Ulster Stun Champions Glasgow With Last-Gasp Shanahan Winner

Dave Shanahan’s 84th-minute try downed defending champions Glasgow Warriors as Ulster snatched a dramatic 20-19 win in their BKT United Rugby Championship opener in Belfast.

Irish-qualified out-half Aidan Morgan marked his competitive debut for Ulster with a well-taken 18th-minute try, but scores from Johnny Matthews and Henco Venter had Glasgow leading 12-10 at half-time.

Tom Jordan and Richie Gray picked up overlapping yellow cards for the Scottish outfit, and a long scoreless spell was eventually ended when Dave McCann reached over with eight minutes remaining.

Ensuring a grandstand finish at Kingspan Stadium, Glasgow captain Kyle Steyn struck for a nicely-crafted 74th-minute try, only for player-of-the-match Shanahan to burrow over at the end of a furious Ulster onslaught.

Iain Henderson returned to captain Richie Murphy’s side, in what was his first appearance since April. He underwent toe surgery and missed Ireland’s drawn summer series with South Africa.

Head coach Murphy gave a debut from the start to prop Corrie Barrett, who was signed after a successful pre-season trial. South African winger Werner Kok and Development hooker James McCormick also made their bows during the second half.

Just three months on from lifting the trophy in Pretoria, Glasgow got their title defence off to a bright start. They turned down a kickable penalty before hooker Matthews powered over from a fifth-minute maul – a well-worked shift drive from the forwards.

Former Hurricane Morgan went close to gathering a chip over the top from Nathan Doak, but Ulster had to be patient in terms of gaining territory. They missed out on a chance to build from a lineout when Matt Fagerson produced a steal.

Up inside the Glasgow 22 for the first time, the hosts got their big ball carriers involved. Glasgow coughed up a series of penalties but avoided conceding a try, with Henderson eventually held up in the left corner.

Doak knocked over a close-in penalty to open his account in the 16th minute, and his new half-back partner then took his first steps towards becoming a firm fan favourite with the Ulster supporters.

Morgan charged down a Jordan kick, hacking the ball on from Glasgow’s 10-metre line and doing well to retrieve it. Michael Lowry kept the attack going, before Morgan, a couple of phases later, drove in low to score to the right of the posts.

Despite Doak converting for a 10-5 lead, Ulster allowed Glasgow to build for a swift response. Henderson fumbled the restart, and a further penalty led to Jordan kicking Warriors back into maul territory.

Ulster scrambled well to prevent Venter from scoring from a neat set-up by Jamie Dobie, but the big South African number 8 muscled his way over from his next carry. Jordan kicked the Scots back in front from the tee.

Fagerson and Venter mastered the breakdown to keep Glasgow on top in terms of possession and territory. Ulster were not protecting the ball as well as they could, with Rory Darge and Dobie twice ripping it away in tackles.

Still, Murphy’s men were only two points in arrears despite not playing anywhere near their best. Their improved maul defence was a real positive before the break, as they twice won the ball back, including a clean turnover from McCann.

The second half started with Glasgow building momentum from a couple of scrum penalties, after which Ulster sent on Andrew Warwick and Tom O’Toole. Again though, Franco Smith’s charges left points behind them.

A try in the left corner from Darge, set up by a Dobie snipe and Stafford McDowall’s final pass, was ruled out after a TMO review highlighted a forward pass from Sione Tuipulotu, earlier in the play.

Ulster had a lineout stolen by Gray, but suddenly had a numerical advantage after Jordan’s shoulder made contact with Stewart Moore’s head at a 55th-minute ruck. Referee Adam Jones reached for his yellow card after a discussion with TMO Tom Spurrier.

With the industrious John Andrew gobbling up an overthrown Glasgow lineout, Ulster began to made headway again. Replacements Kok and Cormac Izuchukwu carried well, either side of Nick Timoney’s offload which gave Lowry some rare space to attack.

Full-back Ethan McIlroy, who was solid in defence, particularly under the high ball, was also put through a gap by Morgan. Having turned down a kickable penalty, Ulster went close when Jude Postlethwaite lost the ball in contact, right on the try-line.

Repeated infringements saw Glasgow lock Gray sent to the sin bin for offside, but Ulster were thwarted by Glasgow’s robust defence. This time James McNabney was held up after hooker Andrew had tapped a second penalty in quick succession.

Past the 70-minute mark, Ulster came hunting again, on the back of a crooked Glasgow lineout. Replacement Harry Sheridan was just short of the whitewash, but the Scots could not hold out as McCann, supported by McNabney, lunged over a ruck to ground the ball.

Morgan miscued his conversion, pulling it wide to the left of the posts, so the province took a 15-12 lead into the closing stages. Despite being down to 14 men, Glasgow made sure the home side’s lead was a brief one.

They twice cut back to the short side, led by replacement Adam Hastings. Steyn helped to ship the ball on and he was then the beneficiary of two offloads back inside from Darge and Euan Ferrie, which released him for the line from 12 metres out.

Hastings’ right boot landed the conversion, giving the title holders a four-point advantage. Only a try would do for the Ulstermen, and they got possession back, through Jacob Stockdale fielding a Dobie kick, with less than 90 seconds remaining.

Returning to Glasgow’s 22 via a penalty, McCormick’s short lineout saw him combine with Sheridan. The Ulster forwards battered away for a bruising three-minute period, their reward coming when Shanahan squeezed over, under the feet of Zander Fagerson.