Tonight Ulster kept the Kingspan Stadium in suspense for a full 80 minutes before the game's only try, but it proved worth the wait as Jacob Stockdale grounded yet another breakaway score to send the Ospreys home empty-handed.
Ulster, in control throughout but lacking in precision when it mattered, led for 75 minutes through John Cooney’s early penalty before Stockdale latched onto a Dan Biggar error at the death to run in from half way.
The victory consolidates Ulster’s standing at fourth in Conference B of the Guinness Pro14, and keeps the pressure on third-placed Edinburgh, now only four points ahead of Jono Gibbes’s side in third place with two rounds to play.
Four changes from last week’s gargantuan performance in Edinburgh brought in a new prop pairing of Callum Black and Ross Kane, while Kieran Treadwell returned at lock and Sean Reidy reprised the number seven shirt.
The Ulster backline remained unchanged, with Charles Piutau at full-back, Louis Ludik and Stockdale on the wings, and the centre partnership of Darren Cave – a scorer last week – and Stuart McCloskey, while Johnny McPhillips and Cooney continued in the half-back slots.
Up front Rory Best captained the side from hooker, while Iain Henderson, author of last week’s bonus-point try, teamed with Treadwell in the second row. Jean Deysel, a powerhouse against Edinburgh, retained his Number Eight berth, with blindside Matthew Rea and Reidy both impressive either side of him at the base of the scrum.
Cooney’s central penalty got Ulster off to a positive start on six minutes after some sustained pressure on the Ospreys’ ‘22’, and a good aerial knock-down from McCloskey from the scrum-half’s punt soon after the restart kept the visitors’ defence on their toes.
Only a dropped ball right on the Welsh try-line prevented the first try on 15 minutes, but after a protracted pause for an injury to hooker Scott Otten, who took the full force of Henderson at speed to the side of his head, the Ospreys began to establish a foothold in the tie, just failing to draw level on 22 minutes as Biggar’s penalty sailed wide.
An injury to McPhillips brought on David Shanahan and a backline reshuffle just before the half hour, which the visitors appeared to have capitalised on when centre Kieron Fonotia crossed moments later. However a TMO review clearly showed a neck roll by Alun Wyn Jones on Henderson in a ruck in the build-up, and referee Andrew Brace showed little hesitation in striking off the score.
As the half drew to a close two rolling mauls proved fruitless for Ulster, sending the sides off with a meagre three points between them.
Half-Time Score Ulster 3 Ospreys 0
More wastefulness from Ulster early in the second half saw a spirited Henderson surge for the line pulled back for a knock-on in contact, but fantastic work from Ludik to put Hanno Dirksen under pressure as he scooped up Piutau’s grubber for the line then won a five-metre scrum.
Shanahan did well to fish the ball out under the Ospreys push, but Piutau’s final pass to Stockdale as Ulster broke down the left sailed behind the onrushing winger, and the ball rolled benignly out of play.
Possession was all Ulster’s now though, and when Shanahan and Cooney combined to force another five metre scrum, the strain on the Ospreys defence began to show, with wing Jeff Hassler sent to the bin for infringing at the ruck.
Ulster looked to have eventually taken advantage of their numerical superiority on 68 minutes when Nick Timoney, a recent entrant for Reidy, outpaced Owen Watkin to fellow replacement Luke Marshall’s grubber and slid over, only for multiple TMO reviews to identify a knock-on as the forward seized the ball.
The Ulster residence in Ospreys territory continued until the 79th minute, when the visitors crossed the half-way line for virtually the first time in the second period. It proved short-lived, however, and when Biggar’s horribly aimless pass to no-one in particular fell to Stockdale, the youngster had enough left in the tank to run half the length of the field and ground another of the breakaway tries that are fast becoming his trademark.
The Cooney conversion missed but it mattered little, with the victory secured and the Ospreys denied the consolation of a losing bonus point. The win keeps Ulster hopes of a play-off place alive, although they will need to out-perform Edinburgh in their final ties against Glasgow and Munster, while the Scots face an equally tough run-in against the Scarlets and Glasgow.
Full-Time Score Ulster 8 Ospreys 0
Ulster (15 – 9) Charles Piutau; Louis Ludik, Darren Cave, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale; Johnny McPhillips, John Cooney
(1 – 8) Callum Black, Rory Best (c), Ross Kane, Kieran Treadwell, Iain Henderson, Matthew Rea, Sean Reidy, Jean Deysel
Replacements (16 – 23) Rob Herring, Andy Warwick, Tom O’Toole, Alan O’Connor, Nick Timoney, David Shanahan, Luke Marshall, Tommy Bowe
Ospreys (15 – 9) Dan Evans; Jeff Hassler, Kieron Fonotia, Owen Watkin, Hanno Dirksen; Dan Biggar, Tom Habberfield
(1 – 8) Nicky Smith, Scott Otten, Dmitri Arhip, Bradley Davies, Adam Beard, Alun Wyn Jones (c), Sam Cross, James King
Replacements (16 – 23) Ifan Phillips, Rhodri Jones, Ma’afu Fia, Lloyd Ashley, Guy Mercer, Matthew Aubrey, Sam Davies, James Hook
Ulster, in control throughout but lacking in precision when it mattered, led for 75 minutes through John Cooney’s early penalty before Stockdale latched onto a Dan Biggar error at the death to run in from half way.
The victory consolidates Ulster’s standing at fourth in Conference B of the Guinness Pro14, and keeps the pressure on third-placed Edinburgh, now only four points ahead of Jono Gibbes’s side in third place with two rounds to play.
Four changes from last week’s gargantuan performance in Edinburgh brought in a new prop pairing of Callum Black and Ross Kane, while Kieran Treadwell returned at lock and Sean Reidy reprised the number seven shirt.
The Ulster backline remained unchanged, with Charles Piutau at full-back, Louis Ludik and Stockdale on the wings, and the centre partnership of Darren Cave – a scorer last week – and Stuart McCloskey, while Johnny McPhillips and Cooney continued in the half-back slots.
Up front Rory Best captained the side from hooker, while Iain Henderson, author of last week’s bonus-point try, teamed with Treadwell in the second row. Jean Deysel, a powerhouse against Edinburgh, retained his Number Eight berth, with blindside Matthew Rea and Reidy both impressive either side of him at the base of the scrum.
Cooney’s central penalty got Ulster off to a positive start on six minutes after some sustained pressure on the Ospreys’ ‘22’, and a good aerial knock-down from McCloskey from the scrum-half’s punt soon after the restart kept the visitors’ defence on their toes.
Only a dropped ball right on the Welsh try-line prevented the first try on 15 minutes, but after a protracted pause for an injury to hooker Scott Otten, who took the full force of Henderson at speed to the side of his head, the Ospreys began to establish a foothold in the tie, just failing to draw level on 22 minutes as Biggar’s penalty sailed wide.
An injury to McPhillips brought on David Shanahan and a backline reshuffle just before the half hour, which the visitors appeared to have capitalised on when centre Kieron Fonotia crossed moments later. However a TMO review clearly showed a neck roll by Alun Wyn Jones on Henderson in a ruck in the build-up, and referee Andrew Brace showed little hesitation in striking off the score.
As the half drew to a close two rolling mauls proved fruitless for Ulster, sending the sides off with a meagre three points between them.
Half-Time Score Ulster 3 Ospreys 0
More wastefulness from Ulster early in the second half saw a spirited Henderson surge for the line pulled back for a knock-on in contact, but fantastic work from Ludik to put Hanno Dirksen under pressure as he scooped up Piutau’s grubber for the line then won a five-metre scrum.
Shanahan did well to fish the ball out under the Ospreys push, but Piutau’s final pass to Stockdale as Ulster broke down the left sailed behind the onrushing winger, and the ball rolled benignly out of play.
Possession was all Ulster’s now though, and when Shanahan and Cooney combined to force another five metre scrum, the strain on the Ospreys defence began to show, with wing Jeff Hassler sent to the bin for infringing at the ruck.
Ulster looked to have eventually taken advantage of their numerical superiority on 68 minutes when Nick Timoney, a recent entrant for Reidy, outpaced Owen Watkin to fellow replacement Luke Marshall’s grubber and slid over, only for multiple TMO reviews to identify a knock-on as the forward seized the ball.
The Ulster residence in Ospreys territory continued until the 79th minute, when the visitors crossed the half-way line for virtually the first time in the second period. It proved short-lived, however, and when Biggar’s horribly aimless pass to no-one in particular fell to Stockdale, the youngster had enough left in the tank to run half the length of the field and ground another of the breakaway tries that are fast becoming his trademark.
The Cooney conversion missed but it mattered little, with the victory secured and the Ospreys denied the consolation of a losing bonus point. The win keeps Ulster hopes of a play-off place alive, although they will need to out-perform Edinburgh in their final ties against Glasgow and Munster, while the Scots face an equally tough run-in against the Scarlets and Glasgow.
Full-Time Score Ulster 8 Ospreys 0
Ulster (15 – 9) Charles Piutau; Louis Ludik, Darren Cave, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale; Johnny McPhillips, John Cooney
(1 – 8) Callum Black, Rory Best (c), Ross Kane, Kieran Treadwell, Iain Henderson, Matthew Rea, Sean Reidy, Jean Deysel
Replacements (16 – 23) Rob Herring, Andy Warwick, Tom O’Toole, Alan O’Connor, Nick Timoney, David Shanahan, Luke Marshall, Tommy Bowe
Ospreys (15 – 9) Dan Evans; Jeff Hassler, Kieron Fonotia, Owen Watkin, Hanno Dirksen; Dan Biggar, Tom Habberfield
(1 – 8) Nicky Smith, Scott Otten, Dmitri Arhip, Bradley Davies, Adam Beard, Alun Wyn Jones (c), Sam Cross, James King
Replacements (16 – 23) Ifan Phillips, Rhodri Jones, Ma’afu Fia, Lloyd Ashley, Guy Mercer, Matthew Aubrey, Sam Davies, James Hook