Jacob Stockdale dazzles as Ulster shoot down Ospreys
ULSTER captain Ian Henderson was sent off in the 75th minute but his side were already home and dry.
Ospreys were secondbest in all areas of the match and fell to their 11th defeat in their last 12 competitive matches at the Liberty Stadium.
Henderson was shown red for making contact with the head of Dan Evans while charging into a ruck.
Lions coach Warren Gatland was in attendance but he must have been dismayed at the performances of his Welsh contenders.
Alun Wyn Jones couldn’t celebrate the announcement of his OBE as he was outshone by Henderson with Justin Tipuric and Rhys Webb unable to provide any spark in a very poor effort from Ospreys, who lacked any creativity.
They were under pressure in the scrum and lost a number of crucial lineouts leaving them permanently on the back foot.
Ospreys head coach Toby Booth said: “Ulster won the arm-wrestle, we couldn’t put them under any pressure. They are a top side so there were no surprises from them as that was exactly what we expected.
“Some of our standards were disappointing and we couldn’t get a foothold in their territory to create anything. I’m pleased we stayed in the fight and were millimetres away from getting a bonus point.
“We will now be without our internationals but we have experience and the likes of Dan Evans, Bradley Davies and Dan Lydiate will have to step up, and the youngsters will have to bring the energy.”
Ulster held all the aces; their pack operated as a unit, with impressive No.8 Marcell Coetzee at the forefront, which enabled Ian Madigan and John Cooney to easily have the better of the half-back duel.
Stewart Moore ran strongly up the middle and it was Jacob Stockdale who provided most of the game’s limited highlights with some purposeful running to give Gatland some justification for attending.
Stockdale gave Ulster the lead with an early try. After declining a 35m kick at goal in favour of an attacking lineout, the Irishmen were rewarded when a succession of forward drives created the opportunity for Madigan to send Stockdale over. Cooney converted before Stephen Myler put Ospreys on the scoreboard with a penalty.
The match continued to be shapeless with neither side bringing any continuity to their game. Poor kicks from Cooney and Moore went straight into touch to stop Ulster from building a platform with Ospreys solely relying on predictable bursts from centre Kieran Williams to
try and get some momentum into their play.
The next two scores came via penalties from Cooney and Myler to leave Ulster with a 10-6 interval lead. After the restart a piece of magic from Stockdale enlivened proceedings. Deep in his own half, the full-back fielded a clearance, chipped over a defender and raced away but was hauled down short and the move fizzled out.
However Ulster weren’t to be denied. Another powerful burst from Stockdale secured field position and the pack built up a head of steam to send Coetzee crashing over.
Myler kicked two penalties in quick succession but Ospreys never threatened the try-line and Ulster emphasised their superiority when Rob Lyttle ran strongly to create a try for Cooney before Henderson was sent off.