URC Result: Ulster down Sharks in Belfast

A late surge from the Sharks was not enough to stop them from going down 24-21 (halftime 10-0) against Ulster in their final United Rugby Championship (URC) pool match at the Kingspan Stadium in Belfast on Friday night.

It was an incredible comeback from the visitors with two converted tries in the final five minutes of the match that brought them within three of the hosts with 30 seconds to play, but it was too little too late as Ulster eventually got the ball back and cleared to seal the win.

The Sharks however picked up a vital losing bonus point that they will hope will keep them in the running for a home quarterfinal, but they will need other results to go their way.

Slow first half

The first half started with both teams making a number of errors in the tricky conditions, as they went from one side of the field to the other, with neither side managing to break through.

It took until the 18^th minute for Ulster to get on the board, with a penalty directly in front of the posts allowing scrumhalf John Cooney to kick them in front.

In the 27^th minute the hosts then set-up a lineout on the Sharks 5m, but couldn’t get any go forward so spread the ball down the line where fullback Mike Lowry received an inside pass to go over for the score, with Cooney’s extras putting them 10-0 up.

The Sharks desperately attacked towards the end of the half, but great defence from Ulster saw them weather the storm and get to the break unscathed.

Fast start to second half

Ulster then got the second half off to the best possible start thanks to a Sharks error.

After an Ulster kick ahead was dotted down behind his line by Aphelele Fassi, the Sharks had a goal line drop out, however instead of booting the ball up field, flyhalf Curwin Bosch decided to put a contestable kick onto the 22m.

This allowed Ulster to get the ball back and launch an attack, with inside centre Stuart McClosky making the break and bouncing off Fassi on his way over for a converted score and 17-0 lead after 45 minutes.

The Sharks then enjoyed one of their best spells of the game, pinning Ulster in their own 22m until they finally broke through the hosts defence as a tap and go penalty saw replacement prop Ntutukho Mchunu power his way over, with Bosch’s extras making it 17-7 after 63 minutes.

Three minutes later Ulster made the game safe as they started an attack from their own half, with some great interplay between the backs end with Cooney putting away outside centre James Hume for a converted score.

Incredible finish

The Sharks then produced a fantastic fightback to make it an exciting finish to the match, with replacement scrumhalf Grant Williams and inside centre Marius Louw producing the magic to make it a grandstand finish.

First from a lineout Williams received the ball and dummied and weaved his way into the Ulster half before putting Louw away to score.

Then from a ruck on their own 22m Williams chipped over the Ulster defence, with Louw catching the ball and putting Williams away to score, both tries converted by replacement flyhalf Boeta Chamberlain, but it was too little too late as Ulster held out.

Scorers

Ulster: Tries – Mike Lowry, Stuart McClosky, James Hume; Conversions – John Cooney (3); Penalty – Cooney

Sharks: Tries – Ntuthuko Mchunu, Marius Louw, Grant Williams; Conversions – Curwin Bosch, Boeta Chamberlain (2)