Ulster ends drought in Galway

MATCH REPORT: Ulster ended a five-match losing run in all competitions with a dogged 17-7 United Rugby Championship against Connacht in Galway.

Without an away victory since last May, a converted Eric O’Sullivan try and a Nathan Doak penalty had injury-hit Ulster leading 10-7 at half-time, with Mack Hansen crossing for Connacht.

Nick Timoney, Ulster’s stand-in captain and Man of the Match, then forced his way over from a 54th-minute maul, condemning error-strewn Connacht to their seventh straight interprovincial derby defeat.

Ulster coach Richie Murphy handed first starts to his 20-year-old son Jack, whose older brother Ben came off the Connacht bench in the second half, and Rory Telfer.

Both sides were forced into late changes to their line-ups, with Dylan Tierney-Martin and Niall Murray drafted in for Connacht and Kieran Treadwell and John Andrew brought in for the visitors.

James McNabney and Ben Carson stood out during a strong start from Ulster, who pressed initially from a Jack Murphy 50:22 kick. The pressure told when prop O’Sullivan crashed over beside the posts, giving Doak a simple conversion.

A bustling break from McNabney led to Doak extending the lead to 10 points, before Connacht slowly made gains.

Finlay Bealham ensured the hosts’ scrum got on top but they remained scoreless until the 35th minute.

Jack Carty used a penalty advantage to chip into the Ulster 22, and with the ball bouncing loose off Michael Lowry, the inrushing Hansen gleefully accepted the gift.

Ulster’s impressive work-rate was rewarded during a tight third quarter. Successive penalties gave them a shot at the posts, but they turned it down and Timoney burrowed over from a well-directed maul, with Doak also adding the extras.

Although Bundee Aki and replacement Sean Jansen’s direct running was having an impact, Connacht’s handling errors increased. They also suffered a maul turnover and Cathal Forde kicked a subsequent penalty dead.

Ulster earned important late penalties in defence – via a five-metre scrum and from a terrier-like Timoney at the breakdown – as the hosts lost successive league matches in Galway for the first time since May 2021.

The scorers

For Connacht
Try: Hansen
Con: Hansen

For Ulster
Tries: O’Sullivan, Timoney
Cons: Doak 2
Pen: Doak

Teams

Connacht: 15 Piers O’Conor, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Cathal Forde, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Santiago Cordero, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Paul Boyle, 7 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 6 Cian Prendergast (captain), 5 Niall Murray, 4 Josh Murphy, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckle.
Replacement: 16 Eoin de Buitlear, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Oisín Dowling, 20 Sean Jansen, 21 Ben Murphy, 22 Shane Jennings, 23 Conor Oliver.

Ulster: 15 Michael Lowry, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Ben Carson, 12 Jude Postlethwaite, 11 Rory Telfer, 10 Jack Murphy, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 James McNabney, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 Matty Rea, 5 Cormac Izuchukwu, 4 Kieran Treadwell, 3 Scott Wilson, 2 John Andrew, 1 Eric O’Sullivan.
Replacements: 16 James McCormick, 17 Andrew Warwick, 18 Corrie Barrett 19 Harry Sheridan, 20 David McCann, 21 John Cooney, 22 Aidan Morgan, 23 Wilhelm de Klerk.

Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Robbie Jenkinson (Ireland) and Tomas O’Sullivan (Ireland)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)