Ulster 23 Glasgow 6:Ulster have qualified for the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup after a hard-fought win over Glasgow, coupled with Northampton failing to better their result against Castres at Franklins Gardens. Last year's beaten finalists will now travel to France next weekend aiming to secure a home draw in the last eight.
On a typically wet and windy night at Ravenhill, Ulster edged ahead through Nick Williams in the first half but were unable to put the visitors away until late scores from Jared Payne and Darren Cave put the result beyond doubt. With Northampton only beating Castres by 18-12 – the English side needed to at least match Ulster’s winning margin to retain any hopes of topping the pool – Ulster are guaranteed a berth in the knockout stages.
On a typically wet and windy night at Ravenhill, Ulster edged ahead through Nick Williams in the first half but were unable to put the visitors away until late scores from Jared Payne and Darren Cave put the result beyond doubt. With Northampton only beating Castres by 18-12 – the English side needed to at least match Ulster’s winning margin to retain any hopes of topping the pool – Ulster are guaranteed a berth in the knockout stages.
Despite the fears the ongoing flag protests would disrupt the crowd, a chilly and sodden Ravenhill was still packed to the rafters for this encounter which saw the home side open the scoring after six minutes when Ruan Pienaar slotted a penalty after Moray Low was off his feet at the breakdown.
Things got even better after 20 minutes when Ulster upped their intensity after Williams turned a ball over in Glasgow’s 22 which saw Paddy Jackson put a teasing ball in for Andrew Trimble — making his 150th appearance, only for the Warriors to clear to touch near their line. The reprieve proved temporary though as from the lineout, which Williams secured, Ulster drove for the line and Williams careered through Robert Hartley to score with the TMO being asked to call on it. Pienaar converted and Ulster were 10-0 to the good.
Pienaar was then wide with his second penalty attempt just on the half-hour mark and Duncan Weir’s effort from just inside Ulster’s half on 35 minutes — their first bid for points — fell just under the bar.
Then just before the break, Trimble’s late hit on Henry Pyrgos led to another Weir shot from closer in and again the Warriors outhalf was wide and the half ended with Ulster leading 10-0 with Trimble just failing to hold on to an intercept pass right at the end.
The Warriors began the second half with Weir finally getting them off the mark after eight minutes after Pienaar was sacked at a ruck. Then matters took a turn for the worse for Ulster when Iain Henderson was yellow carded for not rolling away and the home side were down to 14 men on 54 minutes as the Warriors quickly struck with Weir slotting a second penalty after Ulster were caught offside.
But Ulster dug deep and a drive from Williams and Trimble helped set up Pienaar to make it 13-6 just as Henderson returned. After putting Glasgow’s scrum under huge pressure, Ulster opted to kick their 65th minute penalty but Pienaar was wide and seven points remained between the sides.
But Ulster then sealed it when Payne crashed over in the 73rd minute after good approach work from Henderson and Pienaar’s conversion rebounded out off the post. But Ulster were not finished and Cave slid over for a third unconverted try with time rapidly running out.
