The Ulster Rugby Club overpowered a depleted Ospreys squad – missing 18 key players – with a triumphant 36-12 victory. They succeeded in landing six tries, with stand-out player Jacob Stockdale contributing an impressive two.
Two home games have yielded a resounding ten points, showing strong form under Richie Murphy. James McCormick cemented the win, laying claim to another pair of tries. The rest were secured from a penalty try and Marcus Rea’s determined effort.
Only four minutes in, Ulster broke the deadlock with a try that was a result of a driven maul, finished off by McCormick, with John Cooney’s conversion attempt falling short.
Ulster was quick to score again, nine minutes into the game, thanks to a powerful play from returned Emerging Ireland talent Cormac Izuchukwu. This allowed Stockdale to break free on the left, but despite the successful try, Cooney failed to convert again due to poor weather conditions.
Aidan Morgan put in an assured corner kick, keeping the pressure on Ospreys from a lineout and maul from McCann, culminating in seven points for Ulster. Referee Andrea Piardi penalised and sin-binned Kieran Hardy.
A successful restart saw great teamwork from Rea and Michael Lowry, resulting in another try for Stockdale. Cooney added the extra points and the Kingspan stadium celebrated the bonus-point try. Nevertheless, the try was later dismissed due to a forward pass from Eric O’Sullivan caught by the Television Match Official (TMO).
Ulster continued their onslaught, looming in Ospreys’ territory, and Rea managed to score another try after a powerful performance by the white shirts, cementing Ulster’s dominance.
Despite being 24-0 down, Ospreys retaliated, landing their first dangerous attack of the night. The result was an impressive try from Sam Parry at a maul, converted by Dan Edwards, leaving Ulster leading 24-7 at halftime.
Nine minutes after second-half kickoff, Ulster quickly returned control of the game.
McCormick executed another penalty nearby Osprey’s line, securing the first critical points for Ulster in the new half, despite Cooney’s miss from the tee. In the 56th minute, Harry Sheridan received a yellow card due to a collision with Owen Williams, which Ospreys capitalised upon when Keelan Giles scored an unconverted try with a one man advantage. However, Ulster rallied and Stockdale managed to notch his second, after forging a sensational run that just reached the corner. Doak then successfully converted this score.
As for tries, McCormick and Stockdale scored twice each for Ulster, along with a penalty try and another by Marcus Rea. Cooney and Doak each scored a conversion. On the opposing side, Parry and Giles scored tries for Ospreys, with Edwards managing a sole conversion.
The Ulster players included M Lowry, W Kok, B Carson, S McCloskey, J Stockdale, A Morgan, J Cooney, E O’Sullivan, J McCormick, T O’Toole, A O’Connor (capt), H Sheridan, C Izuchukwu, Marcus Rea, D McCann, with several swapping out during the game. Sheridan received a yellow card at the 56-minute mark.
The Ospreys’ line-up included J Walsh, D Kasende, E Boshoff, O Williams, K Giles, D Edwards, K Hardy, G Thomas, S Parry, B Warren, W Greatbanks, L Jones, L Lloyd, J Tipuric, M Morris (capt). Several replacements were also put to action throughout the match.
The match official was A Piardi from Italy. Hardy was shown a yellow card 24 minutes into the game.