High drama in Bloemfontein this evening saw Ulster salvage a draw against an impressive Toyota Cheetahs side courtesy of Billy Burns' ice-cool conversion of Henry Speight's stoppage-time try.
Dan McFarland’s side leave the Toyota Stadium with two points for the draw and a four-try bonus point, with two first-half scores from Dave Shanahan, a Johnny Stewart effort and a penalty try before Speight’s decisive score.
The result keeps Ulster at the head of the Guinness Pro14 Conference B table – albeit in advance of the remainder of the Round Four fixtures – on 15 points and the only unbeaten side in the conference.
The Ulstermen lined up with five personnel changes from the side that defeated the Southern Kings Sunday past, with two Academy players, wing Angus Kernohan and prop Eric O’Sullivan, making their first starts for the province.
Peter Nelson continued at full-back with Will Addison a late withdrawal due to a back injury, with Speight, switching wings as replacement for the injured Craig Gilroy, and Kernohan making up the back three. Darren Cave partnered Stuart McCloskey in the centre, while Shanahan deputised at scrum-half for John Cooney, unavailable due to a head injury sustained against the Kings. Burns completed the back line at out-half.
Captain Rob Herring and South African native Wiehahn Herbst packed down in the front row alongside O’Sullivan, with Alan O’Connor and Kieran Treadwell in the engine room, and a back row of Matthew Rea, Sean Reidy and Man of the Match against the Kings, Marcell Coetzee.
The first half was an engaging and well-matched affair, with attacking flair from both sides and two tries apiece.
Ulster were caught cold in the first 90 seconds, centre Nico Lee exposing a gap off the back of a lineout and picking out flanker Gerhard Olivier for an easy try. However the visitors were back on terms within three minutes, Cave capitalising on some similarly slack defence from the South Africans to put Shanahan through for an unopposed run to the line.
Herbst’s evening soon proved short-lived as a knock saw him replaced by Tom O’Toole within the first 10 minutes, and his side were fortunate to survive another scare when lock JP du Preez broke through, only for Shanahan to bring him down and force a knock-on despite the size mismatch between the two.
However the Cheetahs continued to belie their low standing at the foot of Conference A, deservedly taking the lead on 18 minutes through a Tian Schoeman penalty.
They had no answer for Ulster’s second try three minutes later, however, Shanahan again the author after a superb combination between the centre partnership, McCloskey with the offload and Cave drawing the chasers before picking out his scrum-half.
Ulster, scenting blood, repeatedly kicked penalties to touch but failed to reap further points from any and, after losing Reidy to injury on 25 minutes, allowed the hosts back into the game on the half-hour mark.
Ten minutes of Cheetahs dominance came to a head with Rabz Maxwane eluding five tacklers as he waltzed through the centre of the Ulster defence and picked out his fellow wing William Small-Smith for the try just before the interval.
Half-Time Score: Cheetahs 17 Ulster 14
Good chasing from Nelson to put Maxwane under pressure got Ulster an advanced lineout early in the second period, and when the penalty came as the visitors probed the Cheetahs’ ‘22’, Burns this time opted for the posts to level the scoreboard.
A high tackle by Coetzee in his own ‘22’, however, set in motion a series of Ulster penalties, culminating in a yellow card for side entry for O’Connor, and a subsequent rolling maul try for hooker Joseph Dweba.
Another Burns penalty quickly reduced the deficit to two, but patient work from the Cheetahs eventually paid dividends just after the hour mark when another highly effective rolling maul saw replacement hooker Jacques du Toit touch down try number three.
The Ulster reaction was exactly what was needed – replacement scrum-half Stewart sprinting over the line after rapid offloads from Kernohan and McCloskey had left the tiring Cheetahs for dead.
Burns’ conversion attempt veered wide – his first miss of the night – but Ulster sensed the result was now there for the taking, and a 72nd-minute penalty to touch gave them the chance to showcase their own driving maul, referee Ben Whitehouse awarding the penalty try and sinbinning Charles Marais for illegally preventing the score by entering from the side.
The Ulster lead was frustratingly short-lived, however, and Maxwane clearly had failed to read the script, as he showed lightning-quick pace to latch onto an up-and-under for an impressive solo score. The Louis Fouche conversion, followed by a long-range penalty from the replacement out-half, looked to have settled matters with the Cheetahs seven points to the good with two minutes remaining.
However the drama was far from over, with Speight swivelling over from close-range as the clock ticked into the red zone, and Burns knocking over the conversion under intense pressure to secure the draw.
Ulster now return home for two interprovincial clashes, firstly against Munster on Saturday 29 September, before welcoming Connacht to the Kingspan Stadium on Friday 5 October.
Full-Time Score: Toyota Cheetahs 39 Ulster 39
Toyota Cheetahs
(15 – 9) Malcolm Jaer; William Small-Smith, Benhard Janse van Rensburg, Nico Lee, Rabz Maxwane; Tian Schoeman, Tian Meyer (c)
(1 – 8) Ox Nche, Joseph Dweba, Aranos Coetzee, Walt Steenkamp, JP du Preez, Gerhard Olivier, Junior Pokomela, Niell Jordaan
Replacements (16 – 23) Jacques du Toit, Charles Marais, Gunther Janse van Rensburg, Justin Basson, Stephan Malan, Shaun Venter, Louis Fouche, Ryno Eksteen.
Ulster
(15 – 9) Peter Nelson; Henry Speight, Darren Cave, Stuart McCloskey, Angus Kernohan; Billy Burns, Dave Shanahan
(1 – 8) Eric O’Sullivan, Rob Herring (c), Wiehahn Herbst, Alan O’Connor, Kieran Treadwell, Matthew Rea, Sean Reidy, Marcell Coetzee
Replacements (16 -23) John Andrew, Andrew Warwick, Tom O’Toole, Jean Deysel, Nick Timoney, Jonny Stewart, Angus Curtis, Johnny McPhillips.
Good chasing from Nelson to put Maxwane under pressure got Ulster an advanced lineout early in the second period, and when the penalty came as the visitors probed the Cheetahs’ ‘22’, Burns this time opted for the posts to level the scoreboard.
A high tackle by Coetzee in his own ‘22’, however, set in motion a series of Ulster penalties, culminating in a yellow card for side entry for O’Connor, and a subsequent rolling maul try for hooker Joseph Dweba.
Another Burns penalty quickly reduced the deficit to two, but patient work from the Cheetahs eventually paid dividends just after the hour mark when another highly effective rolling maul saw replacement hooker Jacques du Toit touch down try number three.
The Ulster reaction was exactly what was needed – replacement scrum-half Stewart sprinting over the line after rapid offloads from Kernohan and McCloskey had left the tiring Cheetahs for dead.
Burns’ conversion attempt veered wide – his first miss of the night – but Ulster sensed the result was now there for the taking, and a 72nd-minute penalty to touch gave them the chance to showcase their own driving maul, referee Ben Whitehouse awarding the penalty try and sinbinning Charles Marais for illegally preventing the score by entering from the side.
The Ulster lead was frustratingly short-lived, however, and Maxwane clearly had failed to read the script, as he showed lightning-quick pace to latch onto an up-and-under for an impressive solo score. The Louis Fouche conversion, followed by a long-range penalty from the replacement out-half, looked to have settled matters with the Cheetahs seven points to the good with two minutes remaining.
However the drama was far from over, with Speight swivelling over from close-range as the clock ticked into the red zone, and Burns knocking over the conversion under intense pressure to secure the draw.
Ulster now return home for two interprovincial clashes, firstly against Munster on Saturday 29 September, before welcoming Connacht to the Kingspan Stadium on Friday 5 October.
Full-Time Score: Toyota Cheetahs 39 Ulster 39
Toyota Cheetahs
(15 – 9) Malcolm Jaer; William Small-Smith, Benhard Janse van Rensburg, Nico Lee, Rabz Maxwane; Tian Schoeman, Tian Meyer (c)
(1 – 8) Ox Nche, Joseph Dweba, Aranos Coetzee, Walt Steenkamp, JP du Preez, Gerhard Olivier, Junior Pokomela, Niell Jordaan
Replacements (16 – 23) Jacques du Toit, Charles Marais, Gunther Janse van Rensburg, Justin Basson, Stephan Malan, Shaun Venter, Louis Fouche, Ryno Eksteen.
Ulster
(15 – 9) Peter Nelson; Henry Speight, Darren Cave, Stuart McCloskey, Angus Kernohan; Billy Burns, Dave Shanahan
(1 – 8) Eric O’Sullivan, Rob Herring (c), Wiehahn Herbst, Alan O’Connor, Kieran Treadwell, Matthew Rea, Sean Reidy, Marcell Coetzee
Replacements (16 -23) John Andrew, Andrew Warwick, Tom O’Toole, Jean Deysel, Nick Timoney, Jonny Stewart, Angus Curtis, Johnny McPhillips.