The Kingspan Stadium in Belfast was treated to a pulsating encounter as Ulster snatched a dramatic 30-28 victory over Scarlets with a last-minute try from captain Alan O’Connor in Round 12 of the United Rugby Championship.
Key moments:
5′ – TRY Scarlets (Page), Conversion (Lloyd) – Ulster 0-7 Scarlets
10′ – TRY Scarlets (Nicholas), Conversion missed – Ulster 0-12 Scarlets
22′ – TRY Ulster (Timoney), Conversion (Murphy) – Ulster 7-12 Scarlets
28′ – PENALTY Ulster (Murphy) – Ulster 10-12 Scarlets
38′ – PENALTY Ulster (Murphy) – Ulster 13-12 Scarlets
40+1′ – PENALTY Scarlets (Lloyd) – Ulster 13-15 Scarlets
43′ – PENALTY Ulster (Murphy) – Ulster 16-15 Scarlets
46′ – PENALTY Scarlets (Lloyd) – Ulster 16-18 Scarlets
52′ – TRY Ulster (Reid), Conversion (Murphy) – Ulster 23-18 Scarlets
57′ – TRY Scarlets (Fifita), Conversion (Lloyd) – Ulster 23-25 Scarlets
70′ – PENALTY Scarlets (Lloyd) – Ulster 23-28 Scarlets
78′ – TRY Ulster (O’Connor), Conversion (Doak) – Ulster 30-28 Scarlets
In what head coach Richie Murphy had described pre-match as a “must-win game” for the struggling Irish province, Ulster’s season was handed a vital lifeline as they refused to buckle under pressure, overturning a 28-23 deficit in the closing minutes to secure only their fifth league victory of the campaign.
On a pleasant spring evening in Belfast with perfect conditions for running rugby, it was the Welsh visitors who flew out of the blocks, stunning the home crowd with two quickfire tries in the opening 11 minutes.
The first came after just five minutes when scrum-half Gareth Davies spotted a lack of cover in Ulster’s backfield and delivered a perfectly weighted kick over the top. The ball sat up beautifully on the artificial surface for Macs Page, who collected and raced unopposed to the posts for his fifth try of the URC season. Ioan Lloyd added the conversion for a 7-0 lead.
The Scarlets doubled their advantage just five minutes later with a sweeping backline move from 70 metres out. The lightning-quick Page swept around Ireland international Jacob Stockdale before unselfishly feeding fullback Ioan Nicholas for a free run to the line. Lloyd’s conversion attempt drifted wide, but Dwayne Peel’s men had established a commanding 12-0 lead.
A stunned Ulster crowd had little to cheer until the 22nd minute when a cleverly worked lineout involving James McNabney jumping and offloading to Nick Timoney allowed the number seven to power over from a driving maul. Jack Murphy’s conversion narrowed the deficit to 12-7.
The hosts were now building momentum and when awarded a penalty after strong carries from James Hume and Timoney, Murphy made no mistake from the tee to bring the score to 12-10 after 28 minutes.
Murphy then showcased his impressive boot with a spectacular long-range penalty from just inside the Scarlets half with two minutes of the first period remaining, giving Ulster their first lead of the match at 13-12.
However, that advantage was short-lived. After Ulster failed to find touch and were penalised for offside with the clock in the red, Lloyd’s penalty gave the Welshmen a slender 15-13 lead at the interval.
The second half started with both fly-halves exchanging penalties as the momentum swung back and forth. Murphy briefly restored Ulster’s lead at 16-15 before Lloyd responded to edge Scarlets ahead 18-16.
Ulster then enjoyed their best spell of the match as they camped in the Scarlets’ 22. After a series of penalties close to the visitors’ tryline, prop Callum Reid muscled over from close range for Ulster’s second try in the 52nd minute. Murphy’s conversion extended the lead to 23-18.
Just as Ulster appeared to be taking control, a moment of opportunism from the Scarlets turned the match on its head. A misplaced Ulster pass in midfield was pounced upon by Alec Hepburn, who offloaded to substitute Vaea Fifita with 50 metres of clear space ahead of him. The Tongan international, who had only been on the field for seven minutes after replacing Max Douglas, sprinted clear to score under the posts. Lloyd’s simple conversion put Scarlets back in front at 25-23.
The Welsh region then applied serious pressure of their own, coming agonisingly close to a fourth try that would likely have sealed victory. Ulster’s defence remained resolute, however, and the Scarlets had to settle for another Lloyd penalty in the 70th minute to stretch their lead to 28-23.
With time running out, Ulster summoned one final effort. Driving deep into the Scarlets’ 22, they hammered away at the visitors’ line through a series of powerful carries. After Nick Timoney was held up just short, captain Alan O’Connor picked up from the base of the ruck and burrowed over near the posts with just two minutes remaining.
Substitute scrum-half Nathan Doak, who had replaced debutant Conor McKee, held his nerve to slot the crucial conversion and edge Ulster ahead 30-28.
The hosts safely gathered the restart and ran down the clock to secure a victory that lifts them to 14th in the table, but importantly just two points off the play-off places.
“It’ll hopefully kick-start us,” said Ulster captain and match-winner O’Connor afterwards. “We’ve been doing a lot of good stuff but too much bad stuff. Tonight we showed that, a lot of good stuff but maybe conceded an easy try.
“It took a lot of heart and effort to get back into the game, especially being 12 points down. There’s definitely a lot of good qualities in this team, we just need to see it more often.”
Player of the match James McNabney, who delivered an outstanding all-round performance with his ball-carrying, tackling and one crucial relieving kick, added: “It was very tough out there, they pushed us until the end. We needed that win to salvage our season and we got it. It wasn’t pretty but we got it. We dug deep, I’m proud of the lads, we really ground it out.”
Back-row Nick Timoney echoed these sentiments: “They came out red-hot and caught us with a few things. We were happy with how we battled back but they got another breakaway try which stunted our momentum. We were pleased with the resilience we showed to come back at the end. It’s a very important result. It keeps our season alive.”
For Ulster, this victory could prove season-defining. After successive defeats to Italian sides Zebre and Benetton had left them languishing in the lower reaches of the table, this result keeps alive their hopes of securing a top-eight finish and qualification for next season’s Champions Cup.
For Scarlets, this will go down as yet another case of “what might have been” in a frustrating season. Dwayne Peel’s side showed attacking flair and led for long periods but ultimately couldn’t close out the match when it mattered most. Their failure to convert pressure into a try during their final attack, instead settling for three points, proved costly when Ulster went up the other end to snatch victory.
With the Six Nations taking centre stage over the next couple of weeks, Ulster will have time to regroup before travelling to face strugglers Dragons on March 22nd, while Scarlets host Stormers in their next fixture.
