Ulster
Kings (10) 17 / 42 (35) Ulster (Final Score)
The Southern Kings and Ulster Rugby did battle in Round 3 of the Guinness PRO14 2019 / 2020 at
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth, South Africa on 12 October 2019 at 16:00 SA Time (18:05 UK Time, 17:05 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 2 on TV in SA.
*******************
Glasgow (24) 50 / 20 (3) Ulster (Final Score)
Glasgow Warriors and Ulster Rugby did battle in a Semi Final of the Guinness PRO14 2018 / 2019 at
Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow, Scotland at 20:35 SA Time (19:35 UK Time, 18:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 8 on TV in SA.
*******************
Glasgow head coach Dave Rennie has named his team to face Ulster in Friday night’s PRO14 semi-final at Scotstoun.DTH van der Merwe returns to the Glasgow Warriors starting XV. The Canada international winger, who was ruled out for the remainder of the season following shoulder surgery in February, has recovered four weeks ahead of schedule.
The 33-year-old scored the dramatic winning try in Glasgow’s last league semi-final victory in 2015, also against Ulster at Scotstoun.
Club co-captain Callum Gibbins returns to lead the side having not played since suffering a head injury against Saracens in March.
Stuart Hogg will play his final game at Scostoun before joining English Premiership side Exeter Chiefs next season, he joins DTH in the backfield, along with fellow club centurion Tommy Seymour.
Sam Johnson and Kyle Steyn start in midfield for the fourth consecutive game while recent recipient of the Guinness PRO14 Young Player of the Season award, Adam Hastings starts at fly-half and Ali Price is once again named at scrum-half.
Ulster (21) 33 / 19 (12) Kings (Final Score)
Ulster Rugby and the Southern Kings did battle in Round 18 of the Guinness PRO14 2018 / 2019 at
Kingspan Stadium, Belfast, Ireland at 19:30 SA Time (17:30 UK Time & GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 on TV in SA.
*******************
Cheetahs (17) 39 / 39 (14) Ulster (Final Score)
The Toyota Cheetahs and Ulster Rugby did battle in the Guinness PRO14 2018 / 2019 at
the Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein, South Africa at 19:15 SA Time (18:15 UK Time, 17:15 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 on TV in SA.
*******************
Kings (0) 7 / 28 (9) Ulster (Final Score)
The Southern Kings and Ulster Rugby did battle in the Guinness PRO14 2018 / 2019 at
The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth, South Africa at 14:15 SA Time (13:15 UK Time, 12:15 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 on TV in SA.
*******************
Ulster (21) 59 / 10 (3) Kings (Final Score)
Ulster Rugby and the Southern Kings did battle in the Guinness PRO14 2017 / 2018 at
Kingspan Stadium, Belfast, Ireland at 21:35 SA Time (19:35 UK Time & GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 on TV in SA.
*******************
Kings (22) 36 / 43 (10) Ulster (Final Score)
The Southern Kings and Ulster Rugby did battle in the Guinness PRO14 2017 at
the Wolfson Stadium, KwazaKhele, South Africa at 15:00 SA Time (13:00 UK Time & GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & M-Net on TV in SA.
*******************
Ulster (27) 42 / 19 (14) Cheetahs (Final Score)
Ulster Rugby and the Toyota Cheetahs did battle in the Guinness PRO14 2017 at
Kingspan Stadium, Belfast, Ireland at 20:35 SA Time (19:35 UK Time, 18:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
*******************
Johan ‘Rassie’ Erasmus was named Pro12′ Coach of the Season after guiding Munster to the semifinals of the Celtic League.
Erasmus, who is in his first season in charge of the Irish province, also had six of his Munster players named in the Pro12 Dream Team during the Pro12 Awards, which took place in Dublin on Sunday.
Erasmus recently confirmed that he will see out his contract with Munster after rumours circulated earlier this this year that he was going to return to South Africa to link up with the Springboks.
Meanwhile, Fellow South Africans Jaco Taute and Ruan Pienaar were included in the Dream Team.
Continue reading
Ulster gave club legend Ruan Pienaar a winning send off at Kingspan with a 17-13 victory over Leinster but it wasn’t enough for them to sneak into the Guinness PRO12 semi-finals.
The home side needed a bonus point victory at least but were unable to get the four-tries against a Leinster side who slipped to second after Munster’s victory.
Roger Wilson, on his 221nd and last Ulster appearance, and Andrew Trimble got the vital scores for Ulster while Leinster responded with a penalty try.
An emotional Pienaar led out the Ulster side with his son Jean Luc at the Kingspan Stadium in what was in final appearance for the club.
The player of the 2016 RBS 6 Nations, Stuart Hogg, went from hero to villain to hero last night at Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow. Hogg, who was presented with the player of the tournament trophy by Glasgow Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend during a Warriors practice session earlier this week, was shown a Yellow Card less than 2 minutes into the match against Rob Herring’s Ulster for what was deemed by referee John Lacey to be a professional foul on Glasgow’s try line. However, after spending the obligatory 10 minutes off the field his night went from bad to better to brilliant.
Hogg was involved in play on numerous occasions gaining much ground with his incisive running and scored a super try down the left side of the field with a wonderful chip of the top and gather effort. He also had the final say in the match landing a monster penalty kick late on the game to deny Ulster a losing bonus point and send the final score to Glasgow Warriors 27 / 17 Ulster. John Lacey awarded Glasgow a penalty almost 5m inside their own half of the field, up stepped the man of the moment Hoggy who slotted the penalty with ease in spite of a swirling wind.
Ulster recovered from being 23 / 0 down at halftime to get a vital victory over Oyonnax in Pool 1 of the European Champions Cup.
Key men Ruan Pienaar, Paddy Jackson and Nick Williams all came off the bench for the 2nd half to help the Irish side scrape a remarkable 1-point win.
Ulster were in big trouble when Jeremie Maurouard and Uwa Tawalo scored tries. But backs Rory Scholes and Craig Gilroy, and young prop Kyle McCall, saved them from a damaging defeat.
Ulster, who revived their European prospects with back-to-back wins over Toulouse, are 2nd in Pool 1 with 13 points – 6 behind Saracens.
Those December victories over Toulouse would have meant little had they lost to the Pool outsiders at the Stade Charles-Mathon.
Ulster (9) 9 / 27 (5) Saracens (Final Score)
Ulster and Saracens did battle in the European Rugby Champions Cup at
Kingspan Stadium, at 21:45 SA Time (19:45 UK Time & GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
*******************
As the Guinness PRO12 clubs now turn their attention to Europe, Connacht moved to the Top of the table by recording a 5th consecutive league win for the 1st time since 2002 – beating Benetton Treviso 33 / 19 underneath the Friday night lights at the Sportsground.
Robbie Henshaw made his breakthrough at fullback and in his 1st game for Connacht since returning from the Rugby World Cup he was back in the No 15 shirt, dotting down for 1 of his side’s 3 tries as Matt Healy and Tom McCartney notched the others.
Jayden Hayward crossed twice for Treviso and Edoardo Gori grabbed another try at the death but the Italians still slipped to a 14th consecutive Guinness PRO12 defeat.
The Scotland team and the 2 Scottish PRO12 teams, Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors, were in action this weekend playing warm-up matches.
Scotland faced Italy for the 2nd weekend in a row in the 3rd of their 4 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches. The game was played at Murrayfield in front of what was said to be a record crowd for a summer Test match. The team that ran out must have been close to Vern Cotter’s 1st choice 15 and they did not disappoint running in 6 tries and only conceding 1 in a very impressive performance.
WP Nel put in a solid performance which saw Italy’s scrum in trouble from the word go. The pressure Nel put on Italy’s loosehead prop earned Scotland a few penalties with the loosehead resorting to scrumming in on various occasions.
The next game of the day also took place in Edinburgh where the hosts took on Ulster in a preseason warm-up match, 1 week ahead of the start of the PRO12 for 2015 / 2016. The game was played at Heriot FC’s ground Goldenacre due to the Test match which was played earlier in the day at Murrayfield.
Head coach Alan Solomons would have been pleased to see his team get their 2nd win in their 2nd preseason friendly match against what was a fairly strong starting Ulster line-up.
The final game of the day, which was billed as the ‘Battle of New Scotland’, saw Canada host Glasgow Warriors in Halifax Nova Scotia.
Josh Strauss played the whole game for the Warriors ahead of possible inclusion in the Scotland World Cup squad. Former Glasgow Warriors winger DTH vd Merwe scored a try for Canada late in the game to ensure victory for them. The game was played in quite high temperatures and there were a few water breaks during the game.
Glasgow Warriors left it late but eventually overcame a huge challenge from Ulster to clinch a PRO12 Grand Final place.
The Irish province had much the better of the opening exchanges and took control midway through the opening period with Chris Henry’s try.
But Glasgow came out fired up for the 2nd half and kept themselves in touch before DTH van der Merwe levelled the scores on his final Scotstoun appearance 5 minutes from time.
The score sent the 10 000 sell-out crowd into ecstasy but there was still work to be done as Finn Russell lined up the decisive conversion.
Richie Vernon scores the try which cements the Warriors semi-final spot
In the early minutes of the 2nd half at Scotstoun there was a lineout on the main stand side of the pitch, a routine set-piece that wouldn’t have mattered a damn except for the light it shone on Glasgow’s mindset at the time.
Ulster were in position 1st. Organised and buzzing and in the lead by 10 / 6. Glasgow trooped into line sluggishly.
Glasgow’s Jonny Gray stopped en route to take some instruction from the sideline and then assumed his place, slowly. Their mission to bank a home PRO12 semi-final was always going to be mountainous, but now, in these bleak moments, it had taken on the look of Everest.
Al Kellock
Al Kellock returns to the Glasgow Warriors side for today’s massive Guinness PRO12 match with Ulster at a sold-out Scotstoun Stadium (kick-off 15:00 BST, 16:00 SA Time).
The Warriors captain, who replaces the injured Tim Swinson in the 2nd-row, could be making his final appearance at Scotstoun, following the announcement that he is to retire from rugby at the end of the season.
2nd-placed Glasgow can still secure a home play-off, but Ulster are also playing for home advantage next weekend.
With an increased capacity of around 10 000 it will be the club’s biggest home crowd for a regular season game and tickets for this match sold out in record time.
Declan Fitzpatrick
Ulster and Ireland prop Declan Fitzpatrick, who played in the 2012 European Cup Final at Twickenham Stadium, has been forced to retire on medical grounds.
The 31-year-old, who counted 27 European Cup ties in the 98 games he played for Ulster, experienced a number of concussion episodes in recent seasons.
His symptoms were progressively slower to resolve and he was referred to a leading neurologist by the medical team at Ulster.
Following tests it was recommended that it would be in the best long-term interests of the player who won 7 international caps, and played 9 times for the Ireland Wolfhounds (B-Team), to stop playing altogether.
Louis Ludik’s pair of tries helped Ulster to resist a 2nd-half fightback from Cardiff Blues and strengthen their position in the Guinness PRO12 Top 4.
Fullback Ludik scored a try in either half to supplement finishes from Craig Gilroy and Paul Marshall as the hosts picked up what could prove to be a very valuable try bonus point.
Tom Isaacs and Alex Cuthbert crossed for the Blues as they showed real resilience after the break, but the 18 / 0 halftime deficit ultimately proved too much.
Glasgow Warriors’ draw at Leinster means Neil Doak’s side stay second, but they will be pleased to have forged a bit of a buffer between themselves and the chasing pack
Round 15 of the Guinness PRO12 started on Friday night and concluded on Sunday with the position at the top the same as when the Round started, with Glasgow Warriors still looking down on the other 11 from the pinnacle of the table. However, they have increased their lead and are now 4 points ahead of 2nd placed Ulster.
There could have been no greater difference in emotions experienced after the matches than that between Newport Dragons captain Rynard ‘Ligtoring’ Landman and Munster’s flyer JJ Hanrahan. Landman would have been feeling low and filled with nervous anticipation following his Red Card for elbowing Connacht’s flyhalf Jack Carty early in their match. JJ Hanrahan on the other hand would have been feeling on top of the world following his very late try which earned Munster a draw against Llanelli Scarlets.
The festive season continues with derby matches in Round 12 of the Guinness PRO12. Some of the matches are the return leg of derbies played around the Boxing Day period. The attention in Scotland will be focussed on BT Murrayfield on Friday night where Edinburgh will host their rivals from the west, Glasgow Warriors, in a PRO12 fixture that doubles up as the second leg of the 1872 Cup.
Glasgow Warriors go into the game with a 10-point advantage following their win over Edinburgh on Boxing Day and will be looking to retain what is said to be the oldest cup in club rugby, yet again. There was only 1 try scored in the first leg of the 1872 Cup last week and with blustery conditions likely for Friday night the game may be a low scoring battle of attrition that could go the way of the team that makes the least errors.
Considering the relative positions of the 2 teams on the PRO12 table and the fact that Glasgow go into the game with that 10- point cushion one should expect at the very least that they maintain their grip on the 1872 Cup.
Ulster’s Ruan Pienaar injured on the weekend… again
Ulster scrum half, Ruan Pienaar, suffered a twisted knee in the defeat to Ospreys in Wales on Saturday evening.
There were fears that Ruan had re-injured the same knee ligaments which kept him out of the Springboks End Of Year Tour in November, but luckily the injury is not as serious as initially thought.
Ruan Pienaar
Ruan Pienaar and Dan Tuohy are poised to return for Ulster in Saturday’s European Champions Cup tie against Scarlets at Kingspan Stadium.
Pienaar has not played for Ulster this season having suffered a knee injury playing for South Africa in September.
Tuohy broke his arm during a Pro12 match against Cardiff 10 weeks ago.
“Dan and Ruan both trained the last two days and if there is no reaction, they might potentially be involved at the weekend,” said Ulster coach Neil Doak.
While delighted at the prospect of the pair being involved in the back-to-back fixtures against Scarlets, which Ulster must win to keep alive slim hopes of qualification from Pool 3, Doak is not expecting too much from his returning internationals.
“It’s good to have them back on the paddock but let’s see how they react and come through. We just have to see how Ruan’s knee reacts.”
“It is a different kettle of fish when you are training on your own, but when you get in a team environment and it is twisting and turning, it is live stuff now.
“Hopefully both of them can get in the mix this weekend. To have those experienced players coming back in, it is good to have.”
Nigel Owens
Having been involved in the professional game for the best part of 20 years now, I fully appreciate the hard work that goes in on a daily basis for players to perform and the challenges they face mentally and physically throughout the season.
Since becoming a coach, I also know the hours, which all those that support the players put in behind the scenes, whether they are coaches, medics or performance staff. However, I reckon that the toughest job in professional rugby might not be that of the players or management, but that of our referees.
The game’s officials often perform a thankless task and don’t get the chance to share a victory with others like we do. And, in the context of our fast-moving collision-based sport, which has a number of intricate laws, it is very difficult to get everything right.
Coaches and players make many mistakes during 80 minutes of rugby, so it is understandable that referees will also make errors. A lot of these errors are frequently viewed as great decisions by the opposing team, which makes things even more difficult for the man in the middle to get things right.
Neil Doak – New Ulster head coach
Neil Doak has been appointed Ulster head coach, while Les Kiss will become the province’s director of rugby after next year’s World Cup.
The elevation of attack coach Doak, 42, to the head coaching role is not a surprise.
Ireland assistant coach Kiss, 49, has been Ulster’s interim director of rugby at Kingspan Stadium in recent months following Mark Anscombe’s departure.
Kiss will leave the Ulster interim role next week but will return next October.
The hosts Ulster secured a bonus point win at Ravenhill on Friday evening as a lacklustre Edinburgh side failed to score any points.
“In the second half we had nine penalties against us and the two tries that killed us came from when Mike was sent off for a yellow card. I thought that [yellow card] was the turning point of the game.
“The final penalty count ended up 14-4 and when you get a penalty count like that and a card, that’s the difference. Having said that, Ulster deserved the win on the night.”
Leinster’s indifferent start to the season continued as they slipped to a second loss of the campaign away at Connacht, going down 10-9.
The defending champions had led 9-3 at half-time thanks to three Ian Madigan penalties but Kieran Marmion’s solo try ensured Connacht – who had lost their previous 11 all-Ireland clashes – preserved their 100 per cent start to the season.
At the Liberty Stadium, Ospreys ran in nine tries against Edinburgh to consolidate their one point lead at the top of the table.
The third round of matches in the Guinness PRO12 take place this weekend with three matches scheduled for Friday night, two for Saturday and one for Sunday.
Welsh outfit the Ospreys, who are unbeaten in the PRO12 this season, will head into round 3 at the top of the table with nine points. The only two other unbeaten teams are Glasgow Warriors and Connacht who are in 2nd and 3rd position respectively. Ulster are the other team in the top 4, courtesy of a draw and a win in their first two fixtures and they are the only team who have two bonus points for scoring four tries or more. Ulster top the try scoring list at this early stage in the competition having scored nine tries in their two matches. However, they have conceded the most tries, a handful, of the teams in the top four.
Connacht continued their winning start to the season with another tight triumph, this time a 14-13 victory over Edinburgh Rugby thanks to Willy Faloon’s last-gasp try.
Tom Heathcote’s boot and a try from Cornell du Preez gave Edinburgh a 13-6 lead at half time; Connacht’s points coming from two Darragh Leader penalties.
Faloon was sent to the sin bin with 16 minutes left on the clock, but returned to touch down the winning try in the dying minutes.
Liam Williams (centre) Red Carded (following two yellows) against Ulster.
The case involving Liam Williams, the Scarlets full back, was considered today by an independent Guinness PRO12 Disciplinary Committee.
Williams had been dismissed with a red card (after having received two yellow cards) in the Guinness PRO12 match between Scarlets and Ulster at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday, 6 September 2014.
Franco van der Merwe
Elton Jantjies
The Lions have announced their side to take on the Toyota Cheetahs in their final Round 19 Super Rugby match.
Elton Jantjies is selected at flyhalf and Franco van der Merwe gets given a fitting farewell as he runs out for the last time for the Lions before heading overseas.
Mark Anscombe
The niceties dictate that the phrase ‘parted company’ is employed but effectively Ulster have sacked Mark Anscombe. The New Zealander did not know what was in the offing over the weekend and only learned of his fate yesterday.
Ireland’s defence coach Les Kiss will combine those duties with the responsibility of those as interim head coach for the province. There is no time limit placed on his dual remit.
Ulster rugby released a statement yesterday afternoon. It read: “Following the departure of director of rugby, David Humphreys, Ulster Rugby has today announced that head coach, Mark Anscombe, is to leave the province with immediate effect.”
We have reached the knockout stage of the 2013 / 2014 RaboDirect PRO12 season with the semi-finals to be played this weekend. The first game takes place in Glasgow tonight (Friday) and will see Glasgow Warriors, who finished in second spot on the log host third placed Munster. This is the first time that Glasgow Warriors have hosted a semi-final game in the PRO12.
The second game, to be played tomorrow (Saturday) will be an all Ireland affair with first placed Leinster hosting fourth placed Ulster. Johan Muller, in his last season at the club, will be captaining Ulster and will be hoping for a win to make it one more game before the curtain falls on what has been a very good time for him at the Belfast club.