Four tries from Adam McBurney saw Ulster A, sponsored by CD Group, secure a 27-19 bonus point win over Hartpury RFC at Ballymena RFC on Saturday afternoon.
It was the visitors who enjoyed some early possession and territory, but Ulster A got the opening score of the game on 13 minutes when hooker Adam McBurney crashed over from the back of a lineout maul.
Five minutes later, Hartpury edged themselves in front for what would be the only time in the game, when a penalty brought them up to the Ulster 5m line before a series of pick and drives saw number 8 Darrell Dyer force his way over the whitewash, with the conversion added by out-half Jacob Perry.
Ulster responded within 3 minutes with another McBurney try, which was almost a carbon copy of the first. Johnny McPhillips added the extra 2 to make it 12-7.
On 27 minutes Hartpury leveled the game courtesy of a lineout drive of their own, with centre Maliq Holden the beneficiary of the work by his pack.
Two minutes before the break McBurney popped up at the back of another lineout maul for his third try of the game to put the home side 17-12 ahead at half-time.
The bonus point was secured on 47 minutes when Ballymena clubman McBurney got his and Ulster’s fourth try of the game, with McPhillips converting to open a 24-12 lead.
A McPhillips penalty on 57 minutes pushed the Ulster lead out to 27-12.
Hartpury continued to battle gamely and following an attacking scrum on the 5m line, the referee signaled for a penalty try on 70 minutes, which reduced the deficit to 27-19. However, in the final 10 minutes the Ulster rearguard was able to cope with any advancing attacks to seal off an important victory.
Speaking after the game, Ulster A coach Kieran Campbell commented on the win:
“We’re delighted and I think it’s very important with this group of guys - they are largely young guys and learning how to deal with pressure situations.
“The guys applied themselves very well and handled that pressure and they delivered what we asked them to deliver.
“It wasn’t a pretty performance as all the tries came off the forwards, so big credit to Willie Anderson (Assistant Coach & Forwards Coach) and the forwards.
“We’re very pleased going into Christmas and that gives us a nice position to kick-on from going into the New Year.”
Ulster A started the day joint top of Pool 5 alongside Scarlets Select and Cornish Pirates on 9 points. Today’s bonus point win moves the Ulster men to 14 points, with their other two rivals due to meet in Cornwall on Sunday.
Looking ahead to Round 5, where Ulster A host the Cornish Pirates at home, Campbell said:
“They are a big, physical side as we found out when we played over there and they will test us.
“We’ve got ourselves into a very good position but we’re going to have to deal with that by getting parity in the physicality we expect from the game.
“We need to take them on and have the quality to take the game away from them from what will be a huge challenge.”
Ulster A team:
(1-8): Tommy O’Hagan, Adam McBurney, Tom O’Toole, Peter Browne, Matthew Dalton, Clive Ross, Aaron Hall, Greg Jones (C);
(9-15): Jonny Stewart, Johnny McPhillips, David Busby, Brett Herron, Jack Owens, Angus Kernohan, Rob Lyttle.
Replacements: Zack McCall, Eric O’Sullivan, Caleb Montgomery, Matthew Agnew, Dave Shanahan, Stewart Moore, Aaron Cairns.
Hartpury RFC team:
(1-8): Mike Flook, Will Crane, Tom Heard, Joe Quinn (C), Joe Dancer, Tom Everard, Max Clementson, Darrell Dyer;
(9-15): Harry Cochrane, Jacob Perry, Elias Caven, Jamie Forrester, Maliq Holden, Alex Ducker, Ed Coulson.
Replacements: Joe Mullis, Alex Gibson, Mike Daniels, Ben So’oialo-Chan, Tom Pashley, Ewan Finley, Nick Carpenter.
British & Irish Cup Pool Stage Fixtures:
Round 1: Ulster A 24-18 Scarlets Premiership Select, Saturday 14th October at Banbridge RFC (2.30pm)
Round 2: Cornish Pirates 23-14 Ulster A, Sunday 22nd October at Mennaye Field, Penzance (2.30pm)
Round 3: Hartpury RFC 24-29 Ulster A, Saturday 9th December at Hartpury College (2.30pm)
Round 4: Ulster A 27-19 Hartpury RFC, Saturday 16th December at Ballymena RFC (2.30pm)
Round 5: Ulster A v Cornish Pirates, 12-14th January at Shaw’s Bridge (TBC)
Round 6: Scarlets Premiership Select v Ulster A, Saturday 20th January at Llandovery RFC (3.00pm)
It was the visitors who enjoyed some early possession and territory, but Ulster A got the opening score of the game on 13 minutes when hooker Adam McBurney crashed over from the back of a lineout maul.
Five minutes later, Hartpury edged themselves in front for what would be the only time in the game, when a penalty brought them up to the Ulster 5m line before a series of pick and drives saw number 8 Darrell Dyer force his way over the whitewash, with the conversion added by out-half Jacob Perry.
Ulster responded within 3 minutes with another McBurney try, which was almost a carbon copy of the first. Johnny McPhillips added the extra 2 to make it 12-7.
On 27 minutes Hartpury leveled the game courtesy of a lineout drive of their own, with centre Maliq Holden the beneficiary of the work by his pack.
Two minutes before the break McBurney popped up at the back of another lineout maul for his third try of the game to put the home side 17-12 ahead at half-time.
The bonus point was secured on 47 minutes when Ballymena clubman McBurney got his and Ulster’s fourth try of the game, with McPhillips converting to open a 24-12 lead.
A McPhillips penalty on 57 minutes pushed the Ulster lead out to 27-12.
Hartpury continued to battle gamely and following an attacking scrum on the 5m line, the referee signaled for a penalty try on 70 minutes, which reduced the deficit to 27-19. However, in the final 10 minutes the Ulster rearguard was able to cope with any advancing attacks to seal off an important victory.
Speaking after the game, Ulster A coach Kieran Campbell commented on the win:
“We’re delighted and I think it’s very important with this group of guys - they are largely young guys and learning how to deal with pressure situations.
“The guys applied themselves very well and handled that pressure and they delivered what we asked them to deliver.
“It wasn’t a pretty performance as all the tries came off the forwards, so big credit to Willie Anderson (Assistant Coach & Forwards Coach) and the forwards.
“We’re very pleased going into Christmas and that gives us a nice position to kick-on from going into the New Year.”
Ulster A started the day joint top of Pool 5 alongside Scarlets Select and Cornish Pirates on 9 points. Today’s bonus point win moves the Ulster men to 14 points, with their other two rivals due to meet in Cornwall on Sunday.
Looking ahead to Round 5, where Ulster A host the Cornish Pirates at home, Campbell said:
“They are a big, physical side as we found out when we played over there and they will test us.
“We’ve got ourselves into a very good position but we’re going to have to deal with that by getting parity in the physicality we expect from the game.
“We need to take them on and have the quality to take the game away from them from what will be a huge challenge.”
Ulster A team:
(1-8): Tommy O’Hagan, Adam McBurney, Tom O’Toole, Peter Browne, Matthew Dalton, Clive Ross, Aaron Hall, Greg Jones (C);
(9-15): Jonny Stewart, Johnny McPhillips, David Busby, Brett Herron, Jack Owens, Angus Kernohan, Rob Lyttle.
Replacements: Zack McCall, Eric O’Sullivan, Caleb Montgomery, Matthew Agnew, Dave Shanahan, Stewart Moore, Aaron Cairns.
Hartpury RFC team:
(1-8): Mike Flook, Will Crane, Tom Heard, Joe Quinn (C), Joe Dancer, Tom Everard, Max Clementson, Darrell Dyer;
(9-15): Harry Cochrane, Jacob Perry, Elias Caven, Jamie Forrester, Maliq Holden, Alex Ducker, Ed Coulson.
Replacements: Joe Mullis, Alex Gibson, Mike Daniels, Ben So’oialo-Chan, Tom Pashley, Ewan Finley, Nick Carpenter.
British & Irish Cup Pool Stage Fixtures:
Round 1: Ulster A 24-18 Scarlets Premiership Select, Saturday 14th October at Banbridge RFC (2.30pm)
Round 2: Cornish Pirates 23-14 Ulster A, Sunday 22nd October at Mennaye Field, Penzance (2.30pm)
Round 3: Hartpury RFC 24-29 Ulster A, Saturday 9th December at Hartpury College (2.30pm)
Round 4: Ulster A 27-19 Hartpury RFC, Saturday 16th December at Ballymena RFC (2.30pm)
Round 5: Ulster A v Cornish Pirates, 12-14th January at Shaw’s Bridge (TBC)
Round 6: Scarlets Premiership Select v Ulster A, Saturday 20th January at Llandovery RFC (3.00pm)