Winning run continues for Ulster and Munster

Adam Kyriacou
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John Andrew scored a hat-trick as Ulster brushed off a spirited Edinburgh fightback to claim an ultimately emphatic 43-14 seven-try victory at Murrayfield.

The visitors were 19 points up inside 24 minutes, but Edinburgh thought they had levelled when Jamie Farndale crossed in dramatic circumstances following the first two tries of Jack Blain’s career.

However, Farndale was eventually called offside and Ulster streaked clear in the final quarter.

Edinburgh back-row Bill Mata’s comeback was interrupted by a spell in the sin bin just after Jordi Murphy crossed for Ulster.

John Cooney then claimed his second try and Andrew completed his treble in the closing seconds as Ulster sealed victory.

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Ulster’s eighth win on the trot sent them top of Conference A.

Dan McFarland’s side overturned a 12-point deficit to snatch a last-gasp win at Murrayfield in last season’s semi-finals in September, but expectations from the home side were tempered by the unavailability of 23 players through injury and international duty.

Ulster took the lead after two minutes when Stewart Moore crossed following good work from Andrew and Cooney.

Andrew went over himself in the 18th minute following a lineout drive and scrum-half Cooney got his first five minutes later after a dummy near the try-line following another maul.

Edinburgh’s pack were struggling but they got on top as Richard Cockerill’s side began a major turnaround in momentum.

The hosts put on pressure near the try line and Lee-Roy Atalifo was somehow stopped after throwing himself over a ruck of bodies. But scrum-half Henry Pyrgos changed tack and let the forwards have a go, with Blain crossing in the 34th minute.

Edinburgh started to impress in the scrum and Blain was over again four minutes into the second half after Eroni Sau set him up near the line.

Mata came off the bench after 10 weeks out with an ankle injury and the hosts thought they had drawn level in extraordinary circumstances.

Nathan Chamberlain hit a post from a 40-metre penalty but Farndale scooped up the rebound and went over. However, the full-back was belatedly called offside following a video review after running a metre ahead of Chamberlain when the penalty was taken.

The game turned again in the 59th minute when Murphy went over after another lineout maul and Mata’s yellow card for a lineout offence put Edinburgh up against it.

Cooney broke away for his second try following offloads from Ian Madigan and Sam Carter and Ulster set about adding to their tally in ruthless fashion.

Andrew scored after another lineout drive before completing his hat-trick in the dying seconds.

Elsewhere, Damien de Allende, Sean French and Thomas Ahern scored their first Munster tries in a 52-3 PRO14 pummelling of Zebre at Thomond Park.

In addition to a penalty try, Dan Goggin, De Allende and Darren Sweetnam all swept over for converted scores as Munster pocketed their bonus point to lead 28-3 at the break.

They added four more tries by the finish, as JJ Hanrahan and young guns French, Craig Casey and Ahern each made it over. Paolo Pescetto kicked a lone penalty for the depleted Italians.

Quick lineout ball allowed player-of-the-match Hanrahan to dink a kick over the top, setting up centre Goggin to gather it on the bounce and touch down beside the posts.

Hanrahan’s conversion was cancelled out by a Pescetto penalty on the quarter hour mark, before another deft Hanrahan kick almost played in Matt Gallagher for Munster’s second try.

It was a double setback for Gallagher with the TMO review going against him and an injury forcing him off.

However, Munster’s strong scrum soon forced the issue and De Allende powered in underneath the posts from a smart offload by Gavin Coombes. Hanrahan quickly converted.

With their forwards now under intense pressure, Zebre leaked a penalty try from a maul with number eight Lorenzo Masselli also seeing yellow.

Right on the stroke of half-time, Goggin ghosted in between two defenders on halfway and passed for Sweetnam to finish off to the left of the posts.

Munster had been sloppy at times, but they went up a gear after the restart with the impressive Hanrahan, who finished with 15 points, using a slick three-man passing move to go over from close range.

Zebre used a series of penalties to threaten through their maul, yet Munster held them out and some lovely hands from Coombes and Hanrahan had academy youngster French diving over in the 56th minute.

Hanrahan nailed the difficult conversion as fellow Kerry native Jack Daly was sent on for his debut. It is the first time two Kerry men have played a senior game for Munster in three years.

With first-time starter Ahern joining Jack O’Donoghue in the Munster pack, it was also the first time two players from Waterford have started for Munster at this level.

Zebre ended the game with lock Gabriele Venditti in the sin bin, and as Munster moved 16 points clear at the top of Conference B, Casey and towering young lock Ahern made it an eight-try rout late on.

 

Edinburgh