrew (Capt), Tom O’Toole, Peter Browne, Clive Ross, Caleb Montgomery, Matthew Agnew, Marcus Rea;
Replacements: Zack McCall, Eric O’Sullivan, Matthew Dalton, Aaron Hall, Greg Jones, Michael Stronge, Rory Butler.
British & Irish Cup Pool Stage Fixtures:
Round 1: Ulster A 24-18 Scarlets Premiership Select, Saturday 14th October at Banbridge RFC (2.30pm)
Round 2: Cornish Pirates 23-14 Ulster A, Sunday 22nd October at Mennaye Field, Penzance (2.30pm)
Round 3: Hartpury RFC 24-29 Ulster A, Saturday 9th December at Hartpury College (2.30pm)
Round 4: Ulster A 27-19 Hartpury RFC, Saturday 16th December at Ballymena RFC (2.30pm)
Round 5: Ulster A 25-14 Cornish Pirates, Friday 12th January at Shaw’s Bridge (5.00pm)
Round 6: Scarlets Premiership Select 13-24 Ulster A, Saturday 20th January at Llandovery RFC (2.00pm)