Stormers defeat leaves Ulster still seeking first URC win of season

Ulster are still chasing that elusive first win in the current edition of the United Rugby Championship, yet they can hold their heads up high as they wing their way back to Belfast following their tour of South Africa. 

Although the scoreline of 33-7 in Cape Town might suggest otherwise, Richie Murphy’s side certainly were not humiliated by either the high-riding Bulls last week or the Stormers. In fact, the half-time score in Cape Town was only 12-7 in favour of the home side.

With nine of their key players having returned home to prepare for the resumption of Ireland’s Nations Championship campaign, pundits gave Ulster less than 10 per cent chance of seeing off the Stormers in Cape Town. Those were quite staggering odds and, to be sure, the Stormers stamped their authority at scrum time from the word go and applied immense pressure on the Irish during the opening quarter.

The boys from Belfast were first to score, though, when skipper David McCann barged across from a quick tap midway through the first half. McCann also set up the try when he latched on to a wayward Stormers pass for his side to graft their way into the opposition 22.

The lively Matthew Devine came close to scoring too, five minutes later, when he exploded down the short side of a scrum just inside the Stormers’ half. The 24-year-old halfback was a constant threat around the fringes and also cleared the scrums promptly to neutralise the Stormers’ scrummaging ascendancy.

The Stormers forced two consecutive maul penalties thereafter, and Ulster’s South African-born tighthead prop Keynan Knox was sinbinned for a lineout infringement on the half-hour mark. This pressure eventually told as towering Stormers lock JD Schickerling powered across for the home team’s first try to level the scores, and young Springbok flanker dotted down just before the break when he charged down a clearance attempt by Jack Murphy.

That afforded the Stormers their five-point lead at halftime, and six minutes into the second stanza the big and lightning-fast number eight Evan Roos burst clear from 70 metres out to run in a sensational solo try and extend the lead to 19-7.

The next 25 minutes deteriorated into a rather scrappy contest, with too many unforced errors on both sides. The Stormers sealed the win in the final 10 minutes through tries by captain Ruan Nel and young Ahmed.

Ulster nevertheless refused point-blank to toss in the towel, with powerhouse number eight Juarno Augustus again standing up to the physical battle at the breakdown, while seasoned fullback Ethan McIlroy impressed with the occasional dart in counter-attack.

In the end, Ulster were also better off in terms of both possession (56 per cent) and territory (55 per cent), but eventually succumbed to the intensity of the Stormers’ play, while they also conceded just too many turnovers (12).

Murphy’s men now have until December 5th to reset and plot the way towards getting their URC campaign on track. 

SCORING SEQUENCE – 20 mins: McCann try, Murphy con, 0-7; 33: Schickerling try,  Ahmed con, 7-7; 38: De Villiers try, 12-7; 46: Roos try, Ahmed con, 19-7; 71: Nel try, Ahmed con, 26-7; 77: Ahmed try and con, 33-7.

STORMERS: D Willemse; S Senatla, R Nel (capt), M Muller, L Zas; Y Ahmed, C Reinach; N Mchunu, V Paulo, W Louw; A Smith, J Schickerling; P de Villiers, L Nel, E Roos. Replacements: W Simelane for Zas (37 mins), N Fouché for Louw (52), V Matongo for Mchunu (52), W Mlaba for Roos (56), H Pead for Reinach (60), R Norton for Smith (61), C Evans for Schickerling (67), A Rabe for Paulo (75).

ULSTER: E McIlroy; M Lowry, J Hume, B Carson, Z Ward; J Murphy, M Devine; E O’Sullivan, R Herring, K Knox; B Donnell, E Snyman; C Izuchukwu, D McCann (capt), J Augustus.

Replacements: S Wilson for Ward (38 mins, Ward for Wilson 40), H Sheridan for Donnell (41), C Mullins for McIlroy (46), J Flannery for Mullins (56), H Walker for Herring (58), Wilson for Knox (58), T McAllister for O’Sullivan (63), M Moloney for Snyman (71), C McKee for Hume (77).

Yellow card: Knox (33 minutes)

Referee: Sam Grove-White (Sco).