ULSTER 25 HARLEQUINS 24

This afternoon at the Kingspan Stadium Ulster maintained their 100% Heineken Champions Cup win record at the expense of Harlequins in a hard-fought Round Three clash that was just as tight as the one-point gap on the scoreboard suggested. With the lead changing hands four times during the encounter, tries from Sean Reidy, Stuart McCloskey and replacement Adam McBurney were not quite enough to put Ulster out of sight of a dogged Quins side, and John Cooney's nerves of steel were once again called upon in the dying minutes to seal the win courtesy of a high-pressure penalty. Ulster return to the top of the Pool Three table on 12 points, one ahead of Clermont Auvergne at the half-way stage, with the losing bonus point taking Quins up to five, and Bath bringing up the rear on two points. Five personnel changes from the starting XV that recorded a bonus-point win over Scarlets last weekend brought back Ireland internationals Jacob Stockdale, Luke Marshall, Iain Henderson and Jordi Murphy, while Billy Burns also made his return at out-half. Among the backs Stockdale slotted in at full-back, with Louis Ludik moving to the right wing and Craig Gilroy retaining his place on the left. McCloskey partnered Marshall in midfield, while Cooney – a try-scorer in his last three outings – started at scrum-half. An unchanged front row of Eric O’Sullivan at loosehead, Rob Herring at hooker and Marty Moore at tighthead lined up ahead of Henderson and Alan O’Connor in the second row, with Reidy and Marcell Coetzee completing the back row alongside Murphy. Ulster had the better of a frantic opening, testing the Quins backs with repeated high ball under swirling winds, and took a logical lead on seven minutes when Cooney opted to kick his side’s third consecutive penalty for goal. Marcus Smith levelled proceedings from a good 40 metres moments later, and as play became disjointed in the middle of the park, Harlequins began to grind their way into the game. A promising attack on 16 minutes was blighted only by an alert interception from Ludik as the ball was moved wide at pace, and it proved just the wake-up call Ulster needed. Cooney and Ludik combined well down the right in the next Ulster attack, although the scrum-half was perhaps guilty of delaying his pass a little too long, and the momentum swung back in the visitors’ favour, Number Eight Alex Dombrandt eventually breaking his way through the Ulster rearguard for the try on 25 minutes off a neat Kyle Sinckler pass. The Smith conversion dispatched, Ulster upped the tempo without delay, McCloskey carving himself a path into the ‘22’ with his trademark power before the final pass again let Ulster down. The score was not long in coming, however, and when it did on 32 minutes, there was no questioning the execution – McCloskey exquisitely flicking Burns’ crossfield kick into the path of the onrushing Reidy for a fine collective try. Cooney’s conversion set the scoreboard at ten apiece, and although Stockdale threatened from the restart with a kick-and-chase down the middle which just eluded his grasp, the half drew to a close delicately poised with no further scores. Half-Time Ulster 10 Harlequins 10 Ulster came back out on the offensive, forcing a lineout inside the ‘22’ within moments and recycling with patience until Marshall found McCloskey on the left wing, and the centre shrugged off the last man to bundle in at the corner. Play got back underway after a long pause for treatment to Michele Campagnaro, replaced by Francis Saili, who soon drew a high tackle in front of the posts to give Smith what seemed the simplest of three points – only for his kick to rebound back into play off the left upright. Undeterred by the miss, Harlequins continued to probe, eventually forcing their way over the line from a lineout on 57 minutes, hooker Elia Elia dotting down and Smith adding the extras to nudge his side into the lead. Then, all of a sudden, the match turned into an end-to-end scramble, with Ludik only just brought down short of the line on the attack before a deep interception from Dombrandt saw Quins swarm up the field, with Elia once again the man to touch down. The Smith conversion extended the lead to nine, and with fewer than 20 minutes left to salvage the game, Ulster wasted no time in turning the screw. A five-metre lineout on 65 minutes ran like clockwork, with McBurney – a recent entrant for Herring – applying the finishing touch. Cooney made no mistake with his crucial conversion, and despite a scare at the restart where the Quins chasers proved more alert than the Ulster receivers, the hosts reset their defence well and kept several raids at bay. Possession was only wrestled back at the 75-minute mark, however, and two minutes later the chance came – a high tackle by Semi Kunatani giving Cooney the chance to tee up on the 10-metre line. Cool as ever, the scrum-half split the posts for the lead – and was on hand 90 seconds later to kick the ball dead to secure the win. Quins have less than a week to wait to exact some revenge, when they welcome Ulster to The Stoop for the return fixture on Friday 13 December. Full-Time Score Ulster 25 Harlequins 24 Ulster (15 – 9) Jacob Stockdale; Louis Ludik, Luke Marshall, Stuart McCloskey, Craig Gilroy; Billy Burns, John Cooney (1 – 8) Eric O’Sullivan, Rob Herring, Marty Moore, Alan O’Connor, Iain Henderson (c), Sean Reidy, Jordi Murphy, Marcell Coetzee Replacements (16 – 23) Adam McBurney, Andrew Warwick, Tom O’Toole, Kieran Treadwell, Matthew Rea, David Shanahan, Bill Johnston, Matt Faddes Harlequins (15 – 9) Ross Chisolm; Travis Ismaiel, Michele Campagnaro, James Lang, Gabriel Ibitoye; Marcus Smith, Danny Care (1 – 8) Joe Marler, Elia Elia, Kyle Sinckler, Stephan Lewies, Tevita Cavubati, Semi Kunatani, Chris Robshaw (c), Alex Dombrandt Replacements (16 – 23) Jack Musk, Nick Auterac, Simon Kerrod, Dino Lamb, Tom Lawday, Martin Landajo, Francis Saili, Vereniki Goneva