Ian Madigan breaks Edinburgh hearts again with last-gasp kick for Ulster
Ian Madigan repeated his Murrayfield heroics as he nailed another last-minute kick to hand Ulster a dramatic 34-31 victory over Edinburgh.
The fly-half broke the Scottish side’s hearts back in August as he booted his side into last year’s PRO14 final with a nerveless stoppage-time effort.
And he was required to do it all over again as Dan McFarland’s men climbed off the bottom of the Rainbow Cup table after a 10-try thriller.
Edinburgh were ahead early thanks to Duhan Van Der Merwe’s 32nd and final try for Edinburgh before the British and Irish Lion joins Worcester next season.
Blair Kinghorn added another for the capital club but Ulster stormed back with touchdowns from James Hume, Iain Henderson, Stuart McCloskey, Adam McBurney – who will join Edinburgh in a few weeks’ time – and Rob Lyttle.
However, Edinburgh came back themselves and thought they had won it when Eroni Sau’s controversial late try was allowed to stand by referee Ben Whitehouse after scores from Pierre Schoeman and Cammy Hutchison had fired the hosts back into contention.
But when Kinghorn missed a chance to win it with his conversion, the Irishmen raced up field to win a penalty – with Madigan showing the Scotland international how it was done.
Edinburgh – who survived a Covid scare earlier this week – could not have wished for a better start as they played their final game at Murrayfield before moving to a smaller arena next door.
Kinghorn released Van der Merwe to score the opener before galloping home himself soon after as Richard Cockerill’s side moved 12 points ahead inside eight minutes.
Ulster hit back after 13 minutes as Madigan’s dancing feet cut Edinburgh open before Hume finished things off.
But Kinghorn’s crazy offload attempt five metres from his own line sent Edinburgh into a tailspin.
Hamish Watson was penalised with a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on as he attempted to rectify his Scotland team-mate’s blunder.
Henderson’s strength allowed him to dot the ball down as Ulster careered towards the Edinburgh line from a line-out drive.
To make matters worse for the hosts, WP Nel was also sin-binned for his illegal efforts to collapse the maul. Inside two chaotic minutes, Edinburgh had lost two men and seven points.
They did well to stem the tide with 13 men. However, with just seconds remaining before they returned to their full complement, McCloskey charged over from halfway after a rapid exchange of passes by Hume and David Shanahan.
Hooker McBurney refused to go easy on his future team-mates, crashing over from another line-out move a minute before the break as the visitors added another score.
Ulster extended their lead further with a sublime try that saw them explode wide through a succession of quick, intricate passes, with Lyttle left to jog over in the 50th minute.
But when the Irish province found themselves down to 13 as Michael Lowry and Nick Timoney were sent to the bin in short succession, Schoeman and Hutchison barged over to give Edinburgh hope.
They thought they had completed the turnaround when Sau raced in to score with a minute left despite Harri Morris’ high tackle on Lowry.
But Kinghorn’s miss gave Madigan his chance to reprise his role as Ulster’s last-action hero.
Comments on RugbyPass
“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to comments