Our Ulster contributor Kristian Ross reports on their rise to the top of the Pro12…
Ulster paid tribute to Nevin Spence in the perfect way on Saturday night with a seven try demolition over Cardiff Blues at Arms Park, making it four wins from four and returning to the top of the PRO12 table.
We were buoyed with returns of Darren Cave and Tommy Bowe on what was an emotional night in Cardiff. The minutes silence for Nevin observed impeccably as Ulster took to the field for the first time since his passing.
It wasn’t a great start for Mark Anscombe’s men; Darren Cave immediately knocking on following the kick off, and Cardiff went through the phases before Ulster were called for not releasing in the tackle and Cardiff had the first chance of points through Jason Tovey, who had no problem slotting through the sticks to give Cardiff an early lead.
Ulster found themselves behind again for the third game in a row, and needed to hit back, but Tom James showed some skill for Cardiff, before some good passing and attacking prowess from the Blues came to end when the ball went forward, but a early warning for the Ulstermen that needed to be heeded.
After we won the resulting scrum from our own feed before Tom James again ran the line, the Blues messed up the easiest chance for a try as the ball, having been left by Dan Fish, fell on the try line for Sam Warburton but the Welsh international knocked forward according to the TMO, and Ulster were let off a hook.
A good scrum by Ulster saw Paul Marshall try to clear, but it only went as far as Tommy Bowe, who collected well, but the resulting turnover saw the Welsh side pushing forward again, and Andrew Trimble found himself offside, as Cardiff had the chance again from the tee. And James Tovey made it two from two with minimal ease. Cardiff 6-0 Ulster.
Ulster needed something to try and stem the tide, the Blues looking comfortable. Immediately a decent reply came from Paddy Jackson's kick off, as Ulster squirmed the ball back into their possession, and the ball was spread wide, Jared Payne getting amongst the mix as the eventually move broke down as Nick Williams dropped the egg.
But Ulster's scrum was vastly superior, and as it turned Ulster now had the feed, as the Blues collapsed allowing for Paddy Jackson to get Ulster's first points of the night.
Jackson stepped up, confidence has oozed from the young fly half so far this season, and he put away a simplistic kick to get Ulster back within three points.
Ulster now had a platform to go on, and from the kick off, Ulster moved forward well, Nick Williams with a superbly well orchestrated one handed offload that was more Kobe Bryant than Sonny Bill to send Tommy Bowe away who found Chris Henry, and as the ball was spread to the other wing, Ulster were just 6 metres from the line, before Kiwi, John Afoa came ever so close until he was tackled just before the whitewash. Ulster sniffed five points, and it was clearly even more evident they wanted them when they opted for the scrum rather than a kick at goal following Cardiff being penalised for offside.
The drive from the scrum was good, but was reset as the Cardiff forwards came up, the second scrum again going well for Ulster, a free kick awarded, taken quickly by Williams who went for the line himself, and as the ball was recycled, scrum half Paul Marshall gave the ball to Michael Allen, who's cheeky dummy saw him get over for Ulster's first try, but in bad fortune injured himself when he grounded the ball. Allen's sacrifice had given Ulster the advantage and it was made better as Paddy Jackson booted the conversion over to give Ulster a 10-6 lead.
However Cardiff were able to immediately get within a point, as Michael Allen was penalised for offside, a poor decision from the referee, Allen not having been involved in play, and having not being able to retreat to the injury sustained in the previous score. Paddy Wallace replaced Allen, as Jason Tovey got Cardiff back within touching distance with a long range effort.
Ulster felt aggrieved but knew they had to put it behind them. Twenty minutes had passed and again Tom James made a good run to test the Ulster defence, but it was brought to a end via an Ulster penalty, and the line out ball saw an ferocious Ulster attack that broke down, and then play switched ends as Cardiff had a their attacking chance before it again went back into the hands of Ulster again, but finally the move came to a end as Paul Marshall's pass to Nick Williams went forward, in what had been a topsy turvy few minutes.
Cardiff had the scrum, but again it collapsed as Ulster once more showed their superiority in the scrum. The resulting penalty kicked down field by Jackson, the lineout taken, and a Ulster started to move through the phases again, earning a scrum over on the touchline following some good work by Jared Payne who had shown some very good technique so far in the match.
A good scrum saw Williams pass to Marshall, who passed inside to Iain Henderson, who for a second I had no idea who he was due to his brand new haircut, the long hair completely gone, as the ball was retrieved by Marshall he passed back to Nick Williams who crashed over the line. The referee however was unsure, and he decided to go upstairs to the television match official who confirmed the try as Ulster moved further in front. They were now starting to look dangerous indeed and a excellent swinging kick from Paddy Jackson saw the lead increase to 17-9.
As played started towards move towards half time, Ulster again showed dominance in the scrum, and another penalty kicked into the Cardiff half by Jackson saw Ulster again launch another attack, but the move was quelled as Andrew Trimble failed to release, and a good kick by Jason Tovey saw the play move back into the Ulstermen's half.
Ulster stole the resulting lineout, but Paul Marshall sliced the clearance straight out, as Cardiff looked for a score with five minutes towards the end of the first half, but some solid defending by Ulster saw the Blues lose it, and a super clearance by Jared Payne give Ulster some breathing space.
Things started to look bleak for Cardiff as Jason Tovey went down injured, Gareth Davies replacing him. Cardiff had one last charge at the end of the first half but Ulster again cleared through Darren Cave, the quick line out unable to be taken, but there was still time for one last move until Dan Fish wasted the chance, putting the ball out into touch as the half time whistle blew, with Ulster in good stead for the second half.
As the teams came out to do battle in the last 40 minutes, Ulster knew that the more good work in the second half would see them come away with a win in Wales for the second time this season.
Cardiff made the first move of the half winning a scrum and moving through the phases before Andrew Trimble kept in a needless kick and put Ulster under some pressure. The Blues moved forward again, and were unlucky when Dan Fish tried the chip and chase but it went into touch.
Cardiff were able to attack again when Nick Williams gave the Blues possession, another one handed offload that went awry. 5 minutes into the second half and it had been all Cardiff, a very clever chip from Dan Fish and the resulting pass to Tom James saw Cardiff move forward and as the ball moved into the air for another pass, Darren Cave was berated by the Cardiff fans for what they believed was a deliberate knock on, but the referee awarded a penalty for offside instead allowing for Gareth Davies to hit a cracking effort off the post to get the Blues back within five points.
The turning point of the game hinged here. Cardiff giving the ball to Andrew Trimble following the kick off and Ulster started to move forward and when Jared Payne found Tommy Bowe, the 14 had no one ahead of him running in his first try on his return game, taking his total to a massive 47 tries in the PRO12. Bowe looked elated, Ulster fans delirious, the team in white were firmly in front again, even with Paddy Jackson skewing his kick well wide.
Ulster now had it made, ten points to the good, away from home, and in prime position to bury this match once and for all. They had another chance for points just minutes later when Rhys Copeland didn't retreat following a clearance kick, Paddy Jackson attempting a 53m kick that went just wide, but as Cardiff collected it, a poor clearance from Dan Fish was sliced into touch, the resulting lineout saw Ulster press forward again, and as Ulster drove on, it looked too easy as Jared Payne still came away with the ball despite Cardiff having possession for a few seconds, Payne being gifted the ball from Sam Warburton, and the chip and chase from Payne was sublime, a excellent move and a great try, again the referee was unsure believing Payne hadn't grounded it, but it was a easy decision for the TMO, as Ulster got the bonus point try and moved ahead by fifteen points, that was made seventeen with another great kick from the angle.
Ulster couldn't have started the second half better, as Cardiff started to switch their players, they gave away another penalty, the quick tap and go from Paul Marshall sending Ulster away again, the ball passed to Cave, then a good run by Paddy Wallace, saw Darren Cave pop what was an easy on the eye offload to Neil McComb and it just got better for Tommy Bowe, who again saw the space ahead of him having received the ball from McComb, and over he went again, the referee unsure of grounding ( a theme of this match) but again there was no problem. Bowe had two tries on his return in a Ulster shirt, capping a fantastic night for the twenty eight year old.
Ulster really had turned on the class second half, a superb 15 minutes, Paddy Jackson unable to convert from a tough angle, but the gap was now a ominous twenty two points. Cardiff had been blown away and as the Blues came forward again, Ulster won another scrum in what was good defending but Paul Marshall knocked forward, as Cardiff finally had a chance to make something happen, and went through the phases moving closer towards the Ulster line, and the ball finally fell to Harry Robinson who grabbed a well earned Blues try after some good tackling Ulster was to no avail. The score now 34-19 in Ulster's favour as a good kick from Davies gave Cardiff the extra's.
Ulster now made some changes, Tommy Bowe making way for Craig Gilroy after a the best possible return to rugby, Iain Henderson also made way for Mike McComish, Henderson having had a very good game.
Cardiff now had nothing to lose, however Ulster were out for more, the performance so far had already been fantastic, and there was still more tries to be had. More good play by Ulster in the scrum saw the Belfast side move forward, before John Afoa fumbled, the clearance from Cardiff long, but then came the run of Craig Gilroy, darting, dancing his way through, and after a good offload to Tom Court, the recycle from Marshall was given to Trimble, who found Nick Williams, who made sure his night got better with a try in the corner. Jackson converted with another quality kick, and it was now forty one points for the Ulstermen. The Welsh side was thoroughly being blown away.
With ten minutes to go, victory in Wales was going to be even sweeter by this margin, Ulster had shown utter dominance in the scrum as well as showing fluidity and free flowing play.
Cardiff again attacked, but the Ulster defensive line just held solid, before some more Ulster replacements occured, John Afoa going off for Adam Macken. Ulster got another penalty, and Paddy Jackson was able to clear, Ulster just now finding it too easy, and as Michael Heaney's kick came down, Andrew Trimble picked the ball up, with nobody able to get near him, finishing off the night with another try, which Paddy Jackson duly converted. Ulster now 48-19 to the good.
As the game entered the final stages it seemed only apparent that it finished with a scrum and Ulster going through the phases. Cardiff offside, Jackson was going for the posts. One last kick of the night to try and get Ulster over the fifty point mark, but it wasn't to be, Paddy just pushing the kick wide.
But there it was. Ulster Rugby had done it. Another win in Wales, on what many thought would be a disjointed performance following the events of the last few weeks. Tonight had been Ulster's been performance of the season, and probably of the last few years. A demolition job in Wales, a night to remember, seven for Nevin.
Looking forward to next week, there isn't really much to criticise Ulster's performance this week. Aside from the slow start, Ulster were nearly flawless. The only drawback, let's hope Nick Williams can do a bit better with some of those offloads.
Also, can the Lions selectors just pick Tommy Bowe for next year. It would be a travesty not to. With Connacht next week, here's two players to look out for...
Tiernan O'Halloran on the wing could pose problems, the young Irish star has a lot of potential, his pace good and he's able to score tries. Dan Parks will be the man looking for most of Connacht's points. A very good kicker, Ulster must make sure not to concede penalties in their own half. They may be punished.
Connacht will be buoyed by a very good performance over European champions Leinster last week. But we must remember... Ravenhill is a fortress.
And as always...Stand Up, For The Ulstermen.
I'm Kristian. 18. And my mind is filled with rugby shaped thoughts. Supporting Ulster Rugby, Newcastle Falcons and of course the mighty Ireland. Tommy Bowe is the MAN !!!! SUFTUM.
