Easy night at the Brewery for Ulster

Celtic Warriors 0 Ulster 28

Celtic Warriors 0 Ulster 28

The cultured boot of David Humphreys pushed Ulster one step nearer the Celtic League Championship title against one of their closest rivals at the Brewery Field as they shut out Celtic Warriors.

Shorn of their Welsh squad members at the request of coach Steve Hanson, the Warriors were no match for the well-organised Irishmen.

The forwards battle was intense and fairly even but Humphreys kept Ulster going forward with a brilliant display of tactical kicking.

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Unfortunately for the Warriors Neil Jenkins had a rare off night with the boot, missing two kickable penalty attempts early on.

Ulster made the Warriors pay with the game's first try after five minutes.

The Ulster forwards won possession near the Warriors' line and Paul Steinmetz sent Shane Stewart flying through the gap and the burly centre just made the line.

Humphreys converted and added two penalties before a superb series of phases saw Ulster create a huge overlap for a try by flanker Neil McMillan which made it 18-0 at half time.

Humphreys continued to control affairs after the break and kicked Ulster further in front with his third successful penalty.

When the Warriors turned over possession midway through the half, it was Humphreys who popped up to take the scoring pass and he converted his own try to finish with a personal tally of 18 points. Humphreys also took the the man-of-the-match award.

Emerging youngster Ryan Jones was the pick of the Warriors but until the Welsh side can field something close to their first choice team, they will not be able to sustain a championship challenge.