[ad_1]
Gloucester left Danny Cipriani’s departure from the club behind as they achieved an impressive 38-34 Heineken Champions Cup victory over Ulster.
John Cooney seemed to have inspired a memorable victory at Ulster, but Gloucester triumphed thanks to a try by George Barton, half-high substitute, five minutes after injury time.
England international Cipriani left Gloucester with immediate effect earlier this week, ending a two-and-a-half-year stint in the west of the country.
And how Gloucester responded, delivering arguably their best performance under head coach George Skivington just six days after Lyon defeated them 55-10.
Gloucester conceded 17 points while Welsh wing Louis Rees-Zammit spent 10 minutes in the sin-bin, and it seemed costly until Barton triumphed.
Click here for teams and scorers
Ulster saw touchdowns from Cooney, winger Michael Lowry and former Gloucester high-midfielder Billy Burns, plus a penalty try, while Cooney added three conversions and two penalties.
Gloucester had two penalty attempts, with Barton, Rees-Zammit and center Mark Atkinson landing, while elevated middle Lloyd Evans kicked three conversions and a penalty.
Cherry and White rekindled hopes of progress in this season’s tournament, but Ulster are pretty low after two losses.
Skivington made 12 changes from the side crushed by Lyon, with only winger Kyle Moyle, prop Ciaran Knight and captain Lewis Ludlow remaining.
Meanwhile, Burns was one of four changes to an Ulster team that also saw a start for Ireland’s back row forward Jordi Murphy.
Gloucester showed no signs of a hangover from their beating at Lyon, and they took the lead in the seventh minute with a cleverly crafted try.
Center Chris Harris made starting ground, then full-back Kyle Moyle made an excellent angle of attack before Rees-Zammit applied a quality finish in his return to the club colors after the Fall Nations Cup campaign in Welsh.
Evans converted from the touchline, but it turned out to be a short-lived advantage as Ulster tied from their first attack.
An impressive phase game put Gloucester’s defense to the test, before Burns jumped a wide gap from 10 meters to land against his former club, with Cooney converting.
Evans restored Gloucester’s lead through a short-range penalty, before Ulster paid a heavy price for collapsing successive mauls near his line.
Referee Alex Ruiz duped hooker Rob Herring for the first, then blocking Alan O’Connor received a yellow card after he shot the next, with Gloucester awarded a penalty try and Ulster temporarily to 13 men.
But Gloucester was able to capitalize on his numerical advantage, by failing to score a point before both Ulster forwards returned.
Cooney kicked a penalty to cut a gap, and he also had a penalty shot from within his own half, but the ball fell off as it ran upward, and when the allotted kick time expired, Gloucester received a scrum.
Burns made another break at halftime, but Gloucester eliminated the danger and took a 17-10 lead into the interval.
What. A game.
After being behind the majority @UlsterRugby advanced 10 points with 15 minutes to go …
But two late scores of @gloucesterrugby beats death while keeping your #HeinekenChampionsCup living hopes 🤯 pic.twitter.com/hQTfTgOO4W
– Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) December 19, 2020
Gloucester, with the early sun being replaced by torrential rain, took just two minutes of the second period to extend their lead.
And again it was his forwards who did the damage, relentlessly driving a short-range lineout before Atkinson joined the charge and landed for an attempt that Evans turned across the crossbar in a gust of wind.
Ulster needed an answer, and he arrived eight minutes later when his backs opened Gloucester’s defense and Lowry delivered an excellent shot. Cooney’s conversion reduced the gap to seven points.
It got even better for Ulster approaching the hour mark when he won a penalty try following a deliberate hit from Rees-Zammit.
It meant Gloucester’s wing was in the trash and Ulster won seven points after a long debate between Ruiz and television match official Rowan Kitt.
Cooney then scored a try that he converted, before a second penalty try was awarded to Gloucester after substitute Ethan McIlroy deliberately struck and became the third player on his team to receive a yellow card, then Barton struck.
[ad_2]