Ulster 37 Cardiff Blues 13

Ulster cruised their way to a home Pro12 semi-final tonight at Ravenhill courtesy of a comfortable four-try defeat of Cardiff Blues, earning the right to host fourth-placed Scarlets for the all-important playoff in a week's time. Two tries from Andrew Trimble and one apiece from Ruan Pienaar and Robbie Diack – celebrating his 100th cap along with Chris Henry – ensured Ulster finished the RaboDirect Pro12 season proper atop the table on 81 points, three ahead of closest rivals Leinster, who will also enjoy the advantage of a home semi-final at the RDS, against Glasgow Warriors. Mark Anscombe’s pack for tonight’s clash counted four changes from that which emerged victorious two weeks ago in Galway, with Callum Black and John Afoa lining up either side of Rory Best in the front row in place of Tom Court and Ricky Lutton. The second row also had a new look, with Lewis Stevenson and Dan Tuohy making way for returning captain Johann Muller and Iain Henderson. Meanwhile, a single personnel change among the backs saw Paul Marshall start at scrum-half, with Ruan Pienaar switching to out-half in place of Paddy Jackson, who dropped to the bench. Although ninth-placed Cardiff had little to play for on paper, it was quickly clear they hadn’t made the trip to Belfast just to make up the numbers, as centre Dafydd Hewitt landed a fourth-minute try after a fine central breakaway by scrum-half Lewis Jones. Rhys Patchell converted for the visitors, and although Pienaar immediately had the chance to claw three points back from 30 metres, a rare misfire from the Springbok left the score at Ulster 0 Cardiff 7. Pienaar did better than atone for his miss moments later, however, picking up a ball dropped by Gavin Evans on the ‘22’, and darting over the line virtually unopposed. Moments after converting his own try, the versatile half-back then launched a searching kick into the corner for Trimble to chase, and a second try was only prevented by alert defending from the Blues as they scrambled the ball into touch. The score remained level as Patchell and Pienaar traded penalties at the beginning of the second quarter, but a composed 27th-minute drop goal from the visiting out-half, who clipped his kick over a second before several Ulstermen closed him down, edged his side back in front against the run of play. Nevertheless, it was Ulster who continued to play the more inventive rugby as the half came to an end, and two promising raids in quick succession were only blighted by the ball just evading Tommy Bowe as he chased Jared Payne’s kick to the corner, and a knock-on by Andrew Trimble as Ulster tried again just before the whistle. Half-Time Score Ulster 10 Cardiff Blues 13 Williams grabbed the bull by the horns as the second half got underway, picking up from an early scrum and displaying some of the trademark ball-carrying strength which saw him named in the RaboDirect Pro 12 Team of the Year earlier this afternoon. Marshall then took over and showed good vision to find Trimble on the right wing with a long lofted pass and, still with plenty to do, Ulster’s Number 14 powered his way through a handful of tackles to touch down just over the line. Pienaar converted the 45th-minute score from a tight angle, and added two penalties moments later to give his side the advantage they deserved at Ulster 23 Cardiff 13. With the Blues now floundering somewhat, Patchell missed a kickable penalty on 50 minutes, before a collision between two Cardiff defenders chasing the same Payne kick awarded Trimble with a loose ball and his second try of the evening, converted once more by Pienaar. With Ulster pushing for the fourth try and their 11th bonus point of the season, Jackson, Tuohy and Court all entered the fray, followed by Mike Allen, Peter Nelson and Nigel Brady, who was greeted with a warm reception for his very last Ulster cap. However, they all had to wait until the 76th minute to seal the bonus, when Diack profited from a quick restart after the sinbinning of Hewitt to pick up metres from the line and drive under the posts. Pienaar added another conversion to his personal tally, and with the match all but over, Tuohy narrowly failed to register a fifth as Jackson’s smart kick towards the corner flag just eluded him. Ulster now have a week to prepare for their play-off with the Scarlets – who qualified in fourth place despite a heavy home defeat at the hands of Treviso this evening – and should go into the match full of confidence, given that they have beaten the Llanelli-based outfit twice already this season, including a 47 – 17 romp at Ravenhill in January. Should they overcome Simon Easterby’s side, a prestigious final at the RDS awaits on Saturday 25 May against Leinster or Glasgow. Full-Time Score Ulster 37 Cardiff 13 Ulster (15 – 9) J Payne; A Trimble, D Cave, S Olding, T Bowe; R Pienaar, P Marshall (1 – 8) C Black, R Best, J Afoa, J Muller (c), I Henderson, R Diack, C Henry, N Williams Replacements (16 – 23) N Brady, T Court, D Fitzpatrick, D Tuohy, S Doyle, P Jackson, M Allen, P Nelson Cardiff Blues (15 – 9) D Fish; T James, G Evans (c), D Hewitt, H Robinson; R Patchell, L Jones (1 – 8) T Filise, K Dacey, S Andrews, B Davies, L Reed, L Hamilton, J Navidi, M Paterson Replacements (16 – 23) M Breeze, T Davies, C Ma’afu, T Paulo, M Cook, L Davies, C Sweeney, R Smith