Bath give Ulster the chill
Sat, 16 Aug 2008 09:53
European Challenge Cup winners Bath got their pre-season matches off to a winning start when they beat Irish province Ulster 15-7 at a cold and wet Ravenhill.
Following the large number of personnel changes in the off season, it was always going to be a fascinating affair.
However, Bath picked up where they left off last season with a two-tries-to-one victory.
The squad that travelled to Northern Ireland for the first of three pre-season matches bared little resemblance to that which had lifted European silverware in impressive style in May, but Steve Meehan's blend of club stalwarts, new signings and young charges tackled the opposition and the new experimental laws.
The match got underway with fierce determination on both sides.
With something of a stalemate at the halfway line, Bath's Michael Stephenson attempted to make a run through the red and white defence, but with a good display of positional awareness, Ulster's Darren Cave halted the charge, off-loading quickly and sending Bath back to the 10 metre line.
With 10 minutes gone and little distance made by either side, Ulster's Rob Dewey managed to skirt down the left wing, off-loading to Niall O'Connor before he came faced with Daniel Browne in the tackle. Failing to turn over, Bath were put under pressure as Timoci Nagusa sprinted towards the 22 metre line. But as the ball was slipped to the right wing, Shaun Berne intercepted the final pass and prevented the home side from crossing the line.
As the clock ticked through to 20 minutes, Bath finally found the momentum to drive inside Ulster's 22, with Daniel Browne, Duncan Bell and Peter Short launching towards the white line. A clearance kick from the hosts took the heat off them, but only momentarily, as Shaun Berne, Alex Crockett and Jack Cuthbert rapidly offloaded the ball down the wing back towards the tryline.
With just three minutes left of the first half, the stalemate did not look like it was going to break easily, until Pieter Dixon made a clever interception at the 10 metre line, off-loading to in-form Browne, who punched a hole into the Ulster defence. Crockett executed a timely pass to Cuthbert, who made the last few metres before popping to Rhys Crane to finish. The 23-year-old newcomer took Bath into the lead with a much needed five points. he conversion attempt was wide.
Unsatisfied with the one try, Crane secured his brace on the stroke of half-time, after some insightful play from Berne, Tom Cheeseman and Cuthbert. This time Berne was successful with the conversion - taking Bath up to a 12–0 lead at half-time.
Spurred on by the last minute tries before the end of the first half, Ulster returned to the fray with renewed attack, taking the ball rapidly into Bath's 22. And, after just eight minutes, centre Darren Cave went over the line for a try, having received a swift pass from flyhalf Niall O'Connor. A conversion by fullback Clinton Schifcofske ensured that the margin remained narrow enough to keep Ulster in the match.
After 65 minutes, Bath made a resurgence, having spent the opening minutes of the first half too close to their own tryline.
Cheeseman, who had replaced Crockett, burst down the midfield, off-loading to Maddock, who passed to Berne's replacement, Robbie Kydd. With fresh legs, the blue, black and white contingent continued to drive closer to the white line in an attempt to add some more points to the board, but Ulster were not going to give in easily.
The final ten minutes picked up pace, with all the replacements ensuring the attack was fast and relentless.
As the clock reached the final five minutes, Ulster finally managed to break through the Bath defence, but a strong grubber kick by Stephenson shot the ball straight back into the hosts' 22.
Feeling the heat, Ulster offended, giving Kydd his first chance to kick a penalty for Bath. Unfortunately, his kick fell wide of the posts.
The cheers from the Ulster fans didn't last long though, as Kydd made up for his earlier error successfully scoring a penalty on 80 minutes.
Scorers:
For Ulster:
Try: Cave
Con: Schifcofske
For Bath:
Tries: Crane 2
Con: Berne
Pen: Kydd
Teams:
Ulster: 15 Clinton Schifcofske, 14 Chris Cochrane, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Rob Dewey, 11 Timoci Agusa, 10 Niall O'Connor, 9 Cillian Willis, 8 Robbie Diack, 7 Kieron Dawson (captain), 6 Matt McCullogh, 5 Carlo Del Fava, 4 Ed O'Donoghue, 3 Tom Court, 2 Nigel Brady, 1 Justin Fitzpatrick.
Replacements - from: Neil Hanna, Jarlath Carey, Filo Paulo, Chris Henry, Paul Marshall, Bryn Cunningham, Ian Whitten, Willie Falloon, Thomas Anderson, Seamus
Mallon.
Bath: 15 Jack Cuthbert, 14 Joe Maddock, 13 Alex Crockett (captain), 12 Tom Cheeseman, 11 Michael Stephenson, 10 Shaun Berne, 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Daniel Browne, 7 James Scaysbrook, 6 Peter Short, 5 Danny Grewcock, 4 Stuart Hooper, 3 Duncan Bell, 2 Pieter Dixon, 1 David Barnes.
Replacements - from: Rob Hawkins, David Flatman, Aaron Jarvis, Justin Harrison, Joshua Ovens, Scott Bemand, Robbie Kydd, Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, Rhys Crane.
