Improved Ulster just miss out
It has been a long time since Ulster came away from an away game leaving us feeling that it was a game that we should have won. If the first game of the season was a reality check which knocked back our unfounded optimism. Then maybe the performance in Cardiff was the one to provide us with a cautious expectation that this team does have the beginnings of something to be excited about.
Cardiff were tired undoubtedly, some of their players having played 3 games in the space of a week but they had decided that the Ulster game was their priority and had rested key players during the week in anticipation of the visit of the red hand. But it was Ulster who threatened first with BJ Botha going over for his first score in an Ulster shirt early in the game. Schifcofske was unable to convert and was substituted shortly afterwards with an ankle injury.
Niall O’Connor took over the kicking duties and while his kicking from hand was exemplary pushing the ball to the corners and keeping Cardiff relatively safely back in their own half, his place kicking was less accurate. Cardiff were reduced to kicking penalties and trying to drop goals as they had little prospect of breaking down Ulster’s defence.
At Half time Ulster were 8-5 to the good, and deservedly so. And they kept their noses in front for most of the rest of the game. A loose defensive moment did let the Blues in for a try which gave them the lead but a lovely intercept by replacement flanker Thomas Anderson almost had Ulster back in the lead. Unfortunately he didn’t have the pace to make the full length of the pitch himself and the move broke down in the Cardiff half. But that wasn’t the end of it. First Andrew Trimble showed that he is returning to form coming close to scoring in the corner and then Isaac Boss showed that he too is returning to his best with a lovely individual effort which put Ulster back in front.
For a while it looked as Ulster might just have done enough but a controversial penalty awarded to Cardiff in the dying minutes allowed the Blues to sneak back into the lead and hold out for a home win.
It was disappointing that we didn’t come home with 4 points. We had around 14 points of missed penalties and conversions that would have sealed the game for us, but with Schifcofske off the field we were left relying on Niall O’Connor whose kicking from had is as sweet as it comes but who is not the finished article from the tee.
Our scrum is getting back to the best days of Matt Sexton and Rod Moore, our line-out is starting to function and our defence is tightening. But we are not going to beat Leinster or Munster or the Ospreys yet and we have a long way to come back before we can say we have arrived. But we have definitely started on the journey.
Matt Williams said
"We were immature throughout the second half. We should have been cleverer and we should have won the game.
"After half-time we had no structure to our play and we gave away too many penalties. We threw away a win which was there for the taking.
"The effort was there alright but we were running round like headless chickens in the second half."
Blues: Blair, Halfpenny, J Robinson, G Thomas, Czekaj, N. Robinson, Allinson, Jenkins, T Thomas, G Powell, Davies, Tito, Molitika, M Williams, Lewis.
Replacements: J. Roberts for Czekaj (62),Sweeney for N Robinson (45), Spice for Allinson (58), G Williams for T Thomas (59), Morgan for Davies (65), A Powell for M Williams (40).
Ulster: Schifcofske, Trimble, Cave, Wallace, Nagusa, O'Connor, Boss, Court, Best, Botha, Caldwell, O'Donoghue, McCullough, Pollock, Diack.
Replacements: Cunningham for Schifcofske (20), Dewey for Wallace (12), Fitzpatrick for Court (48), Anderson for Pollock (42).
Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland)
