ULSTER FACING PLAY-OFF ABYSS
ULSTER’s hopes of making the Pro12 play-off semi-finals suffered a grievous blow as Les Kiss’s side flopped spectacularly in the Liberty Stadium.
The Ospreys ended a run of four straight defeats to put themselves in a good position to claim a top-four spot at the expense of their visiting rivals, who showed all the flaws that have dogged their inconsistent, unfulfilling season.
Tries in the first half from Tom Habberfield and Tyler Ardron and a late Brendon Leonard effort were enough to give the Welsh region victory, Dan Biggar converting all three tries and kicking a penalty.
The Ospreys were full value for their 17-3 interval advantage. Jacob Stockdale got an Ulster consolation, with Paddy Jackson booting the conversion to an earlier penalty, but it was too little, too late.
It had been a perfect start for the Ospreys, Habberfield crossing in the corner before Biggar added the extras for a 7-0 lead.
Jackson then exchanged penalties with Lions fly-half Biggar, but the home side were dominant and their second try was an absolute peach with Dan Evans and Habberfield involved before Tyler Ardron had a simple finish under the posts with Biggar converting before the interval.
Matters improved for Ulster on the restart and they camped themselves in the Ospreys’ 22 by dominating possession but they were still chasing the game in the final quarter.
They didn’t get the break, however as Charles Piutau knocked on close to the line and Stockdale kicked the ball dead when it looked easier to score.
That summed up Ulster’s day and tries by Leonard and Stockdale were futile.