Ulster on URC rise as win over Stormers secures special first moment of season
Ulster moved into the United Rugby Championship top eight with a 38-34 bonus point win over the Stormers across an action-packed game at Kingspan Stadium.
Richie Murphy’s side out-scored the South Africans by six tries to four to record three consecutive wins for the first time this season and build up confidence going into next Sunday’s Champions Cup knockout game with Bordeaux.
Just like last week, Ulster found themselves behind with less than two minutes on the clock.
Mike Lowry fielded a box kick but was smashed in the tackle, the Stormers counter rucked and won the ball to put No8 Evan Roos clear to sprint over for the game’s opening try.
Out half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu converted and extended the visitors’ lead with a drop goal on five minutes.
The Stormers profited from more poor Ulster defence on eight minutes when the home side tried to move the ball quickly in midfield but a pass went loose allowing winger Ben Loader to gather and sprint over from halfway for the South Africans’ second try, with Feinberg-Mngomezulu converting.
Rob Baloucoune marked his return to action, after spending just under a year on the sidelines, with a try on 11 minutes.
After a series of pick and goes on the Stormers line, John Cooney moved the ball wide for the winger to go over in the corner - but the Ulster scrum half failed to convert.
Ulster’s second try arrived on 29 minutes – the pack from a scrum penalty five metres from the Stormers line, the home side took a tap and go with prop Andy Warwick barging over from close range. Cooney slotted over the conversion.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu missed a 37th-minute penalty and then was sin-binned a minute later for taking Baloucoune out off the ball as the Ulster winger kicked on from a counter-attack.
Ulster kicked the penalty to the corner, from the lineout maul the forwards were stopped. Out half Jack Murphy went over in the corner, Cooney failed to convert and the sides went into the break level.
Ulster started the second half as they finished the first – by scoring a try.
From a tap-and-go penalty on the Stormers line, the forwards pounded the line, that created space out wide and Lowry found Jacob Stockdale with a long pass to touch down, with Cooney converting.
The visitors had captain Neethling Fouche red-carded for an illegal hit on Ulster centre Ben Carson.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu slotted over his second drop goal after the game after returning from the sin bin.
Zac Ward came off the bench to score Ulster’s fifth try, finishing off a break by Stockdale with Murphy adding the conversion.
Replacement Stewart Moore finished off a great move for Ulster’s sixth on 66 minutes. Lowry broke out of defence and carried deep into Stormers territory, he passed inside to Nathan Doak, who put the replacement under the posts and Doak converted.
Ulster replacement lock Harry Sheridan was shown a yellow card for cynical play on 72 minutes, allowing the Stormers to score their bonus point try as Roos went over from close range. Feinberg-Mngomezulu converted to give the visitors two match points.
ULSTER: M Lowry; R Baloucoune, B Carson, S McCloskey, J Stockdale; J Murphy, J Cooney; A Warwick, R Herring, T O’Toole; A O’Connor (captain), K Treadwell; Matty Rea, N Timoney, D McCann.
Replacements: T Stewart for Herring 67 mins, C Reid for Warwick 50 mins , S Wilson for O’Toole 50 mins, H Sheridan for O’Connor 67 mins, J McNabney for Rea 51 mins, N Doak for Cooney 55 mins, S Moore for Carson, Z Ward for Baloucoune 48 mins.
STORMERS: D Willemse; B Loader, S Hartzenberg, D du Plessis, L Zas; S Feinberg-Mngomezulu, D Duvenage; A Vermaak, J Dweba, N Fouche (captain); C Evans, R van Heerden; D Ewers, M Theunissen, E Roos.
Replacements: A-H Venter for Dweba 46 mins, B Harris for Vermaak 53 mins, S Sandi for Ewers 47 mis, G Porter for Evans 57 mins, W Engelbrecht for Theunissen 57 mins, P de Wet for Duvenage 35 mins, J Matthee for Wilemse 68 mins, W Simelane for Hartzenberg 57 mins.
Referee: A Piardi (Italy).