Ulster 29
Glasgow 9
TWO QUICK-FIRE TRIES helped Ulster close the gap to Guinness Pro12 leaders Glasgow Warriors to just a single point after this victory at Kingspan Stadium.
The win marks a fine start to life as head coach for Neil Doak. And though the hosts struggled to break the Warriors’ impressive defence down for long stretches, the boot of Ian Humphreys always had them clear of the visitors.
After 66 minutes Craig Gilroy, on as a first-half replacement for Andrew Trimble, found a rare gap inside the opposition 22 and, two minutes after that restart, Tommy Bowe followed up with an opportunistic intercept try.
Ulster dominated the scoreboard in the opening 40 minutes thanks to a series of beautifully-struck Humphreys penalties from over 40 metres.
Finn Russell offered two of his own in the opening quarter. The second of which came after a raucous chorus of boos for referee Nigel Owens, whose TMO review of a clash in the air between Sean Lamont and Louis Ludik resulted in a shot at goal for the visitors rather than the red card Ulster fans have demanded ever since the Heineken Cup quarter-final.
The northern province claimed their advantage primarily thanks to the scrum, Wiehahn Herbst leading the set-piece and forcing the penalties which Humphreys converted five out of six times.
It didn’t go all Ulster’s way on the floor however. Despite the yellow card to Leone Nakarawa before half-time Glasgow and Chris Fusaro were continually able to frustrate the hosts at the breakdown.
Having gone into the break 15 – 6 down, Nakarawa returned in time to see Russell sneak a penalty just over the bar to narrow the gap to six. And that’s the way it stayed until Gilroy’s excellent 66th minute try.
Subdued
What had been a chess match of a third quarter was understandably subdued further immediately after a serious injury to Mark Bennett – who according to Gregor Townsend was unconscious before being stretchered off after a long delay. Upon the resumption, it was the hosts who got back up to speed the quickest.
Though Ulster were frustrated on their next venture into the 22, Russell was unable to find Glasgow’s escape route. Gilroy’s score was a perfect example of the Down man’s acceleration as he powered onto a Paul Marshall’s pop pass and continued his run against the grain through the defence and around the covering Niko Matawalu.
Within minutes, Bowe put the game beyond all doubt as he pounced on a loose pass from Euan Murray in midfield and gleefully stretched his legs for the 40 metres between him and the try-line.
The six point advantage turned to 20 in a flash and though Warriors briefly rallied in search of a bonus point, Ulster were able to thwart their efforts for the final 10 minutes.
Scorers
Ulster:
Penalties: Humphreys (5)
Tries: Gilroy, Bowe
Conversions: Humphreys (2).
Glasgow Warriors:
Penalties: Russell (3)
Ulster: Louis Ludik; Andrew Trimble, Jared Payne, Stuart McCloskey, Tommy Bowe; Ian Humphreys, Paul Marshall: Andrew Warwick, Rory Best (Capt), Wiehahn Herbst; Alan O’Connor, Franco van der Merwe; Robbie Diack, Chris Henry, Nick Williams.
Replacements: Rob Herring, Callum Black, Bronson Ross, Lewis Stevenson, Roger Wilson, Michael Heaney, Stuart Olding, Craig Gilroy.
Glasgow Warriors: Sean Maitland; Tommy Seymour, Mark Bennett, Peter Horne, Sean Lamont; Finn Russell, Henry Pyrgos: Gordon Reid, Fraser Brown, Euan Murray; Tim Swinson, Leone Nakarawa; Rob Harley, Chris Fusaro, Josh Strauss (Capt.)
Replacements: Dougie Hall, Jerry Yanuyanutawa, Zander Fagerson, Jonny Gray, Adam Ashe, Niko Matawalu, James Downey, DTH van der Merwe.
