[tag=image]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e ... go.svg.png[/tag][tag=content]Ulster’s Champions’ Cup dreams died a sorry death as they went down 22-13 to the Scarlets in Llanelli, effectively ending their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages.
A late intercept try from James Davies secured the win for the Welsh side, who scored the rest of their points through the boot of Rhys Priestland and led 12-0 at half-time.
Ulster fought back bravely in the second half despite the wet and windy conditions and a try from Darren Cave along with two penalties from Ruan Pienaar gave them hope which turned out to be worthless.
In the end, terrible indiscipline and a scrum that was marched backwards on every occasion were too much for Ulster to overcome, and they can now focus their efforts solely on the Pro12.
It was a game that was always going to be dominated by who had the most territory and possession and in the early exchanges it looked very even with Ian Humphreys and Liam Williams trading clever kicks to the corner.
It required a great bit of breakdown play from Johan Snyman to grant the Scarlets a 3-0 lead after ten minutes with Rhys Priestland landing the opening penalty after the Springbok lock latched himself onto the ball at a ruck.
Poor handling and a scrum struggling due to the loss of Wiehahn Herbst were letting Ulster down poorly in the first quarter and they could only watch helplessly as Priestland doubled the Scarlets’ lead with a second penalty 19 minutes in.
Things went from bad to worse for Neil Doak’s men as their discipline once again failed them in their 22 and Priestland had the simplest of tasks to slot over his third shot at goal of the night after half an hour.
The Scarlets must have been delighted with how the game was going as they found themselves 12-0 up after just 33 minutes following a fourth Priestland penalty, however the Welsh side were having to do very little to get into that commanding position.
Instead they were relying on Ulster’s poor kicking game and woeful indiscipline to get into their lead, and but for Priestland missing two penalties just before the break, the game could have been over by half-time.
Instead, straight after the restart, out of nowhere, Ulster were right back in it.
Rhodri Williams made the initial error by kicking the ball out on the full from the base of the ruck and when the ball made its way into the outfield Luke Marshall made a scintillating break and passed inside to Darren Cave who slid in under the posts.
Humphreys added the extras from in front of the sticks and after just two minutes of the second period Ulster were back to five points down at 12-7, a possibility that looked impossible at half-time.
Despite working their way back to within a try, Ulster were still suffering from a passive scrum, with the root of the problem seemingly Declan Fitzpatrick, although Priestland couldn’t take advantage, hooking a penalty past the posts.
Nevertheless, it was Ulster who were on the front foot and they were beginning to grow in confidence, however Humphreys was unable to get Ulster back to within two after 55 minutes when he hooked a penalty wide.
But the Irish province were still suffering from some very poor indiscipline and Priestland duly slotted a fifth penalty of the night on the hour mark to bring the score to 15-7.
Three minutes later the Scarlets’ job was made a lot easier when referee JP Doyle finally lost patience with Declan Fitzpatrick and sent the Ulster tighthead to the sin bin for repeated infringements in the scrum.
Or so it should have been. However, the introduction of Bronson Ross stabilised the visitors’ scrum and they were back within five points of their hosts with ten minutes to go when Ruan Pienaar sent over a penalty.
And the gap was cut to two almost immediately as Pienaar was successful with a second effort moments later which set up a tense finish for both sides, with the scoreline delicately poised at 15-12.
Incredibly, despite still being down a man, Pienaar had an effort to give the Belfast side the lead for the first time in the game with five minutes to play, but the Springbok scrum-half pushed his effort wide.
And that miss was to prove costly as a schoolboy error from Roger Wilson saw the number eight throw the ball straight to James Davies from the back of a scrum late on, and the openside galloped over for the decisive try.
The scorers
For Scarlets
Try: J Davies
Con: Priestland
Pens: Priestland (5)
For Ulster
Try: Cave
Con: Humphreys
Pens: Pienaar (2)
SCARLETS
(15-9) Liam Williams (Steven Shingler 66), Kristian Phillips, Regan King (Hadleigh Parkes 66), Scott Williams, Michael Tagicakibau, Rhys Priestland, Rhodri Williams (Aled Davies 54); (1-8) Rob Evans, Emyr Phillips, Samson Lee, George Earle, Johan Snyman, Aaron Shingler, James Davies, Rob McCusker.
Subs not used: Kirby Myhill, Wyn Jones, Rhodri Jones, Lewis Rawlins, Rory Pitman.
ULSTER RUGBY
(15-9) Louis Ludik, Tommy Bowe, Darren Cave, Luke Marshall, Craig Gilroy, Ian Humphreys, Ruan Pienaar; (1-8) Callum Black, Rory Best, Declan Fitzpatrick (Bronson Ross 74), Dan Tuohy, Franco van der Merwe, Robbie Diack, Clive Ross (Bronson Ross 66sb), Roger Wilson.
Subs not used: Rob Herring, Andrew Warwick, Alan O’Connor, Mike McComish, Paul Marshall, Michael Heaney, Michael Allen.
Sin bin: Fitzpatrick (63)
Man of the Match: Rhys Priestland (Scarlets)
Referee: JP Doyle (Eng)
sb – sin bin substitution[/tag]
Match Report: Scarlets 22-13 Ulster Rugby
Moderator: Moderators
