Ulster ticked all the boxes tonight at Ravenhill as Stephen Ferris’ long-awaited return to action was feted with a bonus-point victory over the combative Scarlets, with Paddy Jackson outstanding after his release from the Ireland Six Nations squad.
By Neil Carnduff
Ulster ticked all the boxes tonight at Ravenhill as Stephen Ferris’ long-awaited return to action was feted with a bonus-point victory over the combative Scarlets, with Paddy Jackson outstanding after his release from the Ireland Six Nations squad.
Jackson, edged off the Irish bench by utility back Ian Madigan for tomorrow’s tournament decider in Paris, responded with consummate professionalism as he scored two tries and made another for Tommy Bowe in a virtuoso display. Crowd favourite Ferris, meanwhile, in his first appearance for 16 months, looked strong and committed as he came on after 60 minutes to a rapturous Ravenhill ovation.
Ulster could have had five points on the scoreboard within the opening 90 seconds, Jared Payne devouring half the length of the pitch along the right-hand touchline before supplying Bowe, only to see the Monaghan man bundled into touch a few metres from the line.
Nick Williams – back in contention and sporting a new Mohican-style haircut – was heavily involved in the opening exchanges, but with three forward plays ruled against him in the space of five minutes, suffered a frustrating start to his return to first-team action.
Jackson showed great opportunism on 15 minutes, following up on his own low prodded kick and capitalising on the unpredictable bounce, which outfoxed his opposite number Aled Thomas, to pick up 10 metres from the line and ground the first try, converted by Ruan Pienaar.
Jackson then unselfishly fed Bowe five metres from the line only three minutes later, presenting the winger with a short run between the posts for one of the simplest tries he will ever score in an Ulster shirt.
Pienaar converted once more, and after Stuart McCloskey had come close to marking his first full cap with a try after another trademark surge from Payne, Rory Scholes similarly impressed at the opposite end of the pitch with a last-ditch tackle on Kristian Phillips as the winger shaped to score in the corner.
With Callum Black exiting on a stretcher just before the half-hour, Tom Court took over at loosehead and, although Olly Barkley opened the Scarlets’ account with a well-taken 32
nd-minute penalty, Ulster continued to dictate the play, with the Jackson-Bowe tandem once again instrumental in the third try.
This time Bowe played the role of architect, cutting the Scarlets defence to ribbons with a diagonal run before supplying the out-half on the ‘22’ with a neat flicked pass. Jackson raced over the line, his score once again converted by his half-back partner.
The Scarlets’ riposte was rapid, scrum-half Gareth Davies landing the try after just outpacing Pienaar to dive onto a well-directed kick on 36 minutes. Barkley converted, but then missed his chance to bring his side to within eight points of Ulster with an errant penalty attempt on the stroke of half-time.
Half-Time Score Ulster 21 Scarlets 10
Jackson continued to excel in every aspect of his game as the second half got underway, astutely charging down a Scarlets kick and setting the wheels in motion for Ulster’s next attack, eventually blighted by a forward pass on the opposition’s ‘22’. Two narrow penalty misses from the boot of Pienaar followed, both from the Scarlets’ 10-metre line, but Ulster continued to plough forward undeterred in their quest to close out the game.
Perhaps the biggest roar of the evening came on 60 minutes as Ferris made his entry just after a successful penalty by Barkley, replacing Williams at Number Eight, and joined in the fray by Craig Gilroy, on in lieu of Bowe. Ferris wasted no time in showing he had lost none of his characteristic tenacity, dragging his opponent 10 metres backwards with his very first tackle,
With the Scarlets still perilously close on the scoreboard as the final 10 minutes loomed, a pinpoint cross-field kick from Jackson picked out Scholes in a promising position on his wing before he and Darren Cave somehow contrived to get in each other’s way, and the chance evaporated with another knock-on.
Ulster kept possession well in the closing minutes, coming up against some stubborn Scarlets defence as they protected their ‘22’ with conviction. Pienaar succumbed to what appeared to be a shoulder injury three minutes from time, replaced by Michael Heaney, but Ulster persisted until the final play and were rewarded right at the death – via a ruling from the Television Match Official – as Court piled through a mass of bodies, both friend and foe, to stretch just over the line.
Injury worries to Pienaar and Black aside, the result proved a good night’s work for Ulster, who now sit just three points shy of Munster in third place on 55 points in the RaboDirect Pro12 standings.
Full-Time Score Ulster 26 Scarlets 13
Ulster (15- 9) J Payne; T Bowe, D Cave, S McCloskey, R Scholes; P Jackson, R Pienaar (1 – 8) C Black, R Herring, J Afoa, J Muller (c), R Diack, R Wilson, S Doyle, N Williams
Replacements (16 – 23) N Annett, T Court, R Lutton, L Stevenson, S Ferris, M Heaney, C Gilroy, R Andrew
Scarlets (15 – 9) J Williams; K Phillips, G Maule, O Barkley, F Climo; A Thomas, G Davies (1 – 8) P John, K Myhill, J Adriaanse, G Earle, J Snyman, J Turnbull, J Barclay, R McCusker (c)
Replacements (16 – 23) E Philips, R Evans, S Lee, R Kelly, S Timani, A Davies, J Lewis, A Warren
