The Christmas celebrations can start early for Ulster, after they held on for a vital win against Connacht at Kingspan Stadium, to get back to winning ways in the BKT United Rugby Championship.
The northern province gained an element of revenge for their two recent defeats to their rivals, as they edged out 20-19 Connacht in a dramatic derby in Belfast.
Dan McFarland's side never trailed over the 80 minutes, and while they were outscored by three tries to two on the night it was the laser boot of John Cooney that they were thankful for, as he kicked four from four to give his side the narrowest of wins.
Andy Warwick and Nick Timoney grabbed the Ulster tries in the opening half as they led 14-7 at the break, while Player of the Match Iain Henderson led a ferocious pack that constantly disrupted the Connacht lineout.
In spite of their lineout issues, Connacht kept finding ways to come back at their hosts. Bundee Aki barged over for a try which briefly drew them level, before Shamus Hurley-Langton and the impressive Shayne Bolton both took advantage of defensive lapses to give their side a losing bonus-point.
The win couldn't have come at a better time for the hosts, who backed up their victory against Racing 92 a week ago, while for Connacht it's now five defeats in a row, with nine days for them to stew on their defeat ahead of hosting Munster on New Year's Day.
It took Ulster just two minutes to pick up where they left off against Racing 92 a week ago, with Warwick crashing over for his first try since April 2022.
It was a score that came far too easily from a Connacht point of view, with Rob Baloucoune and Timoney initially linking up down the right wing, before strong carries by Marty Moore and Kieran Treadwell gave them gainline success in the 22.
As the Connacht defence folded back across, they left a huge gap at the fringe of a ruck, with a simple pass allowing Warwick to crash over, as Cooney converted to make it 7-0.
Connacht's response was instant, winning two quickfire penalties. While the second of those was right under the posts, the visitors turned down a simple shot at goal in favor of a five-metre tap-and-go, and their bravery was rewarded as Aki drove his way over for a try, which Carty converted to make it 7-7 after eight minutes.
Aki was causing trouble in midfield, and a few moments later he sent number 8 Sean O’Brien into space, before a clever kick by Hansen almost resulted in a second try, but Shayne Bolton’s touchdown came just a few inches too late as the ball crossed the dead-ball line.
Ulster were playing with a strong wind at their backs in the opening half, and Jake Flannery made it count on 18 minutes when he stuck a penalty from the halfway line down to within five of the Connacht tryline.
Two further penalties followed for the hosts, as they looked to replicate some of last week’s five-metre tap-and-go specials, setting up Henderson for an infield maul. Connacht dealt with the maul, but it was ultimately in vain, as Timoney squeezed over for his side’s second try, which was once again converted by Cooney to make it 14-7 after 20 minutes.
For a game played in such brutal conditions, the skill level had been high in the opening quarter, and it took 26 minutes for us to see our first scrum. From that moment though, the game seemed to change as the error count on both sides grew.
On the Ulster side, Flannery overcooked a penalty kick to the corner, while Connacht lost three lineouts – two overthrows either side of a clean Ulster steal. Late in the half, they finally did make one stick, and after gaining ground into the 22 with a maul and a strong Gavin Thornbury carry, Conor Oliver spilled at the base of a ruck to cough possession back to the hosts.
With the wind behind their back in the second half Connacht tried to play territory in the early stages after the break, but Ulster dealt with it well as Baloucoune in particular snuffed out a promising attack by bundling Bolton into touch.
On 50 minutes the hosts gave themselves a two-score cushion as Cooney kicked a penalty from the edge of the 22 to make it 17-7, Connacht having given up three penalties in a six-minute spell.
Four minutes later Pete Wilkins' side could easily have brought the deficit back to seven when they won a penalty on the edge of the 22 and 15 metres to the left of the posts, after Flannery was penalised for not rolling away. Instead, they put their chips in on a potential try, but their lineout issues came back to haunt them as Henderson got up to flick the ball back on the Ulster side.
In spite of their lineout issues, Connacht were controlling the territory, and finally made it pay just before the hour mark, as Hurley-Langton barged over for their second try of the night.
It was a score that neither Baloucoune nor Addison will want to see again, with the pair meekly falling off the Connacht flanker when he received the ball out on the left wing. James Hume did manage to bring him to ground, but it was just too late as he dived in to score.
It remained 17-12 after Carty’s conversion missed just to the left and wide, while Ulster were able to punish it almost instantly, Cooney tapping over a straightforward penalty on 65 minutes to make it 20-12.
Back came Connacht though. Working their way into the Ulster half on 68 minutes, there didn't look to be any immediate danger as the visitors moved the ball wide, but when Nathan Doak shot up in the defensive line, Bolton shot up through the gap and skidded over for a deserved try, which JJ Hanrahan converted to make leave the minimum between the sides at 20-19.
They couldn't complete the comeback however as Ulster stood firm in defence in the closing stages, giving the Ravenhill crowd an early Christmas present, ahead of their New Year's trip to Leinster at the RDS.
Ulster: Will Addison; Rob Baloucoune, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale; Jake Flannery, John Cooney; Andy Warwick, Tom Stewart, Marty Moore; Kieran Treadwell, Iain Henderson (capt); Matty Rea, Sean Reffell, Nick Timoney
Replacements: John Andrew, Steven Kitshoff, Tom O'Toole, Alan O'Connor, Harry Sheridan, Nathan Doak, Jude Postlethwaite, Shea O'Brien
Connacht: Mack Hansen; Shayne Bolton, Tom Farrell, Bundee Aki, Byron Ralston; Jack Carty (capt), Caolin Blade; Denis Buckley, Tadgh McElroy, Finlay Bealham; Darragh Murray, Gavin Thornbury; Cian Prendergast, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Sean O'Brien
Replacements: Dave Heffernan, Peter Dooley, Jack Aungier, Niall Murray, Conor Oliver, Michael McDonald, JJ Hanrahan, Shane Jennings
Referee: Eoghan Cross (IRFU)
