FOURTH TOPPLED THIRD in the Guinness Pro12 at Kingspan Stadium this afternoon as the Scarlets edged out an off-colour Ulster by a single point, with some defensive frailties from the Irish side gifting the visitors two decisive tries.
Outstanding scores from Craig Gilroy and Luke Marshall did plenty to entertain the crowd, but head coach Les Kiss will be seething to see his side drop to fourth in the Pro12 standings, with a losing bonus point little consolation as Ulster slip four points behind league leaders Connacht.
Paddy Jackson skippered his province for the very first time — with club captain Rory Best and vice-captain Rob Herring unavailable through international duty and injury respectively — while the absence of the two hookers meant a first full cap in the number two shirt for the pacy John Andrew.
Meanwhile, number eight Roger Wilson, the holder of a solitary Ireland cap won in 2005, lined out for a landmark 200th provincial appearance, and Chris Henry made a timely return from injury to first-team action given the unavailability of Sean O’Brien for the Ireland Six Nations selectors.
An early four-versus-one out wide on the Scarlets left after a missed tackle from Darren Cave gave full-back Michael Collins the most elementary of tries on four minutes, but an intentional knock-on from the visitors gifted Ulster a close-range lineout which promised much but delivered nothing, as Paul Marshall fumbled forward after fishing out from the back of the maul.
Scarlets' DTH van der Merwe receives medical attention. Presseye / Darren Kidd/INPHO
Presseye / Darren Kidd/INPHO / Darren Kidd/INPHO
Another missed tackle in the wide channel — this time from Stuart Olding — gave the Scarlets licence to roam in the Ulster ‘22’ where an eventual infringement in front of the posts saw out-half Aled Thomas kick over his penalty for an eight-point lead on 15 minutes.
Jackson’s drop-goal with an Ulster penalty imminent reduced the gap immediately, and with the hosts now seemingly roused from their Sunday afternoon siesta, the next Scarlets attack was efficiently snuffed out in double-quick time before Gilroy collected his own kick over the top to run in yet another fine individual try, converted by Jackson.
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However, the see-saw rhythm of the match continued, with Collins again capitalising on some patchy Ulster defending out wide to ground by the flag in a carbon copy of his first score on 24 minutes; Thomas this time adding the conversion.
Ulster contrived to waste a fortuitous lineout steal on the half-hour, lacking penetration as forward after forward attempted in vain to pile over from five metres until the Scarlets wrestled back possession.
Craig Gilroy scores a try for Ulster. Presseye / Darren Kidd/INPHO
Presseye / Darren Kidd/INPHO / Darren Kidd/INPHO
But much better play from the backs saw a trademark dart from Paul Marshall create the space for his namesake Luke to touch down just within the limit of the right-flank touchline, as the centre displayed superb upper-body strength to fend off two tacklers before he stooped to ground.
Jackson added the conversion and Ulster had good fortune to thank as Thomas struck a simple penalty against the upright just on the stroke of half-time to enable them to run off with a slender lead — 17-15.
Scarlets stormed into the second half in voracious mood, pounding the Ulster line straight from the off and eventually earning the penalty which Thomas dispatched on 46 minutes to re-establish their lead.
Worse still for Ulster saw Henry sin-binned on 49 minutes for illegal handling and Thomas extended the gap to six, but the hosts did well to retain the ball for virtually the entirety of their flanker’s exile.
Scarlets' David Bulbring wins a lineout. Presseye / Matt Mackey/INPHO
Presseye / Matt Mackey/INPHO / Matt Mackey/INPHO
When Henry returned to the field on the hour-mark along with multiple replacements, including Ruan Pienaar, Ulster points weren’t long coming – Jackson slotting home a 63rd-minute penalty.
A single point adrift, Pienaar kicked a subsequent penalty to touch, but despite setting up camp in the Scarlets ‘22’ for a good 10 minutes, the Ulster breakthrough refused to come and the Welsh cleared their lines on 73 minutes.
Deep in their own ‘22’ with four minutes left to play was not where Ulster wanted to be, and it was game-over when referee Ian Davies awarded a penalty to allow the Scarlets to play keep-ball in the corner.
Scorers for Ulster Tries: Craig Gilroy (1), Luke Marshall (1) Conversions: Paddy Jackson (2) Penalties: Paddy Jackson (1) Drop-Goals: Paddy Jackson (1)
Scorers for Scarlets Tries: Michael Collins (2) Conversions: Aled Thomas (1) Penalties: Aled Thomas (3)
Ulster
15. Stuart Olding
14. Craig Gilroy
13. Darren Cave
12. Luke Marshall
11. Jacob Stockdale
10. Paddy Jackson
9. Paul Marshall
1. Andrew Warwick
2. John Andrew
3. Ricky Lutton
4. Alan O’Connor
5. Franco van der Merwe
6. Robbie Diack
7. Chris Henry
8. Roger Wilson
Replacements: Johnny Murphy, Kyle McCall, Bronson Ross, Peter Browne, Clive Ross, Ruan Pienaar, Ian Humphreys, Sam Arnold.
Scarlets
15. Michael Collins
14. Gareth Owen
13. Regan King
12. Hadleigh Parkes
11. DTH van der Merwe
10. Aled Thomas
9. Aled Davies
1. Phil John
2. Kirby Myhill
3. Peter Edwards
4. George Earle
5. David Bulbring
6. Aaron Shingler
7. Will Boyd
8. Morgan Allen
Replacements: Ryan Elias, Dylan Evans, Rhodri Jones, Maselino Paulino, Rory Pitman, Rhodri Williams, Dan Jones, Steffan Evans.
Defensive errors prove costly for Ulster as Scarlets win in Belfast
Ulster 20
Scarlets 21
Neil Carnduff reports from Kingspan Stadium
FOURTH TOPPLED THIRD in the Guinness Pro12 at Kingspan Stadium this afternoon as the Scarlets edged out an off-colour Ulster by a single point, with some defensive frailties from the Irish side gifting the visitors two decisive tries.
Outstanding scores from Craig Gilroy and Luke Marshall did plenty to entertain the crowd, but head coach Les Kiss will be seething to see his side drop to fourth in the Pro12 standings, with a losing bonus point little consolation as Ulster slip four points behind league leaders Connacht.
Paddy Jackson skippered his province for the very first time — with club captain Rory Best and vice-captain Rob Herring unavailable through international duty and injury respectively — while the absence of the two hookers meant a first full cap in the number two shirt for the pacy John Andrew.
Meanwhile, number eight Roger Wilson, the holder of a solitary Ireland cap won in 2005, lined out for a landmark 200th provincial appearance, and Chris Henry made a timely return from injury to first-team action given the unavailability of Sean O’Brien for the Ireland Six Nations selectors.
An early four-versus-one out wide on the Scarlets left after a missed tackle from Darren Cave gave full-back Michael Collins the most elementary of tries on four minutes, but an intentional knock-on from the visitors gifted Ulster a close-range lineout which promised much but delivered nothing, as Paul Marshall fumbled forward after fishing out from the back of the maul.
Another missed tackle in the wide channel — this time from Stuart Olding — gave the Scarlets licence to roam in the Ulster ‘22’ where an eventual infringement in front of the posts saw out-half Aled Thomas kick over his penalty for an eight-point lead on 15 minutes.
Jackson’s drop-goal with an Ulster penalty imminent reduced the gap immediately, and with the hosts now seemingly roused from their Sunday afternoon siesta, the next Scarlets attack was efficiently snuffed out in double-quick time before Gilroy collected his own kick over the top to run in yet another fine individual try, converted by Jackson.
However, the see-saw rhythm of the match continued, with Collins again capitalising on some patchy Ulster defending out wide to ground by the flag in a carbon copy of his first score on 24 minutes; Thomas this time adding the conversion.
Ulster contrived to waste a fortuitous lineout steal on the half-hour, lacking penetration as forward after forward attempted in vain to pile over from five metres until the Scarlets wrestled back possession.
But much better play from the backs saw a trademark dart from Paul Marshall create the space for his namesake Luke to touch down just within the limit of the right-flank touchline, as the centre displayed superb upper-body strength to fend off two tacklers before he stooped to ground.
Jackson added the conversion and Ulster had good fortune to thank as Thomas struck a simple penalty against the upright just on the stroke of half-time to enable them to run off with a slender lead — 17-15.
Scarlets stormed into the second half in voracious mood, pounding the Ulster line straight from the off and eventually earning the penalty which Thomas dispatched on 46 minutes to re-establish their lead.
Worse still for Ulster saw Henry sin-binned on 49 minutes for illegal handling and Thomas extended the gap to six, but the hosts did well to retain the ball for virtually the entirety of their flanker’s exile.
When Henry returned to the field on the hour-mark along with multiple replacements, including Ruan Pienaar, Ulster points weren’t long coming – Jackson slotting home a 63rd-minute penalty.
A single point adrift, Pienaar kicked a subsequent penalty to touch, but despite setting up camp in the Scarlets ‘22’ for a good 10 minutes, the Ulster breakthrough refused to come and the Welsh cleared their lines on 73 minutes.
Deep in their own ‘22’ with four minutes left to play was not where Ulster wanted to be, and it was game-over when referee Ian Davies awarded a penalty to allow the Scarlets to play keep-ball in the corner.
Ulster
15. Stuart Olding
14. Craig Gilroy
13. Darren Cave
12. Luke Marshall
11. Jacob Stockdale
10. Paddy Jackson
9. Paul Marshall
1. Andrew Warwick
2. John Andrew
3. Ricky Lutton
4. Alan O’Connor
5. Franco van der Merwe
6. Robbie Diack
7. Chris Henry
8. Roger Wilson
Replacements: Johnny Murphy, Kyle McCall, Bronson Ross, Peter Browne, Clive Ross, Ruan Pienaar, Ian Humphreys, Sam Arnold.
Scarlets
15. Michael Collins
14. Gareth Owen
13. Regan King
12. Hadleigh Parkes
11. DTH van der Merwe
10. Aled Thomas
9. Aled Davies
1. Phil John
2. Kirby Myhill
3. Peter Edwards
4. George Earle
5. David Bulbring
6. Aaron Shingler
7. Will Boyd
8. Morgan Allen
Replacements: Ryan Elias, Dylan Evans, Rhodri Jones, Maselino Paulino, Rory Pitman, Rhodri Williams, Dan Jones, Steffan Evans.
Referee: Ian Davies (WRU)
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