Ulster dismiss Connacht after late red card

MATCH REPORT: It was a typical Irish derby – plenty of passion and drama.

Ulster walked away with a funhouse of five points, recording a nervy 32-27 win over Connacht at Ravenhill Stadium in a United Rugby Championship Round Four encounter on Saturday.

The game was decided on a Josh Murphy red card inside the final 10 minutes.

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With the teams tied at 24-all, a John Cooney penalty and a try by No.8 Nick Timoney gave the home team an eight-point lead.

A late Josh Ioane penalty salvaged a second bonus point for Connacht – the first for four tries and the second for losing by seven points or less.

The win saw Ulster return to winning ways after a two-match winless tour to South Africa – where the Lions and Bulls beat them.

It was an edgy game of nip and tuck but, most importantly for Ulster.

They scored five tries through John Andrew, Jude Postlethwaite, John Cooney, David McCann and Nick Timoney to take five points from this first inter-provincial of the season.

The scorers

For Ulster
Tries: Andrew, Postlethwaite, Cooney, McCann, Timoney
Cons: Cooney 2
Pen: Cooney

For Connacht
Tries: Bolton, Joyce, Murphy, Tierney-Martin
Cons: Ioane 2
Pen: Ioane

Red card: Josh Murphy (Connacht, 71 – foul play, high tackle)
Yellow card: Werner Kok (Ulster, 32)

Teams:

Ulster: 15 Ethan McIlroy, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Stewart Moore, 12 Jude Postlethwaite, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Aidan Morgan, 9 John Cooney, 8 Nick Timoney, 7 Sean Reffell, 6 David McCann, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Iain Henderson (captain), 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 John Andrew, 1 Andrew Warwick.
Replacements: 16 James McCormick, 17 Callum Reid, 18 Corrie Barrett, 19 Alan O’Connor, 20 Marcus Rea, 21 Nathan Doak, 22 Ben Carson, 23 Mike Lowry.

Connacht: 15 Santiago Cordero, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Piers O’Conor, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Shayne Bolton, 10 Josh Ioane, 9 Ben Murphy, 8 Paul Boyle, 7 Sean O’Brien, 6 Cian Prendergast (captain), 5 Josh Murphy, 4 Joe Joyce, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley.
Replacements: 16 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Temi Lasisi, 19 Oisín Dowling, 20 David O’Connor, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Cathal Forde, 23 Conor Oliver.

Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Andrew Cole (Ireland), Robbie Jenkinson (Ireland)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)