Ulster left it late but eventually granted a sold-out Kingspan Stadium an ecstatically Happy New Year with a bonus-point victory over interpro rivals Munster, who had led by 17 unanswered points at the half-way stage.
Darren Cave’s 57th-minute try got the revival underway, but it was a red card for former Ulsterman Sammy Arnold seconds later that proved the turning point, with two scores following from Craig Gilroy before Rob Lyttle’s last-gasp touchdown secured the bonus point.
Ulster remain in third place in Conference B of the Guinness Pro14, but edge ever closer to next weekend’s opponents Leinster on 40 points.
The Ulster pack was bolstered by the return of three big hitters after two-month injury lay-offs, with props Kyle McCall and Rodney Ah You back in action after respective shoulder and wrist complaints, and Number Eight Jean Deysel returning to the base of the scrum after recovering from the neck injury sustained against Leinster in October.
Elsewhere in a front eight much changed from that which had started against Connacht, Rob Herring recovered from concussion to captain the side from hooker, while the Alan O’Connor – Kieran Treadwell tandem was reinstated at second row, and Nick Timoney – the only survivor from the pack that featured in Galway – lined up with Greg Jones either side of Deysel.
In the backline, only right wing Gilroy and scrum-half John Cooney retained their places, with Charles Piutau returning at full-back, Stuart McCloskey and Cave teaming up in midfield and Lyttle, a lively replacement at the Sportsground, getting his first start of the season on the left wing. Christian Lealiifano completed the XV at out-half.
The first half proved dismal viewing for the white and red contingent of the capacity Kingspan crowd. Once Munster out-half JJ Hanrahan had screwed an early penalty wide from distance, smart footwork from Lyttle first on his wing then through the middle raised the decibel level, before two successive infringements from Ah You gifted Munster their first lineout in the Ulster ‘22’.
As the visitors recycled at pace Ulster needed a try-saving tackle from McCloskey on wing Calvin Nash in the first instance, but yet another infringement in the build-up – this time side entry from Herring – gave the red pack a second bite at the cherry, and this time Niall Scannell rumbled over in the rolling maul.
With Hanrahan’s boot proving rusty again with the conversion, Gilroy, Herring and Cooney combined well down the Ulster left, but the move broke down as the scrum-half’s blind pass under Simon Zebo’s tackle fell into Munster hands.
Munster superiority at the scrum soon won another penalty to touch, and in a virtual action replay of the first score, Scannell mauled his way over the line to establish a 10-point lead.
Ulster frustration mounted as possession was surrendered at three consecutive lineouts, while clinical Munster continued to pick off points at every opportunity, forcing a penalty try on 35 minutes as the Ulster pack creaked under a five-metre scrum.
Prospects looked ominous four minutes later as Munster won yet another close-range lineout, but a rare overthrow from Scannell spared Ulster the ignominy of leaking a bonus-point try before half-time.
Indeed the men in white ended the half on the up, putting together their best attack thus far thanks to Timoney’s stoppage-time break, and while the move reaped no points, at the very least it gave the Munster defence something to think about over the interval.
Half-Time Score Ulster 0 Munster 17
With a new prop pairing of Callum Black and Wiehahn Herbst out for the second period, Ulster started much more brightly. Good ball carrying from Herring off his own lineout got the ball deep into the red zone before two strong scrums and a flash of ingenuity from Cooney got the scrum-half touching down behind the whitewash – only for the TMO and referee Sean Gallagher to rule that Munster prop John Ryan had been illegally held in the ruck by Matthew Rea, recently entered as a blood replacement for Deysel.
As promising as the Ulster start to the second half had been, the phase essentially amounted to 12 minutes without a single point, but with a yellow card soon coming for replacement forward Fineen Wycherley, the ensuing lineout and maul – and an inspired line break from Cave – got the first home points on the board.
The referee went straight back to the video screen before Cooney could convert – not this time to check the legitimacy of the try, but to review a tackle by Arnold on Lealiifano in the build-up; a challenge which Mr Gallagher adjudged high, at force and dangerous, and deserving of a red card.
Ulster wasted little time taking full advantage of their considerable numerical superiority, Gilroy judging Cave’s sweet kick to the corner perfectly to latch onto the ball and ground ahead of Keith Earls.
Five points adrift with 15 minutes to play, Ulster soaked up a brief spell of Munster pressure before going for the jugular on 71 minutes, putting together a dozen patient phases until a high tackle on Cave won a 5-metre lineout. Fine mauling kept the pressure on until Lealiifano’s vision picked out Gilroy for his second of the night with a flighted pass.
Man-of-the-match Cooney’s crucial conversion edged his side ahead with five minutes to go, and rather than play conservatively to protect their lead, Ulster gamely pressed on in search of the bonus point, snatching it through Lyttle off Herring’s killer pass after a superb final-minute scrum.
Les Kiss’s men can celebrate tonight, but thoughts will soon turn to their next interprovincial clash, as they prepare for Saturday’s match-up at the RDS.
Full-Time Score Ulster 24 Munster 17
Ulster (15 – 9) Charles Piutau; Craig Gilroy, Darren Cave, Stuart McCloskey, Rob Lyttle; Christian Lealiifano, John Cooney
(1 – 8) Kyle McCall, Rob Herring (c), Rodney Ah You, Alan O’Connor, Kieran Treadwell, Greg Jones, Nick Timoney, Jean Deysel
Replacements (16 – 23) Adam McBurney, Callum Black, Wiehahn Herbst, Robbie Diack, Matthew Rea, Paul Marshall, Johnny McPhillips, Andrew Trimble
Munster (15 – 9) Simon Zebo; Calvin Nash, Keith Earls, Sammy Arnold, Alex Wootton; JJ Hanrahan, Duncan Williams
(1 – 8) James Cronin, Niall Scannell, John Ryan, Darren O’Shea, Billy Holland (c), Tommy O’Donnell, Chris Cloete, Jack O’Donoghue
Replacements (16 – 23) Kevin O’Byrne, Rory Loughman, Stephen Archer, Fineen Wycherley, Robin Copeland, James Hart, Bill Johnston, Stephen Fitzgerald
Darren Cave’s 57th-minute try got the revival underway, but it was a red card for former Ulsterman Sammy Arnold seconds later that proved the turning point, with two scores following from Craig Gilroy before Rob Lyttle’s last-gasp touchdown secured the bonus point.
Ulster remain in third place in Conference B of the Guinness Pro14, but edge ever closer to next weekend’s opponents Leinster on 40 points.
The Ulster pack was bolstered by the return of three big hitters after two-month injury lay-offs, with props Kyle McCall and Rodney Ah You back in action after respective shoulder and wrist complaints, and Number Eight Jean Deysel returning to the base of the scrum after recovering from the neck injury sustained against Leinster in October.
Elsewhere in a front eight much changed from that which had started against Connacht, Rob Herring recovered from concussion to captain the side from hooker, while the Alan O’Connor – Kieran Treadwell tandem was reinstated at second row, and Nick Timoney – the only survivor from the pack that featured in Galway – lined up with Greg Jones either side of Deysel.
In the backline, only right wing Gilroy and scrum-half John Cooney retained their places, with Charles Piutau returning at full-back, Stuart McCloskey and Cave teaming up in midfield and Lyttle, a lively replacement at the Sportsground, getting his first start of the season on the left wing. Christian Lealiifano completed the XV at out-half.
The first half proved dismal viewing for the white and red contingent of the capacity Kingspan crowd. Once Munster out-half JJ Hanrahan had screwed an early penalty wide from distance, smart footwork from Lyttle first on his wing then through the middle raised the decibel level, before two successive infringements from Ah You gifted Munster their first lineout in the Ulster ‘22’.
As the visitors recycled at pace Ulster needed a try-saving tackle from McCloskey on wing Calvin Nash in the first instance, but yet another infringement in the build-up – this time side entry from Herring – gave the red pack a second bite at the cherry, and this time Niall Scannell rumbled over in the rolling maul.
With Hanrahan’s boot proving rusty again with the conversion, Gilroy, Herring and Cooney combined well down the Ulster left, but the move broke down as the scrum-half’s blind pass under Simon Zebo’s tackle fell into Munster hands.
Munster superiority at the scrum soon won another penalty to touch, and in a virtual action replay of the first score, Scannell mauled his way over the line to establish a 10-point lead.
Ulster frustration mounted as possession was surrendered at three consecutive lineouts, while clinical Munster continued to pick off points at every opportunity, forcing a penalty try on 35 minutes as the Ulster pack creaked under a five-metre scrum.
Prospects looked ominous four minutes later as Munster won yet another close-range lineout, but a rare overthrow from Scannell spared Ulster the ignominy of leaking a bonus-point try before half-time.
Indeed the men in white ended the half on the up, putting together their best attack thus far thanks to Timoney’s stoppage-time break, and while the move reaped no points, at the very least it gave the Munster defence something to think about over the interval.
Half-Time Score Ulster 0 Munster 17
With a new prop pairing of Callum Black and Wiehahn Herbst out for the second period, Ulster started much more brightly. Good ball carrying from Herring off his own lineout got the ball deep into the red zone before two strong scrums and a flash of ingenuity from Cooney got the scrum-half touching down behind the whitewash – only for the TMO and referee Sean Gallagher to rule that Munster prop John Ryan had been illegally held in the ruck by Matthew Rea, recently entered as a blood replacement for Deysel.
As promising as the Ulster start to the second half had been, the phase essentially amounted to 12 minutes without a single point, but with a yellow card soon coming for replacement forward Fineen Wycherley, the ensuing lineout and maul – and an inspired line break from Cave – got the first home points on the board.
The referee went straight back to the video screen before Cooney could convert – not this time to check the legitimacy of the try, but to review a tackle by Arnold on Lealiifano in the build-up; a challenge which Mr Gallagher adjudged high, at force and dangerous, and deserving of a red card.
Ulster wasted little time taking full advantage of their considerable numerical superiority, Gilroy judging Cave’s sweet kick to the corner perfectly to latch onto the ball and ground ahead of Keith Earls.
Five points adrift with 15 minutes to play, Ulster soaked up a brief spell of Munster pressure before going for the jugular on 71 minutes, putting together a dozen patient phases until a high tackle on Cave won a 5-metre lineout. Fine mauling kept the pressure on until Lealiifano’s vision picked out Gilroy for his second of the night with a flighted pass.
Man-of-the-match Cooney’s crucial conversion edged his side ahead with five minutes to go, and rather than play conservatively to protect their lead, Ulster gamely pressed on in search of the bonus point, snatching it through Lyttle off Herring’s killer pass after a superb final-minute scrum.
Les Kiss’s men can celebrate tonight, but thoughts will soon turn to their next interprovincial clash, as they prepare for Saturday’s match-up at the RDS.
Full-Time Score Ulster 24 Munster 17
Ulster (15 – 9) Charles Piutau; Craig Gilroy, Darren Cave, Stuart McCloskey, Rob Lyttle; Christian Lealiifano, John Cooney
(1 – 8) Kyle McCall, Rob Herring (c), Rodney Ah You, Alan O’Connor, Kieran Treadwell, Greg Jones, Nick Timoney, Jean Deysel
Replacements (16 – 23) Adam McBurney, Callum Black, Wiehahn Herbst, Robbie Diack, Matthew Rea, Paul Marshall, Johnny McPhillips, Andrew Trimble
Munster (15 – 9) Simon Zebo; Calvin Nash, Keith Earls, Sammy Arnold, Alex Wootton; JJ Hanrahan, Duncan Williams
(1 – 8) James Cronin, Niall Scannell, John Ryan, Darren O’Shea, Billy Holland (c), Tommy O’Donnell, Chris Cloete, Jack O’Donoghue
Replacements (16 – 23) Kevin O’Byrne, Rory Loughman, Stephen Archer, Fineen Wycherley, Robin Copeland, James Hart, Bill Johnston, Stephen Fitzgerald