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Ospreys 12 Ulster 24
Ulster posted two wins of two in Conference A of the new Pro14 season with a convincing win over the Ospreys, but the win was spoiled by a red card for their captain Iain Henderson with five minutes remaining.
Henderson unnecessarily sought to deflect a Dan Evans standing in an Ospreys ruck with one arm across his chest, but caught him first with a shoulder to the fullback’s jaw. Technically correct, but there was so little force in Henderson’s bypass that it barely pushed Evans back.
Otherwise, facing Lions head coach Warren Gatland, Ulster could be very satisfied with the night’s work. If anything, the scoreboard barely did them justice, the most pertinent tally being three attempts to zero, with the Ospreys barely hinting at a try for 79 minutes.
On a strong night for Jack McGrath, who started at halftime, and Marty Moore on the set piece, Ulster’s scrum and line-outs were superior, as were his kicks, aerial work and running game.
Marcell Coetzee underlined his value once again with a typically great action game and John Cooney also responded to his omission from the Irish team with a much more confident night of work. He boxed well and finished the try of the night.
The performance of young midfielders Stewart Moore and James Hume belied his lack of experience and, as a full back, Jacob Stockdale rediscovered much of his offensive mojo, although his ability to win matches never disappeared.
Alun Wyn Jones, Rhys Webb and Justin Tipuric started for the Ospreys but failed miserably to back up last week’s flashy win in Edinburgh. Not only did their set pieces fail, but their ball protection was at times lamentable and it was primarily their defense and Mike Adamson’s penalty count that theoretically kept them in the game.
From the start, Ulster was rewarded for a brilliant start and his decision to turn down what would have been a routine 30-meter penalty for Cooney on coming up the line after Adam Beard got a ping for playing the ball on the platform.
Their ball retention and punt was excellent as they hammered through multiple phases, Marcus Rea piercing the Ospreys defensive line from Ian Madigan’s inside pass before Stockdale did the same with the outhalf flat pass to open the scoring.
Ulster was varying his game very well, Cooney’s area kicked well and Moore had a good left-foot kick, but after Justin Tipuric got a loss penalty, Stephen Myler opened the Ospreys account.
Cooney atoned for a plenum kick when he hit Rhys Webb to force a loss. Hume then focused on a delayed pass from Madigan after the outhalf bought time as the Ospreys pushed hard on the outside and kicked to earn an attacking lineout. Again going through the phases of a great maul, Cooney made it 10-3 when Alun Wyn Jones was offside.
Ulster’s group increased the pressure at scrum time to earn a loudly celebrated penalty, but Cooney opted for a long-range penalty that was quite wide and instead Myler made it 10-6 at the break. That flattered the ospreys.
At the restart, Stockdale quickly issued a loose pass to Matt Faddes at the end of a promising strike move from another solid scrum with a beautiful fast break chip and rallied before beating three men in a slaloming run.
Nothing came of that when Madigan had a clean kick, but Stockdale soon made another line break of his 22 from Madigan’s pass. The Ospreys had improved their line speed and defensive work on contact, but interval replacement Eric O’Sullivan broke the defensive line with a wonderful shock to Coetzee’s armpit at the tackle, and after Henderson broke the tackle from Adam Beard, Coetzee took Cooney’s pass to power through Keiran Williams for Ulster’s second try. Cooney was converted.
However, Ulster spoiled an engulfing attempt on his own 22, inadvertently knocking Coetzee out of the game and Myler kicking his third penalty.
Cooney had a chance to restore Ulster’s 11-point lead, but missed a kickable penalty after a good catch and carry from Stockdale amid heavy traffic before Ma’afu Fia got a ping for failing to roll.
Another promising attack after the break from Cooney and a great carry from Greg Jones to no avail when Kieran Treadwell went berserk. Instead, the Ospreys replacement forward helped earn a penalty with which Myler made it a one-score game.
Though the Ospreys hadn’t created anything, they were also starting to win kicks and aerial duels, but after Treadwell stole an Ospreys lineout, Dewi Lake toppled another.
Finally, Ulster put the game to bed with the night’s try of a solid scrum strike play midway through. Coetzee, as he does generally and as he did all night, generated a forward ball from the base. From recycling, Hume removed the ball for Madigan in the wrapper. He put the speedy Rob Lyttle through a wide gap and Cooney offered a classic scrum half support line to finish well from outside the 22 and get the conversion.
The game ended on a bitter note with Henderson being sent off and in the last minute the standout Coetzee, with the help of Jones and Louis Ludik, not only kept his opposite number Morgan Morris on the line, but helped get the ball off him. .
Scoring sequence – 8 minutes: Stockdale test, Cooney with 0-7; 22 minutes: Myler 3-7 pen; 32 minutes: Cooney 3-10 pen; 40 (+2 minutes): Myler 6-10 pen; (half time 6-10); 49 minutes: Coetzee try, Cooney with 6-17; 58 minutes: Myler 9-17 pen; 66 minutes: Myler pen 12-17; 73 minutes: Cooney test and scam 12-24.
Ospreys: Dan Evans; Mat Protheroe, Owen Watkin, Keiran Williams, Luke Morgan, Stephen Myler, Rhys Webb; Nicky Smith, Sam Parry, Tom Botha; Adam Beard, Alun Wyn Jones; Olly Cracknell, Justin Tipuric (captain), Morgan Morris.
Replacements: Dewi Lake for Parry, Dan Lydiate for Cracknell (both 51 minutes), Rhodri Jones for Smith, Ma’afu Fia for Botha, Harri Morgan for Webb (all 56 minutes), Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler for K Williams (72 minutes) , Bradley Davies for Beard (77 minutes), Josh Thomas for Myler (79 minutes).
Ulster: Jacob Stockdale, Matt Faddes, James Hume, Stewart Moore, Rob Lyttle, Ian Madigan, John Cooney; Jack McGrath, Rob Herring, Marty Moore; Alan O’Connor, Iain Henderson (captain); Matthew Rea, Marcus Rea, Marcell Coetzee.
Replacements: Eric O’Sullivan for McGrath (break), Sean Reidy for Marcus Rea (56 minutes), Kieran Treadwell for O’Connor, Greg Jones for Matt Read (both 60 minutes), Adam McBurney for Herring, Louis Ludik for Faddes ( both 72 minutes). Sent off: Henderson (75 minutes).
Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU).
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