URC: Ulster 20 Glasgow Warriors 19
Ulster won’t care one iota that they pickpocketed the defending champions four minutes into injury time with a try from replacement scrumhalf Dave Shanahan to conjure a victory that would have been considered fanciful for most of this match.
The game was won by Ulster’s bench and Shanahan, a deserved man-of-the-match for his 27-minute cameo which was the catalyst for his side’s unlikely redemption based. He brought vision and tempo that had previously been lacking and it galvanised those around him.
Glasgow should be furious that they allowed the win to slip through their fingers. The better side for most of the match, they conceded a try to Dave McCann on 72 minutes, looked to have rescued the win when Kyle Steyn crossed for a super score on 74 minutes to put them 19-15 up but then handed their hosts one final opportunity, of which the home team availed.
Ulster head coach Richie Murphy admitted: “I thought it was incredible the way the lads stuck at it. We didn’t play our best rugby, but we stuck at it. To get the win in the end was really special.” It won’t camouflage or gloss over a performance that was clunky for the first 60 minutes.
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A power deficit in the tight five was a concern for Ulster going into the season and those misgivings seemed well founded on the evidence of the first half. Glasgow won the majority of the collisions against a largely passive home defence, had a pronounced edge in the scrum, forcing a handful of penalties, and once they got momentum inside their opponents 22, looked threatening.
Fortunately for Ulster, the defending champions were a little ring-rusty handling-wise and that provided the odd moment of respite for a home side that had to scramble for their lives. There were other early season kinks in Ulster’s performance: breakdown indiscipline, poor ball protection and just being a little slow to use possession.
As the home side sought out collective cohesion, individuals stepped up. Michael Lowry made some telling interventions, outhalf Aidan Morgan showed some lovely touches, Ethan McIlroy too, while the backrow of James McNabney, Dave McCann and Nick Timoney, despite the occasional error, worked so hard to try and find a solution.
There are several certainties in life – death, taxes and Glasgow hooker Johnny Matthews scoring tries. A total of 14 in the URC last season, he grabbed the first of this campaign after just five minutes. The visitors turned down three points, kicked to the corner and a clever shift/drive lineout option allowed Matthews to power over.
Nathan Doak kicked a penalty, then Morgan charged down Tom Jordan’s kick, regained possession inside the Glasgow 22, and when the ball was recycled a couple of times, Ulster’s new recruit chose a lovely line to power between two tacklers and dot down for a try. Doak converted.
The home side’s ruck discipline was periodically lax, and it cost them another penalty. Glasgow kicked to the corner and battered away until number eight Henco Venter found a chink in the Ulster defence close to the line. Jordan tagged on the conversion to push the visitors out to 12-10 at the interval.
From McIlroy’s great break, Ulster won a penalty in the Glasgow 22, doubled down and went to the corner rather than take the easy three points to regain the lead. Once again, they pummelled away around the fringes through a sequence of rucks before the excellent Jude Postlethwaite lunged for the line but lost the ball in the process.
The home side had been on penalty advantage and this time they tapped but McNabney was held up over the line. Glasgow had defended heroically with just 13 players, with outhalf Jordan and Richie Gray in the sin bin. It begged the question as to why Ulster did not look for width with a two-man advantage.
Shanahan’s speed gave the home side a different dimension at scrumhalf and along with the impact made by Cormac Izuchukwu, Tom O’Toole and Harry Sheridan in particular, Ulster managed to put a better shape on their attack.
Despite refusing to move away from their frontal assault around the fringes as they engineered another goal-line siege, this time, they did manage to get over the line, McCann cleverly exploiting the short-side to stretch over the top of a ruck.
The home supporters’ euphoria was short-lived after Glasgow produced a lovely sweeping attacking move that was finished by captain Kyle Steyn. Adam Hastings’s touchline conversion made any potential Ulster redemption tougher to imagine.
But they found it. Glasgow conceded a penalty and Morgan put his side in the visitors 22 with the kick. Ulster plotted a route to the line, millimetre by millimetre, and eventually Shanahan burrowed under several bodies to touch down. The television match official had a quick look but couldn’t find a reason to commute Glasgow’s misery.
SCORING SEQUENCE – 5 mins: Matthews try, 0-5; 16: Doak pen, 3-5; 18: Morgan try, Doak con, 10-5; 25: Venter try, Jordan con, 10-12. Half-time: 10-12. 72: McCann try, 15-12; 74: Steyn try, Hastings con, 15-19; 84: Shanahan try, 20-19.
ULSTER: E McIlroy; M Lowry, S Moore, J Postlethwaite, J Stockdale; A Morgan, N Doak; E O’Sullivan, J Andrew, C Barrett; I Henderson (capt), K Treadwell; J McNabney, D McCann, N Timoney.
Replacements: A Warwick for O’Sullivan, T O’Toole for Barrett (both 46 mins); C Izuchukwu for Treadwell (52); D Shanahan for Doak (53); H Sheridan for Henderson (58); W Kok for Moore (HIA, 58-68); J McCormick for Andrews (67); Moore for McIlroy (69).
GLASGOW WARRIORS: J McKay; S Cancelliere, S McDowall, S Tuipulotu, K Steyn (capt); T Jordan, J Dobie; J Bhatti, J Matthews, S Talakai; M Williamson, R Gray; M Fagerson, R Darge, H Venter.
Replacements: N McBeth for Bhatti, Z Fagerson for Talakai, G Brown for Williamson (all 46 mins); E Ferrie for Venter, A Hastings for McDowall (both 57); G Hiddleston for Matthews (58); A Samuel for M Fagerson (68).
Yellow card: T Jordan (58 mins); R Gray (65).
Referee: Adam Jones (WRU).
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