Ulster 30
Edinburgh 0
ULSTER CLAIMED A bonus point victory and a clean sheet against a lacklustre Edinburgh side in Kingspan Stadium in tonight’s Pro12 clash.
As a collective, the northern province rarely had to reach for their top gear, but a consistently impressive showing from Stuart McCloskey and a solid platform from Rory Best’s pack ensured they never lost the upper hand.
Andrew Trimble added to his record haul for the province after out-muscling Tim Visser on his way to the line to ground a 25th minute try to give Ulster breathing space from an Edinburgh pack intent on spoiling.
Paddy Jackson added the conversion having earlier given his side Ulster the lead with a 13th minute penalty after Ruaidhri Murphy got the better of Belfast Harlequins’ old boy John Andress.
Jackson stretched the lead further with the penultimate play of the half to make the advantage 13 – 0 at the break. Murphy would not return for the second half, and the hosts took their time in finding a rhythm.
Once Edinburgh captain Mike Coman was sin-binned on 60 minutes for his team’s persistent infringements at the breakdown, the hosts began to make inroads in their route to a bonus point.
Nick Williams was denied a try by a TMO decision, but found his score within minutes as Ulster consistently attacked the Edinburgh short side.
Stuart Olding, who replaced Jackson at number 10 for the final 20 minutes, missed the conversion from a tight angle on the left-hand side, but he would find his luck on the second attempt after 70 minutes.
Ulster’s forward dominance was underlined with the maul that sent the Scots back like a cart on rails, Best deservedly taking the touchdown before Olding’s high conversion glanced the post on its way over the bar.
The bonus point had looked unlikely at half-time, but after claiming two tries against 14 men, with 10 minutes to go it looked inevitable despite Edinburgh being restored to the full compliment.
With the clock ticking down Les Kiss’ side once again set up camp in the Edinburgh 22 and Trimble grounded his second try thanks to a glorious skip-pass from Paul Marshall.
The maximum haul of five points sees Ulster strengthen their claim on third place in the Pro12, level on 18 points with Glasgow Warriors who face Treviso before travelling to Belfast next Saturday.
Scorers
Ulster:
Tries: Trimble (2), Williams, BestConversions: Jackson, Olding.
Penalties: Jackson (2).
Edinburgh: -
Ulster: L Ludik; A Trimble, J Payne, S McCloskey, T Bowe; P Jackson, P Marshall; R Murphy, R Best (capt), W Herbst; A O’Connor, F van der Merwe; R Diack, C Henry, R Wilson.
Replacements: R Herring, A Warwick, B Ross, L Stevenson, N Williams, M Heaney, S Olding, D Cave.
Edinburgh: G Tonks, J Cuthbert, S Beard, A Strauss, T Visser, P Burleigh, S Kennedy, R Sutherland, R Ford, J Andress, A Bresler, G Gilchrist, M Coman (captain), R Grant, C Du Preez.
Replacements: J Hilterbrand, A Dell, A Nell, O Atkins, T Leonardi, S Hidalgo-Clyne, T Heathcote, N McLennan.
