Underhill’s return fails to lift sloppy Bath with ruthless Ulster stealing the spoils
Stuart Hooper was delighted with Sam Underhill on his first appearance in a Bath jersey since returning from his exhausting World Cup exploits, but was far less pleased with his side’s “lack of accuracy” as Ulster edged victory.
The director of rugby had hoped the return of Underhill and his other England men, Jonathan Joseph and Ruaridh McConnochie, would inspire a Champions Cup lift. Instead, it was more bitter taste of defeat in the opening Pool 3 clash.
Scrum-half John Cooney scored 12 of Ulster’s 17 points, including a first-half try, while replacement Gabriel HamerWebb crossed for Bath.
Hooper said: “The guys who came back in after being in Japan performed as well as expected. It was great to have them back. Sam has put his body on the line for England and he did the same for us out there today.
“I wouldn’t put it down to them at all. It was about the team, and our accuracy cost us. We could have scored a try in the final few seconds, but we are disappointed with our attack. We let ourselves down.”
Dan McFarland, the Ulster head coach, said: “You can’t hope for a better start than winning at a place like this. It wasn’t a vintage display, but we are more than happy with the points.”
It was a third successive win by Ulster at Bath’s home ground. They carved out a 7-6 lead at half-time, mainly thanks to opportunistic play from the impressive Cooney and stout defending, which frustrated the hosts.
Cooney was involved in every attacking move by Ulster, with some quick thinking and just as quick footwork. He stuck out a leg to block rival No9 Will Chudley’s attempted kick towards the visitors’ line. It rebounded back across halfway and bounced invitingly for Cooney to open the scoring.
Bath’s pack began to gain the upper hand, and pressure on their rivals’ defence gave Freddie Burns two comfortable opportunities to close the gap to a point with penalties.
Bath continued to flatter to deceive, and Ulster did not mess up their own try-scoring chances when they came. From another break, wing Rob Lyttle won the race to touch down.
Hamer-Webb marked his European debut with a try just a minute after entering the field, taking Joseph’s pass wide on the left to race over the line.
Bath’s tails were up and Rhys Priestland edged them in front for the first time with a penalty, but Cooney responded with his first penalty. Had Zach Mercer then found Semesa Rokoduguni with his pass, it might have been the hosts celebrating instead.