Ulster see off Connacht in nine-try URC thriller

Ulster (19) 32

Tries: Andrew, Postlethwaite, Cooney, McCann, Timoney Cons: Cooney 2 Pens: Cooney

Connacht (17) 27

Tries: Bolton, Joyce, Murphy, Tierney-Martin Cons: Ioane 2 Pens: Ioane

Ulster ran out 32-27 winners over Connacht in a fiercely contested nine-try Irish interprovincial derby in the United Rugby Championship in Belfast.

Scores from John Andrew, Jude Postlethwaite and John Cooney helped the northern province to a 19-17 half-time lead, with David McCann and Nick Timoney tries helping Ulster over the line in the second half.

Shayne Bolton, Joe Joyce and Ben Murphy went over for Connacht in an end-to-end first half, replacement Dylan Tierney-Martin getting their side's fourth try in a similarly pulsating second period.

In a tight contest, Josh Murphy's red card 10 minutes from time proved significant as his side failed to make it three URC wins in a row but left with two bonus points.

The win gives Ulster a boost after the disappointment of two defeats on the road in South Africa and they will next face Ospreys at Kingspan Stadium on Friday.

End-to-end first 40

Ulster got off to a flying start as hooker Andrew crashed over from close range off the back of a rolling maul in the third minute for the opening try of the game, Cooney converting.

Connacht's response was an emphatic one as two penalties moved them to within five metres of the Ulster line after a sustained period of pressure.

Ulster initially defend their line well but fly-half Josh Ioane's accurate long pass found Bolton out on the wing and he dived over in the corner after 11 minutes.

The hosts then lost captain Iain Henderson to injury but midway through the half Postlethwaite notched his side's second try.

The lineout and maul again provided the platform for the score and the centre's score was awarded after consultation with the television match official.

Eight minutes later, Cooney dived over under the posts after weaving his way through a gap in the Connacht defence, the scrum-half kicking the extras to put 14 between the sides.

The visitors' reply was swift as second row Joe Joyce rumbled over from a maul after the westerners had kicked a penalty into the corner.

From the restart, Werner Kok was shown a yellow card for taking out a man in the air and Connacht took advantage of their numerical advantage when Ben Murphy raced clear from 30 metres to score with the clock in the red.

Ioane's conversion meant there were only two between the sides at the interval.

Keenly fought second half

Connacht thought they were in for their fourth try soon after the restart but after initially awarding the score, referee Andrew Brace overturned the decision after a TMO review.

Replays showed that the Ulster defence had held up Connacht's attack on the line.

Josh Murphy was then sin-binned and McCann was the next man to get his name on the scoresheet as he barged over for the home side's bonus-point try in the 52nd minute thanks to the tried and tested lineout and maul routine.

Early in the fourth quarter, replacement Dylan Tierney-Martin surged across the whitewash for try number four after Connacht again weaponised the lineout and rolling maul, Ioane's conversion levelling the scores.

With nine minutes remaining, having earlier seen yellow, second row Josh Murphy saw red for a head-on-head collision with James McCormick and from the resulting penalty Cooney landed the penalty which edged Ulster ahead.

Nick Timoney dotted down Ulster's fifth score from yet another maul, with Iaone successful with a late penalty to clinch a second bonus point for Pete Wilkins' men.

Team line-ups

Ulster: Ethan McIlroy; Werner Kok, Stewart Moore, Jude Postlethwaite, Jacob Stockdale; Aidan Morgan, John Cooney; Andrew Warwick, John Andrew, Tom O’Toole; Iain Henderson (capt), Kieran Treadwell; David McCann, Sean Reffell, Nick Timoney.

Replacements: James McCormick, Callum Reid, Corrie Barrett, Alan O’Connor, Marcus Rea, Nathan Doak, Ben Carson, Mike Lowry.

Connacht: Santiago Cordero; Mack Hansen, Piers O'Conor, Bundee Aki, Shayne Bolton; Josh Ioane, Ben Murphy; Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Finlay Bealham; Joe Joyce, Josh Murphy; Cian Prendergast (capt) Sean O’Brien, Paul Boyle.

Replacements: Dylan Tierney-Martin, Peter Dooley, Temi Lasisi, Oisin Dowling, David O’Connor, Caolin Blade, Cathal Forde, Conor Oliver.