Adam McKendry reports from Kingspan Stadium
ULSTER MISSED THE chance to put additional pressure on Leinster at the top of Conference A in the Guinness Pro14 as they laboured to a 21-7 win over the Ospreys at Kingspan Stadium but failed to pick up that all-important bonus point.
Dan McFarland’s men were nearly kept scoreless at half-time on home soil as the Ospreys exerted a surprising amount of control over proceedings before the break, with only John Cooney’s try just before the interval getting them on the board.
After the restart, the province gave themselves a great chance to get the job done when John Andrew crossed and they were awarded a penalty try just after the hour mark, but, like in Glasgow a week prior, despite having plenty of time they couldn’t find the fourth try for the extra point.
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Jordi Murphy captains Ulster for the first time tonight.
Image: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO
Image: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO
WHEN YOU’RE CHASING Leinster you can’t really afford any missteps. Ulster have been doing a pretty decent job of it this season, currently trailing Leo Cullen’s men by four points in Conference A as they stare into the final block of regular season fixtures.
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ANDY FARRELL YESTERDAY named his 36-man Ireland squad for the 2021 Six Nations.
They kick off their campaign with a visit to Cardiff to face Wales on Sunday 7 February before a home clash with France the following weekend.
Here, we break down Farrell’s squad by position groups, examining the pecking order and noting some of the players who narrowly missed. The squad is listed below along with [age, Ireland caps].
Ulster 34
NINE TRIES SHARED between the two sides, four yellow cards and three penalty tries all add up to Ulster’s Heineken Champions Cup hopes coming to a premature end at Kingsholm.
The province’s aim of making it three consecutive trips to the European quarter-finals have ended after just two games, and needing a big win after last week’s defeat to Toulouse at Kingspan Stadium, they will only have themselves to blame for not seeing this game out having been ahead with less than a minute to play.
With the ball in hand in Gloucester territory, a knock-on from Matty Rea conceded possession, and when Gloucester went down the other end, George Barton’s try with the last play of the game consigned Ulster to back-to-back defeats in Europe and ensured they would be on the wrong side of an absolute thriller.