Celtic League/ Connacht 13 Ulster 30:The home crowd arrived at the Sportsground last night hoping Connacht could redraw the natural pecking order of provincial rugby.
Ulster, frail and ailing after a number of tumultuous weeks in which they had begun to doubt themselves, arrived with the same team that had gone some way towards rehabilitation last week in Bourgoin.
Ulster had shown hesitancy and were far from the efficient unit of two seasons ago, so Connacht sniffed an upset. They had not beaten Ulster for almost two years but on a crisp, clear night thoughts were of Connacht coming off their record win last week in the European Challenge Cup and taking Ulster's scalp.
But Ulster won this at a canter. They took the lead after just five minutes, Carlo del Fava taking the ball one-handed in the lineout deep inside the Connacht 22 and captain Rory Best punching through in towards the posts, drawing the first penalty for Paddy Wallace and a 3-0 lead.
But the opening 20 to 30 minutes were full of turnovers and broken play and Wallace's kick remained the lone mark on the scoreboard until the 32nd minute, when he added another.
Gavin Duffy was composed and accurate with the boot at fullback with the shaven-headed Johnny O'Connor flashing with aggression and big hits but Connacht couldn't penetrate the Ulster defence, their sporadic raids often floundering on a turnover or knock-on.
Ulster too showed a mixed bag but also strength enough to worry the home side with Del Fava, Matt McCullough and Neil Best towering over the line-outs. But they lacked the fluency to take full advantage of that platform and with much of the match played between the 22s, scoring chances were limited.
Connacht particularly took refuge in territorial kicking and as the first half ticked down Ulster began to show the greater ability to string some passing moves together.
A late penalty from Connacht outhalf Tim Donnelly sent the home side into the locker-room in upbeat mood. While it was far from champagne rugby the sides couldn't have cared less. Ulster simply wanted a win to show that they hadn't forgotten how to do it and also to make sure that this season does not conclude with them trailing Connacht in the league table and forfeiting their Heineken European Cup place for next season, with just the top three Irish teams qualifying.
Donnelly's drop-out to start the second half failed to go the required 10 metres and referee Alain Rolland brought back play. That seemed to spur Ulster and they finally found their lines of running at angles and with pace, Andrew Trimble and Tommy Bowe causing Connacht to scramble in their own 22. However handling errors scuppered most of their attacking moves.
But then flanker Neil Best was binned. Connacht launched an attack with Ulster fullback Mark Bartholomeusz sliding out and knocking the ball into the hands of the advancing Daniel Riordan. The centre cantered under the posts for Donnelly to convert. Connacht suddenly led 10-6.
Two minutes later another Ulster lineout five metres out saw Roger Wilson fetch and deliver to flanker Kieron Dawson. Dawson attacked the blind side and, with the conversion from Wallace, Ulster edged ahead again, 10-13.
Donnelly's penalty a minute later after an Ulster high tackle left the sides level.
Wallace replied to make it 13-16 and then Del Fava finished off the move of the game for Ulster's second try. Wilson added a third for Wallace to finish a perfect day's kicking. Ulster back? Not quite, but moving in the right direction.
Scoring sequence - 5 mins: P Wallace pen 0-3; 32: Wallace pen 0-6; 40: T Donnelly pen 3-6. Half-time 3-6. 51: D O'Riordan try, Donnelly con 10-6; 53: K Dawson try, Wallace con 10-13; 58: Donnelly pen 13-13; 59: Wallace pen 13-16; 63: C del Fava try, Wallace con 13-23; 79: R Wilson try, Wallace con 13-30.
CONNACHT: G Duffy; A Wynne, D Riordan, M Deane, O Treviranus; T Donnelly, C McPhillips; B Wilkonson, A Flavin, R Morris, M Swift, A Farley (capt), M McCarthy, J O'Connor, J Muldoon. Replacements: A Dunne and C O'Loughlin for Donnelly and McPhillips (68 mins).
ULSTER: M Bartholomeusz; T Bowe, A Trimble, P Steinmetz, S Danielli; P Wallace, I Boss; J Fitzpatrick, R Best (capt), B Young, C del Flava, M McCullough, N Best, K Dawson, R Wilson. Replacements: D Pollack for Dawson (60 mins), R Dewey for Steinmetz (71 mins).
Referee: A Rolland(IRFU).
