Ulster Battle Past Connacht To Book Semi-Final Trip To Glasgow

Ulster gave Rory Best and Darren Cave a memorable Kingspan Stadium send-off as a 21-13 win over provincial rivals Connacht earned them a GUINNESS PRO14 semi-final date with Glasgow Warriors on Friday, May 17.

After edging a tight first half 11-3 thanks to a slick Nick Timoney try and two John Cooney penalties, both sides fought tooth and nail in a brutal second period. Bundee Aki’s try from a Colby Fainga’a interception and Jack Carty’s right boot twice closed the gap to a single point, but man-of-the-match Marcell Coetzee decided the outcome in Ulster’s favour.

Influential number 8 Coetzee found enough space at the side of a 77th-minute ruck to break free from a Tom Farrell tackle and reach over past Eoin McKeon and replacement Peter McCabe. With Cooney off the field, Billy Burns stepped up to land a coolly-struck conversion and set up Ulster’s first PRO14 semi-final since 2016.

Best and Cave, with 219 and 227 caps to their respective names, both featured on the occasion of Ulster’s final home game before their retirements, hooker Best captaining the side from the start, and Cave enjoying a cameo role in midfield as a temporary replacement for Luke Marshall during the third quarter.

Back in the play-offs for the first time since they lifted the trophy in 2016, Connacht were quietly confident after winning their last three matches against Ulster. That run included their first victory (22-15) in Belfast in over 57 years, a famous October night for Andy Friend’s side earlier this season.

However, it was Ulster who were quickest into their stride early on, scrum half Cooney sending over a fourth minute penalty after good carries from Coetzee and Timoney. Connacht’s radar was slightly off as Jack Carty missed touch following a scrum penalty, and pressure from the home side drew a knock-on in the air from Tiernan O’Halloran.

The turnover soon led to the game’s opening try, Ulster working some space on the left thanks to Coetzee’s neat offload and very good hands too from lock Kieran Treadwell – out of a tackle from O’Halloran – sent Timoney charging through. The athletic flanker stayed clear of Fainga’a and impressively nipped inside Matt Healy, the covering defender, to score.

Cooney was unable to convert from the left, and Connacht showed how dangerous they could be when Dave Heffernan and Eoin McKeon combined at a lineout, the former’s short return ball releasing the hooker along the right touchline but Robert Lyttle was equal to the task and produced a try-saving tackle.

Further Connacht pressure should have seen them get off the mark, but Best won a turnover and then Robert Baloucoune’s robust tackle forced a knock-on from O’Halloran. Carty increased his influence with a high-quality pass to put Healy darting down the left wing, a subsequent ruck infringement from Treadwell allowing the Connacht out-half to close the gap to 8-3.

While Ulster were coping better in the scrum, with Ross Kane in place for the injured Martin Moore, a couple of lineout steals boosted Connacht. Yet, the injury-enforced departure of Gavin Thornbury hurt them at set piece time, and Cooney restored the eight-point lead with a late penalty to punish Aki’s no-arms tackle on Burns.

The breakdown skills of both front rows were on show early in the second period, as Denis Buckley and Best won turnover penalties either side of a penalty miss from Carty following Ulster’s collapsing of a maul. Cave came on to a rapturous welcome, his defensive reads and Connacht’s own line-speed in defence keeping the scoreline at 11-3.

With 54 minutes on the clock, Fainga’a delighted the travelling support when he picked off a Burns pass on Connacht’s 10-metre line, evaded Stuart McCloskey’s diving tackle and held off Baloucoune to loop a brilliant offload back to Aki who stepped off his left to break clear of Baloucoune and Cave and touch down under the posts.

The extras were quickly added by Carty, as Aki’s fourth try in as many games against Ulster set up a tantalising final quarter. Penalties were exchanged as the single-point margin remained in place, Cooney punishing Eoghan Masterson’s failure to roll away and a harsh breakdown call against Coetzee seeing Carty respond in the 67th minute.

However, it was the South African powerhouse who settled the issue following Best’s emotional departure to the touchline. Ulster displayed the better ball retention during a tense finale and their forwards wore down the defence before Timoney fed Coetzee from a close-in ruck and he proved unstoppable from a few metres out.

Out-half Burns’ conversion was crucial too as it put the hosts more than a converted try clear. There was no way back for Connacht, the final whistle allowing the retiring duo of Best and Cave to bid a fond farewell to the Kingspan faithful. Their title challenge resumes at Scotstoun Stadium in two weeks’ time.

Ulster head coach Dan McFarland said afterwards: “It’s massive isn’t it? But we’re in it to win it. The goal at the start of the season will always be for us to consistently be in play-off games. The more play-off games you play, the better you get at them and the more chance you have of winning them because they are an individual beast.

“Winning one now will give us experience but going to Glasgow, we’re under no illusions as to the task there, having been there about a month ago and been sent home packing.

“For me, physical intensity-wise, we’re pretty good. We can mix it in there. In terms of big plays, we can definitely produce those. It’s around the precision side of things, at the moment, we don’t have that nailed. We’ll have to be better in Glasgow if we’re to win.”

His Connacht counterpart Friend added: “We just said downstairs (in the dressing room) that it’s not where we wanted to be in terms of getting knocked out of a quarter-final and we definitely wanted to be in a semi-final and, ideally, we’d love to be in a final holding up silverware but we didn’t get there.

“On reflection, though, we put some hoodoos to bed this year – the win up here in October, we’re in the Champions Cup next season, it’s only the second time in the province’s history that we’ve got into the play-off stages in the Championship.

“It is hard to reflect and try to put a positive spin on things but those are the facts of it. There’s a lot of boys hurting down there, a lot of staff hurting, but I know that hurt will be turned around into positive energy and we’ll be better next year.”