Ulster secured their first win in the Guinness Interprovincial championship when a Paddy Wallace penalty three minutes from time was enough for them to pip Connacht at the Sportsground.

Connacht did most of the hard work throughout but gave possession away far too easily and Ulster just about did enough to secure the win, despite missing David Humphreys and several other regulars. Connacht’s hopes were not helped when Eric Elwood, poised to win his 101st cap for the province, was forced to cry off beforehand with a back injury which necessitated a series of switches. Mark McHugh moved from full-back to fly-half, with Wayne Munn going to No.15 and Martin McPhail coming into the side on the left-wing.

Ulster led 12-9 at the break despite playing against the wind and rain after making most of the few try-scoring chances that they created. Centre Ryan Constable gave them a huge boost after three minutes when he skipped through two tackles to score in the right corner. And they crossed again going into the second quarter when full-back Bryn Cunningham raced on to a Paddy Wallace grubber to touch down under the posts, with Wallace adding the points.

But Connacht upped the tempo after that and hauled Ulster back. McHugh, who had edged them in front with a penalty after two minutes, landed two more kicks before the break, but they were unable to cross the visitors’ line despite some quality possession.

Connacht got a significant boost just three minutes after the restart with a superb maul down the left touchline which ended with hooker Marnus Uijs touching down. Fly-half McHugh hit the left post with the difficult conversion, and Connacht might have extended their lead but prop Peter Bracken failed to use a big overlap eight minutes later.

Paddy Wallace, after missing a kick from 30 metres, edged Ulster back in front after 56 minutes with a penalty from the right, but Connacht hit back again with flanker Johnny O’Connor superb in anything positive that they achieved. The Ulster line though held firm before McHugh again put Connacht in front with a penalty under the posts thirteen minutes from the end.

Ulster had squandered chances at that stage with Wallace wide with a penalty from the left, while replacement winger Sheldon Coulter saw a drop goal effort go under the bar. And it took a superb tackle from Connacht full-back Wayne Munn to deprive Wallace in the left corner as Ulster came in search of a winner. They were eventually rewarded three minutes from time when Wallace made no mistake with a close range penalty after Connacht were penalised for offside. After that Ulster shut up shop and did not allow Connacht to break for a winning score during the exciting closing minutes.

Connacht: W. Munn; T. Robinson, P. Duignan, T. Allnutt, M. McPhail, M. McHugh, E. Reddan; D. McFarland, M. Uijs, P. Bracken; D. Browne, R. Frost; C. Rigney, D. Dillon, J. O’Connor.
Replacements: M. Swift for Dillon, inj. 9 mins; R. McCormack for McFarland, 56 mins; McFarland for Swift, 78 mins.
Ulster: B. Cunningham; J. Topping, R. Constable, A. Larkin, T. Howe; P. Wallace, N. Doak; J. Fitzpatrick, N. Brady, S. Best; P. Johns, A. Kearney; T. McWhirter, W. Brosnihan, A. Ward. Replacements: S. Coulter for Topping, 59 mins; M. McCullough for Kearney, 59 mins; B. Young for McCullough, 78 mins.
Referee:D. McHugh (IRFU).