Ulster get off the mark with win over Tigers
SECOND-HALF tries from Alan O’Connor, Will Addison and Jacob Stockdale earned Ulster a handsome victory in their Heineken Champions Cup opener.
John Cooney kicked all three conversions and a penalty to complete the scoring for Dan McFarland’s team in the Pool Four clash at Kingspan Stadium in Belfast.
The Tigers led at halftime thanks to a George Ford penalty but failed to score again until Manu Tuilagi’s 75thminute converted try.
Ford got Tigers on the scoreboard first with a 14th-minute penalty after Ulster were penalised at a scrum under their posts.
The Tigers fly-half was then yellow-carded in the 20th minute after pulling down Michael Lowry with a seat-belt tackle as the full-back neared the try line.
Ulster opted for the scrum from the ensuing penalty but Craig Gilroy was in touch as he dived for the line.
Geordan Murphy’s Tigers came close to scoring just before Ford’s return, only for Marcell Coetzee to win a penalty off Tom Youngs.
A far from inspiring half ended with Ford taking too long over a drop goal, allowing Rory Best to charge it down.
Three minutes after the restart, Ulster went most of the length of the field but Iain Henderson’s try was ruled out after the TMO adjudged Nick Timoney to have given a forward pass to Cooney.
In the 58th minute Ulster moved further ahead. The hosts attacked off a lineout and replacement Sean Reidy’s line burst created the momentum for Addison to touch down in the corner. Cooney’s excellent conversion made it 14-3.
Cooney – who switched to out-half after Billy Burns went off – slotted over a penalty on 67 minutes and Ulster got a third try with seven minutes left when Stockdale roared over in the corner following an attack which saw Best make initial ground.
Cooney’s conversion took the Irish province’s lead to 24-3 but the Tigers then grabbed a late score off Tuilagi, which Ford converted and Ulster were unable to get the bonus point.
Ulster: M Lowry, C Gilroy, W Addison, S McCloskey (A Kernohan 76), J Stockdale, B Burns (A Curtis 3940, D Shanahan 65, J Cooney, A Warwick (E O’Sullivan 51), R Best (A McBurney 74), R Kane (M Moore 33), A O’Connor (K Treadwell 58), I Henderson, M Coetzee, J Murphy (S Reidy 51), N Timoney. scorers: tries: O’Connor, Addison,
Stockdale. Cons: Cooney 3. Pen: Cooney. leiCester: J Holmes, A Thompstone, M Tuilagi (G Owen 78), K Eastmond (M Toomua 57), J Olowofela, G Ford, B Youngs (S Harrison 57), G Bateman (D Feao 63), T Youngs (T Polota-Nau 54), D Cole (J Heyes 69), M Williams (S Lewis 76), H Wells, G Thompson, B O’Connor (T Reffell 59), S Kalamafoni. scorers: tries: M Tuilagi. Cons: G Ford. Pens: G Ford. referee: Pascal Gauzere (France).