ULSTER STORM THE DAM FORTRESS
But losing bonus point secures a play-off spot for Edinburgh
THE fortress has fallen. Edinburgh suffered their first home defeat of the season at the DAM Health Stadium as Ulster triumphed in a breathless and bruising encounter.
But it was a bittersweet night for Mike Blair’s side. They earned a losing bonus point, which is enough to guarantee them a play-off spot in the United Rugby Championship.
In front of a sell-out crowd of 7,774, it was a frantic game of rugby which had seen Edinburgh toil in the first half before launching a hell of a comeback effort in the second period.
Trailing 13-3 at half-time, they threw the kitchen sink at Ulster in a thrilling climax to the match which saw the result hang in the balance until the final few seconds.
But they just couldn’t quite find a way through — and they will regret a failure to punish their opponents more clinically.
Ulster played 20 minutes of the match with just 14 men due to two separate yellow cards. But, tellingly, Edinburgh failed to score a point during both periods.
They must now dust themselves down ahead of the visit of Wasps in the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup next weekend.
Edinburgh started like a steam train but butchered a couple of good early chances, before Ulster’s openside flanker Nick Timoney was sent to the sin bin for a dangerous tackle on five minutes.
There were also a couple of HIAs in the opening exchanges. Edinburgh hooker Stuart McInally came back on, but Ulster skipper and Ireland lock Iain Henderson didn’t reappear.
To lose someone of Henderson’s experience was certainly a blow, but it didn’t prevent the Irish side from taking the lead on 12 minutes.
They engineered some space out wide and had men over, with Robert Baloucoune eventually touching down.
Ulster scrum-half Nathan Doak slotted the conversion to put his side into a 7-0 lead — and soon Edinburgh suffered another blow.
Just a few minutes after coming back on, McInally limped off injured. This time, there was no coming back for the Scotland hooker. It looked a bad one.
Doak kicked another penalty on the 20-minute mark as Ulster moved into a 10-0 lead. After a positive start, it felt like Edinburgh had somewhat lost their way.
Centre Chris Dean, who had replaced James Lang in the early stages, then tried to spark the home side back into life with a brilliant scything run.
But as he moved towards the try-line, he tried to loop a pass back inside, only for the ball to go to ground. Ulster won a penalty at the breakdown and the chance was gone.
As the rain began to fall, Ulster pressure began to grow. There was a fluency and a cohesion to their attacking play which Edinburgh lacked.
Doak slotted another penalty on 35 minutes to extend his team’s lead to 13-0. They were firmly in control and had all the momentum.
Certainly, Ulster did not look like a team who came into this match on the back of three successive defeats in the URC.
Their away form has been largely impressive this season. They have won on their travels against the likes of Leinster, Toulouse, Clermont and Northampton over the past few months.
Edinburgh finally got on the scoreboard on the stroke of half-time when Emiliano Boffelli kicked a penalty but, 13-3 down at the break, it had been a tough opening 40 minutes.
Conditions were worsening by the minute and, on top of the rain, the wind began to whip up as well. The ball was greasy, so it was no surprise to see plenty of handling errors.
The Ulster defensive line looked to be straying offside on numerous occasions, but they were rarely punished by referee Ben Whitehouse.
With the wind beginning to swirl, Ulster scrum-half Doak missed what would normally have been a fairly straightforward penalty early in the second half.
But he made no mistake on 50 minutes, drilling the ball between the posts to put Ulster 16-3 ahead. From there, it was a long way back for Edinburgh. The impressive
Doak left the field shortly after, to be replaced by John Cooney. But Edinburgh slowly began to build some pressure.
Ulster forward Alan O’Connor was then sent to the sin bin on 55 minutes, the Irish side’s second yellow card of the night.
Edinburgh had failed to score any points in the previous period their opponents were down to 14 men early in the first half.
And the same happened again. Despite being camped inside the Ulster 22 for a prolonged spell, they were unable to make any proper inroads.
The Irish defence held firm — until a brilliant chip over the top from
Mark Bennett unlocked them and he raced in to score on 67 minutes.
The conversion from Boffelli was successful – and vitally important as it took Edinburgh into a position of earning a losing bonus point at 16-10 behind.
They now had a play-off spot within their grasp. But, more than that, they wanted to fight back and preserve their undefeated home record.
The game was in the balance in the final 10 minutes. But, despite, throwing the kitchen sink at it, there was no way through for Edinburgh.
Doak (3).
Cons: