Five penalties by Carty send Connacht into URC semis
MATCH REPORT: Jack Carty booted five penalties to send Connacht into the United Rugby Championship semi-finals after a 15-10 victory over Ulster at Kingspan Stadium.
Ulster staged a fight back with captain Alan O’Connor scoring a converted try, but were made to pay for an ill-disciplined performance.
A John Cooney penalty opened the scoring for the hosts before four strikes from Carty.
O’Connor’s try made it 12-10 before a late Carty penalty sealed victory.
Having ended up second on the log, Ulster could have secured another home semi-final with a victory, but it is the end of the season for them.
The scorers:
For Ulster:
Try: O’Connor
Con: Cooney
Pen: Cooney
For Connacht:
Pens: Carty (5)
Teams:
Ulster: 15 Mike Lowry, 14 Rob Baloucoune, 13 James Hume,12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Billy Burns, 9 John Cooney, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 Dave McCann, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Alan O’Connor (captain), 3 Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 Tom Stewart, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Sam Carter, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 Nathan Doak, 22 Stewart Moore, 23 Craig Gilroy
Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran,14 John Porch, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Mack Hansen, 10 Jack Carty (captain), 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Cian Prendergast, 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 5 Niall Murray, 4 Josh Murphy, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley,
Replacements: 16 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 17 Jordan Duggan, 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Oisín Dowling, 20 Jarrad Butler, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Tom Daly, 23 Byron Ralston
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Frank Murphy (Ireland), Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
Source: @URC
