Match Report: Ulster Rugby 24-17 Cardiff Blues

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Match Report: Ulster Rugby 24-17 Cardiff Blues

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[tag=image]http://cdn.soticservers.net/tools/image ... 250/14.png[/tag][tag=content]Ulster equalled their longest ever unbeaten home run in the Guinness PRO12 with a hard-fought 24-17 win over the Cardiff Blues.

The Ulstermen managed to pick up a try bonus point despite the wet and windy conditions and a yellow card to prop Wiehahn Herbst through tries from Andrew Trimble, Paul Marshall, Nick Williams and Stuart McCloskey, however the performance was not wholly convincing.

Rhys Patchell kept the Blues in the game with a strong kicking performance, while a Josh Navidi try made it a one score game late on, but yellow cards to Josh Turnbull and Aled Summerhill prevented them from potentially taking all four points.

Cardiff got off to a very strong start, putting pressure on the Ulster scrum and forcing an early penalty which Patchell slotted over to give them a 3-0 lead after just four minutes.

Straight from the kick-off Ulster went right on the offensive, winning a 5 metre line-out in the Cardiff 22 and driving a powerful rolling maul towards the Cardiff line, only for Nick Williams to drop the ball a metre out.

Ulster were having marginally more in the game but errors were costing them, and it looked like they had butchered a definite try when Louis Ludik sent Andrew Trimble over in the corner but the pass looked forward.

However, having checked with the TMO, referee Ben Whitehouse controversially ruled the try to be good and Ulster took the lead for the first time in the match with the unconverted score.

That lead lasted all of two minutes as another infringement from the hosts provided Patchell an instant chance to put the visitors back in front, which he easily took.

Patchell notched a third penalty four minutes before the break in what had been up to then a torrid first half, until things sparked into life in the final few moments of the half.

Ulster found themselves camped on the Cardiff line with time running out and although initially it looked like they hadn’t forced their way over and had lost the ball, the TMO was called in to look at a stamp by Blues number eight Josh Turnbull.

Turnbull was adjudged to have caught scrum-half Paul Marshall with the boot and was sent to the sin bin, and the 14 men of Ulster were able to force their way over with the last act of the half as Marshall sniped over from close range.

It took just five minutes of the second half for Ulster to capitalise on their extra man in the pack and score a third try. Another powerful maul worked its way through the Cardiff 22 and this time Nick Williams made sure he set the ball down for the try.

And before the 50 minute mark Ulster had their fourth try through centre Stuart McCloskey who found space on the wing and the gap in the defence to slip through for the score and to give Ulster a 24-9 lead.

Despite jumping into that lead though, Ulster immediately found themselves trapped in their own 22 and a player down too after tighthead prop Wiehahn Herbst was sin binned for not releasing on the line.

And they were made to pay for their poor discipline too as Cardiff captain Josh Navidi crashed over the corner from the back of a scrum, however Patchell couldn’t add the extras from the touchline.

Ulster managed to limit the damage to just the try during the sin bin period, but their visitors were growing in confidence and they fought back to just the seven points behind with a fourth Patchell penalty with just eight minutes left to play.

But any thoughts of a comeback from the Welsh visitors ended when Aled Summerhill showed no safety in tackling opposite number Craig Gilroy a minute later and the winger was shown a yellow card, reducing the Blues to 14 men yet again.

It looked like they might just force the draw late on with a late foray into the Ulster 22 however the extra man proved vital for Ulster who held on to take all five points.

The scorers

For Ulster
Tries: Trimble, Marshall, Williams, McCloskey
Cons: Humphreys (2)

For Cardiff
Try: Navidi
Pens: Patchell (4)

ULSTER RUGBY
(15-9) Louis Ludik (David Shanahan 68), Andrew Trimble, Sam Arnold (Darren Cave 54), Stuart McCloskey, Craig Gilroy, Ian Humphreys (Paddy Jackson 51), Paul Marshall; (1-8) Callum Black (Andrew Warwick 54), Rob Herring, Wiehahn Herbst, Lewis Stevenson (Peter Browne 54), Franco van der Merwe, Roger Wilson (Ricky Lutton 55-66), Sean Reidy (Willie Faloon 70), Nick Williams.

Sub not used: John Andrew.
Yellow card: Wiehahn Herbst (55’)

CARDIFF BLUES
(15-9) Dan Fish, Aled Summerhill, Tom Isaacs, Adam Thomas, Richard Smith, Rhys Patchell, Tavis Knoyle (Lewis Jones 60); (1-8) Sam Hobbs (Tom Davies 72), Matthew Rees (Ethan Lewis 64), Craig Mitchell (Taufa’ao Filise 52), Lou Reed, James Down, Cam Dolan (Macauley Cook 55), Josh Navidi, Josh Turnbull.

Subs not used: Chris Dicomidis, Jarrod Evans, Garyn Smith.
Yellow card: Josh Turnbull (40’), Aled Summerhill (73’)

Man of the Match: Nick Williams (Ulster)
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)[/tag]
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