Henderson faces possible ban for Italy
IAIN HENDERSON faces a nervous wait after being involved in a neck rolling incident that may lead to a citing and ban during Ulster’s tetchy win over Ospreys in Brewery Field last night. Having just recovered from the hand injury that saw him miss Ireland’s first two Six Nations fixtures, the second row put in a good shift in Wales to show he is ready for a recall ahead of Ireland’s trip to Italy next week. However, although he only received a penalty sanction for the first-half incident where he dragged Ospreys openside Sam King backwards out of the ruck by his neck and leg; if Henderson is cited, he could be banned for a number of weeks, potentially ruling him out of the remainder of the Six Nations. In a turgid encounter before a noisy crowd at the home of Bridgend RFC, Ulster dominated but were let down by a high error count. However, it was a win that keeps them in the play-off hunt and, showing the new-found resolve instilled by coach Dan McFarland, the forwards in particular got stuck into the Welsh side while impressive defence saw the home side held scoreless. The only try came from Stuart McCloskey (in his 100th game) after 47 minutes. Ospreys, coached by former Ulster hooker Allan Clarke, did not want for effort but the only other score came from Ulster’s Ireland No9 John Cooney with a penalty just before the end.
OSPREYS: D Evans; H Dirksen, C Allen, T Thomas-Wheeler, L Morgan (K Giles 11-21, 63); S Davies (capt, L Price 57), M Aubrey (R Morgan-Williams 77); J Lay (R Jenkins 57), S Baldwin (S Otten 57), T Botha (M Fia 57); L Ashley (W Griffiths 77), B Davies (R McCusker 53); O Cracknell, S Cross, J King. ULSTER: P Nelson; A Kernohan (R Lyttle 71), D Cave, S McCloskey, L Ludik; M Lowry (J Hume 73), J Cooney; E O’Sullivan (A Warwick 71), R Herring, M Moore (T O’Toole 59); A O’Connor (capt, K Treadwell 59), I Henderson; C Ross (S Reidy 63), J Murphy, N Timoney. Scorers - Try: McCloskey. Pen: Cooney. Referee: Q Immelman (South Africa).