36 - 10
United Rugby Championship
Sat 17 Sep 2022
Kingspan Stadium
Marshall 27'
Stewart 37'
Doak 50'
Moore 63'
Reid 75'
Tries
Blade 70'
Doak 44'
Penalties
Fitzgerald 41'
Doak 28'
Doak 38'
Doak 52'
Doak 76'
Conversions
Hawkshaw 71'
Yellow Cards
Boyle 61'
Eric
O'Sullivan
1
Peter
Dooley
Tom
Stewart
2
Dave
Heffernan
Marty
Moore
3
Jack
Aungier
Alan
O'Connor
4
Gavin
Thornbury
Sam
Carter
5
Leva
Fifita
Matthew
Rea
6
Josh
Murphy
Marcus
Rea
7
Conor
Oliver
David
McCann
8
Paul
Boyle
Nathan
Doak
9
Kieran
Marmion
Billy
Burns
10
Conor
Fitzgerald
Jacob
Stockdale
11
John
Porch
Stuart
McCloskey
12
Tom
Daly
Luke
Marshall
13
Tom
Farrell
Robert
Baloucoune
14
Byron
Ralston
Stewart
Moore
15
Tiernan
O'Halloran
John
Andrew
16
Dylan
Tierney-Martin
Callum
Reid
17
Denis
Buckley
Jeff
Toomaga-Allen
18
Sam
Illo
Cormac
Izuchukwu
19
Niall
Murray
Jordi
Murphy
20
Shamus
Hurley-Langton
David
Shanahan
21
Caolin
Blade
Angus
Curtis
22
David
Hawkshaw
Aaron
Sexton
23
Alex
Wootton
81
It's all over! The referee has blown their whistle to end the game.
76
Aaron Sexton comes on.
76
Robert Baloucoune comes off.
76
Nathan Doak has kicked a conversion.
75
Ulster Rugby are stopped just a few metres from the try line but Callum Reid picks up from the base of the ruck to score the try.
71
David Hawkshaw has kicked a conversion.
70
A series of passes by Connacht Rugby results in a try for Caolin Blade
70
That's a great try assist by David Hawkshaw.
70
A gap opened in the defence and Alex Wootton took full advantage.
64
Ulster Rugby sub Jeff Toomaga-Allen comes onto the field.
64
Marty Moore departs for Ulster Rugby.
64
Connacht Rugby sub Alex Wootton comes onto the field.
64
Tiernan O'Halloran departs for Connacht Rugby.
64
Ulster Rugby sub David Shanahan comes onto the field.
64
Billy Burns departs for Ulster Rugby.
64
Nathan Doak curls the ball too far, missing the posts to the left.
63
Great hands by Ulster Rugby leads to a try for Stewart Moore
63
Spellbinding play by Luke Marshall is finished off with a try.
61
Paul Boyle (Connacht Rugby) is shown a yellow card
60
Connacht Rugby sub Niall Murray comes onto the field.
60
Leva Fifita departs for Connacht Rugby.
60
Ulster Rugby sub John Andrew comes onto the field.
60
Tom Stewart departs for Ulster Rugby.
58
Jordi Murphy comes on for Ulster Rugby.
58
David McCann leaves the field.
58
Callum Reid comes on for Ulster Rugby.
58
Eric O'Sullivan leaves the field.
58
Cormac Izuchukwu comes on for Ulster Rugby.
58
Sam Carter leaves the field.
56
Sam Illo comes on for Connacht Rugby.
56
Jack Aungier leaves the field.
53
Angus Curtis comes on.
53
Stuart McCloskey comes off.
52
The touch judges raise their flags as Nathan Doak kicks the conversion.
50
Nothing was going to stop Nathan Doak from scoring as they record the try for Ulster Rugby.
50
Denis Buckley comes on.
50
Dylan Tierney-Martin comes on.
50
Peter Dooley comes off.
50
Caolin Blade comes on.
50
Dave Heffernan comes off.
48
Connacht Rugby decide to make a substitution, with David Hawkshaw getting some game time.
50
Kieran Marmion comes off.
44
Nathan Doak kicks the penalty.
40
The second half kicks off.
40
Connacht Rugby make a substitution with Shamus Hurley-Langton coming on.
48
Connacht Rugby decide to make a substitution, with Conor Fitzgerald being replaced.
40
Connacht Rugby sub Tom Farrell comes onto the field.
40
Connacht Rugby make a substitution with Conor Oliver coming off.
40
Alex Wootton departs for Connacht Rugby.
41
The half-time whistle blows and both teams head for the dressing rooms.
41
Conor Fitzgerald kicks the penalty.
38
Nathan Doak does the business as their conversion attempt goes over.
37
The pick and go results in a try for Ulster Rugby as Tom Stewart goes over.
36
Fabulous play by Ulster Rugby has led to Jacob Stockdale being able to wriggle through a gap.
34
Alex Wootton comes on for Connacht Rugby.
34
Tom Farrell leaves the field.
33
Trouble here as Luke Marshall breaches the defence.
30
Trouble here as Jacob Stockdale breaches the defence.
28
Nathan Doak makes no mistake with that conversion attempt.
27
Silky skills by Ulster Rugby ends with a try for Luke Marshall.
27
Trouble here as Luke Marshall breaches the defence.
27
Stuart McCloskey played a key part in that try.
12
A gap opened in the defence and Luke Marshall took full advantage.
66%
Possession
34%
62%
Territory
38%
Metres
393
281
Carries
137
75
Clean Breaks
5
1
Defenders Beaten
28
7
Passes
182
101
Offloads
4
2
Penalties Conceded
7
15
Turnovers Conceded
12
13
111/118 94%
Tackles won
194/222 87%
7/7 100%
Scrums won
6/9 67%
19/21 90%
Lineouts won
8/10 80%
Connacht Rugby |
MP |
M |
C |
P |
T |
MT |
TW |
TC |
DB |
LW |
TS |
PTS |
Peter Dooley |
50 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
8 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Dave Heffernan |
50 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
13 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
Jack Aungier |
57 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
9 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Gavin Thornbury |
80 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
21 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Leva Fifita |
60 |
6 |
4 |
0 |
14 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Josh Murphy |
80 |
10 |
6 |
3 |
16 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Conor Oliver |
40 |
7 |
4 |
1 |
7 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Paul Boyle |
70 |
3 |
2 |
7 |
11 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Kieran Marmion |
50 |
3 |
3 |
32 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Conor Fitzgerald |
49 |
4 |
1 |
8 |
6 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
John Porch |
80 |
56 |
8 |
3 |
9 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Tom Daly |
80 |
12 |
6 |
9 |
10 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Tom Farrell |
75 |
6 |
4 |
3 |
10 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Byron Ralston |
80 |
13 |
4 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Tiernan O'Halloran |
65 |
24 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Dylan Tierney-Martin |
30 |
7 |
5 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
Denis Buckley |
30 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Sam Illo |
23 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Niall Murray |
20 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Shamus Hurley-Langton |
40 |
6 |
4 |
0 |
19 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Caolin Blade |
30 |
28 |
4 |
15 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
David Hawkshaw |
31 |
28 |
2 |
8 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
Alex Wootton |
20 |
55 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Match Programme not available for this fixture.
Connacht tasted defeat in their first outing of the 2022/23 BKT United Rugby Championship, with Ulster coming away with a deserved 36 – 10 win in Belfast.
The encounter had a typical ‘first day of school’ vibe, with both teams looking to put into practice what they had worked on during pre-season, but a number of errors by both teams meant neither side could get into the flow for the first 20 minutes.
From a Connacht perspective the coaching team would have been happy with the defensive efforts from the squad, with excellent reads and line-speed disrupting the Ulster attack. Conor Fitzgerald in particular impressed for the away side, reading the play well and getting every inch out of his kicks to touch.
However it was Ulster that mostly dominated territory, and the pressure eventually told on 27 minutes when Luke Marshall touched down under the posts after a nice pass from Stuart McCloskey. The lead was then doubled three minutes from the break when Tom Stewart broke off the back of a rolling maul, and Nathan Doak added the extras.
Fitzgerald ensured the visitors didn’t go in the dressing room empty handed at the break, slotting over the first points of the season with a well taken penalty with the clock past the 40 minute mark.
Connacht went into the second half knowing they needed to start strongly, but they found themselves on the back foot from the off. Doak added three points 5 minutes after the break, and then the scrum-half turned try scorer after Stewart was held up on the line following another maul. His name-sake Stewart Moore secured Ulster’s bonus point on 63 minutes.
The excellent travelling support had to something to shout about moments later when Caolin Blade touched down underneath the posts for the first try of the season, in a play that was started by an excellent pass from David Hawkshaw who then kicked his first points in the Connacht green.
That was as good as it got for the team, as Ulster sealed the win with their fifth try five minutes from time.