Cooney Tallies Up Thirty Points To Set New Ulster URC Record

Talismanic scrum half John Cooney led the scoring with a stunning 30 points – including nine successful kicks out of ten – in Ulster’s rousing 55-39 BKT United Rugby Championship win over the Scarlets.

On his seasonal debut, Cooney was a class apart, firing over seven conversions and two penalties to add to his brace of tries and three try assists.

He set a new Ulster record for points in a United Rugby Championship match, eclipsing the 28 that David Humphreys scored against Neath 21 years ago. Stephen Jones (32 points for Llanelli in 2002) remains the competition’s best.

The Parc y Scarlets crowd got huge value for money, the Ulstermen outscoring the hosts by seven tries to five as they picked up their first league victory at the venue since December 2012.

After Vaea Fifita’s sin-binning, URC player-of-the-match Cooney landed a 71st-minute penalty and converting Tom O’Toole’s try three minutes later to seal another maximum haul for Dan McFarland’s men.

Captain Alan O’Connor, Martin Moore, Cooney and Marcus Rea had touched down during the first half as the province built a 28-15 half-time lead. There were further tries from Billy Burns, Cooney and O’Toole.

It did not take long for Aaron Sexton to make an impact on his first start. Stuart McCloskey sent him flying down the left touchline and weaving infield as the Scarlets were sent scrambling backwards.

Wearing their new alternate kit, Ulster kept up the early pressure and O’Connor expertly twisted out of a tackle to score in the fifth minute and reward a relentless start from his team.

McCloskey had made an early statement by bulldozing past Jonathan Davies, and Kieran Treadwell and Jacob Stockdale also regularly gained ground with ball in hand. Cooney’s opening conversion made it 7-0.

Ulster doubled their lead in the 14th minute, the Scarlets being taken through some energy-sapping defensive sets with Luke Marshall tackled short before prop Moore crashed over just to the left of the posts.

However, the possession-starved Scarlets soon hit back with two tries in the space of three minutes. Centre Davies and Ryan Conbeer were the scorers, the latter profiting from Blade Thompson’s swift hands in attack.

The game was suddenly taking on a completely different complexion. A Sam Costelow penalty made it 15-14 to Dwayne Peel’s charges, who were soon pressing for a third quick-fire try.

A terrific turnover near his own line by openside Rea lifted the siege, and Ulster soon made the Scarlets pay for Costelow’s sin-binning for taking out Sexton in the air.

The visitors, who lost their young winger for the remainder, accumulated 14 points approaching the interval. Michael Lowry scampered through a gap and gave Cooney a simple finish behind the posts.

The try scorer converted and also added the extras to a late bonus point effort. Full-back Lowry’s quick feet unlocked the defence again, and two phases later, Rea picked from a ruck to get his name on the scoresheet.

New Zealand-capped lock Fifita lifted the Scarlets with an intercept try on the resumption, grabbing a Burns pass at the second attempt to charge clear from halfway.

Costelow’s conversion, which closed the gap to 28-22, was quickly followed by a Cooney penalty and Ulster then began to take the opposition through the phases again, worming their way back into try-scoring range.

Rob Herring, Stockdale and Treadwell pierced the defence with their carries and Burns ran hard onto a Cooney pass to get the ball down despite two covering defenders. His half-back partner converted.

It gave Ulster a good deal of breathing space at 38-22, with the sides swapping tries just before the hour mark as this rip-roaring contest continued to ebb one way and then the other.

Scarlets replacement Dafydd Hughes dotted down from a maul, but Cooney responded with a seven-pointer having scrambled over from a ruck. The scoreboard now showed 45-29.

The Scarlets players and home support felt aggrieved with the TMO decision that led to that try being awarded. Bottling up that frustration, a determined lineout drive propelled Hughes over in the 62nd minute.

Fellow replacement Rhys Patchell converted and tagged on a penalty with just over 12 minutes remaining, putting the match right back in the melting pot with Ulster protecting a 45-39 lead.

Although Cooney pulled a penalty narrowly wide, Lowry continued to counter superbly when running back kicks. During a promising Ulster break, Fifita’s deliberate knock-on landed him in the bin.

Cooney was back on target with the subsequent penalty, widening the margin back to nine points, and replacement prop O’Toole then managed to wrap up the result with a muscular finish.

Herring’s turnover penalty won back possession, the hooker and Cooney combining off the resulting maul to put Craig Gilroy haring through a gap. O’Toole’s deft pass gave Declan Moore a cut at the line before the young tighthead made it over.