Ulster Convincingly Defeat Depleted Connacht.

When I saw that Lowry, Baloucoune and Timoney had been released from the Ireland camp for Friday’s game at The Kingspan I could have simultaneously slapped and kissed ol’ Faz. Knowing that Baloucoune wasn’t in contention for the Wales game and having to take him out of my Six Naions fantasy team hurt. However, I knew this was going to be a huge bonus for Ulster.

Baloucoune in particular, but the in-form Lowry and Timoney as well, were no doubt spurned by Farrell’s decision to send them home for the weekend, but this was only ever going to mean bigger performances from the three, and boy did that prove to be correct. Baloucoune ran in two, both of which were in spectacular fashion. The first of which was set up by Lowry (surprise, surprise) popping it out to Baloucoune on the wing who scorched 4 or 5 Connacht defenders with his speed. The second of which came deep in the red as Billy Burns delivered a signature, deft cross field kick straight into the arms of Baloucoune who had all the time in the world to dot down. Lowry, was instrumental to Greg Jones try and Baloucoune’s first.

Lowry consistently broke the line, causing absolute havoc for the Connacht defence. Lowry nearly went in for several of his own, being held up just short of the line a couple of times, one of which Jones finished, and twice sending McIlroy down the wing who just couldn’t gather the pace to finish. From the side lines at the game on Friday night it seemed McIlroy was struggling with his ankle as at one point he shrugged off a medic who looked to try to take him off. He was subsequently strapped up heavily and continued to game. If he wasn’t struggling with a niggle, I would have had him finishing those opportunities. Timoney came on later in the game, as always providing big hits and being a nuisance as the breakdown. Between Vermeulen and Timoney, Ulster are now a nightmare team to get isolated against as the odds of a turnover grow every week.

Nathan Doak’s kicking in some strong Belfast wind was impeccable, making every attempt including two conversions on each touchline. He controlled the game and his halfback pairing with Burns seems to be growing and tightening every week. No doubt Cooney is the starting Ulster number 9, but Doak gives him a fair run for his money and leaves Ulster with security even if Cooney is brought off or injured. Greg Jones also looked in his element on Friday night, getting over for a score, riling up a few opposition players and getting some big runs in. Jones was in the middle of a few instances of pushing and shoving, he caused issues at the breakdown and a few times was the penultimate man before the wing, distributing great ball and showing top tier pace from a big forward. Jones, like many Ulster players, seems to be finding another gear and would love to see him continue this improvement.

Lastly, Ulster’s newest signing, hooker Declan Moore, announced himself with a bang, scoring a signature Rob Herring™ maul try and being involved in some huge collisions on both sides of the ball. Knowing that he was given his starting position just an hour before kick off after John Andrew was stood down, it was an incredibly impressive performance. With Herring often on international duty, Andrew and Moore look to be a competitive and talented duo.

Cian Pendergast of Connacht was a standout player of the night, called up to the Ireland camp as a development player and released for this game, he has massive potential. He was everywhere, causing problems in every aspect of the game. His work rate was tireless, and he didn’t stop until deep into the red when he was shown a yellow card. A real prospect and someone for Ireland to keep a keen eye on as he develops. Whilst Connacht did struggle against a strong Ulster side, they did manage to construct two great tries. Wootton and McNulty both getting over the whitewash in impressive fashion. Both exploited space on the wings, although for the first try it seemed like there was no space at all but somehow they found just enough, genuinely impressive stuff.