Brilliant comeback by Cardiff stuns Ulster

MATCH REPORT: A heroic fightback saw Cardiff rally to grab a memorable 21-19 win against Ulster in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday evening.

After going into the break 0-19 down, Cardiff looked dead and buried, but they rallied beyond comprehension in the second half to grab a surprising victory.

Ulster never got going in the second half and they ran out of ideas in the end.

It was a clinical start from the visitors with three tries in 23 minutes from Cormac Izuchukwu and a brace by Jude Postlethwaite.

Ulster looked very much in control at the break, leaving Cardiff nothing to show for their efforts.

Ulster had been knocking on the door for three or four minutes early on and eventually, the door opened when flank Izuchukwu powered over from a couple of metres out.

Cardiff probably had the worst half of the season by a distance as they were bullied up front, soft in defence, and toothless in attack.

Cardiff’s Evan Lloyd was awarded a yellow card in the first half and it was going to need a gargantuan effort by coach Matt Sherratt’s charges to have a chance of scoring against a lethal Ulster side.

Ulster could’ve scored two more tries in the first half had it not been for some panicky, dodgy passing at times.

The second half started with Ulster’s Dave McCann shown a yellow card for offside.

The home side made full use of the numerical advantage and sent Iwan Stephens over to score as the Welsh outfit attacked from right to left.

Calum Sheedy converted and things were looking more promising for Cardiff.

Ulster started struggling to get possession and Cardiff again forced a penalty and kicked to touch five metres from the Ulster line.

In the 64th minute, more sustained pressure from the home side led to Daf Hughes catching Ulster napping at the ruck with a pick-and-go.

Sheedy added the conversion and the gap closed to 14-19 for Cardiff.

What have we just witnessed? 🦅🔥

Stephens stuns the crowd, flying high for an unforgettable try!@cardiff_rugby#BKTURC #URC | #CARvULS pic.twitter.com/2DRTKsjQU5

— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) October 26, 2024

Barely four minutes later Cardiff was back in Ulster’s 22 and after a powerful driving maul from their pack, Thomas Young crashed over the line.

Sheedy’s conversion sent the home side into the lead for the first time by 21-19.

With five minutes left on the clock, Ulster won a penalty but Doak’s kick landed just inches short of the posts.

With 90 seconds left it was a Cardiff throw at the lineout on halfway.

Ulster carried phase after phase but couldn’t make a breakthrough as the hooter went for full-time.

Scorers:
For Cardiff:
Tries: Stevens, Hughes, Young
Cons: Sheedy 3

For Ulster:
Tries: Izuchukwu, Postlethwaite 2
Cons: Doak 2

Teams:

Cardiff: 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Mason Grady, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Iwan Stephens, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Alun Lawrence, 7 Dan Thomas, 6 Ben Donnell, 5 Teddy Williams, 4 Josh McNally, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Evan Lloyd, 1 Ed Byrne.
Replacements: 16 Daf Hughes, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Rhys Litterick, 19 Rory Thornon, 20 James Botham, 21 Thomas Young, 22 Johan Mulder, 23 Rory Jennings.

Ulster: 15 Ethan McIlroy, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Jude Postlethwaite, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Mike Lowry, 10 Aidan Morgan, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 David McCann, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 Cormac Izuchukwu, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Iain Henderson (captain), 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 James McCormick, 1 Eric O’Sullivan.
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Andrew Warwick, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Harry Sheridan, 20 Marcus Rea, 21 John Cooney, 22 Ben Carson, 23 Ben Moxham.

Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Ben Whitehouse (Wales), Ben Connor (Wales)
TMO: Colin Brett (Scotland)