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RTE Match Report:

Connacht 13-30 Ulster
Friday, 23 November 2007 22:27

Kieron Dawson, Carlo Del Fava and Roger Wilson all touched down in the final half-hour as Ulster took the honours in tonight's Magners League basement battle in Galway.


In caretaker coach Steve Williams' second game in charge, Ulster managed to lift themselves off the bottom of the table and above tonight's hosts Connacht as they struck an important blow in the context of qualifying for next season's Heineken Cup.


A 50th-minute try from Danny Riordan edged Connacht into a 10-6 lead but Ulster came good with fly-half Paddy Wallace landing six out of seven kicks as part of a man-of-the-match performance.


With both camps viewing this Sportsground encounter as their most important match of the season, an error-strewn first half was predictable.


The early collisions were ferocious as both provinces looked for the upper hand in the cold, crisp conditions.


Connacht's Ireland international duo Johnny O'Connor and Gavin Duffy both made early impressions, the former at the breakdown and the latter with the boot, but Ulster were first off the mark.
Wallace landed a sixth-minute penalty to open the scoring after O'Connor was pinged for offside.


Although they had the lion's share of possession, Ulster were guilty of too many errors as they fluffed numerous attacking opportunities.


Connacht were also disappointingly limited in attack and apart from putting Mel Deane through on crash ball, the westerners seemed unwilling to mix things up, despite having the likes of Riordan and Aidan Wynne out wide.


The game was cramped between the 22s until late in the half when Ulster threatened to make a breakthrough. That bout of pressure led to a second successful penalty for Wallace, who punished Adrian Flavin for a 33rd-minute ruck infringement.


But a late lapse in concentration from the visitors allowed Connacht to hit back in injury-time - Ulster were penalised for taking a man out in the lineout and Tim Donnelly chipped over from 30 metres out.


Connacht, 6-3 down at the break, managed to take the lead immediately after Ulster flanker Neil Best was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on.


Their try had a good deal of fortune about it but Riordan took his chance well as he collected the ball and raced clear after a John Muldoon kick had deflected off Ulster's Mark Bartholomeusz and into the Connacht number 13's grasp.


Donnelly converted but Ulster hit back three minutes later when a lineout take from Matt McCullough and pop pass from Isaac Boss sent flanker Dawson on an arcing 15-metre run which saw him cross in the right corner.


Wallace knocked the conversion in off the post and while lively replacement Andy Dunne briefly levelled at 13-13, Wallace's 57th-minute penalty nudged Ulster back in front.


Connacht huffed and puffed but were lacking that killer pass and Ulster gleefully closed out their first win in all competitions since September.


Del Fava dived over after Wallace had made use of numbers out wide on the left and, in the first minute of injury-time, good work from Simon Danielli and Tommy Bowe sent Wilson storming over in the same corner.

Story from RTÉ Sport:
[www.rte.ie]

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Magner League Website Report:
Gutsy Galway Win Sees Ulster Climb Off The Bottom

Connacht Rugby 13-30 Ulster
Sportsground
Friday 23rd November 2007, 19:30

Ulster picked up their first win in all competitions since September as three second half tries and a near-perfect kicking display from Paddy Wallace helped them past Connacht in Friday's Interprovincial clash at the Sportsground.

Connacht had not beaten Ulster for almost two years and although they lived with the former champions for much of this encounter, the westerners lacked the finishing power of the visitors and ultimately paid the price.

Ulster caretaker coach Steve Williams selected the same team which missed out on beating Bourgoin in Europe last week, while Connacht boss Michael Bradley, sporting some fine locks in aid of charity, made three changes to the side that hammered Cetransa El Salvador.

The hosts welcomed back Mel Deane, Conor McPhillips and Johnny O’Connor and the latter was making a nuisance of himself early on in Galway by smothering Isaac Boss at the breakdown.

The Connacht number 7 did infringe at a sixth-minute ruck, allowing Paddy Wallace to boot Ulster in front and in what was a poor quality first half, place kicks proved crucial.

With play cramped between the 22s, neither side looked like they would breakthrough for a try. Ulster’s lineout looked solid early on, while Connacht should have made more of some midfield turnovers, with Tim Donnelly failing to get his backs moving.

Wallace doubled Ulster’s lead after 33 minutes when he knocked a central penalty through the uprights after Connacht hooker Adrian Flavin had infringed at a ruck.

Ulster tried to turn the screw late in the half as they searched for an elusive try but their error count was frustratingly high and Connacht’s defence swarmed over the men in the white.

A knock on from Paul Steinmetz allowed the hosts to end the half on the up and they took advantage as Ulster took out a main at an injury-time lineout and Donnelly kicked the resulting penalty with the last kick of the half.

The game looked to be turning in Connacht’s favour when just after Ulster flanker Neil Best was yellow carded for a deliberate knock on, home centre Danny Riordan gobbled up a loose ball and raced through for a 50th-minute try.

Donnelly converted for a 10-6 Connacht lead but Ulster managed to strike back within three minutes.

They caught the hosts asleep on the blindside as Matt McCullough claimed a close-in lineout, Isaac Boss fed a peeling Kieron Dawson and the former Ireland flanker’s arcing run ended with him diving over in the right corner, past Conor McPhillips.

Wallace added the extras before replacement fly half Andy Dunne, who was making his competitive debut for Connacht, levelled the game at 13-13 with a smartly struck penalty.

Dunne, just back from knee surgery, made his presence felt with a number of midfield breaks but Connacht could not capitalise and Ulster came good in the final quarter.

Wallace nosed Ulster back in front with his third penalty and although he blotted his copybook with a late miss, he succeeded in converting tries for Carlo Del Fava (63 minutes) and Roger Wilson (80+1) as Ulster ended their winless run.

Man-of-the-match Wallace had a hand in both tries – he spun a pass out to the left, after Connacht’s defence had been sucked in, for Del Fava to touch down and the Ulster number 10 initiated the left wing attack which led to Wilson charging over in injury-time.

The final score was flattering to Ulster and Connacht, who turned in another committed display, did deserve something out of the game as they fell behind in the race to become one of Ireland’s qualifiers for next season’s Heineken Cup.

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The Irish Times
Ulster maintain place in provincial pecking order
Johnny Watterson at the Sportsground

Celtic League/ Connacht 13 Ulster 30: The home crowd arrived at the Sportsground last night hoping Connacht could redraw the natural pecking order of provincial rugby.

Ulster, frail and ailing after a number of tumultuous weeks in which they had begun to doubt themselves, arrived with the same team that had gone some way towards rehabilitation last week in Bourgoin.

Ulster had shown hesitancy and were far from the efficient unit of two seasons ago, so Connacht sniffed an upset. They had not beaten Ulster for almost two years but on a crisp, clear night thoughts were of Connacht coming off their record win last week in the European Challenge Cup and taking Ulster's scalp.

But Ulster won this at a canter. They took the lead after just five minutes, Carlo del Fava taking the ball one-handed in the lineout deep inside the Connacht 22 and captain Rory Best punching through in towards the posts, drawing the first penalty for Paddy Wallace and a 3-0 lead.

But the opening 20 to 30 minutes were full of turnovers and broken play and Wallace's kick remained the lone mark on the scoreboard until the 32nd minute, when he added another.

Gavin Duffy was composed and accurate with the boot at fullback with the shaven-headed Johnny O'Connor flashing with aggression and big hits but Connacht couldn't penetrate the Ulster defence, their sporadic raids often floundering on a turnover or knock-on.

Ulster too showed a mixed bag but also strength enough to worry the home side with Del Fava, Matt McCullough and Neil Best towering over the line-outs. But they lacked the fluency to take full advantage of that platform and with much of the match played between the 22s, scoring chances were limited.

Connacht particularly took refuge in territorial kicking and as the first half ticked down Ulster began to show the greater ability to string some passing moves together.

A late penalty from Connacht outhalf Tim Donnelly sent the home side into the locker-room in upbeat mood. While it was far from champagne rugby the sides couldn't have cared less. Ulster simply wanted a win to show that they hadn't forgotten how to do it and also to make sure that this season does not conclude with them trailing Connacht in the league table and forfeiting their Heineken European Cup place for next season, with just the top three Irish teams qualifying.

Donnelly's drop-out to start the second half failed to go the required 10 metres and referee Alain Rolland brought back play. That seemed to spur Ulster and they finally found their lines of running at angles and with pace, Andrew Trimble and Tommy Bowe causing Connacht to scramble in their own 22. However handling errors scuppered most of their attacking moves.

But then flanker Neil Best was binned. Connacht launched an attack with Ulster fullback Mark Bartholomeusz sliding out and knocking the ball into the hands of the advancing Daniel Riordan. The centre cantered under the posts for Donnelly to convert. Connacht suddenly led 10-6.

Two minutes later another Ulster lineout five metres out saw Roger Wilson fetch and deliver to flanker Kieron Dawson. Dawson attacked the blind side and, with the conversion from Wallace, Ulster edged ahead again, 10-13.

Donnelly's penalty a minute later after an Ulster high tackle left the sides level.

Wallace replied to make it 13-16 and then Del Fava finished off the move of the game for Ulster's second try. Wilson added a third for Wallace to finish a perfect day's kicking. Ulster back? Not quite, but moving in the right direction.

Scoring sequence - 5 mins : P Wallace pen 0-3; 32 : Wallace pen 0-6; 40 : T Donnelly pen 3-6. Half-time 3-6. 51 : D O'Riordan try, Donnelly con 10-6; 53 : K Dawson try, Wallace con 10-13; 58 : Donnelly pen 13-13; 59 : Wallace pen 13-16; 63 : C del Fava try, Wallace con 13-23; 79 : R Wilson try, Wallace con 13-30.

CONNACHT : G Duffy; A Wynne, D Riordan, M Deane, O Treviranus; T Donnelly, C McPhillips; B Wilkonson, A Flavin, R Morris, M Swift, A Farley (capt), M McCarthy, J O'Connor, J Muldoon. Replacements : A Dunne and C O'Loughlin for Donnelly and McPhillips (68 mins).

ULSTER : M Bartholomeusz; T Bowe, A Trimble, P Steinmetz, S Danielli; P Wallace, I Boss; J Fitzpatrick, R Best (capt), B Young, C del Flava, M McCullough, N Best, K Dawson, R Wilson. Replacements : D Pollack for Dawson (60 mins), R Dewey for Steinmetz (71 mins).

Referee: A Rolland (IRFU).

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Planet Rugby Report

Ulster win basement battleFriday 23rd November 2007

Kieron Dawson, Carlo Del Fava and Roger Wilson all touched down in the final half-hour as Ulster took the honours 30-13 against Connacht in Friday's Magners League basement battle in Galway.


In caretaker coach Steve Williams's second game in charge, Ulster managed to lift themselves off the bottom of the table and above their hosts as they struck an important blow in the context of qualifying for next season's Heineken Cup.


A 50th-minute try from Danny Riordan edged Connacht into a 10-6 lead but Ulster came good with fly-half Paddy Wallace landing six out of seven kicks as part of a man-of-the-match performance.


With both camps viewing this Sportsground encounter as their most important match of the season, an error-strewn first half was predictable.


The early collisions were ferocious as both provinces looked for the upper hand in the cold, crisp conditions.


Connacht's Ireland international duo Johnny O'Connor and Gavin Duffy both made early impressions, the former at the breakdown and the latter with the boot, but Ulster were first off the mark.


Wallace landed a sixth-minute penalty to open the scoring after O'Connor was pinged for offside.


Although they had the lion's share of possession, Ulster were guilty of too many errors as they fluffed numerous attacking opportunities.


Connacht were also disappointingly limited in attack and apart from putting Mel Deane through on crash ball, the westerners seemed unwilling to mix things up, despite having the likes of Riordan and Aidan Wynne out wide.


The game was cramped between the 22s until late in the half when Ulster threatened to make a breakthrough. That bout of pressure led to a second successful penalty for Wallace, who punished Adrian Flavin for a 33rd-minute ruck infringement.


But a late lapse in concentration from the visitors allowed Connacht to hit back in injury-time - Ulster were penalised for taking a man out in the lineout and Tim Donnelly chipped over from 30 metres out.


Connacht, 6-3 down at the break, managed to take the lead immediately after Ulster flanker Neil Best was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on.


Their try had a good deal of fortune about it but Riordan took his chance well as he collected the ball and raced clear after a John Muldoon kick had deflected off Ulster's Mark Bartholomeusz and into the Connacht number 13's grasp.


Donnelly converted but Ulster hit back three minutes later when a lineout take from Matt McCullough and pop pass from Isaac Boss sent flanker Dawson on an arcing 15-metre run which saw him cross in the right corner.


Wallace knocked the conversion in off the post and while lively replacement Andy Dunne briefly levelled at 13-13, Wallace's 57th-minute penalty nudged Ulster back in front.


Connacht huffed and puffed but were lacking that killer pass and Ulster gleefully closed out their first win in all competitions since September.


Del Fava dived over after Wallace had made use of numbers out wide on the left and, in the first minute of injury-time, good work from Simon Danielli and Tommy Bowe sent Wilson storming over in the same corner.


The scorers:


For Connacht:

Try: Riordan

Con: Donnelly

Pen: Donnelly, Dunne


For Ulster:

Tries: Dawson, Del Fava, Wilson

Cons: Wallace 3

Pens: Wallace 3


Yellow card: Neil Best (Ulster, 48 min)


The teams:


Connacht: 15 Gavin Duffy, 14 Aidan Wynne, 13 Daniel Riordan, 12 Mel Deane, 11 Ofisa Treviranus, 10 Tim Donnelly, 9 Conor McPhillips, 8 John Muldoon, 7 Jonny O'Connor , 6 Mike McCarthy, 5 Andrew Farley (c), 4 Michael Swift, 3 Robbie Morris, 2 Adrian Flavin, 1 Brett Wilkinson.

Replacements: 16 Joe Merrigan, 17 Ronan Loughney, 18 Andrew Browne, 19 Ray Ofisa, 20 Conor O'Loughlin, 21 Andy Dunne, 22 Darren Yapp


Ulster: 15 Mark Bartholomeusz, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Andrew Trimble, 12 Paul Steinmetz, 11 Simon Danielli, 10 Paddy Wallace, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Kieran Dawson, 6 Neil Best, 5 Carlo Del Fava, 4 Matt McCullough, 3 Bryan Young, 2 Rory Best (c), 1 Justin Fitzpatrick

Replacements: 16 Neil Brady, 17 Declan Fitzpatrick, 18 Ryan Caldwell, 19 David Pollock, 20 Kieran Campbell, 21 Niall O'Connor, 22 Rob Dewey


Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)

Touch judges: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland), Peter Roche (Ireland)

Television match official: David McHugh (Ireland)

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Setanta Sports Online Report:
Wallace enthused by vital win
by Mark Doyle, 24 November 2007

Paddy Wallace was a happy man after Ulster lifted themselves off the bottom of the Magners League table with a 30-13 win over Connacht on Friday night.

The Ulstermen, who are still reeling after last week’s resignation of head coach Mark McCall, were indebted to a fantastic showing from Wallace for their timely win, but the fly-half was reluctant to take any praise for his role in the victory.

"The win was more down to the front eight than myself,” insisted Wallace, who scored half of his side’s points.

"We were under massive pressure having had such a bad start to the season so it's good to get a win and relieve a lot of pressure from a lot of guys.

“At the moment, (caretaker coach) Steve Williams is at the helm and he's doing a good job, keeping everybody's mind on the job but bringing a little bit of a more relaxed attitude to training and the match days,” he added.

Meanwhile, Connacht boss Michael Bradley was disappointed with the way in which his side performed in the final quarter.

"We were in the game at half-time and we competed well for the first half of the second half,” the former Ireland scrum-half explained.

"But Ulster throughout the match had the edge on us in the contact area which meant they were getting more break ball and more penalties than us.

"After we went ahead in the second half, we immediately conceded territory from the kick-off which was very disappointing."

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SundayIndependent

Stalled in a changing world
In the gap before the provinces launch themselves back into Europe next month, and Leinster and Munster launch themselves into each other this week, Brendan Fanning looks at some of the issues facing our four representatives

By Brendan Fanning

CONNACHT/ULSTER

A Seat in Europe: is there a contest between the candidates?

Friday night in Galway was the biggest night in recent history out west, for it offered them a unique opportunity to take advantage of a domestic rival who was in real trouble.

When they played this fixture in October 2006, Ulster were in good shape, and in fact a bonus-point win put Mark McCall's side top of the table. A year later and the northern boys rolled up knowing that defeat would leave them having to play catch-up to get into next season's Heineken Cup. Nothing focuses the mind quite like being excluded from that party.

We would have presumed that Connacht being in Europe's premier competition would be like Georgia hoping to swim in a pool that contained France, Ireland and Argentina. After the World Cup we take nothing for granted any more.

In any case, last year in the Challenge Cup, Michael Bradley's side lost their opening two rounds, to Harlequins and Bath, by an aggregate of only three points. They are accustomed to going to the Montpeliers and Paus and Narbonnes of the world and either winning or taking a bonus point home with them.

Of course, the calibre of French opposition they would be up against would be a whole lot tougher, but the question for the quality of the competition would be if they could fare as well as the team they were replacing. Ulster haven't qualified for the knock-outs since '99 and haven't won in either England or France at any stage in their European history. Ravenhill and its difficulty-rating was a feature of Ireland's presence in the competition. The backside fell out of that with the hammerings there by Llanelli last season and Biarritz the season before.

If Connacht were to get a taste of Heineken action in Galway you can be sure the rain would flog down, and the wind would whip up, and some flash Harry would pay a price. Picture the scene: Sky doing the post-match interview pitch-side with the West is Awake competing for air time. Chances are it won't be by dint of being the third of Ireland's automatic qualifiers.

They needed to put that marker down against Ulster but came up well short against a side who have responded in the short term to a change at the top. Indeed, it was a feature of the night how all three Irish teams had sub-standard performers at tighthead. With Andy Dunne, when he came on for the last half hour, in great form at outhalf, and Danny Riordan at 13, Connacht might have done some damage if Robbie Morris had been able to keep his head in the scrum long enough for the ball to be transferred to the right area. Bryan Young was in almost as much trouble for Ulster.

Morris is yet another example of an Irish province wasting space with a player who not only is of limited use, but is preventing a potential Irish international from getting valuable experience. Put Ronan Loughney in there and get on with it. Let him develop and do a job for Connacht in the short term and maybe Ireland later on. Michael Bradley has led a charmed existence in Galway in that no one is examining his win/loss record because of the unique status of his squad. The only pressure in that part of the world should be to flood the squad with Irish players.

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Tony Ward:
So a good weekend for our Heineken Cup aspirants, with all three recording Magners League wins. Victories for Leinster on the road at the Ospreys and Munster at home to the Dragons moved our main two into joint second place alongside Llanelli and behind the Cardiff Blues at the top of the Celtic League table. In all honesty does it matter?

Of much more relevance surely was the bottom of the table clash between Connacht and Ulster at the Sportsground, given its context in the race for qualification for the 2008/2009 instalment of the much more meaningful Heineken Cup. To Ulster went the spoils on the back of a convincing second half performance which, though a tad flattering on the scoreboard, was every bit as deserved nonetheless.

The bottom line sees the northern province, under stand-in coach Steve Williams, move crucially into pole position for automatic qualification ahead of Michael Bradley's side, for whom the Holy Grail once again looks to be disappearing out of sight rapidly. Whether through the European Challenge Cup or by way of finishing in the top three Irish sides, Heineken Cup qualification is the be all and end all to the focus out west. Unfortunately, on Friday's evidence against an Ulster side recording its first win outside of Ravenhill since April (and that over the now defunct Borders), they appear as close or as far away as ever.

What you get from Connacht every time is pure heart and effort as they compete manfully up front but with barely a shred of creativity or finishing behind.

The fundamentals are good, with the ability to go through the phases undoubtedly in place, but when it comes to adding the vital finishing touch it's just not there. Against that there is potential, and indigenous potential at that, in the shape of Gavin Duffy, Aidan Wynne and Danny Riordan. That said, it was the late introduction of Andy Dunne that sparked a mini revival of sorts and a possible hint of better attacking things ahead.

Enticing

Unfortunately, the European Challenge Cup offers a more enticing and more manageable entrance to European rugby's top tournament for the much more competitive and better equipped English Premiership clubs, making Connacht's task nigh on impossible, despite getting to the business end of the secondary event in recent seasons. Put simply, Friday's defeat for Connacht was a massive blow to the ongoing ambition of Heineken Cup participation, but the reality is that however deep the northerners' problems the better team playing the more rounded rugby on the night won through in the end. Where it takes them from here remains to be seen but certainly under Williams there appears a minor revival of sorts.