United Rugby Championship: Ulster hammer Stormers with bonus-point win
- Published
Watch: Dominant Ulster secure bonus-point win over Stormers
United Rugby Championship - Ulster v Stormers |
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Ulster (21) 35 |
Tries: Doak, Moxham, Timoney, Toomaga-Allen, Lowry Cons: Doak 4, Cooney |
Stormers (0) 5 |
Try: Venter |
Ulster backed up their famous European win over Sale Sharks with a dominant bonus-point 35-5 win over the Stormers in the United Rugby Championship.
Nathan Doak, Ben Moxham and Nick Timoney scored first-half tries as Ulster led 21-0 at Kingspan Stadium.
Jeff Toomaga-Allen secured the bonus point before Michael Lowry rounded out a superb and flowing move.
Andre-Hugo Venter scored a late try but Ulster move two points behind second-placed Stormers with the win.
Ulster's victory over Sale Sharks on Saturday - which secured passage into the knockout stages of Europe - had raised the question as to whether Dan McFarland's men had returned to form or if it was a one-off performance in front of a raucous home support.
That question was resoundingly answered in a dominant first half against the injury-hit South Africans.
Doak, selected ahead of the Scotland-linked John Cooney, darted over in the 14th minute to get Ulster on the board, and the scrum-half converted his own score.
Ulster got their second try when wing Moxham breezed over in the corner and dotted down under the posts, which allowed Doak an easy conversion from the tee.
The Stormers responded with rare pressure but Ulster managed to clear and the hosts notched their third try when Timoney crashed over with the final play of the half, with Doak again adding the extras.
McFarland's men also had two tries cancelled out in the opening five minutes. Doak pounced from close range but referee Mike Adamson brought play back after he felt the ball had gone forward when coming out of the maul, and, in the next phase, Tom Stewart powered over but Adamson adjudged Harry Sheridan was obstructing any tackles coming in.
It was a miserable first half for the Stormers, who had rested South African internationals - including Ulster-bound prop Steven Kitshoff.
They lost Junior Pokomela and Clayton Blommetjies before the game, and the visitors were hit by further injuries in the first half as hooker JJ Kotze was stretchered off with number eight Evan Roos also having to depart before fly-half Jean Luc Du Plessis was taken off for a HIA.
Jeff Toomaga-Allen was named man of the match
Toomaga-Allen secures bonus point
Things went from bad to worse for the Stormers four minutes into the second half when Ben-Jason Dixon was shown a yellow card for a high tackle on Lowry.
Ulster immediately capitalised on their man advantage when James Hume, omitted from Ireland's Six Nations squad, made a break and set up Toomaga-Allen for a try.
The New Zealand prop had so much space to score he even had time for a quick celebrate before he crossed the line as he wrapped up the bonus point.
The Stormers responded and, for the first time in the half, retained territory deep in the Ulster half, but Duane Vermeulen produced a big steal before Dan McFarland emptied his bench with 25 minutes to play.
Lowry got in on the try-scoring act with Ulster's best score of the game as forwards and backs combined, which resulted in the full-back sprinting clear before replacement Cooney converted.
Venter scored a late consolation for the Cape Town side but Ulster were comfortable with a five-try performance as the league heads into a break for the Six Nations.
Ulster: Lowry, Lyttle, Hume, Moore, Moxham, Burns, Doak; O'Sullivan, Stewart, Toomaga-Allen, O'Connor (capt), Carter, Sheridan, Timoney, Vermeulen.
Replacements: Andrew, Sutherland, Warwick, Treadwell, Murphy, Cooney, Madigan, McIlroy.
Stormers: Wolhunter; Hartzenberg, Nel, Mngomezulu, Smith; Di Plessis, Ungerer; Vermaak, Kotze, Harris; Dixon, Orie (capt); Theunissen, Engelbrecht, Roos.
Replacements: Ntubeni, Blose, Sandi, van Heerden, Venter, Jantjies, Evans, De Jongh.