Ulster upset the Ospreys
Two tries from Scottish international Simon Danielli helped Ulster to a surprising 20-16 victory over the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday night – their first win of the new campaign.
The Ospreys came into the match as the heavy favourites, with 17 full internationals in their starting 22, but never quite seemed to have a handle on the game at all.
Danielli’s two tries came after Dan Tuohy had starting the scoring for his team and put the home side on the back foot.
Nikki Walker and Duncan Jones both crossed the line for the Welsh region but, with only two James Hook penalties to bolster their score, they failed to every put sustained pressure on a confident Ulster side.
Hook started the scoring after just a handful of minutes but the ulster response was quick. Flyhalf Humphries was the creater, creating the gap for Timoci Nagusa to set up Tuohy for the try.
Humphries was involved in Danielli’s first try as well – making the interception and feeding the flyer to finish under the posts.
Ospreys eventually came to live and responded with a Walker try but a couple missed penalties from Hook let the visitors off the hook.
Just before the break Ulster fullback Clinton Schifcofske was sin-binned for a professional foul, giving the Ospreys the opportunity to set up the lineout which ultimately led to Jones’ try.
Hook added another penalty but Daniellie secured the game for his team with his second. Nagusa and Schifcofske were the architects but it was the Scot who was once again on hand to run it in.
The Scorers
For the Ospreys:
Tries: Walker, Jones
Pens: Hook 2
For Ulster:
Tries: Tuohy, Danielli 2
Pens: Humphreys
Cons: Humphreys
Yellow Cards: Clinton Schifcofske (Ulter – 40 min)
The Teams:
Ospreys: 15 Barry Davies, 14 Jonny Vaughton, 13 Sonny Parker, 12 Andrew Bishop, 11 Nikki Walker, 10 James Hook, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Ryan Jones (captain), 7 Marty Holah, 6 Jerry Collins, 5 Andy Lloyd, 4 Ian Gough, 3 Cai Griffiths, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Paul James
Replacements: 16 Huw Bennett, 17 Duncan Jones, 18 Jonathan Thomas, 19 Tom Smith, 20 Jamie Nutbrown, 21 Dan Biggar, 22 Tommy Bowe
Ulster: 15 Clinton Schifcofske, 14 Timoci Nagusa, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Ian Whitten, 11 Simon Danielli, 10 Ian Humphreys, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Robbie Diack, 7 Willie Faloon, 6 Chris Henry, 5 Ed O’Donoghue, 4 Dan Tuohy, 3 Brendon Botha, 2 Andi Kyriacou, 1 Bryan Young
Replacements: 16 Nigel Brady, 17 Declan Fitzpatrick, 18 Tamaiti Horua, 19 Thomas Anderson, 20 Cillian Willis, 21 Niall O’Connor, 22 Jonny Shiels
