Cooney racks up the points as Ulster hammer Munster
John Cooney was again the star as Ulster continued their good form with a resounding five-try 38-17 hammering of Irish rivals Munster at the Kingspan Stadium.
The scrum-half scored 18 points from a try, all five conversions and a penalty as Dan McFarland’s side ran up another bonus-point victory. Robert Baloucoune, Matty Rea, Stuart McCloskey and Jacob Stockdale also scored for Ulster.
Munster managed tries from Shane Daly and Niall Scannell along with two conversions and a penalty from the boot of Joey Carbery.
Ulster had led 17-10 at half-time after coming from being 7-0 behind through tries from Cooney and Baloucoune which were converted by Cooney, who also kicked a penalty. They went on to cross the Munster line three more times in the second half.
Munster opened the scoring in the ninth minute when full-back Daly surged through a gap in Ulster’s short-side defence to touch down. Carbery converted and Munster led 7-0.
(Continue reading below…)
WATCH: RugbyPass travelled to Brecon to see how life after rugby is treating Andy Powell
Cooney cut the lead to 7-3 in the 14th minute after Keynan Knox gave away the penalty. The home side then added a try in the 17th minute from Cooney after Stockdale’s break down the left and the scrum-half converted his own score to put Ulster 10-7 ahead.
Ulster could have had another score six minutes later only for Will Addison to lose control of the ball, with Stockdale wanting to attack the corner. They put the squeeze on by staying in Munster’s 22 for nine minutes which saw Munster concede a number of penalties and the home side opt for lineouts and scrums.
The net result was a try from Baloucoune off Luke Marshall’s assist in the 34th minute. Cooney again added the two points to stretch Ulster’s lead to 17-7. Then with the last play of the half, McCloskey was pinged for not rolling away and Carbery did the needful, cutting Ulster’s lead to seven points.
Ulster were out of the traps first with the second half only two minutes old. Rea surged through a gap rather easily to score and Cooney’s conversion took their lead to 22-10. The bonus point was inevitable and arrived in the 57th minute. After Dan Goggin was enveloped by Nick Timoney and Stockdale, Ulster won the penalty and put the ball in the corner.
With pods of forwards hammering at the Munster line and another penalty pending, McCloskey barged over near the sticks. Cooney once again converted. Stockdale then ran in an intercept just after the hour. Cooney converted.
Niall Scannell got over from a 64th-minute maul, which Carbery converted off the post, but that was as good as it got, with Chris Cloete being sin-binned with seven minutes left for a tip tackle on McCloskey. Ulster also ended the game with 14 men when Kyle McCall was shown yellow in the 78th minute.
– Press Association
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments