BKT United Rugby Championship: Ulster 20-19 Connacht
ULSTER scrape a win against inter-provincial rivals Connacht under the shifting and swirling wind and rain of Kingspan Stadium.
Both sides were hell-bent on pushing for a result but in the end, it was the Ulstermen who stuck it out to claim their early Christmas present.
The match started off explosively with Andy Warwick finishing off a strong attacking start from Ulster thing three minutes and John Cooney converting the score.
Ulster seemed to continue their strong start as captain Iain Henderson held up Tom Farrell of Connacht to reserve the lead for the Ulstermen however a few phases later Bundee Aki scored to level the sides just five minutes later.
Connacht nearly went ahead just minutes later as Shayne Bolton chased a kick which bounced and bounced but was judged by the referee to have rolled out of the back of the endzone as Ulster breathed a huge sigh of relief having been caught napping in behind.
Halfway through the first period, Ulster regained their lead after a multi-phase attack and patience with their set piece, but it was number eight Nick Tominey who dived over to put the home side in front once more.
Ulster seemed up for the occasion throughout the game as they jeered the crowd and celebrated every penalty like another try.
At halftime, Ulster were in the driving seat but needed to be wary of the threat that Connacht posed with their pace in attack.
The second half got underway in the shifting and swirling rain of Kingspan Stadium and after 50 minutes Ulster added to their lead when John Cooney kicked a penalty over to make it a 10-point margin.
Connacht fought back though and 10 minutes later, the Westerners pulled five points back through Shamus Hurley-Langton, who finished in the corner after breaking three tackles to get over the Ulster line.
Cooney brought the lead back up to eight with a penalty to keep Ulster just out of touching distance of their inter-provincial rivals.
Connacht however wouldn’t go gently into that good night, with Shayne Bolton breaking through and capitalising on a break in the Ulster defence to make it a one-point game with 12 minutes to go.
However, it was too little too late for Connacht as the Ulstermen held off for the tight victory.
In handing Shea O’Brien his debut when he replaced Will Addison late on, Dan McFarland has used 48 players so far this URC campaign, which begs the question, what is his best 23?
There will be lots more to work on for Dan McFarland’s report going into their New Year’s Day fixture against Leinster, who sit top of the United Rugby Championship.
Defence coach Jonny Bell said: “It was more nervy than I would have liked but first and foremost, delighted with the result, as I said in the press briefing earlier in the week, they’re a good side.
“I’m pleased that we got over the line, obviously there are certain things we can do a bit better but I think in difficult conditions...you’ve got to give a lot of credit.”