Ulster led from the start of the match and deservedly secured a 17-07 win over Connacht in Galway on Saturday evening. Ulster moves into the top eight of the United Rugby Championship.
Ulster dominated the first ten minutes of the match with some good physical play to get some good gains in the Connacht twenty-two and another effort to get near the try line, but Connacht won a timely turnover before the ball was grounded. Ulster was awarded a five-meter scrum which led to several attacking rucks on the Connacht tryline until Eric O’Sullivan forced his way over for a five-pointer. Doak converted to extend Ulster's lead to 07-00 after eleven minutes of play in the first half.
Two minutes later, a blistering break from Ulster led to Connacht conceding a penalty right in front of their posts. Nathan Doak converted to extend Ulster's lead to 10-00.
The following twenty minutes was an arm wrestle, however, Connacht started to take control of the match. With five minutes to go, a chip by Connacht flyhalf Jack Carty was fumbled by Ulster, whereafter, a kind bounce for Mack Hansen had him scoring Connacht's first try of the match. Jack Carty converted to cut Ulster's lead to three points with three minutes to play in the first half.
The first fifteen minutes of the second half were scoreless until the Dragons attacked off a five-meter line out. Treadwell wins the line-out before the lineout breaks off and Nick Timoney scores their second try. Doak converted to extend Ulster's lead to 17-07.
Despite Connacht's best efforts during the final fifteen minutes to score much-needed points, Ulster kept their host from scoring. Ulster deservedly won 17-07 at the Dexcom Stadium, Galway.
Scorers:
Connacht Rugby: Try: Mack Hansen. Conversion: Jack Carty.
Ulster Rugby: Tries: Eric O’Sullivan, Nick Timoney. Conversions: Nathan Doak (2). Penalty: Nathan Doak.
Teams:
Connacht Rugby: 15 Piers O’Conor, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Cathal Forde, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Santiago Cordero, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Paul Boyle, 7 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 6 Cian Prendergast (c), 5 Darragh Murray, 4 Josh Murphy, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckle. Replacements: 16 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Oisín Dowling, 20 Sean Jansen, 21 Ben Murphy, 22 Shane Jennings, 23 Conor Oliver.
Ulster Rugby: 15 Michael Lowry, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Ben Carson, 12 Jude Postlethwaite, 11 Rory Telfer, 10 Jack Murphy, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 James McNabney, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 Matty Rea, 5 Cormac Izuchukwu, 4 Alan O’Connor (c), 3 Scott Wilson, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Eric O’Sullivan. Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Andrew Warwick, 18 Corrie Barrett 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 David McCann, 21 John Cooney, 22 Aidan Morgan, 23 Wilhelm De Klerk.