United Rugby Championship: Ulster Triumphs 32-27 Over Connacht
Ulster secured a critical five points in the intensely contested interprovincial, putting their South African tour behind them. However, they only ensured their victory in the nail-biting final five minutes of the match. Ulster eventually ran home courtesy of Nick Timoney’s try, their fifth of the evening, while Connacht’s momentum dwindled following the 71st-minute red card of Josh Murphy, which enabled John Cooney’s timely kick to nudge Ulster ahead.
Despite this setback, Connacht managed to secure two crucial points from their four tries as they left Belfast – with notable efforts from Ben Murphy (the son of Richie) and a last-minute penalty from Josh Ioane, following an unfortunate miss from the out half who botched a late penalty attempt.
Kicking off at the very bottom of the rankings, Ulster displayed their fighting spirit early, with John Andrew scoring within two minutes as a maul from the corner presented him the first points of the match. The subsequent conversion by Cooney tipped the scales 7-0 in Ulster’s favour on a special evening that saw both Andrew Warwick and Alan O’Connor marking their 200th appearances.
Connacht did manage to retaliate with a surge of pressure on the Ulster line, eventually securing a breakthrough courtesy of Josh Ioane’s pass to Shayne Bolton. However, an off-target conversion from a tricky angle by Ioane meant the visitors remained in the lead.
The hosts were quick to extend their lead though, when Jude Postlethwaite charged through following another corner penalty maul. Cooney, however, failed to add to their advantage with a missed conversion from the sideline.
Seven minutes later, a third try for Ulster, this time by Cooney himself, took the score to 19-5, headed in the right direction for the once bottom-ranked team.
The guests had no choice but to retaliate, and did so by successfully shooting a penalty into the corner; Joe Joyce seized the subsequent try from the ensuing driving maul, even though Ioane’s conversion strayed off target.
The match restarted only for Werner Kok to garner a yellow card from referee Andrew Brace as he fouled Josh Murphy mid-air. This left the home team to complete the first half with just 14 men, alongside an early exit for team captain Iain Henderson and an enforced departure for starting centre, Postlethwaite.
As the clock turned to red, Ulster was penalised yet again. This was followed by some disputable remarks and the stern Brace urged them back further. The cost was steep; Cian Prendergast received the lineout and deflected the ball to a poised Ben Murphy who bypassed Ulster’s lineout and charged forth to score. Ioane exhibited an impressive conversion, rendering the score 19-17 as the first half concluded, led by the northern province.
The new half began with turbulence as Sean O’Brien’s score was annulled by the TMO just as Kok reinstated his position. Ulster seized this opportunity during Josh Murphy’s yellow-carded absence to strengthen their lead through another maul. This levied their bonus point as David McCann spotted an opening and scored though Cooney, yet again, was unable to convert.
The score was levelled at 24 each a mere ten minutes later – guaranteeing Connacht their try bonus – following a score by Dylan Tierney-Martin birthed from the predictable maul. Ioane’s conversion linked the teams again.
In the remaining 10 minutes, Connacht took charge but Josh Murphy’s assault on James McCormick led to his expulsion. Cooney capitalised on this, scoring a penalty that breathed confidence into Ulster. Nick Timoney seized a try with only five minutes to spare while Mack Hansen looked on. Yet another miss from Cooney at 32-24 gave Ulster the lead once more.
Connacht, however, weren’t done. A penalty allowed Ioane a last-ditch attempt to save them, netting an extra two points in the defeat.
The Ulster team was composed of E McIlroy, W Kok, S Moore, J Postlethwaite, J Stockdale, A Morgan, J Cooney and captained by I Henderson; including A Warwick, J Andrew, T O’Toole, K Treadwell, D McCann, S Reffell, and N Timoney on the pitch. Change-outs included J McCormick taking Andrew’s place at 53 minutes, C Reid coming on for Warwick at 66 minutes, and M Lowry replacing Moore near the end at the 73rd minute amongst others. W Kok received a yellow card after 32 minutes.
On the other side, Connacht fielded S Cordero, M Hansen, P O’Conor, B Aki, S Bolton, J Ioane, B Murphy, captained by C Prendergast. Other team members included D Buckley, D Heffernan, F Bealham, J Joyce, J Murphy, S O’Brien, and P Boyle. Replacement players included D Tierney-Martin for Heffernan and P Dooley for Buckley, both at the 56th minute. A yellow card was shown to J Murphy in the 49th minute who was later sent off with a red card at the 71st minute.
The referee for the match was A Brace of the IRFU.