Connacht 26
Ulster 20
THERE WAS NOTHING on the line for either team aside from finally getting their 2019/20 seasons going again after a five-month break but Connacht outplayed Ulster in this Guinness Pro14 encounter to deservedly notch a bonus-point win as Bundee Aki led the charge.
Andy Friend’s side played with some style, scoring two superb tries in the first half and then adding a more direct pair in the second 40 minutes against an Ulster side who simply weren’t as sharp.
Results yesterday meant Dan McFarland’s men had already qualified for an away Pro14 semi-final before this clash but they will be disappointed to restart their campaign in error-strewn fashion.
Halfback pair Kieran Marmion and Jack Carty were excellent in guiding Connacht’s impressive performance while Aki – one of four Connacht men to kneel during the anti-racism ‘Unity Moment’ beforehand – was extremely powerful in midfield on his 100th appearance for the province, smashing ball-carriers and scoring an explosive try.
In the back three, fullback and man of the match John Porch and debutant wing pair Peter O’Sullivan and Alex Wootton shone. On loan from Munster for the season, Wootton looked like a man keen to relaunch his career after it had slowed up with the southern province.
Porch was among the try-scorers and Marmion dotted down a sweeping second, while tighthead prop Jack Aungier notched the fourth on his debut off the bench. Flanker Conor Oliver and loosehead Jordan Duggan also got debuts as replacements on what was a happy day for Connacht on a beautiful afternoon in Dublin.
The westerners showed they will be no pushover for Munster next weekend, with Johann van Graan’s side knowing a win will definitely seal their semi-final place. The only real negative for Connacht was a neck injury for lock Gavin Thornbury, who was stretchered off.
Meanwhile, Ulster will be taking a hard look at themselves ahead of next weekend’s clash with Leinster – another fixture that means nothing in the Pro14 picture but one they will now target as essential for regaining momentum, with a European quarter-final against Toulouse to come next month too.
Losing hooker and leader Rob Herring to a late injury before kick-off wasn’t ideal for Ulster and in contrast, Connacht’s centurion, centre and leader – Aki – started as he meant to continue with a huge tackle that set the tone for his team.
Ulster were first off the mark as their totemic number eight Marcell Coetzee won a breakdown turnover penalty that allowed John Cooney to slot the three points from around 38 metres out but Connacht swiftly shifted up the attacking gears in response.
A scrum penalty gave them access to the Ulster half and their ensuing lineout attack was sharp as Dave Heffernan made a link pass out the back to Carty and he popped a short pass to Wootton, allowing him to make the initial break into Ulster’s 22. It took something special to find the finish and Carty delivered it with dancing footwork and a beautiful overhead pass that cleared Louis Ludik biting in and sent Porch over untouched.
Carty converted and was soon part of a thrilling counter-attack that saw Wootton beating defenders and offloading ambitiously. Ulster were hampered by knock-ons from Marty Moore and Adam McBurney – starting at hooker – in the opening 20 minutes but Cooney’s boot kept them ticking over with a second penalty after Ultan Dillane was pinged for not rolling away from the tackle.
Connacht’s second try was a genuine stunner. This time, tighthead Finlay Bealham made the link pass to Carty out the back and the number 10 sent Wootton scorching into a gap before he offloaded out towards Porch on the left touchline. The fullback seemed to be cornered but he produced a sensational rugby league-esque grubber kick back inside that sat up to reward Marmion for running a positive support line.
Again Carty converted to give Connacht’s champagne rugby a 14-6 reward on the scoreboard.
Ulster fullback Jacob Stockdale was tackled in the air a few minutes later and after Bealham applauded Ulster’s decision to kick at goal, Cooney’s long-range effort flew wide.
McFarland’s men lost lock Alan O’Connor to a nasty concussion as he came down to ground hard following an Eoghan Masterson lineout steal for Connacht, and Ulster failed to close the gap before the break.
They had a big opportunity down in the left corner in the closing minutes of the half, being held up first when they looked certain to dot down with a powerful maul, but after winning a scrum penalty and going back into the corner, McBurney’s throw flew over and beyond the lineout in what was a big missed chance.
McFarland responded by sending on Alby Mathewson at scrum-half, as well as props Eric O’Sullivan and Tom O’Toole at half-time, with Connacht suffering a blow very soon after as lock Gavin Thornbury was stretchered off with a possible neck injury.
Ulster came out of the extended injury pause the sharper, with a powerful break from McCloskey through Carty taking him to within metres of the Connacht tryline but he couldn’t find someone to offload to. Instead, Connacht were caught offside and Ulster drove a five-metre maul over but were held up for a second time.
But they weren’t to be denied as they attacked from the five-metre scrum and, with penalty advantage playing, out-half Billy Burns ripped a pass wide right for Stockdale to finish a 49th-minute try.
Burns converted to leave Ulster 14-13 behind but a sloppy penalty concession by sub back row Matty Rea allowed Connacht to kick down into the right corner and respond within minutes.
Their maul effort was initially repelled but wing Sullivan made a strong surge to the left and centre Tom Farrell picked and barrelled over from close-range two phases later, only for the TMO to rule his effort out for knocking-on across the tryline.
Referee Frank Murphy brought play back to a Connacht penalty and they opted for the five-metre scrum and simply hit the explosive Aki on a direct line to smash his way past Ian Madigan – just onto the pitch for his Ulster debut and return to Irish rugby – and score under the posts. Carty tapped over the extras for 21-13.
Connacht were reduced to 14 men when sub hooker Johnny Murphy was binned just two minutes after coming on as he infringed close to his side’s tryline with Ulster pressuring after some sharp passing by Madigan and Craig Gilroy had sent McCloskey charging down the left.
Ulster opted for a five-metre scrum with the penalty and barged their way over the tryline in the set-piece, Nick Timoney dotting down at the tail after moving to number eight and following a yellow card for Connacht’s Jonny Murphy. Madigan’s conversion left Ulster back within a point with 16 minutes left to play.
However, it didn’t help Ulster’s cause that 14-man Connacht dominated possession and territory for the remainder of the game after that Timoney score, with captain Jarrad Butler threatening wide on the right at one stage and Sullivan scything through in midfield on another occasion.
Ulster simply couldn’t get out of their 22 as Connacht keep their foot on the throat, winning a penalty and kicking into the left corner with three minutes left rather than taking the shot at goal.
The pressure paid off as Aungier forced his way over to seal the deal.
Connacht scorers:
Tries: John Porch, Kieran Marmion, Bundee Aki, Jack Aungier
Conversions: Jack Carty [3 from 4]
Ulster scorers:
Tries: Jacob Stockdale, Nick Timoney
Conversions: Billy Burns [1 from 1], Ian Madigan [1 from 1]
Penalties: John Cooney [2 from 3]
CONNACHT: John Porch; Peter Sullivan, Tom Farrell (Tom Daly ’74), Bundee Aki, Alex Wootton; Jack Carty, Kieran Marmion; Denis Buckley (Jordan Duggan ’71), Dave Heffernan (Jonny Murphy ’58 – yellow card ’61 to ’71), Finlay Bealham (Jack Aungier ’57); Ultan Dillane, Gavin Thornbury (Niall Murray ’43); Eoghan Masterson (Conor Oliver ’69), Jarrad Butler (captain), Paul Boyle (Dave Heffernan ’61 to ’71).
Replacements not used: Stephen Kerins, Conor Dean.
ULSTER: Jacob Stockdale; Craig Gilroy, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey, Louis Ludik; Billy Burns (captain) (Ian Madigan ’51), John Cooney (Alby Mathewson ‘HT); Jack McGrath (Eric O’Sullivan ‘HT), Adam McBurney (John Andrew ’57), Marty Moore (Tom O’Toole ‘HT); Alan O’Connor (Sam Carter ’32 (HIA – Michael Lowry ’73)), Kieran Treadwell; Nick Timoney, Jordi Murphy, Marcell Coetzee (Matthew Rea ’46).
Referee: Frank Murphy.
I trust Joe. He is at the centre of everything. He is also the best and really knows best.
One of the beauties of having Joe Schmidt as head coach – the first world class head coach, with the exception of Warren Gatland, that Ireland has ever had – is that he has created a system in which every player in the squad can slot into seamlessly. Everybody knows their role and what is expected. Unlike previous Irish head coaches, such as embittered ones currently employed by RTE, Joe Schmidt can see the bigger picture in the World Cup: he doesn’t panic and send out old reliables, who are not fully fit, in the first match. Joe Schmidt’s dispassionate and beautifully professional approach is what has seen Ireland enter the Rugby World Cup as the Number One ranked team in the world, an incredible achievement which shows Joe Schmidt’s ability, unique among Irish head coaches, of getting Ireland ready to peak at the right time.
Joe Schmidt’s Ireland’s confident, back-to-back defeats of Wales in the RWC warm-ups were not only important for proving which team had the greater strength in depth, but were timely in the event of a potential meeting with Wales in the World Cup semi-finals. Those results proved, yet again, lest any of the doubters and begrudgers had any doubts, Joe Schmidt’s permanent class. Schmidt and his team have given Irish supporters a sweet gift in the run-in to the RWC: the great pleasure of clicking on the World Rugby website and seeing Ireland ranked on top of the world, even before we go on to lift the Webb Ellis trophy!
@J. Reid:
We are not number 1 in the world :: NZ ::: S A :: England ::Ireland/Wales
But it will be nice to look back at the numbers in 5 years’ time to see we were No. 1 in the world in September 2019 (the number will still be there and the memory will have slipped )
@J. Reid: Stan
@Martin Quinn: Why do you constantly use colons in your posts? It’s really odd.
Our pack is superior, but the backrow battle will be immense, need to nullify Barclay & Watson.
Fingers crossed our lineout functions properly.
Looking forward to seeing Conway & Larmour, hope their eagerness to impress doesn’t lead to any brain farts though. Conway is fearless contesting the high ball, but sometimes mistimes & takes the jumper out in the air. We can’t afford to be down to 14 men.
Seems pretty silly to have Carty come off the bench with McGrath, when Marmion, Carty and Aki have a telepathy between them and would be playing at the same time. Anyhow, hope McGrath has a stormer and makes me eat my words with regards him being picked ahead of Marms.
@Joe Vlogs: Well he couldn’t come off the bench with Marmion as he’s not in the squad. If Joe sees McGrath as the better option for whatever reason, be it he thinks he’s a better player or Marmion hasn’t been fully fit, it would have made little sense to bring a scrum half to the world cup that he didn’t fancy just because he’s bringing his club mate as what will most likely be 3rd choice fly half as the tournament progresses.
@Joe Vlogs: or maybe McGrath has the same with sexton Ross Byrne , henshaw, larmour Kearney etc. it’s Ireland playing not a bunch of mates who play down the road
I trust Joe. He is at the centre of everything and, with his intimate knowledge of everything rugby and his excellant judgement, seldom if ever lets us down.
Looks like he throwing the first match
@Colm: how do you figure that
Conway should be playing full back.
front row will put pressure on Scots.
overall pack will dominate Scotland.
must stop Hogg on gain line.
Hopefully Stockdale won’t jump out of the line
@john fleming: I disagree, he’s great in the air but runs the ball back which is great but too frequently gets turned over…unlike Kearney and to a lesser extent unlike Larmour. Ball presentation is key in that position with little room for error. He had a great game against Wales but did see him turnover ball twice against Wales
Realistically I think we all expected this starting 15. Some might have put Conway at 15 and Larmour on the wing, I would have too, but it’s obvious that Joe sees Larmour as a better option there than Conway. Because of injuries the backs pretty much picked themselves. He’s also gone with the tried and tested in the backrow. In the absence of Toner I think it’s fair to say that POM will start all the big games when fit for his lineout prowess. Leaving Stander and Conan to fight it out for number 8. Only real surprise might be Scannel on the bench instead of Cronin but Scannel is a good player and is my bet for the starting hooker come the 6 nations. Looking at both teams and not permitting for weird weather I think Ireland will have too much for Scotland. Ireland by 10
I probably would of preferred Conway at fullback but to be fair, larmour has been our back up fullback to Kearney and it would of been a slap in the face to larmour if he didn’t start him there. It’s a very potent back 3 but I just have a small fear of that 3 defensively but coybig!!!!
Wales/England would look to exploit recent aerial form and set piece worries, but don’t think the Scots like playing tactics, they wont switch up their formula and will just hope Russell doesn’t have a howler. Cracker of a game hopefully.
With Kearney fully fit I would expect a 7-12 point win but without him it will be a nailbiter. Can see Laidlaw and Russell sending deep box kicks and garryowens for Hogg, Maitland and Seymour to test Larmour all day.