MAGNERS LEAGUE: Connacht 6 Ulster 30 -IN THE end, this was something of a bloodless coup. Ulster won pulling away, all but settling any argument about Ireland's three Heineken Cup qualifying places before October and while that would have hugely disappointed a large and expectant home crowd, this was as much about how good Ulster were as Connacht's manifold inadequacies.
With the lineout overcoming some initial problems, and the pack recycling ball quickly off hard running from the likes of Robbie Diack and Chris Henry, they made light of the absence of Stephen Ferris. Behind them, Ian Humprheys and Darren Cave were the game’s class acts.
It might have helped Connacht had they managed the basics well, but some soft first-up tackling invited Ulster into the match with an early try and a failure to collect the second-half restart – letting the ball bounce – saw Ulster repeat the feat after the interval. That was as good as game over.
Amid all the optimism on a lovely evening in Galway, Connacht were rocked on their heels within five minutes with, given the circumstances, some surprisingly weak tackling. Keatley having missed with a 45-metre penalty, Ulster went through some quick-fire phases and kept their depth, Henry barging through Frank Murphy ominously. Cave it was who cut back from Humphreys pass to beat Keith Matthews on his inside shoulder and then Murphy before scoring under the posts.
Humphreys tapped over the conversion before Connacht began eating into the lead; the Ulster scrum being pinged for illegal wheeling and Keatley landing the penalty. Bouts of aerial ping-pong ensued, and after Fionn Carr had denied Timoci Nagusa with a try-saving tackle, Gavin Duffy then chased his own up-and-under, caught it on the run ahead of a hesitant Humprheys, and when Willie Faloon came in from the side, Keatley cut the deficit to a point.
Ulster tapped a penalty into the corner rather than aim for the posts and when their maul was unceremoniously driven back, it induced the biggest cheer of the night thus far.
Troy Nathan made a rare Connacht line break after Dan Tuohy failed to fill a hole vacated by Humprheysbefore Muldoon and Matthews enveloped Danielli, who soon departed, and the impressive Ray Ofisa dumped Diack. But having gone up the line and won the lineout, Murphy’s high pass forced Keatley to take it up and the ball was turned over. This inability to apply sustained pressure was Connacht’s undoing.
By contrast, Ulster swiftly made their first incursion of the second period count again. Humphreys did wonderfully in taking the ball to the gain line and free his hands in contact for Chris Henry to take the offload and drive his legs impressively toward the line. Brendon Botha was on hand to rumble over from close-range under the posts, Humphreys duly making it 14-6.
The match was there for Ulster after that, and Humphreys extended the lead after Jamie Hagan was penalized for bringing a scrum down. The crowd fell silent, and while the introduction of Mike McCarthy and Johnny O’Connor briefly revived home spirits, an eminently kickable Keatley penalty against Isaac Boss was adjudged wide.
This was compounded by another Humphreys penalty and Connacht responded by recycling and going through phases – but inside their own 10-metre line. They repeated this approach again, and when failing to regain a chip ahead after going through five phases, Ulster took one phase for Humphreys to ping Connacht with a diagonal touchfinder.
There they stayed, patiently working through quick ball. Clinton Schifcofske and Paddy Wallace made strong drives over the gain line in turn before Humphreys took flat ball and skip passed on the blind side to Nagusa, who stepped out of Duffy’s tackle to score in the corner.
As Connacht runners became increasingly isolated in their own territory, Andrew Trimble ran hard from a turnover and Humphreys squeezed over in the corner to complete a superb night for himself and for his team.
The chase for Ireland’s three Heineken Cup places already looks an open and shut case again.
Scoring sequence:5 mins Cave try, Humphreys con 0-7; 8 mins Keatley pen 3-7; 20 mins Keatley pen 6-7; (half-time 6-7); 42 mins Botha try, Humphreys con 6-14; 54 mins Humprheys pen 6-17; 59 mins Humphreys pen 6-20; 70 mins Nagusa try 6-25; 75 mins Humprheys try 6-30; CONNACHT:G Duffy; B Tuohy, T Nathan, K Matthews, F Carr; I Keatley, F Murphy; B Wilkinson, S Cronin, J Hagan, A Browne, B Upton, J Muldoon (capt), R Ofisa, M McComish. Replacements:M McCarthy for McComish, J O'Connor for Ofisa (both 55 mins), L Bibo for Tuohy, R Morris for Hagen (both 60 mins), C O'Loughlin for Murphy, A Wynne for Keatley (both 69 mins). Not used: A Flavin.
ULSTER:C Schifcofske; T Nagusa, D Cave, P Wallace (capt), S Danielli; I Humphreys, I Boss; T Court, A Kyriacou, B Botha, D Tuohy, E O'Donoghue, C Henry, W Faloon, R Diack. Replacements:A Trimble for Danielli (11 mins), D Fitzpatrick for Botha, TJ Anderson for Henry (both 65 mins), N Brady for Kyriacou (72 mins), N McComb for O'Donoghue, P Marshall for Boss, I Whitten for Wallace (all 76 mins).
Referee:George Clancy (IRFU).
