John Andrew hat-trick helps seven-try Ulster see off Edinburgh
John Andrew scored a hat-trick as Ulster brushed off a spirited Edinburgh fightback to claim an ultimately emphatic seven-try PRO14 victory at BT Murrayfield. The visitors were 19 points up inside 24 minutes, but Edinburgh thought they had levelled when Jamie Farndale crossed in dramatic circumstances following the first two tries of Jack Blain’s career.
However, Farndale was eventually called offside and Ulster streaked clear in the final quarter. Edinburgh forward Bill Mata’s comeback was interrupted by a spell in the sin bin just after Jordi Murphy crossed for Ulster. John Cooney claimed his second try and Andrew completed his treble in the closing seconds as Ulster sealed a 43-14 Guinness PRO14 victory.
Ulster’s eighth win on the trot sent them top of Conference A. Dan McFarland’s side overturned a 12-point deficit to snatch a last-gasp win at BT Murrayfield in last season’s semi-finals in September, but expectations from the home side were tempered by the unavailability of 23 players through injury and international duty.
Ulster took the lead after two minutes when Stewart Moore crossed following good work from Andrew and Cooney. Andrew went over himself in the 18th minute following a lineout drive and scrum-half Cooney got his first five minutes later after a dummy near the try line following another maul.
Edinburgh’s pack were struggling but they got on top as Richard Cockerill’s side began a major turnaround in momentum. The hosts put on pressure near the try line and Lee-Roy Atalifo was somehow stopped after throwing himself over a ruck of bodies. But scrum-half Henry Pyrgos changed tack and let the forwards have a go, with Blain crossing in the 34th minute.
Seventh heaven for @UlsterRugby as they go ? of Conference A after seeing off @EdinburghRugby in style ?
How long will their undefeated run last?#GuinnessPRO14 highlights ?? pic.twitter.com/P7CVHnTATH
— PRO14 RUGBY (@PRO14Official) November 30, 2020
Edinburgh started to impress in the scrum and Blain was over again four minutes into the second half after Eroni Sau set him up near the line. Mata came off the bench after 10 weeks out with an ankle injury and the hosts thought they had drawn level in extraordinary circumstances.
Nathan Chamberlain hit a post from a 40-metre penalty but Farndale scooped up the rebound and went over. However, the full-back was belatedly called offside following a video review after running a metre ahead of Chamberlain when the penalty was taken.
The game turned again in the 59th minute when Murphy went over after another lineout maul and Mata’s yellow card for a lineout offence put Edinburgh up against it. Cooney broke away for his second try following offloads from Ian Madigan and Sam Carter and Ulster set about adding to their tally in ruthless fashion. Andrew scored after another lineout drive before completing his hat-trick in the dying seconds.
'We think that Irish Rugby needs to be ambitious, we think that the Pro14 needs to be ambitious' https://t.co/m9QYv2nRU9
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 30, 2020
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