Reds run into Ulster brick wall
Sat, 23 Aug 2008 12:45
The Reds ran into an Irish brick wall as they opened their tour of Ireland and France with a 0-24 whitewash at the hands of Ulster at Ravenhill Park in Belfast.
For the local fans it was an exciting game of rugby, as Ulster dominated the first half of the match - consistently creating scoring opportunities that left the crowd on the edge of their seat.
However, he Reds' solid defensive line meant that the points didn't come easily for the home side.
After 17 minutes of play a speedy break from Isaac Boss seemed sure to reap rewards as his pass eventually found Timoci Nagusa down the right wing, but the Fijian speedster was brought down just short of the line by two Reds players.
The Reds reacted with some impressive play of their own, as they took possession to push Ulster deep into their own 22.
A penalty kick to touch helped the visitors surge closer to Ulster's line, but they were unable to capitalise after a long kick from the boot of Ian Humphreys cleared the ball from danger.
Ulster claimed the first points of the game in the 24th minute, with a penalty kick from the boot of former Reds fullback Clinton Schifcofske.
The scoreboard still read 3-0 as the half-time whistle blew, with neither side able to gain the upper hand to cross the whitewash.
It was only four minutes into the second half that Scottish international Rob Dewey took the first try of the night, after an impressive run from Schifcofske, who added his own two points with the conversion to extend Ulster's advantage.
Then it was Ulster's young talents' time to shine.
Calculated play from Darren Cave helped him to storm through the Reds defence to off-load to Chris Cochrane. The Ireland Under-19 and Ulster Academy player touched down for his first try in a senior Ulster jersey in the 56th minute.
Schifcofske was on target again with the conversion to bring the scoreline to 17-0 with less than 30 minutes left to play.
Both sides produced some solid opportunities with the Reds narrowly missing out getting some points on the scoreboard several times. The Super 14 side almost held their ground until full-time, but as the clock counted down the intensity remained high.
Paddy Wallace managed to cross the whitewash in the 80th minute, but was unable to ground the ball.
However, it was only seconds later as the match entered injury time that Ulster snatched their final try of the night.
After narrowly missing out a number of times throughout the night Timoci Nagusa finally clocked up a well deserved five points as he touched down for his new club. Paddy Wallace was on hand to convert and seal the Ulstermen's victory.
Scorers:
For Ulster:
Tries: Dewey, Cochrane, Nagusa
Cons: Schifcofske, Wallace
Pen: Schifcofske
For the Reds:
None
Teams:
Ulster: 15 Clinton Schifcofske, 14 Timoci Nagusa, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Paddy Wallace, 11 Simon Danielli, 10 Ian Humphreys, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Robbie Diack, 7 David Pollock, 6 Thomas Anderson, 5 Matt McCullough, 4 Ed O'Donoghue, 3 Tom Court, 2 Rory Best (captain), 1 Bryan Young.
Replacements - from: Neil Hanna, Jarlatyh Carey, C Henry, F Paulo, Cillian Willis, Rob Dewey, Bryn Cunningham.
Reds: 15 Aidan Toua, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Morgan Turinui (captain), 12 Charlie Fetoai, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Ben Gollings, 9 Will Genia, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 Poutasi Luafutu, 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 Adam Byrnes, 4 Van Humphries, 3 Jack Kennedy, 2 James Hanson, 1 Greg Holmes.
Replacements - from: Albert Anae, James Slipper, Robert Simmons, Andrew Shaw, B McKibbin, Anthony Faingaa, R Davies.
Referee: A Rolland (IRFU)
