Tonight Ulster warmed up a chilly Ravenhill with a five-try bonanza as they proved too good for the returning Alan Solomons’ Edinburgh – with scores from Craig Gilroy (2), Paul Marshall, skipper Robbie Diack and man-of-the-match James McKinney.
Outside-half McKinney, deputising for Paddy Jackson away on Ireland duty, did his rising stock no harm whatsoever with a 100% kicking record on the night, as Ulster climbed to third in the RaboDirect Pro12 table with their third winning bonus point of the campaign.
Edinburgh – without a win in Belfast since 2009 – enjoyed a bright opening courtesy of a sprightly rolling maul in the third minute, but a series of three knock-ons in quick succession put paid to their early dominance, with Michael Allen’s speed and Darren Cave’s dexterity impressing once Ulster got their hands on the ball.
However, both Allen and Gilroy were helpless to withstand Number Eight Cornell du Preez as he latched onto Sam Hidalgo-Clyne’s pass on the right wing on 15 minutes, the South African brushing the Ulster wing from his path and touching down just over the line before full-back Gilroy could get to grips with a tackle. Harry Leonard’s conversion fell short, and as McKinney’s penalty looped just over the bar moments later, the deficit sat at a mere two points at the end of the first quarter.
With Dan Tuohy then replacing the injured Iain Henderson, and Allen succumbing to a knock shortly afterwards, Ricky Andrew came on at full-back, a switch which in turn liberated the versatile Gilroy to assume his more familiar position on the left wing. Then a sublime break through midfield from Andrew took out half-a-dozen opponents, and an astute kick from Diack, followed by brisk recycling from Marshall, soon created the space for Gilroy to touch down acrobatically by the flag. McKinney’s impressive kicking continued as he dispatched the conversion for a five-point lead on the half-hour.
Andrew impressed again with a focussed take of the high ball at the restart, picking himself up and launching a raid similar to that which had led to Gilroy’s try, before Cave took over just outside the ‘22’. The Holywood man jinked and weaved a labyrinthine path through the Scots’ defence, evading five or six tackles before releasing the ball as he was eventually grounded. Marshall’s improvisational skill compensated for what the pass lacked in accuracy, as the scrum-half clipped the ball onwards with his foot and dived under the posts for the second try, once again converted by McKinney.
The out-half capped an exemplary first-half display with a penalty just on the stroke of half-time, bringing his personal tally to 10 for the evening.
Half-Time Score Ulster 20 Edinburgh 5
Ulster’s display in the second period was just as dynamic as it had been in the first. Despite some spirited early attacks from the visitors, the Ulster line rarely looked in jeopardy thanks to the stubbornness of their defence, and in attack Cave, Andrew and Gilroy continued to show their calibre.
However it was the forwards – and Marshall – who were to thank for the third try in the 60th minute, just after Edinburgh lock Izak van der Westhuizen had been sent to the sinbin; the scrum-half picking up at the back of a powerful heave from the lineout and supplying Diack who crashed over just by the posts. McKinney made it five kicks from five with his conversion – and it was soon six from six, as Gilroy alertly seized onto a very loose pass from out-half Leonard and ran over virtually unopposed on 64 minutes.
The icing on the cake for McKinney came three minutes later as he benefitted from a brave charge-down by replacement Tom Court in the ‘22’ and resisted the Edinburgh tackle just long enough to ground the ball in the left-hand corner for a fully-deserved fifth try. The youngster converted his own score and, although once back to their full XV Edinburgh grabbed two late consolations, through Dougie Fife and Grayson Hart – the second try converted – nothing could detract from the Ulster performance.
Next up Mark Anscombe’s side will face four consecutive clashes with Italian opposition, firstly away to Zebre in the Pro12 next Saturday, before back-to-back Heineken Cup ties with Benetton Treviso, and their final pre-Christmas fixture at home to Zebre on December 20th.
Full-Time Score Ulster 41 Edinburgh 17
Ulster (15-9): C Gilroy; A Trimble, D Cave, L Marshall, M Allen; J McKinney, P Marshall; (1-8): C Black, R Herring, J Afoa, L Stevenson, I Henderson, R Diack (c), S Doyle, R Wilson.
Replacements (16-23): N Annett, T Court, R Lutton, D Tuohy, M McComish, D Shanahan, P Nelson, R Andrew.
Edinburgh (15-9): G Tonks; D Fife, J Dominguez, B Atiga, J Cuthbert; S Hidalgo-Clyne, W Blaauw; (1-8): A Lutui, W Nel, O Atkins, I van der Westhuizen, T Leonardi, R Grant (c), C du Preez.
Replacements (16-23): J Hilterbrand, R Hislop, G Cross, B Toolis, R Rennie, G Hart, S Beard, T Brown.